Month: September 2011

Welcoming New Contributor Peter Feinman

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New York History is pleased to announce it’s first new regular contributor, Peter Feinman, founder and president of the Institute of History, Archaeology, and Education (IHARE). IHARE is a non-profit organization which provides enrichment programs for schools, professional development program for teachers, and public programs.

Feinman received his B.A. in history from the University of Pennsylvania, a M.Ed. from New York University, an MBA from New York University, and an Ed. D. from Columbia University. His interests cross disciplinary boundaries from Egyptian and biblical studies, (forthcoming is “The Tempest in the Tempest Stela: A Cosmic Story in History,” for the Bulletin of the Egyptological Seminar), to American and New York State history (“Chautauqua America,” in The American Interest).

Feinman recently organized and spoke at a conference on Immigration: The Melting Pot and the American Dream, organized five county history conferences in New York State, and led a group of educators on a week program in the Mohawk Valley before Tropical Storm Irene hit.

His first piece for New York History will run this afternoon on Irene on New York State history.

Peter Feinman: Irene and New York State History

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This past July, a group of educators toured the historic Mohawk Valley. The group consisted of teachers from the region, particularly the Utica school district, people from historical societies, and cultural heritage tourists. The program was described as an &#8220immersion experience&#8221into the history of the Mohawk Valley. Little did we know that the metaphorical image soon would become a literal one. Read more →

Ansel Adams Masterworks Exhibit in Utica

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Images of the American West by the premier photographer of the 20th Century will be showcased in the major exhibition, Ansel Adams: Masterworks through January 8 in the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute Museum of Art in Utica.

The collection of 48 images by Ansel Adams (1902-84) represents two-thirds of his Museum Set, a selection the photographer himself made to represent the best of his life’s work. In these images one sees the importance Adams placed on the drama and splendor of natural environments, particularly in the American West. Visitors to the exhibition will see iconic Adams’ images such as Monolith, the Face of Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California, 1927 and Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941.

Adams, a California native, first photographed Yosemite National Park at the tender age of 14 with a Kodak Box Brownie. He fell in love with the forests, valleys, and sublime rock formations there and soon dedicated his life to photographing and advocating for the conservation of the environment. In the 1920s Adams became a guide for the Sierra Club at Yosemite, where he covered the terrain via burro or woody station wagon, setting up his large camera and tripod on the roof of the car. He would be active in the Sierra Club for nearly five decades.

Adams’ stature in the history of photography is monumental. With Edward Weston, he was co-founder of the California–based photography group named f64, which emphasized “straight” or “pure” photography over soft-focus pictorialism. Photographer Alfred Stieglitz, who was an important influence on Adams, gave him a one-artist show at the New York City gallery, An American Place, in 1936. In 1941 Adams was commissioned by the Department of the Interior to document western national parks, including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and Carlsbad Caverns. He received the competitive Guggenheim Fellowship three times- was a consultant for Polaroid- was named to President Lyndon B. Johnson’s environmental task force in 1965- was a co-founder of both the Friends of Photography and the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in 1967- was the subject of a major retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, as well as a cover story subject for Time magazine in 1979- and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Jimmy Carter in 1980. In 1985, on the first anniversary of his death, Yosemite National Park named “Mount Ansel Adams” on the Merced River. Throughout his long career Adams was also an influential teacher- he lectured extensively and wrote several books.

A technical master, Adams developed the Zone System for black-and-white photography, in which light is divided into eleven zones, from pure black to white. This system regulated light exposure and development of negatives in the dark room in order to maximize the photographer’s control of each print. Such control was imperative for Adams, who believed photography reflected the maker’s emotional response to his subject matter.

Photo: Ansel Adams from the 1950 Yosemite Field School yearbook (Wikipedia Photo).

Ashbel Fitch: Champion of Old New York

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The concept of an &#8220honest Tammany man&#8221 sounds like an oxymoron, but it became a reality in the curious career of Ashbel P. Fitch, who served New York City as a four-term congressman and a one-term city comptroller during the late nineteenth century. Although little known today, Fitch was well respected in his own day and played a pivotal role on both national and local stages. Born in Northern New York, he was once challenged to a duel by an impulsive Theodore Roosevelt.

