History, Natural History & the Arts
“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 Elliott Roosevelt’s Christmas Tree Sales At Val-Kill
Reindeer have been soaring since long before Christmas came into being. For some reason, the fly agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria), a lovely red-and-white polka-dotted ‘shroom bearing an uncanny resemblance to a Christmas ornament, is attractive to these creatures. It’s also hallucinogenic, and Comet, Cupid, and loads of other blitzed reindeer have been observed lurching about after munching the mushrooms (Santa’s sleigh makes more sense after you learn about this little reindeer game).
Regrettably, flights of any sort will become less frequent for these animals, as their population is in steep decline as a result of a warmer Arctic. [Read more…] about Santa’s Reindeer Hit Hard By Our Warming Climate
Many eighteenth century publicans framed a list of pre-conditions for the “perfect” tavern which was displayed in full view in British public houses and drinking dens.
The advice to customers consisted of “Twelve Good Rules” that dated back to the rule of Charles I: [Read more…] about Twelve Tavern Rules, Thirteen Toasts and America’s 1814 Anthem
In 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
This year, lighten your holiday celebrations by reducing waste and recycling right. Check your local recycling provider’s list of accepted items. Use the following tips as you prepare for the season’s festivities, and clean-up afterwards. [Read more…] about Holiday Waste Reduction, Recycling Tips
Here are some holiday gift ideas for traditional field sports enthusiasts. [Read more…] about Gift Ideas For Traditional Field Sports Enthusiasts
New York has important associations with the formation of what is now considered a traditional American Christmas. “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (a.k.a. “Twas The Night Before Christmas”) was first published in the Troy Sentinel in 1823; The Albany Evening Journal ran an advertisement on December 17, 1841, that is believed to be the first time Santa Clause was used to advertise a store; and America’s first Christmas card was published in Albany in 1850/51.
Recently two rare printings of the first commercially printed Christmas card, published in England, have been announced for sale at auction. The cards depicts a family toasting with glasses of red wine. Commissioned by Henry Cole and designed by John Callcott Horsley, it carries the message “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.” [Read more…] about Puritans, Prussians, and the History of Christmas Cards
Call it an antiquarian newspaper holiday miracle.
“Rather a peculiar thing happened a few days ago,” Lieutenant Howard Smith of Hudson Falls wrote his mother from a military hospital in France on December 26th, 1918. “One of the orderlies of this ward found a picture of me in The Post-Star while he was in another ward. It was an account of my getting a Boche.” [Read more…] about A First World War Holiday Miracle
The morning of December 25th this year will be a lot less cheery unless the World Health Organization gives Santa a free pass on COVID-19 restrictions so he can hand out presents to billions of kids on Christmas Eve night.
As it is, many people feel like cheer is at low ebb. Local authorities in my area strongly recommend we celebrate the holidays in our respective households; no visitors. Yikes! Looks like Christmas 2020 will have to run on memories – bad news for me, as I forget where I put the keys two minutes after setting them down. [Read more…] about An Arborist Considers Christmas Trees, Evergreen Traditions
Before F. W. Woolworths’, Whitney’s, or even Myer’s department store, there was Pease’s Great Variety Store, located in the Temple of Fancy at 516 and 518 Broadway in Albany, NY.
As with other fancy goods stores, Pease’s catered to the middle and upper middle class selling highly decorated goods like ceramics, prints, furniture and other decorative household items that progressively thinking people might have wanted to purchase. [Read more…] about America’s First Christmas Card & An Early Albany Department Store