Western NY

Buffalo History Museum Closing Until April

February 24, 2015 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Buffalo History Museum will be closed from February 23 until April 16 for exhibit viewing and tours. The ongoing electrical updates and technology improvements necessitates exhibit closings as the project enters the final phase of completion.

All programs, events, rentals, staff offices, visitor services and the Museum Gift Shop will remain open during regular hours from Tuesday– Friday. The Research Library will remain open during regular weekday hours and will be closed on Saturday. [Read more…] about Buffalo History Museum Closing Until April

Dolph Schayes And The Rise Of Professional Basketball

January 31, 2015 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

In Dolph Schayes and the Rise of Professional Basketball (Syracuse Univ. Press, 2014), Dolph Grundman presents readers with a portrait, the first of its kind, of the star of the Syracuse Nationals basketball team during the 1950s and 1960s.

Dolph Schayes may not have one of the most recognizable names in basketball history, but his accomplishments are staggering. He was named one of the fifty greatest players of all time by the NBA, and he held six NBA records, including one for career scoring, at his retirement. [Read more…] about Dolph Schayes And The Rise Of Professional Basketball

New York History’s Most Famous Nurse?

January 21, 2015 by James Hinton 1 Comment

There are several claimants to the title of New York’s most famous nurse. That distinction probably can be laid at the feet of Long Island native Walt Whitman, though it was not his nursing skills during the Civil War that garnered him his fame. Some might argue it is the still not positively identified nurse who was photographed in Times Square celebrating the surrender of Japan in 1945 through a passionate kiss from a sailor. Again, though, it was not her skills as a nurse that earned her recognition. Another contender was Mary Breckinridge, whose Frontier Nursing Service brought healthcare to poor rural America. While her fame came about as a result of her nursing, she was born in Tennessee and gained her fame in Kentucky, only acquiring her nursing education in New York.

I happen to believe the title of New York’s most famous nurse belongs to Lillian Wald. Though born in Cincinnati, her family brought her to New York as a girl. She would spend the rest of her life there, gaining fame for her work in bringing healthcare to the poorest of New York’s immigrant population. Even after her death in 1940 her impact on New York continued to be felt, and her legacy lives on to this day. [Read more…] about New York History’s Most Famous Nurse?

Special Delivery: Traveling the Underground Railroad

November 8, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Special Delivery: From One Stop to Another on the Underground Railroad (North Country Books, 2014), is Rose O’Keefe’s latest effort to show what daily life was like in the 1850s, and what life was like in Rochester for families active on the Underground Railroad.

This historical fiction is a companion book to O’Keefe’s recent book Frederick and Anna Douglass in Rochester NY: Their Home Was Open to All (History Press, 2013). O’Keefe’s newest book is the story of eleven-year-old Lewis Douglass, who gives a very personal take on the Douglass family’s move from one house to another in Rochester in 1852. [Read more…] about Special Delivery: Traveling the Underground Railroad

Museum President: Susan B. Anthony Being ‘Defamed’

November 5, 2014 by John Warren 1 Comment

The recent activities of the Susan B. Anthony List, a 501(c)(4) organization, and its affiliated political action committee, the SBA List Candidate Fund, have raised concerns at Rochester’s Susan B. Anthony Museum & House, part of an ongoing dispute over anti-abortion activists and social conservatives using Anthony’s name.

“We can make room for a different interpretation of history, and we certainly support political engagement,” says Deborah L. Hughes, President and CEO of the Anthony Museum, “but their tactics repeatedly cross a line that is outrageous and inconsistent with who Susan B. Anthony was. Her good character is being defamed by their actions. People are outraged by their actions, causing harm to Anthony’s name and the mission of our Museum.” [Read more…] about Museum President: Susan B. Anthony Being ‘Defamed’

Realist Art Exhibit: Eugene Speicher At NYS Museum

October 23, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The New York State Museum has opened a new exhibition featuring the work of New York artist Eugene Speicher. Along His Own Lines: A Retrospective of New York Realist Eugene Speicher explores Speicher’s diverse art career ranging from portraits to still life to landscape.

On display in West Gallery through March 22, 2015, the exhibition features more than 70 artworks by Speicher, who was born in Buffalo, NY. [Read more…] about Realist Art Exhibit: Eugene Speicher At NYS Museum

Sally Ride Biographer Keynoting Susan B. Anthony Event

October 15, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House has announced that its’ keynote speaker for the 2015 Susan B. Anthony Birthday Luncheon will be Lynn Sherr, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and biographer. The 2015 luncheon theme, Thanks to Susan B., We Can Reach For the Stars!, a celebration of the impact Susan B. Anthony’s life and work has had on subsequent generations of women. [Read more…] about Sally Ride Biographer Keynoting Susan B. Anthony Event

Sesquicentennial Observance of Battle of Cedar Creek

October 13, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Three days before the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War Battle of Cedar Creek, Sue Greenhagen will deliver the second program in the new Madison County Civil War Series.

At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, October 16, 2014 at the Hamilton Public Library (13 Broad Street, Hamilton NY) Greenhagen will describe the October 19, 1864 battle in Middletown (Belle Grove) Virginia with particular attention to the service of the 114th Infantry Regiment which was recruited primarily from Chenango, Cortland, and Madison Counties in New York State with recruitment headquarters in Norwich NY: Companies A and H were from Oxford, Companies B and C from Norwich. Company D from Eaton, Company E from Greene, Company F from Sherburne and New Berlin, Company G from Hamilton and Brookfield, Company I from Otselic, and Company K from Cazenovia. [Read more…] about Sesquicentennial Observance of Battle of Cedar Creek

Landmark Society Names 2014 Five to Revive

October 8, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Landmark Society of Western New York has announced its 2014 Five to Revive – a list of historic sites it has determined to be in need of targeted revitalization. The announcement was made at the Landmark Society headquarters on Fitzhugh St. in Rochester.

“The preservation efforts of The Landmark Society of Western New York continue to be focused on community revitalization,” Executive Director Wayne Goodman said in a statement to the press. “This is the second year we are announcing a Five to Revive list to call attention to key properties in western New York that are in need of investment. We can’t stress enough that these are significant historic properties whose rehabilitations can become catalytic projects for the neighborhoods and communities that surround them.”

The 2014 Five to Revive list includes: [Read more…] about Landmark Society Names 2014 Five to Revive

Sunday: Southern Tier Event Recalls Civil War Veteran

September 25, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Coventry Town Museum Association will present its 10th Annual Civil War Commemorative event “Celebrating And Remembering The Life Of Coventry’s Immigrant Son, Private John Shaver – Stonemason, Family Man, Civil War Infantryman”, on Sunday, September 28th, on the grounds of the Coventryville Congregational Church.

This all day event honors John Shaver, ancestor of numerous descendants live throughout the Southern Tier including Chenango, Cortland and Broome counties. [Read more…] about Sunday: Southern Tier Event Recalls Civil War Veteran