Month: February 2010

Abraham Lincoln Reurns to The Cooper Union

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Widely considered the turning point for the still-obscure Illinois senator, Abraham Lincoln’s forceful appearance in The Cooper Union’s Great Hall 150 years ago is credited with helping him secure the nomination for president. Great Evenings in The Great Hall, The Cooper Union’s dynamic performance series celebrating its 150th anniversary, will offer a powerful finale by recreating one of the most influential presentations ever given: Lincoln’s pivotal Right Makes Might speech from 1860.

Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws, The Goodbye Girl, Close Encounters), Tony, Obie and Drama Desk honoree Andre De Shields (The Wiz, The Full Monty,) and Tony nominee and film actor Stephen Lang (The Speed of Darkness, Avatar) will voice the stirring words that changed a nation. Lincoln scholar and co-chairman of the United States Lincoln Bicentennial Commission Harold Holzer will introduce the evening filled with fiery oration and period music. Michael Unger will direct this free performance.

“Abraham Lincoln: Right makes Might&#8221 takes place on Thursday, February 25, 2010 at 6:30 PM at The Cooper Union, New York City. The event is free, however tickets are required. Distribution will begin at 4 p.m. in front of Cooper Union’s Foundation Building (East 7th St. b/w 3rd and 4th Aves) on a first-come, first-served basis.

In memory of John Jay Iselin, 10th President of The Cooper Union, this program is the second annual John Jay Iselin lecture, a collaboration of The Cooper Union and the New York State Archives Partnership Trust.

For more information, visit http://www.cooper.edu, call 212.353.4195 or email [email protected].

Photo: Photo of Abraham Lincoln taken February 27, 1860 in New York City by Mathew Brady, the day of his famous Cooper Union speech.

Great Lakes Underwater Event Adds Speakers

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New York Sea Grant, the Oswego Maritime Foundation, and the Great Lakes Seaway Trail have added to the March 6 Great Lakes Underwater conference program at SUNY Oswego. The added presentations for the 9am to 3pm event at the SUNY Oswego Campus Center in Oswego, NY, include:

· Dr. Henry Spang and “Building the OMF Ontario &#8211 “a floating maritime classroom”
· Skip Couch and the “Lost Fleet of the 1000 Islands,”
· James Sears and four New York State Divers Association “Two-Tank Tips,” and
· Brian Prince of S.O.S. &#8211 the Save Ontario Shipwrecks program preserving Ontario Canada’s maritime heritage.

Oswego Maritime Foundation (OMF) Director of Education through Involvement Dr. Henry Spang will talk about the volunteer effort that is completing the construction of the OMF Ontario. Spang says, “The OMF Ontario will be dedicated to public service and is designed to educate the public about our Great Lakes maritime history, heritage, resources and ecology by hands-on involvement in the experience of sailing this fabulous re-creation from our sailing era.”

Spang says the 85-foot-long schooner will be the only ship of its kind of US registry on Lake Ontario when shipboard classes begin in two years. The last schooner built in Oswego, NY, launched 131 years ago.

Raymond I. “Skip” Couch’s ancestors include Connecticut shipbuilders that settled in Clayton, NY, and a Great Lakes Seaway Trail Rock Island Lighthouse keeper. A Clayton Diving Club founding member, Couch participated in an underwater survey for iron cannons believed abandoned by the British before the War of 1812 near Carleton Island in 2009. Couch, co-author of the Diver’s Guide to the Upper St. Lawrence River, says, “At Great Lakes Underwater, divers and maritime history buffs will hear fascinating details about the more than three dozen ships stranded or lost to natural disaster or human error in the Narrows of the Thousand Islands.”

James Sears of the New York State Divers Association will share four destinations where divers can easily dive on two different shipwrecks. Two of the sites are in the St. Lawrence River with one each in Lake Ontario and Lake Champlain.

The keynote presentation of the 2010 Great Lakes Underwater is deep wreck explorer Jim Kennard’s presentation on the “Discovery of the HMS Ontario,” a British warship that sank in Lake Ontario in 1780 during the American Revolution. Kennard, who might easily be called the “Great Lakes Seaway Trail’s Jacques Cousteau,” will share a video and the exciting story of how he and diving partner Dan Scoville located this “Holy Grail” of diving. Kennard’s 200-plus discoveries have been featured in such publications as National Geographic and Sea Technology.

