Month: December 2011

Florence Bullard: Local Nurse, World War One Hero

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In one evacuated village, Florence Bullard’s (see Part 1 of the story) crew was forced to work from a hospital cellar, which she described as a cave. Under very harsh conditions, they treated the severely wounded soldiers who couldn’t be moved elsewhere. In a letter home, she noted, “I have not seen daylight for eight days now and the stench in this cave is pretty bad- no air, artificial light, and the cots so close together you can just get between them.

“The noise of the bursting shells is terrific at times. Side by side I have Americans, English, Scotch, Irish, and French, and apart in the corners are ‘Boche’ [a disparaging term applied to German soldiers]. They all have to watch each other die, side by side. I have had to write many sad letters to American mothers.”

A bit later she wrote, “I have been three weeks now in this cave. It’s a dark, damp, foul-smelling place, but there is help to give and one must not complain. But it is terribly depressing and, for the first time, I find myself in a bit of a nervous state. The roaring of the cannon and the constant whizzing through the air of these terrible ‘obus’ [shells launched by a howitzer-type cannon], with never a thing to change the tension, is wearing.”

Florence went on to describe a sad evening where a man had to have both legs and an arm amputated, and a woman suffered severe burns from a bombing attack. “… every inch of her body was like an apple that had been baked too hard, and the skin all separated from the apple. That was all I could compare it to. You can imagine that she suffered until midnight, and then she died. I do not know what is to become of everyone if this war does not end pretty soon.”

Three times Florence’s group was evacuated just ahead of approaching German troops. When a friend came to check on her just as they were fleeing 13 straight hours of bombardment, a shell landed nearby at the moment they were shaking hands. The windows were shattered by the explosion, throwing shards of glass at their feet. It was that close.

In her own words, she described the ferocity of the attack: “The first shell broke on us at one a.m. on Monday, the twenty-seventh. It was a veritable hell broken loose! I know of no language of mine that could describe it.

“All that day and the following, it never let up a minute. Our hospital was struck nine times, corridors caving in and pillars falling. We were told at noon to make all the preparations to leave at any minute, taking as little baggage as possible.”

Such was the Bullard family’s concern that her brother sent Florence the money for passage home. When it arrived, she reminded him of her duty, and that she could not abandon the men in need. Her superiors told her the same—Florence’s training, skill, and experience were critical to their success, and she was needed to remain at the front.

Bullard’s commanding officer stated it succinctly: “… the next four months will be very tragic ones for us all. We cannot spare you, for we cannot refill your place, and when you explain just that to your family, they will be the first to see it as we see it.”

In another letter, Florence described the eerie, moonlit march of American troops: “It seemed as if miles of them went by. The grim, silent soldiers, the poor hard-worked horses, all going steadily toward that terrible noise of the cannon.”

The next day, a great number of those very same men were treated by her medical unit. It began with nearly a thousand in the morning, and as the battle raged, Florence noted, “That went on all day and night, new ones arriving as fast as others were out. It was a busy place, our ambulance drivers driving up one right after the other, and all the time the steady stream of artillery going past, and more troops.”

When the surgeries finally abated, Bullard quickly assumed other duties: “… I simply ran from one patient to the other. My chief gave me permission to give hypodermics at my discretion, and oh, how we all did work to make them live! …It was gruesome—the dying, the moans, the constant “J’ai soif” [I’m thirsty]. I cannot talk much about it now—too fresh in my memory.”

The next day was more of the same, and with the German’s looming, evacuation was called for. Given the option, Florence and several doctors opted to stay behind despite warnings they might be captured. A tearful good-bye ensued, with their pending death a stark reality.

The soldiers’ desperate escape was described by Bullard in moving prose: “It was the saddest sight I have ever seen. The stretcher bearers carrying all that were unable to walk … and the new arrivals who had come in, getting to the train the best way they could. For instance, a man with his head or face wounded would carry on his back a man whose feet were wounded, and one whose arm was wounded might be leading one whose eyes were bandaged.”

As the last men boarded, a new order for mandatory evacuation was issued. Enemy troops were preparing to overrun the area. But for that circumstance, it may have been Florence Bullard’s last day on earth.

The details of such harrowing events were unknown to all except her war companions and those back home who received letters from Florence. But the French government had long been aware of her great contributions, which they acknowledged in September 1918 by conferring upon Florence the Croix de Guerre medal (the Cross of War).

