NYSM Magazine-Wtr06-final - New York State Museum
NYSM Magazine-Wtr06-final - New York State Museum
NYSM Magazine-Wtr06-final - New York State Museum
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The <strong>Magazine</strong><br />
of the<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
<strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong><br />
VOL. 1 • NO. 3<br />
WINTER<br />
2005–2006<br />
INSIDE:<br />
<strong>New</strong> Exhibitions<br />
<strong>Museum</strong><br />
Educators<br />
Tales from<br />
the Field<br />
Extraordinary<br />
Mushrooms<br />
The <strong>Museum</strong><br />
Calendar
Friday through Sunday,<br />
February 24–26<br />
6Join us as the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
<strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> celebrates<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in Bloom 2006.<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in Bloom features more than<br />
100 spectacular floral arrangements<br />
throughout the <strong>Museum</strong>, as well as<br />
informative demonstrations and<br />
children’s activities. 2006 marks the<br />
15th anniversary of this fund-raising<br />
event that benefits the <strong>Museum</strong><br />
Club and the Discovery Squad, our<br />
award-winning after-school programs<br />
for children and teens.<br />
Admission to <strong>Museum</strong>: Friday–$3; Saturday and Sunday–$5, which includes entry to both <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in Bloom and<br />
the 13th Annual James Campbell Memorial Gem, Mineral and Fossil Show and Sale. Children ages 12 and under are free<br />
when accompanied by an adult.
contents<br />
VOL. 1 • NO. 3<br />
WINTER<br />
2005–2006<br />
Frank Wimberley Jr., I'm Not So<br />
Sure What You Said, 2000. Acrylic<br />
on canvas, 46 x 46 inches<br />
features<br />
10<br />
13<br />
14<br />
Where Did You Get All the Bugs? by Jeanine L. Grinage<br />
All through the year, <strong>Museum</strong> educators encourage<br />
wonder and curiosity about the science and history<br />
behind the exhibitions.<br />
Into Africa by Julie Urban<br />
A biology graduate student, just back from collecting<br />
insects in Africa, shares tales from the field.<br />
The Great Debate by Maria C. Sparks<br />
A new exhibition shows that many of the top sports<br />
moments of all-time happened right here in <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>.<br />
What’s in your top 10?<br />
departments<br />
2<br />
Director’s Note<br />
3<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> <strong>New</strong>s<br />
7<br />
Discovery Now<br />
Solving the mystery of the summer sucker and<br />
identifying mineral species from Orange County<br />
by Richard Morse and Dr. Marian Lupulescu<br />
8<br />
Hidden Treasures<br />
The Art of the Mushroom by Dr. John Haines<br />
Dutch kast c. 1750 (above) and side<br />
chair c. 1750 (below, at left) owned<br />
by Andries Ten Eyck (1718–1802)<br />
and seen in the upcoming exhibition<br />
Preserving Family History: The<br />
Heritage of an Albany County Family<br />
Exploration stations encourage<br />
hands-on learning.<br />
16<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> Stories<br />
History in Every Piece by Craig Williams<br />
The Imperial Palace, as seen in<br />
Beijing: Ancient City, Modern City<br />
www.nysm.nysed.gov<br />
On the Cover<br />
Amanita verna, Small White Amanita<br />
from the <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong>’s wax<br />
mushroom collection<br />
IMAGES, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: <strong>NYSM</strong>, JOHN WHIPPLE, BEIJING PHOTOGRAPHERS ASSOCIATION, <strong>NYSM</strong>, BLACK DIMENSIONS IN ART, INC.