Brian Prince, president of S.O.S. – Save Ontario Shipwrecks, will highlight Canadian efforts to preserve Ontario’s shipwrecks and maritime heritage. The nonprofit organization conduct underwater archaeology and side scan surveys, collects oral histories, maintains an historical archives, offers diver training, and installs maritime-theme interpretive signage.

New York Sea Grant Coastal Recreation and Tourism Specialist and conference co-organizer Dave White, says, “Great Lakes Underwater provides divers and non-divers who enjoy maritime heritage with a fabulous day of discoveries with speakers who offer an inside look at our history and fascinating details of shipwrecks, the underwater landscape, and the technology now used to explore the underwater landscape.”

Great Lakes Underwater 2010 will be held in the high-tech SUNY Oswego Campus Center Auditorium. Registration for Great Lakes Underwater is $25 ($20 for students) payable to Cornell University and includes the program, buffet lunch, and refreshments. For more information, contact New York Sea Grant, SUNY Oswego, Oswego, NY 13126, 315-312-3042, www.oswegomaritime.org/glu.html.

Photo: Oswego Maritime Foundation’s Ontario undertest sail.

Queen City Review Seeks Black and White Photography

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The Queen City Review, the yearly journal of art and literature published at Burlington College, has sent out a call for photographers working in black and white for submissions for their Fall 2010 issue. According to a recent announcement, the journal &#8220accepts the work of new and established writers and artists in the areas of poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, memoir, photography, and fine art, as well as essays and criticism on all aspects of the aforementioned. We seek to publish high quality work that ranges broadly in topic and genre.&#8221

The guidelines for submissions are on the web at www.burlington.edu. Submissions may be emailed to: [email protected].

A Fugitive Slave Rescued: Paintings of Charles Nalle

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150 years ago, on April 26, 1860, escaped slave Charles Nalle was kidnapped from a Troy bakery and taken to the District Circuit Court at State and First Streets, in Troy where he was to be sent back to Virginia under the Fugitive Slave Act. Hundreds of people, including Harriet Tubman, rushed to the site where a riot ensued, allowing Nalle to escape across the Hudson to West Troy and ultimately to freedom.

On February 27, 2010 from 5-8 pm, the Rensselaer County Historical Society opens a major new exhibit, A Fugitive Slave Rescued: Paintings of Charles Nalle by Mark Priest, which will kick off an examination of this nationally important event. Artist and University of Louisville professor Mark Priest worked with RCHS staff to research the history of the Nalle rescue. His dramatic narrative paintings and drawings depict the events of April 26, 1860, immersing viewers in the emotions and issues of the day. This exhibit is presented in partnership with the Sage Colleges, which also host part of the exhibit through April 26, 2010.

Mark Priest is an Associate Professor of Art at the University of Louisville. He received his MFA in painting from Yale University and has exhibited his work at museums and galleries throughout the United States and internationally. His Underground Railroad series developed from an interest in Harriet Tubman:

“I began my research in 2003 and in May of 2004 I followed the routes on which Tubman took passengers to freedom. Forever etched in my memory are an infinite number of untold stories of individuals who toiled tirelessly to attain freedom. Many events were recounted to me by noted historians, genealogists and descendants while I traveled through, Maryland, Delaware, New York, and Canada- retracing the steps of many who went before me on this route to freedom. The wealth of personal experiences and detailed information I obtained is the foundation of this series or artworks. I strive to create dramatic compositions to portray the intensity of each moment. The life Tubman chose was one of uncertainty. Every moment could have been her last. She carried on undaunted and these are the ideas that I strive to portray in this series. Figures are tugging and heaving, hoisting and dragging. Figures depict the mental, emotional, and physical prowess needed to succeed on the UGRR. Every muscle is strained to the limit. Vibrant color and light are used to lead your eye through the composition.”

Exhibition-Related Events:

Russell Sage College Reception with Mark Priest
Thursday, February 25, 2010, 4-6pm
Schacht Fine Arts Center Gallery
Division & Front Streets, Troy
Free & Open to the Public
(518) 244-2248

High School Student Artist Gallery Talk with Mark Priest

How does Mark Priest get inspired to create his art? What is the life of a professional artist like? High School artists are invited to attend a free workshop and gallery talk with artist Mark Priest and get answers to these questions and more. This workshop is offered as part of the 2010 Art of History Competition, however students need not be preparing work for the competition to participate in the student workshop. Pre-registration is required – call or email Mari Shopsis at 272-7232, x17 / [email protected] or register online at http://artofhistory.eventbrite.com/ .

