The international corporation IBM, based in Armonk, Westchester County, is celebrating it's 100th Anniversary this year. The company was founded in 1911 as the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation, following a merger of the Computer Scale Company of America and the International Time Recording Company with the Tabulating Machine Company. The conglomerate adopted the name International Business Machines in 1924, a name the company had used in Canada.
A recently produced video to celebrate their centennial anniversary, 100x100, tells IBM's history through the eyes of 100 different individuals beginning with a 100-year-old and ending with a newborn baby. The video has been posted to YouTube.
A second IBM film was directed by famed documentation Errol Morris. The 30-minute documentary, They Were There was scored by Philip Glass and chronicles many of the influential people involved at IBM throughout its history.
Illustration: The original IBM Logo. Courtesy Wikipedia.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Two Short Films Celebrate IBM's Centennial
By Editorial Staff
Saratoga Auto Museum 1950s Fundraiser
By Editorial Staff
On Saturday March 5th, Saratoga Automobile Museum is celebrating their 2nd Beer and Burgers fundraiser from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. The event features micro-brews and local beers, live entertainment, and food by local chef Kim Klopstock served car-hop style by the women of the Albany All Stars Roller Derby.
This year’s featured exhibition includes Right Coast Rods, Historic Roadsters & Coupes from the 1950s in the main gallery of the Museum. The second floor gallery will host vehicles made in New York along with Racing in New York exhibit.
“We have put together a wide variety of Micro Brews that will delight your taste buds,” Richard Selikoff, Development Director for the Museum, said. “You will be able to sample brews from Saratoga Brewing, Goose Island, Redhook, Windmere Bros., Davidson Bros., Ommergang, Kona and Shock Top. Sliders will be once again on tap by master chef Kim Klopstock from Lily and the Rose, she is promising to have a full selection of veggie burgers as well. Burgers are not the only thing on the menu for the evening, there will be a full selection of side dishes to compliment the beer and the burgers." Two bands from Schenectady, Summer of Doug and The Uncle Bootsy Project will provide entertainment.
The event is a fundraiser for the Saratoga Automobile Museum. Tickets are $35.00 per person and are available at the Museum or on their website. For more information contact Richard Selikoff at 518-587-1935 x 26. The Saratoga Automobile Museum is located at 110 Avenue of the Pines, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Proper ID is required; poodle skirts are optional.
Friday, February 25, 2011
This Week's New York History Web Highlights
By Editorial Staff
- Adirondack Almanack: Abe Lincoln’s Avengers
- Benedict Arnold’s Retreat from Valcour: A Revisionist’s Version
- NYTimes: Bridge Naming Has Long Been Contentious
- NY1: Plantation Discovery A Haunting Reminder
- Simon Schama: Cuts Make History Preserve of the Rich
Each Friday afternoon New York History compiles for our readers a collection of the week's top weblinks about New York's state and local history. You can find all our weekly round-ups here.
Subscribe! More than 550 people get New York History each day via E-Mail, RSS, or Twitter or Facebook updates.
This Week's Top New York History News
By Editorial Staff
- NYC Museum Creating 9/11 Timeline
- Unnamed Triangle Fire Victims Identified
- NYC’s Little Italy Shrinking Each Year
- OAH Election Results
- Report: States Get Poor History Grades
- Fight to Ensure Civil War Vets Remembered
- Fight On to Preserve Stone Barracks
Each Friday morning New York History compiles for our readers the previous week's top stories about New York's state and local history. You can find all our weekly news round-ups here.
Subscribe! More than 550 people get New York History each day via E-Mail, RSS, or Twitter or Facebook updates.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
New York Folklore Society Latino Artists' Gathering
By Editorial Staff
The New York Folklore Society, in collaboration with Go Art!, will hold its second Latino Artists' Gathering on March 19, 2011 At the Homestead Event Center, Batavia City Center, Batavia, New York.
Supported by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts, the gatherings provide an opportunity for Latino artists residing in non-metropolitan New York State to come together to discuss issues and solve common problems. March's theme will be "Challenges and Opportunities for Traditional Artists in Rural New York", and we will hear of some of the current initiatives being tried to link artists across distances.
The schedule for the Gathering includes a presentation by Arturo Zavala, who has done extensive research on cultural entrepreneurship and is, himself, a traditional musician; a panel discussion by Western New York community members on the solutions they employ in their own work, and participatory dance and crafts workshops. The day concludes with dance performances from Puerto Rico and Mexico, presented by Borinquen Dance Theater and Alma Latina. For further details or to discuss attending, please contact us at (518) 346-7008 or via email at nyfs@nyfolklore.org.
Photo: Puerto Rican Dancer from the Borinquen Dance Theatre.
Graphic Design Expert to Discuss 1939 World's Fair
By Editorial Staff
On Sunday, February 27, at 2:00 pm, the Albany Institute of History & Art will host a free lecture by renowned graphic design expert Steven Heller on the topic, Designing the World of Tomorrow: Did the 1939 New York World's Fair Change the World?
Steven Heller is an American art director, journalist, critic, author, and editor who specializes in topics related to graphic design. Heller will offer expert insight into how the 1939 World’s Fair—the second largest American world’s fair and the first to focus on the concept of futurism—affected powerful change in the world of graphic design.
The lecture is being held in conjunction with the Albany Institute’s current exhibition, Graphic Design—Get the Message!, which uses posters, broadsides, package designs, paintings, decorative arts, historical photographs, and computer interactives from local designers and companies to examine broader issues of national and international significance. The exhibition and public programs are funded by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts. Exhibition planning was funded by a grant from the New York Council for the Humanities.
For 33 years, Heller was an art director at The New York Times, for both the Op-Ed Page and The New York Times Book Review. He is the co-founder and co-chair of the MFA Designer as Author program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where he lectures on the history of graphic design. The author, co-author, and/or editor of more than 100 books on design and popular culture, Heller has curated numerous exhibitions on the subject of graphic design.
The lecture is free and open to the public. Museum admission is not included. Call (518) 463-4478 or visit www.albanyinstitute.org for more information.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
March: Upcoming Events in Old Saratoga
By Editorial Staff
The following events and items of interest are scheduled for the public in the Old Saratoga region (Schuylerville, Saratoga, Victory and nearby) for the month of March.
Old Saratoga Happening presents a book discussion for Farmer Boy on Thursday, March 10 at 7:30 pm in the Schuylerville Public Library. Join the Old Saratoga Historical Association’s winter historical reading group as they discuss Laura Ingalls Wilder’s story which recounts the boyhood adventures growing up on a farm in upstate New York in the 1860s. A second discussion will take place on Tuesday, March 15 at 7:30 pm.
Glorous Art by and of Women in the 18th Century on Sunday, March 13 at 1:30 in the Saratoga NHP Battlefield Visitors Center in Stillwater. Park Ranger Eric Schnitzer brings to life these magnificent paintings that will take your breath away. Superb feminine artistic talent that was rarely publicized since being created over 200 years ago.
The Genealogy Group meets on Tuesday, March 15 at 10 am in the Schuylerville Public Library
A photo scanning session will be held on Saturday, March 19 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
at the Saratoga Town Hall in Schuylerville. Get your old photos of the Schuylerville area scanned, archived with the town, and receive a photo CD.
The Heritage Hunters of Saratoga County has their meeting on Saratoga County Genealogy: US Grant’s Last Days on Saturday, March 19 starts at 1 pm. at the Saratoga Town Hall. The meeting features Dave Hubbard, a former site manager at Grant Cottage on Mt. McGregor in Wilton. Hubbard shares a virtual tour of Grant Cottage as he talks about General Ulysses S. Grant's last days and weeks which he spent at the Cottage in June and July, 1885.
