John Brown Lives! Honors Juneteenth With Event

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June 19th commemorates “Juneteenth”, the oldest known celebration of the end of slavery in the United States, and is observed in more than 30 states. It is also known as Freedom Day, or Emancipation Day. Join us in honoring “Juneteenth” with an author reception for Scott Christianson, author of the critically acclaimed book Freeing Charles: The Struggle to Free a Slave on the Eve of the Civil War (University of Illinois Press, 2010).

Scott will speak about the life and dramatic rescue of a captured fugitive slave from Virginia, Charles Nalle, who was liberated by Harriet Tubman and others in Troy, NY in 1860.

Of note, Freeing Charles has been featured in The New York Times Book Review and excerpted in The Wall Street Journal. An award-winning writer, scholar, and human rights activist, Christianson’s interest in American history, particularly slavery, dates back to his boyhood in upstate New York, when he discovered some of his ancestors’ Civil War letters.

This event will be held on The Rooftop Terrace of The Northwoods Inn on Main Street in Lake Placid and is co-sponsored by the Lake Placid Institute for the Arts & Humanities, John Brown Lives! and John Brown Coming Home.

The reception begins at 4:00 pm and is free and open to the public. The Northwoods Inn will open a cash bar during the author reception and offer an optional Adirondack-style BBQ on the terrace for $10 per person (tax and gratuity included) following the event. Freeing Charles will be available for purchase and Christianson will be on hand to sign copies of the book.

This year, June 19th follows on the release of a new U.S. State Department report released yesterday citing &#8211 for the first time &#8211 that despite the end of slavery, human trafficking is a serious problem in the United States.

Secretary Clinton (June 14, 2010): &#8220The 10th annual Trafficking in Persons Report outlines the continuing challenges across the globe, including in the United States. The Report, for the first time, includes a ranking of the United States based on the same standards to which we hold other countries. The United States takes its first-ever ranking not as a reprieve but as a responsibility to strengthen global efforts against modern slavery, including those within America. This human rights abuse is universal, and no one should claim immunity from its reach or from the responsibility to confront it.&#8221

The full report and announcement can be found online.

This is the first event in a series of anti-slavery conventions sponsored by John Brown Lives! and John Brown Coming Home.

For more information or to make reservations, call 518-962-4758 or 518-523-1312. Also visit http://www.lakeplacidinstitute.org/.

19th Vice President William Wheeler to be Honored

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The public is invited to Celebrate the life of Franklin County native and U.S. Vice President William A. Wheeler with the Franklin County Historical & Museum Society and the Malone Lodge of Elks on Saturday, June 19 at 10am.

The annual Wheeler memorial event will be held at Morningside Cemetery, Raymond St., Malone, and will feature a gun salute, wreath-laying and tribute by Felix Miller. Follow the signs to the Wheeler gravesite. Refreshments to follow at the House of History Museum, 51 Milwaukee St., Malone. Free and open to the public.

William Almon Wheeler was born in Malone, NY, a son of Almon Wheeler, a pioneer of Northern New York. Having worked his way through Franklin Academy, Wheeler entered the University of Vermont, where he spent two years. He returned to Malone where he studied law, and was admitted to the bar as an attorney. Wheeler became town clerk at the age of 21, Superintendent of Schools and, in 1846, Franklin County District Attorney.

In 1849 he was elected as a Whig to the NYS Assembly, where he served successfully two terms. Refusing a third term, he entered business in Malone. In 1857 Wheeler was elected to the NYS Senate as a Republican. In 1860 he was elected to the U.S. Congress, where he gave unswerving support to President Lincoln. In 1867 Wheeler was a delegate to the NYS Constitutional Convention, of which he was President. When Rutherford B. Hayes was nominated for the Presidency in 1876, Wheeler was chosen unanimously as his running mate. Wheeler served as Vice President of the United States from 1877-1881.

Contact FCHMS at 518-483-2750 for more information.

Photo: U.S. Vice President William A. Wheeler (1819-1887)

Vermont Plans For Civil War Sesquicentennial

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April 2011 will mark the 150th Anniversary of the firing on Fort Sumter and the start of the American Civil War and the Vermont Historical Society has laid out some preliminary plans for the multi-year observance include several large statewide events, as well as coordination of community-based activities. The planning team has drafted annual themes for each year of the commemoration that they hope will resonate with contemporary issues.

