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Agricultural History

An Anthology of Pig Tales from Northern New York

January 13, 2021 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

wallow in mud at the Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary courtesy Wikimedia user Mark PetersThis little piggy from Eagle Lake apparently did not want to go to market.

“Hebert Moore’s pig is still at large. Motorists are requested to drive with care in the vicinity,” the Ticonderoga Sentinel reported on July 15th, 1920. “A reward of $1 is offered by L. Lodge to anyone who will catch said pig single handed. Mr. Lodge must witness the catch. $3 if done after dark.” [Read more…] about An Anthology of Pig Tales from Northern New York

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Food, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Western NY Tagged With: Agricultural History, Eagle Lake, local farms, North Creek, Stony Creek, Warren County, Washington County

Elliot Roosevelt’s Christmas Tree Sales At Val-Kill

December 24, 2020 by A. J. Schenkman Leave a Comment

Elliott Roosevelt and 3 Year Old in NYC 12-11-1948“Last week I acquired from my husband’s estate about two-thirds of the land which he owned here in Hyde Park. My son Elliott and I have gone into partnership and we are going to farm the land on a commercial basis,” Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in her “My Day” column on August 19, 1947.

This would be the beginning of a joint venture with her third child Elliott to turn a profit from the estate lands of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. [Read more…] about Elliot Roosevelt’s Christmas Tree Sales At Val-Kill

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Agricultural History, Christmas, Eleanor Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt NHS, FDR, Forestry, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Holidays, Val-Kill, winter

Slavery, Christmas and Southern Memory

December 18, 2020 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

The Historians LogoIn this episode of The Historians Podcast Purdue University Professor Emeritus Robert May weighs in on whether enslaved people were better treated during the Christmas season in the Old South.

May is author of Yuletide in Dixie: Slavery, Christmas and Southern Memory (2019). He earned his undergraduate degree at Union College in Schenectady. [Read more…] about Slavery, Christmas and Southern Memory

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Books, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Agricultural History, Black History, Christmas, Cultural History, Holidays, Podcasts, Slavery

Easement Acquired On 1830 Dutchess County Farm

December 15, 2020 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Jordan Lane Farm Pine Plains NYThe New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Dutchess Land Conservancy (DLC) have announced the acquisition of a conservation easement on an 1830 farm in the town of Pine Plains.

The Land Conservancy acquired the Jordan Lane Farm easement with New York State Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) funding that provides resources to protect source waters. [Read more…] about Easement Acquired On 1830 Dutchess County Farm

Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Agricultural History, clean water, Dutchess County, Historic Preservation, Hudson River, local farms, nature, Pine Plains, Wappinger Creek, water quality

John Davenport Clarke: Farmer, Forester, and Congressman

December 11, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

KaatscastIn the latest episode of Kaatscast, a podcast delivering interviews, arts, culture, and history from the Catskills , Delaware County Historian Bill Birns talks about the legacy of “Hobart’s greatest” (albeit largely forgotten) son, John Davenport Clarke.

Clarke was born in Hobart. He graduated Lafayette College in 1898 and Brooklyn Law School in 1911. He was assistant to the secretary of mines of the U. S. Steel from 1901 until 1907. In 1920, he was elected to Congress as a Republican. He was again elected to Congress in 1926 and served until his death in a car crash near Delhi, NY inn 1933. [Read more…] about John Davenport Clarke: Farmer, Forester, and Congressman

Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Recreation Tagged With: Agricultural History, Delaware County, Forestry, Podcasts, Political History

A Plague of Potato Bugs in 1877 Washington County

November 25, 2020 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

Colorado potato beetle courtesy Scott Bauer USDAThe 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

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Food, History, Nature Tagged With: Agricultural History, Food, Granville, insects, local farms, local food, nature, Washington County, Wildlife

Bean Pickers: Upstate Italian-American Immigrants

October 29, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Bean Pickers CoverThe 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

Filed Under: Books, Food, History, Mohawk Valley, Western NY Tagged With: Agricultural History, Books, Immigration, Italian History

Pot-Luck Suppers Of Yesteryear

October 8, 2020 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

assortment of different dishes at a potluck courtesy Wikimedia user Nehrams2020Theologically, 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

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Western NY Tagged With: Agricultural History, Culinary History, Cultural History, local farms

Apples & Schoolhouses Added To Columbia County Road Trips

October 5, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Samascott Orchards, a stop on the 'Good Apples' Drive Through History road trip.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

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Agricultural History, agriculture, Columbia County, Columbia County Historical Society

Big Hogs In The Paper: A Collection Of Pig Tales From Historic Newspapers

September 16, 2020 by Maury Thompson 1 Comment

Domestic pigs in a wallow courtesy Mark Peters Poplar Spring Animal SanctuaryA 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

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Food, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, Western NY Tagged With: Agricultural History, Food, local farms, nature, Washington County

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