Office of Cultural Education

CBS News To Feature New Netherland Project

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CBS News Sunday Morning will feature the New York State Library’s New Netherland Project as part of a story on the Quadricentennial of Hudson’s discovery of the river that bears his name on Sunday, July 5th. The segment will be aired between 9:00 and 10:30 a.m. and will feature an interview with New Netherland Project Director Dr. Charles Gehring.

One of the most unique history projects in America, the New Netherland Project provided the documentation and inspiration for Russell Shorto’s recent best seller, &#8220The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America.&#8221

A program of the New York State Library, the New Netherland Project has been working since 1974 to translate and publish the official 17th-century Dutch colonial documents of one of America’s earliest settled regions. Originally created under the sponsorship of the New York State Library and the Holland Society of New York, the New Netherland Project has been supported by the National Endowment for the
Humanities (NEH) and the New York State Office of Cultural Education. Translated documents and other work by the New Netherland Project can be accessed at www.nnp.org.

Also based on the work of the New Netherland Project, the exhibit &#8220Light on New Netherland&#8221 is the first to introduce adults and children to the scope of the 17th century colony of New Netherland. Previously on view at the State Museum in Albany, the exhibit will tour the regions once encompassed by New Netherland, appearing at venues to include the GaGa Arts Center in West Haverstraw, New York- the Museum of
Connecticut History at the Connecticut State Library in Hartford- the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities in Cold Spring Harbor, New York- Federal Hall in Manhattan- and the FDR Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York.

The book &#8220Explorers, Fortunes, and Love Letters: A Window on New Netherland&#8221 further explores the history of America’s earliest colony with a collection of twelve essays. Designed to appeal to a general audience and scholars alike, the book features an opening chapter by Russell Shorto, author of The Island at the Center of the World: the Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan & the Forgotten Colony that Shaped
America. The book was published by the New Netherland Institute, formerly Friends of New Netherland, and Mount Ida Press in April 2009. To purchase the book online or by check go to http://www.nnp.org/

New Netherland Project Featured in New Documentary

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The New York State Library’s New Netherland Project is featured in the documentary “Uncovering America’s Forgotten Colony: The New Netherland Project.” The documentary focuses on the work of Dr. Charles Gehring and his colleagues and highlights more than 30 years of uncovering America’s forgotten Dutch colonial history through the transcription and translation of the official archives of New Netherland. The documentary “Uncovering America’s Forgotten Colony: The New Netherland Project” was produced by Mogul One Productions in partnership with the New Netherland Institute. DVDs are available for $19.95, at http://ForPeopleWhoThink.com. Fifty percent of the proceeds will go to support future work of the New Netherland Project.

One of the most unique history projects in America, the New Netherland Project provided the documentation and inspiration for Russell Shorto’s recent best seller, The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America.

A program of the New York State Library, the New Netherland Project has been working since 1974 to translate and publish the official 17th-century Dutch colonial documents of one of America’s earliest settled regions. Originally created under the sponsorship of the New York State Library and the Holland Society of New York, the New Netherland Project has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the New York State Office of Cultural Education. Translated documents and other work by the New Netherland Project can be accessed at www.nnp.org.

Also based on the work of the New Netherland Project, the exhibit Light on New Netherland is the first to introduce adults and children to the scope of the 17th century colony of New Netherland. Previously on view at the State Museum in Albany, the exhibit will tour the regions once encompassed by New Netherland, appearing at venues to include the GaGa Arts Center in West Haverstraw, New York- the Museum of Connecticut History at the Connecticut State Library in Hartford- the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities in Cold Spring Harbor, New York- Federal Hall in Manhattan- and the FDR Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York.

The book Explorers, Fortunes and Love Letters (Mount Ida Press) further explores the history of America’s earliest colony with a collection of twelve essays. Designed to appeal to a general audience and scholars alike, the book features an opening chapter by Russell Shorto, author of The Island at the Center of the World: the Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan & the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America. The book was published by the New Netherland Institute and Mount Ida Press in April 2009.

