This summer I am serving an internship at camp Santanoni, a 12,900 acre preserve located in the Adirondack Park of New York. Santanoni was founded in 1893 by Robert Pruyn and his family. Pruyn was a banker who made his fortune as the president of the National Commercial Bank. A resident of Albany, Pruyn conceived of Santanoni as a country estate similar to those that English nobility resided on during the summer. Santanoni, however, became much more than an estate for a landed gentleman. Pruyn pioneered what came to be known as the Adirondack great camp, massive preserves with numerous buildings, that would be copied by other elite New Yorkers like the Vanderbilts.
Today Santanoni is run jointly by Adirondack Architectural Heritage, the town of Newcomb New York, and the New York Department of Conservation. At Santanoni this summer I will be working with two other interns, giving tours, working on interpretive projects, and doing preservation work on some of the site's many buildings. By blogging about my experience over the summer I hope to relay to my readers some of the information that I learn about the camp and its history, give a sense of the day-to-day operations that me and my fellow interns will be undertaking at the camp, and share photos of the natural beauty of the area as well as the buildings.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Sunday, December 27, 2009
The Daniel Boone Homestead
I have been pet sitting in Macungie, Pa for the past few days, and so today I decided to take advantage of my time in Southeastern Pennsylvania and meet up with my former co-worker Ryan and visit our old place of employment, the Daniel Boone Homestead. Boone has always been a healing sort of place for me, it's extremely quiet, secluded, and the landscape and architecture is beautiful. I found that aspect of the site intact for me, but much else had changed. Boone has been essentially closed by the PHMC because of funding issues. To give the Commission some credit, it is still funding the maintenance of the site, it just won't pay people to operate it anymore.
You may remember hearing about the PHMC's closures of other sites last summer. These included the Conrad Wiser Homestead, Joseph Priestly House, and Brandywine Battlefield. I thought that the closures would end there, but this fall Daniel Boone was also closed, all of its staff laid off, and it's site administrator (my former boss Jim Lewars) transferred to Landis Valley State Historic Site.
When I visited Boone today I found one former staff member behind the counter at the visitor's center. She explained to me that the Friends of the Daniel Boone Homestead, an auxiliary organization that partially funded the site, was paying her to keep Boone open on Sundays in December. She was not sure how long this would go on or what the schedule would be like as the busy summer season approached. She complained that without anyone being in the office, it was impossible to schedule school group visits, which is a major part of the visitation revenue each spring.
If that wasn't enough I found that two of my favorite animals at the site had been euthanized due to old age and chronic illness. Reds, the 27 year old, ornery, former race horse, had to be put down last summer and our old calico barn cat, Kitten, suffered the same fate.
Happily they found another horse to replace Reds, named Axle, because they didn't want to leave 30 year old Dancer (who nearly broke my jaw today I might add. Don't ask.) all alone with nobody but three extremely lazy sheep and a few grumpy geese for company.
Anyway, here are some pictures I took of the place, as if you haven't seen enough on this blog already.
Axle
Dancer
A few shots of the buildings, graves, and the landscape.
You may remember hearing about the PHMC's closures of other sites last summer. These included the Conrad Wiser Homestead, Joseph Priestly House, and Brandywine Battlefield. I thought that the closures would end there, but this fall Daniel Boone was also closed, all of its staff laid off, and it's site administrator (my former boss Jim Lewars) transferred to Landis Valley State Historic Site.
When I visited Boone today I found one former staff member behind the counter at the visitor's center. She explained to me that the Friends of the Daniel Boone Homestead, an auxiliary organization that partially funded the site, was paying her to keep Boone open on Sundays in December. She was not sure how long this would go on or what the schedule would be like as the busy summer season approached. She complained that without anyone being in the office, it was impossible to schedule school group visits, which is a major part of the visitation revenue each spring.
If that wasn't enough I found that two of my favorite animals at the site had been euthanized due to old age and chronic illness. Reds, the 27 year old, ornery, former race horse, had to be put down last summer and our old calico barn cat, Kitten, suffered the same fate.
Happily they found another horse to replace Reds, named Axle, because they didn't want to leave 30 year old Dancer (who nearly broke my jaw today I might add. Don't ask.) all alone with nobody but three extremely lazy sheep and a few grumpy geese for company.
Anyway, here are some pictures I took of the place, as if you haven't seen enough on this blog already.
Axle
Dancer
A few shots of the buildings, graves, and the landscape.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Gary B. Nash
He's my new hero. Half way through this semester I decided that I should have written my historiography paper on him and not on Charles Beard. I am writing a paper currently on interracial mob activity during the American Revolution, and Nash's name appears in my footnotes an obscene amount of times. The man got his PhD from Princeton in 1964 so he's had a long career and published a ton of stuff. Read Urban Crucible and it will change the way you think about the American Revolution. His article "social change and the growth of prerevolutionary urban radicalism," is also a good one, because he sheds light on a great deal of the social tensions and increasing urban poverty that other historians tended to gloss over when they characterized social and economic life in the 18th century.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Sadness
Well, I forgot to factor in one thing when I posted last about being able to leave Vermont on the 17th. I am a teaching assistant and my students are taking their final exam on Tuesday. I was hoping to have the finals graded by Thursday, which, depending on how my paper for my seminar on slavery goes, may or may not be feasible. But I neglected to factor in one thing: the professor I work with has a schedule of her own. She cannot meet to go over final grades and submit everything until Friday the 18th. So it looks like I will be here another day, possibly two, depending on how late we have to meet on Friday.