Archive Scanning Working Session is planned for Thursday, March 24 at 4:30 pm at Saratoga Town Hall. Volunteers are needed to help the Historian’s Office to continue scanning documents and photos in the historical archive.
Saratoga Area Postcards is the topic of the Old Saratoga Historical Association meeting on Thursday, March 24 at 7:30 pm at the Saratoga Town Hall. Learn about old postcards from the Schuylerville area from historian, author and Town Supervisor Tom Wood.
All events are open to the public, wheelchair accessible and free of charge.
For more information about these events contact oldsaratogahappenings@gmail.com, follow them on twitter @OldSaraHappenin, on facebook Old Saratoga Happenings or on the web.
Old Saratoga Happenings is a collation to promote cultural and heritage programs in the Old Saratoga region. The collation includes Hudson Crossing Park, Old Saratoga Historical Association, Saratoga National Historical Park, Schuylerville Area Chamber of Commerce, Schuylerville Public Library and the Town of Saratoga and Village of
Victory Historian’s Office.
Split Second: A Unique Exhibition Experience
By Editorial Staff
Split Second: Indian Paintings, a small installation of ten rarely seen works from the Brooklyn Museum collection, on view July 13 through December 31, 2011, will result from a unique online experiment that was inspired by Malcolm Gladwell's critically acclaimed book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking.
The project is designed to explore how a viewer's initial reaction to the work is affected by what they know, what they are asked, and what they have been told about the object in question. Just launched on the Museum website, the experiment consists of three steps.
The first phase consists of a timed trial. To gauge a person's split-second reaction to a work of art, participants are given a four second countdown clock and asked to select which painting they prefer from a randomly generated pair of images from a pool of 167 works. Next, they are asked to write about a painting in their own words and then rate its appeal on a scale. In the final step, participants are asked to rate a work of art after being given unlimited time to view it alongside a typical interpretive text. Each part of the exercise aims to examine how a different type of information-or lack thereof-affects a viewer's reaction to a work of art.
The resulting installation will include the Indian paintings that generated the most controversial and dynamic responses during the evaluation process. Each painting will be accompanied by an analysis of the data collected and a visualization of the data that explores the public's response during the online evaluation.
The Brooklyn Museum collection of Indian paintings is considered among the finest in the United States. Rarely on public view because of their extreme sensitivity to light, Split Second: Indian Paintings provides a rare opportunity to view these seldom seen works of art.
The installation is organized by Shelley Bernstein, Chief of Technology, in consultation with Joan Cummins, Lisa and Bernard Selz Curator of Asian Art at the Brooklyn Museum. Bernstein was also the organizer of the landmark exhibition Click! A Crowd-Curated Exhibition presented at the Brooklyn Museum in 2008.
Illustration: Dhanashri Ragini. Page from an illustrated Ragamala series. Northern India (Punjab Hills, Kangra), ca. 1790 or earlier. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper. Overall: 10 x 6 15/16 in. (25.4 x 17.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Schoharie Creek, Mohawk River Ice Jam History
By Editorial Staff
Every spring the Mohawk Valley and Schoharie Creek rise to flood level, mainly due to the snow melt and ice jams. Tomorrow, Wednesday, February 23, at 7:00 pm Schoharie Crossing State historic Site (129 Schoharie Street, Fort Hunter, five miles west of Amsterdam) will host John Quinlan of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who will offer a unique look at the area’s water history. Fee $3.00 for adults, $2.00 seniors, $1.00 for children under age 16. Call 829- 7516 or email Tricia.Shaw@oprhp.state.ny.us for more information.
Photo: Flooded canal lock on Mohawk River near Rotterdam Junction (January 25-26, 2010). Photo courtesy Schenectady County Emergency Management.
Canal Society Symposium Announced
By Editorial Staff
The Canal Society of New York State’s (CSNY) daylong 2011 Winter Symposium, will be held March 5th, 2011 at the Monroe Community College campus in Rochester, New York. The Symposium covers topics that are directly or indirectly related to historic or operating New York State Canals, canals and inland waterways worldwide, and the communities through which they run.
This year's symposium will include a presentation, "Clinton’s Ditch and Enlarged Erie Aqueduct Survey" by Capt. Rob Mangold, Vice President, CSNY; "An Exploration of the Burlington and Desjardins Canals by Robert W. Sears, of the Canadian Canal Society; "Managing NYS Canal Infrastructure in Difficult Economic Times" by Carmella R. Mantello, Director of the NYS Canal Corporation; "Geographic Resources for the Erie Canal"; "Three Generations on the Erie Barge Canal: A Photographic Chronicle" by "High Canals and Deep Rivers—Southern Germany Waterways Tour" and more.
CSNYS membership is not a requirement to attend. Pre-registration cost prior to February 23rd is $40 per person.
Contact:
David L. Kipp
61 Thistledown Drive
Rochester, NY 14617
The $40 per person cost covers a continental breakfast, coffee break, lunch, parking and speaker fees. Provide Davd Kipp with the names of the attendees and a telephone number. A check for $40 should be made payable to: Canal Society of New York State
Registration can be made on the day of the seminar at $50 per person.
A downloadable program can be found at the society’s website.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Wife of Abolitionist John Brown Subject of Performance
By Editorial Staff
Author-historian Sandra Weber and musician David Hodges will present a dramatic performance of the life of Mary Day Brown, wife of radical abolitionist John Brown.
The Adirondack Museum's Cabin Fever Sunday series will return to Saranac Lake, New York on February 27, 2011. "Times of Trouble" with Weber and Hodges will be held at Saranac Village at Will Rogers. The time will be 2:00 p.m. The presentation will offered at no charge to museum members, residents of Saranac Village, and children of elementary school age or younger. The fee for non-members is $5.00.
Dressed in period costume, Weber and Hodges will weave narrative and song to share the little known life of Mary Brown. The poignant piece illustrates the significant role this plain woman played as wife of the radical abolitionist John Brown.
The program will present Mary's early life and marriage as well as later tragedies involving bankruptcy, accidents, and death. The presentation closes with Mrs. Brown's most difficult "times of trouble" in the aftermath of the raid on Harper's Ferry. Sandra Weber has spent ten years researching the life of Mary Day Brown.
Weber is an author, storyteller, and independent scholar with special interest in the Adirondacks, Mary and John Brown, as well as women's history. Her publishing credits include eight books and numerous articles in periodicals such as Civil War Times, Adirondack Life, Pennsylvania Magazine, and Highlights for Children.
In 2004 and 2005, Sandra Weber toured with folksinger Peggy Lynn performing stories from their book, Breaking Trail: Remarkable Women of the Adirondacks.
David Hodges has played guitar and bass for more than twenty years. He has performed with bands throughout New York, Texas and Pennsylvania and recorded CDs with "Mad Factory" and "Evil Twin." Hodges currently plays with "Mr. Freeze," a blues-rock band, and accompanies Sandra Weber in folk music performances.
Seminar: American Motorcycle Competition of 1912
By Editorial Staff
The Saratoga Automobile Museum in Saratoga Springs has announced a historical seminar on motorcycles this February 26, 2011 from 11 am to 2 pm. After the large success of Marty Christopher’s “History of the Motorcycle” in 2010 he has decided that this years theme would be “American Motorcycle Competition of 1912”. Mr. Christopher thought that a seminar about competition motorcycles would be a great tie in with the Museum’s existing exhibit.
