Montgomery Co. Historical Society Board of Trustees President Dennis Drenzek Vice President Dolores Partyka Secretary Elizabeth Clough Treasurer Douglas Landon Trustees Marc Andreae David Bellinger Peter Betz Ronald Burch William Cooper Philip Cortese Morris Evans Gary Greco Betty Hagen Eugene Lees James Major Joan Pipito Lori Rulison Del Salmon Nancy Salmon James Sparks Erwin Splittgerber Lori Stachnik Robert von Hasseln Charles White Site Manager Scott G. Haefner Museum Coordinator Alessa Wylie
Opening Day is Saturday, May 22nd
Saturday, May 22 is opening day at Old Fort Johnson. We hope that you’ll join us for the opening of our new exhibit entitled “Woven through History.” This exhibit features the 19th century coverlets of Mohawk Valley weaver Xavier Gartner that were donated to Old Fort Johnson by the late master weaver Gene Valk. Xavier Gartner was a German weaver who came to America in 1832 and settled near Stone Arabia. He brought with him his father’s book of weaving patterns and made a living weaving household linens, blankets, coverlets, and rugs for friends and neighbors. Old Fort Johnson owns this original pattern book which will feature it in the exhibit. Gene Valk devoted a great portion of her life to the craft of hand weaving and adapted many of the block designs in the Gartner pattern book to create wonderful table linens and wall hangings which will also be on display. Gene was well known throughout the area as a passionate and inspirational teacher and a great supporter of Mohawk Valley historic sites. This exhibit is also a tribute to her. This one-day event will feature the skills and talents of traditional craftspeople demonstrating the art of woven crafts —weaving, counted cross stitch and other hand work— ongoing during the day. Special guest Marjie Thompson will speak at 2:00 pm about Xavier Gartner and Gene Valk. Box lunches will be available for purchase so plan to spend the day with us on Saturday, May 22 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Admission is free but donations are gratefully accepted.
Grand Garden Tea and Fashion Show
Tuesday, June 22 is the date for our annual summer fundraiser with a new twist! Instead of a traditional luncheon, this year’s event will be an elegant Grand Garden Tea where you’ll enjoy the following: • A glass of sparkling wine. • Herbed cheese and crackers garnished with fresh fruit. • A variety of savory tea sandwiches. • Scones and jam tarts. • Freshly baked tea pastries. • Two choices of hot tea. • Two choices of iced tea. The event will begin at 11:30 am with shopping at small “boutiques” set up on the lawn at the Old Fort. The Grand Garden Tea will be served by costumed servers promptly at 12:30 pm followed at 1:30 pm by the ever popular fashion show of summer clothing from Albany clothier Fancy Schmancy modeled by local ladies. Reservations are required and seating is limited. Walk-ins will NOT be accepted so please make your reservations early. Please contact Betty Clough at 843-6770 for an invitation. The Grand Garden Tea is $50 per person.
Adopt a Coverlet The Montgomery County Historical Society invites visitors to explore the history of the Mohawk Valley through its extraordinary collection of artifacts at Old Fort Johnson. However, only a small percentage of these artifacts are on display at any one time, the rest need proper housing and care. Now you can help the Montgomery County Historical Society to properly care for all the artifacts in its collection by “adopting” an artifact. All funds raised from adoptions will support the preservation, storage, and management of our artifacts. We’d like to begin the adoption process with the 19th century coverlets in our collection. In American homes in the early to mid 1800’s the coverlet was a common woven bed-top covering. Woven of homespun wool, cotton and linen by housewives and by professional weavers, they were meant to be seen and were prized for their beauty as well as utility. There are currently 17 coverlets in our collection. All are in need of new storage arrangements and we’re looking for people interested in helping out. An “adoption” fee of $65.00 will purchase the correct archival materials needed to properly store each coverlet. Please contact Alessa Wylie at 518843-0300 for information on the adoption process. Information will also be available at the Old Fort. 2010 marks the 230th anniversary of the devastating raids that took place here in the Mohawk Valley during the latter part of the American Revolution. During this anniversary year, won’t you help us preserve our coverlets from the destruction of time by adopting one today?
