History Happenings    Early April 2019
The History Center's Electronic Newsletter 
The Corner
A Special Call for Docents for the New Location!

The History Center in Tompkins County is excited to be a part of the Tompkins Center for History and Culture, a place like no other in upstate New York. The building will open in stages as the partners move in. You can learn about all the partners  here .

The beautiful exhibition hall will be open for greater hours than the previous location, so The History Center is looking for volunteer docents to staff the desk, greet the public, and share knowledge with visitors.

The opportunity is flexible; docents can specialize in one topic or a particular exhibit, sit at the desk or give weekly presentations, volunteer only during the semester or summer if they live elsewhere for part of the year. 

To indicate your interest, please complete this online form Filling it out is not a commitment to volunteer, simply a way for us to measure the possibilities.

Serving as a docent is eligible for community service/service-learning hours, Federal Work-Study employment, and college internship credits.

Thanks for considering! We look forward to meeting new docents, docents greeting new visitors, and visitors seeing The History Center's new home.
 Unpacking Update: Tommy Plane

The " Tommy"   Plane  has landed! 
IAHF reassembled the plane here piece by piece, with support from "Tommy Teddy."



Following the centennial flight last September, this reconstructed Thomas-Morse airplane wintered in a  hangar by the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport. Last month, it traveled where no airplane has gone before: the Ithaca Commons.

The Ithaca Aviation Heritage Foundation's decade-long project will be on display in The History Center's exhibition hall at the new Tompkins Center for History and Culture, opening to the public this spring. 

The History Center in Tompkins County looks forw ard to ongoing collaborations with the Ithaca Aviation Heritage Foundation, including an annual "Tommy Talk" in honor of September's flight and programming for children and families.

Follow Ithaca Aviation Heritage Foundation via @tommycomeshome on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more behind-the-scenes action. Stay tuned for upcoming announcements about a contest...

Tommy enthusiasts are encouraged to become docents, as explained above in "The Corner."
Upcomin g Events

A Century Ago: Ithaca's Movie Industry in our Parks
Thursday, April 4, 5:30 PM
Tompkins Center for History & Culture, Art Gallery/Program Room, 110 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
Tony Ingraham, president of the Friends of Robert H. Treman State Park, and Diana Riesman, executive director of the Wharton Studio Museum, will give an illustrated presentation about how Ithaca's silent film industry used our parks as settings for some of its movies and serials a hundred years ago. The History Center is proud to be a sponsor for this event. The presentation will be preceded by a short annual meeting of the Friends. Find out more about the Friends of Robert H. Treman State Park at tremanparkfriends.org and about the Wharton Studio Museum project at whartonstudiomuseum.org.



Celebrating History Awards Gala
Thursday, April 11, 5:30 to 7:30 PM
Tompkins Center for History & Culture, 110 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
These awards honor those who are making, engaging with, or interpreting local history. The gala, sponsored by Tompkins Trust Company, will be festive, educational, and celebratory, with a performance by the VOICES Multicultural Chorus. We are excited to share the 2019 honorees:
  • The Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies as a vibrant and unique part of our local culture and history
  • Johnny Russo as a lifelong and rich contributor to our local music scene
  • John Wertis as the engaged Town of Ulysses Historian always willing to share his local history knowledge
  • Martha Preston as a dedicated volunteer, board member of local organizations, and Tompkins County Heritage Ambassador
  • Sarah Meidl as an exceptional intern focused on meticulous and painstaking collections work throughout the moving process
  • Jesse Larson as a Youth Ambassador, frequent HistoryForge contributor, and participant in the youth-elder oral histories initiative
Tickets are $40 per person and can be reserved  here.