I am off to work on my intellectual biography of Charles Beard, which is due on Monday.
I am off to work on my intellectual biography of Charles Beard, which is due on Monday.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
New, Fun Posts Coming Soon
I know that I have not been blogging much lately. If you had 75 pages of writing and three books to read per week hanging over your head you wouldn't have much time to blog either. But I have exciting news! On December 17 I will be done with my first semester in graduate school!! This means that I will have an ENTIRE MONTH to do absolutely nothing but visit historic sites and blog about it. And believe me, after this semester, I will be in no condition to do anything else for a good long while. I won't spoil the surprise, but I may be visiting a few places in Vermont and New York. Think Ethan Allen, if you want a hint.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Transcribing Documents
I have always loved transcribing historical documents. My love of editing began when I took a class on public history at Kutztown and was assigned an Ethan Allen letter to transcribe and footnote. Since then I have prided myself on my ability to read highly illegible handwriting and my enthusiasm for hunting down the most insignificant historical details, names, and circumstances that documents allude to.
Yesterday, just before he left, my coworker Paul asked me if I would transcribe a few photocopies of letters written to Gifford Pinchot. I jumped at the chance, since I finished my cemetery project I have been looking for other things to do in my downtime at work. He told me that the letters were from a man named "Martinez" to Gifford Pinchot, but today when I read them I realized that they were not. Two of the letters were from John Muir to Gifford Pinchot, and one was from Bernard Fernow to Gifford Pinchot. Paul thought they were from someone named Martinez because that word appeared at the top of the letter next to the date, but I soon figured out that Martinez refered to the place the John Muir was writing from, probably Martinez, California.
If I really wanted to give myself a project I could do a little research on some of the people and events that were alluded to in the letters and add footnotes explaining them, but I think I will leave that to the next researcher who needs to use these letters.
Here are the letters as I transribed them:
Martinez, Oct. 28th 1896
My dear Pinchot,
I look back with pure pleasure to our pleasant times this last summer especially to our own big day of sunshine + starshine ??? the verge of the tremendous + awesome Colorado Canyon with heads level + hearts level + eyes upside down
I shall be very glad to get the report of the grand Commission from which only good can come to the noble forests we so joyfully wandered through this last summer
I’ll look up the copy of your pine book first time I go to the city. Never mind Fernow go ahead with your own work + very soon he will become polite + good. Remember me to your Mother + father the delightful evenings I enjoyed with them in New York home I shall never forget
With kindest regards + best wishes I am dear Pinchot ever yours John Muir
Martinez, 17, Dec, 1896
My Dear Pinchot,
Your handsome little pine book just arrived + I promise much pleasure + grin in reading it. I inquired for the other copy at the Sierra Club room but could not find it.
You do just right “going ahead full steam” with other work instead of wrangling with F. or any other fellow. “ Twill soon be dark, up, mind thine own aim + God speed the mark.”
I doubt not the wisdom of the commission in withholding their report from the coming Congress but had hoped a few more forest reservations might have been made by Cleveland in his term of office expired
I’ll be delighted as you know well to see as much of you as possible when you next go into God’s woods. The memory of last summer’s tramps is delightful
Remember me to your mother + father + beloved
Ever cordially yours John Muir
Oct 4/90
My Dear Pinchot,
My last letter will have been a disappointment to you, so I wish try to put on salve!
I have agreed + decided to allow the position of Assistant Chief which is now officially filled as you know, by Mr. Egleston, to remain vacant until you are fully prepared to take it, inviting meanwhile all of the applicants for the position to act as agents for the division and with the anticipation that they are not fit for the place + that you will be in time reserving it for you. This decision was arrived at by Mr. Willet + myself because from what I know of you + told him, we were convinced that you would be the proper man, when the time came. Now I want you to finish up as fast as you can – and as thoroughly as you may in a short time – your studies in Europe and then come over and in some way get the knowledge which you can only acquire here namely knowledge of the country’s flora. How to do this may depend upon circumstances perhaps with this division, but I should prefer outside of it. Attaching yourself to some firm or expedition or traveling on your own book. Over time you may feel assured of that you made no mistake in your course so far that your future success assured as the first American forester.
Sincerely Yours,
B. E. Fernow
Let me know how you mean to dispose of your time.
Very busy here!
As you can see these letters were written early in Pinchot's career. It was before he and Muir had their falling out because Muir is very warm and friendly towards Pinchot. The Fernow letter was obviously written to Pinchot when he was still studying in France. Pinchot would go on to refuse the job as the assistant cheif that Fernow offered him in the letter.
