This week on The Historians Podcast, Dan Weaver discusses his latest book containing 60 of his local history columns, most of which first appeared in the Amsterdam Recorder — Between the Cracks: Forgotten Stories of Amsterdam, N.Y. and the Mohawk Valley (2020). [Read more…] about Forgotten Mohawk Valley Stories (Podcast)
Amsterdam
Kirk Douglas Day in Amsterdam, NY
This week on The Historians Podcast, a look back at movie star Kirk Douglas’s roots in Amsterdam, NY, featuring WGY radio audio from June 1, 1985, Kirk Douglas Day in Amsterdam. Then Governor Mario Cuomo was the featured speaker as a city park was named for the famous actor. [Read more…] about Kirk Douglas Day in Amsterdam, NY
Henry Hudson and Bethlehem, NY (Podcast)
This week on The Historians Podcast, the guest is Susan Leath, town historian of Bethlehem, NY — did explorer Henry Hudson land there? Plus, WAMC public radio’s Lucas Willard interviews Bob Cudmore on the impact Kirk Douglas had on his hometown, Amsterdam, NY. [Read more…] about Henry Hudson and Bethlehem, NY (Podcast)
Gertrude Sanford Legendre: Heiress, Explorer, Socialite, Spy
This week on The Historians Podcast, Kathryn Smith. a journalist from South Carolina, discusses her book Gertie: The Fabulous Life of Gertrude Sanford Legendre, Heiress, Explorer, Socialite, Spy.
Legendre was descended from the Amsterdam, New York, Sanfords who made a fortune in the carpet industry. [Read more…] about Gertrude Sanford Legendre: Heiress, Explorer, Socialite, Spy
Musical Highlights Amsterdam History
This week’s guest on The Historians Podcast is Maria Riccio Bryce who discusses her musical production Home Again which deals with her hometown of Amsterdam, NY. The production can be seen February 21-23 at Amsterdam High School. Proceeds benefit Amsterdam Free Library. [Read more…] about Musical Highlights Amsterdam History
Amsterdam, the Carpet City, Connects to Czech Republic
This week on The Historians Podcast with Bob Cudmore, Czech filmmaker Andrea Culkova discusses her current work-in-progress, The Magic Carpet. The documentary is about a carpet manufacturer in the Czech Republic but Culkova’s research recently took her to Amsterdam, NY, for a video shoot and interviews regarding the years when Amsterdam was called the Carpet City. [Read more…] about Amsterdam, the Carpet City, Connects to Czech Republic
Theaters, a Journalist and a Prominent Mohawk Valley Doctor
On The Historians Podcast, Bob Cudmore has stories from the Mohawk Valley: Amsterdam’s downtown movie theaters, a syndicated journalist from Fonda and a Civil War surgeon who was born in Root, NY. [Read more…] about Theaters, a Journalist and a Prominent Mohawk Valley Doctor
An 87-Year Old Recalls A Mohawk Valley Life
This week on The Historians Podcast, Richard Ratajak, now 87, looks back on his life as a paper boy in Amsterdam, NY, a soldier in the Korean War, and a priest in training who served summers at the Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, NY. Ratajak left the priesthood to marry the woman he loved and held jobs in state government as he gradually lost his eyesight. He worked for the state agency that helped blind people find meaningful work and served on the board of RISE, WMHT’s radio service for the blind. [Read more…] about An 87-Year Old Recalls A Mohawk Valley Life
Amsterdam’s North Chuctanunda Creek
On this episode of “The Historians” podcast, Jerry Snyder and John Naple discuss the importance of the North Chuctanunda Creek in the economic development of Amsterdam, NY.
Snyder and Historic Amsterdam League made the creek the focus of the League’s 2019 history calendar. Naple is a retired science teacher who leads tours of the creek along a newly created nature trail. [Read more…] about Amsterdam’s North Chuctanunda Creek
World War One’s End in Montgomery, Fulton Counties
This week on The Historians podcast, Bob Cudmore discusses the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I and how the war impacted the Amsterdam, NY area. Another topic: a steam train excursion in upstate New York in 1968. [Read more…] about World War One’s End in Montgomery, Fulton Counties