JOHN WHIPPLE<br />
The <strong>Magazine</strong> of the<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong><br />
director’s note<br />
Maria C. Sparks, Managing Editor<br />
Janice Kissick, Design Consultant<br />
Christine Carpenter, Copy Editor<br />
In the last issue, I wrote about the opportunity posed by this year’s<br />
state budget challenge fund. The <strong>Museum</strong>, along with our colleagues<br />
in the <strong>State</strong> Archives and <strong>State</strong> Library, were able to bring in more than<br />
$5 million in private and other non-state donations and grants to fully<br />
match the $5 million challenge fund. Thank you for your memberships<br />
and donations—we’ve used them as part of our match and have initiated<br />
a number of important projects.<br />
The matching funds will allow us to complete a gallery devoted to<br />
telling the story of Albany as revealed in archaeological excavations.<br />
Albany is the second-longest continuously occupied European settlement<br />
in North America, so almost every construction project is an archaeological<br />
site. The <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> has most of the major collections from<br />
Albany archaeological studies and will use them to create an engaging<br />
narrative about the capital city.<br />
Computer interactives and new media presentations will provide<br />
depth to the stories of Ellis Island, Bitter Hope, and Bird Hall. Discovery<br />
Place will be completely redesigned and filled with exciting, interactive<br />
learning adventures. The Cohoes Mastodont, currently in our lobby,<br />
will be moved into South Hall to serve as the centerpiece of the story<br />
of life during the Pleistocene in <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong>.<br />
Our collections are also benefiting from the matching funds. More<br />
and more of the specimens and artifacts in our collections will be<br />
made accessible through interactives and new galleries. Our World<br />
Trade Center response collection will be fully inventoried, conservation<br />
plans will be developed, and the artifacts will be housed in archival<br />
quality containers. The two million objects in the South Street Seaport<br />
archaeological collection acquired in June 2005 will also be inventoried<br />
and housed in professional grade cabinets.<br />
As you might expect, the workload for staff has increased tremendously,<br />
but this is the good kind of work—we are transforming our galleries<br />
and preserving collections for future generations. Thank you for your<br />
generous donations and commitment to the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong><br />
as evidenced by your membership. We couldn’t do this without you!<br />
Cliff Siegfried<br />
Director, <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong><br />
www.nysm.nysed.gov<br />
Design<br />
2k Design<br />
Contributors<br />
Jeanine L. Grinage<br />
John Haines<br />
George Hamell<br />
Nancy Kelley<br />
Marian Lupulescu<br />
Richard Morse<br />
Julie Urban<br />
Craig Williams<br />
Advisory Board<br />
Harry M. Rosenfeld<br />
Clifford A. Siegfried<br />
John P. Hart<br />
Mark Schaming<br />
Jeanine L. Grinage<br />
Robert A. Daniels<br />
Penelope B. Drooker<br />
Editorial Board<br />
Carrie Bernardi<br />
Penelope B. Drooker<br />
Cecile Kowalski<br />
Geoffrey N. Stein<br />
Chuck Ver Straeten<br />
Legacy is published quarterly by the<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> Institute,<br />
Third Floor, Cultural Education<br />
Center, Albany, NY 12230. The<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> Institute,<br />
a private single-purpose 501(c)(3)<br />
charitable organization, supports the<br />
exhibitions, research and programs<br />
of the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
The magazine is sent to members<br />
of the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> as<br />
a benefit of their membership. For<br />
information about membership,<br />
call 518-474-1354 or send an e-mail<br />
to membership@mail.nysed.gov.<br />
2 ■ Legacy
museum news<br />
<strong>New</strong> Life for the Day Peckinpaugh<br />
Corporation, the Erie Canalway<br />
National Heritage Corridor<br />
Commission, and many private<br />
donors and volunteers, the Day<br />
Peckinpaugh was moved from<br />
Erie to Lockport, N.Y. this past<br />
summer and was docked in<br />
Waterford this fall.<br />
