I’m not one to shed a tear when authoritarian rulers die, but once they’re gone, picnics become a lot more dangerous. As summer wanes, the original queen in every yellowjacket wasp colony dies – having a few thousand babies in the course of one season is enough to tire any Queen Mum to death. [Read more…] about Late-Season Yellowjacket Anarchy
Poetry: Stop Digging
Stop Digging
His well-known penchant
For making matters worse
Was exacerbated by
His obstinate persistence
Sadly he didn’t understand
When you’re in a hole
Stop digging
Anna Rosenberg: A Key Aide to FDR and Truman
This week on the Historians Podcast, author Christopher C. Gorham discusses his biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman aide Anna Rosenberg, The Confidante: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Helped Win WW II and Shape Modern America (Citadel Press, 2023).
Anna Rosenberg was dubbed by Life magazine as “far and away the most important woman in the American government.” From New York City, Rosenberg devised a plan that helped diversify the ranks of factory workers during the Second World War. She also served as deputy defense secretary during the Korean War. [Read more…] about Anna Rosenberg: A Key Aide to FDR and Truman
Lake George Battlefield Visitor Center Season Extended, Programs Planned
The Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance is marching through its second season of operating the Park’s new Visitor Center by extending the Center’s season through the end of October. [Read more…] about Lake George Battlefield Visitor Center Season Extended, Programs Planned
1969: A Catskills Convention Center Never Built
It was late August of 1968, and the people of Sullivan County, NY were all abuzz about the latest development in a long list of attempts to save their sagging economy.
The county’s Golden Age of Catskills tourism had ended three years before, and although no one likely realized yet how bad things would get before they got better, county officials and resort owners were trying desperately to right the sinking ship. True to form, however, all efforts to do so had been continually thwarted by a difference of opinion as to what course to follow. [Read more…] about 1969: A Catskills Convention Center Never Built
DEC Releases New Forest Preserve Work Policy
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has finalized DEC’s Commissioner Policy 78 (CP-78), the Forest Preserve Work Plan Policy. This policy is expected to serve as a guide for newly proposed projects and the evaluation of their site-specific impacts to the environment and character of the New York State Forest Preserve. [Read more…] about DEC Releases New Forest Preserve Work Policy
Campground Camper Fires Gun; Others Drunk & Disorderly
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers took time from rescuing lost and injured recreationists over Labor Day Weekend to deal with a camper firing a gun in a crowded state campground and a group of drunk and disorderly campers. [Read more…] about Campground Camper Fires Gun; Others Drunk & Disorderly
1745: The First Battle of Saratoga
The First Battle of Saratoga took place during King George’s War (1744-1748) in November 1745. A force of French and Native allies set out from Fort St. Frederic at Crown Point to attack English colonies in either New England or Albany.
When deep snow made travel into New England impractical, they turned toward Old Saratoga, now known as Schuylerville in Saratoga County, NY (near where the 1777 Battles of Saratoga would later take place during the American Revolution). [Read more…] about 1745: The First Battle of Saratoga
Expelling the Poor: The Nineteenth-Century Origins of American Immigration Policy
Historians have long assumed that immigration to the United States was free from regulation until anti-Asian racism on the West Coast triggered the introduction of federal laws to restrict Chinese immigration in the 1880s. Studies of European immigration and government control on the East Coast have, meanwhile, focused on Ellis Island, which opened in 1892. [Read more…] about Expelling the Poor: The Nineteenth-Century Origins of American Immigration Policy
Ten Broeck Mansion Announces Fall Art, History, and Garden Workshops
The Albany County Historical Association, which operates the historic 1798 Ten Broeck Mansion in Albany as a museum and gardens, has announced new fall art, history, and garden workshops. [Read more…] about Ten Broeck Mansion Announces Fall Art, History, and Garden Workshops