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Smugglers & The Law: Prohibition In Northern New York

January 19, 2023 by John Warren 4 Comments

A recreated chase of bootleggers in Chestertown, NY in 2013 (photo by John Warren)Dennis Warren left his job as a coal shoveler on the New York Central Railroad in Albany to ship out to the First World War. His transport ship had a close call with a German submarine on the way over, but got there in time to take part in what one of the bloodiest military campaigns in American history.

For Americans after the war, the Argonne would mean what Normandy meant just 25 years later – sacrifice. Sadly, that sacrifice in the Argonne Forest was never repaid to Dennis Warren, who met the death of a smuggler – running from an officious and invasive law on a treacherous mountain road near Port Henry on Lake Champlain.

According to the newsman who reported his death at the age of 29, “Canadian Ale was spread across the road.” [Read more…] about Smugglers & The Law: Prohibition In Northern New York

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Al Smith, beer, Canada, Clinton County, Crime and Justice, DeWitt, Essex County, Franklin County, Genealogy, Journalism, Lafayette, Lake Champlain, Legal History, liquor, Manlius, Newspapers, Onondaga, Onondaga County, Oral History, Plattsburgh, Political History, Pompey, Port Henry, Prohibition, Quebec, Rouses Point, Route 9, St Lawrence County, State Police, SUNY Plattsburgh, Vice, World War One

Political History & Wit From Northern NY Newspapers

January 13, 2023 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

A New York Times pressman checking a newspaper for defects in 1942Trivia clue: He had an unusual career path from the ice business to lawyer, with a stopover in Congress.

Correct response: Who is Charles Henry Turner?

On December 27th, 1889, The Morning Star of Glens Falls reported that there were 130 new members of Congress, including this member who felt a bit out of place. [Read more…] about Political History & Wit From Northern NY Newspapers

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Newspapers, Political History

Political Anecdotes From Northern New York Newspapers

December 12, 2022 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

Thomas Brackett Reed by John Singer Sargent (from House of Representatives collections)Trivia clue: He was elected Speaker of the House on December 1, 1889.

Correct response: Who was Thomas Brackett Reed, better known as Tom Reed? [Read more…] about Political Anecdotes From Northern New York Newspapers

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Newspapers, Political History

George Cooke: Albany Snake Oil Salesman

December 5, 2022 by Peter Hess 1 Comment

Patent Medicines (photo by John Warren)In the June 1841 the Albany Evening Journal ran the following notice:

“Dr. Cooke, No. 3 Norton Street, Albany, NY — In every age of the world, men of superior genius have lived: Homer, Voltaire, Euripides and Virgil. It has, however, remained for the 19th century to produce a man whose attainments, both in letters and science, which justly entitles him to equal rank with the illustrious mentioned above. That man is the world-renowned surgeon and physician, Gen. George Cooke whose fame and knowledge of the healing art have reached every clime. [Read more…] about George Cooke: Albany Snake Oil Salesman

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Advertising, Albany, Albany County, Albany Rural Cemetery, Medical History, Newspapers, Patent Medicine, Science History

Misinformation Nation: Truth in Revolutionary America

November 21, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

misinformation nationThe new book Misinformation Nation: Foreign News and the Politics of Truth in Revolutionary America (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022) by Jordan E. Taylor reveals how foreign news defined the boundaries of American politics and ultimately drove colonists to revolt against Britain and create a new nation.

“Fake news” is not new. Just like millions of Americans today, the revolutionaries of the eighteenth century worried that they were entering a “post-truth” era. Their fears, however, were not fixated on social media or click-bait, but rather on peoples’ increasing reliance on reading news gathered from foreign newspapers. [Read more…] about Misinformation Nation: Truth in Revolutionary America

Filed Under: Books, History Tagged With: American Revolution, Journalism, Newspapers, Political History

Bobcat Ranney: The Hermit of Dogtown

October 27, 2022 by Dave Waite Leave a Comment

Bobcat RanneyAccording to “A Who’s Who of Adirondack Hermits,” in the Fiftieth Anniversary edition of Adirondack Life magazine there were only two in Warren County: artist John Henry Hill at Phantom Island on Lake George and Archie “Bobcat” Ranney of Baker’s Mills.

Hill only lasted six years, from 1870 until 1876: the year he was picked up and sent to an asylum, never to return to the county. Archie, on the other hand, made his mark in Adirondack history and lore by “hermiting” for twenty years in Baker’s Mills, a hamlet in the town of Johnsburg. [Read more…] about Bobcat Ranney: The Hermit of Dogtown

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Bakers Mills, Binghamton, Broome County, Endicott, Johnsburg, Newspapers, Penn Yan, Pennsylvania, Publishing, Schenectady, Susquehanna River, Vermont, Warren County, Yates County

Trivia & Editorial Wit From Historic Northern NY Newspapers

October 27, 2022 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

A New York Times pressman checking a newspaper for defects in 1942Trivia clue: He was a New York Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner who acted as “spokesman,” so to speak, for the state’s $1.15 billion environmental bond act in 1972. [Read more…] about Trivia & Editorial Wit From Historic Northern NY Newspapers

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Newspapers, Political History, Warren County, Washington County

Lake George’s Arthur Knight Writes Home From World War One

October 24, 2022 by Anthony F. Hall 1 Comment

parade in Lake George Village featuring veterans of World War I and American Legion Post 374On November 11th, 1918, German delegates signed the armistice formally ending the “Great War,” four years of killing and unprecedented – at least at the time – mass destruction.

Lake George resident Arthur Knight, who within a few years would become editor of the Lake George Mirror and serve in that capacity until 1969, was among the two million Americans who, in answer to their nation’s call, joined the American Expeditionary Force to fight on the side of Britain and France and their allies. [Read more…] about Lake George’s Arthur Knight Writes Home From World War One

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Arts, History Tagged With: Adirondacks, Journalism, Lake George, Newspapers, Publishing, Warren County, World War One

The Schenectady Newsboys’ Association: Some History

August 28, 2022 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

Schenectady Newsboys’ Association Fife and Drum CorpsAround the turn of the twentieth century, many boys sold newspapers on city streets. In Schenectady, as in cities around the country, these boys and young men, known as “newsboys” or “newsies,” were among the main distributors of newspapers to the public.

Newsboys did not work for one particular newspaper; they were independent agents who purchased newspapers from the publishers and sold them around the city. Since they were not allowed to return unsold papers, newsboys worked hard to sell all of their newspapers in order to make a profit. In Schenectady newsies protected their territories and competed vigorously, especially for the potential customers who headed to work at General Electric and the American Locomotive Company each day. [Read more…] about The Schenectady Newsboys’ Association: Some History

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Labor History, Legal History, Newspapers, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Schenectady County Historical Society

Political Anecdotes From Historical NNY Newspapers

August 11, 2022 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

A New York Times pressman checking a newspaper for defects in 1942Trivia clue: It was a 19th century technology for announcing real-time election results in Glens Falls, NY.

Correct response: What is the stereopticon?

“The Rochester Clothing Company has made arrangements to exhibit the election returns tomorrow night on a canvas in front of their store,” The Morning Star of Glens Falls reported on November 5th, 1888. “As the dispatches are received. W.W. Kennedy will transfer them in brief to his plates and reproduce them upon the canvass by means of his stereopticon.” [Read more…] about Political Anecdotes From Historical NNY Newspapers

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Newspapers, Political History

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