• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Adirondacks & NNY
  • Capital-Saratoga
  • Mohawk Valley
  • Hudson Valley & Catskills
  • NYC & Long Island
  • Western NY
  • History
  • Nature & Environment
  • Arts & Culture
  • Outdoor Recreation
  • Food & Farms
  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Submit
  • About
  • New Books
  • Events
  • Podcasts

Adirondacks Role in WWII Subject of New Exhibit at ADKX

June 30, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

WWII welcome home ceremony courtesy National Archives and Records AdministrationThe Adirondack Experience (ADKX) is set to reopen to the public with “From Wilderness to Warfront: The Adirondacks and World War II,” a new exhibition focused on the contributions of Adirondack people to America’s World War Two effort.

The exhibition, developed in conjunction with the war’s 80th anniversary, captures the impact of the war on the Adirondacks, through both the experiences of the men and women who left to serve and those who stayed behind in the region.

“From Wilderness to Warfront: The Adirondacks and World War II” features an extensive array of artifacts and ephemera, including photographs and scrapbooks; letters and journal entries; military uniforms and insignia; advertisements, signage, and graphic works that advanced the war effort at home and abroad; and a wide range of other objects.

The exhibit also includes oral histories from two Adirondack veterans — Private Charlie Smith and Lt. Colonel David Hanning — whose recollections and stories are captured for the first time as part of the exhibition. Those histories will also live on the ADKX website. The show will remain on view through ADKX’s summer season, closing on September 30th, 2021

To celebrate the formal opening of the summer season and to engage audiences further with the exhibition, ADKX will host a day of activities inspired by the World War II era. From 10 am to 4 pm on July 1st, visitors will be able to enjoy big band sounds from the 1940s in a festive outdoor environment, decorated with red, white, and blue bunting and banners. Children will be able to draw their own “dog tags” and pose like Rosie the Riveter in a photo area, with images available to take home. Smith and Hanning will also be onsite to greet and talk to visitors about their experiences and the exhibition.

“From Wilderness to Warfront” covers a wide range of topics relating to the war effort, from America’s entry into the Second World War to the experiences of soldiers and nurses in training and on the field to the challenges faced by communities in the Adirondacks and across the United States, and through to the healing and rebuilding that took place after the war. Each of these subjects is illuminated through both objects of national relevance, such as propaganda produced by the government and circulated through the press, and personal effects that capture memories and responses in journal entries and letters.

The exhibition features a selection of stories about individuals from the Adirondacks, including Gladys Hunt (1915-2008) from Indian Lake, who enlisted in the Army Nurse corps in 1943 and served on the frontlines in hospitals in France, Holland, and Germany. After Hunt was honorably discharged in 1946, she enrolled in Pratt Institute, where she focused on designing one of the first truly wheelchair-accessible kitchens, inspired by her work with soldiers who were disabled. Although she received very little credit for her innovations, she was instrumental in furthering modern accessible design.

Another example is Clarence Petty (1905-2009) from Coreys near Saranac Lake, who enlisted in 1942 and served as a transport pilot in the Pacific. After the war, he returned to the Adirondacks and put his flying skills to use as a ranger in the NY Department of Environmental Conservation. He became the first person to extinguish a forest fire by dumping water from an airplane, and his outspoken commitment to conservation contributed to the creation of the Adirondack Park Agency.

For more information, call (518) 352-7311 or visit the ADKX website.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Events, History, New Exhibits Tagged With: Adirondack Experience, Adirondacks

About Editorial Staff

Stories written under the Editorial Staff byline are drawn from press releases and other notices. Submit your news to New York Almanack here.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Help Support Our Work

Subscribe to New York Almanack

Subscribe! Follow the New York Almanack each day via E-mail, RSS, Twitter or Facebook updates.

Recent Comments

  • Thomas Hughes on 1920s KKK Recruiting Efforts in Northern New York
  • Bob Meyer on 1920s KKK Recruiting Efforts in Northern New York
  • Thomas Hughes on 1920s KKK Recruiting Efforts in Northern New York
  • Bob Meyer on 1920s KKK Recruiting Efforts in Northern New York
  • Gordon Mason on NYS Historic Barn Tax Credit Program Informational Session
  • David G Waite on Ellis Corners: Before Saratoga Spa State Park & SPAC
  • Eric braverman on Wall Street History: The Politics of New York’s First Banks
  • N. Couture on Haudenosaunee Creation Story & Sculptures with Emily Kasennisaks Stacey
  • Lee on The Mysterious Death of the Angel of Sing Sing
  • Elisa Nelson on Replica Canal Schooner Lois McClure Being Retired, Dismantled

Recent New York Books

Spaces of Enslavement and Resistance in Dutch New York
ilion cover
Spare Parts
new yorks war of 1812
a prison in the woods cover
Visitors to My Street
Greek Fire
Building THe Ashokan Reservoir
ilion book cover
Bryan Jackson the Titanic Was Dooomed

Secondary Sidebar

preservation league
Protect the Adirondacks Hiking Guide