Catskill Resident Named Baseball Historian

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Major League Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig has announced that author and Catskill, NY resident John Thorn has been named the Official Baseball Historian for Major League Baseball.

Thorn is the author and editor of numerous baseball books, including the forthcoming Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game, which will be published on March 15th by Simon & Schuster. His other books include Treasures of the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Total Baseball encyclopedia series. Thorn, a member of the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR), was the senior creative consultant for Ken Burns’ Baseball series.

As Official Historian, Thorn will lead various research endeavors and special projects on behalf of Major League Baseball.

Thorn succeeds the late Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times baseball writer Jerome Holtzman, who served as Official Baseball Historian from 1999 until his passing in 2008.

The Woodstock Times has a profile of Thorn online.

Ulster County Groups Offer Trivia Night

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The Ulster County Historical Society and Historic Huguenot Street are joining forces to bring trivia to New Paltz. Tomorrow night, Friday, March 25th, the two organizations will offer “Trivia Night.”

The program in New Paltz is a continuation of the Trivia Nights the Ulster County Historical Society (UCHS) has offered previously at the Bevier House Museum, their headquarters in Stone Ridge. Recently, UCHS Administrator Suzanne Hausperg contacted Historic Huguenot Street (HHS) to see if they would like to collaborate. Richard Heyl de Ortiz, Director of Marketing, Development and Visitation for HHS, explains, “Suzanne called me to say that they wanted to take Trivia Night on the road and asked if we’d be interested in collaborating. I had thought the idea was a great one when they launched it last year and was happy to work together to make this happen.”

Trivia Night is a combination of national and local history, with perhaps even a bit of New Paltz history added in for this event. Individuals play in teams and all skill levels are welcome. The night also includes drinks, delicious hors d’oeuvres and prizes.

Trivia Night will be offered on Friday, March 25th from 6 to 9pm at Deyo Hall, 6 Broadhead Avenue, between North Chestnut and Huguenot Streets, in New Paltz. There is a $10 charge per person. For more information about this or about Historic Huguenot Street, visit www.huguenotstreet.org or call (845) 255-1660. For more information about the Ulster County Historical Society, visit www.bevierhousemuseum.org.

Photo: The Bevier House Museum, home of the Ulster County Historical Society.

Major Hudson River School Exhibition Opens

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Questroyal Fine Art in New York City has announced the beginning of its eleventh annual Hudson River School exhibition, An Untamed Nation. The show, which opened to the public March 10, features examples by America’s most beloved landscape artists of the nineteenth-century. Highlights include a sublime landscape by the 19th-century forefather of American art, Thomas Doughty, a marine masterpiece by Luminist painter Francis Augustus Silva, a vibrant Hudson River scene by Jasper Francis Cropsey, and a dramatic composition by George Inness.

Questroyal owner Louis M. Salerno said of the paintings: “After months of searching, I am happy to say that I have gathered a unique and high-quality group of paintings for this year’s exhibition. I have specialized in finding and offering Hudson River School works for over two decades now and have never displayed such a distinguished collection of nineteenth-century art as what we have for this year’s show. We have created one of our strongest Hudson River School catalogues to accompany the exhibition with thirty-two illustrations, but plan to display well over seventy-five works.”

An Untamed Nation will be on display until April2,2011. Questroyal is willing to offer a complimentary exhibition catalogue to any interested parties. Please contact the gallery via email ([email protected]) or phone (212-744-3586) to request your copy.

Admission to the exhibition is free of charge. The gallery is located at 903 Park Avenue (at 79th Street), Suite 3A & B and is open Monday–Friday from 10–6 PM and Saturday, 10–5PM.

Visit their website for more information.

Former Northern NY Military Rifle Range Inspections Set

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The National Guard Bureau will surveying old National Guard rifle range in Ticonderoga, Malone, Glens Falls, and Saratoga Springs for the presence of environmental poisons this summer. The ranges are among 23 former New York Army National Guard training sites used between 1873 and 1994 that the National Guard Bureau will be inspecting for potential environmental hazards.

The program is being conducted worldwide to address human health, safety, and environmental concerns at former non-operational defense sites. This includes over 400 sites in 48 states and two territories formerly used by the National Guard. The training sites in New York vary in size from 3.7 to 939 acres.

