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- Before the American Revolution
The Palatine Settlement Society has undertaken the project of restoring the 1747 Nellis Tavern.
http://www.palatinesettlementsociety.org/
Around 1880
Nellis Tavern survived war, road expansion
By Bob Cudmore
Farmer Christian Nellis built a log cabin when he arrived with the Palatine Germans in the Mohawk Valley near what is now St. Johnsville in 1725.
“We believe the Nellis name itself is French but in the 16th and 17th century there was a lot of moving around so our family was in the Palatine section of Germany,” said Sandy Nellis Lane of Johnstown, a direct descendant of Christian Nellis.
Because of religious persecution, the Palatines left their homeland in Germany for England. England’s Queen Anne sent them to America to produce naval supplies such as ship parts and tar along the Hudson River. The Palatines abandoned that work for farming, first in the Schoharie Valley and then the Mohawk Valley.
In 1747, Christian Nellis built a substantial house that still stands today. Christian Nellis died in 1771, after deeding much of his land to his son Christian, Junior.
The Nellis farmhouse was one of the few wooden buildings in the valley to survive the Revolutionary War. Although Christian, Junior was a revolutionary, other members of the family sided with the crown, which may have been the reason the building was spared during British and Indian raids. There was a stone blockhouse on the property then called Fort Nellis.
By 1783, Christian, Junior was operating a turnpike inn and tavern. According to Nellis Tavern volunteer Donna Reston of Amsterdam, there was westward migration as war veterans who had been granted land in the western part of the state moved through.
“They say at one time there was a tavern every one mile in the Mohawk Valley,” Reston said.
In 1801, an adjacent store was built. Reston said, “You could buy lumber and even a spinning wheel and even books called primers for children.”
The Nellis Tavern stayed in private hands until the 1960s when the state condemned the structure in preparation for widening Route 5 and evicted the last occupant, Aleda Nellis Weaver. The Palatine Settlement Society formed in 1978, purchased the abandoned building in 1985 and began the arduous task of preserving the structure.
Joan Draus of Amsterdam, president of the society today, said, “Our whole organization is volunteer. We raise money through events to hire people to do some of the restoration work.” The society is looking to replace the slate roof, firm up the foundation and restore the historic stenciling in the structure.
The tavern contains more than 15 different patterns of early American stenciling. Sandy Nellis Lane said an itinerant artist drew the stencils in about 1815. Ann Eckert Brown, an authority on the subject, has devoted three pages of her book on stenciling to the Nellis Tavern.
Another unusual feature of the building is the use of the wattle and daub construction technique. Areas have been left exposed downstairs for the benefit of tourists and historians.
The technique involved a series of horizontal saplings laid between the vertical posts of the structure. The saplings were covered with clay and the clay was scored diagonally, and then covered with plaster.
“So it was not only a construction detail but also a form of insulation,” Reston said.
Reston said the Nellis Tavern was a substantial structure for its day: “The Georgian architecture of the staircase shows that these people had wealth and good taste and made a very substantial building.”
Here is the weather this weekend if your coming into "town" for The American Revolution Conference in the Mohawk Valley
Friday Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. Saturday Showers likely, mainly after 8am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 69. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Sunday A chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
https://fortplainmuseum.org/viewevent.aspx?ID=1062
The Conference is Expanded and Starts 2:00 pm on Friday, June 10th, Continues all day Saturday, June 11th and Ends about 12:30 pm on Sunday June 12th
Newspaper columnist and podcast host Bob Cudmore will introduce the speakers Saturday and Sunday June 11th and 12th. The conference will take place at the Fulton-Montgomery Community College Theater, 2805 NY-67, Johnstown. Speakers will include Edward Lengel, William Fowler, James Kirby Martin, Mark Edward Lender and many other experts on the Revolutionary War. For more information check the Web site of the Fort Plain Museum.
This Friday, June 10, 2022 Posted Early
Episode 426-Donald Williams is author of “Grandfather’s Tool Chest.” The book has stories about 400 vintage and antique tools. Don Williams, 88, is a well-known educator, lecturer, columnist, and author. He has written eleven books on local and Adirondack history.
Historians Go Fund Me 2022
On-Line
https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-hisJtorians-podcast-2022
U.S. Mail
A paper check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.
...by the way
National Dog Bite Awareness Week through this Saturday, June 11, 2022, and this year's theme is “The USPS Delivers for America – Deliver for Us by Restraining Your Dog.”
The Post-Person Thanks You
Mohawk Valley Weather, Tuesday, June 7, 2022
A chance of showers, mainly after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. Light southeast wind becoming south 11 to 16 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.TonightShowers likely, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 10pm. Low around 58. South wind 7 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.WednesdayShowers likely, mainly before 8am. Partly sunny, with a high near 75. West wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Tuesday, June 7, 2022Daily GazetteHochul signs law raising age to own semiautomatic rifle in NY
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New Yorkers under age 21 will be prohibited from buying semiautomatic rifles under a new law…NYSEG seeks 13% to 22% rate hikes for electric and gas service
ALBANY — New York State Electric & Gas is seeking electricity and gas delivery rate hikes of 13 to 22%…https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam RecorderDuanesburg, Schoharie, Sharon Springs school districts plan job fairDUANESBURG — Three rural school districts will come together for a job fair this week, trying to...https://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
FULTON COUNTY, JOHNSTOWN, LOCAL NEWS, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, THE GLOVERSVILLE LEADER HERALD
Committee set to vote on final DRI project list
by Jason Subik
https://www.leaderherald.com/
10 min - Story Behind the Story
Bob Cudmore MC Saturday and Sunday
This Weekend
American Revolution Conference in the Mohawk Valley
The Conference is Expanded and Starts 2:00 pm on Friday, June 10th, Continues all day Saturday, June 11th and Ends about 12:30 pm on Sunday June 12th
https://fortplainmuseum.org/viewevent.aspx?ID=1062
This Fall
Sir William Johnson and the Wars for Empire ConferenceOctober 21-23, 2022Registration is open for 2022, information has been updated.If you signed-up for the 2021 Sir William Johnson Conference, please do not register and email Brian at [email protected]Newspaper columnist and podcast host Bob Cudmore will introduce the speakers Saturday and Sunday June 11th and 12th at the 2022 American Revolution Conference sponsored by the Fort Plain Museum. The conference will take place at the Fulton-Montgomery Community College Theater, 2805 NY-67, Johnstown. Speakers will include Edward Lengel, William Fowler, James Kirby Martin, Mark Edward Lender and many other experts on the Revolutionary War. For more information check the Web site of the Fort Plain Museum.
