History Happenings  December 2016
The History Center's Electronic Newsletter 
  
The Corner
Sunset, Groton, 1904, from Verne Morton collection of photorgraphs
 
The History Center in Tompkins County is planning for the next phase in its long history. You may have seen recent media releases or newsletter articles that pertain to a potential move to a proposed heritage education center with key partners on the Commons. Very exciting! The center will bring our community together, instilling a sense of pride, while giving visitors a base from which to launch their personal adventures in Ithaca and Tompkins County.

The History Center in Tompkins County is also focused on 2017. As we plan for a move, we want to ensure that our core initiatives and programs are robust in the coming year. With an eye toward the future, we want to provide you with multiple opportunities for engagement and discovery.  Please consider supporting us with an end of the year donation that will be used to support the John Marcham Research Library; the Eight Square Schoolhouse living history program; exhibits, programs and tours.

If you have any questions about The History Center in Tompkins County please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected] or 607-273-8284 X222. 

To give, please visit TheHistoryCenter.net/donate. 

Thank you, as always, for your support and engagement.

Sincerely,

Rod Howe
Executive Director, The History Center in Tompkins County
Bookstore & Gift Shop Highlights 
*Items to be purchased in The History Center book store
 
Dolls from Girls Explore Series on Sale through December 22nd
From Left to Right: 
Bessie Coleman was the  first Black Woman Pilot;   
Amelia Earhart landed where the Hangar Theatre is today; 
Harriet Tubman is believed to have spoken at the AME Zion Church in Ithaca.

ITS GIVING TIME!
$20 for one doll (plus tax)
$19.00 per doll if you buy two (plus tax)
$18.00 per doll if you buy three or more (plus tax)


         Place Names of Tompkins County
                  edited by Carol Kammen
Have you ever wondered about the name of the street, or road, or region where you live? Why does it have that name? And, perhaps, who gave it that name? -The municipal historians of Tompkins County have collected a wealth of information that will help to answer these questions. 




         Ithaca Farmers Market Cookbook
                   by Michael Turback
This cookbook draws on a collection of delicious recipes and charming stories given by the members of beloved Ithaca Farmers Market. 




Mention this newsletter when purchasing these books
 and get 20% off!
Exhibitions

Thomas-Morse Aviation
Thomas-Morse Aviation  
Current Exhibition   
Made in Tompkins County:  A Timeline of Local Enterprise  
Through February 18th, 2017 
This broad survey takes a look at the long sweep of enterpri se in Tompkins County, from its earliest days to the 21st century. Read more here.
Sponsored by Tompkins Trust Company   



 

Our Community: Hispanic Heritage of Tompkins County
On display through January 2017
The History Center is celebrating local Hispanic heritage in a new photo exhibit Our Community, featuring local organizations such as the Latino Civic Association and Cornell's Latin American Studies Program. Images of three notable members of Ithaca's Fuertes family will also be on display: Estevan, originally from Puerto Rico, was the first Dean of Cornell's College of Engineering; Louis Agassiz was the renowned bird artist; and James Hillhouse was a prominent and successful civil engineer. 
 
Upcoming Events


First Friday Gallery Night: Heather Lane on Purity Ice Cream Co. 
Friday, December 2nd, 6:00 PM to 6:45 PM (at The History Center)
This First Friday Gallery Night will keep its focus on the "Made in Tompkins County" exhibit featuring the owner of Purity Ice Cream Co. Heather Lane who will give a 6.00 PM talk about her legendary shop and share Purity treats! We will also pull out scrapbooks with older Purity photographs and articles. Refreshments will be served throuhout the Gallery Night - from 5.00 PM to 8.00 PM. 


Events for the Smithsonian Exhibit
Various times at various locations
Tompkins County Public Library has announced plans for the "Exploring Human Origins: What Does It Mean To Be Human," a traveling exhibit of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the American Library Association. See the schedule here.


Talk "HistoryForge: Connecting the Generations"
Saturday, December 3rd, 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM (at The History Center)
Plan to attend to learn more about HistoryForge and its potential for learning about previous generations. Trustee Bob Kibbee, retired geospatial librarian, Trustee David Furber, web developer at Gorges, and Rod Howe, Executive Director at The History Center, will present the working prototype which focuses on 1910.