In the U.S. Congress, Fitch was a passionate advocate of New York City. His support of tariff reform and his efforts to have New York City chosen as the site for an 1892 World Exposition reflected his deep interest in issues of industrialization and urbanization. An ardent defender of immigrant rights, Fitch opposed the xenophobia of the times and championed cosmopolitan diversity.

As New York’s comptroller, he oversaw the city’s finances during a time of terrible economic distress, withstanding threats from Tammany Hall on one side and from Mayor William L. Strong’s misguided reform administration on the other. In Ashbel P. Fitch, Remington succeeds in illuminating the independence and integrity of this unsung hero against the backdrop of the Gilded Age’s corrupt politics and fierce party loyalty.

David F. Remington is a retired investment banker and amateur historian. He is the great grandson of Ashbel P. Fitch. He lives with his wife on the coast of Maine.

Note: Books noticed on this site have been provided by the publishers. Purchases made through this Amazon link help support this site.

Revolution Exhibit Funded For Travel

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The New-York Historical Society has announced that the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has awarded it a grant of $400,000 to support a traveling program and educational initiatives surrounding its new exhibition Revolution! The Atlantic World Reborn.

Revolution! is the first museum exhibition to explore the revolutions in America, France and Haiti as a single grand narrative from 1763 to 1815, tracing their cumulative transformation of politics, society and culture across the Atlantic world. It will also be the first major history exhibition to be presented by the New-York Historical Society when it fully re-opens its galleries on November 11, 2011, after a three-year, $65 million renovation.

&#8220The New-York Historical Society is deeply grateful to the National Endowment for the Humanities for this very generous endorsement of our mission, which is to engage the broadest possible public in the enjoyment of learning about history,&#8221 said Louise Mirrer, President and CEO of the New-York Historical Society. &#8220Through this grant, we will be able to extend the reach of Revolution! and make it accessible to a much wider audience.&#8221

The NEH has awarded the grant through its “America’s Historical & Cultural Organizations Implementation Grant” program, which supports museum exhibitions, library-based projects, interpretation of historic places or areas, websites and other project formats that excite and inform thoughtful reflection upon culture, identity and history.

Revolution! traces how an ideal of popular sovereignty, introduced through the American fight for independence, soon sparked more radical calls for a recognition of universal human rights and set off attacks on both sides of the Atlantic against hereditary privilege and slavery. Among the astonishing, unforeseen outcomes was an insurrection on the French possession of Saint-Domingue, leading to the world’s only successful slave revolt and the establishment in 1804 of the first nation founded on the principles of full freedom and equality for all, regardless of color.

This Weeks New York History Web Highlights

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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.

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Encampment For Battles of Saratoga Anniversary

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This Saturday and Sunday, September 17-18, Saratoga National Historical Park, located on Routes 32 and 4 in Stillwater, will present an 18th century living history encampment marking the 234th anniversary of the world’s “most important battle of the last 1,000 years.” Camps will be open Saturday from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and on Sunday from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

The 2-day encampment will surround visitors with the sights, smells, and sounds of military camp life from the American Revolution. Dozens of re-enactors portray American and British officers, soldiers, cavalry troops, and camp followers from the Battles of Saratoga. See cavalry charge, join in a court-martial and decide the soldier’s fate, take part in a musket drill, follow along with a scouting party, or listen to stories of the revolutionary war experience. Feel the thunderous roar of cannons, smell the acrid smoke of musket fire as well as the welcoming wisps of camp cooking fires.

On Saturday evening at 6:00pm, come to the American camp (tour road stop 2) to see British actor Howard Burnham give a hilarious and insightful portrayal of Marquis de Lafayette, a French nobleman who became an American army general in the Revolutionary War. An encore performance of his program will be given at the park Visitor Center at 1:30pm on Sunday.

The event is free, but the normal entrance fee to the park of $5 per car (good for one week entry) is charged. For more information about this or other events, please call the Visitor Center at 518-664-9821 or check the park website at www.nps.gov/sara.

Walking Tours of Olana Landscape

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The weekend of September 24 and 25 offers two unique opportunities to enjoy the landscape at Olana State Historic Site. On Saturday, September 24, author and geologist Bob Titus will lead a Hudson Valley Ramble Walk at Olana starting at 2 p.m. On Sunday, September 25, Lin Fagan will lead a walk starting at 9 a.m. Both groups will meet at the Olana Visitor Center at the top of the hill and continue their respective walks from that location. The tour on Saturday has a $5 vehicle fee per car as the cost of admission- the tour on Sunday is free of charge.

