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Oral History

Smugglers & The Law: Prohibition In Northern New York

January 19, 2023 by John Warren 7 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

This Holiday Season Record Your Family’s Oral History

December 23, 2022 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. [Read more…] about This Holiday Season Record Your Family’s Oral History

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

Hudson Area Library Launches Online Oral History Collections

December 5, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Black Legacy Association of Columbia County Oral History ProjectThe Hudson Area Library has announced two newly-launched online oral history archives: the Hudson Area Library Oral History Project (HAL OHP), an open collection of interviews collected locally over the past decade, and the Black Legacy Association of Columbia County Oral History Project (BLACC) collection from the 1980s. [Read more…] about Hudson Area Library Launches Online Oral History Collections

Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Black History, Columbia County, Hudson, Hudson Area Library, Hudson River, Industrial History, Labor History, Online Resources, Oral History, Social History

Documentary: The Great American Novel, Truman Capote & Che Guevara

October 26, 2022 by Jaap Harskamp Leave a Comment

Great American NovelIn 1868, just a few years after the end of the Civil War, novelist John William De Forest published an essay in The Nation, a political magazine that had been founded in July 1865 in Nassau Street, Manhattan. His contribution was titled “The Great American Novel.” [Read more…] about Documentary: The Great American Novel, Truman Capote & Che Guevara

Filed Under: Arts, History, New York City Tagged With: Art History, Documentary, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Literature, Oral History, Photography, Publishing, World War Two, Writing

Sing Sing Prison Break: A Hudson River Fishing Tale

September 25, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Herald Statesman articleThe Hudson River Maritime Museum has an extensive collection of oral histories interviews of Hudson River commercial fisherman, including Edward Hatzmann, who was recorded on April 25th, 1992.

Hatzmann recalled a story told to him by fellow fisherman Charlie Rohr, about a prison break from Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York. [Read more…] about Sing Sing Prison Break: A Hudson River Fishing Tale

Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Crime and Justice, fishing, Hudson River, Hudson River Maritime Museum, Oral History, Ossining, prisons, Rockland County, Sing Sing Prison, Westchester County

John Brown Lives! Launches Freedom Story Project

August 24, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

john brown illustrationJohn Brown Lives! (JBL!) launched its “Freedom Story Project” website during the first-ever Adirondack Family Book Festival at the John Brown Farm State Historic Site. [Read more…] about John Brown Lives! Launches Freedom Story Project

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Archives, John Brown Lives, Libraries, Oral History

Adirondack Community Story Project Celebrates Milestone

July 19, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Adirondack Community with StaffThe Keene Valley Library will host a program celebrating the over 250 stories available through “Adirondack Community: Capturing, Retaining, and Communicating the Stories of Who We Are,” set for Saturday, July 23rd. [Read more…] about Adirondack Community Story Project Celebrates Milestone

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Events, History Tagged With: Keene Valley Library, Oral History

Replica Canal Schooner Lois McClure Being Retired, Dismantled

March 7, 2022 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

The replica canal schooner Lois McClure (Lake Champlain Maritime Museum photo)In October 2023, after 20 years of service, the replica sailing canal schooner Lois McClure will be retired, the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum announced today.  The original Lois McClure was built in 1862.

The replica was initiated in 2001 and launched in 2004 with the goal of better understanding the region’s unique nineteenth century sailing canal schooners, which allowed travel on the region’s narrow canals and sailing on open waters.

Since it’s launch the replica schooner toured the region bringing this history to local communities around Lake Champlain and connecting waterways. [Read more…] about Replica Canal Schooner Lois McClure Being Retired, Dismantled

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City Tagged With: Champlain Canal, Erie Canal, Hudson River, Lake Champlain, Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Lois McClure, Maritime History, Oral History, Transportation History, Vermont

Hudson, NY Black History Online Archive Launching with Panel Discussion

February 28, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

photos of the Green familyThe Hudson Area Library will host “History of the Black Community in Hudson: A Discussion of the Black Legacy Association of Columbia County (BLACC) Collection,” an introduction to the library’s website dedicated to the Black Legacy Association of Columbia County (BLACC) Oral History Project Collection set for Thursday, March 3rd. [Read more…] about Hudson, NY Black History Online Archive Launching with Panel Discussion

Filed Under: Events, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Black History, Black Legacy Association of Columbia County, Columbia County, Hudson, Hudson Area Library, Oral History

Got A Story From Griffiss Air Force Base? History Project Seeks Participants

August 14, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Griffiss AFB courtesy Rome Historical SocietyThe Rome Historical Society is looking for community members willing to share their memories of Griffiss Air Force Base in a video interview.

Constructed in 1941-42 under the supervision of future Manhattan Project engineer Kenneth Nichols.  It was finally named in 1948 to honor Buffalo native and 1922 West Point graduate Lt. Col. Townsend Griffiss (1900–1942). Griffiss was the first U.S. airman killed on duty in Europe during the Second World War. His B-24 Liberator bomber was shot down by friendly fire over the English Channel. [Read more…] about Got A Story From Griffiss Air Force Base? History Project Seeks Participants

Filed Under: History, Western NY Tagged With: Aviation History, Cultural History, Griffiss Air Force Base, Labor History, Military History, Oneida County, Oral History, Rome Historical Society, Social History, World War Two

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