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,
Making Connections and Building Community...
I have come to appreciate the many ways that The History Center can be involved in making connections and building community from youth interviewing elders, to folks sharing knowledge on walking tours, to people connecting at data entry "bees", to happenstance meetings in the John Marcham Research Library, to 4
th graders talking with their grandparents about their day at the Eight Square Schoolhouse, to supporting local historical inquiry.
As we move forward with our 2016 Generation to Generation series, implementing a new series on the history of local music, bringing residents together to share narratives, planning for a housing series, working on History Forge, and developing heritage tours, we will be mindful of the ways that we might factor in components that support connection-making with each other and to this place, and that contributes toward building a strong county-wide community.
Sincerely,
Rod Howe
Executive Director
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Bookstore Highlight
Fading Finger Lakes Structures: Images and Verse
The twenty-four structures depicted in this book have seen better days. All are located in the central Finger Lakes Region of New York State. Each image is paired with a poem conveying the allure and intrigue of deserted and abandoned structures. Poems by Conant, Kilmer, Frost, Dickinson, Whitman, Tennyson and other well-known authors are included.
The photographer is Michael W. Duttweiler, a career-long adult educator with Cornell University Cooperative Extension. He has long-standing interest in lcoal history of the Catskill Mountains, Finger Lakes, and other regions of new York. Now retired, he lives with his family in Ithaca, New York.
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Come Play With Us
Early Toys from the Collection
April 1 - August 20, 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.
Exploring Tompkins County
A Municipality Display Case
This display case is a collaborative effort between The History Center and the municipal historians of Tompkins County. Currently on display is a history of the Cargill Rock Salt Mine in Lansing.
Content loaned by Louise Bement, Town of Lansing Historian.
On Display
Our Community
A Photo Exhibit Space
The History Center's new photo exhibit space,
Our Community, celebrates the diversity of Tompkins County's people, past and present, at work and play, and in service to each other.
The newest display features a history of the Grange Movement in Tompkins County. Founded in the post-Civil War era, Granges were designed to promote the social and economic needs of farmers in the United States. At the high point of their development there were more than 20,000 granges throughout the country. Several
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The Enfield Valley Grange, 1926
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Tompkins County communities had granges, including Groton, Ithaca, Ulysses, Enfield, East Lansing, Lansingville, Dryden, and others. Our display features images of the Enfield Valley Grange and the East Lansing Grange.
Special thanks to Enfield Town Historian Sue Thompson for photographs and history of the Enfield Valley Grange.
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The History of the Lansing Rock Salt Mine: 1916 - 1985
Saturday May 14, 2016 - 11:00 AM (at The History Center)
The rock salt mine was established when John Clute drilled a shaft to the 1500 ft. level. However, the salt he found at this level was of poor quality. This plus the lack of available workers, due to World War I, led Mr. Clute to commit suicide in 1918. In 1921, the Cayuga Rock Salt Company was formed by Frank Bolton. He sunk a shaft to the 2,000 ft. level and found better salt.
Louise Bement, Town of Lansing Historian, will give a PowerPoint presentation on the history of the mine and talk about a project her fourth grade class did on the mine during the 1984-85 school year.
HistoryForge
Transcription & Data Entry Bee (Volunteers Needed!)
Saturday May 14, 2016 - 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM (at The History Center)
Come volunteer at our next transcription bee on Saturday May 14th from 12:00pm to 2:00pm. If you want to participate, please contact Kayla Sewell at [email protected] and plan on coming at 11:00am so training only needs to be done once. Light refreshments will be served with lots of fun and an educational opportunity that will make Ithaca history. Be sure to bring your laptop.
Online Genealogy 101: A Workshop with Bob Kibbee
Saturday May 21, 2016 - 11:00 AM (at The History Center)
Please RSVP: (607) 273-8284 x 227 or [email protected]
This hour-and-a-half workshop is designed for people just beginning to explore online genealogy resources. We will introduce you to free and easily available material, but we'll also review some popular commercial products. Emphasis will be on how to find basic resources and using the US census and databases, such as Find-a-Grave effectively. We'll examine some genealogical software for storing your newly discovered information and look at how to connect to the larger genealogical world through online discussion lists and public trees. Please bring a laptop to work along with us, or feel free just to watch the demonstration. We only have limited seating, so please contact us to reserve a spot.
