Dashin' & Dancin' at the Cohoes Music Hall

The inaugural Dashin' & Dancin' concert featuring The Refrigerators was a hit Saturday, December 2 at the Cohoes Music Hall. It was a great fundraising effort for the museum - and for those who were affected by the fire on Remsen Street just a few days before. One of the band members even donated his entire cut of the performance to those rebuilding! These guys are a great group of people and we had such a good time that we hope to be able to make this a yearly thing.

There were the usual fan favorites that they performed as well as some holiday songs!

There was a Christmas Conga Line and we had our own rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Who do you think was the loudest group out of the twelve days of Christmas?

We even had Santa and his wife there to make sure we were nice...we were all nice this year, right?

Not even Santa could resist joining in on the fun with the band, showing off his moves with the saxophone!

Thank you to The Refrigerators for such a fantastic performance - they had us up and dancin' the night away!

It was a great way to support the museum and we wish everyone a happy holiday season 🎄🎄🎄🤶🎅📯🥁🎸🎙🎁🎁🎁

November 2017 Kickoff Lecture - Vampire Burials

Our kickoff lecture for this season's Winter Lecture Series was on November 14th at the Van Schaick Island Country Club. It's topic followed the Halloween mood with its focus on mortuary archaeology titled "Vampire Burials".

Presented by the museum's director, there was - of course - an issue with the microphone. Not sure what jinx I have regarding microphones, but this was the third talk I've given where I had to improvise. Our vice president picking it up at the end of the talk to poke around with it, only to have it work fine was just another clue that I may be jinxed...sigh....



But I want to thank everyone who came out to join us for the kickoff! You were great despite my technical difficulties.

Exploring some of the history and features of the vampire creature in various European cultures and mythologies, we focused on examples of deviant burials in the archaeological record that were strange enough to warrant the interpretation by the excavating archaeologists as having possibly belonged to individuals who were thought to be in danger of - or were already - these undead figures.

What is mortuary archaeology? As you can probably guess from the name, it's archaeology that focuses on the mortuary aspects of a culture, left behind in things like graves/tombs, funerary artifacts, and of course, the body itself. Studying how a society handled the treatment of their dead can tell you a lot about their culture.

But, as was stressed in the lecture, archaeology is an interpretation of findings. Yes, a lot of it has strong evidence to support it and forensic anthropology is a key feature in creating these interpretations of the past. But, then you have items where even the standard "it's ceremonial" is tossed out when archaeologists are left shrugging a bit.

There are a plethora of features associated with vampires and an accompanying variety of methods to deal with them. The majority of examples looked at in this lecture were from the early modern period (~1450 - 1690), but there are cases that suggest even ancient sites like the Iron Age example from Italy were on the lookout for potential vampires.

We looked at examples of these burials spanning from the British Isles, Scandinavian countries, eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, and into America in the mid-1800s during an outbreak of consumption (aka tuberculosis).

An example from Poland of a "vampire burial"

Scandinavian examples from folklore include creatures like this image -
       although the features and definition of this particular "vampire" changed
                                       over time to be more of a drowned vengeance-seeking creature preying on the living rather than the typical blood-drinking image most commonly associated with the figure of the vampire

We couldn't not explore anything from the place everyone thinks of when you hear the word
vampire. Romania is one of the few places where the vampire is so closely linked to what outsiders view of their culture that I had to look to see if there were any other potential cases of people having been treated for vampirism post-mortem. You can click on this link from the PBS series, Secrets of the Dead where they document a case from 2004.

And so, in some places, the vampire hunt continues!

Just keep this in mind in case you find yourself in a situation with such a creature:

76th Anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor

Today marks the anniversary of the event that acted as the trigger for the United States officially entering into World War II. The attack on the U.S. naval base on what was then still the U.S. territory of Hawaii by the Imperial Japanese spurred many into enlisting in the war.

You can learn more at this site

The attack lasted 110 minutes, from 7:55 a.m. until 9:45 a.m., as Japanese planes attacked on a Sunday in the belief that the Americans would be less alert on this day - many were still in their pajamas in the mess hall when the attack began. The United States aircraft carriers were the primary target of the attack, but the Japanese had their timing off and those carriers weren't at the base; due to this, the Japanese cancelled a second planned attack. Midget submarines were also used by the Japanese in this attack.