I will post a picture of the letters so that you can get a sense of what the handwriting was like soon.
Yesterday, just before he left, my coworker Paul asked me if I would transcribe a few photocopies of letters written to Gifford Pinchot. I jumped at the chance, since I finished my cemetery project I have been looking for other things to do in my downtime at work. He told me that the letters were from a man named "Martinez" to Gifford Pinchot, but today when I read them I realized that they were not. Two of the letters were from John Muir to Gifford Pinchot, and one was from Bernard Fernow to Gifford Pinchot. Paul thought they were from someone named Martinez because that word appeared at the top of the letter next to the date, but I soon figured out that Martinez refered to the place the John Muir was writing from, probably Martinez, California.
If I really wanted to give myself a project I could do a little research on some of the people and events that were alluded to in the letters and add footnotes explaining them, but I think I will leave that to the next researcher who needs to use these letters.
Here are the letters as I transribed them:
Martinez, Oct. 28th 1896
My dear Pinchot,
I look back with pure pleasure to our pleasant times this last summer especially to our own big day of sunshine + starshine ??? the verge of the tremendous + awesome Colorado Canyon with heads level + hearts level + eyes upside down
I shall be very glad to get the report of the grand Commission from which only good can come to the noble forests we so joyfully wandered through this last summer
I’ll look up the copy of your pine book first time I go to the city. Never mind Fernow go ahead with your own work + very soon he will become polite + good. Remember me to your Mother + father the delightful evenings I enjoyed with them in New York home I shall never forget
With kindest regards + best wishes I am dear Pinchot ever yours John Muir
Martinez, 17, Dec, 1896
My Dear Pinchot,
Your handsome little pine book just arrived + I promise much pleasure + grin in reading it. I inquired for the other copy at the Sierra Club room but could not find it.
You do just right “going ahead full steam” with other work instead of wrangling with F. or any other fellow. “ Twill soon be dark, up, mind thine own aim + God speed the mark.”
I doubt not the wisdom of the commission in withholding their report from the coming Congress but had hoped a few more forest reservations might have been made by Cleveland in his term of office expired
I’ll be delighted as you know well to see as much of you as possible when you next go into God’s woods. The memory of last summer’s tramps is delightful
Remember me to your mother + father + beloved
Ever cordially yours John Muir
Oct 4/90
My Dear Pinchot,
My last letter will have been a disappointment to you, so I wish try to put on salve!
I have agreed + decided to allow the position of Assistant Chief which is now officially filled as you know, by Mr. Egleston, to remain vacant until you are fully prepared to take it, inviting meanwhile all of the applicants for the position to act as agents for the division and with the anticipation that they are not fit for the place + that you will be in time reserving it for you. This decision was arrived at by Mr. Willet + myself because from what I know of you + told him, we were convinced that you would be the proper man, when the time came. Now I want you to finish up as fast as you can – and as thoroughly as you may in a short time – your studies in Europe and then come over and in some way get the knowledge which you can only acquire here namely knowledge of the country’s flora. How to do this may depend upon circumstances perhaps with this division, but I should prefer outside of it. Attaching yourself to some firm or expedition or traveling on your own book. Over time you may feel assured of that you made no mistake in your course so far that your future success assured as the first American forester.
Sincerely Yours,
B. E. Fernow
Let me know how you mean to dispose of your time.
Very busy here!
As you can see these letters were written early in Pinchot's career. It was before he and Muir had their falling out because Muir is very warm and friendly towards Pinchot. The Fernow letter was obviously written to Pinchot when he was still studying in France. Pinchot would go on to refuse the job as the assistant cheif that Fernow offered him in the letter.
I will post a picture of the letters so that you can get a sense of what the handwriting was like soon.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Grey Towers and the Arts
At Grey Towers we have lots of special programs that involve the literary and visual arts. Over the last few weeks I have been able to observe two of these programs. The first was a story telling program aimed at children. There were two people switching off telling stories and singing songs, mostly about the environment. I listened to one story that was about Johnny Appleseed and his friend coyote. The moral of the story was that planting trees gave us resources for years to come, while just chopping them down and not replantng isn't a good idea because we won't have any resources in the future. Here are a couple pictures I took of the event.
The next week we had a poetry reading which was held by the Green Heron poetry society. It was mostly composed of retired women and one man who composed and read poetry about the environment. I enjoyed some of the poems. Usually the person who wrote the poem read it, bus occasionally they needed another person to help read certain lines. Some of the people there were good readers, and they even interjected with bird noises and things like that at the appropriate times during certian poems.
The next week we had a poetry reading which was held by the Green Heron poetry society. It was mostly composed of retired women and one man who composed and read poetry about the environment. I enjoyed some of the poems. Usually the person who wrote the poem read it, bus occasionally they needed another person to help read certain lines. Some of the people there were good readers, and they even interjected with bird noises and things like that at the appropriate times during certian poems.
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