Asian & Asian American Sharing Narratives Project
Saturday May 21, 2016 - 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM (dinner provided) (at The History Center)
May is
Asian
-Pacific
American
Heritage Month - a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants. Click here to explore the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month website!
This event is a kick-off to an
Asian &
Asian
American Sharing Narratives Project here in Tompkins County, and other surrounding counties, that is part of the larger community effort of Sharing Narratives Project of Immigrants, Refugees, Asylees initiated by the Multicultural Resource Center. So, join us, share your story, and get involved with this effort.
For this event, we will hear the story of
Nobel Htoo, as the event is also supporting her fundraising effort benefiting schools in very remote rural areas of Burma. Nobel Htoo is an Ithaca High School graduate and currently attending Hartwick College studying Nursing. Nobel herself is a Karen refugee. Her and her family escaped military persecution. Millions of Karen, ethnic minorities in Burma were displaced and left their home due to the internal conflict of Burma Central Government and ethnic minorities. Nobel and her family were able to come to the Ithaca in 2009.
Sponsors of this event:
Asian Women Network,
Ithaca Asian American Association,
Multicultural Resource Center,
The History Center in Tompkins County
Restaurant Support:
The Saigon Kitchen,
Taste of Thai Express
Moog Day: Celebrating Robert Moog in Trumansburg, New York
Sunday May 22, 2016 - 1:00 PM to 10:00 PM (Trumansburg, NY)
Robert Moog, former Trumansburg resident and inventor of the Moog synthesizer, will finally receive due commemoration for his impact on music history and popular culture with a dedication of a historical marker and a day of free events in his honor. The dedication will take place on May 22nd at 1:00pm in front of Little Venice, 49 East Main St., former site of R. A. Moog Co. from 1963-1971, where both the Moog synthesizer and Minimoog were developed. The dedication will kick-off MoogDay, a celebration of Moog's legacy here in Trumansburg.
1:00 PM
Historic Marker Dedication in front of Little Venice Restaurant
2:00 PM
Talks at the Ulysses Historical Society: "Moog in T'burg"
4:00 PM
D.I.Y. Syntheszier Makers Event at the Ulysses Philomathic Library (First-come, first served (ages 8 and older)
5:30 to 8:30 PM
Moog music at Atlas Bowl from DJ Charcoal Heart & half-price bowling all night!
6:00 to 10:00 PM
Moog music at the Rongovian Embassy
Generation to Generation Oral History Capacity Building Series
Please RSVP for all events associated with the Oral History Capacity Building Series by emailing [email protected] or calling (607) 273-8284 x 227.
Your Oral History Program - Making it Happen! - From Ideas to Actions
Tuesday May 24, 2016 - 1:00 to 2:30 PM (at The History Center)
Ramona Kacyvenski, Director of the Vestal Museum, will share her
Vestal Historical Society Oral
History project by exploring the inspiration for the project through looking at several organizations' current work. She will address possible grant funding, including the one that helped her program get started. She will share her Oral History project flyer, which was the very start of her work. Included in the workshop will be examples of all the forms you will need to use for an Oral History project and some sample questionnaires. You will leave with a solid list of research-able programs that will inspire and motivate your project. Ramona will also look at an example of a basic starter portable recorder and talk about best practices for recording, then possibilities for how to share those recordings.
Ramona Kacyvenski received her
Bachelors
in Art History from SUNY New Paltz in 2011. She has been passionate about art and history her whole life. Ramona has served as Director of the Vestal Museum since 2014 and a member of the Vestal Historical Society since 2013, Secretary since 2015. Her interest in Oral History stems from a deep desire to preserve the knowledge of her elders to educate the youth.
Next Generation to Generation Oral History Capacity Building Event...