State Historic sites are in jeapardy As we write this newsletter the fate of Johnson Hall State Historic Site and Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site is still uncertain. As has been reported in the news, State funding cuts threaten to close these and other New York historic sites and parks. Even though these cuts don’t directly affect private sites like Old Fort Johnson, they may have a significant impact on tourism in general, and we all lose when parts of our history become unavailable. Now, more than ever, it’s important to support our heritage tourism and the economic benefits that it provides to our community. Over the past years Old Fort Johnson has welcomed people from England, Australia, Japan, Greece, Germany, Canada, Massachusetts, Ohio, Florida, California, Hawaii, South Carolina, Virginia as well as Fonda, Amsterdam, Albany, Schenectady and many other local communities. We hope that you have made your voice heard concerning these closings and that you will continue to support all the historic sites here in Montgomery County and across the State.
Summer
of Events
American stringed instrument. Its ancestor, the scheithlot, was found in the late 1700’s in Pennsylvania. The word dulcimer means “sweet song”, and that describes it well. Lori will share more about the history of the instrument, play some popular tunes, and teach participants a few easy melodies. No experience is necessary and dulcimers are available for you to use.
Evenings at the Old Fort
Wednesday, August 18 – “A Revolution is Brewing.” Reenactor Harvey Alexander will be on hand to talk about colonial beer brewing. Beer played an important role in the economic, social and political life of most colonial families. We hope you’ll join us and discover why Benjamin Franklin said “Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
this season from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. for a newly launched series that will feature demonstrations, lectures and activities for all. Admission for the programs is just $2.00 and members of the Montgomery County Historical Society are free. We hope that you’ll join us for one or all of the following:
Wednesday, September 15 – “Old Fort Architecture.” Built in 1749, Old Fort Johnson, the fortified limestone home of Sir William Johnson, is representative of the best of colonial architecture. No other home of a prominent New York citizen of the colonial period has survived so untouched by the changes of style and time. Join us as we learn more about this 18th century Georgian gem.
Wednesday, June 16 – “Costumes from the Collection.” Guest speaker Robin Campbell, recently retired Associate Curator with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation will be talking about clothing from the collection of the Historical Society. There will be a variety of women’s, men’s and children’s clothing on display. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to see these rarely seen articles of clothing from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.
Garden Teas
Join us on the third Wednesday of each month,
Wednesday, July 21 – “Dulcimer Workshop with Lori Keddell.” Mountain dulcimer instructor Lori Keddell will present a beginning dulcimer workshop at Old Fort Johnson. The mountain dulcimer is an old
Join us for a relaxing cup of tea while enjoying the gardens and grounds of Old Fort Johnson. Now in its fifth season, Afternoon Tea in the Garden has become a summer tradition. The cost is $15.00 per person and includes tea, savory tea sandwiches, assorted sweets and fresh fruit. Dates for 2010 are: Tuesdays, July 13, August 10 and September 14. Teas begin promptly at 1:00 p.m. Seating is limited. Reservations are required by calling 518-843-0300.
Calendar
s for 2010
Christmas in July CD Release Party-
Date to be announced If you’ve ever visited the Old Fort for one of our events, chances are you’ve heard the Liaisons Plaisantes performing. This talented group of musicians, Ron Burch, Susan Casler, Olof Jansson, Marilee Urbanczyk, and SueAnn Wheadon, are recording their first CD of 18th century holiday music, and we’re going to celebrate. Details are still being worked so please check our website and our Facebook page for the most up-todate information. August 21 – Movie Night at the Old Fort 8:30 pm This year’s movie will be the 1920 silent movie version of The Last of the Mohicans. Bring a picnic and enjoy the grounds of the Old Fort before the movie. This event is free and open to all. The movie will begin approximately 8:30 p.m. preceded by a brief introduction. Typical movie refreshments will be available.
MCHS embraces 21st century technology
Our website has been updated, we have a Facebook page and we’re soon going to be Twittering. If you don’t know what any of that means, don’t worry, it’s just our way of saying that we’re exploring new ways of getting the word out about the Historical Society and Old Fort Johnson. Thanks to trustees Lori Rulison and Jim Sparks and volunteer Kathy Nellegar for making this happen. If you’d like to receive information from us electronically, please make sure we have your e-mail address. Send it to museum@oldfortjohnson.org. Work is underway to repair the southwest chimney. Much needed repointing and flashing is being handled by Top Hat Chimney.
New Membership Rates & Benefits 2010 marks the beginning of a year-long membership campaign for the Montgomery County Historical Society. The Membership Committee has been hard at work and for the first time since 1983, the Historical Society has updated its membership categories and fees. New membership categories are: Student/Senior Individual Family Patron/Professional Business Corporate
$15.00 $20.00 $30.00 $50.00 $100.00 $200.00
Exciting new benefits for being a member of the Historical Society have also been added. Benefits are: • • • • • •
Free admission to Old Fort Johnson 10 % discount in gift shop Regular mailings of our newsletter Invitations to special events throughout the year Discounted admission to special events Volunteer opportunities for many talents, passions and time schedules
We hope that if you aren’t a member, or if you haven’t renewed your membership, yet, you’ll do that today. As a private, not-for-profit organization, our members are a large part of our success. Please join or renew today and help keep history alive here at Old Fort Johnson.