After a complete reconfiguration,<br />
the Day Peckinpaugh will<br />
return to the waters as a museum<br />
ship in cooperation with the<br />
National Park Service and the<br />
Erie Canalway National Heritage<br />
Corridor Commission. The<br />
Peckinpaugh, which measures<br />
The Day Peckinpaugh took<br />
its maiden voyage in 1921 (left)<br />
and was towed to Lockport<br />
over the summer (above and<br />
below).<br />
IMAGES: <strong>NYSM</strong><br />
The Day Peckinpaugh, the<br />
only surviving example of a<br />
canal motorship used on<br />
the Great Lakes and the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
<strong>State</strong> Barge Canal system, just<br />
narrowly missed being scrapped.<br />
Instead, the motorship was<br />
recently named to the National<br />
Register of Historic Places.<br />
From 1921 to 1994, the Day<br />
Peckinpaugh transported bulk<br />
freights between the Great Lakes<br />
and the port of <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>. Its<br />
ability to navigate open waters<br />
as well as canals made the<br />
motorship the first of its kind on<br />
the new Erie Barge Canal system.<br />
It was also the last regularly<br />
scheduled commercial hauler on<br />
the state’s barge canal system. In<br />
1994, the Peckinpaugh returned<br />
to Erie, Pa., where it remained<br />
unused for more than 10 years.<br />
The <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> acquired<br />
the motorship in July 2005<br />
to promote its preservation as a<br />
significant artifact. “It’s been<br />
wonderful to see the variety and<br />
volume of support we’ve gotten<br />
from agencies and individuals,”<br />
says history curator Craig<br />
Williams. With the help of the<br />
Canal Society of <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong>,<br />
the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> Canal<br />
254 feet in length, 36 feet in<br />
beam, and 14 feet depth of hold,<br />
has a capacity of 1,650 tons.<br />
Its giant hull contains plenty of<br />
space for a museum on <strong>New</strong><br />
<strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> history and the history<br />
of the canal system.<br />
Winter 2005–2006 ■ 3
museum<br />
news<br />
The Tompkins Family Collection includes this 18th century Dutch kast<br />
used to store linens and valuables.<br />
Three generations of the Tompkins<br />
family, Coeyman’s Hollow, c. 1888<br />
Silver flatware displaying various<br />
family monograms, c. 1790–1870<br />
Preserving a Family’s History<br />
For more than 200 years,<br />
members of one Albany<br />
County family collected and<br />
passed down furniture, family<br />
bibles, manuscripts, photographs,<br />
quilts and coverlets, clothing,<br />
jewelry, and other treasured<br />
belongings. In the exhibition<br />
Preserving Family History: The<br />
Heritage of an Albany County<br />
Family, visitors to the <strong>Museum</strong><br />
will see much of what those<br />
family members saved since<br />
1750 and explore why families<br />
collect the things they do.<br />
Beginning with the possessions<br />
of Andries Ten Eyck, who settled<br />
in southern Albany County in<br />
1749, the collection grew as it<br />
descended through the Ten Eycks<br />
and Vanderzees to the Tompkins<br />
family. The Tompkins family cared<br />
for the collection and added to<br />
it for several more generations<br />
before donating it to the <strong>State</strong><br />
<strong>Museum</strong> beginning in 1998.<br />
“Family collections are the<br />
heart of museum collections,”<br />
says John L. Scherer, curator of<br />
decorative arts. In the case of the<br />
Tompkins Collection, the history<br />
of the artifacts and the family<br />
was well documented, providing<br />
a context for an exhibition on<br />
family history. According to Scherer,<br />
the artifacts in the collection<br />
show that families treasure their<br />
heritage and preserve aspects of<br />
their past. The exhibition opens<br />
February 11, 2006.<br />
IMAGES: <strong>NYSM</strong><br />
Family Fun<br />
Weekends<br />
Mark your calendars<br />
every month for great<br />
programs the entire<br />
family will enjoy! Family Fun<br />
Weekends have returned on the<br />
first weekend of every month,<br />
from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The weekends<br />
offer activities to engage<br />
the whole family, such as crafts,<br />
demonstrations, talks, story<br />
