The Corner
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Ithaca Alley Walk with The History Center and Historic Ithaca, October 2016
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Heritage Ambassadors are knowledgeable about the history and rich heritage of Tompkins County and eager to orient visitors to the assets available to explore. The ambassadors help visitors and county residents engage with the history of this unique place.
In late spring/early summer we will initiate a six week pilot heritage ambassadors training program led by The History Center in Tompkins County in collaboration with Historic Ithaca. Participants will get a review of our local history and learn about the organizations that are part of the heritage tourism network. There will be required extra-curricular activities to augment the discussions.
If you are potentially interested in the training program, please send me an email at [email protected]. We promise to make it educational and fun.
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Bookstore & Gift Shop Highlights
*Items to be purchased in The History Center book store
Mention our newsletter and get 15% off from these selected titles!
365 Things to Do in Ithaca, NY: Complete Insider's Guide to All Things in Ithaca
by Laurel Guy
"On Cayuga Lake in the heart of the Finger Lakes, Ithaca, NY, is home to Cornell University and Ithaca College. Gorges. Enlightened. Quirky. Ithacans do things differently. For every day of the year, there is something interesting in this guidebook to see or do. Laurel Guy weaves 10,000 details into a portrait of the town, its people, and yes, the weather..."
Suffrage Reconstructed
by Laura E. Free
"In the crisp and lucid Suffrage Reconstructed, Laura E. Free delivers on her promise to shed light on how whiteness and manhood became synonymous with citizenship, why the word "male" was introduced into the constitution with the 14th Amendment."
Elizabeth R. Varon, University of Virginia
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Untitled, Taughannock Falls, Ulysses, NY. Stereograph, CA. 1880.
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Interim Exhibition:
Seeing Double
On Display through April 15th
The pictures in this exhibition are from the stereoviews collection at The History Center in Ithaca, New York. The photographs celebrate the unique local landscapes with water features and have been enlarged and turned into anaglyphs by superimposing a stereograph pair into a single image.
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Looking West down the Main Street, Trumansburg, NY. Early 1900s
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Our Municipality Display Case
The A, B, C of James McLallen's Ulysses
On display through April 2017
The History Center has a display in the Exploring Tompkins County series featuring the Agriculture, Business, and Churches of James McLallen's Ulysses. We thank John Wertis, Town of Ulysses Historian, for providing the invaluable material, knowledge and time to bring this display to life.
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| Women marched for suffrage throughout the United States before the 19th Amendment was passed, giving them the right to vote. |
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Our Community
League of Women Voters
On display through Late Spring 2017
In this centennial year of women earning the right to vote in New York State, The History Center has a small photograph exhibit highlighting the history and work of the Tompkins County League of Women Voters. Learn about this vibrant organization that works for good government through education, advocacy and community engagement.
Exhibitions Available Online
Made in Tompkins County: A Timeline of Local Enterprise
In case you have missed the past exhibition Made in Tompkins County:
A Timeline of Local Enterprise,
it is now available
online
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Notable Women of Tompkins County
This is one of THC's past exhibits that has become available online very recently.
In honor of Women's History Month the lives and work of nine notable women from Tompkins County's past is celebrated here with images and text. A diverse group that includes physician Samantha Nivison, educators Martha Van Rensselaer and Emma Corinne Brown Galvin, and suffragist Louisa Riley, and more, these 19th and early 20th century women represent the best of a group that toiled in obscurity for the greater community.
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Seamstresses WANTED!
The History Center is looking for people who would be willing to sew new Ithaca Kitties with an
updated design to show the original cat Caesar Grimalkin's seven-toed paws!
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Website Highlights
In conjunction with the current topics of Tompkins County Bicentennial and 2017 Year of the Woman in Tompkins County, The History Center in Tompkins County has added new resource sections at
www.TheHistoryCenter.net. Please browse the new pages on the county
Bicentennial and
Women's Suffrage.
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Celebrate March 2017 Women's History Month!
Seneca Falls Bus Tour
On July 19 and 20, 1848 the first Convention on Women's Rights was held at the Wesleyan Chapel on Fall Street in Seneca Falls. Organized by Jane Hunt, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Mary Ann M'Clintock and others, it was the birth of the Women's Rights Movement.
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The Wesleyan Chapel, site of the First Women's Rights Convention. The image is taken from https://www.nps.gov
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Saturday, March 25th, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM (meeting at The History Center)
March is Women's History Month and in celebration The History Center is planning a trip to Seneca Falls on Saturday, March 25 from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. We will visit and tour The Women's Hall of Fame, the Women's Rights National Historic Park and Chapel, see a beautiful painting exhibit "The Women of Social Visionaries Re-imagined," and make a stop for lunch in downtown Seneca Falls to see this historic community and if you wish, meander through the small shops.
