Schoharie County

Schoharie Crossing to Host Mohawk Archaeology Talk

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Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site will host a lecture entitled “The Proof is in the Ground: Previous Archaeological Excavations at Schoharie Crossing” sponsored by the Friends of Schoharie Crossing and presented by Michael Roets, the Bureau of Historic Sites Archaeologist, responsible for ensuring the preservation of Archaeological resources at the 41 Historic Site and Historic Parks managed by the New York State Office of Parks and Historic Preservation.

The talk will give an overview of the Historic Sites Bureau at Peebles Island and what they do with a focus on the Archaeology Program then move on to discuss some of the interesting findings that have been made at Schoharie Crossing including the 18th century Mohawk Iroquois Occupation in the vicinity of Enders House.

The event will be held Tuesday, May 24, 2010 at 6:30 pm at Enders House, adjacent to the Schoharie Crossing Visitor Center at 129 Schoharie Street, Fort Hunter, five miles west of Amsterdam. All are welcome to attend- the meeting and lecture are both open to the public.

For more information about this event or how to join the Friends of Schoharie Crossing, call their Visitor Center at (518) 829-7516. You can also friend them on Facebook.

Schoharie: Canals during the Civil War Exhibit

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The Schoharie Crossing Visitor Center is presenting a temporary exhibit entitled “Canals during the Civil War” in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. This small exhibit opens May 4th and runs through October 29. The exhibit includes photos and maps of the Erie Canal, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and Grant’s Canal near Vicksburg. The exhibit can be viewed during regular Visitor Center hours.

New York State had a profound impact on the outcome of the Civil War and the Erie Canal was the reason. The factories and companies found in canal towns like Utica, Ilion and New York City helped the war effort in many ways. The Erie Canal was used for stops on the Underground Railroad and served as a link economically, socially and politically between the Midwest and the Northern Atlantic States. The C & O Canal was in the heart of the fighting and was considered the “lifeline of the Union Army.” The Confederates repeated tried to stop navigation on the C & O Canal. Grant’s Vicksburg Campaign included an attempt to build a canal in order to by-pass the city of Vicksburg and thus having an impact on the outcome of the campaign.

A traveling outreach program is also available to coincide with this exhibit. The fee for this outreach program is $30 for any adult group or $1 per student. Recommended places include but are not limited to schools, libraries, senior centers, scout troops, home schooled groups, and historical societies. To make arrangements for scheduling an outreach program, please contact Tricia Shaw at (518) 829-7516 or email [email protected].

For more information, please call the Visitor Center at (518) 829-7516 or visit their website at www.nysparks.com or Friend them on Facebook.

Mohawk Valley History Summer TeacherHostel

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The Institute for History, Archaeology, and Education has announced that a Mohawk Valley History TeacherHostel will take place Monday, July 18 through Friday, July 22 at historical sites and attractions throughout the Mohawk Valley (Schenectady, Montgomery, Fulton, Schoharie and Herkimer counties)

In an effort to bring the riches of the Mohawk Valley experience to the classroom, this five day intensive program will bring to life many aspects that make the Mohawk Valley truly unique.

Discover the stories of the Iroquois, the Palatine Germans, the Dutch, the Erie Canal, the Valley’s Revolutionary history and ties to the Civil War and Industrial Revolution.

Explore how these topics of local history and heritage can be related to the American history story as a whole, along with the New York State Social Studies Standards for Learning. After these five days in the Mohawk Valley, you will feel that you have had a little taste of everything the Valley has to offer.

This history hostel is not just for teachers- however, anyone interested in the rich history of this area is welcome to join us for one or two days or for the full week. The fee for the entire week is $275, which includes meals.

See www.ihare.org for more information and a registration form.

Artistic Visions Exhibit at Iroquois Museum

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“Iroquois Artistic Visions: From Sky World to Turtle Island” is an exhibition featuring new works by contemporary Iroquois artists in addition to art from the Museum’s permanent collection that will run from April 1 through December 31, 2011 at the Iroquois Indian Museum in Howe’s Cave, NY.

Paintings, sculpture, pottery, beadwork, textiles and other media in the exhibition will focus on the important symbols in the Iroquois Creation Story, which is fundamental to understanding Iroquois culture and society because it expresses what is valuable in Iroquois culture.

The story contains ideas that define the Iroquois role relative to the universe and confirms their attachment to a land on which their ancestors have lived for at least ten thousand years. It helps to explain their survival as a distinct ethnic group participating in a multicultural world. This exhibition takes a concept that was traditionally oral and translates it by using a number of exciting and contemporary visual forms.

Many of the artists featured in the exhibition are expected to attend the Gallery Opening . A full color companion book for the exhibition will also be available for sale in the Museum Shop.

Schoharie: Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Roots

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Schoharie Crossing Visitor Center at 129 Schoharie Street, Fort Hunter, five miles west of Amsterdam will be hosting a lecture entitled “Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Roots” to celebrate Women’s History Month, on Wednesday, March 16, at 7:00 pm. Noel Levee of the Johnstown Historical Society will explores Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s early years in Johnstown and how her thoughts were shaped by the people around her. The route of the Erie Canal was a hot bed for social and political change throughout the 19th century which included the Women’s Rights Movement getting started in Seneca Falls, only a stone throw away from the Erie Canal.

Fee $3.00 for adults, $2.00 seniors, $1.00 for children under age 16. Email [email protected] for more information.

Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site Seeks Volunteers

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Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site is seeking volunteers, interns and members of their Friends group to help on a regular or semi regular basis around the historic site doing a variety of different jobs. Schoharie Crossing is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the Erie Canal as one of the 19th century’s greatest commercial and engineering projects. The Visitor Center exhibit traces the history of the Erie Canal and its impact on the growth of New York State and the nation.