Thursday, February 25, 2010, 5-7 pm
Rensselaer County Historical Society
57 Second Street, Troy
(518) 272-7232, x17

Exhibition Opening & Book Signing
Saturday February 27, 2010- 5-8 pm, remarks at 6 pm
Rensselaer County Historical Society

Join RCHS and the Underground Railroad History Conference attendees for a reception at RCHS celebrating the exhibit of artist Mark Priest’s Charles Nalle paintings and the release of author Scott Christianson’s new book, Freeing Charles, The Struggle to Free a Slave on the Eve of the Civil War. Freeing Charles is the culmination of 18 years of research into Nalle’s life, escape from slavery, and the operation of the Underground Railroad. In this book, Christianson follows Nalle from his enslavement in Virginia through his escape via the Underground Railroad to his experiences in the North on the eve of the Civil War. Christianson also presents a richly detailed look at slavery culture in antebellum Virginia, and probes the deepest political and psychological aspects of this epic tale. His account underscores fundamental questions about racial inequality, the rule of law, civil disobedience, and violent resistance to slavery in the antebellum North and South. Both Scott Christianson and Mark Priest will speak briefly at 6pm and will be available for discussion and book signing afterwards. Light refreshments served.

Photo: &#8220The Altruist,&#8221 Mark Priest, 2008, Acrylic on canvas, 7.5’ x 7.5’ – shows Charles Nalle struggling to break free from a mob at the corner of Second and Congress Streets, Troy. Portions of what is today the Russell Sage campus are visible in the background.

The 1920s: Americas Golden Age of Sports

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A new book by Michael K. Bohn, Heroes and Ballyhoo: How the Golden Age of the 1920s Transformed American Sports, profiles the great American sports heroes of that era and highlights their roles in turning their sports into the kind of large spectator events they are today. Among them are the standards like Babe Ruth, Bobby Jones, Jack Dempsey, and Knute Rockne, but also those from the fringes of modern sport.

Swimmers like Johnny Weissmuller, who turned Olympic success into a seminal role as Tarzan, and Gertrude Ederle, the first to swim the English Channel are profiled. Helen Wills is here, the winner of 31 Grand Slam tennis titles who the New York Times called &#8220the first American born woman to achieve international celebrity as an athlete.&#8221 Heroes and Ballyhoo also considers the role of tennis player Bill Tilden and golfer Walter Hagen in bringing large audiences to their sports.

Arena sports became a cornerstone of modern American life in the 1920s, after Americans, freed from the burden of World War I and Victorian traditions, seemed to seek out everything that was modern, from bobbed hair, bathtub gin, jazz, Model Ts, movies and radio to fads of all kinds.

The author goes further to explore the people behind the scenes: press agents, and over-the-top sports writers and journalists that helped establish what the publisher calls &#8220the secular religion of sports and sports heroes, and helping bond disparate social and regional sectors of the country.&#8221

Reporters like Grantland Rice and Damon Runyon, are found here, along with modern era promoters like C. C. Pyle and Tex Rickard and agent Christy Walsh, a founder of sports marketing.

Photo: Parade for Gertrude Ederle coming up Broadway, New York City in 1926.

NY Council for the Humanities Grant Winners

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This past month, the New York Council for the Humanities awarded more than $300,000 in major grant funds to 22 organizations located in 14 counties in New York State. Awardees were selected from a pool of 60 applicants, a 35% increase from this time last year. Below is a complete list of awarded projects.

The Adirondack Museum
Blue Mountain Lake, Hamilton County
Awarded $20,000 for Let’s Eat!: Adirondack Food Traditions
An exhibition exploring the development of Adirondack food traditions from the 19th to the 20th centuries with a focus on the local environment.
Awarded January 15, 2010

Albany Institute of History and Art
Albany, Albany County
Awarded $2,500 for 2010 Hudson River Lecture Series
A series of four illustrated lectures about different aspects of the cultural and social significance of the Hudson River.
Awarded January 11, 2010

Brooklyn College, Hitchcock Institute for Studies in American Music
Brooklyn, Kings County
Awarded $8,800 for Black Brooklyn Renaissance Conference
A day-long event celebrating Brooklyn’s role as a major center of Black American music and culture.
Awarded January 15, 2010

Chemung County Historical Society
Elmira, Chemung County
Awarded $8,181 for Mark Twain in Elmira
An exhibition celebrating Mark Twain’s ties to the community of Elmira on the occasion of the anniversary of his birth.
Awarded January 15, 2010

