On August 22, NYS Environmental Conservation Officer (ECO) Damrath responded to reports of a 30-foot yacht nearly submerged in front of a gas dock in the Black Rock Canal in Buffalo, NY. Officer Damrath responded to the location, observed the nearly sunken vessel leaking gasoline, and immediately contacted the U.S. Coast Guard. [Read more…] about 30-Foot Yacht Sinks in Buffalo’s Black Rock Canal
Stories from Western New York
Stories from west of Utica, including the Finger Lakes and Central New York, Oneida Lake, Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, and the communities around places like Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, Niagara County and the Southern Tier.
The New York Museums Report Released
The New York Study of Public and Private Museums has been released. The study was a statewide census of all chartered museums in New York, conducted by Empire State Development, New York State Council on the Arts, New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, New York State Department of State, and the New York State Education Department. [Read more…] about The New York Museums Report Released
Haudenosaunee & The American Revolution Speaker Series
The Iroquois Museum in Schoharie County is hosting a Fall Speaker Series focused on Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) history and the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution on Sunday afternoons through September and October. These in-person events are funded in part by the New York State Education Department’s America 250 Initiative; the event is included in Museum admission. [Read more…] about Haudenosaunee & The American Revolution Speaker Series
Rose Knox’s Gelatine, Leadership, Mixed Kitchen & Boardroom
In 1914, after secretly running Knox Gelatine for six years, Rose Knox revealed that she’d assumed her deceased husband’s position as the company’s president.
As President of company from 1908 to 1947, she drew on traditional ideals of domesticity and womanhood to turn the company into an iconic American brand and herself into a business celebrity. [Read more…] about Rose Knox’s Gelatine, Leadership, Mixed Kitchen & Boardroom
Include the Almanack in Your Newsletter – Get A Free Advert
Help build our community! Include the New York Almanack in your organization’s newsletter and get a few advertisement here on the site. The Almanack will be read by at least 1.5 million people over the next year – mostly New Yorkers interested in history and natural history. [Read more…] about Include the Almanack in Your Newsletter – Get A Free Advert
With ‘Operation Rotten Apple’ Upstate Police Round-Ups Surge
Federal authorities arrested 2,197 people across New York last month during what they have derisively named “Operation Rotten Apple,” the highest monthly immigration arrest total since the Trump administration’s round-ups began in New York State. [Read more…] about With ‘Operation Rotten Apple’ Upstate Police Round-Ups Surge
Trump Changes Lake Ontario’s Federal Name; New Yorkers Are Not Amused
Last week, Donald Trump claimed to have renamed Lake Ontario to Lake America. He didn’t. What he did do – in an effort to troll our biggest trading partner – was sign an executive order (14420) directing federal agencies and the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) to use the new name: [Read more…] about Trump Changes Lake Ontario’s Federal Name; New Yorkers Are Not Amused
Battle of Brooklyn 250th Anniversary Spawns Battlefield App
Just six weeks after Patriots at the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia declared independence on July 4, 1776, tens of thousands of troops clashed in one of the largest engagements of the American Revolution, across now-unrecognizable areas of New York City. [Read more…] about Battle of Brooklyn 250th Anniversary Spawns Battlefield App
Forest Rangers Respond to Lost, Injured Outdoor Recreationists
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers responded to multiple backcountry incidents from August 18th through August 22nd. These included lost and injured hikers, stranded and injured boaters, an injured cliff jumper and more. [Read more…] about Forest Rangers Respond to Lost, Injured Outdoor Recreationists
Genealogy Workshop: 19th-Century Immigrant Ancestor Travel
In colonial times Americans encouraged immigration, even in the Declaration of Independence.