NYS Library Offers Noontime Public Programs in May

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The NYS Library will offer three noontime programs in May. On Wednesday, May 13th, librarian Bill Schilling will present &#8220Patents,&#8221 an introduction to the patenting process in the United States. On Wednesday, May 20th, local authors Frankie Bailey and Alice Green will present &#8220Wicked Albany,&#8221 a look at the effect that the Volstead Act of 1919, which established Prohibition, had on Albany. Then on Wednesday, May 27th, architect James Comegys and engineer Benjamin Marra from the NYS Office of General Services will discuss the State’s efforts to achieve sustainable building and LEED certification in &#8220Green Building.&#8221 All programs are free and open to the public.

Patents (Wednesday, May 13th, 12:15 – 1:45 p.m.)

In the field of invention and design, a United States patent is the grant of an exclusive property right to the inventor for a fixed period of time. This class is an introduction to the patenting process in the United States. It will cover basic concepts about patents and the statutory requirements for obtaining them. It will also include a hands-on introduction to doing a preliminary patent search on the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s web site using the U.S. patent classification system. Senior Librarian, Bill Schilling will present this program. This program will be held in the Computer Classroom on the 7th floor of the Library and registration is required. No food or drink is permitted in the room.

Wicked Albany (Wednesday, May 20th, 12:15 – 1:15 p.m)

Albany, New York, experienced massive upheaval when the Volstead Act of 1919 established Prohibition. Crime already proliferated in the capital of the Empire State, with rival political machines stooping to corruption and organized crime flexing their heavy-handed powers of persuasion. As it did nationwide, Prohibition in Albany served merely to force alcohol-related commerce underground and lawlessness and violence to the forefront of city activity. Local authors Frankie Bailey and Alice Green chronicle this evolution in Albany, relying on archival records and examining the greater social impact of the city’s moral decline. This program will be held in the Huxley Theater on the 1st floor of the Cultural Education Center.

Green Building (Wednesday, May 27th, 12:15 – 1:15 p.m.)

What does green mean in terms of building design? The attributes of green building design will be discussed by architect James Comegys and engineer Benjamin Marra from the Design and Construction group of OGS. They will describe how the OGS agency’s goal of sustainability in all state operations is reflected in building projects. Case studies of buildings for New York state agencies seeking LEED or green building certification will be presented.

Songs from the Piano Bench (Wednesday, May 27th, Noon &#8211 2:00 PM)

Listen in while enjoying your lunch or lend your voice as singers perform a variety of songs, including popular folk, rock-and-roll, Victorian parlor, Civil War, Sesame Street, etc. Many selections are chosen from the more than 35,000 pieces of sheet music in the New York State Library Collection. Music and words are provided and instrumentalists are welcome. This session is held monthly in the 4th Floor Gallery of the State Museum. For more information, e-mail [email protected] or call 518-474-2274.

1609 Exhibit Will Look at Henry Hudsons Voyage

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As part of the celebration of the 2009 Hudson-Champlain Quadricentennial the New York State Office of Cultural Education (OCE) will present the exhibition “1609,” which will re-examine Henry Hudson’s voyage, the myths that surround it, and explore the legacies of Hudson’s unexpected discovery.

The State Museum, State Archives, State Library and State Office of Educational Broadcasting, which make up OCE, are collaborating on the “1609” exhibition. It is scheduled to be open July 3, 2009 through March of 2010 in the New York State Museum’s Exhibition Hall.

Other quadricentennial events will include a two-month tour along the Hudson River and Champlain Canal, led by the New York State Museum’s historic Day Peckinpaugh, a 259-foot, 1921 canal boat. The Half Moon, historic barges and other large working boats will also participate in the tour in August and September 2009. It will stop at 15 ports from Burlington, Vt. to New York Harbor. Visitors will be able to step onboard to view exhibits on 400 years of maritime progress and advancement. The tour is organized by the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor, in conjunction with the State Museum, Saratoga National Historical Park and the New York State Canal Corporation.

The “1609” exhibition will be presented in four parts. The first section will focus on what life was like for both the Dutch and Native Peoples of New York before 1609 and the events of that year. The visitor will then look at the myths that Hudson planned to come here, and that Native Americans greeted him and his crew with joy and awe. The exhibition will attempt to dispel those myths and explore with the visitor what is known about Hudson and the 1609 voyage and the Native American response. The third section will confront the myths relating to the short-term impact of the voyage – the consequences for the Dutch and the Native Americans. Finally, the visitor will be able to examine the long-term legacy of the Native Americans and Dutch, and how they affected subsequent historical events and American culture today.