The official citation read: “She has shown imperturbable sangfroid [composure] under the most violent bombardments during March and May. Despite her danger, she searched for and comforted and assisted the wounded. Her attitude was especially brilliant on July 31, when bombs burst near.”

Just two months later, the war ended, and Florence returned home. In February 1919, she was treated to a grand reception at Glens Falls, where she received a donation of $600. A good long rest was in her plans, but by May she was on the battlefront again, this time in the United States. The Red Cross of America sent Florence on tour to Redpath Chautauqua facilities and other venues to promote good health and sanitation practices.

The mission was to improve community health across the country, incorporating much that had been newly learned during the war. Besides treating so many wounded soldiers, the medical corps had tended to refugees suffering from malnutrition, starvation, and a host of diseases, many of them communicable.

Among the issues addressed by Florence were home cooking, household hygiene, caring for the sick at home, and the work of the public health nurse. She was widely lauded for her speaking appearances as well as for the wonderful services she had provided during the war.

By 1920, Florence was again working as a private nurse. She later turned to hospital work, eventually becoming assistant superintendent at Poughkeepsie’s Bowne Memorial Hospital in Dutchess County, New York.

Florence Bullard—North Country
native, nurse extraordinaire, dedicated humanitarian, and a true American hero—died in 1967 at the age of 87.

Photos: Above, WW I improvised field hospital in France- Middle, WW I Howitzer- Below, WWI French Red Cross ambulance.

Lawrence Gooley has authored ten books and dozens of articles on the North Country’s past. He and his partner, Jill McKee, founded Bloated Toe Enterprises in 2004. Expanding their services in 2008, they have produced 19 titles to date, and are now offering web design. For information on book publishing, visit Bloated Toe Publishing.

NY Journalism of Djuna Barnes Exhibit Scheduled

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&#8220Newspaper Fiction: The New York Journalism of Djuna Barnes, 1913-1919,&#8221 an exhibition of 45 objects including drawings, works on paper, documentary photographs, and stories in newsprint by the celebrated writer and early twentieth-century advocate for women’s rights Djuna Barnes (American, 1892-1982), will be presented in the Herstory Gallery of the Brooklyn Museum’s Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art from January 20 through October 28, 2012. Among the works on view will be eight illustrations Barnes composed to accompany her newspaper columns.

The Herstory Gallery is devoted to the remarkable contributions of the women represented in The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago, on permanent view in the adjacent gallery. Barnes is one of 1,038 women honored in Chicago’s iconic feminist work.

Prior to publishing the modernist novels and plays for which she is now remembered, such as Ryder (1928), Nightwood (1936), and The Antiphon (1958), which present complex portrayals of lesbian life and familial dysfunction, Barnes supported herself as a journalist and illustrator for a variety of daily newspapers and monthly magazines, including the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, McCall’s, Vanity Fair, Charm, and the New Yorker.

Brought up in an unconventional household, Barnes developed an outsider’s perspective on &#8220normal&#8221 life that served her well as a writer. Her liberal sexuality fit in perfectly with the bohemian lifestyle of Greenwich Village and, later, the lesbian expatriate community in Paris. From her first articles in 1913 until her departure for Europe in 1921, Barnes specialized in a type of journalism that was less about current events and more about her observations of the diverse personalities and happenings that gave readers an intimate portrait of her favorite character-New York City. Attempting to capture its transition from turn of the century city to modern metropolis, Barnes developed her unique style of &#8220newspaper fictions,&#8221 offering impressionistic observations and dramatizing whatever she felt to be the true significance or subtexts of a story.

Image: Djuna Barnes, Sketch of a woman with hat, looking right, for &#8220The Terrorists,&#8221 New York Morning Telegraph Sunday Magazine, September 30, 1917. Ink on paper. Djuna Barnes Papers, Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries

Roberson Museum Commemorates the Civil War

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150 years ago shots were fired on Fort Sumter off the coast of South Carolina signaling the beginning of the Civil War. A century and a half later, Roberson Museum and Science Center has assembled hundreds of objects and stories to tell the story of how that conflict affected this area in a new exhibition appropriately named The Civil War. Read more →

New Civil War Novel Features 14th New York

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In time for the sesquicentennial of the Civil War Jack McGuire offers Joining Up (Self-Published, 2011), a new historical novel memorializing Brooklyn’s famous red-legged devils of the Fourteenth Regiment through fiction. The book offers readers insight into the abolitionist regiment that became a favorite of Abraham Lincoln.

