By Matt Urtz, County Historian

(Madison County, NY – April and May, 2012)

On Friday April 27th from 9 am to 2:30 pm the Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum will host the 1st Annual Erie Canal Geographic Conference.   The event is co-sponsored by the museum and the New York State Geographic Alliance.  The event will focus on teaching about the canal and related topics.  Museum staff will be on hand to give tours and demonstrate 19th century boat-building techniques.   There is no cost of admission or registration for this conference.  Lunch will also be provided. To register go to the NYGA website – http://www.nygeographicalliance.org. If you have any questions please contact Tim McDonnell via email attmcdonnell@monroecc.edu or by phone at( 585)-292-2398.

On Saturday April 28th from 8 am to 11 am the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark will host a pancake at the Copper Turret Restaurant in Morrisville, NY.  The breakfast will included pancakes, sausage, juice, milk and coffee.  There is a $5 donation for the event and all proceeds go to the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark in Peterboro, NY.

On Saturday April 28th from 10 am to 3 pm and Sunday April 29th from 12 pm to 3 pm the Chenango Canal Association hosts CANAL CLEAN SWEEP. Clean Water Coalition from COVE at Colgate University brings students who volunteer with the public to rake and drag fallen limbs to the roadside, pick up trash and clean up the entrances to the trail. This is a great family project and qualifies for school-required community service (check with the local high school for paperwork). Canal Clean Sweep is a state-wide event for canals and waterways and is sponsored by Parks & Trails New York and the NYS Canal Authority. Dress in layers and work boots or tie-shoes (no flip flops).  Lunch is provided both days.  Please call 315-893-7910 to register. This is a community project, improving a national and state historic site that is a National Recreation Trail.

On Sunday April 29th from 12 pm to 3 pm the Madison County Historical Society will host a Antebellum, Wartime & Peace Fashion Show at the Rusty Rail Restaurant in Canastota. Fashions from the periods between 1840-1860 and 1940-1960 will be shown. Dode Page, owner of Black Antiques of Earlville, will be the emcee. The show will start at noon and feature a buffet, raffle and vendor booths. Tickets for the show are $20 and reservations are required. For more information visit www.mchs1900.org.

On Wednesday May 2nd at 11 am the Town of Madison Historical Society will host a ceremony to dedicate the placement of a historic marker where the first Hops field in Madison County was planted.  The event will take place in front of Steve Dow’s home on Route 12B, near the corner of State Route 20 (2nd house on the right, after turning from Rt. 20). Parking will be in the lot across the street.  You are invited to RSVP by April 23rd to Diane Van Slyke at towpath@twcny.rr.com or call 315-893-7910. A tour of Good Nature Brewing, a micro-brewery in Hamilton that uses locally-grown hops and other ingredients, follows for the cost of $4 a person (including taste-testing samples of beer).

On Saturday May 5th the Canastota Canal Town Museum will host a grand opening of the new dump wagon display.  More information to come.

On Saturday May 5th from 1 pm to 3 pm the Madison County Historical Society will host Lady’s Handiwork: Create your own Victorian Whimsy. Participants will create their very own whimsy boxes using the decoupage technique under the direction of Pam Lynch, a retired art teacher from the Oneida City School District.  A light fare of Victorian delights will be served.  The cost for the workshop is $15 and it is limited to 20 participants.  For more information please visit www.mchs1900.org.

On Saturday May 5th at 2 pm the Quincy Square Museum will host the talk “How Madison County Changed the United States,” by Madison County Historian Matt Urtz.  Madison County was home to some of the most innovative thinkers in American History. Madison County residents have directly affected the movie industry, the development of computers, firearm production, dental science, federal fiscal policy, the development of the tractor, and so much more.  There is no cost for this event.  For more information please visithttp://www.quincy.earlville.net/.

On Wednesday May 16th from 9 am to 1 pm Madison County Historian Matt Urtz will host a New York State Archives workshop entitled Fugitive Documents at the Madison County DMV Building (Building #4).  NYS Archivist Dr. Suzanne Etherington will speak examines how records become lost, show how to keep records in custody, outline strategies to regain custody if necessary, and discuss issues to consider when donating archival records to another organization.  There is no charge for this event but pre-registration is required.  For more information please contact Madison County Historian Matt Urtz at 315-366-2453.