Currently, the New York National Guard has three training sites located in Guilderland, Youngstown and at Camp Smith, near Peekskill. Soldiers also train regularly at Ft. Drum, near Watertown.

Current property owners are in the process of being asked to allow contractors on their property to conduct this check which although mandated by the Department of Defense Military Munitions Response Program, will only include soil samples from a depth &#8220less than two to three inches.&#8221 The survey will also a visual inspection and checks with hand-held metal detectors. According to a press release issued by the Guard, &#8220the inspectors will collect the samples with disposable plastic spoons, which are about the size of an ice cream scoop.&#8221

A preliminary assessment to identify locations, research historical records, land usage and past incident(s) in the area was completed in 2008- this summer’s site inspections are expected to collect additional information, data and samples necessary to determine if following actions are warranted.

About the sites:

The Malone Small Arms Range was used from about 1895 to 1985. The range was approximately 43 acres- the range layout and boundary are unknown, as are the types of ammunition used there. The former range is located on state land, redeveloped for a correctional facility, northwest of Malone.

An older Ticonderoga Small Arms Range measured about 406 acres and was used from about 1950 to 1973- the newer one measured 105 acres and was used from about 1986 to 1994. The layouts and boundaries of the ranges are unknown, as are the types of ammunition used at them. The former ranges are located between Vineyard Road and Corduroy Road.

The Glens Falls Small Arms Range was used from about 1878 to 1955. The range was approximately 876 acres- the range layout has been verified, but the types of ammunition used there are unknown. The former range is located on forested, municipal property north of Peggy Ann Road.

The Saratoga Springs Small Arms Range was used from about 1878 to 1951. The range was approximately 100 acres- the range layout has been verified, but the types of ammunition used there are unknown. The former range is located on residential properties and forested land east of Weibel Avenue.

Anyone who has documents, records or photographs of the range are encouraged to contact Master Sgt. Corine Lombardo at [email protected] or (518) 786-4579.

Photo: New York Army National Guard Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry, conduct weapons training at the Guilderland Weekend Training Center.

Matilda Joslyn Gage Celebration at Gage Center

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The Gage Foundation will celebrate the 185th birthday of Fayetteville, New York’s most famous women’s rights activist Matilda Joslyn Gage on Thurs., March 24, from 4-7 p.m. with an open house at the newly restored Gage Center, 210 E. Genesee Street, Fayetteville.

The event is free and open to the public. It will feature music and poetry written in honor of Gage. Winners of the annual Matilda Joslyn Gage essay contest will be announced at 4:15. Musical entertainment will follow, with local activist-artist Colleen Kattau performing a song she composed about Gage. The Eagle Hill Middle School girls’ chorus will perform music from Gage’s time, and Ed Nizalowski will play period flute music. Martin Willitts will read from his new poetry chapbook, &#8220Protest, Petition, Write, Speak: Matilda Joslyn Gage Poems&#8221 and sign copies of the book at 6 p.m.

Visitors will be invited to &#8220Write on Our Walls&#8221: to share their ideas for programs and exhibits by writing on whiteboard walls in each room. All will be treated to birthday cake provided by Connie Decker of the Chocolate Truffle.

A place of ideas, the Gage Center relies on dialogue to explore the social justice issues that Gage found most important and that still challenge us today.

Beginning March 26, the Gage Center will be open to the public Saturdays and Mondays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and at other times by appointment. Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for students and seniors. Group rates are available. Watch their website to learn about upcoming events at the Gage Center. For more information contact (315) 637-9511 or [email protected].

Auburn Founders Day Committee Seeks Input

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The committee in charge of Auburn’s Founders Day festival is asking the public for input on themes for future celebrations. Founders Day is an annual festival held in Auburn, Cayuga County, New York, focusing each year on an influential person or institution from the area. The day’s celebration offers speakers, entertainment, vendors, artists, shopping, food and refreshments in an atmosphere of fun for the entire family.

Founders Day began in 2009, as a way of bringing attention to Auburn’s rich historical legacy. The 2009 festival focused on William Seward, and Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin was the guest of honor. Last year’s festival celebrated the work of Theodore Case, Auburn’s native son who made talking movies possible. The 2011 Founders Days was going to celebrate the work of Harriet Tubman, but the committee decided to wait until 2013, the 100th anniversary of her death, to focus on Tubman.