McGuire evokes the powerful words of William Burleigh- “The gallant Fourteenth forget them not: our gallant boys who, for the nation’s life, stood amid the battle grime and noise and were baptized in its flames and blood,” setting the tone for the novel, which depicts the gallantry, bravery, and commitment to justice of the Fourteenth.

Joining Up chronicles the tale of two young boys, Will and Bobby, who run away from Saint John’s home in Brooklyn, inspired by the image of Will’s brother, Andrew, in uniform. The boys are inspired by the dauntless spirit of the Fourteenth, driven by the desire to become a part of their noble cause. McGuire addresses the mystique of their “red legs” as Will recounts a story that he had been told to his friend, Bobby- “The way I heard the story is they fought one battle in Union blue and got whipped good. They been wearing red ever since.”

The two teenage boys, backs still raw from a whipping, make their escape from the Brooklyn Orphanage to the Red Legged Devils of the Fourteenth Regiment.. En-route to the Civil War battlefields Bobby and Will become mule train drivers with a scalawag muleskinner who runs supply wagons for a Massachusetts Regiment. The search for the Fourteenth New York leads the runaways to the farmlands of Pennsylvania where Robert E Lee is about to launch his armies of Northern Virginia against George Meade’s Union Army of the Potomac. It’s the eve of the biggest battle of the Civil War when the runaways finally don Union Blue.

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

New Book on Convicts in Colonial America

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Independent scholar Anthony Vaver’s blog Early American Crime has staked-out some substantial ground with what he calls &#8220an exploration of the social and cultural history of crime and punishment in colonial America and the early United States.&#8221 Now Vaver has an outstanding volume to accompany his work on the web, Bound with an Iron Chain: The Untold Story of How the British Transported 50,000 Convicts to Colonial America (Pickpocket Publishing, 2011).

Most people know that England shipped thousands of convicts to Australia, but few are aware that colonial America was the original destination for Britain’s unwanted criminals. In the 18th century, thousands of British convicts were separated from their families, chained together in the hold of a ship, and carried off to America, sometimes for the theft of a mere handkerchief.

What happened to these convicts once they arrived in America? Did they prosper in an environment of unlimited opportunity, or were they ostracized by the other colonists? Anthony Vaver, who has a Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, tells the stories of the petty thieves and professional criminals who were punished by being sent across the ocean to work on plantations. In bringing to life this forgotten chapter in American history, he challenges the way we think about immigration to early America.

The book also includes an index and an appendix with helpful tips for researching individual convicts who were transported to America.

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

Iroquois Museum Cuts Staff, Closes Until Spring

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The Iroquois Indian Museum in Howes Cave, NY has announced significant staff cutbacks for 2012. &#8220Severe economic downturns coupled with the recent devastating flooding in Schoharie County have forced the Museum to suspend most Museum operations from January 1 to April 30 and to layoff staff during those months,&#8221 Museum officials said in a prepared statement issued Wednesday.

Normally, the Museum closes from January 1 to March 31, but to conserve finances we will remain closed to the public until May 1. A skeleton staff with volunteer help will continue to maintain the basic operations of the Museum including security and maintenance.

&#8220Despite the reductions, the Board and Staff of the Museum continue to plan a vibrant schedule of exhibitions and programs for 2012,&#8221 the Museum statement said. The museum is expected to open a new exhibit on May 1, “Birds and Beasts in Beads: 150 Years of Iroquois Beadwork.”

There are no plans to cancel the 31st Annual Iroquois Indian Festival, Dance Saturdays during July and August, or other public programs scheduled for the 2012 season.

&#8220The Board and Staff believes that we have an obligation to the founders of the Museum and to all who have supported us over the years to assure that we continue to be a viable public institution, to support tourism in our region, to teach about the Iroquois, to be of benefit to Iroquois people, and to fulfill our mission as an educational institution,&#8221 the statement said.