2,343 men were killed, 1,272 were wounded and 960 left missing.  A total of 2,335 U.S. servicemen were killed and 1,143 were wounded. 68 civilians were also killed and 35 were wounded. The Japanese also suffered casualties that day, although nowhere close in comparison: 65 men, with an additional soldier being captured - 28 Japanese planes were shot down and 5 midget submarines sunk.                                                                                                

Here's a video of the reporting that was put together last year for the 75th Anniversary that you can find on YouTube:

                                                 

The next day, on December 8, 1941,  the country declared war on the Empire of Japan.  Shortly afterward, Nazi Germany, and its ally Italy, followed with a declaration of war against the United States for what it felt was a breach of neutrality agreements by the U.S. given the increasing cooperation by the U.S. with the United Kingdom through the countries' special relationship.  The United States responded with their own declaration of war on December 11, 1941.

As the famous Infamy speech by President Franklin D. Roosevelt conveys, this surprise attack left a lasting impression in the national psyche and contributed to the overwhelming sense of patriotism that was carried through the war by the country.

Here's an image of the WWII draft in Waterford, NY, taken July 22, 1942.

Members are listed on the back of the photo as:   Wally Rudebush, Jas A. Glavin,  Joe Hartnett,  Jack Harney, Molly Storm, Dr. Peckham, and Gordon Yaxley

The Waterford Historical Museum and Cultural Center was a guest today on the Schenectady Today Show with Ann Parillo! Check us out as we discussed our fantastic upcoming concert at the Cohoes Music Hall featuring The Refrigerators. Thank you to Ann for hosting us and to Dave Cerrone for joining us to talk about this fun event that will support the museum's mission and goals.

Jump to 12:38 to hear us!

We hope to see you all there at Dashin' & Dancin' on Saturday, December 2 from 7-10pm (doors open at 6pm). Tickets are $25 and can be pre-ordered and purchased at the door. Thank you for your support!

Hats And Helmets

The museum had a couple of displays in our parlor area that introduced you to what else could make its way along the Erie Canal, connecting to New York's observation of the centennial of state-level women's suffrage in 1917 as well as the United State's entry into World War I.

Here's a brief look at these exhibits in case you didn't get a chance to check them out over the summer:

While the right to vote at the national level wasn’t earned until 1920 with the passing of the 19th Amendment, there were state-level victories and New York women earned the vote at the state level three years before at the national level - November 6, 1917.

New York was home to the birth of the movement, with the Women’s Rights Convention held at Seneca Falls in 1848.

Part of the efforts to increase awareness of their efforts, suffragists took to wearing sashes and hats made special for their cause. This display ranges from the beginning of the Progressive Era with some examples of  smaller versions of 1890s hats, and end with an example from the 1920s when the flapper style was making its way to the forefront of women’s fashion. The Erie Canal was a significant ally for the suffrage campaign, as well as various other movements such as abolition and temperance.

For a musical number to help you learn some women's suffrage history, check out this video created by Soomo Publishing!

Also at the Museum, Acknowledging another Centennial

The U.S.A. entered into World War I in 1917, with Waterford sending several men to fight - ultimately three times more than required for the area - as well as nurses to aid our solders. Locals were also involved through projects like the war gardens, which came to be known as "victory gardens" and took root across the country to help deal with famines in Europe resulting from all the fighting and the lack of farmers. Many continued to maintain these gardens after the war's end, with a reemergence during WWII when commercial crops were again redirected to military overseas and transportation focused more on moving troops and munitions rather food.

The Erie and Champlain Canals - and later the Barge Canal System - operated in this capacity of transporting vital materials and boats from across the country. The Matton Shipyard was involved in these efforts, constructing large canal barges and deck barges for the U.S. Army during both World Wars.

Wandering Through Waterford Rural

Happy Halloween! There's a lot of spooky decorations on people's houses and lawns, such as those weathered-looking tombstones with epitaphs like "Here Lies Fred Who Is Definitely Dead... "  and others with more creative and witty lines. But what about the real deal? At one point in time, particularly the Victorian era of the mid- 1800s, graveyards and cemeteries were also viewed as picnic place and a spot to create carefully crafted gardens.

That's not to say that there weren't a plethora of fun things to do there - the concept of séances become extremely popular in the mid 19th century and literature of the time could become a bit...macabre. Talking Boards were often used, mainly as a parlor game, to communicate with the dearly departed - the Ouija board, the commercial introduction of such a device - was invented on the tail end of the Victorian period in 1890.

So, now would be an appropriate time to explore one of the nearby cemeteries. Not only are they great places to tell a spooky story, but there's a lot of history quite literally wherever you step.