The exhibit opened in October of 2010 and will be open until May 1, 2011. There are several bikes on display for visitors to take a look at. From Asphalt to Ice is the title of the exhibit and is the third one that the Museum has put together since they decided to make motorcycles part of their changing exhibit series. Christopher has been instrumental in assisting the Museum in locating motorcycles for each exhibit and he has said that he will use the motorcycles on display as models for his seminar.
The Museum invites everyone to join in on “American Motorcycle Competition of 1912” seminar. Spend the day finding out what motorcycle racing was like in America back in 1912.
Participants will learn about the types, tracks, bikes, and of course the riders. What rules were in 1912, performance tricks, engine configurations, nick names of riders and how the riders earned their names.
“These motorcycles have been stripped of all excess and have no comfort. There are little to no decorations and safety is always in question. The rider is exposed right down to their nerves as they pull back on the throttle on the green and speed forward,” Christopher said when asked to give a brief description about what racing was like in 1912.
The Saratoga Automobile Museum is located at: 110 Avenue of the Pines, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. Hours of operation: 7 days a week, 10 am to 5 pm. Admission: Adults - $8.00, seniors and students - $5.00 with children under 6 free. For more information call Tracy Paige (518) 587-1935 x 17 or tracy.paige@saratogaautomuseum.org.
Friday, February 18, 2011
This Week's New York History Web Highlights
By Editorial Staff
- Secret Warriors: Women in The Civil War
- Utica OD: Lincoln in Utica
- NCPR: Remembering Plane Crash of Champion Skaters
- Risky Graffiti: History Of American Graffiti
- City Room: Little Neck, Queens, As It Once Was
Each Friday afternoon New York History compiles for our readers a collection of the week's top weblinks about New York's state and local history. You can find all our weekly round-ups here.
Subscribe! More than 550 people get New York History each day via E-Mail, RSS, or Twitter or Facebook updates.
This Week's Top New York History News
By Editorial Staff
- Teaching American History Grants Threatened
- Train Society, Children's Museum in Dispute
- Reports: Cuomo Won’t Close Historic Sites
- Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Centennial Approaches
- Albany Board Rejects Demolition Plan
- NYS Lacks Official Civil War Committee
- ’60s Radar Tower Collapse Victims Recognized
- Fort Ti Capture Subject of Rev War Letter
Each Friday morning New York History compiles for our readers the previous week's top stories about New York's state and local history. You can find all our weekly news round-ups here.
Subscribe! More than 550 people get New York History each day via E-Mail, RSS, or Twitter or Facebook updates.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
New Genealogy Tools at NY State Archives
By Editorial Staff
The New York State Archives recently announced the creation of two tools, called “pathfinders,” to help genealogists and researchers locate naturalization and probate records created throughout New York, from the colonial period to the present.
Naturalizations grant the full legal rights and privileges held by native-born individuals to someone born in another country. Legal jurisdiction over naturalization has changed repeatedly since the colonial period, so the records can be found in various locations. They may be in the county clerk’s office, the New York State Archives, the National Archives branch in New York City, or U.S. District Court clerk’s office. The pathfinder highlights books, links to indexes, and directories where researchers can find more information about an ancestor and the places that may hold these naturalization records.
Probate records include wills, estate inventories, letters of administration, and other documents relating to the administration and settlement of a deceased person’s estate. The State Archives holds probate records created or compiled by predecessor courts that had legal jurisdiction over probate matters prior to 1787. A limited number of probate records after 1787 are held by the Archives because they are filed and retained by the Surrogate's Court in each county. For that reason, the probate pathfinder is divided into two chronological sections: before 1787 and after 1787. This pathfinder identifies collections within the State Archives as well as books and links to guides and locations that may help researchers.
The pathfinders can be found on the State Archives’ website.
Being Green in the 1700s at Fort Montgomery
By Editorial Staff
“Green” in the 1700s at Fort Montgomery: Eco-lutionary: Unintentionally will be a free program presented on Saturday, February 26th, at 1:30 PM at Fort Montgomery State Historic Site, 690 Route 9W in Fort Montgomery, NY (Orange County).
In this slide presentation and hands-on show and tell, Fort Montgomery State Historic Site Interpreter Peter Cutul will present some of the numerous and innovative ways our colonial ancestors reduced, re-used, and recycled. Cutul will demonstrate how the colonials were on the cutting edge or even ahead of the curve of many of today’s green practices. The program will conclude with practical tidbits we can start at home, as well as those practices perhaps better left in the past!
For more information, please call the site at (845) 446-2134.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Saratoga National Historical Park Seeks Volunteers
By Editorial Staff
Saratoga National Historical Park is preparing for the 2011 season and is looking for enthusiastic and dedicated individuals to assist as Volunteers in Parks (VIPs) in several areas. As a volunteer at Saratoga Battlefield you will receive training and a uniform, plus you’ll get to work in a beautiful environment with knowledgeable and friendly rangers.
Time requirements vary by position (they are listed below) and are arranged to work with the volunteer’s schedule. For more information, please call the Saratoga National Historical Park volunteer coordinator at 518-664-9821 ext. 225.
Schuyler House Guides – provide 35-minute guided tours of historic Philip Schuyler House in Schuylerville, NY. Six positions available.
Visitor Information Specialists – greet visitors and provide basic site orientation to the battlefield. Three positions available.
Battlefield Interpreters – stationed at Neilson House to provide historical information to visitors touring the battlefield. Six to eight positions available.
Bookstore Sales Associate – assisting visitors with suggestions for book or gift purchases, operating computer-based sales system. Three positions available.
Musket Corps – participate in living history programs through demonstrations of 18th century soldiers’ musket drilling, firing, marching and maneuvering. Eight positions available.
Special Event Volunteers – help during large events with needs such as parking, greeting and orienting visitors, handing out information and crowd control. Six to eight positions available.
Dorsky Museum to Feature Historic Textile Expert
By Editorial Staff
Rabbit Goody, a leading expert in the study and manufacture of 18th and 19th century textiles, will be featured at a panel discussion at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art in New Paltz on Sunday, February 20th at 3pm.
The panel discussion is coincides with the exhibit currently on view at the Dorsky: Binary Visions: 19th Century Woven Coverlets from the Collection of Historic Huguenot Street. This exhibit features more than 20 coverlets woven from cotton and wool on water-powered looms in small factories across the mid-Hudson Valley during the first half of the 19th century. The exhibition is a particularly important opportunity for historians and scholars to conceive new ways of thinking about the visual power of these coverlets.
Rabbit Goody is owner of Thistle Hill Weavers in Cherry Valley, New York. For more than 20 years, Thistle Hill Weavers has been weaving luxurious custom fabrics, carpet, and trim for designers, home owners, museums, and the film industry. Goody specializes in creating accurate historic reproductions, working from surviving examples, documented patterns, and period weavers' drafts. Goody was a consultant for the Binary Visions exhibit.
Joining Goody on the panel will be Leslie LeFevre-Stratton, Curator of Collections at Historic Huguenot Street and Jessica Poser, Assistant Professor of Art Education at SUNY New Paltz. Poser has used the textile collections at Historic Huguenot Street as the inspiration for some of her most recent works of art. The panel will be moderated by Brian Wallace, Curator at the Dorsky Museum.
The panel discussion will be held in the Student Union Building closest to the campus entrance off South Manheim Boulevard and is free and open to the public.