“He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither,” Patriots wrote in reference to King George III’s limits on immigration to the colonies. [Read more…] about Genealogy Workshop: 19th-Century Immigrant Ancestor Travel
New Bridges Closing Some Genesee Valley Greenway Trail Gaps
Construction has begun on four new pedestrian bridges along the Genesee Valley Greenway State Park in Allegany County, NY that will restore connections where former railroad bridges had been removed, allowing trail users to remain on the Greenway rather than detouring onto local roadways, including busy Route 19. Together with targeted resurfacing, the $6.25 million improvements will provide 22 miles of continuously surfaced recreational corridor. [Read more…] about New Bridges Closing Some Genesee Valley Greenway Trail Gaps
Rochester’s Clothesline Art & Fine Craft Festival This Weekend
One of the longest-running arts festivals on the East Coast returns to Rochester’s Memorial Art Gallery (MAG) on August 29 and 30, 2026. The 69th Clothesline Art & Fine Craft Festival will welcome thousands of art lovers, families, foodies, and craft enthusiasts, transforming MAG’s grounds into a two-day celebration featuring nearly 400 artists, live music, food trucks, family activities, a signature craft beer, and one-of-a-kind art from across the region. [Read more…] about Rochester’s Clothesline Art & Fine Craft Festival This Weekend
Buffalo’s Hispanic Roberto Clemente League
Buffalo‘s Puerto Rican Roberto Clemente League was founded in the 1970s to create a Hispanic baseball league and included the Leones (Lions), the Boricuas (Puerto Ricans), and the Caribes (Piranhas).
The league grew throughout the 1980s, eventually including many other teams and creating a women’s softball team. [Read more…] about Buffalo’s Hispanic Roberto Clemente League
Grocers & The Rise of the Supermarket Chain
At the turn of the twentieth century, grocery retailing was still dominated by small, independently owned stores operating under what was commonly known as the “service” or “credit-and-delivery” model.
In this system, goods were kept behind a counter; clerks retrieved items upon request; and purchases were frequently charged to customer accounts and delivered to the home. Even early chain grocers followed this pattern. [Read more…] about Grocers & The Rise of the Supermarket Chain
Lake Ontario’s Selkirk Shores, Southwick Beach Get Upgrade
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) has completed $9.5 million in upgrades to Selkirk Shores and Southwick Beach State Park on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario, including campground upgrades, restoration of historic facilities, construction of a new park office and a new accessible trail. [Read more…] about Lake Ontario’s Selkirk Shores, Southwick Beach Get Upgrade
Women’s Equality Day Events: 250 Years of Marching Toward Equality
Women’s Equality Day, celebrated on August 26th, commemorates the passage of the 19th amendment in 1920 which ensured that most white women were no longer barred from voting due to their gender. The day also honors ongoing efforts toward full gender equality.
First celebrated in 1971 following the 1970 nationwide Women’s Strike for Equality, it was established by Congress in 1973 after a resolution was introduced by New York Congresswoman Bella Abzug (1920-1998). [Read more…] about Women’s Equality Day Events: 250 Years of Marching Toward Equality
Upstaters: Poets, Pols, Prophets & Bush-League Heroes
Over the last three-plus decades, Bill Kauffman has written about and interviewed upstate New York novelists, politicians, and civic activists who have given the region much of its interest to the author.
Upstaters: Poets, Pols, Prophets and Bush-League Heroes of Upstate New York (SUNY Press, 2026) collects these into a single volume. [Read more…] about Upstaters: Poets, Pols, Prophets & Bush-League Heroes
Rangers Kept Busy With Wildfire & Adirondack, Catskills Rescues
New York State Forest Rangers and local emergency crews responded to ten incidents involving a wildland fire and backcountry wilderness rescues over the past week. The wildfire occurred in the Town of Webb, where crews used an inflatable boat to transport supplies and extinguish an unattended campfire that spread to 100 square feet. [Read more…] about Rangers Kept Busy With Wildfire & Adirondack, Catskills Rescues
The Finger Lakes Pro Bowls & The NY Giants
The NFL training camps have begun for another season, with the preseason beginning in mid-August.
During the 1960s the New York Football Giants would play a series of preseason games during a five year period at Cornell’s Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, NY, which would come to be called the Finger Lakes Pro Bowl. [Read more…] about The Finger Lakes Pro Bowls & The NY Giants
Cooperstown Farmers’ Market Celebrating 35th Year Saturday
The Cooperstown Farmers’ Market will celebrate its 35th year on Saturday, August 15th. During the Market day, which runs from 9 am to 2 pm, there will be 33 local farmers and vendors, two sets of live music, kids’ activities to celebrate Honeybee Day, and a Market Bingo raffle.
At 11 am, there will be a brief program featuring New York State Commissioner of Agriculture and Markets Richard Ball; Meg Kennedy, owner of ARK Floral, which was a founding vendor of the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market; and Jim Dalton and Ellen Pope of Otsego 2000, which founded the Market in 1991. [Read more…] about Cooperstown Farmers’ Market Celebrating 35th Year Saturday