Trip Fee - $35
Trip Fee for THC Friends - $31.50
There are still a few seats available. Please register
via the Registration Page or by calling 607-273-8284 Ext. 227 or visiting The History Center (available on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM).
NOTE: This trip is appropriate for ages 12 and up and will require a moderate activity level.
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Generation to Generation Initiative
Collecting and Sharing Stories
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| From left to right: Robert Nobles and Aidan Peck (Youth Volunteer), Generation to Generation class of 2016. |
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Last spring The History Center conducted a successful pilot program pairing teens and elders in Tompkins County to archive local histories. We are looking for interested teens and elders for this year's Gen to Gen program, which will take place from March through May. This year we will explore place names and to some extent Women's Suffrage. If you would enjoy sharing your life experiences and wisdom with a high school student, and have lived a significant portion of your life in Tompkins County, this is the program for you! If you are a local teen who would like to know more about the history of Ithaca and Tompkins County from those who have lived it, this is the program for you!
Here are a couple poignant comments from several of last year's participants:
From a teen:
"I loved hearing about Hazel's journey as a feminist, because it is a topic I am passionate about."
The benefits of this type of project from an elder: "...allows a young person to be exposed to an entirely different way of thinking about living and life and death."
For more information and to find out how you can participate, contact Carole West, Youth Education Director, at 607 273 8284 X229 or [email protected].
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Eight Square Schoolhouse Announcement
DIGGING INTO CARRIE'S DIARY: A SUMMER CAMP
There may still be snow on the ground, but it's not too early to begin planning for this summer's activities! The History Center is pleased to present the 3rd year of our 'Digging Into Carrie's Diary' summer camp to be held the week of
July 10-14 2017,
Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM,
Co-ed Ages 8 - 13
Join us for a week of immersion into the 19th century life of 13 year old Carrie Manning, as told through the words of her 1869 diary. The Manning farm was near the present day site of Northeast School in the Town of Ithaca. A sampling of the topics and activities for this summer include c
rafting your own journal; w
riting with pen and ink; h
omespun activities; g
ardening & local herbs; N
ative American crafts;
Women's Suffrage;
Civil War History; n
ature walk and crafts;
Introduction to Archaeology;
Plus Guest presenters!
Each child will go home with a copy of Carrie's Diary, and we will visit Carrie's gravesite in Pleasant Grove Cemetery to wrap up the week.
For more information, including cost of the camp, contact: Carole West, Youth Education Director, at 607-273-8284 Ext. 229 or [email protected].
To register for the camp, contact:
Ksenia Ionova, Community Outreach & Visitor Services at 607-273-8284 Ext. 227 or [email protected].
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Upcoming Events
First Friday Gallery Night
Friday, March 3rd, 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM (at The History Center)
This First Friday Gallery Night will be the opening of a new interim exhibit of local landscape stereoviews "Seeing Double". Keith Millman and Randi Millman-Brown will be giving a 6.00 PM talk and will do some demonstrations. Light refreshments will be provided.
Feline Follies:
Fundraiser Benefiting Local Animal Shelters
Saturday, March 4th, 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM (Schurmann Hall, Upper Tutor Room Hallway)
The History Center will be taking part in this years Feline Follies organized by Cornell Feline Club. Look for THC table from 12.00 PM to 3.00 PM, we will be selling new seven-toed Ithaca Kitties!
Feline Follies is open to the public and will include cat-themed mini-lectures given by Cornell clinicians and staff members, a raffle, bake sale, children's games, crafts, face painting, cat adoptions by local shelters, a professional cat photographer, and a fun cat show. With any questions, please email [email protected].
Oh, the Women! A Writing Workshop Celebrating the S
pecial Women in our Lives
Wednesday, March 8th (International Women's Day) 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM (TCPL, Borg Warner Room East)
Led by Zee Zahava. This workshop will provide women and men with the inspiration and encouragement to write and share stories about the special women in their lives. Bring photographs or keepsakes that reminds you of someone (if you wish; it's not required). The group is limited to 15 people. To register, contact Zee directly at (607) 273-4675 or [email protected].
Encountering History with County Historian Carol Kammen
Thursday, March 9th at noon (TCPL, Tompkins Trust Company Study Room)
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.
Kammen will assist participants in conducting their own local history, by documenting past events, people or groups, and provide information on how to conduct research. She will introduce local documents for group discussion. The format will include time for open discussion.