Showing of "Serving Life" with Eric Acree
Wednesday, December 7th, 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM (at The History Center)
Hosted by Eric Acree. The movie features actor Forest Whitaker who narrates the story of a group of inmate volunteers who staff their own hospice inside a maximum security prison in Louisiana where the average sentence is more than 90 years.



Encountering History with Carol Kammen
Thursday, December 8th, noon (at Tompkins Trust Company Study Room, TCPL)
Explore the art of "doing history" during Tompkins County Public Library and the History Center In Tompkins County's monthly, "Encountering History" program. Facilitated by County Historian Carol Kammen, these free, 75-minute drop-in sessions will be held at noon on the second Thursday of each month in the Library's Tompkins Trust Company Study Room and are perfect for anyone interested in history and exploring historical events and documents.


Karl Jaentsch at his Volkswagen Repair shop 
Karl Jaentsch: "You Can Trust Your Karl"
Saturday, December 10th, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM (at The History Center)
Join us for a presentation about Karl Jaentsch, mechanic extraordinaire, and his Volkswagen Repair garage. Karl died in 2009 but many in the community recall him and his shop vividly. Colleagues and friends will provide remembrances of Karl. We form allegiances with businesses for many reasons; audience members will be asked to note their connections to current businesses.


The Senior Troupe of Lifelong performing in May 2016
Living History Theatre on the Theme of Prejudice
Monday, December 12th, 5:30 PM (at The History Center)
The Senior Theatre Troupe of Lifelong will feature stories from the troupe's lives that that reflect on the impact of prejudice from their childhood to the present. The players are the characters, the scenery and props. The Living History Theatre is presented as choral theatre, with the reader as the soloist and the troupe acting as the chorus. Read more about the troupe here. 





The New Jim Crow Community Read Event: The Color of Justice
December 12th, 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM (at GIAC)
Hosted by Dr. Nia Nunn. See the official website for more information.



Bah Humbug! A Rhiner Commedia Carol
Thursday, December 15th - Saturday, December 17th @ 7.30 PM & Sunday, December 18th @ 4:00 PM (at The History Center)
This production is influenced by both the humanitarian vision of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and the Rhiners - transient, often immigrant squatters in 19th century Ithaca's West End. Read more here.


The "Bedolina Map" is a late Bronze Age petroglyph from Valcamonica, Italy
"Seeing the World for the First Time: Early Human Concepts of Space and Place" by Bob Kibbee
Saturday, December 17th, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM (at The History Center)
As a part of the Discovery Trail Weekend and in connection to the Ithaca Explores Human Origins program, Bob Kibbee will give a talk on early maps pertaining to early humans' acquisition of the sense of space and place. Check out the full Discovery Trail Weekend program (2nd page).
Russian-born Vladimir Nabokov, photographed by Louise Boyle in 1949. Nabokov, writer, translator, critic, and teacher, taught at Cornell from 1948 to 1959. His highly controversial novel Lolita was first published in 1955. This contemplative prose shows the scholar and thinker in a pensive moment.
From the Collection 
Louise Boyle 

Portrait photography is among the oldest photographic forms, dating back to daguerreotypes in the 1840s. Throughout the latter half of the 19 th century photography studios prospered, in part as a low-cost challenge to the painter's exclusive hold on the art of portraiture. In the 20 th century portrait photography became a mainstay in the photographic field. One gifted practitioner of this form in Ithaca was Louise Boyle.
 
Boyle was born in 1910 in North Dakota, and came to Ithaca when she was eight, when her father became a professor at Cornell's College of Agriculture. Boyle attended Vassar, and later the New York Photography Institute. Read more...
The History Center will be CLOSED from Saturday, December 24th until Monday, January 2nd for the winter holidays.

CONTACT US
 
Rod Howe | Executive Director | [email protected] | Phone: x 222
 
Donna Eschenbrenner | Archivist | [email protected] | Phone: x 224

Carole West | Educator, Eight Square Schoolhouse | [email protected] | Phone: x 229

Ksenia Ionova |  Visitor Services Coordinator | [email protected] | Phone: x 227

Karen Binder | Bookkeeper & Administrative Services | [email protected] | Phone: x 225

Cindy Kjellander-Cantu | Design & Support Specialist | [email protected] | Phone: x 223

STAY CONNECTED @TompkinsHistory