History, Natural History & the Arts
The weather at Granville, in Washington County, in June 1877, was ideal for agriculture.
“This is the weather that makes farmers happy,” The Granville Sentinel reported.
Corn and flax crops looked promising, but “vigilance and perseverance is to be the price of potatoes.” [Read more…] about A Plague of Potato Bugs in 1877 Washington County
The book Bean Pickers, American Immigrant Portraits by Karen Foresti Hempson (Jacobs Press, Inc., 2019) focuses on eight true-life portrayals of Italian immigrants and their families, all beginning their American lives as summer bean pickers in Upstate New York.
The book features over one hundred authentic photos and documents, illustrating personal stories from the early twentieth century immigration wave, Prohibition, the Great Depression, and the Second World War. Each character finds his/her way out of poverty through such avenues as bootlegging, playing baseball, joining the military. [Read more…] about Bean Pickers: Upstate Italian-American Immigrants
Theologically, I identify as an ecumenical pot luck supper observer.
So, this historic pun caught my fancy.
“The all-absorbing question agitating the public mind at Sandy Hill is: ‘If a Roman Catholic roasts an Episcopalian’s turkey in a Methodist oven, what denomination will the turkey be?’” The Morning Star of Glens Falls asked on January 12th, 1884. “All the sages have given it up.” [Read more…] about Pot-Luck Suppers Of Yesteryear
The Columbia County Historical Society has added two more road trips to its ongoing ‘Drive Through History’ series, ‘Good Apples’ and ‘Schoolhouse Stories.’ [Read more…] about Apples & Schoolhouses Added To Columbia County Road Trips
A hog weighing in at 1,200 pounds raised in Greenwich, in Washington County, was spared the slaughter, at least temporarily, in order to be put on display as an oddity.
“G.V.P. Lansing, a resident of the town of Greenwich, has the unique distinction of having raised and marketed the largest hog ever grown in the world,” The Post-Star reported on March 12, 1919. “The hog was sold last week to Bennett Brothers of Albany, and shipped to that place.” [Read more…] about Big Hogs In The Paper: A Collection Of Pig Tales From Historic Newspapers
The Smithsonian’s traveling exhibition, Water/Ways, which looks at how humanity has used water and how water has helped shaped civilization, is set to arrive at Clinton Academy Museum on February 29th for a six-week stay. [Read more…] about Smithsonian Water/Ways Exhibit in East Hampton, LI
In 1849 the Jay Family built a Gothic Revival cottage on Cherry Hill, beside the Jay Mansion in Rye, NY, based on a design by renowned architect Alexander Jackson Davis, who also designed Whitby Castle and Lyndhurst. The cottage closely resembled Station No. 10, an A.J. Davis-designed structure at New York Yacht Club
Time, rotting wood, and carpenter bees eventually took their toll on the 19th-century cottage. With the help of donations from the public and the Gerry Charitable Trust, the Center is making plans to construct a new outdoor classroom on Cherry Hill — a functional learning space that will make visual reference to the historic cottage that preceded it. [Read more…] about Jay Heritage Center Building New Garden Pavilion
When you enter the hamlet of Wallkill, you are greeted by the happy face of the Borden Company’s mascot, Elsie the Cow. The company’s website states that this mascot dates to the 1930s.
Underneath Elsie is a sign stating that the Hamlet of Wallkill was the location the “Home Farm” of John G. Borden. Thus, many commonly believe that Borden Condensed Milk was in fact invented in the Hamlet of Wallkill; however, its origins can be traced to Burrville, Connecticut and Gail Borden, Jr. Actually, the business was not originally called Borden at all – that title would come later. [Read more…] about Everyone Knows Elsie: A Short Borden Company History
Jesse Williams, a successful farmer and cheese maker in Rome, believed that farmers could maximize their profits by working together as cooperative dairies. He started a cheese factory in the n 1851 just north of Rome, NY and helped revolutionize the modern cheese industry locally and across the nation. [Read more…] about Jesse Williams’ Early Cheese Factory in Rome, NY
The Time and the Valleys Museum is set to host a 1930s Catskill Farm Hoedown on Saturday, July 27th from 5 to 9 pm.
Held outdoors behind the Museum, the hoedown will include both round and square dancing with music by the Country Travelers with Paul Lounsbury, Bob Hunt, Dave Trestyn, Bill Engle and dance caller Patty Legg, food catered by the Neversink General Store, an entertaining Pie Auction, a silent auction and visit to the 1930s Catskill Farm. [Read more…] about Catskill Farm Museum Hoedown Set for July