In addition to artifacts from throughout OCE collections, “1609” will also feature paintings by Capital District expert historical artist L.F. Tantillo.

Archaeologist James Bradley, an expert on Native Americans, and Russell Shorto, an authority on colonial Dutch history, have written text for the exhibition. Bradley is the author of “Before Albany: An Archaeology of Native-Dutch Relations in the Capital Region 1600-1664,” and a guest curator for portions of the exhibition. Shorto, who resides in the Netherlands, authored “The Island at the Center of the World,” the epic story of Dutch Manhattan and the forgotten colony that shaped America.

Steven Comer, a Mohican Native American living within the original territory of the Mohican people, has provided cultural information and consulting for the project.

To complement the exhibition, the Museum also will present a program, “The Stars of 1609” on Saturdays, May 2 and 30 and June 6 and 13 at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Participants will peer through the ages to see the night sky as it looked to Henry Hudson and his crew in 1609. There also will be a discussion about the navigational techniques of European explorers, their tools and equipment and 17th-century astronomy. The program is free but visitors must obtain tickets at the Museum’s front lobby desk.

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Education Department. Founded in 1836, the museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the U.S. The State Museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open daily from 9:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website.

History of Slavery in New York Discussion Today

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Historian Alan Singer, a professor of education at Hofstra University, will address &#8220Time to Teach the Truth: The History of Slavery in New York State,&#8221 during a daylong series of talks and workshops at SUNY Cortland and at Cortland Junior-Senior High School on Wednesday, March 4.

&#8220Most Americans are aware of the more than two century-long history of slavery in our country,&#8221 explained Keith Smith, director of the Educational Opportunity Program and one of the event organizers. &#8220Most, however, consider slavery to have been limited to the South. Dr. Singer is an expert on the many facets of slavery in the Empire State, and how to teach about them. He is eager to discuss his work with colleagues and students.&#8221

A drop-in discussion session will be held between 9:30-11:30 a.m. in Old Main, Room 127, for any educators, would-be educators, and others interested in conversing with Singer and viewing his teaching materials. Singer will speak on the history of slavery in New York state during a sandwich seminar, which is free and open to the public, at 12:30 p.m. in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge.

He will conduct a workshop on teaching about slavery from 3-4 p.m. at Cortland Junior-Senior High School. For information about attending that event, please contact Karen Hempson, coordinator of the Professional Development School, a SUNY Cortland-Cortland Public Schools initiative, at (607) 753-4209 or by e-mail at: [email protected].

At the Hofstra University School of Education and Allied Human Services, Singer is a professor of secondary education and the director of social studies education. A former New York City high school social studies teacher, he is editor of Social Science Docket, a joint publication of the New York State and New Jersey Councils for the Social Studies. His books include New York and Slavery, Time to Teach the Truth and Social Studies for Secondary Schools (Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates, 2nd edition, 2003).

Singer, who earned a Ph.D. in U.S. history from Rutgers University, is the author and editor of New York and Slavery: Complicity and Resistance, a 268-page secondary school curriculum guide.

The daylong events are being sponsored by a combination of College and community groups. The College sponsors are: Africana Studies Department- Center for Gender and Multicultural Studies- Dean of Arts and Sciences Office- Dean of Education Office- Education Club- Educational Opportunity Program- History Department- President’s Office and the Provost’s Office. The community sponsors include the Cortland Junior-Senior High School Department of Social Studies, the Professional Development School, and the Wilkins Foundation.

Fort Ticonderoga Financial Crisis May Spread

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The Associated Press is reporting that the New York State Board of Regents, which oversees museums in the state, may change their policy to allow museums to sell their collections in order to pay back debt. The change is a result of Fort Ticonderoga’s recent financial troubles. Here is a clip from the story:

The state Board of Regents started working on an &#8220emergency amendment&#8221 to the rules governing how museums can manage collections because it appeared that Fort Ticonderoga, a historic site and museum in northern New York, was on the verge of bankruptcy, said James Dawson, chairman of the board’s Cultural Education Committee&#8230- State rules currently require museums to use the money from such sales only to buy other works or enhance their collections.

