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The bad news is, I'm too busy working with my clients to create new content for this blog. The good news is, I have copies of a bunch of posts I created for a community blog that were lost from that site through a technology glitch. Here's an example from September, 2019.
Have you noticed how quiet it’s gotten outside in the evening and morning? Twilight and dawn? The crepuscular serenade of local songbirds has all but ended as the season turns from summer to fall. That’s what made this bird’s song stand out. Long after our robins, cardinals, and black-capped chickadees have stopped singing for the season, here was a bird with a piercing call. I first heard it in 2017 – I remember because it woke me up one morning – and I made a recording on my phone called “Mystery Bird.” It was a song I’d never heard before. I recently grabbed a few more recordings of what I surmised was the same bird – again, because our “locals” have gone quiet with the end of their mating season. I was lucky to learn that Rich Guthrie, birder, blogger and retired NYS Department of Environmental Conservation biologist was going to be on WAMC Vox Pop that afternoon, talking birds. I called in and played my recording for them, and his co-panelist, Kathryn Schneider of the New York State Ornithological Association, said, “Oh, I think that’s a tufted titmouse.” I was crushed. I was so certain it was a Carolina Wren. You’d be surprised how much time I’ve spent on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s website trying to identify bird songs. Even though I live in the middle of Albany, I take great pleasure in noticing changes in the natural world around me. Those weekends in December when I find it hard to bake cookies because the sun is so low, it’s streaming right through my kitchen windows into my eyes. That first day in January when I can wear my sunglasses after 5 p.m. Sometime around Groundhog Day when I hear the black-capped chickadee (which my family calls the ‘wee-hoo bird’) in Washington Park. Looking for the winter aconite’s yellow blooms in my yard right around St. Patrick’s Day. Harbingers of the changing seasons for those paying attention. Not one to take no for an answer, I found Rich’s email online and asked if I could send him my recordings for another listen. He responded, “And yes, I’ll agree with you - barely audible but comes through (better than on the radio) as Carolina Wren - the bird on the back of the South Carolina state quarter!” Rich went on to say that Carolina Wrens are not especially rare in this area, though they used to be. “It’s one of those southern bird species that have come north in recent decades.” As flora and fauna territories drift north with the changing climate, what other changes might we have to become accustomed to? And will we pay attention, or will those changes be lost in the background noise of our busy city lives? https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Carolina_Wren (listen to the recording of the male!) https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse The bad news is, I'm too busy working with my clients to create new content for this blog. The good news is, I have copies of a bunch of posts I created for a community blog that were lost from that site through a technology glitch. Here's an example from August, 2019.
UPDATED TO ADD - Frajee's Grill only lasted a few months, it seems. Currently the storefront is occupied by Keobi Restaurant, which brings a taste of Africa to Lark Street. Three years later, 202 Washington is still vacant, for rent at $3,500/month; The Larson's ground floor commercial space is still vacant; 196 Washington Avenue's ground floor commercial space is still vacant, and the Lark Street BID is looking for a manager. Tulips, chrysanthemums and a who’s who of local officials graced the ribbon cutting of Frajee’s Grill at 189 Lark Street. Owners Ibraheem and Wael Faraj came to Albany from Syria as refugees in 2013. Now they’re bringing the hospitality and culinary traditions of their home country to the street where, according to Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, “business owners come to fulfill their dreams.” The announcement prepared by the Lark Street Business Improvement District (BID) says: Frajee’s Grill, a new Mediterranean restaurant with a focus on fresh, locally sourced ingredients opened in July … [The] menu is inspired by the flavors and spices used in authentic Mediterranean recipes,” and uses ingredients sourced from local farms. The storefront, nestled between Jewel of India and the Imperial Market, has seen several businesses come and go in recent years. It was Ikes’ Pizzeria in 2008; Romeo’s Pizza for several years; one of those sketchy cell phone shops that painted the exterior a nasty neon green in 2016; and My Dacha Slavonian European Café was open in the summer of 2017 but closed the following year. The Dacha’s interior featured brick walls painted dark red and terra cotta vinyl floor tiles, but the new shop has been completely overhauled. The exterior brick is painted light brown and a crisp orange sign hangs above the entrance with white and black lettering. The inside is bright and airy, with silvery whitewashed floor planking and ivory, grey and white geometric wallpaper above a white wainscot. A natural-wood pergola runs the depth of the dining room’s ceiling, wrapped in faux ivy vines, evoking the atmosphere of the owners’ home country. The room is well-lighted without feeling harsh, and large menu-board monitors add to the modern, clean feel. The menu hedges its bets with pizza, pasta, burgers and chicken wings, but stands out with rice bowls, wraps - including chicken and lamb shawarma and gyros, and Mediterranean sides like baba ganoush, hummus, falafel and stuffed grape leaves. There’s a short dessert menu, and delivery is available through GrubHub. With this latest addition, Lark Street seems to be continuing its upswing, with several new shops and restaurants filling previously dark storefronts. Unfortunately, three anchor locations – the gateways to Lark Street – remain vacant.