In recognition of the significant role Vermont played in this bloody conflict, the Vermont Historical Society is partnering with historical organizations and historians throughout the state to plan events and programs for the state’s Sesquicentennial Commemoration with the following themes:

1861/2011-The Years When Democracy Was Tested
1862/2012-The Year of Higher Moral Purpose
1863/2013-The Year of the Citizen Soldier &#8211 War, Politics and the Home Front
1864/2014-The Year of Suffering and Perseverance
1865/2015-The Year of Reckoning and Reckoning Deferred

The second article in Vermont’s 1777 constitution, abolished slavery, making it the first state to do so. As a result of Vermont’s abolitionists tendencies, more than 28,100 Vermonters served in Vermont volunteer units and nearly 5,000 others served in other states’ units, in the United States Army or the United States Navy. A total of 166 African American Vermonters served out of a population of just 709 in the entire state.

The first military action seen by Vermonters was at the Battle of Big Bethel on June 10, 1861, where a battalion of the 1st Vermont Infantry was engaged. The 1st Vermont Cavalry regiment participated in more than 70 engagements.

Following the Confederate raid on St. Albans on October 19, 1864, Vermont fielded two companies of Frontier Cavalry, who spent six months on the Canadian border to prevent further incursions from Confederate raiders.

Sixty-four Vermonters received the Medal of Honor, including Willie Johnston, the youngest person ever to receive this award.

Vermont Closes Historic Site Due To Bridge Construction

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Citing safety concerns caused by the reconstruction of the adjacent Champlain Bridge, Vermont state officials have announced the immediate closure of the Chimney Point State Historic Site in Addison.

Commissioner of Economic, Housing and Community Development Tayt Brooks said the combination of construction activity and limited road access to the area led to the decision to close the site for the season.

“The Chimney Point site and the construction area share a single road, and are literally right next to each other,” Brooks said. “We had hoped to keep the site open, but in practical terms we can’t place the public at risk by having them in such close proximity to a working construction area.”

The Champlain Bridge, which was built to span Lake Champlain and connect Vermont and New York in 1929, was closed due to safety concerns in October 2009 and was demolished using explosives on December 28, 2009.

A new “modified network tied arch” bridge is being built in nearly the exact location, and a temporary ferry is carrying passengers across Lake Champlain while the bridge is being rebuilt.

Brooks said the Division for Historic Preservation – part of his department – and officials from the Agency of Transportation had worked together to try to keep the site operating despite the noise, dust, odor, and delays that were inevitable as a result of the construction.

But as the staging area for materials and equipment was selected – and expanded – adjacent to the site, the risk of an accident involving visitors had become too great.

“We tried, but VTrans officials recommended – and I agreed – that the site should be closed for this season, and possibly next,” Brooks said. “We will re-evaluate before next spring after we see where the construction stands.”

The site had 2,962 visitors last year on the 99 days it was open, Brooks said, or an average of about 29 per day. It has generated roughly $3,000 in admissions and $9,000 in gift shop revenues in the current fiscal year, which began on July 1, 2009.

Before last week, the site had seen only 73 visitors in the 8 days it had been open, he said, adding that the Agency of Transportation will reimburse the Division for Historic Preservation for the lost revenue while the site is closed.

The state will examine whether some special events scheduled at the site – such as the Northeastern Atlatl Championship, part of the Festival of Nations in September – can be re-located, Brooks said.

Stony Point Lighthouse Evening Lantern Tour

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The Friends of Stony Point Battlefield & Lighthouse invite you to travel back in time to the nineteenth-century. Let’s imagine that you have been appointed lighthouse keeper by the United States Light House Establishment. In the days before GPS, you are solely responsible for safely navigating ships around the narrow bend in the Hudson River above Haverstraw Bay.

Every hour, all night long, you must climb up the two ladders into the lantern room to clean the windows and the glass prisms of the light and make sure the lamp is still burning bright. When it is raining, snowing or foggy, you must also walk the steep path down to the fog bell near the river every four hours to rewind the mechanical clock. Still interested in maintaining your post as Keeper of the Stony Point Lighthouse?