An outdoorsman and a historian
By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History, Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder
Outdoorsman, historian and educator Donald R. Williams of Gloversville owes a lot to his grandfather, John Whitman.
“He was a carpenter, Adirondack guide and farmer up in the Adirondacks,” Williams said. “And I inherited all my love of the Adirondacks and my love of tools and all those things from my grandfather.”
Williams’ latest book is a hefty volume with plenty of pictures called “Grandfather’s Tool Chest.”
Williams continued, “He was my inspiration for writing the book and getting all that information down that includes the stories in the ways the tools were used, over 400 tools. It’s a book that weighs almost four pounds and includes 400 color photographs and all the stories that go with the tools.”
A “spud” was used to pull bark off hemlock trees. Hemlock bark was used to produce tannic acid for tanning leather, a process that provided employment in the north woods especially in the 1800s.
“Bung starters” were used to help install bungs or wooden plugs in barrels.
Another tool looks like a tennis racquet holding a u-shaped piece of cedar. It was used to fluff up feather beds.
Williams said he thinks burlap bags can be categorized as tools, “They make work easier, an extension of our hands, making it possible (for people) to get out of the caves.”
Burlap can be made from flax which grows in the field. Burlap bags are used to carry potatoes and other objects, even an order of groceries. Burlap has been used for wallpaper, rag rugs and sack races.
The uses of some of the tools in Williams’ book are not known. He tried to find the purpose of an object that looks like a polished rolling pin. The Adirondack Museum made inquiries and searched the Internet to no avail. “Right now we have no idea what it is,” Williams said.
The cover of the book is like the cover of a tool chest. Williams said he started collecting tools 50 years ago. “As I collected the tools I collected the stories.
The indexed book showcases tools of various trades, household tools and specialized tools. The book costs $55 and is available at Mysteries on Main Street in Johnstown and by mail from Williams at 435 North Main Street, Gloversville, N.Y. 12078. It’s not on Amazon. Williams said he was afraid of being lost in the shuffle in the huge online operation.
Williams, now 88, worked 35 years in education, 20 years as principal of Kinsgborough Elementary School in Gloversville. When he applied for his teacher’s pension some years ago he told the clerk that his great aunt, Emma Timmerman, had set a record for the longest pension by living to 111. “I’m going to break that record,” Williams declared. He and his wife Beverly have five children.
His first history book placed frontiersman Nick Stoner as a fictional character in 33 local history stories. Since then Williams has been a prolific author. He has written eleven books on local and Adirondack history.
For 20 years Williams wrote a weekly column for the Recorder, Leader Herald and two other newspapers. His articles on history and the outdoors have appeared regularly in several magazines.
Like his grandfather, Williams is an Adirondack guide, founding president of an association of guides, “The more we educate people about the outdoors more will care for the outdoors.”
Williams said it’s good and bad that more people are discovering the Adirondacks, “What are you going to do with these huge crowds of people? It’s good they’re getting to the outdoors but it’s also got to be controlled and watched over.”
Tuesday, June 7, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette-The Nellis Tavern
Farmer Christian Nellis built a log cabin when he arrived with the Palatine Germans in the Mohawk Valley near what is now St. Johnsville in 1725.
“We believe the Nellis name itself is French...
Wednesday, June 8, 2022-From the Archives-January 14, 2022-Episode 405-Jerry Snyder of Historic Amsterdam League has stories from a booklet on Amsterdam’s arts, focusing on visual artists, actors, singers and more with ties to Amsterdam, New York.
Thursday, June 9, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette-Anthrax in Mohawk Valley mills
Friday, June 10, 2022-Episode 426-Donald Williams is author of “Grandfather’s Tool Chest.” The book has stories about 400 vintage and antique tools. Don Williams, 88, is a well-known educator, lecturer, columnist, and author. He has written eleven books on local and Adirondack history.
The Historians Podcast yearly fund drive $6000.
Bump the bottom line by $500.00 in the month of June
https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-hisJtorians-podcast-2022 Or impart a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.
Mohawk Valley Weather, Monday, June 6, 2022
Partly sunny, with a high near 80. Calm wind becoming southeast around 6 mph in the afternoon.TonightPartly cloudy, with a low around 54. Southeast wind around 6 mph becoming calm after midnight.TuesdayA chance of showers, mainly after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 78. South wind 6 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Monday, June 6, 2022Daily GazetteYaddo Gardens keep growing thanks to volunteers; reopen to public Monday
The Yaddo Gardens in Saratoga Springs have enchanted visitors and locals alike for more than a century. With its budding…https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam RecorderPreservation, accessibility focus of Montgomery County’s records digitization projecthttps://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
FULTON COUNTY, JOHNSTOWN, LOCAL NEWS, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, THE GLOVERSVILLE LEADER HERALD
Mohawks bash way to back-to-back wins over SaugertiesThe Amsterdam Mohawks have come out of the gate mashing to start the 2022 Perfect Game Collegiate...https://www.leaderherald.com/
7 min - What is in The Tool Chest
An outdoorsman and a historian
By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History, Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder
Outdoorsman, historian and educator Donald R. Williams of Gloversville owes a lot to his grandfather, John Whitman.