For more information about the exhibit and the panel discussion, visit www.huguenotstreet.org or www.newpaltz.edu/museum.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Saratoga Auto Museum: Popcorn Wagon Mechanics
By Editorial Staff
The Saratoga Automobile Museum has announced an event entitled "Popcorn Wagon Mechanics." On Saturday, February 19, 2011 sixteen students who have been working since December of 2010 to mechanically rebuild a historic 1925 Model TT Cretor Popcorn Wagon will be in the garage again.
This session will include removing entire front end assembly, touching up the frame and underbelly of vehicle, rebuilding the front end assembly by replacing any bushings, king pins, tie rods, or any other steering rods as needed, checking the springs and bushings, paint the front axle and springs, greasing all the points that are required, and then re-installing the front end assembly. The program's mentors will be explaining the steering dynamics and will relate them to modern automobiles.
The event is open to the public. For more information you can contact Tracy Paige at tracy.paige@saratogaautomuseum.org or visit our website at www.saratogaautomuseum.org The Saratoga Automobile Museum is located at: 110 Avenue of the Pines, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. Hours of operation: 7 days a week, 10 am to 5 pm. Admission: Adults - $8.00, Seniors and Students - $5.00 with children under 6 free.
Brooklyn Museum Celebrates Native American Culture
By Editorial Staff
The Brooklyn Museum's Target First Saturday event attracts thousands of visitors to free programs of art and entertainment each month. The March 5 event celebrates the rich heritage and cultures of North America's Native Americans and showcases the special exhibition Tipi: Heritage of the Great Plains.
Throughout the evening, a cash bar will offer beer and wine, and the Museum Café will serve a wide variety of sandwiches, salads, and beverages. The Museum Shop will remain open until 11 p.m.
Some Target First Saturday programs have limited space available and are ticketed on a first-come, first-served basis. Programs are subject to change without notice. Museum admission is free after 5 p.m. Museum galleries are open until 11 p.m. Parking is a flat rate of $4 from 5 to 11 p.m.
Highlights include:
5-7 p.m. Music
Martha Redbone (pictured) performs a combination of R & B, soul, rock, and traditional Native American music.
5:30 p.m. Performance
The Thunderbird American Indian Dancers perform an array of traditional Native American songs and dances.
6 p.m. Film
Edge of America (James McDaniel, 2003, 105 min.). An African American educator takes a job teaching high-school English on a Native American reservation and is coaxed into coaching the girls' basketball team. Free tickets available at the Visitor Center at 5 p.m.
6:30-8:30 Hands-On Art
Design your own parfleche, an elegant Native American pouch made of hide. Free timed tickets available at the Visitor Center at 5:30 p.m.
7 p.m. Curator Talk
Nancy Rosoff, Andrew W. Mellon Curator and Chair of the Arts of the Americas, on Tipi: Heritage of the Great Plains. Free tickets available at the Visitor Center at 6 p.m.
8 p.m. Young Voices Talk
Student Guides on Tipi: Heritage of the Great Plains
8-10 p.m. Dance Party
Dee Jay Frame spins tracks fusing hip-hop and traditional Native American music.
9 p.m. Book Club
Lakota scholar Joseph Marshall III speaks about his latest book, To You We Shall Return. A book signing follows.
9-10 p.m. Performance
The Redhawk Arts Council hosts an interactive dance performance inspired by traditional Northern and Southern Plains dances.
10-11 p.m. Late Night in the Galleries
All galleries open.
Photo: Martha Redbone. Photo by Anthony Two Moons.
Monday, February 14, 2011
More New Netherland Documents Now Online
By Editorial Staff
Out of print for many years and inaccessible to researchers, the first volume of the Register of the Provincial Secretary of New Netherland is now available on the web courtesy of the New Netherland Research Center. This archive, originally comprising 49 books, contained copies of correspondence, land conveyances, court proceedings, resolutions of council,regulations, contracts, leases,and more. The Provincial Secretary was responsible for recording the proceedings of the High Council and maintaining these archives for future reference.
In the 19th century, E. B. O’Callaghan decided that the Dutch records could be organized more logically. His “improvement” was to tear the books apart and rearrange the documents according to genre. The original 49 books became 23 volumes, each containing a specific type of document.
The first volume in his scheme,Register of the Provincial Secretary 1638-41, consists of wills, inventories of estates, depositions, and other documents. O’Callaghan produced translations of the three volumes of “Registers” and the first volume of “Council Minutes.”
Some years later another translator, A. J. F. van Laer, judged O’Callaghan’s work to be unreliable and undertook a new translation. By 1911 he had completed a translation of the first volume; this and the original records were lying on his desk when a disastrous fire broke out in the State Library. Van Laer’s work was destroyed, together with the Dutch originals.
Although all the Dutch records suffered varying degrees of damage, only this volume, volume one of the colonial Dutch records, was completely destroyed. All that remains of its Dutch original is a transcription of documents 95-143, which Van Laer happened to have at his house.
To continue his projected new translation, Van Laer had to use the surviving O’Callaghan translation. However, as the Dutch originals were still fresh in his mind, he was able to correct O’Callaghan’s translation in extensive footnotes. Van Laer eventually also translated the next three volumes (“Registers” for 1642-47 and 1648-57,and “Council Minutes” for 1638-49) as arranged by O’Callaghan.
These were not published until 1973, several years after his death in 1955. Minor changes only have been made to the text and to Van Laer’s notes, and corrections are incorporated according to Van Laer’s notations.
Offensive language or situations have been put back in the text, as have several pages that had inadvertently been left out. Future volumes in this series will consist of a scan of the original document, a transcription of the Dutch, and a translation with annotations. To browse or download volume one of the register, go to:
http://www.nnp.org/nnrc/Documents/vanLaer/index.html.
Humanities Council: Action Needed on Humanities Funding!
By Editorial Staff
Note: What follows is an open letter by Sara Ogger, Executive Director of the New York Council for the Humanities.
Dear Friend of the Humanities,
Congress will be voting on [today] on a proposed $22.5 million cut to the National Endowment for the Humanities, which will directly affect the New York Council for the Humanities, starting with cuts to the current year of funding.
This cut is not minor, or a drop in the bucket. The loss of state funding and the economic downturn have already impacted the availability of our programs in every region of New York State. On the flipside, though, the savings from eliminating the cultural endowments would be tiny—about 1/21,000th of the overall U.S. budget, or the cost of two postage stamps per citizen.
If this seems unnecessarily destructive to you, please say so now! The House will debate these cuts this coming Monday and Tuesday, February 14th-15th.
And while you are telling your story to Congress, please do tell it to Albany as well! The entire Council team will be in the Capitol and Legislative Office Building for Humanities Advocacy Day next week. Loss of this support this year was a 25% blow to our budget. So take an extra minute to ask Albany to restore its funding—also extremely modest in the scheme of things—to the humanities in New York State.
Click on this link ASAP to register your support for the Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Thank you for your help. It will, I hope, yield dividends for our communities.
Sincerely,
Sara Ogger
Executive Director
Saturday, February 12, 2011
John Brown Lives! Exposing Slavery in Our Chocolate
By Editorial Staff
On Monday, 14 February, John Brown Lives!' Dreaming of Timbuctoo Exhibition will be on display in The Well of the Legislative Office Building in Albany. The exhibition will be unveiled at 11:00 a.m. with Valentine's Day Fair Trade chocolates and guest speakers, including Assemblyman Steven Englebright, Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward, and Senators Kevin Parker and Betty Little.
While the exhibition brings to light a long-forgotten chapter of New York State freedom history, speakers will also draw connections across continents from the Sahara to the Adirondacks, discuss the importance public funding for state historic sites, and provide an update on the current campaign to end child/slave labor and trafficking in the chocolate industry.
