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Christmas

This Holiday Season Record Your Family’s Oral History

December 14, 2015 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Oral History Home InterviewsBy combining technology with time-honored techniques of interviewing and storytelling, this holiday season can be an ideal time for people to hear and preserve eyewitness accounts of life experiences from loved ones for future generations, says an historian at Baylor University’s Institute for Oral History.

“One thing almost all Americans share is regret that when we were children, we did not listen better when our parents, grandparents and older relatives or friends told stories about people and places alive only in their memories,” said Lois Myers, associate director of the institute. “Such oral traditions may be the most fragile links to our family history.”

With sound or video recordings, people can uncover and preserve the origins of family rituals — such as holiday celebrations, common sayings or even recipes, Myers said. [Read more…] about This Holiday Season Record Your Family’s Oral History

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Christmas, Genealogy, Holidays, Oral History

The Lake Placid Legacy of Willis Wells

December 29, 2014 by Lawrence P. Gooley 1 Comment

WillisWellsNYHAmong the folks who played an important role in Northern New York regional history and personified the traditional Christmas spirit was Willis Wells of Lake Placid.

Long before Willis gained attention, his father, Duran, a native of Peru, New York, had become a North Country fixture, operating a peddler’s cart in the post-Civil War years. From the shores of Lake Champlain to the Paul Smith’s area, he supplied homes and farms with the daily needs of life, an important function in those early days when stores visited many of their customers. [Read more…] about The Lake Placid Legacy of Willis Wells

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Adirondacks, Christmas, Essex County, Lake Placid, Olympic History, Political History, Sports History

History Podcast: Christmas in Upstate NY

December 26, 2014 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

The Historians LogoThis week’s episode on “The Historians” podcast includes a story about Christmas in the declining mill town of Nero, NY from my book You Can’t Go Wrong. I’ll also read a recent Daily Gazette column on Christmas through the years in Amsterdam, NY. Listen at “The Historians” online archive at http://www.bobcudmore.com/thehistorians/

Coming up next week, will be Adirondack historian Phil Terrie. Also coming in January an interview with the author of the book Orphan Train (Harper Collins, 2013) and a conversation with Maria Riccio Bryce about the re-issue of the CD of her musical production Hearts of Fire, the story of the 1690 Schenectady massacre.
[Read more…] about History Podcast: Christmas in Upstate NY

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Amsterdam, Christmas, Podcasts, The Historians

Dutch History of Christmas Treats With Peter Rose

December 24, 2014 by Liz Covart 2 Comments

ben_franklins_worldUndoubtedly, you have heard or read Clement Moore’s famous poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (1822), but have you ever wondered where the traditions of stockings, presents, and cookies come from? And what about jolly old Saint Nick? Who was he and why do we call him Santa Claus?

In this episode of the “Ben Franklin’s World” podcast, Peter G. Rose, culinary historian of Dutch foodways in North America and author of Delicious December: How the Dutch Brought Us Santa, Presents, and Treats (SUNY Press, 2014), joins me to discuss the origins of Santa Claus, cookies, and more in the United States.  You can listen to the podcast here: www.benfranklinsworld.com/009 [Read more…] about Dutch History of Christmas Treats With Peter Rose

Filed Under: Books, History Tagged With: Ben Franklin’s World, Christmas, Culinary History, Cultural History, New Netherland, Podcasts

Candy, Nuts, and Fruit: Christmas Gifts of the Past

December 25, 2011 by Lawrence P. Gooley 2 Comments

Children’s Christmas wishes and expectations years ago were much different from today’s world of high technology. I was so struck by this—the simplicity and innocence—that I included a chapter entitled Letters to Santa in a recent book on the history of Churubusco, New York.

The sample letters below were published in newspapers of northern New York from 1920–1940. They portray the sharp contrast to the modern holiday, where expensive gifts have become the disproportionate norm. [Read more…] about Candy, Nuts, and Fruit: Christmas Gifts of the Past

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Food, History Tagged With: Christmas, Clinton County, Culinary History, Cultural History

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