“He was a carpenter, Adirondack guide and farmer up in the Adirondacks,” Williams said. “And I inherited all my love of the Adirondacks and my love of tools and all those things from my grandfather.”
Williams’ latest book is a hefty volume with plenty of pictures called “Grandfather’s Tool Chest.”
Williams continued, “He was my inspiration for writing the book and getting all that information down that includes the stories in the ways the tools were used, over 400 tools. It’s a book that weighs almost four pounds and includes 400 color photographs and all the stories that go with the tools.”
A “spud” was used to pull bark off hemlock trees. Hemlock bark was used to produce tannic acid for tanning leather, a process that provided employment in the north woods especially in the 1800s.
“Bung starters” were used to help install bungs or wooden plugs in barrels.
Another tool looks like a tennis racquet holding a u-shaped piece of cedar. It was used to fluff up feather beds.
Williams said he thinks burlap bags can be categorized as tools, “They make work easier, an extension of our hands, making it possible (for people) to get out of the caves.”
Burlap can be made from flax which grows in the field. Burlap bags are used to carry potatoes and other objects, even an order of groceries. Burlap has been used for wallpaper, rag rugs and sack races.
The uses of some of the tools in Williams’ book are not known. He tried to find the purpose of an object that looks like a polished rolling pin. The Adirondack Museum made inquiries and searched the Internet to no avail. “Right now we have no idea what it is,” Williams said.
The cover of the book is like the cover of a tool chest. Williams said he started collecting tools 50 years ago. “As I collected the tools I collected the stories.
Tomorrow, Monday, June 6, 2022-The story behind the story podcast- Donald Williams is author of “Grandfather’s Tool Chest.” Monday Podcast "7 Minutes"
The indexed book showcases tools of various trades, household tools and specialized tools. The book costs $55 and is available at Mysteries on Main Street in Johnstown and by mail from Williams at 435 North Main Street, Gloversville, N.Y. 12078. It’s not on Amazon. Williams said he was afraid of being lost in the shuffle in the huge online operation.
Williams, now 88, worked 35 years in education, 20 years as principal of Kinsgborough Elementary School in Gloversville. When he applied for his teacher’s pension some years ago he told the clerk that his great aunt, Emma Timmerman, had set a record for the longest pension by living to 111. “I’m going to break that record,” Williams declared. He and his wife Beverly have five children.
His first history book placed frontiersman Nick Stoner as a fictional character in 33 local history stories. Since then Williams has been a prolific author. He has written eleven books on local and Adirondack history.
For 20 years Williams wrote a weekly column for the Recorder, Leader Herald and two other newspapers. His articles on history and the outdoors have appeared regularly in several magazines.
Like his grandfather, Williams is an Adirondack guide, founding president of an association of guides, “The more we educate people about the outdoors more will care for the outdoors.”
Williams said it’s good and bad that more people are discovering the Adirondacks, “What are you going to do with these huge crowds of people? It’s good they’re getting to the outdoors but it’s also got to be controlled and watched over.”
How can you be first on your block to read Bob Cudmore’s weekly Focus on History column? You can buy a Saturday copy of the Daily Gazette or Amsterdam Recorder! Or get an online subscription. We wait a week and send an email blast with the week old column.
The Historians Podcast yearly fund drive is $6000.
About 50% to go
Fingers crosssed, $500.00 in the month of June
https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-hisJtorians-podcast-2022 Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.
This Friday, June 10, 2022
American Revolution Conference in the Mohawk Valley
The Conference is Expanded and Starts 2:00 pm on Friday, June 10th, Continues all day Saturday, June 11th and Ends about 12:30 pm on Sunday June 12th
Bob Cudmore MC Saturday and Sunday
https://fortplainmuseum.org/viewevent.aspx?ID=1062
Newspaper columnist and podcast host Bob Cudmore will introduce the speakers Saturday and Sunday June 11th and 12th at the 2022 American Revolution Conference sponsored by the Fort Plain Museum. The conference will take place at the Fulton-Montgomery Community College Theater, 2805 NY-67, Johnstown. Speakers will include Edward Lengel, William Fowler, James Kirby Martin, Mark Edward Lender and many other experts on the Revolutionary War. For more information check the Web site of the Fort Plain Museum.
This Fall
Sir William Johnson and the Wars for Empire ConferenceOctober 21-23, 2022Registration is open for 2022, information has been updated.If you signed-up for the 2021 Sir William Johnson Conference, please do not register and email Brian at [email protected]Mohawk Valley Weather, Sunday, June 5, 2022
Sunny, with a high near 74. West wind 7 to 11 mph.TonightPartly cloudy, with a low around 50. West wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm in the evening.MondayMostly sunny, with a high near 78. Calm wind becoming southeast around 6 mph in the afternoon.Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Sunday, June 5, 2022Daily GazetteFonda-Fultonville’s Petersens tops in hurdles at Section II state meet qualifier
CLIFTON PARK — Carter Petersen breezed, and soon afterward, Amelia Petersen barely held on. While the brother-sister combination from Fonda-Fultonville…Legendary Saratoga restaurant names chef, updates menu
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Local landmark Siro’s announced this week it will be opening for the 2022 track season with a…https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorderhttps://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
FULTON COUNTY, JOHNSTOWN, LOCAL NEWS, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, THE GLOVERSVILLE LEADER HERALD
https://www.leaderherald.com/
8 min - ...and the Amsterdam funeral homes
In the Gazette this Weekend
https://dailygazette.com/
Remembering Amsterdam with Mike Mancini
By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History
Battalion Chief John Michael Mancini served over 37 years with the Amsterdam Fire Department and added many anecdotes to my local history stories over the years.