The emergency amendment would allow museums to sell off works to pay down debt if they can show that they have no other way to raise the money and would otherwise go bankrupt. The museums also would only be allowed to sell the works to another museum or historical society in New York.

The Board was to have taken up the amendment at a meeting Monday but Dawson — who represents northern New York on the Board of Regents — said he withdrew the proposal Thursday, partly because Fort Ticonderoga was able to raise enough money to stay out of bankruptcy court.

The plan has come to light just two weeks after the National Academy in Manhattan (not subject to the Board of Regents) sold off two Hudson River School paintings. Other cultural institutions in the state are also facing financial hardships that have been reported here at the New York History blog, including local libraries and Amsterdam’s Elwood Museum. Last month Fort Ticonderoga laid-off four employees and closed an office building (BTW, the Smithsonian is also facing financial hardship and recently cut salaries).

It was announced in July that Fort Ticonderoga faced financial ruin after Deborah Mars, a Ticonderoga native married to the billionaire co-owner of the Mars candy company Forrest Mars Jr., bailed on their long-time support for the fort just before completion of the new $23 million Deborah Clarke Mars Education Center. The Mars paid for nearly all of the new building’s construction but left before it was finished leaving Fort Ti about two million dollars in debt. When the building bearing their name opened, they didn’t show.

Other options that have been floated include applying for new short-term loans, a new capital campaign to raise $3 million to $5 million, asking the state for a bailout or to take over ownership of the fort, selling of some of the fort’s property or collections or closing for an indefinite period until the finances are sorted out. Coincidentally, Ticonderoga was also considering selling a Hudson River School painting, Thomas Cole’s 1831 &#8220Ruins of Fort Ticonderoga.&#8221

According to the Associated Press:

Anne Ackerson, director of the Museum Association of New York, said her group was among those opposing the idea of allowing museums to sell their collections to pay debts. While it might be a short-term fix for some museums’ financial problems, it might dissuade others from seeking other solutions when money gets tight, she said.

The Board of Regents rules governing the sale of museum holdings were established in the early 1990s when the New York Historical Society faced financial problems.

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, a Queens Democrat who chaired an investigative committee at the time, said he was happy to hear the Board of Regents had withdrawn the emergency amendment proposal but remained concerned that they might still try to tweak other parts of the rules that define what qualifies as part of a museum’s collection.

Brodsky said he urged the Regents to hold off on making any changes until after a more thorough review involving museums, the Legislature and others with an interest.

The New Jersey Forum: New Research in NJ Studies

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Although this is a blog of New York History, occasionally we’ll make announcements about regional events that New York historians might have interest in.

The New Jersey Forum: New Research in New Jersey Studies will be held Saturday, November 22, 2008 at the Trenton Marriott Hotel. The event is sponsored by the New Jersey Historical Commission, the NJ State Archives, and the New Jersey State Museum

Registration information and a preliminary program of events is available via word document here.

Expected sessions include:

Hope, Fear and Pestilence: Public Health in Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century New Jersey

Newsprint, Fear, and the Cholera: A History of the 1832 Cholera Outbreaks in New Jersey (Margaret Charleroy, University of Minnesota )

The 1918 Influenza Outbreak in New Jersey (Jennifer Harmsen, Hillsborough Middle School + Rutgers-NJIT History Department)

Pestilence Across the Delaware: New Jersey and the Yellow Fever Epidemics of the 1790s (Sandra Moss, New Jersey Medical History Society)

Interpreting a Preserved Landscape: New Jersey Museums and Architecture

New Solutions for House Museums (Donna Ann Harris, Heritage Consulting, Inc.)