In addition to these corner locations, several other significant addresses remain vacant (former Larkin at 199 Lark; McGuire’s at 353 State) plus smaller storefronts like Sam’s Home Cooking at 222 Lark. What kind of business owners do you think should come and fulfill their dreams on Lark Street? Please comment below! The bad news is, I'm too busy working with my clients to create new content for this blog. The good news is, I have copies of a bunch of posts I created for a community blog that were lost from that site through a technology glitch. Here's an example from September, 2019.
Bluegrass and craft beverages on the Empire State Plaza? Count me – and about a thousand others – in. The stretch of spectacular weather that Albany has been enjoying continued Wednesday evening as the sun set and stars rose over the stages and tents at the Madison Avenue end of the plaza. The crowd seemed sparse – though the ducks were plentiful in and around the reflecting pool – as we walked toward the music. Attractions on the east side of the plaza included a putting green promoting free tours of the New York State Capitol and Plaza art collection offered by the NYS Office of General Services (OGS). Like a one-hole mini golf course, the goal was to sink a putt under a tiny replica of the General Sheridan statue in front of a picture of the Capitol. Vendors included Nothing Bundt Cakes – a Wolf Road franchise offering little bundtlets; Cornell Cooperative Extension; Quantum 1219 Blooms – small family-owned grower on Albany-Shaker Road and Needi Snacks – created in Loudonville and boasting Indian flavors and spices. We continued past several Cornhole games and the site of the pie-eating contest to catch most of Sierra Hull’s set on the main stage. The twenty-something mandolin-picker performed at the Grand Ole Opry with her hero and mentor Alison Krauss at age 11. Her band included guitar, stand-up bass and saxophone and received a warm response from the crowd. Between bands, we visited the food and beverage tents. The “Given to Fry” Pearl Jam-inspired food truck dished out specialty french fries and loaded nachos. The poutine was delicious. Roy’s Caribbean Restaurant kept a steady stream of customers in meat pies, curry goat and mac and cheese. Beverage tickets were $6 each, and taps included craft beer from across New York State, including Brooklyn Brewery, Ithaca, Ommegang, Saranac and local favorites Brown’s Brewery and Druthers. A limited selection of Heron Hill wines, Bad Seed Hard Cider from Highland, NY, Arnold Palmer Spiked and the ubiquitous White Claw rounded out the choices. The Kitchen Dwellers set drew a large and enthusiastic audience and nearly defied description. Imagine an “Anodyne”-era Uncle Tupelo LP played at 45 rpm – but in a really good way. Montana-bred bluegrass outfit Kitchen Dwellers are captivating fans across the country with their high-energy live performances and unique approach to traditional music that fans have dubbed Galaxy Grass. The wind picked up and the air felt decidedly autumnal by the time headliners The Dawg Trio took the stage at 8 p.m. Led by mandolin virtuoso David Grisman, with his son Sam Grisman on stand-up bass and Danny Barnes on banjo, they began their set with a number of songs from their just-released CD “David Grisman’s Dawg Trio Plays Tunes and Sings Songs.” Delivering a mix of bluegrass, folk and gypsy jazz, the trio put a perfect finish on a chill – and chilly – evening on the Plaza. PRO TIP - When I checked in at the event on Facebook last night, several neighbors mentioned that they had not heard about Hops & Harvest. I reached out to Heather Groll, deputy commissioner for communications at NYS OGS, and she suggested that people follow @PlazaEvents on Twitter or @EmpireStatePlaza on Facebook. Buried on the Plaza Facebook page is a link to opt in to an email list, but I can’t confirm that it’s still active.  The bad news is, I'm too busy working with my clients to create new content for this blog. The good news is, I have copies of a bunch of posts I created for a community blog that were lost from that site through a technology glitch. Here's an example from August, 2019.