Community Works
New York, New York County
Awarded $11,050 for Harlem’s Black Arts Movement: Its Past, Its Present and Its Future
Three interactive dialogues with key figures in the Black Arts Movement.
Awarded January 15, 2010

CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
New York, New York County
Awarded $16,250 for Justice and Injustice in America: the 1950s
A series of lectures focused on the 1950&#8242-s and 1960&#8242-s in America featuring preeminent scholars of jurisprudence and U.S. History.
Awarded January 15, 2010

Eldridge Street Project
New York, New York County
Awarded $12,982 for Ways We Worship: Jewish Practice & Beyond
A new public tour and related lecture series exploring the history of Judaism in America.
Awarded January 15, 2010

Epic Theatre Center
New York, New York County
Awarded $11,300 for Epic Forum Series 2010: Doubt and Certainty
A series of over 100 post-performance scholar-led discussions related to the theme of “Doubt and Certainty.”
Awarded January 15, 2010

Erie Canal Museum
Syracuse, Onondaga County
Awarded $20,000 for Heartland Passage: the Oral History of the Erie Canal
An on-line oral history exhibition about people involved with the Erie Canal.
Awarded January 15, 2010

Geneva Historical Society
Geneva, Ontario County
Awarded $10,310 for Geneva’s Changing Landscape
Development of a permanent exhibition about the history of Geneva from the 1700s to the present, using the lens of environmental history.
Awarded January 15, 2010

Historic Cherry Hill
Albany, Albany County
Awarded $2,250 for Program Planning: Class and Power in 18th Century Albany
A planning grant for a program exploring class and power in 18th century Albany.
Awarded January 26, 2010

Imagining America
Syracuse, Onondaga County
Awarded $18,000 for Revitalizing Downtown Syracuse: Local Culture, Trans-Local Knowledge
A performance and four public discussions exploring issues of culture and community revitalization.
Awarded January 15, 2010

Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
New York, New York County
Awarded $15,000 for Access Restricted: Nomadic Lecture Series Exploring Lower Manhattan
A free nomadic lecture series that opens to the public rarely visited or inaccessible spaces in Lower Manhattan. This year’s session will focus on the topics of jurisprudence and ethics.
Awarded January 15, 2010

Morrisville State College, Science, Technology & Society Program
Morrisville, Madison County
Awarded $5,850 for Agricultural Acts: On the Futures of Farming and Food
A two-day program of events about the future of food production.
Awarded January 15, 2010

Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden
New York City, New York County
Awarded $2,095 for A Feminine Palette, Women Artists of the 19th and Early 20th Century
A panel discussion exploring the work and lives of three lesser-known women artists from the 19th and early 20th century.
Awarded January 26, 2010

National Jazz Museum in Harlem
New York, New York County
Awarded $20,000 for Jazz for Curious Listeners
A year-long series of weekly dialogues about jazz and culture.
Awarded January 15, 2010

New Rochelle Council on the Arts
New Rochelle, Westchester County
Awarded $6,000 for Sounds Shore Shakespeare Festival
A Westchester county-wide celebration of Shakespearian works.
Awarded January 15, 2010

New York Library Association
Guilderland, Albany County
Awarded $7,500 for The Empire State Book Festival
A two-day celebration of reading held in the Empire State Plaza
Awarded January 15, 2010

Old Fort Niagara Association
Youngstown, Niagara County
Awarded $11,370 for Anglo-Native Relations on the Niagara Frontier, 1759-1764
A combination of special lectures and daily programs designed to examine the cross-cultural interactions at the fort between Iroquois people and Europeans.
Awarded January 15, 2010

Radio Diaries, Inc.
New York, New York County
Awarded $20,000 for America’s Lost Stories
A series of radio documentaries uncovering little-known chapters of 20th century American history to be broadcast on National Public Radio.
Awarded January 15, 2010

Slate Valley Museum Foundation
Granville, Washington County
Awarded $13,845 for Cultural Expressions in the Slate Valley
A series of six programs exploring the impact of various immigrant groups who came to the Slate Valley region between 1850 and 1930.
Awarded January 15, 2010

Southampton Historical Museum
Southampton, Suffolk County
Awarded $2,150 for Southampton Women Who Made a Difference
An exhibition exploring the influence of the Southampton women and their work from different historical periods and cultures.
Awarded January 9, 2010