The Historians Podcast yearly fund drive at $2850. Our goal is $6000.
Thanks to Charles Gehring, Tim and Mary Major and Robert Burns for recent donations. Can we make it to the halfway point by the end of June? Please donate online here- https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-hisJtorians-podcast-2022 Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302. You may give anonymously and no donation is too small
Saturday, June 4, 2022-From the Archives- June 22, 2018-Episode 220-Russell Shorto is author of the best-seller “The Island at the Center of the World.” In this episode, Shorto discusses his new book, “Revolution Song: A Story of American Freedom.”
Print story tomorrow posted here on The Historians
Sunday, June 5, 2022-Focus on History in the Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder-Donald Williams is author of “Grandfather’s Tool Chest.” The book has stories about 400 vintage and antique tools.
Next Weekend
American Revolution Conference in the Mohawk Valley
The Conference is Expanded and Starts 2:00 pm on Friday, June 10th, Continues all day Saturday, June 11th and Ends about 12:30 pm on Sunday June 12th
Bob Cudmore MC Saturday and Sunday
https://fortplainmuseum.org/viewevent.aspx?ID=1062
Newspaper columnist and podcast host Bob Cudmore will introduce the speakers Saturday and Sunday June 11th and 12th at the 2022 American Revolution Conference sponsored by the Fort Plain Museum. The conference will take place at the Fulton-Montgomery Community College Theater, 2805 NY-67, Johnstown. Speakers will include Edward Lengel, William Fowler, James Kirby Martin, Mark Edward Lender and many other experts on the Revolutionary War. For more information check the Web site of the Fort Plain Museum.
Jim Kaplan "The Buttonwood Agreement"
Mohawk Valley Weekend Weather, Saturday, June 4, 2022
Sunny, with a high near 72. West wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 12 to 17 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.TonightMostly clear, with a low around 43. West wind 6 to 14 mph.SundaySunny, with a high near 73. West wind 7 to 11 mph.The Historians on the radio this afternoon12:05 WCSS Amsterdam 106.9FM and 1490AMMohawk Valley News Headlines, Saturday, June 4, 2022Daily GazetteMcCalmon suspends campaign and endorses Ostrelich in race for 44th state senate seat
Democrat Thearse McCalmon on Friday suspended her campaign for the New York State Senate’s 44th District, formally endorsing fellow Democrat…https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam RecorderNorthampton Road left turning lane to Route 30 will close to address safety issuesTOWN OF AMSTERDAM — In two weeks, motorists will no longer be able to take a left hand turn from...https://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
FULTON COUNTY, JOHNSTOWN, LOCAL NEWS, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, THE GLOVERSVILLE LEADER HERALD
Telling stories about people
by Andrew Pugliese
https://www.leaderherald.com/
10 min - 29 min
- Going to Summer Camp
The 2022 Historians Podcast fund drive needs your help!
To donate click, https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022 Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.
Thank You
Tim and Mary Major
Robert Burns
Adirondacks camp gave kids a break
By Bob Cudmore
The Amsterdam Family YMCA recently observed its 150th anniversary and some long time members reminisced about YMCA Camp Agaming at Lake Pleasant in the Adirondacks.
“I’m going back to the year 1939,” wrote Pat Constantine of Amsterdam. “The plan the YMCA had back then was to more or less treat mostly under privileged kids to a week of fun.
“They would choose a group of children, load them on a truck with their duffel bags, shopping bags and boxes with their belongings. When we got to camp, they would assign eight kids to each cabin, plus one counselor.
“Every morning they would sound reveille and raise the flag. We would assemble around the flagpole, all of us in our birthday suits. After the flag raising, they would give an order to take your morning dip. It was a necessity that in your goodie pack, you had to bring a bar of Ivory Soap, the kind that floats.
“During the week they treated us to a play at the Tamarack Playhouse. Another day was a trip to Tupper Lake Mountain where was a fire ranger station. We all had a chance to climb the ladder to the top to see the beautiful mountain view.
“Then there was a sports company’s CEO who would treat us to a buffet, then he gave us all baseballs, gloves and whatever they had to give.
“Most of us underprivileged kids paid our dues by taking out the trash (in the winter at the YMCA), shoveling snow and sweeping the club rooms after each meeting.”
MORE ON ROUTE 5
Local historian Peter Betz suggests the addition of Fort Wagner to the tour of Route 5 historic sites. The home of Colonel Peter Wagner, Fort Wagner is located about one mile west of the Palatine Church on the same side of the road. Peter Wagner is the ancestor of Webster Wagner whose high Victorian home is in Palatine Bridge.
“There is also an interesting wood-fire lime kiln in a woods just east of Fort Klock, plus the original Klock Cemetery on the hill behind a brick house on the left as you enter St. Johnsville and the foundation of the home of Colonel Jacob Klock at the same location,” wrote Betz. “There used to be historic markers at several locations such as Fort Wagner and the Klock house/cemetery, also at Connolly's Inn at Yost's. But they all have disappeared in recent years. Maybe there's a story sometime in missing historical markers.”
POSTCARDS ONLINE
Amsterdam native and Ohio resident Richard Ellers has passed along information on a web site that displays old postcards, including some from Montgomery and Fulton counties.