Volunteer opportunities may include but are not limited to: interpretation (answering patrons’ questions, giving guided tours, helping with school field trips, running the cash register in the gift shop, period clothing reenacting, helping with special events, providing refreshments), office work (typing, filing, answering phones), maintenance work (gardening, landscaping), historical work (research, curatorial work), environmental aspects (bird and animal assessments, trail maintenance) and photography. No prior work at a historic site is necessary. Training will be provided.

Brief interviews will be conducted to see what is the best fit for both parties involved, taking advantage of interests, hobbies and talents to match the historic site’s needs as much as possible.

To see how you can help, please call 829- 7516 or email [email protected] for more information.

Schoharie Creek, Mohawk River Ice Jam History

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Every spring the Mohawk Valley and Schoharie Creek rise to flood level, mainly due to the snow melt and ice jams. Tomorrow, Wednesday, February 23, at 7:00 pm Schoharie Crossing State historic Site (129 Schoharie Street, Fort Hunter, five miles west of Amsterdam) will host John Quinlan of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who will offer a unique look at the area’s water history. Fee $3.00 for adults, $2.00 seniors, $1.00 for children under age 16. Call 829- 7516 or email [email protected] for more information.

Photo: Flooded canal lock on Mohawk River near Rotterdam Junction (January 25-26, 2010). Photo courtesy Schenectady County Emergency Management.

Digital History Archive Adds Important Volumes

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Bob Sullivan, of the Schenectady Digital History Archive, has announced that the first two (historical) volumes of Nelson Greene’s four-volume history of Fulton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Oneida, Schenectady and Schoharie Counties, History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925 is now online.

Included are more than 300 photos and maps, and a biographical section &#8211 more than 2000 pages so far, are online. Greene’s History joins the Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs, a four-volume set with more than 1300 family entries from Albany, Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren and Washington Counties.

Iroquois Stories for Thanksgiving Season

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The Iroquois Indian Museum in Howes Cave, NY will present “Iroquois Stories for the Season of Thanksgiving” with writer and storyteller Susan Fantl Spivack on Sunday, October 24th at 2 p.m. Museum visitors will enjoy traditional Iroquois stories such as “The Brave Woman and the Flying Head” and “The Talking Stone.”

Ms. Spivack teaches poetry writing workshops to children and adults, and since 1991, has brought her program, &#8220Tricks of the Trade: Stories to Take Home, to libraries and scouting groups. Ms. Spivack conducted The Community Library Story Hour in Cobleskill, NY for thirty years, and has told Iroquois myths and tales at the Iroquois Indian Museum of Schoharie County where she has served as an adjunct educator.

For more information visit the Iroquois Indian Museum online at www.iroquoismuseum.org, e-mail [email protected], or call 518-296-8949.

29th Annual Iroquois Indian Festival

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The Iroquois Indian Museum of Howes Cave, New York, has announced the 29th Annual Iroquois Indian Festival will be held on Labor Day weekend, Saturday, September 4 through Sunday, September 5. The two-day festival’s goal is to foster a greater appreciation and deeper understanding of Iroquois culture through presentations of Iroquois music and social dance, traditional stories, artwork, games and food. This year’s master of ceremonies will be Museum Educator, Mike “Rohrha:re” Tarbell, a member of the Turtle Clan from the Ahkwesahsne Mohawk Nation.

The annual festival centers on the celebration of Iroquois creativity and self-expression by featuring an all Iroquois Indian Art Market open to Iroquois artists by special invitation only. Both traditional and contemporary arts are showcased.

The Sky Dancers from Six Nations Reserve in Ontario will perform traditional Iroquois social dances, and may invite the public out onto the dance floor to participate, as well. The Children’s Tent will feature arts & crafts activities including beadwork and cornhusk doll making. Local wildlife rehabilitator Kelly Martin will be available to discuss wildlife conservation in our bioregion and will present a variety of wild animals including birds of prey. Pamela Brown “Wolf Teacher” returns to promote understanding and awareness of wolves and the importance of their survival with a display of educational and informational materials and fundraising items. The Museum’s archeology department will be available to help identify archeological finds.

NEW THIS YEAR: Mohawk educator Amanda Tarbell will give a presentation of Iroquois stories each day. Wilderness survival teacher and mentor, Barry Keegan will share his expertise with a daily presentation on flinknapping and other early survival skills.

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND: Nature Walk with Mike Tarbell in the Museum’s 45 acre Nature Park.

Food is an important part of any culture, and a full array of Native foods will be available for purchase provided by Frank and Pam Ramsey from Onondaga. Delicious traditional entrees include buffalo burgers, Indian tacos, venison sausage, roasted corn soup and frybread.

The Festival will be held at the Iroquois Indian Museum on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM each day, rain or shine. Performances will take place in the Museum’s outdoor covered amphitheater and the artists participating in the art-market will be set up in adjacent tents. Visit the Museum’s web site at www.iroquoismuseum.org for a performance schedule.

The Festival is supported in part through grants from The New York State Council on the Arts, and donations from members and friends of the Museum.

The Iroquois Indian Museum is located just 35 miles west of Albany New York, near the intersection of highways 7 and 145. Take exit 22 from Interstate 88 and follow the signs. There is a fee for entrance to the Festival grounds. For more information call the Museum at (518) 296-8949, or go to the Museum’s website at www.iroquoismuseum.org.

Photo: Iroquois Sky Dancer at the 2007 Iroquois Indian Festival.