History, Natural History & the Arts
When in doubt, take a dinner break.
That was the strategy for reaching unanimity in 1888 at New York’s 18th Congressional District nominating convention.
And the strategy worked, although some of the politicians from Washington and Rensselaer counties may have eaten crow, so to speak. [Read more…] about Schaghticoke’s Congressman: John A. Quackenbush
April is the month when Spring weather typically calls out, “Ready or not, here I come,” and compels nature and humans of New York to come out from winter hiding.
“Happy is the farmer who has got everything ready for the active labors of the coming season. But no matter how thoroughly he is prepared there will always be plenty to do,” the agriculture columnist wrote in the April 25th, 1874 Ticonderoga Sentinel.
The task list was long and varied in the month of getting ready to make hay while the sun shines. [Read more…] about Small Farms in April in the Nineteenth Century
Albany was a busy place on New Year’s Day 1883, the day of a collegial turnover of power from a Republican to a Democrat who had won election by an 11-percentage-point margin. [Read more…] about Grover Cleveland’s Albany Inauguration for Governor
A pun is a fitting way to celebrate the birth of a child to a fellow newspaper editor.
“Editor G.A. Weller of The Granville Sentinel rejoices over the addition to his family of a feminine ‘supplement’ weighing over eleven pounds,” The Morning Star of Glens Falls reported on September 22nd, 1885. [Read more…] about 19th Century Birth Announcements: Elements of Style
If a newspaper reporter witnesses it, then it has to be so.
But did the reporter see the chicken that supposedly laid the egg?
“Lyman Colson is the owner of a hen that produced an egg one day last week which was shown to your representative,” The Morning Star of Glens Falls reported on May 8th, 1885. “It measures six-and-one-half by eight-and-one-fourth inches in circumference.” [Read more…] about Chicken & Egg Stories From Historic Newspapers
Lake George lost a champion a half-century ago when the 91-year-old Charles H. Tuttle, the man who The Lake George Association honored as “Mr. Lake George,” died January 26th, 1971.
“His love for Lake George was an inspiration to all, including strangers as well as close friends,” the Ticonderoga Sentinel reported on February 4th. [Read more…] about Charles Tuttle: FDR Opponent, Lake George Advocate
The year 1886 in Washington County, New York, ended on an optimistic tone.
“But thou, the old year, has not been a very hard one, especially,” The Granville Sentinel reported on December 31st, 1886.
Extended periods of drought followed by weeks of unseasonal warm rain gave way in the final days of the year to seasonal weather. [Read more…] about The New Year in 1887, Granville, Washington County
Lake Champlain froze completely on January 8th, 1887, missing by just two days the seventy-year record for earliest freeze.
“Saturday morning (January 8th) was the coldest of the season, the mercury registering 26 below zero – in the shade,” The Granville Sentinel reported on January 14th. [Read more…] about The Joys of a January Freeze, 1887
This little piggy from Eagle Lake apparently did not want to go to market.
“Hebert Moore’s pig is still at large. Motorists are requested to drive with care in the vicinity,” the Ticonderoga Sentinel reported on July 15th, 1920. “A reward of $1 is offered by L. Lodge to anyone who will catch said pig single handed. Mr. Lodge must witness the catch. $3 if done after dark.” [Read more…] about An Anthology of Pig Tales from Northern New York
If there was one thing 19th century Granville Sentinel publisher Anna McArthur disliked more than Democrats, it was a competing newspaper attempting to siphon off Republican readership. [Read more…] about A Washington County Political Newspaper Brawl