A dozen people from as far away as New Jersey braved thunder, lightning and swarms of mosquitoes for a “Gossip Tour of Fort Ticonderoga.” The tour promised: “the real story of life at Ticonderoga… Drunken soldiers, stolen wives, unsolved crimes, and attempted murder were sprinkled through the experiences of the men and women stationed at Ticonderoga from 1755 to 1781.” Fort Ticonderoga, known as the “key to the continent,” is situated in Essex County on a peninsula between Lake George and Lake Champlain. It seesawed between strategic significance and military backwater in the French & Indian and Revolutionary wars, was abandoned in the 19th century and rebuilt as a historic attraction in the early 20th century. The Gossip Tour is one of the ways the Fort keeps people coming back – they’re always putting a fresh spin on history. Guns and Alcohol Do Not Mix Ticonderoga was a desolate place in the middle of a hostile wilderness – but at least there was booze to take the edge off. Whether rum, fortified wine, or locally produced spruce beer, alcohol was both a daily ration and an occasional reward. Overindulgence led to soldiers getting lost, being left behind when regiments moved out, even armed brawls. One of the best documented fights was over a woman. Calling it a “lurid tale of Ti,” curator and tour leader Matthew Keagle told the story of a soldier, his wife, and allegations of infidelity with an officer. Drunkenness, fighting and time in confinement ensued. Drawing from diaries and documents in the Fort’s collection, Keagle built the drama to a peak … then left the group hanging as the written record stopped without a resolution. Just one of the challenges of being a historian, he said. Familiarity Breeds Contempt At capacity, Fort Ticonderoga could house several hundred soldiers in its barracks. In such tight quarters, slights – perceived or actual – would fester into all-out fights. John Lacey, born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, served as a captain under Colonel Anthony Wayne. Lacey recorded a long list of grievances against Wayne – he would have been great on Twitter – and eventually resigned his commission. While Keagle referred to him as “pouty,” Lacey later rejoined the Bucks County Regiment of militia and commanded the American forces at the Battle of Crooked Billet. Additional stories included inter-regimental fighting – a la Sharks vs. Jets, a brave Scotsman protecting a haymow from a marauding cow, and upstart officers ignoring the protocols of rank. As the tour wrapped up, Keagle noted that despite the bickering and infighting, the soldiers who served at Fort Ticonderoga played an outsized role in the birth of the United States of America. While scholars focus on major battles, the stories on the Gossip Tour are the “garnish” that brings history to life. Visit Fort Ticonderoga Fort Ticonderoga is open daily from 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. through October 31 and is a 2-hour drive from Albany. The bad news is, I'm too busy working with my clients to create new content for this blog. The good news is, I have copies of a bunch of posts I created for a community blog that were lost from that site through a technology glitch. Here's an example from December, 2019. A historian, a chamber of commerce director, two social service providers, an environmentalist and a communications consultant sit down at a table. Sounds like the beginning of a very tedious joke, but at the Albany Roundtable luncheon on Wednesday, that was just one table out of ten.
