New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Dwight Eisenhower

The Adirondack Northway’s Ambiguous Legacy

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The Northway above Lake George, as portrayed by the Lake George MirrorThe Adirondack Northway (Interstate 87) made Lake George more accessible than any other resort area in the Northeast. So, it’s appropriate that the birth of the modern interstate highway system can be traced to Lake George; specifically, to the 46th Annual National Governor’s Conference, held July 11 to 13, 1954, at the Sagamore Hotel in Bolton Landing.

To be precise, the Conference was the site not so much of the birth of the interstate highway system, but of the announcement of its birth. [Read more…] about The Adirondack Northway’s Ambiguous Legacy

Harry Truman’s Remarks on Socialism in Syracuse, 1952

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Harry Truman in upstate New York in October, 1952What follows is a speech given near the New York Central Railroad station in Syracuse, NY, by then President Harry S. Truman on October 10, 1952. Truman gave several speeches from the rear platform of his train as he campaigned for Democrats during the election of 1952, in which he himself did not run. 

I am happy to be here today again. You gave me a wonderful reception four years ago, even if it was raining cats and dogs all the time I was here. [Read more…] about Harry Truman’s Remarks on Socialism in Syracuse, 1952

Race & The American National Exhibition

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American National Exhibition fashion show in Moscow, 1959 (Library of Congress)In 1959, after dozens of fashion editors protested racial integration, a committee organizing a fashion show for the American National Exhibition in Moscow, Russia, announced it would be removing scenes that showed Black and white people together. [Read more…] about Race & The American National Exhibition

Eisenhower’s Sabre, The Netherlands & The Marshall Plan

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Detail of the Eisenhower honorary sabre (courtesy Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum, Abilene, Kansas)On October 14th, 1947, a crisp and sunny autumn day, General Dwight D. Eisenhower celebrated his 57th birthday in style. At the Dutch embassy, in the heart of Washington, DC, ambassador Eelco van Kleffens presented the legendary leader of the Second World War with an “honorary sabre.”

It was not a conventional blade. Weighing nearly five pounds, the gold-encrusted sabre was embedded with hundreds of gemstones and had been meticulously handcrafted by one of the most skillful goldsmiths in The Netherlands: Brom’s Edelsmederij in Utrecht. [Read more…] about Eisenhower’s Sabre, The Netherlands & The Marshall Plan

The Adirondack Northway: Some History

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July 9, 1954 issue of the Lake George MirrorThe Adirondack Northway (I-87) made Lake George more accessible than any other resort area in the Northeast. So, it’s appropriate that the birth of the modern interstate highway system can be traced to Lake George; specifically, to the 46th Annual National Governor’s Conference, held July 11th to 13th, 1954, at the Sagamore Hotel in Bolton Landing.

To be precise, the Conference was the site not so much of the birth of the interstate highway system, but of the announcement of its birth. [Read more…] about The Adirondack Northway: Some History

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