This year’s Founders Day, scheduled for Saturday, August 13, will celebrate History on Wheels. Auburn’s Antique Car Club will be the focus- more than 50 other car clubs have been invited to participate. Hundreds of vintage cars will line the streets of downtown, while live bands, food vendors, artisan crafters and children’s activities entertain visitors.

The Founders Day committee is looking for ideas on which individuals or institutions to celebrate in future years. “Founders Day is in its infancy,” said this year’s co-chair Eileen McHugh, “and we intend for it to get bigger and better every year. Someday, Founders Day can be for Auburn what Harborfest is for Oswego. We’re planning now for the next several years. And we want suggestions from the community.”

Whom do you think should be celebrated on Founders Day? The committee has settled on Harriet Tubman for 2013, but needs a theme for 2012 and beyond. Send your idea, along with a brief statement of why that person or organization should be celebrated, to the Founders Day Committee at Downtown Auburn BID. Phone in your suggestion at 252-7874, drop it off in person at 128 Genesee St., or email [email protected].

Women and Conservation History at Adirondack Museum

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March 2011 marks the centennial celebration of International Women’s Day. Although women have long been dedicated and progressive history makers, their actions were slow to receive international attention. Adirondack Museum Educator Jessica Rubin will offer a presentation entitled &#8220Women and the Conservation Movement&#8221 as part of the museum’s popular Cabin Fever Sunday series on Sunday, March 27, 2011.

Rubin will discuss the role of women and female-centered organizations in the early conservation movement, excellent examples of historic female activism. Groups such as the National Federation of Women’s Clubs and individuals like journalist Kate Field and botanist Lucy Bishop Millington will be highlighted in the presentation to illustrate the unique ways women interacted with and advocated for the American wilderness at a time when most were confined to the &#8220private sphere.&#8221

Rubin will show that women were instrumental in the creation of state and federal conservation legislation and protections long before they had the right to vote. From the Adirondacks to California women were outspoken players in the national conservation crusade.

Held in the museum’s auditorium, the program will begin promptly at 1:30 p.m. Cabin Fever Sundays are offered at no charge to museum members or children of elementary
school age and younger. The fee for non-members is $5.00. Refreshments will be served. For additional information, please call the Education Department at (518) 352-7311, ext. 128 or visit the museum’s website.

Jessica Rubin holds a B.A. in Politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz and will receive a M.A. in Public History from SUNY Albany in the spring of 2011. She joined the staff of the Adirondack Museum in 2008. She previously taught at the Conserve School, a college-preparatory school with an environmental and outdoor focus in northern Wisconsin. Her love for and interest in the environment was greatly influenced by four summers of work in Yosemite National Park.

Photo: Photo by female photographer Katherine Elizabeth McClellan, 1898. Collection of Adirondack Museum.

State Capitol Fire of 1911 Commemoration

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In the early morning hours of March 29, 1911, a fire broke out in the New York State Capitol at Albany. By sunset, the vast collection of the New York State Library, then housed in the Capitol, had been reduced to ashes.

To commemorate the centennial of the fire, coauthors Paul Mercer and Vicki Weiss, both of the New York State Library, have published The New York State Capitol and the Great Fire of 1911 (Arcadia Press, 2011) including rare images and documents from the special collections of the modern library, which arose from the ruins of the 1911 fire.

The public is invited join Executive Deputy Chief Warren Abriel of the Albany Fire Department to mark the 100th Anniversary of this historic event on Tuesday, March 29, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the University Club of Albany. The reception will feature light fare and cash bar, and authors Mercer and Weiss will discuss and sign the book. Royalties from book sales benefit the Friends of the New York State Library.

The event will also feature a preview of a documentary set to air on March 31 on WMHT, The New York Capitol Fire. Robert Altman, President and CEO of WMHT Educational Communications, will introduce a clip of the video, which draws on interviews, archival materials and reenactments. This WMHT documentary was created in collaboration with the New York State Museum, the New York State Archives, the Albany Institute, the New York State Library, the City of Albany and the Commission on the Restoration of the Capitol.

The cost for the reception, book signing and video preview is $20 per person. Reservations are required and may be made by calling the University Club at (518) 463-1151.

A portion of the proceeds from this event benefit the University Club Foundation, formed to recognize and maintain the unique historic and architectural significance of the University Club building and property, its historic neighborhood and the city of Albany, where it has been located since its inception in 1901.