Somehow, the discussion turned to the arbitrary municipal lines dividing communities in the Capital Region, and the very physical separation provided by the Hudson River. (I maintain that the Hudson isn’t just the border between Albany and Rensselaer Counties, but the start of New England.) The luncheon speakers were Proctors CEO Philip Morris and Capital Rep Producing Artistic Director Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill, who were invited to discuss their ongoing collaboration. Unexpectedly, Morris began his presentation by comparing the Capital Region with some of the other big upstate metropolitan areas – like Buffalo and Rochester. He noted that most people don’t think of the Capital Region as urban because it seems like “we live in a suburb surrounded by cities.” He then did some fancy math to show that the average population density of the Capital Region was slightly greater than Buffalo, and Rochester, and Syracuse. What we lack, however, is a cooperative regional identity. As our table was discussing before the presentation, for some, the concept of going from Albany’s Center Square to the Troy Music Hall was almost as daunting as embarking on the Oregon Trail. Morris continued: “We live in a place where once the rivers linked us together, but now the rivers divide us.” He urged Capital Region residents to stop competing with one another, and to begin working together to compete with Buffalo, or Rochester, or Syracuse – “because we would badly abuse our resources by duplicating all kinds of services. Two Proctors would be a disaster. Two Cap Reps would be a disaster.” That’s where the Proctors Collaborative comes in. They’re aiming to create what he called a “cultural connector across this vast suburb, because if you live in Clifton Park, you can go anywhere.” Founded in the 1970s and 1980s, respectively, Proctors and Capital Repertory Theatre (or theREP, now an affiliate of the Proctors Collaborative) have provided the very best in entertainment to the region for decades. They’re joining forces to serve as an anchor in the development of Livingston Square, the former National Biscuit Co. building, at 251 N. Pearl Street, which will include a 300-seat MainStage, 70-seat black box theatre, full time café and box office. Together, they’ll expand their mission to deliver programming that Morris termed both “hyper-local and hyper-regional.” Mancinelli-Cahill then took to the podium with an overview of the Livingston Square project. Though just 3 blocks from the current location of Cap Rep at 111 North Pearl Street, she said that the announcement of the move was like an “earthquake among our subscribers.” She expanded on the (arbitrary) dividing lines between Downtown, Arbor Hill and Albany’s burgeoning Warehouse District, and used a birds-eye view map to illustrate the new location’s proximity to the old. The Albany Distilling Company is adjacent to the new location, with a garden where one can imbibe al fresco, and Death Wish Coffee may be moving to the block as well. Mancinelli-Cahill earned a laugh by saying “her life would be made” if that happened. The plan also includes new construction of 6 stories of artist housing, with one floor reserved for Cap Rep talent. She acknowledged that Cap Rep was “going to change the neighborhood, a little bit, by being there. The roadmap for this change includes equality, diversity and inclusion through education … Education is what gets young people into our world and gets us into other peoples’ worlds.” Efforts already underway include a Young Playwrights Contest, Teenage Acting Ensemble in the summertime, professional apprenticeships for recent college graduates, and teaching artists visiting Arbor Hill Elementary School for an after-school drama program. According to Mancinelli-Cahill, “We are going to continue making theater that looks like the real America, not some made-up notion of America.” Future outreach will include Literary Corners where young people can have a book exchange, and PB&J Theatre, where kids can come in and have lunch and see a performance. “We want to inspire the people of our neighborhood, and the people of Albany – and the people from Clifton Park – to come in and see what the arts can do to inspire all of us to be great people and have greater stories to tell.” This is the kind of downtown Albany drama I hope the whole region can get behind. The bad news is, I'm too busy working with my clients to create new content for this blog. The good news is, I have copies of a bunch of posts I created for a community blog that were lost from that site through a technology glitch. Here's an example from November, 2019. Update - In September of 2020, Mayor Sheehan announced a $1.3 million investment to revitalize the Lark Street Streetscape, based on the findings of the Lark Street Improvement Study, and as of spring 2022, we have a lot of spraypaint on the sidewalks ... plus dirtbikes and ATVs. Three of the 4 corner buildings remain vacant or underutilized (The Larson at Madison, former KeyBank at Washington and former Subway at Washington.) The stretch of Lark Street between Washington and Madison Avenue could be in for a bit of a makeover – eventually.