This Weeks Top New York History News

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  • History Projects Get Development Money
  • 5,000 Artifacts Found Beneath Fulton St
  • Dramatists Guild Discovers Audio Trove
  • South Street Seaport Volunteers Allowed Back
  • New Rail Operator Thrilled With Results
  • Champlain Maritime Historian Dies
  • Audit: NYC Parks Squandered Millions
  • Whiteface Honors Early Ski Pioneers
  • Museum Room Added to Santa’s Workshop
  • French and Indian War Cemetery Confirmed

    • 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 2,200 people get New York History each day via E-Mail, RSS, or Twitter or Facebook updates.

    This Weeks New York History Web Highlights

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  • Preservation Nation: Greening the Empire State Bldg
  • NYPL: Using the Census in Genealogy Research
  • Modernizing Mental Health Care: Elwood in Albany
  • Bowery Boys: A Bowery Tattoo Parlor, 1941
  • Chelsea Hotel: History and Tenants Under Attack
  • Louis Nemeth’s Photos: From World War II to the Radio
  • Mirror Magazine: Hague Market, Adirondacks’ Oldest
  • Old Salt Blog: The First Christmas Tree Ship

    • Each Friday afternoon New York History compiles for our readers the previous week’s top web links about New York’s state and local history. You can find all our web links here.

    Subscribe! More than 2,200 people get New York History each day via E-Mail, RSS, or Twitter or Facebook updates.

    History Projects Get Development Monies

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    Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced the recipients of $785 million in economic development funding awarded through his Regional Economic Development Council initiative, an effort designed to drive economic growth and create jobs. A number of projects with significance for New York State history were included and are listed below.

    NOTE: A number of rehabilitative projects most geared to housing and streetscape, canalfront, or shoreline improvements, and adaptive reuse of historic buildings are not included in this list. A number of projects will require archeological and cultural resource surveys.

    Cayuga County

    Isabel Howland House Preservation ($400,000)
    The Howland Stone Store Museum will stabilize and rehabilitate for re-use &#8216-Opendore,’ a late 19th/early 20th century residence in the historic Hamlet of Sherwood for use as a museum and public meeting space. Also known as the Isabel Howland House, ‘Opendore’ was the gracious Howland family home where, a century ago, Isabel Howland and her family hosted numerous important public rallies promoting women’s rights and other social justice activities.

    Chautaqua County

    Grape Discovery Center ($200,000)
    Final phase in the completion of a Grape Discovery Center in Chautauqua County. The Grape Discovery Center will educate visitors about the historic development of the region and the role that grape growing played in the region’s cultural landscape and communities. The plan proposes 19 exhibit panels in the Display Room and 14 exhibit displays, free standing and wall mounted, for the reception/gift shop space, as well as exterior exhibits and an orientation pavilion.

    Broome County

    TechWorks! Museum of Invention and Upstate Industry Parking Lot ($116,500)
    The Center for Technology and Innovation will install pervious paving in the parking lot and
    the Garden of Ideas at the TechWorks! Museum of Invention and Upstate Industry. Porous
    pavement will enable o$cials, residents, and developers to see first-hand the benefits and costs of replacing traditional asphalt parking lots with pervious paving.

    YWCA Binghamton Preservation ($244,946)
    The YMCA of Binghamton and Broome County will restore the exterior masonry and cornice of
    their architecturally signi#cant 1907 Beaux Arts/Classical Revival building The building serves as a community anchor providing housing and services for homeless women and children, space for community events and programs and meetings along with healthcare and childcare. This proposed exterior restoration represents one phase of the larger project to renovate the entire building. The work will reinforce and stabilize the exterior of the landmark building and contribute to the rehabilitation and revitalization of Court Street Historic District in the heart of downtown Binghamton.

    Clinton County

    Plattsburgh Strand Theatre Restoration ($397,000)
    The North Country Cultural Center of the Arts will restore the Historic Strand Theatre, circa 1924, located in downtown Plattsburgh, continuing it as a performing arts center and preserving its historical legacy. The funds will be used to repair and point the exposed bricks and terracotta tiles which have signifcant areas of damage and repair or replicate railings and wood caps, balcony and the historic lighting fixtures.

    Columbia County

    Dr. Oliver Bronson House Restoration ($300,000)
    Historic Hudson, Inc. will complete Phase II of the restoration of the Dr. Oliver Bronson House by completing the exterior stabilization of the house, securing the building envelope, and protecting the house from further deterioration and loss of historic fabric so it can be returned to use for public benefit. Sited on a bluff overlooking the South Bay of the Hudson River on 52 acres of open space, the Dr. Oliver Bronson House serves as a magnet for the city, providing a park-like setting and increased public access to this historic site as part of the ongoing revitalization of the City of Hudson.