Support for educational programming presented by the University Club of Albany Foundation, Inc. is provided by AT&T.

Photo: Fire-destroyed reading room in State Capitol, Albany, NY, 1911. Courtesy New York State Archives.

New Windsor Cantonment Revolutionary War Encampment

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New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site will host a weekend of Revolutionary War military firing demonstrations and period activities on Saturday April 16, 10 AM – 4:30 PM and Sunday April 17, 1 – 4:00 PM. The event is presented by the Brigade of the American Revolution, an international organization dedicated to recreating the life and times of the common soldier of the War for Independence, 1775-1783.

A battle demonstration takes place at 2:00 PM each day with colorfully uniformed soldiers firing muskets and maneuvering to the music of fifes and drums. The soldiers will also set up tents, prepare cooking fires and demonstrate other aspects of 18th century life. For more information please call (845) 561-1765 ext. 22. Admission is free.

At 3:00 PM, on Saturday April 16, historian Norm Fuss will present a talk on The Battle of Great Bridge: the South’s Bunker Hill. At 3:00 PM, on Sunday April 17, historian Barnet Schecter will give a talk on his latest book George Washington’s America: a Biography through His Maps. After the presentation he will have copies of his book for sale. At 10:15 AM on Sunday April 17, Norm Fuss will give a presentation on Surviving Military Uniforms in North American Repositories. At 12:30 PM, on Sunday April 17, Eric Schnitzer, Park Historian, Saratoga National Historical Park, will present A primer to using artwork for living history clothing documentation. All lectures are open to the public. Members of the Brigade of the American Revolution use this weekend to teach the latest knowledge in recreating life from that era. The presentations are an enjoyable experience, something to be long remembered. Through lectures and demonstrations, a wide variety of 18th century period life is revealed. New Windsor Cantonment site staff is present to perform blacksmithing, woodworking and military medicine Saturday April 16, 10 AM – 4:30 PM and Sunday April 17, 1 – 4:00 PM.

The New Windsor Cantonment is co-located with the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor at 374 Temple Hill Road, Route 300, in the Town of New Windsor, four miles east of Stewart Airport and three miles from the intersection of I-87 and I-84 in Newburgh, New York.

Photo: Brigade of the American Revolution.

Books: 19th Century Murder Mystery

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Story ideas are the stuff of legend, and the idea for Ellen Horan’s debut novel 31 Bond Street came from a long forgotten mid-19th century Manhattan murder mystery.

31 Bond Street transports readers back to New York City in 1857, to a gripping murder case known as the ‘Bond Street Murder.’ Horan discovered a yellowed newspaper page in a print shop and her research soon uncovered one of the most sensational trials of the century, occupying front pages as the nation grappled with the perils of the impending Civil War.

The story begins during on a blustery January morning when a wealthy dentist, Dr. Harvey Burdell, is found brutally murdered in his sumptuous townhouse at 31 Bond Street in Manhattan. An attractive widow, Emma Cunningham, becomes the prime suspect. Emma Cunningham’s fate is placed in the hands of two lawyers: the idealistic defense attorney, Henry Clinton, and the District Attorney, Abraham Oakey Hall, who aspires to be mayor.

With Cunningham’s life on the line, Clinton applies the new science of forensic analysis in an attempt to spare her from the gallows. The murder case uncovers tensions and rifts in the upstairs-downstairs world of 31 Bond Street, as well the city at large. As a woman seeking security for herself and her daughters through marriage, Emma Cunningham made the fatal mistake of placing her trust in the unscrupulous Dr. Burdell, whose world included financiers who plot for land and power, corrupt politicians, a conspiracy of slavers and a courageous black carriage driver who has witnessed too much.

Incorporating historical material from trial testimony and newspaper accounts, Horan expertly researched 31 Bond Street and filled it with authentic details of life in New York City, great and small: the hoops and whalebone stays under a velvet gown, the lacing of cherry trees lining Washington Square, walnut catsup at Astor House, Lenape Indians in Hudson River Park.

The new paperback’s PS section includes an interview with author, the story behind the book, and more.

Ellen Horan has worked as a studio artist and as a photo editor for magazines and books in New York City. She lives in downtown Manhattan, the setting of her first novel. Her website is http://www.31bondstreet.com/.

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