The romance of the lighthouse keeper meets the reality of the physical labor involved in keeping the maritime community safe in a slide lecture presented by Scott Craven at 7:30 PM on Saturday, June 19, 2010. Drawing on a wealth of images of 19th and 20th century boats, lighthouses and community life on the river, Craven illuminates the maritime history along the Hudson. He will review the 14 lighthouses that were once used to protect the river, focusing on the 8 that remain today.

Craven will also discuss the many other navigational aides that were part of the US Light House Establishment’s protection in the Hudson River and talk about what is used today to keep commercial traffic flowing smoothly and recreation boaters safe. After the presentation in the museum, Craven will give guided tours of the Stony Point Lighthouse – with its breathtaking views of the Hudson River by moonlight. (Don’t worry, you’ll only have to climb the two ladders once!)

The evening program begins at 7:30 PM, with the gate opening at 7:00 PM.

Admission: $4 adults, $3 seniors and children 10 and older.
This program is not appropriate for children younger than age 10.

The historic site is located at 44 Battlefield Road, accessed from Park Road. off Route 9W in Stony Point.

For more information and directions and to secure your advanced reservation, which is required for this program, please call the site office at 845-786-2521.

Native Encampment at Champlain Maritime Museum

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There will be a Native American Encampment event on Saturday and Sunday, June 19-20, 2010, 10am-5pm daily at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, 4472 Basin Harbor Rd, Vergennes, VT.

Dressed in clothing of earlier times, members of El-nu and Missisquoi Abenaki portray their ancestors and share traditional life skills, tools, clothing, personal adornments, and weapons used by Native Americans in the Champlain Valley through the centuries. Event includes traditional songs, cooking and camp skills, wampum readings, Native American weapons and armor, film showings and much more. Participating craftspeople combine archaeological evidence with personal expression to create beautiful and utilitarian objects.

Fredrick M. Wiseman, PhD will describe the sophisticated crafts and technologies of the region’s indigenous people and sign his newest publications, Champlain Tech, and Baseline 1609, which provide new insight into the region’s earliest and most enduring craft traditions.

Register in advance for on-water Paddle to Prehistory Sunday June 20. Information: 802 475-2022, [email protected], www.lcmm.org.

Fenimore Museum Lecture on John Singer Sargent

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Join Patricia Hills, Professor of Art History at Boston University, for an insightful lecture on John Singer Sargent’s male subjects titled &#8220Sargent’s Men.&#8221 Known for his superb portraits of women, John Singer Sargent could paint equally stunning and brilliant portraits men. Whether they be informal sketches of his artist friends or stately portraits of American international financiers, French literary types, English aristocrats, or Bedouin chieftains, he knew how to collaborate with his sitters to fashion an attractive and commanding persona.

The lecture takes place Saturday, June 19 at 2:00 p.m. in the Fenimore Art Museum auditorium and is free with paid admission to the Museum. NYSHA members are free.

The lecture is just a portion of the programming that accompanies the new exhibition John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Praise of Women. Visit FenimoreArtMuseum.org for more information.

Albany Institute Announces Summer Family Programs

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The Albany Institute of History & Art has announced its summer art programming schedule for children and families. Programs are designed to offer children and their adult companions an opportunity to experience a wide range of artistic workshops and creativity-based lessons, experienced in combination with the museum’s current exhibits and collections. Programs to be offered are as follows:

THREE-DAY ART CAMPS

9:00 a.m.–noon (ages 6–8), 1:00–4:00 p.m. (ages 9–11)
Students will deepen their engagement in the artistic process and share their creations on the third day of the workshop at a show of the students’ work. Classes are taught by a NYS certified art educator. Program fee of $60 for non-members and $45 for members includes materials and museum admission for all three days.
June 29, 30, and July 1: Masterpiece Puppet Theater—Create an original puppet show with your own marionettes.

August 31, September 1 and 2: Art That Goes—Use art and objects related to transportation as inspiration for your own work.

THE ’TUTE FOR TOTS

Wednesdays through July and August, 10:00–11:30 am (ages 3–5)

An inspiring setting gives preschool children and their adult companions a chance to become familiar with the museum and explore and grow through art. Gallery visits are followed by an art activity in our studio. Workshops last one-and-a-half hours and are taught by a NYS certified art educator. Program fee: $5 per person for non-members or $4 per person for members.

