The Pomeroy Fund for NYS History, a partnership between the William G. Pomeroy Foundation and the Museum Association of New York (MANY), have announced a new grant round providing $50,000 to assist 501(c)(3) history-related organizations with capital needs expenses in 2021. [Read more…] about A New Grant Round to Support NYS History Organizations
Capital-Saratoga
Columbia County Historians Receive Grants
The Columbia County Historical Society (CCHS) has announced it has awarded grants to five County historical societies as part of its annual county re-grant program. The competitive grant application period opens at the end of each calendar year. [Read more…] about Columbia County Historians Receive Grants
With Stripers In Decline, It’s Time For Anglers To Act
Striped bass (Morone saxatilis), an ecologically, recreationally, and economically important species of migratory fish found in from the St. Lawrence to North Carolina, are in decline according to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
Last fall the Commission completed a coastwide assessment that overfishing was a contributing factor in the decline.
[Read more…] about With Stripers In Decline, It’s Time For Anglers To Act
Poetry: Amanda! Ngawethu!
Amanda! Ngawethu!
Like a shell of goodness surrounding our raw, fragile earth
It is built upon, added to, and altered in meaning
Every second a brave someone speaks up against the barbarity of prejudice
based on outside appearance
I ask you this
If you were looking at earth from a far distance
Would you see a shallow, insignificant nothing
No different from the trillions of tons of debris drifting in leaden blackness
Or would you find beauty within the protective shell that every life form known in
existence calls home
A shelter of color, culture, diversity, perspective, community, love.
Not a wall to hide under and to block out adventure and experience
But a filter, a reminder that the unknown is something to be welcomed,
celebrated and explored
Not to demolish and flatten
And what is the unknown
It is something different and unfamiliar
But if the world, if our world, is about perspective
Then the word ‘our’ should mean one whole
A rich unity of difference
But that unity will be ripped apart without acceptance, understanding and
equality.
Let this be a statement of power
Not over each other
Not the right to take over or criticize
But the power to fan the flame of contagion that is love
We are one, but we are different
And that difference is what should unite us
12 year-old Sophia DeMasi of Clifton Park wrote this poem after being inspired by Maya Angelou’s poem “His Day Is Done” about the passing of Nelson Mandela.
Infidels and Atheists: 1820 Religious Revival in Saratoga County
The Great Awakening was a wave of increased religious enthusiasm led by evangelical Protestant ministers that first swept through the American Colonies in the 1730s. It made Christianity intensely personal to the average person by fostering a deep sense of spiritual conviction and by encouraging introspection and a commitment to a new standard of personal morality.
While the Great Awakening was very effective in reviving religion, the emotion burned out quickly after the first generation and there was much “back sliding.” By the 1820s conditions were ripe for another round of revival, what became known as the Second Great Awakening. [Read more…] about Infidels and Atheists: 1820 Religious Revival in Saratoga County
Historians Podcast Highlights of 2021
This week on The Historians Podcast: excerpts from 2021 podcasts including David Pietrusza – growing up in Amsterdam NY, public radio pioneer Will Lewis, Justice Robert Best – the historic Fulton County Courthouse, Darren Tracy – historic preservation, Jim Kaplan – New York City’s Wasserstein family, Jerry Snyder – Historic Amsterdam League and Oneida County historian Joseph Bottini – Oriskany’s Trinkaus Manor restaurant. [Read more…] about Historians Podcast Highlights of 2021
Nocturnal Nature: Skunks On A Night Hike
With plenty of snow on the ground and a full moon on Saturday, this weekend promises to be one of those occasions when enough natural light will exist to venture outside and explore the nocturnal side of nature.
Taking a night time stroll can be quite exciting, especially during the latter part of February, as this is the time of year when the yelps and howls of the coyote, that signals the onset of its mating season, can often be heard. Likewise, both the red and gray fox will soon be entering their breeding periods, and their vocalizations may also break the stillness of the night.
The Fitzgerald Brewery: A Short History
Let us raise a glass to beer, the drink that has fueled America since its beginnings. Beer was such a popular drink that most cities during parts of the nineteenth century there were almost as many breweries as houses of worship.
One source lists 34 breweries in Troy at one point. Some only lasted a couple of years, while others endured, even beyond Prohibition. One of the oldest and largest of Troy’s breweries was the Fitzgerald Brewery. [Read more…] about The Fitzgerald Brewery: A Short History
Trump Impeachment Recalls Aaron Burr’s Treason
Donald Trump’s recent impeachment trial in which the President was accused of incitement of insurrection against the United States recalls to mind a case from more than 200 years ago.
In that case another New York politician, former Vice President Aaron Burr, whose personality was arguably not dissimilar from Donald Trump, was tried and acquitted of treason in 1807. [Read more…] about Trump Impeachment Recalls Aaron Burr’s Treason
‘Rebuilding the Republic’ Author Series Underway
The New York State Writers Institute has announced “Rebuilding the Republic,” a months-long series of events addressing many of the urgent issues we face today — including the threat of political insurrection, racist violence, economic inequity, and social strife — and the prospect of emerging a better nation from adversity. [Read more…] about ‘Rebuilding the Republic’ Author Series Underway