    Hudson Opera House Restoration Final Phase ($400,000)
    The Hudson Opera House will complete a key part of the fourth and final phase of the Opera
    House restoration &#8211 improvements to the first floor, including the badly deteriorated historic Common Council Chambers and anteroom, for community use. New York State’s oldest
    surviving theatre (1855), located in the heart of downtown Hudson, the nonprofit multi-arts
    center offers more than 1,000 programs, most of them free, to 52,000 visitors each year.

    Olana North Meadow Restoration ($274,125)
    The Olana Partnership will implement a major aspect of Olana’s Landscape Restoration Plan &#8211 the restoration of the historic North Meadow. Designed by Hudson River School artist Frederic Church (1826-1900) as a work of 19th-century landscape gardening, the historic 250-acre landscape is equal in historic and artistic importance to Olana’s house and collections. The completed project will provide a transformational change to the Olana landscape, restoring the historic meadows and pastureland and reopening views that have been lost over the last 100 years to second- and third-growth forest.

    Erie County

    Buffalo Central Terminal Canopy Restoration ($306,117)
    The Central Terminal Restoration Corp., Inc. will rehabilitate and restore two entryway
    canopies located at the historic Buffalo Central Terminal. The disrepair and instability of the exterior entryway canopies pose a safety hazard for patrons, tourists and volunteers and
    requires immediate rehabilitation.

    Shea’s O’Connell Preservation Guild Theater ($400,000)
    Shea’s O’Connell Preservation Guild will restore the interior of the theatre auditorium, located at 646 Main Street, Buffalo. The ceiling, walls and facades will be restored to their original condition. Cleaning, minor repair and painting of the molded plaster ceiling and dome together with restoration on the proscenium arch, front wall, balcony underside, walls, and chandeliers will complete the project.

    Essex County

    Fort Ticonderoga Historic Preservation Planning Report ($20,320)
    Fort Ticonderoga Association, Inc. will prepare a structural condition evaluation that will be used to make long-range decisions regarding the facility. This evaluation will establish the structural priorities of the Fort and identify options for repair.

    Lewis County

    Constable Hall Restoration ($21,668)
    The Constable Hall Association will restore this 200-year-old historic home in Constableville, ensuring that it remains open and accessible to the community and its visitors. This project includes restoration work on four Doric pillars, pointing/flashing of chimneys, repair of water damage in two bedrooms, repair of carriage house floor, and painting of the servants’ quarters.

    General Walter Martin Mansion Restoration Plan ($18,750)
    The Lewis County Historical Society will prepare a Comprehensive Building Condition Assessment report for restoration of the General Walter Martin Mansion in accordance with federal Historic Preservation Standards.

    Monroe County

    Genesee Country Museum Training ($4,864)
    Training for 12 employees in Continuing Education for CFO, Crystal Reports Commercial Electric Wiring, Small Gasoline Engine Troubleshooting and Repair, Commercial Pesticide Certi!cation, and Modern Plumbing- IT technology , Point of S
    ale System, QuickBooks 2011.

    Montgomery County

    Schoharie Crossing Flood Relief ($95,000)
    To replace signage and repair parking lot flood related damage to a prominent historic site and regional visitor attraction.

    New York County

    General Society Mechanics and Tradesmen Hall Report ($63,000)
    The General Society Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York will develop a Historic
    Structure Report, a planning document for the renovation, restoration and preservation of The
    General Society 1890 building. The 70,000 sq. ft. landmark &#8212- at 20 West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan, housing one of the oldest and the only continuously operated mechanics’ institute in the United States &#8212- must accommodate modern functions. The goal is to preserve the historic characteristics of the building while complying with current building codes, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and reconciling energy codes with preservation requirements.

    Niagara County

    Niagara Wine Trail Signage ($30,000)
    Purchase and installation of signs on designated Niagara Wine Trail route. Project also includes marketing and training.

    Ontario County

    Finger Lakes Boating Museum ($450,000)
    Continuing redevelopment of its lakefront, the City of Geneva will design and construct the Finger Lakes Boating Museum and Visitors Center on Seneca Lake.