3rd Annual Ithaca Heritage Tasting & Cocktail Tour
Saturday, April 13, 2:00 to 5:30 PM
Around the Ithaca Commons
In partnership with Historic Ithaca and Ithaca is Foodies Culinary Tours, Ithaca Heritage's tour will showcase four downtown Ithaca restaurants and their histories. In addition to past years' favorites--the Argos Inn (with food by Catalyst Catering) and Moosewood--we'll be visiting two new sites on this year's tour: Bickering Twins and Monks on the Commons. At each site attendees enjoy an appetizer and a drink (alcoholic and non-alcoholic options available) while veteran guides share the history of each site and establishment. Buy tickets here.



Agents of Change
 Tuesday, April 16, 7:00 PM
Cinemapolis, 120 East Green Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
In marking the 50th Anniversary of the Occupation of Willard Straight Hall at Cornell University, Cornell, Cinemapolis and The History Center in Tompkins County will host this screening. This film captures the well-publicized events at San Francisco State in 1968 to the image of Black students with guns emerging from the takeover of the student union at Cornell University in April, 1969, the struggle for a more relevant and meaningful education, including demands for black and ethnic studies programs, became a clarion call across the country in the late 1960's. Through the stories of these young men and women who were at the forefront of these efforts, Agents of Change examines the untold story of the racial conditions on college campuses and in the country that led to these protests. Filmmaker Frank Dawson, Cornell alumnus, who participated in the occupation of Willard Straight Hall in April 1969, and selected members from the Ithaca community will participate in a public talkback after the screening.



Tompkins County  Genealogy  Society Meeting
  
Wednesday, April 17, 6:00 to 7:30 PM
TCPL, BorgWarner Room, 101 East Green Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
The History Center in  Tompkins  County and the  Tompkins  County Public Library host meetings of this local genealogy society There will be a guest presentation, to be announced in the next newsletter, and open discussion. The Tompkins County Genealogy Society provides a local network for citizens, highlighting local genealogy resources, assisting in learning more about researching family history, and encouraging participation of community members of all backgrounds. Individuals wanting email reminders of upcoming meetings of the Society are encouraged to contact Community@TheHistoryCenter.net.



Re-visioning: Harriet Tubman in Visual Culture
 Saturday, April 20, 2:00 to 3:30 PM
Tompkins Center for History & Culture, Art Gallery/Program Room, 110 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
This presentation is a consideration of Harriet Tubman in visual culture from her time to the present. This talk will also reflect on how the 2017 re-emergence of a photo of the younger Harriet Tubman, as well as the Women on 20's campaign to have her image on U.S. currency to commemorate the centenary of women's suffrage, has impacted the way we view her as a cultural icon. Representations of Tubman across variou s media will illustrate how her legacy has been framed and re-framed over time. Kimerly S. Cornish was born and raised in Cambridge, Maryland. She is a descendant of Harriet Tubman. She has a degree in English from Oberlin College.




Exploring Ithaca's Heritage Through Song
 Saturday, May 4, 4:00 PM
First Baptist Church, 309 North Cayuga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
VOICES Multicultural Chorus explores early settlement of the Ithaca area through songs representative of native and immigrant populations up to World War I. The event will include Irish and Finnish folk dancing and images from The History Center's archives. Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the door. Children 12 and under are free. They can be purchased from any chorus member or  here.
CONTACT US

110 North Tioga Street,  Ithaca, NY 14850

Rod Howe | Executive Director | Director@TheHistoryCenter.net | Phone extension 222
 
Donna Eschenbrenner |   Director of Archives & Research Services | Archives@TheHistoryCenter.net | Phone extension 224

Julia Taylor | Youth Educator | EightSquare@TheHistoryCenter.net | Phone  extension 229

Lucy Walker |  Community & Visitor Outreach Coordinator | Community@TheHistoryCenter.net | Phone  extension 227

Dave Dier | Bookkeeper and Office Manager  | Admin@TheHistoryCenter.net | Phone extension  225

Cindy Kjellander-Cantu | Curator and Design & Support Specialist | Design@TheHistoryCenter.net | Phone extension 223
 @TompkinsHistory 

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