Tuesday, November 15, 2022, From the Archives of the Daily Gazette-A voice from the past-Rabbi Bloom

His son and grandson want to hear the voice of Rabbi Samuel A. Bloom once again.

   Bloom came to Amsterdam in 1949 and served as Congregation Sons of Israel’s rabbi for thirty-nine years.  Born in Savannah, Georgia, he was ordained at Beth Joseph Rabbinical Seminary in Brooklyn.  He later earned a doctorate at New York University.

Wednesday, November 16, 2022, From the Archives- June 1, 2018-Historians Episode 217-Michael Mauro DeBonis discusses his New York History Blog article on Canastota, N.Y., boxing champion Carmen Basilio.

Thursday, November 17, 2022, From the Archives of the Daily Gazette—-Speculator a training site for famous boxers

Friday, November 18, 2022- Episode 449-Bob Gumson of Albany, author of In Blind Sight: From Canarsie, Brooklyn with Love, Music and Mischief", his autobiography about living blind.

Bob Gumson’s career in disability rights advocacy started in his childhood. He received the message from his family that his blindness was merely an inconvenience, something everyone faces. He became his own best advocate at an early age, fighting alongside his family for the right to attend public school and summer camp, participate in a high-school fraternity, and play sports. He also put pressure on New York City to create a resource to serve people with disabilities, which later became the Mayor's Office for Handicapped Affairs

Stories from Guy Park Manor

By Bob Cudmore

   New York State Power Authority recently announced a $36 million multi-year reconstruction project aimed at creating a Guy Park Manor that is safe for the public. 

   The Manor is the oldest house in Amsterdam, New York, a limestone structure built in 1766 for Irish immigrant Guy Johnson, son-in-law and nephew of Sir William Johnson, Britain’s Superintendent for Indian Affairs in colonial New York.

   Guy Park Manor is adjacent to Mohawk River/Barge Canal Lock 11 and has been vacant about ten years.

   Guy Johnson came to America in 1756, sought out his uncle and married William’s daughter Polly.  Family patriarch Sir William died in 1774.

   Guy and Polly did not have much time to enjoy their new home, fleeing for Canada in 1775 as anti-British sentiment grew during the buildup to the Revolutionary War.  

   After the Johnsons left, the winning side turned the building into a tavern.  “Visitors began seeing a mysterious woman in white in an upstairs room,” city historian Rob von Hasseln wrote, “Some suspected Polly had returned to her home, others thought it was a maidservant dispatched by Guy Johnson to retrieve papers and valuables secreted in the house.  A German hexmeister who travelled the Valley offered to stay overnight in the room and rid it of its ghost; thereafter, the visitations ceased.”

   There were various private occupants of Guy Park Manor over the years including stone cutter James Stewart.  He helped build canal locks, aqueducts and railroad bridges in the area.

   Stewart was struck and killed by a train as he crossed the railroad tracks in front of the Manor in 1860.

   The State took over the Manor in 1907 for canal maintenance when the Mohawk River was made into the Barge Canal.  A movable dam was built at the canal lock adjacent to the Manor.

   Tourism grew when a custodian was hired.  A limiting factor has been the railroad tracks which must be crossed to reach the historic site by auto or foot. 

   For some years the building housed Assemblyman Paul Tonko’s office and the Chamber of Commerce.  In the 2000s the Walter Elwood Museum, looking for a home, moved in.

   Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee in 2011 left the Manor in a ruined condition.  The Elwood Museum moved up the hill to former Amsterdam mill buildings.

   State government stabilized and rebuilt Guy Park Manor over time but it has remained unused.

   Both of the original Amsterdam area Johnson family colonial homes (Old Fort Johnson and Guy Park Manor) continue to attract travel attention.  And among visitors each year are descendants of Loyalists who come from Canada or the British Isles. 

   Amsterdam historian Hugh Donlon added in his book “Annals of a Mill Town,” “The old stone houses provide opportunity for reflection on what might have been had the American Revolution failed.”

   Additional Manor renovations will include installation of a wheelchair lift. As for interiors, upgrades will be made to the mechanical systems and a fire and security system will be installed along with repairs to fireplaces, staircases, flooring, and trim work. The spaces will be reimagined for new exhibitions and to house multipurpose spaces.

   Other improvements include a staircase leading to the moveable dam over the waterway, which will create a pedestrian pathway connecting the Manor to the Empire State Trail, canal, and river.

   Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Erik Kulleseid said. “Communities are increasingly having to plan for and respond to risks – and the rehabilitation of Guy Park Manor is an admirable example of incorporating protective measures designed to withstand future storms while also maintaining the historic integrity of a locally significant site. 

Mohawk Valley Weather, Monday, November 14, 2022

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