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CONTACT US
Kayla Sewell |
Event Coordination & Visitor Services | [email protected] | Phone: x 227
Karen Binder |
Bookkeeper & Administrative Services | [email protected] | Phone: x 225
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Executive Director Corner
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Dear Friends,
The History Center in Tompkins County will be kicking off our
2016 Generation to Generation Series at the
April 6 fundraising event referenced in the last
History Happenings and with more information in this newsletter.
THC's "generation to generation" tag line resonates with our mission statement and is a central theme in our education and research center initiatives. That said, the series' seven month time frame provides an intentional focus on that phrase. Look for oral history and genealogy trainings, an intergenerational program on "Collecting and Sharing Stories through Maps and Photographs," a collaboration with the Dorothy Cotton Institute that will seek to build connections of those involved with social change within and across generations, exhibits that encourage conversations across the life span, Eight Square Schoolhouse events, heritage tours, and engagement with historic maps.
"Generation to Generation 2016" is an invitation to all of you to reflect on your place in this community and your interactions and connections with multiple generations. Please share with us your thoughts about what the phrase "generation to generation" means to you and how you see yourself situated, in time and space, from a generational perspective.
Rod Howe
Executive Director
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Attention High School Teachers & Parents!
We're Looking for Teens to Participate in Our New Pilot Program
GENERATION TO GENERATION:
COLLECTING and SHARING STORIES THROUGH MAPS & PHOTOGRAPHS
This educational initiative seeks to bring together local students in grades 9-12 with elders in the community to forge bonds and learn new skills while capturing stories about living in Ithaca and Tompkins County. We will host two training sessions for teens, and our first session will be held on
SATURDAY MARCH 12, 2016 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM.
For more information or to participate, please contact Carole West | Educator, Eight Square Schoolhouse | [email protected] | Phone: x 229
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What's Hot
on the Discovery Trail
A group of Cornell students are now leading regular building tours and trail walks at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. These trained naturalists are excited to tell you all about the Lab, give you a behind the scenes look at the many programs and projects that put the Lab at the forefront of the ornithological world, and take you out on the trails for a guided bird walk.
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Bookstore Highlight
The Architectural Heritage of Tompkins County
Chosen to compliment the current exhibition
It Takes More Than Nostalgia, this book celebrates the structures built by the people of Tompkins County. Its purpose is to help both visitors and residents see some of the many architectural treasures of the county while suggesting the importance of preserving that legacy.
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It Takes More Than Nostalgia
Celebrating 50 Years of Historic Ithaca and Community Preservation
March 1 - March 26, 2016
This exhibition highlights key moments and contributions from Historic Ithaca's 50-year history, beginning in 1966 when the loss of Old City Hall and the threat of demolitions to come galvanized community members. Together they organized to create Historic Ithaca, in part to preserve historic architectural treasures in Ithaca and Tompkins County. Explore beautiful text and image panels that capture this history at The History Center.
Upcoming Exhibition
Come Play With Us
Early Toys from the Collection
Opening Friday April 1, 2016
Play is as natural to us as breathing. We begin playing with our first sight of a smiling face and wiggling fingers, and keep at it long after we are old enough to become parents and grandparents ourselves. Toys and games enhance our play, making it richer and more complex. This interactive exhibition features some of the many toys and games from The History Center's collections. Modern examples meant for hands-on exploration will accompany the artifacts to be featured. Photographs from the Sol Goldberg Collection will be on display as well, highlighting his whimsical portrayal of local people in their playful moments. This exhibition will examine the way play has changed - and stayed the same - over the years. It is a celebration of play and childhood, for the child in all of us.
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Upcoming Events
P.L.A.C.E. - Enterprise
Tuesday March 1, 2016 - 12:00 PM (at The History Center)
This will be the final session in this series. The format builds off of P.L.A.C.E. as an acronym: People, Land, Architecture, Culture, and Enterprise. This final session will focus on Enterprise. The guest presenter will be Martha Armstrong, VP and Director of Economic Development Planning, from Tompkins County Area Development. Martha will briefly cover the evolution of the economy and how that affects place and sense of place. The discussion may include examples of businesses where place matters, or businesses that make place matter vs. those that are not tied to geography.
The Facing Project: Storytelling for Change
Friday March 4, 2016 - 9:00 AM (at The History Center)
Storm Country (First Friday Gallery Night)
Friday March 4, 2016 - 6:30 PM (at The History Center)
In 1909, a beautiful, fiery and dirt-poor Ithaca girl named Tessibel Skinner took the country by storm. The hit pulp novel
Tess of the Storm Country spoke to class struggle and women's rights everywhere, and was made into two different silent films starring Mary Pickford. The Cherry Arts channels Tess's righteous passion in a reading of Storm Country - the first draft of an eventual site-specific performance for Ithaca's West End.