Sharing Our Stories: Collecting the Oral Histories of LGBT Older Adults
Tuesday June 28, 2016 - 1:00 to 2:30 PM (at The History Center)
Lisa Holmes Director, Tompkins County Office for the Aging; Founder of Telling Our Stories: A Project of the Tompkins County Working Group on LGBT Aging
Around Caroline: A Book Signing with Author Patricia A. Brhel
Saturday May 28, 2016 - 2:00 PM (at The History Center)
From the first white settlers to those who followed, pulling together to make circumstances better for everyone has been an important facet of life in Caroline. Residents clustered in several hamlets, including Slaterville Springs, Speedsville, Caroline, and Motts Corners (now Brooktondale), and carved farms out of the wilderness between them. They built houses, churches, and businesses. Recreation included picnics, band concerts, baseball, the Grange, parades, and youth groups.
Please Note: This event is still being organized and confirmed. Please check our
website calendar for updates on the confirmation or cancellation of this event.
Ithaca Festival
Friday, June 3rd, 2016 - 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM (on the Ithaca Commons)
Saturday, June 4th, 2016 - 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM (on the Ithaca Commons)
Find our table on the Ithaca Commons during the Ithaca Festival and stop by to say hello! We will have a variety of books and images for sale, as well as an interactive local music history timeline we hope you'll contribute towards!
The History Center in Tompkins County will not be hosting a First Friday Gallery Night on Friday June 3rd due to our staff involvement with the Ithaca Festival Parade. Come walk with us!
Projecting Place
Thursday June 9, 2016 - 7:00 PM (at Cinemapolis)
This event will explore the use of local history in the creation of documentaries. Documentary clip screenings and a panel discussion with local film makers will take place at Cinemapolis. Panelists will include:
Gossa Tsegaye,
Austin Bunn,
Sue Perlgut, and
Deborah Hoard. Find the ticket price and more information in our next installment of
History Happenings.
Second Saturday Game Day!
Saturday June 11, 2016 - 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM (at the Eight Square Schoolhouse)
Turn off your computers, cell phones and TVs, and join us for an old fashioned day of play at The History Center's historic Eight Square Schoolhouse on Saturday June 11th, 2016. Done in conjunction with the exhibition "Come Play With Us: Early Toys from the Collection", this game day will happen whether it rains or shines, and we will have plenty of old time 'games of yore' to give you a taste of what life was like for children and adults in the 19th century! Play checkers, put puzzles together, and play indoor and outdoor games made from wood instead of plastic! Try out some stilts, play an old fashioned hoop game or a game of croquet, and join in a sack race!
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Eight Square Schoolhouse 2016 Summer Programs
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What's Hot on the Discovery Trail
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From the Collection
Wild animal pets were not uncommon in the early 20
th century, as children who lived on farms or in small towns found immature animals and used box traps or other homemade devices to capture a variety of creatures. Crows, raccoons, chipmunks, and squirrels as pets occur in juvenile literature and memoirs of an era before the mass marketing of parakeets, hamsters, gerbils, and other exotics.
Chatterer, the Red Squirrel, was captured and kept in a cage with an exercise wheel, and eventually released by Farmer Brown's Boy in a popular series written in 1915 by Thornton W. Burgess. In the 1930s, there was a pet squirrel in the family of Groton photographer Verne Morton. According to family friend, Laura Butts, it was quite friendly and left nuts in Mrs. Morton's hats when let out of its wheel-equipped cage.
In 1895 Montgomery Ward offered a cage "for red or chip squirrels" for $1.60. The Montgomery Ward model was made of wire and was much smaller than this possibly handmade metal cage in the collection of the History Center. This sheet metal cage is held together with rivets and solder, and features a wheel 17 inches in diameter, a two story nest box, and a slide-out cleaning tray at the bottom. Teeth marks on the wooden upper floor of the nest box indicate that it was well used. The maker was a skilled metal worker and all edges are smoothly turned and flattened. The wheel is well balanced between small axles at each end and still turns smoothly.
Sources: Montgomery Ward 1895 Catalog #57, unabridged facsimile, Dover; Publications, NY 1969; The Adventures of Chatterer, the Red Squirrel, Thornton W. Burgess, Doubleday, NY 1915; Laura Butts, interview, August 2001
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