This week on The Historians Podcast, Meryl Frank in her book Unearthed: A Lost Actress, a Forbidden Book, and a Search for Life in the Shadow of the Holocaust (Hachette Books, 2023) tells the story of her cousin Franya Winter, a celebrated Yiddish stage actress in Vilna in Eastern Europe who died in the Holocaust. [Read more…] about What Do We Tell Our Children about the Holocaust?
World War Two
Fighting Zeros: New York Made Aircraft in World War Two
This week on The Historians Podcast, Patrick Chaisson discusses his multi-media presentation “Wings of Victory: Aircraft Production in New York State during WWII.” Chaisson is a retired (after 26-years) US Army and National Guard Lieutenant Colonel from Scotia. [Read more…] about Fighting Zeros: New York Made Aircraft in World War Two
Blauvelt State Park: Rockland County’s Storied Martial History
Blauvelt State Park, in the Rockland County town of Blauvelt has a storied history. At first, it was a facility where members of the New York State National Guard (and the Naval Militia) could practice shooting. It was first used in October 1910, though still under construction at the time. Later on, the site would be called Camp Bluefields (Blauvelt means “blue field” in Dutch), but at this time the facility was known as the Blauvelt Rifle Range. [Read more…] about Blauvelt State Park: Rockland County’s Storied Martial History
Grumman’s Long Island Test Pilot Bruce Tuttle
Jet fighters once roamed the skies above Long Island. Grumman, the aviation powerhouse behind such planes as the Hellcat and the Avenger, turned its attention to jets by the end of the Second World War. And to test those jets, they turned to men like Bruce Tuttle. [Read more…] about Grumman’s Long Island Test Pilot Bruce Tuttle
The Search Continues For A WWII Bomber Lost in Lake Ontario
At the height of World War II, a B-24 Liberator bomber vanished with its crew while on a training mission over Upstate New York. The final hours and ultimate resting place of pilot Keith Ponder and seven other US aviators aboard the plane remain mysteries to this day. [Read more…] about The Search Continues For A WWII Bomber Lost in Lake Ontario
Sadakichi Hartmann: A German-Asian-American Artist’s Struggle for Identity
In response to the attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 authorizing the founding of a new federal agency, the War Relocation Authority (WRA), which began forcibly removing Japanese Americans from the West Coast and relocate them to isolated inland areas. Around 120,000 people were detained in remote camps for the remainder of the Second World War. [Read more…] about Sadakichi Hartmann: A German-Asian-American Artist’s Struggle for Identity
A World War II Bomber Pilot’s Canine Companion
Season two of The Object of History podcast by the Massachusetts Historical Society continues with “A World War II Bomber Pilot’s Canine Companion,” the story of Thunderbolt, a dog who served as a companion to an American bomber pilot and POW Lt. Robert Payne during World War II. [Read more…] about A World War II Bomber Pilot’s Canine Companion
Remembering The Christmas of 1945 in Northern NY
Among the finest Christmas seasons in America’s long history took place in 1945. We’re constantly bombarded with how special the holidays are, so it’s tough for any one year to stand out as extra special, but 1945 makes the list.
Events across the Adirondacks that year epitomized the nation’s attitude. Surprisingly, it wasn’t all about celebrating, even though the most destructive war in history had just ended a few months earlier. We often mumble mindlessly that we’re proud to be Americans. But the first post-World War II Christmas was the real deal, worthy of the word “pride.” [Read more…] about Remembering The Christmas of 1945 in Northern NY
Former Saratoga and North Creek Railway Purchased
Revolution Rail Company (RevRail) has announced its purchase of the Saratoga and North Creek Railway, which stretches from the hamlet of North Creek in Johnsburg, Warren County, north to the Tahawus mining works in the Town of Newcomb, Essex County. [Read more…] about Former Saratoga and North Creek Railway Purchased
Verdelle Louis Payne: Ithaca’s Tuskegee Airman
In the latest episode of A New York Minute In History, Devin Lander and Lauren Roberts tell the story of Verdelle Louis Payne from Ithaca in Tompkins County, who joined the Army Air Forces during the Second World War and became a pilot.
During the war, Payne served in the 99th Fighter Squadron, which became part of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, an all-Black group of pilots serving in the then still-segregated U.S. Army. [Read more…] about Verdelle Louis Payne: Ithaca’s Tuskegee Airman