Liz King, a landscape designer with Bergmann Associates, recently provided an update on the Lark Street Improvement Study for dozens of business and property owners and Lark Street area residents at a public open house at Hackett Middle School. The study, launched in May, should wrap up in December with a series of recommendations to (according to the consultant’s PowerPoint):
After meeting with stakeholders along the corridor, the project team analyzed existing conditions of the streetscape, zoning, parking availability and usage, and crime and accident (car vs. pedestrian or cyclist) statistics. Preliminary recommendations to support the goals above include:
Net loss of parking from all these recommendations is 20 spaces – or 1% of some 2,000 spaces in the Lark Street catchment area. The study recommends tactics to improve the use of existing parking options, including better signage and access to the Albany County lot between Washington Avenue and Spring Street. The study also provides a vision board for street amenities to give a coherent look and feel to the 8-block corridor. These range from bollards to delineate pedestrian space, structures like benches and bike racks – everything from trash cans to street trees. Further, a proposed street lighting scheme would mark the gateways of the corridor at Washington and Madison Avenues with illuminated sculptures and bring back the much-missed strands of white lights across Lark Street at strategic intersections. Of course, these are just recommendations unless or until funds are allocated to put the plans into place. But as Mayor Sheehan said in her welcoming remarks, “You don’t get funding to make changes unless you have a plan. And I think we’ve been able to demonstrate time and time again that when we have good ideas and get community input and collaboration, we’re able to attract funding.” The Lark Street Improvement Study is supported by the Lark Street Business Improvement District, the Albany Parking Authority, and a grant recommended by the Capital Region Economic Development Council. Visit https://larkstreetbid.org/lark-street-improvement-study/ for more information or to offer feedback. This is based on a post I shared on Facebook in February.
For many years, I’ve posted photos of the beautiful roses my husband Eric Hoppel has sent me for Valentine's Day. This year, they shared space with get well bouquets at Albany Med! A few observations:
As a solopreneur, I am vulnerable to this kind of unexpected development. Fellow consultants – what’s your backup plan? Is there some kind of "BREAK GLASS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY" setup for client files, work product, login credentials??? Drop me a line, let's make #smalltalk! The bad news is, I'm too busy working with my clients to create new content for this blog. The good news is, I have copies of a bunch of posts I created for a community blog that were lost from that site through a technology glitch. Here's an example from December, 2019.
Stroopwafel and Boterkoek from Dutch Desserts in Kinderhook were among the examples of “Dutch Taste & Traditions” at the Albany Institute of History & Art on Sunday. According to the Institute’s website: This special day … features an educational program about Dutch traditions and how they influenced life in early New York, a Delft tile decorating art-making activity, and Dutch desserts in the Museum Café. Despite dreary precipitation that went back and forth between rain and snow, the museum’s Key Cultural Center held a standing-room crowd for a presentation from Sam Huntington, Historic Site Assistant at Crailo State Historic Site in Rensselaer. His talk was titled Sinterklaas, Solemn Festivals, and Scandalous and Unseemly Celebrations: Dutch Holiday Traditions in Early Albany. Huntington presented an overview of three holidays for which written records exist to prove they were celebrated in Dutch Albany – New Year’s Eve, Pinkster and Christmas. The evidence for New Year’s Eve celebrations comes from court records, because alcohol and firearms were no better together in the 1600s than they are now. The Court of Fort Orange issued a prohibition in December, 1659, against “any of the burghers or inhabitants of the Village of Beverwijk from shooting on New Year’s Day, on account of the great damage and disorder which such firing causes.” In 1654, Director-General of New Netherland had to put a stop to other year-end celebrations, in a proclamation that would foreshadow actions of Albany lawmakers in the early 19th century. Peter Stuyvesant declared that no one in Fort Orange should “pull the goose or shoot the parrot, not matter what the pretext may be, for the reason that not only many improprieties thereby take place, but the farm hands and other servants not only cease from their service, but also engage in other insolent activities such as fighting, beating, cursing and swearing.” Huntington supposed that some of the farm hands and servants mentioned by Stuyvesant may in fact have been enslaved people, as the first slave laborers arrived in New Netherland in the mid-1620s. Trading had long been the cornerstone of the Dutch