What a great way to spend my time these past few days. Hanging out at the Best Western in Kingston at
the annual conference held by the Association of Public Historians of New York
State.
I sat in on a talk by Taylor Bruck, UC Archivist and City of
Kingston Historian titled What is Historic About Kingston. Then, Bill Merchant gave a talk about
Marginalized Workers on the Delaware and Hudson Canal. To top the first morning off, I listened to
Bryan S. Thompson speak about The Fry Family Black Pioneers of Gouverneur. The
afternoon session was an excellent presentation by Richard Heppner Town of
Woodstock historian and JoAnn Margolis archivist on the topic of Augusta Allen
and the Woodstock Dress- One Woman’s Rise above Hardship within the Woodstock Art
Colony. Lastly, Stephen Blauweiss
presented a synopsis of his latest project- Woodstock: 100 Years of the Counterculture
through Arts and Music.
Tuesday morning I decided to listen to Jordan Jace Education
Director of the NYS Archives Partnership
Trust titled The Historian’s Role
in Expanding the Historical Narrative in the K-12 Curriculum. I walked away from this session with a few
ideas for the Historical Society of Woodstock. Then I sat in on a very dynamic
panel discussion led by staff from the Southeastern NY Library Resource Council.
The over arching idea was how to make
virtual exhibits thus taking history to more people in an online format. To cap the morning off Christopher Carosa
gave an informative talk about how to get your message out to the media. Now, if I could only put some of these
suggestions into action! The afternoon
was spent on a walking tour of the Stockade District. We visited the Stockade District: the
Matthewis Persen House, the Friends of Historic Kingston, The Old Dutch Church,
The Firemans Museum and lastly, the Senate House Museum and a tour of the Senate house. I had almost four miles on my fit bit by the
end of that day! Admittedly, my mind was spinning with wonderful ideas.
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| City of Kingston Historian Taylor Bruck on the left |
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| Outside the Matthewis Pearson House |
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| Mural of John Vanderlyn and Sojourner Truth |
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| Outside the Senate House |
To close the conference out on Wednesday I attended a lecture about Peg Leg Bates resort: The Legacy of a Black Resort in the Catskills. I am to young to remember Peg Leg Bates so this was very informative. Lastly, Karen McLaughlin Cuccinello spoke about her latest book Italian Immigrants in Upstate NY, 1875-1925. I had lunch with Teri Reynolds of the Woodstock Cemetery Committee. We shared stories of our family’s Italian history in Kingston NY. Lots of seeds for great ideas were planted at the lunch table.
There is an incredible amount of rich history
here in the Hudson Valley and thru my biographical writing projects I will
continue to do my part to add to the historical record of the people who have
touched my life.