Richmond - Frey collection on display, at the Old Fort This collection reflects the wide-ranging interests of two 19th century amateur archaeologist from the Mohawk Valley, Adelbert G. Richmond and Samuel Ludlow Frey. Ancient artifacts from around the North America and arofreypic1und the world are on display providing a fascinating look at what people were collecting in the late 1800’s. A.G. Richmond was an enthusiast in archeological research, and had a collection of about 20,000 specimens from nearly every state in the Union and many parts of the world. He corresponded with and bought or swapped artifacts with other collectors. The Richmond collection was fully cataloged in 1877 and acquired by the Historical Society about 1904. Samuel Ludlow Frey was a descendant of a prominent local family and spent years of his life tramping about in Montgomery and Fulton counties seeking local Indian materials. Like Richmond (whom he knew and from whom he received some artifacts) he corresponded widely and swapped objects with other collectors of his era. His collection came to the Society in 1928.
Find Us on the Web: WWW.OLDFORTJOHNSON.ORG
Book Reviews Berleth, Richard. The Bloody Mohawk: The French & Indian War & American Revolution on New York’s Frontier. Black Dome Press Corp., 2009. 370p., index, chapter notes, illus. $19.95 Question - How can one more re-telling of our Mohawk Valley French War struggles be either original or worth adding to your bookshelf? Answer - Berlith’s new entry is a great bargain at under twenty dollars, but mores’ the pity there was no initial run of hard-cover copies, since serious readers will give it hard use. Berlith does not focused on our frontier alone: he knowledgably integrates the big and small pictures, chronologically, multiculturally, militarily and motivationally, covering eight decades of frontier warfare, politics and expansionism, relating how the French empire grew, faltered, and gave way to the British. The hackwork phrase, ‘sweeping panorama’ comes to mind, but it works because the author possesses the combined literary skill and historical scholarship to accomplish it. Yet Berleth is not retreading history. For one example, he postulates that the base cause of the continually-ineffectual military response to incursions within the valley prior to the arrival of Col. Willett was not the inability to respond, but rather, the entrenched multicultural hierarchy and accompanying unwillingness of each ethnic and social caste to willingly communicate and cooperate with the others. Agree or not, Berleth is an analyst of primary source evidence: from his analyses, he poses new questions, offers original observations and challenges readers to question long-held ‘truths’ and conceptions.
Jennings, Francis. Empire of Fortune: Crowns, Colonies and Tribes in the Seven Years War in America. N.Y. Norton 1988 520p. index, bibliography, illus. This is the final volume of Jennings’ “The Covenant Chain” trilogy, no longer in print, but readily and reasonably available from Internet sources, reviewed here in contrast to Richard Berlith’s “The Bloody Mohawk.” One of the interesting sub-stories Jennings presents is of the role played by Pennsylvania Quakers in quelling that colony’s western frontier warfare. Jennings primary focus is always on the land, the continent over which French, English and Indians struggled to maintain dominance, and of course, his own version of how they rose and fell in the process. Forceful and contentious in his opinions, Jennings during his professional lifetime was unpopular with other scholars. Jennings strength lay in his ability to transmit an amazing amount of detail about people, places and how separate events influenced each other, all without being boring. If the reader can accept that Jennings was a revisionist, primarily concerned with flogging his own ideas, as opposed to Berlith who presents a balanced, complete history, he will discover that both books , if read back to back, make an interesting historical stew.
Thank you to the following businesses and organizations that support us throughout the year: Betz, Rossi, Bellinger Family Funeral Home Drenzek Design Schuyler’s Greenhouse Ship & Copy Stewarts Shops JMS Historic Websites Rulison Honey Farm 2nd Albany County Militia
Non profit Organization U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 3 Amsterdam, NY 12010
Old Fort Johnson
Montgomery County Historical Society PO Box 196 Fort Johnson, NY 12070
How You can Help Membership. Become a recruit or member. This is your gateway to exhibits, lectures, special events. Endowment. Donate to our endowment fund. Call us for details. Bequest. Remember Old Fort Johnson in your estate planning, or trust.
www.oldfortjohnson.org