economy, and as the population of enslaved people from different parts of Africa grew, their colonial Catholic and indigenous religious traditions began to change traditionally Dutch holidays. The case in point is Pinkster Day. What began as the Dutch celebration of marking the Christian holy day of Pentecost had become a weeklong period for enslaved Africans to gather with friends and family. However, by the early 1800s, as New York State wrestled with the issue of manumission, concern grew that the celebration could spark an uprising. The celebration of Pinkster Day was outlawed by Albany Common Council on April 28, 1811, with a resolution that read, “No person shall erect any tent, booth or stall within the limits of this city, for the purpose of vending any spirituous liquors, beer, mead or cider, or any kind of meat, fish cakes or fruit, on the days commonly called Pinxter; nor to collect in numbers for the purpose of gambling or dancing, or any other amusements, in any part of the city, or to march or parade, with or without any music under a penalty of ten dollars or confinement in jail.” (Don’t worry, would-be Pinkster revelers, members of the University Club of Albany requested that the Common Council repeal the ban, and the prohibition was lifted after 200 years on May 16, 2011. Save the date – May 31, 2020.) Sinterklass – a major inspiration for Santa Claus – was mentioned at least once in Dutch Albany, when Maria Van Rensselaer included the item “Sinterklass goodies” on a shopping list. She and her family would have celebrated St. Nicholas Day (December 6) when Sinterklass brought small treats to children, leaving them in their shoes – but only if they had been good all year! This Dutch tradition was the also the inspiration for Clement Clark Moore’s poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” first published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel on December 23, 1823. The authorship has been disputed, but whoever wrote it owes a tip of the hat to Washington Irving, who penned A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty in 1809 under the name of Diedrich Knickerbocker. It included this passage: “And when St. Nicholas had smoked his pipe, he twisted it in his hatband, and laying his finger beside his nose, gave the astonished Van Kortlandt a very significant look; then, mounting his wagon, he returned over the tree-tops and disappeared.” The Institute’s celebration of Dutch heritage and holidays was made possible with the support of the Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York. The bad news is, I'm too busy working with my clients to create new content for this blog. The good news is, I have copies of a bunch of posts I created for a community blog that were lost from that site through a technology glitch. Here's an example from September, 2019.
Architecture, landscape, music, history and shopping – in 2,000 steps. Many of the best aspects of urban life can be experienced on a 10-block walk on a September Thursday in Albany. The Fallbany Art & Craft Market kicked off on Thursday, September 5 in Albany’s Tricentennial Park. Presented by the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs, it’s touted as a “showcase for local art, music and culture … (with) regional mixed media artists and crafters, (and) a different live musical act providing the soundtrack each week.” Walk along with me … Let’s start at the New York State Capitol. If you’re setting out between noon and 1 p.m., listen for the sound of ringing bells. They’re not church bells, they’re the carillon in the tower at City Hall, just down the hill. Albany civil service reformer William Gorham Rice proposed a carillon for the city in 1918, as a tribute to soldiers who had given their lives in World War I. The 60-bell mechanism was installed in 1927 and restored in 1986, when 2 notes were added along with hour chimes. Academy Park is a great place to listen to the bells. Bordered by Washington Avenue, Elk Street and Eagle Street, the landscape surrounds the former Albany Academy building, designed by Philip Hooker and currently occupied by the City School District of Albany. Cross Eagle Street and walk down the pedestrian path between the NYS Court of Appeals and the Albany County Supreme Court buildings. Cross Lodge Street and walk alongside historic St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church on Steuben Street. Cross Chapel Street, where the road reverts to a Belgian block-paved pedestrian path, passing between recent (Steuben Place) and ongoing building renovations. Redburn Development is converting the former Steuben Club – and Albany’s first YMCA – into a mixed-use commercial and residential space. Cross South Pearl Street and continue down a brick-paved block of Steuben Street, past the bustling outdoor patio of the Pearl Street Pub. Tricentennial Park is just ahead on your left. Colorful tents and music from Honey Slider welcomed visitors to this one-block-square urban park. First proposed in 1914, it was built in 1986 to mark Albany's incorporation as a city 300 years prior. Vendors on September 5 included Bodhi Inspirit offering chair