telling, games, tours, scavenger<br />
hunts, and other fun happenings.<br />
Family Fun Weekends started<br />
again in October with a weekend<br />
of programs and activities recognizing<br />
October as fire prevention<br />
month. There was a walking<br />
tour of the fire engines in Fire<br />
Engine Hall; the Fort Hunter Fire<br />
Department presented a puppet<br />
show with Sesame Street’s Elmo;<br />
Mr. Stop, Drop and Roll asked<br />
children to demonstrate the stop,<br />
drop and roll safety move; and<br />
families met the talking fire<br />
engine and a search-and-rescue<br />
dog from the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong><br />
Office of Fire Prevention and<br />
Control. Children and their parents<br />
also made crafts and took part in<br />
a scavenger hunt in Fire Engine<br />
Hall, among other activities.<br />
In November, FOX 23 sponsored<br />
Family Sports Weekend. Activities<br />
were planned to complement<br />
the exhibitions Sports: Breaking<br />
Records, Breaking Barriers and<br />
Miracles: <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>’s Greatest<br />
Sports Moments. Programs<br />
included a talk on sports and<br />
safety; a visit by Rowdy, the<br />
Albany River Rats mascot; the<br />
showing of the movie “Miracle,”<br />
about the 1980 U.S. Olympic<br />
4 ■ Legacy
hockey team; crafts; and sports<br />
demonstrations.<br />
Family Fun Weekends are an<br />
enjoyable way for families to<br />
see the <strong>Museum</strong>,” says John<br />
Krumdieck, director of floor<br />
services. “<strong>Museum</strong> learning is a<br />
lot of fun. <strong>Museum</strong>s are one<br />
of the best places for parents to<br />
share experiences with their<br />
children, and for children to share<br />
experiences with their parents.”<br />
Family Fun Weekends are<br />
scheduled for the first Saturday<br />
and Sunday of each month.<br />
Upcoming weekends include<br />
December 3–4, January 6–7,<br />
February 4–5, and March 4–5.<br />
<strong>New</strong> Exhibition from<br />
Black Dimensions in Art<br />
Driven to Abstraction:<br />
Contemporary Works by<br />
Ten Artists, a new exhibition<br />
sponsored by Black Dimensions in<br />
Art, Inc., opens January 28, 2006.<br />
The exhibition highlights the<br />
works of 10 artists of African<br />
descent and showcases a broad<br />
range of creative expression from<br />
the postwar years of the 1940s<br />
through the postmodern era of<br />
the 1980s and 1990s.<br />
The exhibition includes works<br />
by Frank Wimberley Jr., Ed Clark,<br />
Bill Hutson, Nanette Carter, Gregory<br />
Coates, Ralph Fleming, Howardena<br />
Pindell, George Simmons, Angelo<br />
Rombley, and the show’s curator<br />
Stephen J. Tyson.<br />
Driven to Abstraction offers<br />
the public an opportunity to<br />
broaden their perspectives and<br />
understanding of the history of<br />
abstract art in the United <strong>State</strong>s,<br />
says Tyson. The exhibition continues<br />
through March 26, 2006.<br />
Frank Wimberley Jr., Red Shoes,<br />
1998. Acrylic on canvas, 46 x 46<br />
inches<br />
A Look Back: “Old Indian Life Groups”<br />
Longtime <strong>Museum</strong> goers<br />
who remember when the<br />
<strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> was located in<br />
the <strong>State</strong> Education Department<br />
building will also remember the<br />
“old Indian life groups.” These six<br />
exhibitions recreated in life-sized<br />
detail a scene of everyday life<br />
among the Seneca, Cayuga,<br />
Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk<br />
Iroquois from about 150 to 400<br />
years ago.<br />
The “old Indian life groups”<br />
were planned and researched<br />
during the early 1900s by Arthur<br />
C. Parker, the <strong>Museum</strong>’s first<br />
full-time curator of ethnology and<br />
archaeology. From the time they<br />
opened to the public in 1916 to<br />
their closing in 1975, these life<br />
groups were the most ambitious<br />
ethnographic exhibits anywhere<br />
in the museum world.<br />
The “old Indian life groups”<br />
featured 39 life figures modeled<br />
after living American Indian<br />
people residing within <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
<strong>State</strong> and Ontario, Canada.<br />
When the exhibition closed,<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> staff photographed and<br />
documented the life groups as if<br />