Who knows? Maybe you'll have your own spooky story to tell:

1791 Newspaper article describing "A Remarkable Fact" about the "supernatural" unexplained sounds from the area

Waterford Rural Cemetery has internments dating back as far as 1774. Although, for some stones, the writing is impossible to make out. You can see the faint outlines, but these older stones have been weathered down. One trick you might want to try - no guarantees it'll work - is to pour some water on the stone to make the carved portions stand out a little more. Or, if you don't feel like watering the stones, you can try to do a rubbing and hopefully catch a few details you didn't see before.

 The Rural Cemetery, located at 108 Saratoga Avenue, was originally on Fourth Street. Three acres of the Guert Van Schoonhoven farm were the first parts of the five sections that became the rural cemetery. According to Sydney Hammersley, it was bought by John Cramer (a lawyer who was featured in our Waterford 200 exhibit), William Scott, Edward F. Bullard, George W. Eddy (more on the Eddy family in the museum's permanent exhibit!), William L. Seymour and Belden Scott. Anyone recognize those names? Well, they were the Village Trustees in 1845 and they managed to purchase these lots for $5 - which is around $127 today.

The first cemetery record book was started by Morton C. Powell, clerk for the Village Trustees in 1845. It came in handy when, in1889, the old burying ground was sold to become the site for the Union Free School No. 1, which is where the current day Waterford Rescue Squad is located.  The burials were relocated to their final, final resting place.

It was enlarged in 1942 when the Waterford Rural Cemetery officials bought land west of the Albany and Vermont Railway (the Delaware and Hudson Company). It was referred to as "Vinegar" Hill on old maps but also came to be known as the "Dicky Davis" wood.

An editor of the local paper once wrote a comment on the early days of the rural cemetery, remarking that it was, "a favorite grazing place for cows"

The museum has some information in our collection on the burials in Waterford Rural, but we do not have a complete list nor do we have any maps of the different sections.  A good place to start if you have a name to follow would be on sites like: New York Gravestones or Saratoga NYGENWEB
      
Your best bet is to contact Waterford Rural Cemetery directly at 518-237-5512 for this information. But it's a unique place to visit...before or after visiting the museum of course!

The museum is just a quick 3 minutes away!

Here's some other images of a few headstones found throughout the cemetery. Feel free to comment on any of them or share some pictures of your own!

A Peek At The Museum

The museum is more than just a building filled with old stuff - the stories and history around these items make up the stories of the community. As fluffy as that statement may sound, it's true and the museum is a great spot to learn more about the history and ongoing culture of Waterford.

If you haven't stopped in this season, there's still plenty of time before our exhibits close at the end of October! We have our "Always Know Your Pal" exhibit for the start of the Erie Canal bicentennial years, along with our parlor room display. The Erie Canal isn't the only thing marking an anniversary this year: the U.S. entry into WWI marks its centennial anniversary, as does New York State's women's suffrage.




Check out our smaller exhibits for these events at the museum, past our permanent exhibit, "Born of Two Rivers: An Illustrated History of Waterford, NY"

And our permanent exhibit has a new addition as well in the form of an image scavenger hunt. If you've stopped by before, you can spot where these images are, right? Need a refresher? Well, we're open 10AM-3PM Tues-Sat and 12:20-3PM on Sundays if you want to test your observation skills!

Clink on the link under the image on the left to see our easier version and the one under the image on the right for our harder version. Both are available for you to download and print out for your next visit to the museum (or pull up on your phone from our website). There's also a copy of our easier version at the front desk that you can borrow - just ask us and we'll be happy to help!

Homestead Hunt Version 1
                                                                                                                                                                     Homestead Hunt Version 2

What else is the museum up to? If you're a museum member, you've seen how packed out most recent newsletter was with all the activities the museum's been a part of so far. Not a member yet? Here's a peek at some of the articles:

Keeping Busy At The Museum & Upcoming Events

The museum's been busy with events such as Canal Clean Sweep, our Canalways education program, Group Tours and collaborating with other institutions statewide in celebrating the Erie Canal such as the Albany Symphony Orchestra's Water Music Festival!

We're planning on being a part of the annual Waterford Tugboat Roundup Sept. 8-10. Our first ever Golf Tournament & Clambake will be Sept. 18 and is open to all, including non-golfers who prefer to enjoy a delicious clambake out on the deck of the Van Schaick Island Country Club.

There's still lots to enjoy this summer, but don't forget about fall - our Day Trip this October will be to the fantastic Hyde Museum and the Warrensburgh Museum. Our annual Trivia Night, Annual Meeting/Volunteer Appreciation, and our upcoming Erie Canal Sketches Art Show presented by Dana Hatchett are just a few more of the fun events to look forward to despite the end of summer.

Click HERE to learn more about our calendar of events!