Fifteen years before the Civil War, leading black and white abolitionists in New York State rolled out an ambitious voting rights strategy to break the juggernaut in Albany that kept Black New Yorkers disenfranchised. Part agrarian dream, it also resulted in radical reformer Gerrit Smith deeding 120,000 acres of Adirondack land to 3,000 free black men from all across the state. While few families moved to their plots, Smith's "scheme of justice and benevolence" is what attracted John Brown to move there with his family. The homestead is where Brown chose to be buried after his raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in 1859 to strike a blow against slavery. Tens of thousands of visitors come to the John Brown State Historic Site outside of Lake Placid every year to visit the gravesite of Brown and several of his fellow Raiders.
Dreaming of Timbuctoo is the first serious and thorough treatment of the backstory behind John Brown's attraction to the Adirondacks. The exhibition premiered at the Adirondack Museum in 2001 and then toured campuses, libraries, historical societies, and museums around the state, including the State Museum in Albany, and was seen by well over 100,000 people. With Assemblyman Englebright and Senators Kevin Parker and Betty Little as sponsors, the exhibition will be on display in The Well for the public to view through Thursday 17 February.
Invited speakers at the press event in The Well on Valentine's Day, Monday 14 February, at 11:00 a.m. include:
- Assemblyman Steven Englebright and Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward;
- Senators Kevin Parker and Betty Little;
- Martha Swan, Director, John Brown Lives!
- Brian O'Shaughnessy, Executive Director, New York Labor-Religion Coalition who will make the link to current work to end child/slave labor and trafficking in cocoa industry;
- Jane McNamara, Director of Grants & Special Programs, New York Council for the Humanities
- Dr. Hadley-Kruzcak-Aaron, SUNY Potsdam professor and archeologist who is conducting a dig on one of the Timbuctoo plots in Essex County;
- Andrew Stewart, a college freshman from Albany who was part of Hadley's team on a dig in 2009;
- Brother Yusef Wasi, an Albany educator and mentor of Andrew and other teens involved in the dig;
- Ibrahim ag Mohamed, Director of Scarab School, Timbuktu, Mali (whose greetings from Mali will be read on his behalf)
- Amy Godine, exhibition curator, who will lead a walk-thru of the exhibition.
Fair Trade chocolate will be handed out and people will have the opportunity to send a Valentine's Day post card asking the Hersheys Chocolate Company to certify that David West, CEO of Hersheys Company.
Dreaming of Timbuctoo is a joint project of the freedom education project John Brown Lives! and the Essex County Historical Society. Major funding for the exhibition and a slate of educational and cultural program was provided by the New York State Council for the Arts, the New York Council for the Humanities, private foundations, and numerous individual donors.
For more information: Martha Swan, Director, John Brown Lives!, 518-962-4758 or 518-582-2586
Friday, February 11, 2011
This Week's New York History Web Highlights
By Editorial Staff
- Clermont: Margaret Beekman Livingston
- Syracuse B-4: Urban Renewal
- Bowery Boys: Where are New York's Mayors Buried?
- Farmers' Museum: Ice Harvesting
- Virtual Dime Museum: Dr. Kahn's Grand Museum
- Upstate Earth: The Downfall of Alfred Dolge
- Adirondack Almanack: The Wreck of the George W. Lee
- HNN: History and Broadway’s Million Dollar Hit
- Art Newspaper: Forgetting the Civil War
- New Yorker: This Winter Nothing Compared to 1717
Each Friday afternoon New York History compiles for our readers a collection of the week's top weblinks about New York's state and local history. You can find all our weekly round-ups here.
Subscribe! More than 550 people get New York History each day via E-Mail, RSS, or Twitter or Facebook updates.
K-12 Teachers Invited to Summer Residential Program
By Editorial Staff
Niagara University is now accepting applications from K-12 teachers nationwide for a summer program entitled Crossroads of Empire: Cultural Contact and Imperial Rivalry at Old Fort Niagara. The week-long residential sessions, which take place July 11-15 and July 18-22, 2011 at Old Fort Niagara and Niagara University, have been made possible by funding obtained from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
Directed by Thomas A. Chambers, Ph.D., chair of Niagara University’s history department, the workshops are focused on the vital history that emanated from Old Fort Niagara, one of most significant and well-preserved 18th century historic sites in North America. Fort Niagara served as an important crossroads between the empires of Great Britain, France, the Haudenosaunee (the native people who inhabited what is now much of New York state and surrounding areas), and, later, the United States as they battled each other for control of the North American continent. The Fort threatened American territory during the Revolution, was occupied by both sides during the War of 1812, and then a peace treaty secured the Fort and region for the United States.
This workshop will immerse NEH Summer Scholars in the world of 18th century life, from both the Native American and European perspective. Participants will interact with historic interpreters, clamber about ramparts dating to the 1700s, handle beaver pelts and trade goods like fishhooks and beads, and perhaps even fire a musket. One unique feature will be an overnight stay at the French Castle, the three-story stone fortress and trading post perched above the crashing waves of Lake Ontario that dates back to 1726. By week’s end NEH Summer Scholars will understand the perspective of the Iroquois people who first inhabited this region, as well as the struggles of ordinary European soldiers who bled and died to control Fort Niagara.
Teachers of grades K-12 at schools in the United States or its territorial possessions, or Americans teaching in foreign schools where at least 50 percent of the students are American nationals, are eligible for this program.
Teachers selected to participate as NEH Summer Scholars will receive a stipend of $1,200 at the end of the residential workshop session. Stipends are intended to help cover travel expenses to and from the project location, books, and ordinary living expenses.
The deadline for applications is March 1, 2011.
For eligibility and application information, call 716.286.8091, e-mail crossroads@niagara.edu or visit neh.niagara.edu.
Niagara University is located 11 miles south of Old Fort Niagara.
This Week's Top New York History News
By Editorial Staff
- New Library of Congress Home Page
- National Archives Microfilm Available Free
- Cassette Tapes are Disappearing
- Finger Lakes Museum Buys Local School
- Moreau and the French Connection
- Want a New York Landmark? Act Now!
- Schenectady Mayor Tapped to Head Canal Corp
- JFK Presidential Library Launches Digital Archive
- Malcolm X Trove Hidden During Feud
- Opposition to Harriet Tubman Statue
Each Friday morning New York History compiles for our readers the previous week's top stories about New York's state and local history. You can find all our weekly news round-ups here.
Subscribe! More than 550 people get New York History each day via E-Mail, RSS, or Twitter or Facebook updates.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Susan B. Anthony House Annual Birthday Luncheon
By Editorial Staff
The Susan B. Anthony House celebrates Rochester pioneers, both past and present, at its annual birthday luncheon on Wednesday, February 16, 2011, with the theme “What Happens in Rochester Changes the World. Keynote speaker is Dr. Elaine Marshall Sorensen, author, educator, advocate, and historian, who is currently Director of the Center for Nursing Scholarship at Georgia Southern University. A popular presenter at national and international conferences, Dr. Marshall will inspire one and all with lesser-known but vital aspects of Susan B. Anthony’s life and work as well as insights into Rochester’s role in changing the world. The Presenting Sponsor for the event is Van Bortel Ford—Van Bortel Subaru.
Deborah Hughes, executive director of the Susan B. Anthony House, said, “Just when we think that most all history is known and there is nothing new from the past, we find exciting aspects of Susan B. Anthony’s life and work that have been missed or ignored. Dr. Marshall will share with us little known information about Susan B. Anthony’s impact on the modern profession of nursing and the role she played in creating standardized qualifications for the profession.”