It Takes More Than Nostalgia Exhibition Grand Opening (First Friday Gallery Night)
Friday March 4, 2016 - 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM (at The History Center)
Saved from the Wrecking Ball: Preserving the Clinton House & Other Stories from Ithaca's Early Historic Preservation Days
Saturday March 5, 2016 - 2:00 PM (at The History Center)
Panelists will provide firsthand
accounts of thei
r victory
in preserving Ithaca's historic Clinton House in the 1970s. This event brings together Carol Sisler, Victoria Romanoff, Michael Bacon, and Fred Schwartz to talk about their involvement with the project and answer questions about their many adventures and challenges working on this historic building.
Exploring and Doing Local History
Thursday March 10, 2016 - 12:00 PM (at Tompkins County Public Library)
These free 75-minute drop-in sessions, facilitated by Tompkins County Historian Carol Kammen, will be held at noon on the second Thursday of each month from October 8th through April 14th, in the large study room at the Tompkins County Public Library. No registration is required and participants are encouraged to bring their own lunch. Beverages will be provided.
Sharing Our Work for Social Change: Taking Action
Saturday March 19, 2016 - 2:00 PM (at The History Center)
This is the kick-off event for a se
ries entitled "Sharing Our Stories of Action for Social Justice and Transformation" focused on sharing personal narratives and oral histories that highlight individual contributions for working for social change across a broad range of issues and social movements. At this event, five panelists will share their work for change and address what they had to overcome and what sustained them. After the panel, all will be invited to meet in small groups to share their work for social change.
There will be further events to help community members learn from one another and to highlight that we can all choose to take action. As this moves forward the plan is to conduct targeted oral histories to capture and archive the richness of action and involvement of Tompkins County residents in a variety of social movements.
The Legacy Foundation of Tompkins County provided support for the series.
Women Builders: Preserving, Creating, and Teaching in Tompkins County
Saturday March 26, 2016 - 2:00 PM (at The History Center)
In honor of Women's History Month and in conjunction with Historic Ithaca's exhibition
It Takes
More Than Nostalgia, this event will focus on the recent history of local
women
builders in the county from three different perspectives.
They will share how they became involved in construction, talk about the local network that supports their work, and share comments about their experiences as women in the building trade.
Presenters:
Deborah Jones
Local Artist and author of The Barn Story: A Graphic Memoir
Maria Klemperer-Johnson
Owner & Instructor, Hammerstone: Carpentry for Women
Sue Cosentini
Owner, Cosentini Construction and founding member of New Earth Living
More information to come in the next installment of History Happenings.
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GENERATION TO GENERATION
through Variations on Pancakes
Wednesday April 6, 2016 - 6:00 PM
Kendal at Ithaca - 2230 N. Triphammer Rd., Ithaca
We All Have a Story to Share...
What would it mean to tell your story? How might the experience change you? How might it enrich others? What would it mean to have this exchange across cultures and generations - between parents and children, the middle folks, and the elders? In those intergenerational spaces lie insightful lessons about life, love, defeat, and transformation. These are meaningful stories that inform and entertain.
On April 6, prepare to delight in the human experience. Join us for a memorable evening with Paula Younger, story practitioner and founder of pancakemoments™, as she shares her thoughts on the distinctive power of pancakes and their connection to the wonder narratives that lie within all of us.
Come enjoy a variety of delicious pancakes, from crêpes to
arepas, provided by the Carriage House Cafe, Coltivare, Purity Ice Cream, ¡Bici-
Cocina!, and Kendal at Ithaca.
Visit The History Center's website and click on the appropriate banner on the Home Page throughout the month of March to purchase tickets and learn more about the event.
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Check out our first interactive map on our website. Start exploring the cemeteries of Tompkins County by clicking on the link below. Thanks to Bob Kibbee, History Center Trustee, for creating and providing the map.
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From the Collection
Camera
Henry R. Head of Ithaca, who was identified as a photographer in the Ithaca City Directory as early as 1896, owned this camera. His studio, Head's Camera Shop, was located at 109 N. Aurora St. and was first listed in the Directory in 1903. Both Henry and his brother, Robert H. Head, used the camera.
This camera allows us to see how photographic equipment has evolved over time. While very different from the digital cameras in use today, the focusing precision and large size of the negatives rendered an image with remarkable clarity and beauty. Head's son, Robert H. Head, donated the camera to our collection.
Sources: Ithaca City Directories 1896 and 1903. Robert White,
Discovering Old Cameras 1839-1939
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We would like to thank the Caroline Food Pantry and their volunteer Ted Sobel for donating a plentiful amount of unused paper bags for front desk bookstore sales. Thank you!
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