"History Highlights"

Can you take a guess at what this newsletter's highlighted item is? If you visited before, you may have walked right by it. It's actually on display in the front hall if you're curious and want to see it up close for yourself. It likely traveled around a bit before it made its way to its current home at the museum. These types of musical instruments were made for travel after all! Come take a look and see why they were so popular in the late 1800s to around the 1930s/40s.

BECOME A MEMBER today to learn more!

My Summer at the Waterford Museum

Before interning at the Waterford Museum, I never really understood or appreciated the amount of work that went into exhibits. As a visitor, these behind-the-scenes efforts are just not conveyed.

The Waterford Historical Museum

When walking through the Waterford Museum, the displays of historical artifacts seem to effortlessly tell the stories of Waterford, the Erie Canal, and the Hugh White Homestead.

Yet these displays are far from effortless. On the first day of my internship, the museum director of the Waterford Museum introduced me to PastPerfect 5.0, a computer software program that acts as a database for museum items.

The idea of Past Perfect is to not only keep track of items and their histories, but also allow researchers to gain access to such information.

As you can imagine, cataloging items into PastPerfect is a highly important and large part of museum work. It is also very tedious.

Every item you see (and don't see) that was cleared for accession, meaning being officially accepted by the museum, gets an identification number in PastPerfect. It corresponds with the year it was accessioned and the number of accessions for the museum that year.

For instance, the 1947 Waterford High School yearbook - the Fordian - has an ID number of 2017.43. It was accessioned in 2017 and was the forty-third accession of the year.

Waterford High School yearbook

At the Waterford Museum

Assigning ID numbers is an essential step in the cataloging process since the number is physically on the item itself, not just in PastPerfect, for identification purposes. Without a number, locating museum items can be nearly impossible.

And assigning ID numbers is just the first step. Once the item is in the PastPerfect database, every piece of information about the item must be entered into the system – no bit of information is considered irrelevant or unnecessary.

Date, dimensions, provenance (ownership history), material, and summary are a few examples of the many fields required to be filled out for the item.

It takes thorough work, but it is all for good reason, as it helps place museum items into historical contexts and convey their historical significance to prospective researchers.

So for part of my summer, I spent quality time with nearly hundred items at the Waterford Museum, unraveling their stories one-by-one into PastPerfect. Naturally as a history major, I ended up really enjoying this task. You quickly learn that every object and document truly have their own contribution to history, all of which are equally important.

PastPerfect 5.0. A typical screen seen when cataloging

For example, my biggest PastPerfect project entailed cataloging an entire binder of documents about the Saving Waterford's Heritage efforts from 1964-1966. During which, members of the Waterford Historical Society and volunteers moved the Hugh White Homestead from its original location to where it stands now in order to save it from being razed by the Grand Union Company. They then turned the Homestead into the Waterford Museum we know today.

The Saving Waterford's Heritage Collection

Available to researchers at the O'Connor Library

I thought I knew this story well, but looking closely at every speech, letter, and invoice related to the Save Waterford efforts made me realize that I missed out on key details and didn’t know the story to the extent I thought I did.

The invoices recording the labor done on the Hugh White Homestead, from landscaping to building, revealed the amount of work put into the preserving the historic site and transforming it into a museum.

The letters from members in the Waterford Historical Society, to each other and to others invested in the Homestead project, revealed how much Waterford residents cared about and loved their town's history.

That is the point of museums like the Waterford Museum and historians like myself... to uphold and celebrate the stories of extraordinary people and significant events that may have gotten lost in the larger narrative.

Therefore, the other part of my internship, maintaining the museum blog, meant to fulfill this
obligation. Each week I was given the freedom to write about anything I wanted. While it was difficult to narrow down topics, it was never very difficult to connect major events in history, such as the Revolutionary War, back to the Capital Region and items displayed at the Waterford Museum.

For instance, depicted below are a World War II military hat and a letter from a soldier serving in the Civil War sent to his sister in Waterford. Both are featured at the Waterford Museum, and it is items such as these that remind us the importance of local history that is so easily overshadowed.

WWII Military Hat. At the Waterford Museum

Letter from a Civil War solider to his sister in Waterford

(d. May 27, 1861) At the Waterford Museum

If there is anything I learned this summer, it is that everything has historical purpose and significance, including yourself! Stop by the Waterford Museum or become a museum volunteer to learn and live out your historical purpose.

Read more about curatorial work, PastPerfect software, and the Waterford Museum at:
http://www.museumsassociation.org/careers
http://www.museumsoftware.com/pp5.html
http://waterfordmuseum.com/sample-page/museum-history/
http://waterfordmuseum.com/sample-page/volunteer/