Also featured at the event will be Janis F. Gleason, author of the new and comprehensive biography of Kate Gleason, an eminent Rochesterian, daughter of the founder of Gleason Works, friend of Susan B. Anthony, and pioneer for women in the field of engineering. The biography will be available for purchase at the luncheon and Ms. Gleason will autograph books after the luncheon at 1:30 p.m.
For more information, visit their webpage.
Recent Acquisitions Exhibits Opens Brooklyn Museum Space
By Editorial Staff
The Brooklyn Museum will present the special exhibition Thinking Big: Recent Design Acquisitions from March 4 through May 29, 2011. The installation of forty-five twentieth- and twenty-first-century objects from the Museum's permanent collection of decorative arts that have been acquired since 2000 will include a number of large-scale objects that will be exhibited for the first time.
Several important themes that have guided these acquisitions will be highlighted, including Brooklyn-designed objects; young designers; unusual materials and innovative methods of production; designs for children; and mid-twentieth century modernism.
The Brooklyn Museum has been actively acquiring twentieth- and twenty-first-century objects since the 1970s. Among the works featured in the exhibition are "Cinderella" Table by Jeroen Verhoeven, 2005; Chest of Drawers, Model #45, "You Can't Lay Down Your Memories" by Tejo Remy, for Droog, 1991; "Nirvana" Armchair by Wendell Castle, 2007; Spacelander Bicycle by Benjamin Bowden, 1946; and Womb Chair by Eero Saarinen, 1947-48. Objects by Charles Eames, Cindy Sherman, Konstantin Grcic, Francois Jourdain, and Harry Allen will also be included.
Thinking Big will be the first exhibition in a gallery that has been reclaimed from nonpublic space. The gallery is part of a renovation that is the first phase in a program that will redesign and transform much of the Museum's first floor beyond the Rubin Pavilion and Lobby, which opened in 2004.
The exhibition is organized by Barry R. Harwood, Curator of Decorative Arts, Brooklyn Museum.
Illustration: Designer and Maker: Wendell Castle (American, born 1932). "Nirvana" Armchair, 2007. Place made: Scottsville, New York, U.S.A. Fiberglass, 62 3/8 x 33 5/8 x 33 3/4 in. (158.4 x 85.4 x 85.7 cm). Gift of the artist, Brooklyn Museum.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Finger Lakes Museum Buys Local School
By Editorial Staff
The Board of Trustees of the Finger Lakes Museum has voted to purchase the Branchport Elementary School from the Penn Yan Central School District for $200,000 and the deal was closed the same afternoon at the Yates County Clerk’s Office. The school has been vacant for several years due to school district consolidation.
Museum board president John Adamski said, “The original plan was for the Finger Lakes Visitors Association to purchase the school and lease it to the museum on a 5-year interim basis during the startup phase of the project, after which time the museum would move to its new quarters in Keuka Lake State Park. But we have since realized the long term potential of the building and grounds as a research and education center, directly affiliated with the museum. That’s 17,000 square feet that we don’t have to build in Keuka Lake State Park.” The two sites are about a mile apart.
The school was first proposed as a temporary museum headquarters by Keuka Lake site proponents during the search for a location to build the project in 2009. When Keuka Lake State Park—one of 19 sites then in contention—was chosen last April, the school was included in the deal.
Museum personnel occupied the building last summer and fall under an early occupancy agreement with the Town of Jerusalem while the FLVA pursued arrangements to purchase the property from the school district. The museum staff has moved to other quarters for the winter months to avoid heating the entire building for three staff members.
Adamski said, “At first we looked at the school as a temporary office and warehouse for artifacts and collections while the project was being designed and built. But after conducting program definition and market studies, we realized that we could have some initial museum exhibits and programming ready there as early as next summer.” Plans now call for making investments into the school property to upgrade the heating and septic systems and to make the building more energy efficient. Converting the gym into a theater and auditorium is also being considered.
Adamski said that recent partnership discussions with officials at Keuka College confirmed the potential of the school property to become a research and education center, administered by the museum, the college, and other academic partners. “All of these factors contributed to our change in plans”, he said.
Albany Institute Benefit: Snow Scenes Lunch, Lecture
By Editorial Staff
On Thursday, February 17, from noon to 2:00 pm, the public is invited to celebrate the work of one of Albany’s most prolific artists, Walter Launt Palmer, at “Snow Scenes,” a buffet lunch and lecture at the University Club, followed by a guided tour at the Albany Institute. Attendance at the fundraiser does not require membership in either organization.
Tammis Groft, the Albany Institute’s Deputy Director for Collections and Exhibitions, will discuss a collection of Palmer’s snow scenes on permanent exhibit in the dining room of the University Club (141 Washington Avenue at Dove Street, adjacent to the Institute), along with a selection of related material in the museum’s collection.
Participants will also get a close look at two recently acquired pieces of Chinese ceramics that Palmer depicted in his 1878 painting, Interior of the Learned House, 298 State Street, Albany. The ceramic pieces were donated in 2009 by Philip Kerr of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The painting itself will be on view at the Institute, along with a library table (designed by New York Architect Russell Sturgis), which is also featured in the painting. Frequently called “The Painter of the American Winter,” the Albany-born Walter Launt Palmer (1854–1932) produced more than 300 snow scenes from 1884 to 1932. In his 1910 essay, “On The Painting of Snow,” Palmer, who had embraced Impressionism, acknowledged his debt to John Ruskin and the Pre-Raphaelites for influencing his early work, especially the discovery that the shadows on snow are blue.
The cost for the luncheon and lecture is $35 and includes admission to the Albany Institute to see its other current exhibitions. Reservations are required and may be made by calling the University Club at (518) 463-1151. A portion of the proceeds from this event will benefit both the University Club Foundation and the Albany Institute.
Illustration:: The Shining Stream by Walter Launt Palmer (oil on canvas, date unknown).
Monday, February 7, 2011
War Of 1812 Symposium Planned for Ogdensburg
By Editorial Staff
During the War of 1812 the dogs of war barked and bit along the U.S. northern frontier from Lake Ontario to Lake Champlain as American forces tangled with their British and Canadian counterparts for two-and-a-half years. The War of 1812 in this region, and its wider implications, will be topics at the third annual War of 1812 Symposium April 29-30 in Ogdensburg, NY, sponsored by the Fort La Présentation Association.
The five presentations by authoritative Canadians and Americans are: Ogdensburg and Prescott during the War of 1812, Paul Fortier; American supply efforts on Lake Ontario: “Cooper’s Ark,” Richard Palmer; “Colonel Louis” and the Native American role in the War of 1812, Darren Bonaparte; The war on the St. Lawrence River, Victor Suthren; and Excavation of American Graves at the 1812 Burlington Cantonment, Kate Kenny. The post-dinner address by Patrick Wilder is the Battle of Sackets Harbor
“We established the symposium in advance of the war’s 2012 bicentennial to help develop a broader public understanding of the War of 1812, so important to the evolution of the United States and Canada,” said Barbara O’Keefe, President of the Fort La Présentation Association. “The annual symposium is a vibrant forum of scholars from both sides of the boarder presenting informative seminars to an enthusiastic audience of academics, history buffs and re-enactors.”
The cost of the symposium is $100 for the Saturday seminars and after-dinner speaker, including a light continental breakfast, a buffet lunch and a sit-down dinner. The Friday evening meet-and-greet with period entertainment by Celtic harpist Sue Croft and hors d’oeuvres is $10.
The symposium and dinner fee for Fort La Présentation Association members is $90, and they will pay $10 for the meet-and-greet.