One postcard shows women in white hats and uniforms packaging chewing gum under the watchful eye of a Beech-Nut supervisor in a suit and tie in Canajoharie. Other postcards include one of the Louis Meyer glove mill in Gloversville, a moonlit shot of Amsterdam’s Market Street with an approaching trolley car and a 1913 view of Main Street in Glen.
The site devoted to penny postcards is:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/special/ppcs/ppcs.html The site is part of USGenWeb Digital Library, a volunteer effort aimed at putting public domain records online. The postcards are not for sale.
Tomorrow
The Buttonwood Agreement
Friday, June 3, 2022-Episode 425-New York City correspondent Jim Kaplan has the story of the Buttonwood Agreement, the founding document of the New York Stock Exchange.
KINDERHOOK, New York – Martin Van Buren National Historic Site will open for summer programs and tours, tomorrow, Friday, June 3, 2022. The visitor center tent will be open seven days a week from 9 am. to 4:30 pm.
https://www.nps.gov/mava/learn/news/2022-summer-opening-schedule.htm
Mohawk Valley Weather, Thursday, June 2, 2022
Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 77. West wind around 7 mph.TonightShowers likely, mainly after 3am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. West wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.FridayShowers likely, mainly before 11am. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 74. West wind 8 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.This Weekend in Amsterdam and The Mohawk ValleySaturdaySunny, with a high near 68. West wind 8 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.Saturday NightMostly clear, with a low around 46.SundayMostly sunny, with a high near 72.Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Thursday, June 2, 2022Daily GazetteThe leading source for local news in Schoharie, Amsterdam, Gloversville, and Johnstown.Gloversville’s Dillenback, Mayfield’s Meca named Fulton County’s top athletes
For the first time since 2019, the Fulton Montgomery Regional Chamber of Commerce Sports Award Banquet took place in-person Wednesday….SPAC hosts Festival of Young Artists on Sunday
The Saratoga Performing Arts Center’s grounds will resound with a joyful noise on Sunday with the fifth annual Festival of…https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam RecorderTown of Amsterdam mulling zoning updates for dispensaries, apartmentsTOWN OF AMSTERDAM — Zoning updates are being considered in the town of Amsterdam to decide where...https://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
As prices rise, a family reaches out: Craft show vendors open property for bi-weekly craft show, more
by Andrew Pugliese
https://www.leaderherald.com/
9 min - Nine days or so/Fort Plain
Newspaper columnist and podcast host Bob Cudmore will introduce the speakers Saturday and Sunday June 11th and 12th at the 2022 American Revolution Conference sponsored by the Fort Plain Museum.
The conference will take place at the Fulton-Montgomery Community College Theater, 2805 NY-67, Johnstown. Speakers will include Edward Lengel, William Fowler, James Kirby Martin, Mark Edward Lender and many other experts on the Revolutionary War.
https://fortplainmuseum.org/
American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley Conference
Interviews from 2016
Bob Cudmore hosts an episode covering the 2016 American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley Conference. Edward Lengel is author of “First Entrepreneur: How George Washington Built His and the Nation’s Prosperity.” J. L. Bell is author of “The Road to Concord, How Four Stolen Cannons Ignited the Revolutionary War.” And editor Don Hagist explains the online Journal of the American Revolution.
Camp Agaming
Tomorrow, Thursday, June 2, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette-Camp Agaming in th Adirondacks
“Every morning they would sound reveille and raise the flag. We would assemble around the flagpole, all of us in our birthday suits.
The Buttonwood Agreement
Friday, June 3, 2022-Episode 425-New York City correspondent Jim Kaplan has the story of the Buttonwood Agreement, the founding document of the New York Stock Exchange.
Month of June at Schoharie Crossing
Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site will celebrate June as Great Outdoors Month by offering opportunities to enjoy the outdoor spaces at the Erie Canal site.https://parks.ny.gov/historic-sites/schohariecrossingGreat Outdoors Month is a month-long celebration of responsible, healthy outdoor recreation on local, state, and federal lands and waters.Mohawk Valley Weather, Wednesday, June 1, 2022
A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. Some of the storms could produce small hail and gusty winds. Increasing clouds, with a high near 71. Southeast wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.TonightShowers and thunderstorms likely before 1am, then a slight chance of showers between 1am and 2am. Some of the storms could produce small hail and gusty winds. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. South wind around 6 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.ThursdayA slight chance of showers after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. West wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Wednesday, June 1, 2022Daily GazetteThe leading source for local news in Schoharie, Amsterdam, Gloversville, and Johnstown.Union College takes precautions amid late-season COVID surge
SCHENECTADY — Union College imposed a classroom mask mandate Sunday after dozens of students and employees tested positive for COVID…https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorderhttps://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
https://www.leaderherald.com/
10 min - ...the last day of May
Camachos were leading edge of Latino immigration in Amsterdam
By Bob Cudmore
Aldelmo Camacho spent his early years on a farm near Yauco, a small city on the south side of the island of Puerto Rico. The youngest of ten children, Camacho joined the Army in 1942 and served as a medical surgery technician. After the war, he attended business college where he met his future wife, Ernestina Perez. In 1948, they married and the family grew with the birth of two daughters.
Jobs were scarce in Puerto Rico. Two of Aldelmo’s brothers had moved to America and settled in Amsterdam, attracted by newspaper ads from the carpet industry. In 1950, Aldelmo left his family and arrived in Amsterdam on a Sunday in June. He had his first job the next day, making pocketbooks for Central Leather.
“When I came here, you could have a job, quit the job and get another job in that same building with another company,” Aldelmo said. “If you didn’t have a job here it was because you didn’t want to work.”
Aldelmo stayed in Amsterdam four months but returned to Yauco because he missed his family. There was still no work in Puerto Rico so Aldelmo headed north again. This time he ran a milling machine at Collette’s Manufacturing, preparing rubber for tennis and beach balls.