    Ganondagan Art and Education Center ($400,000)
    The Friends of Ganondagan will construct and help operate a 15,654 square-foot, year-round Seneca Arts and Cultural Center at Ganondagan State Historic Site in Victor. Ganondagan was the location of the largest Seneca town in the 17th century. The Cultural Center will be located a short walk from the reconstructed full scale 17th Century Seneca Bark Longhouse—a traditional Iroquois dwelling that housed multiple families. The center will include a gallery for historic and art exhibits- orientation theater for educational films and multimedia- auditorium for lectures, films, performances, and events- classroom for education- and administrative spaces.

    Sonnenberg Gardens Roman Bath Stabilization ($43,000)
    Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park will replace clay tiles and install gutters on the interior of the Roman Bath. Located in the heart of Canandaigua’s historic district, Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park features an 1887 Queen Anne-style mansion and nine formal gardens on a 50 acre estate. Replacing the clay tiles on the Roman Bath’s roof and installing a gutter and drainage system will slow the deterioration process and prevent further loss.

    Rockland County

    Bear Mountain Inn Restoration ($400,000)
    The Palisades Parks Conservancy, Inc. will continue ongoing renovations at the historic Bear Mountain Inn. Renovations will include constructing a new accessible vehicle entrance for the Inn, modifying the north end of the Bear Mountain parking area to improve parking for the Inn and improve accessibility, designing and installing new interpretive and directional signs, beautification of the grounds, and designing and constructing a new green storm-water
    remediation system for the parking area.

    Saratoga County

    Day Peckinpaugh Barge Museum Improvements ($191,000)
    Improvements to the Day Peckinpaugh Barge Museum, a multi-regional educational and heritage tourism project, will improve its operations.

    Schenectady County

    Schenectady Proctor’s Theatre Preservation Work ($100,000)
    The Arts Center and Theatre of Schenectady will complete historic preservation work at Proctors Theatre that will include repairs, restoration and improvements to the theatre’s ceilings, walls, side boxes, scagliola, balcony, mezzanine and orchestra areas, women’s and men’s lounges, and the Golub Arcade.

    Suffolk County

    Ships Hole Farm Restoration ($400,000)
    Peconic Land Trust will acquire the Ships Hole Farm property, expand the farm operation, begin restoring the historic farmhouse and agricultural barn/outbuildings, connect the farm with the existing nature trail, and begin educational and historic programming.

    Polo Stable Restoration at Caumsett State Historic Site ($400,000)
    The Caumsett Foundation, in partnership with the state, the local community, other government entities, for-pro!t groups and private foundations, will restore from severe deterioration the masonry, carpentry and other exterior elements of the Polo Stable at Caumsett State Historic Site. This is the third and final phase of the exterior renovation project. The Polo Stable, the most architecturally important building at Caumsett, was designed by John Russell Pope, and is on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The Foundation has already replaced the slate roof and cupola.

    Warren County

    Lake George Underwater Trail Website and Marketing ($50,000)
    The Village of Lake George will develop and maintain a website for the New York State
    Underwater Blueway Trail that will publicize and market the individual dive sites that together make up the Underwater Blueway Trail.

    First Wilderness Heritage Corridor Implementation ($463,116)
    Warren County will advance recommendations of the First Wilderness Heritage Corridor
    Action Plan, an intermunicipal revitalization strategy for nine communities along the Upper
    Hudson River and Delaware & Hudson rail line in Saratoga and Warren counties. E&#8221orts
    will include: modernization of the Dynamite Hill Ski Area to allow it to serve as a day-use
    destination area in winter months- streetscape improvements between the municipal center
    and the North Creek Train Station Complex- enclosing existing platforms and providing
    restrooms at the historic railroad stops in the towns of Thurman and Hadley- small business
    development to !ll vacant storefronts in the hamlets of the First Wilderness Heritage
    Corridor- construction of a boarding platform at the site of the old Corinth station- design and construction of a new 1,100-sq.ft. classroom, an ADA-compliant restroom and o#ce space
    for administrative services at the Adirondack Folk School in Lake Luzerne- and the creation,
    marketing and promotion of activities to enhance tourism.