SUNY Oswego, School of Communication, Media and the Arts
Oswego, Oswego County
Awarded $7,884 for From Global to Local: Diaspora, the Arts and Community
Weekly radio programs over a two-month period exploring issues of immigration and globalization as it relates to Central New York.
Awarded January 15, 2010

Three Village Historical Society
Saint James, Suffolk County
Awarded $20,000 for General Washington’s Spies: How a Group of Long Islanders Helped Win the Revolution
A permanent exhibition for children about a Long Island-based spy-ring during the Revolutionary War.
Awarded January 15, 2010

Traditional Arts in Upstate New York (TAUNY)
Canton, Saint Lawrence County
Awarded $20,000 for Kindred Pursuits: Folk Art in North Country Life
An exhibition of contemporary and historic folk art from the North Country, exploring its relation to the region’s culture and history.
Awarded January 15, 2010

Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region
Troy, Albany County
Awarded $19,686 for Gender, Class, Race and Ethnicity in Abolitionism, on the Underground Railroad, and in the Struggle Since
Three days of programming related to the history of the Unde
rground Railroad in New York State and beyond and its contemporary implications.
Awarded January 15, 2010

Weeksville Heritage Center
Brroklyn, Kings County
Awarded $2,500 for Planning Weeksville’s Orientation Exhibition: Defining a Sense of Place
Planning for an interactive orientation exhibition for the historic Weeksville community.
Awarded January 1, 2010

14 State Historic Sites, 41 State Parks to Close, Another 24 At Risk

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At least 14 state historic sites and 41 state parks are targeted to close if Governor Paterson’s Executive Budget is enacted, according to a list released today by the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (OPRHP). Twenty-four more parks and historic sites will face severely reduced hours and services. The historic site closures would mean nearly half of the 36 state operated historic sites would close indefinitely. In all a total of 25 of 36 historic sites will either close or under threat of closure. A complete list of the closings and those threatened is included after the jump.

“If parks are forced to close it will be the first time in the 125-year history of the System,&#8221 Robin Dropkin, Executive Director of Parks & Trails New York, said. &#8220Even during the Great Depression our parks remained open for people to enjoy and spend time with their families in nature.”

According to a 2009 report [pdf], state parks and historic sites generate $1.9 billion annually in economic activity statewide. Visitors from outside the community account for about 40% of that activity&#8211visitors and money communities will lose if parks are forced to close.

Additionally, state parks and historic sites account for 20,000 non-park jobs statewide. These are long-term, sustainable jobs that will last as long as our state invests in its parks system. The investment in State Parks is a good one- for every dollar the state spends on parks, it gets back $5 dollars in economic activity.

“News of the closings will devastate many communities as their citizens rely on parks for affordable, close to home recreation and their businesses rely on parks to bring in revenue,” said Dropkin.

In addition to economic benefits, state parks preserve wildlife habitat, provide an escape for millions of New Yorkers in these difficult economic times, and protect the state’s heritage for future generations. The NYS Park System is the oldest and most historic state park system in the nation.

The State Parks budget is only one-quarter of one percent of the total state budget. The savings to the state from closing the 57 parks is estimated to be $6.3 million.

Here is the list of Historic Sites to close (and those under threat of closure according to a memo leaked to the media yesterday):

Long Island Region
Walt Whitman State Historic Site [Under Threat]

Lower Hudson Region
Fort Montgomery Historic Site
Knox Headquarters Historic Site
New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site
Stony Point State Historic Site
Philipse Manor Hall Historic Site
Senate House State Historic Site [Under Threat]
Washington’s Headquarters Sate Historic Site [Under Threat]

Taconic Region
John Jay Homestead Historic Site [Under Threat]
Staatsburgh State Historic Site [Under Threat]
Olana State Historic Site {Under Threat]

Saratoga-Capital Region (Including the Adirondacks)

Bennington Battlefield State Park
Crailo State Historic Site [Under Threat]
Crown Point State Historic Site [Under Threat]
John Brown Farm Historic Site
Johnson Hall State Historic Site
Schoharie Crossing Historic Site
Schuyler Mansion Historic Site

Central Region
Fort Ontario State Historic Site
Herkimer Home Historic Site
Hyde Hall State Historic Site [Under Threat]
Lorenzo State Historic Site [Under Threat]
Oriskany Battlefield/Steuben State Historic Site

Finger Lakes Region
Ganondagan State Historic Site [Under Threat]

Thousands Island Region
Sackets Harbor State Historic Site