they were archaeological sites. The<br />
life figures, painted backgrounds,<br />
and some foreground furnishings<br />
were then placed into long-term<br />
storage. Costuming and objects<br />
were placed into collection storage.<br />
The preservation of the life<br />
groups and accompanying details<br />
of their construction allowed<br />
the <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> to recreate<br />
the Oneida Industries Group for<br />
a retrospective exhibition in 1999.<br />
The recreation of the Oneida<br />
group was so successful that the<br />
Oneida Indian Nation of <strong>New</strong><br />
<strong>York</strong> requested the loan of the<br />
exhibition. Today, the Oneida<br />
Industries life group can be seen<br />
recreated in a series of vignettes<br />
on the second floor of their<br />
cultural center, Shako:wi.<br />
<strong>NYSM</strong><br />
Detail from the Oneida Industries Group exhibition that opened in 1916. The figures<br />
were prepared by sculptor Casper Mayer, whose studio was in Astoria, Long Island.<br />
– George Hamell, senior historian<br />
and ethnology collections manager<br />
Winter 2005–2006 ■ 5
museum<br />
news<br />
Temple of Heaven (above) and<br />
the Imperial Palace (below).<br />
Photographs courtesy of the<br />
Beijing Photographers Association.<br />
Beijing’s Past<br />
and Present<br />
The photographic exhibition<br />
Beijing: Ancient City, Modern<br />
City continues through<br />
December 31. Made possible by<br />
the U.S.-China Peoples Friendship<br />
Association (USCPFA)<br />
and the Beijing Photographers<br />
Association, the exhibition details<br />
aspects of life in Beijing from<br />
years past and present day. The<br />
exhibition opened in October to<br />
celebrate the USCPFA’s national<br />
convention, which was held in<br />
Schenectady. USCPFA is a nonprofit,<br />
non-political, educational<br />
organization that seeks to develop<br />
and strengthen friendship and<br />
understanding between peoples<br />
of the United <strong>State</strong>s and peoples<br />
of China.<br />
Volunteers:<br />
The Heart<br />
of the<br />
<strong>Museum</strong><br />
<strong>Museum</strong> volunteer<br />
Betsy Kaido<br />
Betsy Kaido has helped<br />
tremendously in the<br />
<strong>Museum</strong>’s history unit<br />
since coming on board in<br />
April 2004. In fact, she literally<br />
came on board to work with<br />
curators on the <strong>Museum</strong>’s<br />
new acquisition, the historic<br />
1921 canal motorship the Day<br />
Peckinpaugh. Betsy’s assistance<br />
with the Peckinpaugh was<br />
admirably demonstrated by<br />
freshly painted deck and trim.<br />
Her involvement with the<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> predates her volunteer<br />
efforts. An active <strong>Museum</strong><br />
goer, she attended one of the<br />
history lecture series programs<br />
several years ago. Focusing<br />
on the <strong>Museum</strong>’s dismantled<br />
Fort Plain Canal Store, the<br />
program highlighted the past<br />
owners of this remarkable<br />
upstate artifact. Among the<br />
owners was Betsy’s grandmother.<br />
As a volunteer, Betsy has<br />
taken charge of the White<br />
Studio Collection. The Studio,<br />
opened in the 1920s, was<br />
one of Schenectady’s premier<br />
photographic establishments,<br />
and the <strong>Museum</strong> has several<br />
hundred thousand film negatives<br />
from the Studio’s archives.<br />
Her work includes rehousing<br />
the negatives with acid-neutral<br />
materials, cataloging, and<br />
providing working digital prints<br />
of the images. Access to the<br />
collection has improved dramatically<br />
due to her weekly volunteer<br />
efforts.<br />
Betsy recently retired from<br />
the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> Department<br />
of Civil Service where she was a<br />
chief personnel examiner. She<br />
earned a doctorate in educational<br />
psychology and statistics. A<br />
native of Albany, she now lives<br />
alongside Kinderhook Lake in<br />
Columbia County.<br />
– Craig Williams, senior historian<br />
The <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong><br />
<strong>Museum</strong> offers many<br />
interesting and<br />
educational opportunities<br />
for volunteers, interns<br />
and those interested<br />
in community service<br />
placements. For more<br />
information on how<br />
to become involved,<br />
