Bob Cudmore

Bob Cudmore is author of Lost Mohawk Valley, Hidden History of the Mohawk Valley, Stories from the Mohawk Valley and the satirical book, You Can’t Go Wrong. He writes “Focus on History” every Saturday in Schenectady's Daily Gazette newspaper and hosts the weekly podcast "The Historians" at BobCudmore.com

Jack McEneny, the Adirondacks on ‘The Historians’

October 17, 2014 by Bob Cudmore 1 Comment

This week on “The Historians”, Albany historian and former longtime New York State Assemblyman Jack McEneny on the Pine Hills, the Quackenbush House and the politics of history. In the second half of the show I talk with Adirondack historian Don Williams about his latest book Adirondack Tales of Tragedy and Tidings Between the Sacandaga River Bridges. (Leader Herald, 2014).

Listen to the whole program at “The Historians” online archive at http://www.bobcudmore.com/thehistorians/

The Historians:
George Washington Returns; Northville White Caps

October 10, 2014 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

This week on “The Historians”, Pulitzer Prize winner Edward Larson, author of The Return of George Washington: 1783-1789 (Harper Collins-Wm. Morrow, 2014).

In the second half of the show I talk with Leader Herald history columnist Peter Betz on the White Cap vigilantes in late nineteenth century Northville. Listen to the whole program at “The Historians” online archive at http://www.bobcudmore.com/thehistorians/

Amsterdam Mayor Arthur Carter Was An FDR ally

October 6, 2014 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

During the 1920s, Arthur Carter from Amsterdam worked as an auditor for the State Comptroller’s Office in Albany and got to know Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Roosevelt became President in 1933. Later that year, Carter was elected mayor of Amsterdam, defeating incumbent Republican Robert Brumagin by 1,169 votes.

The nation was gripped by the Depression. An estimated ten thousand people turned out in Amsterdam on a raw and windy November 9, two days after the city election, to parade for economic revival. [Read more…] about Amsterdam Mayor Arthur Carter Was An FDR ally

The Historians: Ghosts of the Past and a Dedicated Drummer

October 3, 2014 by Bob Cudmore 1 Comment

This week on “The Historians”, Jerry Snyder of Historic Amsterdam (N.Y.) League on their Ghosts of the Past Tour; Barry Wygel of Time Warner Cable News on the 100th anniversary of the Glove Theatre in Gloversville; my story of two Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, one black and one white, who fought in the Civil War

In the second half of the show I talk with Angela Cave, author of the book Keeping Time, the remarkable story of 98-year old drummer Fred Randall from Schenectady.

Listen to the whole program at “The Historians” online archive at http://www.bobcudmore.com/thehistorians/

The Historians: Peter Betz, Finger Lakes Culinary History

September 26, 2014 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

This week on “The Historians”, retired Fulton County historian and Leader Herald history columnist Peter Betz has the story of an early drowning — or not — in the Sacandaga Reservoir. In the second half of the show I talk with Laura Winter Falk about her book Culinary History of the Finger Lakes: From the Three Sisters to Riesling (History Press).

Listen to the whole program at “The Historians” online archive at http://www.bobcudmore.com/thehistorians/
[Read more…] about The Historians: Peter Betz, Finger Lakes Culinary History

The Historians: The Renaissance and Gold Star Mothers

September 19, 2014 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

This week on “The Historians”, popular historian Thomas Cahill discusses his latest book, Heretics and Heroes: How Renaissance Artists and Reformation Priests Created our World.

In the second half of the show I talk with novelist April Smith about the novel A Star for Mrs. Blake. The novel is based on a federal program in the early 1930s that offered Gold Star Mothers an opportunity to go to Europe to visit the graves of their sons killed in World War One.

Listen to the whole program at “The Historians” online archive at http://www.bobcudmore.com/thehistorians/

The Historians: Albany Ales and The 1957 Chevy

September 12, 2014 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

This week on “The Historians”, Craig Gravina discusses Albany ale, the Albany political machine’s favorite beer (Hedrick’s) and other sudsy topics. Gravina, from Albany, and Alan McLeod of Canada, are co-authors of Upper Hudson Valley Beer, published by History Press.

In the second half hour of the show, I talk with Earl Swift, author of Auto Biography: A Classic Car, An Outlaw Motorhead and 57 Years of the American Dream, the story of a 1957 Chevy.

Listen to the whole program at “The Historians” online archive at http://www.bobcudmore.com/thehistorians/

Bob Cudmore: How ‘The Historians’ Came to WVTL Radio

July 30, 2014 by Bob Cudmore 1 Comment

My first foray into local history was in 2000 when Steve Dunn and I co-produced the WMHT television documentary “Historic Views of the Carpet City: Amsterdam, N.Y.” Amsterdam is my home town. That same year my first book came out, self published. You Can’t Go Wrong: Stories from Nero, N.Y. and Other Tales (2000). [Read more…] about Bob Cudmore: How ‘The Historians’ Came to WVTL Radio