Professor Robert Titus has held several very popular Hudson Valley Ramble Walks at Olana. This year his walk entitled “Unplanned Views” will circle Olana looking at the dramatic views that artist Frederic Church took advantage of as he laid out his landscape. Titus will point out the views and then describe their geologic histories with a series of dramatic readings describing moments of time in the geological past that brought these views into being for Mr. Church. Reservations are required for this walk and it is limited to 20 persons- plan for two hours in the landscape with easy to moderate walking. Please wear clothing and shoes suitable for walking outside on shale paths and woodland areas.

On Sunday, Lin Fagan will conduct a tour with a focus on the landscape and the wildlife, particularly the bird populations. Fagan, an Olana volunteer for over 20 years, is a long-time member of the Audubon Society, an avid hiker and birder who has travelled all over the United States. She will bring to bear her particular expertise in looking at the landscape and enjoying all that surrounds you. When not travelling or volunteering at Olana, Lin can most often be found hiking and birding in the Shawangunks in Ulster County. Her tour will include the landscape, the gardens, and Ridge Road. A loop around the lake can be added to the walk for those who are interested. Wear clothing and shoes appropriate for walking outside.

For both walks, bring cameras, binoculars, sketch pads, water, and a pure joy for the landscape of the Hudson Valley. Reservations are required for both tours- please call 518-828-0135 between 9 AM and 5 PM Tuesday – Sunday to reserve a spot on one or both of these walks in the landscape.

Atlatl Championship at Mount Independence

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Journey way back to the ancient past, before the invention of the bow and arrow, to experience how people the world over hunted big game by coming to the 16th Annual Northeast Open Atlatl Championship September 17 and 18, 2011, beginning at 10:30 AM on Saturday and 10:00 on Sunday, at the Mount Independence State Historic Site in Orwell, Vermont. The competition is based on the ancient hunting technique of using an atlatl (spear thrower). Atlatlists of all skill levels are welcome. Demonstrations of flint knapping, bow making, hafting stone points, fletching atlatl darts, cordage making with natural materials, and other aspects of Native American life will take place on Saturday. Food will be available.

Watch or participate in this colorful event, with exciting but friendly competition between novices, enthusiasts, and some of the best in the world, and from the young to young at heart. The event, co-sponsored by the Vermont Archaeological Society, is one of the highlights of September’s Vermont Archeology Month. The event, sponsored by the Chimney Point State Historic Site in Addison, is being held for the second year at Mount Independence due to the ongoing construction of the Lake Champlain Bridge.

The main competition is on Saturday from 10:30 to 3:30. Contestants test their prowess in using the atlatl to “hunt” mammoth, bison, and other “wild” game targets, shoot at modern day bulls-eyes in the International Standards Accuracy Competition (ISAC), and compete in a distance challenge. The atlatl is a shaped wooden stick that acts as an extension of the throwing arm, to hurl spears or darts with greater accuracy, energy, and speed. Winners in each category compete in a shoot out at the end of the afternoon for the title of Grand Champion. Call 802-759-2412 for an atlatl championship registration form or download one online. Competitor fee is $5.00 for each day.

An atlatl-making workshop ($65 fee) will be held September 16 from noon to 5:00. Pre-registration (802-759-2412) for the workshop is required. The Vermont Archaeological Society is offering a day long flint-knapping workshop both days, and on Saturday a hands-on demonstration of Northeastern pre-contact pottery making. To sign up for either of these, call 802-644-5675 or email [email protected]

On both Saturday and Sunday there will be showings of the film, Champlain: The Lake Between, at 11:30, 1:30, and 3:30. Sunday morning, starting at 10:00 a.m., is a smaller International Standards Accuracy Competition. Afterwards, at about 11:45, is a master coaching class offered by champion atlatlists for children and interested adults. Also starting at 10:00 are the flint-knapping and Woodland pottery workshops.

The site is open 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM. Admission for each day, including the museum and trails, is $5.00 for adults, free for children under 15.

The Mount Independence State Historic Site is located at 497 Mount Independence Road, six miles west of the intersections of VT Routes 73 and 22A, in Orwell. It is open daily through October 10 from 9:30 to 5:00. For more information about this event, call 802-759-2412.