On Saturday May 19th from 10 am – 12 pm the Jerry Munger and Ted Bartlett will host a walking tour of historic Cazenovia Church Architecture. More information to come.

On Saturday May 19th and Sunday May 20th from 10am until 4pm the Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum will celebrate NY State Heritage weekend in cooperation with the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. Everyone is invited to the historic drydocks and canal boat building facility on the Old Erie Canal.  There is no charge for the day’s festivities which include an open house, guided tours, children’s hands on activities including receiving an Erie Canalway Junior Ranger Badge, Quilter vendors, lunch at the hotdog cart for $5.00 and a fully stocked gift shop (proceeds will benefit CLCBM).  For more information please visit www.clcbm.org.

On Saturday May 19th from 12 pm to 3 pm the Chenango Canal Association will host a historic tour of the Chenango Canal and local businesses in honor of New York State Heritage Weekend. Tour guides in period dress brings to life what it was like to live in the mid-1800s. Tours begins every half hour.  Meet at the Canal Cottage Museum, Rt. 20, Bouckville (across from the Landmark Tavern). Donations accepted.  For more information please visit http://www.chenangocanal.org.

On Saturday May 19th and Sunday May 20th, Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark, National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum, and Peterboro Heritage Mercantile will open for season in celebration with New York State Heritage weekend.   New exterior exhibits at Gerrit Smith Estate will be featured.  All sites are open from 1-5 pm.

On Saturday May 19th at 7:30 pm the Earlville Opera House and the 20thAnnual Peterboro Civil War Weekend a Civil War concert at Madison Hall in the Town of Morrisville as part of Heritage Weekend in NY.   The event will preview upcoming events in Madison County dealing with the War.  Hugh C. Humphreys will welcome the audience with a preview of the Civil Weekend program entitled “John Brown’s Ghost: Madison County to Harpers Ferry.” Madison County Historian Matthew Urtz will preview his program for Civil War Weekend entitled “Writing Home, Madison County letters from the front line.” Performers Greg Artzner and Terry Leonino, well known for their musical renditions of Civil War songs, (especially the history of John Brown) will provide a preview for an expanded concert entitled “Four Seasons, Four Years ~ The Civil War a Musical Journey” on June 8th at the Earlville Opera House.

On Sunday May 20th at 3 pm, the Oneida Community Mansion House will welcome the Jim O’Mahony Trio who will perform music of the Beatles in the Big Hall.  The event is free to the public.  For more information please visit http://www.oneidacommunity.org/.

On Wednesday May 23rd from 10 am to 3 pm the Lorenzo House will host a workshop on cultural landscape research and documentation.  In association with the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums the workshop will feature representatives from the National Park Service, The Department of Landscape Architecture at SUNY ESF and the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.  Pre-Registration is required and a program fee will be charged.

On Wednesday May 23rd at 7 pm the Cazenovia Public Library will host Salamanders, Firedogs, Beehives and Cranes:  Open Hearth Cooking and Brick Oven Baking.  Open hearth cooking expert Lynne Belluscio, director of the LeRoy Historical Society will offer the class for no charge.  More information to come.

On Wednesday May 23rd at 6:30 pm the Oneida Public Library welcome Madison County Historian Matthew Urtz.  More information to come.

On Saturday May 26th at 9:30 am the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark will host its annual Barn Sale.  More information to come.

The Oneida Community Mansion House has prepared a new exhibition entitled “The Design and Promotion of Lady Hamilton Tableware:  1932-1954.”  Lady Hamilton flatware was one of the longest-lasting patterns of Oneida’s high-end silver plate. The show features a table-setting (by Maria Skinner, Simply Designed Spaces) of silverware, plates, glassware, and serving pieces belonging to the Lady Hamilton line. A quarter century of Oneida’s industry-leading promotional work can be perused in seventeen full-page ads from Life, Saturday Evening Post, and Good Housekeeping. Among these eye-catching graphics is one of the most successful campaigns in American advertising history: Jon Whitcomb’s war-time series, “Back home for keeps.” Included is an original Whitcomb watercolor for a 1947 version of the ad, “Let’s make it for keeps.”  The exhibition runs through the end of August.  For more information please visit www.oneidacommunity.org.