Within a few months, Tina and the children moved to Amsterdam and Tina began work at Amsterdam Glove. Their first home was in the former Amsterdam Hotel on Main Street. Apartments followed and then their own houses on Academy Street and now on Bunn Street.
There were only a few Latinos in Amsterdam in the early 1950s. “When we came in it was just Puerto Ricans and Cubans,” Aldelmo said. Today, Amsterdam’s many Latinos also have roots in Columbia, Costa Rica, Mexico and other countries.
In 1953, the Camachos were instrumental in forming the Spanish American Club, which closed in 2004. Its Milton Avenue clubhouse is now a church.
Aldelmo and Tina worked hard. Tina held jobs at Chalmer’s Button Shop, Hanover Dress, Martin Jay Dress and Mohawk Dress. She also earned her high school diploma and attended Fulton-Montgomery Community College.
“We made an honest dollar every place we went,” Tina said. “We started at 75 cents an hour and then it went up to a dollar an hour. We lived on that.”
Aldelmo worked several years at the Naval Depot in Scotia and then was a dress cutter at Hanover’s. Hanover’s closed its Amsterdam plant in 1972 and wanted Aldelmo to relocate to Vermont. Instead, the Camachos returned to Puerto Rico.
“We went back and I got a job in San Juan cutting dresses,” Aldelmo said. “But I was in San Juan and she was in Yauco, a hundred miles apart and we stayed just seven weeks. When we left Puerto Rico it was one way of living. When we went back it was too different. It was a different country for us.”
Back in Amsterdam, Aldelmo secured jobs at Coleco, then Gem Urethane, Bojud Knitting and General Electric before his retirement.
“This town came to be more important than the town where I was born,” said Aldelmo, who has a reputation for his skill at dominoes. “This town for me is like my hometown. It’s where I’ve raised my family and where my grandchildren are. Everything for me is here.”
The Camachos have eight grandchildren and six great grandchildren. One daughter, Ida Slansky, works at City Hall and the other, Lillian Murillo, works for Paul Tonko, former Assemblyman and now head of the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency.
The Historians Podcast yearly fund drive objective $6000.00
As of today $2725.00
On-Line
https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022
U.S. Mail
Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.
Tomorrow Episode 117
Wednesday Archives
2016
American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley Conference
Bob Cudmore hosts an episode covering the 2016 American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley Conference. Edward Lengel is author of “First Entrepreneur: How George Washington Built His and the Nation’s Prosperity.” J. L. Bell is author of “The Road to Concord, How Four Stolen Cannons Ignited the Revolutionary War.” And editor Don Hagist explains the online Journal of the American Revolution.
Newspaper columnist and podcast host Bob Cudmore will introduce the speakers Saturday and Sunday June 11th and 12th at the 2022 American Revolution Conference sponsored by the Fort Plain Museum.
The conference will take place at the Fulton-Montgomery Community College Theater, 2805 NY-67, Johnstown. Speakers will include Edward Lengel, William Fowler, James Kirby Martin, Mark Edward Lender and many other experts on the Revolutionary War.
https://fortplainmuseum.org/
Thursday, June 2, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette-Camp Agaming in th Adirondacks
The Amsterdam Family YMCA recently observed its 150th anniversary and some long time members reminisced about YMCA Camp Agaming at Lake Pleasant in the Adirondacks.
“I’m going back to the year 1939,” ...
Friday, June 3, 2022-Episode 425-New York City correspondent Jim Kaplan has the story of the Buttonwood Agreement, the founding document of the New York Stock Exchange.
Schenectady County Historical Society
Wednesday, June 1, 2022
https://schenectadyhistorical.org/
Secret Stockade
The Stockade and its secrets come to life on this behind-the-scenes journey through the neighborhood. Though a national historic district, the Stockade is alive with the smells and sounds of a vibrant, ever-changing neighborhood. Walk its storied streets, meet local characters, and learn its legends and lore with us this year. Tickets are $35, include exclusive access to Stockade homes and gardens, and lunch at Arthur's Market, which specializes in great coffee and house-made sandwiches and salads. This tour lasts approximately three hours, and is offered -- by reservation-- on the first Wednesday of the month in warm months.
Mohawk Valley Weather, Tuesday, May 31, 2022
Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. West wind 5 to 10 mph.TonightA slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 10pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 60. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 20%.WednesdayA chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 74. East wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Tuesday, May 31, 2022Daily GazetteThe leading source for local news in Schoharie, Amsterdam, Gloversville, and Johnstown.Feds award GE $13M to research hydrogen power
NISKAYUNA — General Electric is receiving $13 million from the federal government toward development of power equipment that burns hydrogen…https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam RecorderAmsterdam honors all the fallen, including those who succumbed to ‘unseen injuries’ back home
AMSTERDAM — Holding a tintype photo of her father and three other World War II soldiers returning home in 1945,…St. Johnsville Tool Lending Library equips do-it-yourselfers
ST. JOHNSVILLE — When Elizabeth Diaz needed a power sander to make light work of a project at her new…https://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
A day to remember the fallen, what they fell for
by Andrew Pugliese
https://www.leaderherald.com/
12 min - It's about The Tralka Family
Mohawk Valley Memorial Day Weather, Monday, May 30, 2022
Mostly sunny, with a high near 87.The story behind the story podcast- George Tralka remembered Amsterdam
How can you be first on your block to read Bob Cudmore’s weekly Focus on History column? You can buy a Saturday copy of the Daily Gazette or Amsterdam Recorder! Or get an online subscription. Here’s another detail: Bob’s column sometimes runs Sunday in the Gazette and Monday in the Recorder. Here at column HQ we wait a week and send an email blast on Sunday with the week old column. Yes our email blast is later but it is free! Any questions?