Other pricing options are available: $80 for the Saturday seminars without dinner; and $35 for the dinner with speaker.
Seminar details and registration instructions on the Fort La Présentation Association webpage.
The Freight House Restaurant in Ogdensburg will host the symposium, as it has in previous years.
The Fort La Présentation Association is a not-for-profit corporation based in Ogdensburg, New York. Its mission is to sponsor or benefit the historically accurate reconstruction of Fort de la Présentation (1749) in close proximity to the original site on Lighthouse Point.
Seminar Presenters
Darren Bonaparte from the Mohawk community of Ahkwesáhsne on the St. Lawrence River is an historical journalist. He created the Wampum Chronicles website in 1999 to promote his research into the history and culture of the Rotinonhsión:ni—the People of the Longhouse. Mr. Bonaparte has been published by Indian Country Today, Native Americas, Aboriginal Voices and Winds of Change, and he has served as an historical consultant for the PBS miniseries The War That Made America; Champlain: The Lake Between; and The Forgotten War: The Struggle for North America.
Paul Fortier, of Kingston, ON, worked 10 years as a military curator and historian for Parks Canada and a following 10 years as a manager at the National Archives of Canada. While living in Prescott, ON, the home he restored was the Stockade Barracks, British military headquarters on the St. Lawrence River during the War of 1812. Mr. Fortier is a founder of the re-enacted Regiment of Canadian Fencible Infantry. He owns Jessup Food & Heritage, providing period food services at Upper Canada Village, Fort Henry and Fort York.
Kate Kenney is the Program Historian at the University of Vermont Consulting Archeology Program. She supervises historic artifact analysis and also helps supervise field work, particularly at historic sites. She is the senior author of Archaeological Investigations at the Old Burial Ground, St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Ms. Kenny has organized and conducted UVM CAP public outreach, including presentations to elementary and high school students. Personal research projects involve Vermont history from the earliest settlement through to the Civil War.
Richard F. Palmer of Syracuse is a senior editor of “Inland Seas,” the quarterly of the Great Lakes Historical Society, and has written some 40 articles for the publication, covering more than 250 years of Lake Ontario’s maritime history. His presentation on “Cooper's Ark,” is the story of a short-lived floating fortress built in Oswego during the War of 1812, but lost in a storm while sailing to Sackets Harbor. He’ll also recount the attempt to raft lumber for the construction of ships from Oak Orchard to Sackets Harbor; the delivery was intercepted by the British.
Victor Suthren, from Merrickville, Ontario, is an author and historian. He served as Director General of the Canadian War Museum from 1986 to 1998, and is an Honorary Captain in the Canadian Navy and advisor to the Directorate of Naval History and Heritage, Department of National Defence (Canada). He has worked as an advisor to film and television productions and has voyaged extensively as a seaman in traditional “tall ships.” Mr. Suthren has published several works of historical non-fiction, as well as two series of historical sea fiction.
Patrick Wilder is an historian retired from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. He is the author of The Battle of Sackett’s Harbour, 1813.
Photo: Canadian Fencibles Colours, courtesy Fort La Présentation Association.
Exhibit: Black Patriots at the Battles of Saratoga
By Editorial Staff
In recognition of Black History Month, Saratoga National Historical Park will offer a temporary exhibit from February 1 through February 28 called “Agrippa Hull – Ordinary Soldier, Extraordinary Man” and on Sunday, February 13 at 1:30pm in the visitor center, Ranger Eric Schnitzer will present a special program about black soldiers at Saratoga.
In the American Revolution, about 5 percent of the Continental Soldiers were of African descent. They fought shoulder to shoulder with white soldiers—but an integrated army would not occur again until the Korean War. That’s just scratching the surface of the information to be presented by Park Ranger Eric Schnitzer as he discusses evidence from memoirs, journals, muster rolls, and pay lists that documents
the roles of free and enslaved African Americans who fought in “the most important battle of the last 1000 years.”
Agrippa Hull, a black Revolutionary War soldier who served in the 1777 Battles of Saratoga, is the focus of a special exhibit titled “Agrippa Hull: ordinary soldier, extraordinary man.” Copies of Hull’s 1777 company muster roll, pension claims, portrait, and photographs of him and his wife Peggy will be on display in the visitor center in February.
Saratoga National Historical Park is located between Rt. 4 and Rt. 32 in the Town of Stillwater, NY. For more information, please contact the visitor center by calling 518-664-9821 ext. 224 or check their website.
Illustration: Portrait of Agrippa Hull, a freeborn black man and Revolutionary War veteran who lived in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The portrait hangs in the historical room of the town library. Hull was 85 years old when his image was captured. Painted in oil in 1848 by an unknown artist, the portrait is a copy of a daguerreotype done by Anson Clark in 1844. Image courtesy Stockbridge Library Association Historical Collection.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Washington's Birthday Celebration at Former Headquarters
By Editorial Staff
Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site is celebrating George Washington’s birthday. To mark the occasion there will be three days of celebration, Saturday, February 19th through Monday, February 21st, 12:00 PM until 4:30 PM. Come by and wish General Washington a “Happy Birthday” on one – or all three – of those days. Admission to the three-day event is by donation.
Each day of the weekend celebration, actor John Koopman will portray General Washington while Thad MacGregor, an 18th and 19th Century musician, will perform in the Headquarters. Accompanying him will be his little wooden sidekick, Limber Jim, a favorite with children of all ages. Thad’s musical selections always add a party-like atmosphere to the occasion.
Daily Highlights:
Saturday, February 19: festivities will highlight the 5th New York Regiment performing drills in honor of the General.
Sunday, February 20: the 5th Connecticut Regiment will provide military flair and color with demonstrations and discussions.
Monday, February 21: Lamb’s Artillery and Morgan’s Rifles will round out the weekend, firing off salutes to General Washington. After all, what’s a birthday party without some noisemakers?
Lectures and Activities:
Throughout the weekend, historical subjects of interest will be presented in the Museum.
Saturday and Monday, topics will be “Tavern Talk –18th Century Female Proprietors” and “George Washington - 18th Century Dentistry.”
Sunday, “Washington and The Circular Letter” and “Medicine During the Revolution” will be presented. A quill pen workshop will be provided and you’ll also be able to take home a personal silhouette.
The bookseller will be plying his wares, while the Museum Marketplace will have souvenirs and gifts for sale.
Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site is a registered national historic landmark. It is located at the corner of Liberty and Washington Streets within the city of Newburgh’s East End Historic District. Call 845-562-1195 for further details or directions.
Friday, February 4, 2011
This Week's New York History Web Highlights
By Editorial Staff
- New Yorker: This Winter Nothing Compared to 1717
- NCPR: History of Upstate Job Incentives
- Adirondack Attic: Ice Boats at Adk Museum
- City Room: Test Driving Landmarks App
Each Friday afternoon New York History compiles for our readers a collection of the week's top weblinks about New York's state and local history. You can find all our weekly round-ups here.
Subscribe! More than 550 people get New York History each day via E-Mail, RSS, or Twitter or Facebook updates.
Applications Available for Preserve New York Grants
By Editorial Staff
Applications are now available to eligible municipalities and not-for-profit organizations to compete for funds through Preserve New York, a grant program of the Preservation League of New York State and the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA).
A total of $90,444 is available for historic structure reports, historic landscape reports and cultural resource surveys. Grants are likely to range between $3,000 and $10,000 each. The application deadline is May 2, 2011.
