New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Hyde Park

Fala, A Presidential Dog

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FDR-Fala-White-House-1941 “Saturday was a sad day for all of us and I know that all of Fala’s friends will also be sad to know that he slept away, and the little dog’s story had come to an end.”

Eleanor Roosevelt wrote these words in her column “My Day” on April 8th, 1952. She was saddened by the loss of the famous Scottish Terrier that belonged to her late husband FDR. Both Fala and his grandson Tamas McFala, also a Scottish Terrier, were constant fixtures at Val-Kill in Hyde Park, the home of Eleanor Roosevelt after President Roosevelt died. [Read more…] about Fala, A Presidential Dog

Roosevelt Reading Festival at FDR Library Saturday

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Roosevelt Reading FestivalThe 16th annual Roosevelt Reading Festival has been set for June 15th at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, 4079 Albany Post Rd, Hyde Park, from 10 am to 5 pm. [Read more…] about Roosevelt Reading Festival at FDR Library Saturday

FDR’s 136th Birthday At West Point Tuesday

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FDR 135th Birthday The National Park Service will commemorate President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 136th birthday on Tuesday, January 30th at 3 pm.

The event is held in the Rose Garden at the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site in Hyde Park, New York.

Brigadier General Cindy R. Jebb, Dean of the Academic Board, United States Military Academy, West Point will present the remarks. The United States Military Academy provides the honor guard and color guard for the event. [Read more…] about FDR’s 136th Birthday At West Point Tuesday

Talk Planned On Staatsburg Estate Owners

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Staatsburg BookAnthony Musso, author of Staatsburg: A Village Lost in Time (2014), will give a talk entitled “Staatsburg: Its Estate Owners and Their Impact on the Village” at Staatsburgh State Historic Site on April 11, 2015.

The tiny community of Staatsburg was once the home of several large estates.  As Musso writes in his book on Staatsburg, each of the estates “had an impact on the character, finances and preservation of the village and its surroundings.”  [Read more…] about Talk Planned On Staatsburg Estate Owners

Teaching the Hudson Valley from Civil War to Civil Rights

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Educators are invited to discover new ways to use the region’s special places to teach about controversy and decision making at In Conflict Crises: Teaching the Hudson Valley from Civil War to Civil Rights and Beyond. Registration is now open for THV’s annual institute, July 24-26, at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home and Presidential Library in Hyde Park.

This year’s opening talk, Keep Your Eyes on the Prize: Controversy and  Connection in the Classroom of Life, will feature Kim and Reggie Harris, musicians, storytellers, educators, and interpreters of history. Accepting THV’s invitation they wrote, “Our nation’s history is filled with conflict, opposition, controversy, and crisis, but is also rich in perseverance, collaboration, determination, and compromise. We look forward to reflecting on ways to use these realities to prepare students to be thinkers and problem solvers.”

During the institute, more than 15 workshops will connect educators with historians, writers, and scientists, as well as their colleagues from schools, parks, and historic sites throughout the Valley. Topics include
Evaluating Scientific Claims (Cary Institute), Using ELA Common Core to Teach Controversy (Lewisboro Elementary School teachers), and Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State and the Civil War, (New York State Museum).

On day 2 of the institute participants will choose one of six in-depth field experiences at Columbia County History Museum (Kinderhook), Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site and FDR Presidential Library (Hyde Park), Fishkill Depot, Katherine W. Davis River Walk Center (Sleepy Hollow), Mount Gulian Historic Site (Beacon), or Palisaides Interstate Park.

You can find out more about the program online. 

Photo: Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, courtesy Bill Urbin, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites, National Park Service.

Beatrix Farrand Garden’s Centennial Celebration

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The Beatrix Farrand Garden Association is presenting a Centennial Celebration for the Beatrix Farrand Garden at Bellefield on the property of the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site in Hyde Park.

The Beatrix Farrand Garden Association is a not for profit organization dedicated to showcasing the environmental and design legacy of  America’s first female landscape architect,  Beatrix Farrand (1872-1959). The Association partners with the National Park Service to preserve and maintain the
Beatrix Farrand Garden at Bellefield as an outstanding example of Farrand’s work.


An afternoon garden party will be held on Saturday, June 2, 2012 from 4pm to 7pm at Bellefield at the Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, 4097 Albany Post Road, Hyde Park, NY. Advance purchase of tickets is required. For tickets and more information go to http://www.beatrixfarrandgarden.org
or call 845-229-9115 ext. 2023.

Tree Removal Planned for Vanderbilt Mansion NHS

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The National Park Service (NPS) will soon begin work to remove hazardous trees along Route 9 at the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site in Hyde Park (Dutchess County).

After a public comment period and agency reviews, the NPS made the decision to remove only trees that have been identified as high or severe risks to public safely. 100 trees will be removed out of the approximately 700 trees in this area. Once tree removal has been completed, 200 white pine trees will be planted in the understory, with the goal of re-establishing a visual barrier between the highway and estate grounds.  

During the project, the park will remain open to the public, but the work area will be closed for safety reasons. Some minor traffic delays may occur on Route 9 when trees leaning over the highway are removed.

Students Write About Place, Win Class Trips

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Teaching the Hudson Valley (THV) has announced the winners of its first student writing contest. Three winning writers and their classmates will visit the places they wrote about with costs covered by a THV Explore Award. [Read more…] about Students Write About Place, Win Class Trips

200 Years of Landscape History at Hyde Park

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Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites will be offering historic landscape and garden tours, free, on the third Sunday of the month offered by the National Park Service and their partner, the Frederick W. Vanderbilt Garden Association.

On July 17, August 21, September 18 and October 16, participants can meet at 1:00 pm at the Vanderbilt Mansion visitor parking area for the “200 Years of Landscape History” tour led by an NPS Ranger. The tour concludes at the Formal Gardens where visitors may join FWVGA volunteers between 1:00 pm and 3:30 pm for an additional 30-minute tour.

Interpreter-guides will discuss the history of the gardens, Vanderbilt ownership and the on-going work by the Vanderbilt Garden Association which was formed in 1984 to rehabilitate and maintain the garden plantings.

Park in the Vanderbilt Mansion visitor parking lot and follow the gravel path on the south side of the mansion. Tours will be cancelled if it rains. Please call 845-229-7770 or 845-229-6432 for status if the weather is questionable.