The Historians Podcast yearly fund drive objective $6000.00
As of today $2725.00
In the hat-$100.00 by this Wednesday the first of June? https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022 Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302.
Thanks
George Tralka remembered Amsterdam
By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History
George Tralka was born in Pennsylvania in 1926, the son of music professor Joseph Tralka and his wife Martha. Martha died in 1935. Professor Tralka remarried and the family moved to Amsterdam in 1938.
Tralka’s father Joseph, who was born in Poland and who spent some of his early years in the New World in Brazil, was organist and choir director at St. Stanislaus Church and correspondent for a Buffalo-based Polish language newspaper. Joseph taught George to play violin.
Joseph Tralka made a modest church salary and had a modest sign in the front window of his parlor offering private music lessons. George Tralka wrote, “He could be a little deflated when requested by earnest and hopeful neighborhood mothers on occasion to teach introductory accordion to their fair haired nine-year-olds in as few lessons as possible.”
Joseph Tralka also made some money with door to door sale of Christmas wafers, a traditional perk for Polish church organists. He served the church until a few months before his death in 1955.
George Tralka’s 1940s high school friends included Harold Langley and John Donlon. Langley had a movie camera and organized production of a movie called “The Mad Mortician,” shooting scenes at their homes and Amsterdam City Hall, a stand in for an insane asylum.
Langley became curator of U.S. Naval History at the Smithsonian in Washington and professor of American history at Catholic University.
Donlon sang tenor growing up in Amsterdam in a singing group that could be heard “in occasionally raffish song” under Guy Park Avenue’s streetlights.
Donlon went to the U.S. Naval Academy and a career as a nuclear submarine commander. John was a son of Hugh Donlon, reporter and columnist for the Amsterdam Recorder, who wrote a history of Amsterdam.
In his book, “Diary of a Replacement Soldier,” Tralka recalled he was at his family’s James Street home the Sunday that radio broadcasts were interrupted to report the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. At first he thought Pearl Harbor was in Alaska.
His parents went ahead with plans to go out that day and have Tralka watch his younger siblings. The next day as he delivered the Schenectady Gazette he heard President Roosevelt’s “day of infamy” speech on the radio when he took newspapers to Reid Hill Pharmacy. “It was a solemn moment in the drug store,” Tralka wrote.
Tralka described a World War II gathering at the Polish National Association Hall on Reid Street, “It was there that General (Tadeusz) Bor-Komorowski, the future commander of the Warsaw Rising of 1944, spoke at what was probably a fund-raiser during the war. I knew nothing about him but I knew I had to have his autograph. I managed to get it as he headed for the exit after his presentation.”
As his senior year at St. Mary’s High School drew to a close in 1944, Tralka enlisted in the Army. His notice to report came a few days before the senior prom and he was so busy getting ready to leave he failed to notify his date that he couldn’t attend.
Later his brother accepted Tralka’s high school diploma and the “applause was enthusiastic.”
Many of his war stories from Europe were illustrated with his own drawings. Tralka was art editor of his high school yearbook.
After the war, Tralka became a physician and medical researcher. He established an internal medicine practice in the Washington, D.C., area and practiced medicine overseas for the Department of State. He died in May 2018.
He was buried at Quantico National Cemetery in Virginia. He was survived by his son, George Tralka, Junior.
Tomorrow
Tuesday, May 31, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette-The Camacho family, early arrivals in Amsterdam from the Caribbean.
Aldelmo Camacho spent his early years on a farm near Yauco, a small city on the south side of the island of Puerto Rico. The youngest of ten children..
Wednesday Archives
2016
American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley Conference
Episode 117-Bob Cudmore hosts an episode covering the 2016 American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley Conference. Edward Lengel is author of “First Entrepreneur: How George Washington Built His and the Nation’s Prosperity.” J. L. Bell is author of “The Road to Concord, How Four Stolen Cannons Ignited the Revolutionary War.” And editor Don Hagist explains the online Journal of the American Revolution.
2022
American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley Conference
Newspaper columnist and podcast host Bob Cudmore will introduce the speakers Saturday and Sunday June 11th and 12th at the 2022 American Revolution Conference sponsored by the Fort Plain Museum.
The conference will take place at the Fulton-Montgomery Community College Theater, 2805 NY-67, Johnstown. Speakers will include Edward Lengel, William Fowler, James Kirby Martin, Mark Edward Lender and many other experts on the Revolutionary War.
https://fortplainmuseum.org/
Thursday, June 2, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette-Camp Agaming in th Adirondacks
Friday, June 3, 2022-Episode 425-New York City correspondent Jim Kaplan has the story of the Buttonwood Agreement, the founding document of the New York Stock Exchange.
Mohawk Valley Memorial Day Weather, Monday, May 30, 2022
Mostly sunny, with a high near 87. Calm wind becoming west 5 to 7 mph in the morning.TonightPartly cloudy, with a low around 66. West wind 3 to 5 mph.TuesdayMostly sunny and hot, with a high near 90. West wind 7 to 11 mph.Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Monday, May 30, 2022Daily GazetteThe leading source for local news in Schoharie, Amsterdam, Gloversville, and Johnstown.Community gathers to remember those lost to, organize against gun violence
SCHENECTADY – Several speakers at Sunday’s End Gun Violence Vigil/Open Forum held on the steps of Schenectady’s City Hall mentioned…https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorderhttps://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
https://www.leaderherald.com/
7 min - Sunday on The Historians
The Historians Podcast yearly fund drive at $2725. Our goal is $6000. Can we make $2875 by this Wednesday the first of June? Please donate online here- https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022 Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302. You may give anonymously and no donation is too small
Thank You to Charles Gehring
George Tralka remembered Amsterdam
By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History
George Tralka was born in Pennsylvania in 1926, the son of music professor Joseph Tralka and his wife Martha. Martha died in 1935. Professor Tralka remarried and the family moved to Amsterdam in 1938.