Examples of eligible projects include: historic structure reports for cultural institutions and public buildings; historic landscape reports for municipal parks; and cultural resource surveys of downtowns and residential neighborhoods.
In 2011, the Preservation League especially encourages projects that advance the preservation of neighborhoods and downtowns that qualify for the NYS Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit; preserve architecture and landscapes of the recent past; and continue the use of historic public buildings.
For Preserve New York Grant Program guidelines, visit the League's website at www.preservenys.org. Prospective applicants should contact the Preservation League to discuss their projects and to request an application form.
The Preservation League of New York State is a private, not-for-profit organization that works to protect and enhance the Empire State's historic buildings, landscapes and neighborhoods. The New York State Council on the Arts is the state's arts funding agency. The Preservation League and NYSCA have collaborated on this grant program annually since 1993.
Organizations and municipalities receiving grant awards in 2010 were: Broome County (2): First Ward Action Council; Town of Vestal; Chemung County: City of Elmira; Cortland County: Cortland Downtown Partnership; Erie County (2): Allentown Association; Nash House Museum; Livingston County: Livingston County Historical Society; Montgomery County: Montgomery County Department of History and Archives; New York County: Two Bridges Neighborhood Council; Niagara County: Oakwood Cemetery Association; Onondaga County: Preservation Association of Central New York; Putnam County: Manitoga; Rensselaer County: Pittstown Historical Society; Schuyler County: Village of Watkins Glen; Ulster County: Jewish Federation of Ulster County; Westchester (2): Friends of Mozartina Musical Arts Conservatory, Inc.; City of Yonkers Department of Planning and Development.
This Week's Top New York History News
By Editorial Staff
- State Parks Attendance Up, Funding Down
- Fireworks, Parades to Dedicate New Bridge
- For SUNY, No Tuition Hike, Some Pain
- Queens: Addisleigh Park Landmarked
- Harlem's National Black Threatened
- Leaders Divided Over Adirondack Rail Corridor
Each Friday morning New York History compiles for our readers the previous week's top stories about New York's state and local history. You can find all our weekly news round-ups here.
Subscribe! More than 550 people get New York History each day via E-Mail, RSS, or Twitter or Facebook updates.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Snowmobilers Partner to Help Save Historic Bridge
By Editorial Staff
On a chilly Sunday morning, January 23rd, the Washington County Association of Snowmobile Clubs presented Hudson Crossing Park with a check of $4000 as their contribution towards the local match of the transportation enhancement grant awarded to rehabilitate Dix Bridge, a centerpiece of the park that connects Saratoga and Washington Counties.
Hudson Crossing Park has been leading the charge to rehabilitate the historic bridge since it was closed in 1999. Marlene Bissell, president of Hudson Crossing Park said, “The Washington County Association of Snowmobile Clubs, with Dave Perkins at the helm have been exceptionally supportive of Hudson Crossing Park and rehabilitating the Dix Bridge. We are so grateful!”
The clubs of the Association value the opportunity to put in place a safe, non-ice trail crossing from Washington County into Saratoga County. With the restored Dix Bridge providing the trail connection, snowmobilers will finally be able to ride from many parts of New York State into Washington County and access the excellent trail systems of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. The clubs that donated $500 from their own fund-raising efforts include Battenkill Snowdrifters, Granville Border Riders, Greenwich Trail Blazers, Hartford Ridge Riders, Hoosic Trail Masters, Kingsbury Barnstormers, Sno-Kats and Northern Washington County Trails Blazers.
The Board of Directors of Hudson Crossing Park undertook the challenge to preserve the Dix Bridge over ten years ago. In a pro-active intermuniciapal effort, Saratoga and Washington Counties, the Towns of Saratoga, Northumberland, and Greenwich, and the Historic Saratoga-Washington on the Hudson Partnership have come together to preserve a significant piece of history and provide safe passage over the Hudson River for hundreds of pedestrians, bicyclists, and snowmobilers. Funding for this significant project will be acquired primarily through a federal transportaion enhancement program. Local organizations and agencies are coming together to provide the remaining funds necessary.
Engineers from Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. have begun work on plans to rehabilitate the historic Dix Bridge. Extensive structural inspections have taken place to ensure proper stabilization of the bridge. Work on the Dix Bridge will commence in 2011. It is hoped the Bridge will re-open as a shared use recreational trail late in 2012. The bridge will not be open to automobiles.
In addition to providing safe passage across the Hudson River for snowmobilers, the Dix Bridge will serve as the link between Saratoga and Washington Counties for the NYS Canalway Trail. In the near future, a 67 mile-long Champlain Canalway Trail will link communities from Whitehall to Waterford and join the Erie Canalway Trail leading to Buffalo. The economic benefit of the Canalway Trail statewide was estimated in 2007 to be $27,705,731. The new Champlain Canalway Trail will help bring a portion of those dollars to our local communities.
For more information about the Hudson Crossing Bi-County Park, call Marlene Bissell at 518.859.1462 or visit: www.hudsoncrossingpark.org. Hudson Crossing is a bi-county educational park project centered on and near the Champlain Canal Lock 5 Island of the Hudson River.
Photo: Above, closed Dix Bridge. Below, attending the ceremony from left to right are: Dave Linendoll, WCASC President; Claudia Irwin, Hartford Ridge Riders; Mike Irwin, Hartford Ridge Riders; Sara Idleman, Supervisor, Town of Greenwich; Tom Richardson, Supervisor, City of Mechanicville; George Morrow, Battenkill Snow Drifters; Judy Dashnaw, Kingsbury Barnstormers; Doug Brownell, Sno-Kats; Marlene Bissell, President, Hudson Crossing; Cliff Howard, Greenwich Trail Blazers; Hank Dashnaw, Kingsbury Barnstormers; Dave Perkins, WCASC; Ben Gaines, Hoosick Trail Masters; Ed Leonard, Kingsbury Barnstormers; Jason Hammond, Greenwich Trail Blazers.
Junior Ranger Day at Saratoga Battlefield
By Editorial Staff
Saratoga National Historical Park, located on Routes 32 and 4 in Stillwater, invites kids between 5 and 12 years old to a special Junior Ranger Day on Sunday, February 20 from 1pm to 4pm. Kids get to enjoy fun indoor activities, earn a badge and win a gift! The program is free, but reservations are required by calling Ranger Megan Stevens at (518) 664-9821 ext. 219 or emailing her at megan_stevens@nps.gov by February 12.
1:00pm “Now and Then” for ages 5 through 8
You get to carry a book bag for your schoolwork… and a soldier needed a haversack to carry things to stay alive! See what different things a soldier would need and then watch, “The Hessians are Coming” – an episode from the award winning PBS series “Liberty’s Kids” to find out about Saratoga’s key role in winning American independence.
2:00pm “A Soldiers Life” for ages 8 through 12
You can tell a lot from a uniform! Why wear bright red? Would you want to wear a hat that makes you look 7 feet tall? Try one on, then watch, “Benedict Arnold” – an episode of the PBS series “Liberty’s Kids” that explores the life of Benedict Arnold, a hero at Saratoga who turned into one of the world’s most notorious traitors.
3:00pm “Who’s Protecting Our Parks?” for ages 5 and up
Kids will have the opportunity to volunteer to dress up and pose for pictures as they learn about the roles individuals have in protecting America’s National Parks. Then see “The Hessians are Coming” an episode from the PBS Series “Liberty’s Kids” that tells how important the battles of Saratoga were to our country’s founding.
Saratoga National Historical Park offers programs about our shared cultural and natural heritage. For further information, please visit our web site at www.nps.gov/sara or call (518) 664-9821 ext.
224.