HistoryForge Data Entry Bee Party
Saturday, March 11th & March 25th, 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Come volunteer at our next transcription bee!
To participate, please email Ksenia Ionova at [email protected]. Light refreshments will be served with lots of fun and an educational opportunity that will make Ithaca history come alive. Be sure to bring your laptop. Sign up to volunteer here.
Book Talk "Wood Hicks and Bark Peelers" with Harry Littell, Ronald Ostman, and Louise Bement.
Saturday, March 11th, 11.00 AM to 12.30 PM (at The History Center)
Join The History Center for a talk on a newly published book "Wood Hicks and Bark Peelers: A Visual History of Pennsylvania's Railroad Lumbering Communities; The Photographic Legacy of William T. Clarke" by Ronald E. Ostman, Graduate Professor of Communication Emeritus, Cornell University, and Harry Littell, Associate Professor and Chair of Photography, Tompkins Cortland Community College. The book celebrates the stunning documentary photography of William T. Clarke to tell the story of Pennsylvania's lumber heyday, a time when loggers serving the needs of a rapidly growing and globalizing country forever altered the dense forests of the state's northern tier.
At the book talk, Ronald Ostman and Harry Littell will discuss the book production and the outcome, and will do a book signing. Louise Bement, Town of Lansing Historian, wrote a review and will give her insights about the photographic documentation of the area she grew up in.
T
he New Jim Crow
Community Read
Monday, March 13th, 5:30 PM to 7.00 PM (at BJM gym)
Dismantling the Master's House. Hosted by Black Lives Matter Ithaca. Corresponds with New Jim Crow Chapter 6.
Ithaca Heritage Pub Crawl
Saturday, April 22nd, 2017, 3:30 PM to 6:00 PM
The History Center and Historic Ithaca are combining some of our favorite things: history, historic buildings a
nd drinks! You'll be greeted at each location with a guide who will tell you about the history of the bar or building you're occupying. The "teams" will spend 20-30 minutes at each bar before rotating to the next location. The participating pubs are Simeon's, Watershed, Argos, Chanticleer, and Bandwagon. Find more information and sign up on the
official website.
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Local History in Media
PEGASYS Screening THC Events (Channel 13)
Episode 1: "Entrepreneurship: Then and Now"
Sunday, March 5, 1:00 PM and 6:00 PM
Episode 2: "Businesses in Our Midst that Value Place"
Sundays, March 12, 1:00 PM and 6:00 PM
Episode 3: "MakerSpace Program: We are a Community of Makers"
Sundays, March 19, 1:00 PM and 6:00 PM
*All programs are related to a recently ended exhibit "Made in Tompkins County: A Timeline of Local Enterprise"
WSKG Series: Chords of Memory
In this episode of Chords of Memory we highlight the photography of Sol Goldberg, a photographer from Ithaca, New York. Joanna Patchett sings "Mister Sun." Photographs courtesy of the History Center in Tompkins County.
In this episode of Chords of Memory we highlight the photography of Verne Morton, a photographer from Groton, New York. Brian Hyland provides the music, playing the traditional Irish tune "The South Wind." Photographs courtesy of the History Center in Tompkins County.
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Women's Suffrage
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Louisa Riley was a founder of the Ithaca Women's Club and Ithaca's Political Study Club, which advocated for women's right to vote in New York State.
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In 1917 women earned the right to vote in New York State. That triumph was the result of many decades of struggle on the part of women all over the state, dating back to at least the 1840s and the Woman's Rights Convention which had been held in Seneca Falls. In Tompkins County, the cause of suffrage was not adopted until the 1890s, and that at first only reluctantly.
In the fall of 1894, the New York Women's Suffrage Association held its annual convention in Ithaca despite the fact that, at the time, there was no women's suffrage organization in Ithaca, nor was there much public support for the issue here. Gradually, that support grew and Tompkins County became one of the few counties to support suffrage before it actually passed in the state. Read more
here.
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From the Collection
The 1874 Sholes and Glidden Typewriter
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The 1874 Sholes and Glidden Typewriter
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Reading about early typewriter manufacturers can seem a little like trying to trace the various combinations in a complicated square or line dance; bowing and changing partners is almost too frequent.
Sholes, Glidden, Scule, Densmore, Yost, Rose, Wyckoff, and Smith; these were some of the names associated with what were called, at least sometimes, Remington typewriters.
This very expensive and decorative item probably dates from about 1874 and is like the one purchased by Mark Twain, the first author to appreciate its usefulness. It sold for $125. Read more
here.
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