    Westchester County

    Tarrytown Music Hall Restoration ($400,000)
    The Friends of Mozartina Musical Arts Conservatory rehabilitate and restore the Tarrytown Music Hall, a highly distinctive 1885 Queen Anne-style local, state, and federal landmark. The project will include the replacement of deteriorated foundations, restoration and repair of walls and windows, rehabilitation of the roof, and restoration of exterior soft stucco and paint finishes and interior lobby plaster and paint finishes.

    Bird Homestead Meeting House Rehabilitation ($250,600)
    The Committee to Save the Bird Homestead will replace the roofs of the Bird Homestead’s
    three buildings, make drainage systems and foundation repairs, replace the main roof and restore of the clerestory for the Meeting House. The Bird Homestead contains an 1835 Greek Revival house, a 19th-century barn and a woodworker’s shop with attached henhouse and woodshed, and the project will help preserve historic structures that retain a high degree of authenticity, but suffer from longdeferred maintenance.

    Wyoming County

    Letchworth State Park Signage ($3,000)
    The Friends of Letchworth State Park will develop and install signage along the Clan Trail at the Council Grounds in Letchworth State Park. This signage will enhance the interpretation and understanding of the role of the Seneca Indian Nation in Western New York for the park visitor an
    d especially the school children who study this local history in the 4th grade Social Studies curriculum in New York State.

    Yates County

    Finger Lakes Museum Building Renovation ($2,281,000)
    The Finger Lakes Museum is proposed as the premier natural and cultural resource dedicated to the enjoyment, education and stewardship of the Finger Lakes Region &#8211 and to fresh water conservation around the world. The first step in renovating a former elementary school building will be the installation of a green roof, covering the roof with vegetation and a drainage system to absorb rainfall and limit stormwater runoff, as well as restoring and protecting adjacent stream banks.

    A full list of funded projects is available online [pdf].

    Candlelight Evening at The Farmers’ Museum

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    A special Candlelight Evening program will be held this Saturday, December 10, from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at The Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown. During Candlelight Evening the landscape of the museum takes on a magical appearance, decorated in greenery and illuminated by hundreds of candles.

    Visitors can ride through the museum’s grounds in wagons pulled by draft horses adorned with full sets of harness bells. Complimentary wassail, warmed in kettles over open fires, is served throughout the afternoon and evening. Caroling is scheduled throughout the event. Saint Nicholas will be at the Filer’s Corners Schoolhouse from 4:30 to 5:00 p.m. and again from 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. Members of the Congregation of the Christ Episcopal Church will present “A Living Nativity,” with performances at 5:00, 5:20, 5:40 and 6:00 p.m. at the Morey Barn. (Seating is limited.)

    There will be a book signing from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the Louis C. Jones Center featuring TV’s “Fabulous Beekman Boys.” Meet Josh and Brent and have them sign a copy of their new book: &#8220The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook.&#8221 Copies will be on sale during the event.

    An array of seasonal musical programs will take place at the Cornwallville Church, highlighted by the group GladTidings &#8211 featuring holiday music from centuries ago and also some recent favorites. Sandra Peevers, Erik House, and Diane Ducey will entertain with a variety of instruments including fiddle, guitar, banjo, mandolin, cittern, and concertina. Other performances include the Catskill Chamber Singers, the Catskill Choral Society Girls’ Choir, and the Northern Comforts Men’s Quartet. Ron Johnson will provide caroling in the More House.

    Children can take part in holiday arts and crafts activities at the Filer’s Corners Schoolhouse from 3:00 to 4:15 p.m. and The Empire State Carousel will be open for rides throughout the event.

    Warm up with a serving of chicken and biscuits, pulled pork, or BBQ vegetarian riblets along with gingerbread and hot beverages in the Louis C. Jones Center – located inside the Museum’s Main Barn. The Crossroads Cafe next to Bump Tavern will also be open for the evening.

    Admission is $12 for adults- $10.50 for seniors- and $6.00 for children ages 7-12. Members and children under 6 years of age receive free admission. Visit FarmersMuseum.org/candlelight for a complete schedule of the evening’s activities.

    A visit to the Museum this holiday season is not complete without a stop at The Farmers’ Museum Store and Todd’s General Store &#8211 where a large selection of handcrafted items from the museum are available as well as other seasonal favorites.

    Candlelight Evening visitors should dress warmly and wear boots. Please visit our website for updated parking and shuttle information. Visit FarmersMuseum.org/candlelight or call (607) 547-1450.