massage, and handmade art and jewelry from Kelli’s Creations; Ali Herrmann; Diana Spencer; and Peyster Street Handcrafted Jewelry. Fallbany inspired Kimberly Manning of Lone Birch Creative to revisit her long-time side hustle, making art with multiple media - predominantly copper, wool and paper. “I’ve already gotten a commission,” she replied, when asked how the event was going. According to Christine of Mosaics by Christine, this was the “best start” of similar popup craft fairs she had participated in. “This is a better spot,” she said of Tricentennial Park, comparing it to a previous event in DiNapoli Park at Maiden Lane. “People could walk right past that park, but you can’t miss Tricentennial Park.” When you’ve had your fill of Fallbany, walk two blocks south along Broadway to SUNY Plaza to the Downtown Albany Farmer’s Market. Maple syrup, honey, baked goods, early apples and sweet corn were among the offerings on this day, but offerings vary from week to week based on what’s in season. The market is open Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and moves inside the SUNY Plaza arcade later in the fall. Good things are happening in downtown Albany. Fallbany is just one of them. Get out on Thursday and get some fresh air – explore downtown and all it has to offer. You’ll be glad you did. The Fallbany Art & Craft Market happens for the next three Thursdays – September 12, 19 and 26 – from 11:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. The bad news is, I'm too busy working with my clients to create new content for this blog. The good news is, I have copies of a bunch of posts I created for a community blog that were lost from that site through a technology glitch. Here's an example from October, 2019.
History is in good hands – if the crowd at a recent event at the New York State Museum could be taken as any indication. The Office of Cultural Education (NYS Museum, Library and Archives) hosted an Erie Canal gallery tour and book talk, and more than 100 history-lovers took part. The entire South Hall of the museum is given to the “Enterprising Waters: New York’s Erie Canal” exhibition. Mounted to commemorate the bicentennial of start of construction of the canal, the exhibition runs through October 25, 2020. Brad Utter, Senior Historian/Curator, Science and Technological History for the museum, led the group through the exhibit, centered on an enormous windlass, described on the museum website as: a pulley mechanism that easily lifted and lowered heavy cargo from both sides of a warehouse with only one or two men. From 1831 through 1866, this windlass operated in the H. G. Root and Company Warehouse in the Village of Mohawk on the Erie Canal. While the canal was well known for enterprise, Utter focused on travel along the waterway. He noted that the canal provided opportunities for the middle class to travel for business or leisure – taking in the natural wonders of the Empire State. Less likely to enjoy life along the canal were the mule drivers – some as young as 10 years old. Utter noted that school groups coming the study the canal as part of their 4th grade history classes were the same age as those young canalers. Many were orphans, and when the canal closed for the winter, some would resort to stealing so they would be jailed – getting “3 hots and a cot” each day until they could resume their trade in the spring. After the tour, the group headed to the museum’s Huxley Theater for an illustrated lecture from Paul G. Schneider, Jr. author of “Everything Worthy of Observation: the 1826 New York State Travel Journal of Alexander Stewart Scott”. The book is based on a travel journal kept by a 21-year-old Canadian as he traveled south from Quebec and across New York State. The New York State Library acquired the journal from a Schenectady bookseller in 1954. According to the SUNY Press website – This firsthand account immerses the reader in the world of early-nineteenth-century life in both New York and Lower Canada. Whether enduring the choking dust raised by a stagecoach, the frustration and delays caused by bad roads, or the wonders and occasional dangers of packet boat travel on the newly completed Erie Canal, all are vividly brought to life by Scott’s pen. In one of those weird twists that raise goosebumps on the arms of history nerds, in his journal, Scott notes that while in Albany, he visited the New York State Library and judged the collections to be small but “very choice.” And when did he visit the library? On September 25, 1826 – 193 years ago to the day of the talk. Schneider opined that the young traveler could never have dreamed that “the same journal in which he recorded his impressions would, 128 years in the future, become part of that library’s collections.” Schneider praised the staff of the library for their assistance throughout the process and highlighted their stewardship of its collections. He closed his presentation by noting that all royalties from the sale of the book will be paid by SUNY Press to the Friends of the New York State Library. |
AuthorColleen M. Ryan is an Archives
September 2022
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