The Weathervane April 2010
Schoharie County Historical Society Newsletter
Upcoming Events
April 3 & 17—Volunteer Militia Days. The day begins 9A.M., contact Jeff O’Connor
joconnor8@ nycap.rr.com for information.
April 30- Annual Meeting 7 P.M. at the Badgley Museum followed by a lecture at
7:30. The speaker is Mary Jeanne Bialas from Sherrill, N.Y. and the title of her program
is Trunks & Travel: A 19th Century Journey in N.Y.S. This event is made possible through
Speakers in the Humanities, a program of the New York Council for the Humanities. Speakers in
the Humanities lectures are made possible with the support of the National Endowment for the
Humanities, the New York State Legislature, and through funds from the Gladys Krieble
Delmas Foundation.
May 1- Opening Day 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
Volunteer Militia training with Tryon County Militia / Scout Day
All Girl, Boy, Cub, and adult Scouts, wearing a uniform piece will be admitted at a reduced rate
of $4 for adults and $1 for school age children. The first 50 scouts will receive a FREE Stone
Fort patch. Activities throughout the day include 1778 Volunteer Militia, 1910 schoolmarm.
Opening of the Boy Scout memorabilia exhibit, through October 31, in honor of 100 years of
Boy Scouts of America and a visit from a Lord Baden-Powell, (the founder of Boy Scouts)
interpreter.
May 30- Decoration Day re-creation of the origins of Memorial Day
June 23- Strawberry Festival 7-9 P.M., entertainment by the Knox Traditional
Strings and strawberry shortcake included in the $6 fee. Bring a lawn chair.
Committee News
4/13- Programs Committee meeting 7 P.M., Badgley Museum
4/14- Museum and Library Committee meeting 10 A.M., Badgley Museum
4/15-Education Committee meeting 9:30 A.M. at Dawn Johnson’s house
4/17-Buildings, Grounds and Projects 1:00 P.M. Saturday, Dutch barn
Volunteers
Thank you to the bulk mail volunteers for the 3/11 mailing.
If you are interested in volunteering at our Bulk Mail Bees, please contact Karen at 2957192 or email membership@schohariehistory.net
We could use one more volunteer to represent the Historical Society at our outreach table
at the Maple Festival, April 24 at the Fairgrounds from Noon-2 P.M.
Spring and the opening of the Fort May 1st will be upon us soon. The library is open almost
solely with volunteer assistance. If interested in volunteering in the library, please let
Karen know, membership@schohariehistory.net. If you are a current volunteer please let
me know what days you are interested in.
Building on Success! Volunteers are needed to help meet the challenges of maintaining
and enhancing our complex of seven buildings and eight exhibit areas. We will meet
Saturday, April 17 at 1:00 P.M. to discuss short and long-term projects needing skilled and
unskilled volunteers. Contact Carle at 295-7192 or email projects@schohariehistory.net
Thank you to members who have made donations to the Buildings Fund, it is greatly
appreciated. Currently the fund totals $1,430 toward our $5,000 goal.
Wish List
The History Fair Committee is looking for folks/organizations/clubs/businesses that would
monetarily sponsor the program Rob Roy & The Living History of Swords. He would spend
the weekend of Oct. 9-10 authentically dressed as an eoghteenth century Scottish patriotwarrior and discuss the development of his stunning array of swords. Rob Roy’s real name
is Scott Barry and lives in Woodstock, N.Y. Cost for Rob Roy is about $800.
The Boy Scout exhibit could still use some newspaper articles or pictures from the 1980s
and 1990s for the scrapbook, a Webelo book and some Cub Scout memorabilia. Did you
know there are 401 Eagle Scouts in Schoharie County, the first appearing to be Herbert
Wright of Schoharie in 1929? Contact Karen, membership@schohariehistory.net.
Our Cataloger, Naomi Wikane recommends the following for your perusal in our Library
Tompkins and Other Folks: a Collection of Short Stories of the Hudson and the
Adirondacks, by Philander Deming. P23.D3955T1884
One of the stories (this is fiction) is titled The Court in Schoharie. “On a bright, warm day
the Judge and I take the train….to the rich, fertile, grassy valley of old Schoharie…. Courtweek is a prodigious affair in Schoharie: it comes but twice in a year.” A charming period
piece, that includes a bit of history as well as the Negroes living here at the time. The
Sloughters, Polly Hollow, and the Palatines are all in this story. It can be read in an hour’s
visit to the library.
Men and Times of the Revolution: or Memoirs of Elkanah Watson including His
Journals of Travels in Europe and America from the years 1777 to 1842 by Elkanah
Watson. E164.W33 1856
The long title says it all. This was one of my Dad’s books and I’m recommending it because
the end papers are full of his notes indicating a good read.
Grant Funding News
The Old Stone Fort Museum is pleased to announce the receipt of a GO! grant that will allow
museum staff and a volunteer to attend New York State’s Museums in Conversation conference
April 11-13 in Albany, N.Y. The conference will address useful topics pertaining to marketing,
tourism trends, collaborations, and multimedia uses. The grant from the N.Y.S. Council on the
Arts, a state agency, and administered by the Upstate History Alliance, will allow us to gather
useful information and network with other museums.
The GO! grants are one of a series of grants offered to help museums and historical societies
strengthen and develop their institutions and work with their communities. To learn more about
these grant programs visit UHA’s web site at www.upstatehistory.org or call 800-895-1648.
We received two Speakers in the Humanities grants from New York Council for the Humanities
to sponsor our annual meeting lecture and our August 12 summer lecture.
We also received a Home Depot Donation Coupon from the Home Depot in Oneonta. The
donation will be used for supplies to build more stilts for the schoolhouse. Bill Howe has
volunteered to make the stilts.
Etc.
The Brown/Wheeler Family History is loaded with Schoharie County information and very
easy to navigate, check it out. http://brownwheelerfamilyhistory4.wordpress.com
Thank you to all who have renewed your membership for 2010. If you have not renewed
yet, please do so. Thank you.
The Badgley office is open regular hours 9 A.M.-5 P.M. Monday through Friday. The
genealogical library is open by appointment only.
Robin Morris, our interpreter/clerical assistant, has moved to a new home in Hawaii. We wish
her well and welcome Kimberly Zimmer Graff who has taken Robin’s place.
Kim is a Schoharie native who previously worked for Cornell University’s New York Sea Grant
program as the New York Outreach Coordinator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s
Long Island Sound Study, and recently obtained her master’s degree in library and information
science from Syracuse. Be sure to stop by and introduce yourself!
If you need to point friends or relatives in the direction of our events just let them know our
schedule of events is up on www.upstatevacations.com, www.schohariechamber.com and our
own www.oldstonefort.org site - OR -
The Old Stone Fort now has a Facebook page! If you’re into Facebook check it out and
become a fan. From the opening page of Facebook, type Old Stone Fort or Schoharie County
Historical Society into the search to open our page. We welcome anyone who can assist us
in the use of Facebook or other social media. Apply to join our on-line Web Advisory Group
at OSF Web Group | Google Groups
100 Years Ago from the Albany Evening Journal April 17, 1910
(Special to The Albany Evening Journal)
COBLESKILL. April 11.—The members of the High School Alumni association met on
Saturday afternoon at the school building and decided to give a play as their part of the
entertainment for commencement week. It was decided to produce "The Elopement of Ellen.'"
D.W. Miller of Oneonta.
Census supervisor of the eighth district met the enumerators for Schoharie county here today and
gave them instructions as to the proper methods of taking the census which begins this week.
Happy Spring!