Tralka’s father Joseph, who was born in Poland and who spent some of his early years in the New World in Brazil, was organist and choir director at St. Stanislaus Church and correspondent for a Buffalo-based Polish language newspaper. Joseph taught George to play violin.
Joseph Tralka made a modest church salary and had a modest sign in the front window of his parlor offering private music lessons. George Tralka wrote, “He could be a little deflated when requested by earnest and hopeful neighborhood mothers on occasion to teach introductory accordion to their fair haired nine-year-olds in as few lessons as possible.”
Joseph Tralka also made some money with door to door sale of Christmas wafers, a traditional perk for Polish church organists. He served the church until a few months before his death in 1955.
George Tralka’s 1940s high school friends included Harold Langley and John Donlon. Langley had a movie camera and organized production of a movie called “The Mad Mortician,” shooting scenes at their homes and Amsterdam City Hall, a stand in for an insane asylum.
Langley became curator of U.S. Naval History at the Smithsonian in Washington and professor of American history at Catholic University.
Donlon sang tenor growing up in Amsterdam in a singing group that could be heard “in occasionally raffish song” under Guy Park Avenue’s streetlights.
Donlon went to the U.S. Naval Academy and a career as a nuclear submarine commander. John was a son of Hugh Donlon, reporter and columnist for the Amsterdam Recorder, who wrote a history of Amsterdam.
In his book, “Diary of a Replacement Soldier,” Tralka recalled he was at his family’s James Street home the Sunday that radio broadcasts were interrupted to report the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. At first he thought Pearl Harbor was in Alaska.
His parents went ahead with plans to go out that day and have Tralka watch his younger siblings. The next day as he delivered the Schenectady Gazette he heard President Roosevelt’s “day of infamy” speech on the radio when he took newspapers to Reid Hill Pharmacy. “It was a solemn moment in the drug store,” Tralka wrote.
Tralka described a World War II gathering at the Polish National Association Hall on Reid Street, “It was there that General (Tadeusz) Bor-Komorowski, the future commander of the Warsaw Rising of 1944, spoke at what was probably a fund-raiser during the war. I knew nothing about him but I knew I had to have his autograph. I managed to get it as he headed for the exit after his presentation.”
As his senior year at St. Mary’s High School drew to a close in 1944, Tralka enlisted in the Army. His notice to report came a few days before the senior prom and he was so busy getting ready to leave he failed to notify his date that he couldn’t attend.
Later his brother accepted Tralka’s high school diploma and the “applause was enthusiastic.”
Many of his war stories from Europe were illustrated with his own drawings. Tralka was art editor of his high school yearbook.
After the war, Tralka became a physician and medical researcher. He established an internal medicine practice in the Washington, D.C., area and practiced medicine overseas for the Department of State. He died in May 2018.
He was buried at Quantico National Cemetery in Virginia. He was survived by his son, George Tralka, Junior.
The Northville Northampton Historical Society newsletter has stories on Memorial Day and a murder in 1889.
The Village of Northville, NY is located in Fulton County in the Town of Northampton. It is nestled in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains, within the Adirondack Park. Northville sits on the shores of the Great Sacandaga Lake, where the Sacandaga River flows in from the north.
The first permanent settlement took place in the late 1780’s. Main Street was surveyed and laid out in 1797.
http://www.villageofnorthville.com/attraction/history/
Tuesday, May 31, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette-The Camacho family, early arrivals in Amsterdam from the Caribbean.
Wednesday, June 1, 2022-From the Archives-Episode 117, June 24. 2016-Bob Cudmore hosts an episode covering the 2016 American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley Conference. Edward Lengel is author of “First Entrepreneur: How George Washington Built His and the Nation’s Prosperity.” J. L. Bell is author of “The Road to Concord, How Four Stolen Cannons Ignited the Revolutionary War.” And editor Don Hagist explains the online Journal of the American Revolution.
Newspaper columnist and podcast host Bob Cudmore will introduce the speakers Saturday and Sunday June 11th and 12th at the 2022 American Revolution Conference sponsored by the Fort Plain Museum.
The conference will take place at the Fulton-Montgomery Community College Theater, 2805 NY-67, Johnstown. Speakers will include Edward Lengel, William Fowler, James Kirby Martin, Mark Edward Lender and many other experts on the Revolutionary War.
https://fortplainmuseum.org/
Thursday, June 2, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette-Camp Agaming in th Adirondacks
Friday, June 3, 2022-Episode 425-New York City correspondent Jim Kaplan has the story of the Buttonwood Agreement, the founding document of the New York Stock Exchange.
Mohawk Valley Weekend Weather, Sunday, June 29, 2022
Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 79. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon.TonightMostly clear, with a low around 55. Calm wind.Memorial DayMostly sunny, with a high near 88. Calm wind becoming west 5 to 9 mph in the afternoon.Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Sunday, June 29, 2022Daily GazetteThe leading source for local news in Schoharie, Amsterdam, Gloversville, and Johnstown.FMCC asks for court approval to sell dorms, again
The Fulmont College Association — the nonprofit student housing arm of Fulton-Montgomery Community College — on Thursday petitioned Fulton County…https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorderhttps://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
https://www.leaderherald.com/
10 min
About The Historians
From the publisher's feed
The Historians is a weekly audio interview podcast that features authors and other guests who discuss the rich heritage of the Mohawk Valley NY region and the nation.