July 7–Fishy Drawings

July 14–Resist Painting

July 21–Textures and Shapes

July 28–Funny Faces Sculptures

August 4–Popsicle Stick Buildings.

August 11–Animal Collage

August 18–Vegetable Growth Cycles Book

August 25–Landscape Collage

SUMMER IN THE CITY

Wednesdays through July and August, 1:00–4:00 p.m. (ages 12–15)

Experience the art of Albany. Instructors will lead neighborhood walks to examine shape, color, pattern, texture, and architecture. Use a variety of materials to create a collage inspired by the landscape design of Washington Park. Classes are taught by a NYS certified art educator. A fee of $20 per class for non-members and $15 for members per class includes materials and museum admission. Great for home school students.

July 7–One-Point Perspective Drawings

July 14–Watercolor Facades

July 21–Collagraph Building Prints

July 28–Ceramic Gargoyle Faces

August 4–Tunnel Book Cities

August 11–One Picture, Many Media

August 18–Botanical Brown Bag Books

August 25–Landscape Collage

THURSDAY ART WORKSHOPS

Through July and August, 9:00 a.m.–noon (ages 6–8)- 1:00–4:00 p.m. (ages 9–11)

Emphasizing fine art techniques, materials and vocabulary, children will experience inspiration and the many ways in which artists work. Classes are taught by a NYS certified art educator. A fee of $20 per class for non-members and $15 for members per class includes materials and museum admission.

July 8–Creating Mystery Creatures

July 15–Still-Life

July 22–Fabric Collage Totes

July 29–Textured Tessellations

August 5–My Fantastic Room

August 12–Photography: Making the New Old

August 19–Botanical Brown Bag Books

August 26–Narrative Collage

More information and online registration is available through the Albany Institute’s website at www.albanyinstitute.org. Public requests for additional information should be addressed to Barbara Collins, Education Coordinator, (518) 463-4478, ext. 405- [email protected].

Books: Silver Seasons of Rochester Baseball

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Taking us back to the early nineteenth century, when baseball was played in the meadows and streets of Rochester, New York, Silver Seasons and a New Frontier: The Story of the Rochester Red Wings retraces the careers of the players and managers who honed their skills at the city’s Silver Stadium and later at Frontier Field. The many greats who played for the Rochester Red Wings—Stan Musial, Cal Ripken, Jr. (who provides the book’s forward), Bob Gibson, Boog Powell, Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray, and Justin Morneau are among those brought to life in this story rich with quirky performances and poignant moments.

This updated version of Silver Seasons: The Story of the Rochester Red Wings, first published in 1996, includes three new chapters covering the team’s record-setting tenth International League championship, being named top minor league franchise by Baseball America, and their new affiliation with the Minnesota Twins.

Silver Stadium opened in 1929, as Red Wing Stadium, in the middle of a thriving urban residential neighborhood which later fell into decline. In late 1956, the St. Louis Cardinals, then the major league affiliate of the Rochester Red Wings considered abandoning the franchise. In response, Morrie Silver, a Rochester businessman, spearheaded an effort to purchase the team and the stadium was renamed Silver Stadium in 1968. Although renovated in the 1980s, the desire for corporate suites and better parking led to the construction of Frontier Field, a new stadium located in downtown Rochester, which opened in 1996- Silver Stadium was demolished the following year is now an industrial and office park.

Silver Seasons tracks the history of the two stadiums and the teams that played there and in the process recalls moments like the longest game in pro baseball history, a thirty-three-inning affair between the Red Wings and the Pawtucket Red Sox that stretched from April to June. Highlights also include one of the greatest teams in minor league history, the 1971 Junior World Series champion Red Wings, homers hit by Estel Crabtree in 1939 and Jim Finigan in 1961 and the unlikely Red Wings championship in the first season at their new park in 1997.

About the Authors
Jim Mandelaro has covered the Rochester Red Wings for the Democrat and Chronicle since 1991. He has twice been honored as Sportswriter of the Year by the Rochester Press-Radio Club. He was inducted into the Frontier Field Walk of Fame in 2007.

Scott Pitoniak is the author of ten books, including Memories of Yankee Stadium. He was inducted into the Frontier Field Walk of Fame in 1999 and the Newhouse School of Public Communications Hall of Fame in 2000.

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