Take Any Exit: The Colonial Revival in New Jersey (Harriette Hawkins, independent scholar)

Telling the Straight Story: Truth & Fiction in Building Interpretation (Margaret Westfield, Westfield Architects)

Suburban Stories: Place and Race in Twentieth-Century New Jersey

Extremely Suburban: Narratives from 20th-Century Princeton (Michael H. Ebner, James D. Vail III Professor of History, Emeritus, Lake Forest College)

African American Suburbanization and Racial Politics in Pre-World War II Montclair
(Patricia Hampson, Rutgers University)

A National “Black Brain Center” in Post-WWII Fort Monmouth, NJ (Melissa Ziobro, staff historian, U.S. Army CECOM Life Cycle Management Command, Fort Monmouth, NJ)

Parks and Bonapartes: Landscapes of 19th and 20th century New Jersey

&#8220He Will be a Bourgeois American and Spend his Fortune in Making Gardens”: A Preliminary Examination of Joseph Bonaparte’s Point Breeze Estate, Bordentown, New Jersey (Richard Veit, Department of History and Anthropology, Monmouth University)

The Development of Branch Brook Park – America’s First County Park (Kathleen Galop, Preservation Possibilities)

Morristown: A Cultural Landscape Study (Gillian Acheson, Department of Geography, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville)

Revolutionary Women: Female Education and Political Activism in Early New Jersey

“A More Accurate and Extensive Education than is Customary”: Educational Opportunities for Women in Early Nineteenth-Century New Jersey (Lucia McMahon, William Paterson University)

The Ladies of Trenton: Women’s Political and Public Activism in Revolutionary New Jersey (Catherine Hudak, Morris Hills High School, Rockaway, NJ)

“Working for the Slave as a Mother would Work for her Children”: Abigail Goodwin and the Anti-slavery Movement in New Jersey (Bruce Scherer, Project Archivist/Librarian, Salem County Historical Society, Salem, NJ)

Eighteenth-Century New Jersey Families

From London Publisher to American Farmer: Benjamin Clarke and his Diary of East New Jersey (Robert Craig, Historic Preservation Office, NJ Department of Environmental Protection)

Black and White Together? Slavery and Freedom in Upper Freehold Township from the Colonial Period to the Early Republic (Sue Kozel, Independent scholar)

Vital History: What Two Generations of a Loyalist Family Reveals About the American Revolution (Donald Sherblom, President, 1759 Vought House, Inc.)

State Library Thief Expected to Plead Guilty

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Capital News 9 is reporting that former state employee Daniel Lorello is expected to plead guilty today in Albany County Court. He was arrested for stealing hundreds of documents from the New York State Library and selling them on eBay.

Lorello was an archivist in the Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. He was arrested in January after an investigation led by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo found about 200 state documents [sic: actually it was a lot more than that, read on] had been stolen for profit.

Among the items Lorello is accused of stealing is a letter written in 1823 by Vice President John Calhoun.

Officials said history buff Joseph Romito, a lawyer from Virginia, alerted state authorities after seeing some of the historic documents being sold on eBay.

A piece from earlier this year in the Albany Times Union fills-in more of the picture:

Lorello admitted selling &#8220Davy Crockett’s Almanack&#8221 from 1835 for around $3,200 and an 1837 almanac of the frontier hero for $2,000, both to a Colorado collector late last year. Around the same time he sold a copy of &#8220Poor Richard’s Almanac&#8221 for $1,001, authorities said.

He was thwarted after he tried to sell an 1823 letter from Vice President John C. Calhoun to a New York general on eBay, posting it as a historical document, authorities said.

Lorello, an expert on Civil War history, coordinated a three-year plan to renovate the storage of state historical records on the 11th floor of the State Library. His duties also included acquiring new artifacts and working with researchers, said State Education spokesman Alan Ray. Ray noted that Lorello is accused of stealing items from the State Library &#8212- not the State Archives, where he was employed. The State Archives and Library, along with the State Museum, are part of New York’s Office of Cultural Education. The library alone contains more than 20 million items.

Staffers have so far recovered 263 items, Ray said.

In his statement, Lorello estimated stealing 300 to 400 items in 2007 alone. He told the attorney general’s office he delivered the artifacts by way of FedEx, United Parcel Service and other shippers. Lorello accepted money orders and bank checks for the items, according to the court papers.

&#8220I particularly liked items associated with the Revolutionary War, Civil War, Mexican War, Black Americana, WWI, anything related to the Roosevelts, Jewish items,&#8221 he told investigators.

UPDATE: From the Schenectady Gazette this afternoon:

In Albany County Court, 54-year-old Daniel Lorello of Rensselaer admitted stealing artifacts since 1997. He faces two to six years in prison at sentencing Oct. 1. He must also pay $73,000 in restitution to buyers who later returned stolen property and forfeit seized items and his private book collection.