please call 518-402-5869.<br />
ROBYN GIBSON, <strong>NYSM</strong><br />
6 ■ Legacy
discovery now<br />
<strong>New</strong> Mineral Species<br />
The mineral species<br />
fluoropargasite was<br />
undescribed until<br />
recently.<br />
In the past two years, a team<br />
of researchers led by Dr. Marian<br />
Lupulescu, the <strong>Museum</strong>’s<br />
curator of geology, discovered<br />
and described two new minerals<br />
from <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong>. The new<br />
species fluoropargasite and<br />
fluoro-potassichastingsite were<br />
recently approved and recognized<br />
by the International Mineralogical<br />
Association (IMA). The IMA, which<br />
oversees the introduction of new<br />
minerals and mineral names,<br />
recognizes more than 4,067 valid<br />
mineral species.<br />
The newly described species<br />
belong to the second-largest<br />
group of minerals, the amphibole<br />
group that includes 81 species.<br />
Fluoropargasite, from Edenville,<br />
Orange County, sat undescribed<br />
in the <strong>Museum</strong>’s mineral collection<br />
for more than 100 years, and<br />
fluoro-potassichastingsite was<br />
collected two years ago from the<br />
Greenwood Iron Mine’s dump,<br />
Harriman <strong>State</strong> Park, Orange<br />
County. Both are black to dark<br />
green, with perfect cleavage in<br />
the hand specimen. However,<br />
under the polarizing microscope,<br />
they display different optical<br />
properties because they have<br />
specific chemical compositions. The<br />
minerals also differ in the distribution<br />
of chemical components at<br />
crystallographic sites and in crystal<br />
structure. The chemical element<br />
fluorine is a main component for<br />
both species. Fluorine increases<br />
the thermal stability of these<br />
amphiboles so they can survive in<br />
the high-temperature conditions<br />
under which they were formed.<br />
The description of new mineral<br />
species is helpful in understanding<br />
the diversity and complexity of<br />
the mineral world and why some<br />
minerals become accustomed to<br />
different environmental conditions<br />
and others are replaced by more<br />
stable species. The new species<br />
provide information on the variability<br />
of the chemical substitutions<br />
and structural changes in the<br />
rock-forming minerals.<br />
– Dr. Marian Lupulescu, curator of<br />
geology<br />
<strong>NYSM</strong><br />
The Rediscovery of a Species<br />
The summer sucker,<br />
Catostomus utawana, was<br />
originally discovered and<br />
described from the Adirondack<br />
Park by Fred Mather in 1891. It is<br />
a cryptic species; that is, a species<br />
that looks very similar to another<br />
species. Summer sucker grows to<br />
little more than 12 centimeters<br />
(4.72 inches) in length and looks<br />
like juvenile, or stunted white<br />
sucker. The cryptic nature of this<br />
fish has caused many to misidentify<br />
the summer sucker.<br />
In fact, the very population<br />
of fish that was used to describe<br />
the biology of C. utawana was<br />
determined in 1977 and 1980 to<br />
be comprised of stunted white<br />
sucker, and not summer sucker at<br />
all—raising questions<br />
as to whether the summer<br />
sucker actually exists. Since<br />
that population was assumed<br />
to represent all populations of<br />
summer sucker in the Adirondacks,<br />
the summer sucker was no longer<br />
considered anything but a stunted<br />
white sucker.<br />
In June 1999, we discovered a<br />
population of fish matching the<br />
description of C. utawana. We<br />
spent six years at fieldwork, laboratory<br />
work, and literary research<br />
to disentangle the taxonomic<br />
dilemma of this rare fish. We<br />
realized that this fish is indeed<br />
the summer sucker, and there are<br />
far greater differences from the<br />
white sucker than even Fred<br />
Mather thought. More than a<br />
century after Mather’s description,<br />
this animal will be afforded the<br />
protection and recognition of a fish<br />
species found nowhere else but<br />
in the Adirondacks of <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>.<br />
– Richard Morse, fish collection manager<br />
Research proves Catostomus<br />
utawana, the summer sucker,<br />
does exist.<br />
ELLEN EDMONSON<br />
Winter 2005–2006 ■ 7
hidden treasures<br />
theArt of the<br />
BY DR. JOHN HAINES<br />
Inset above: Agaricus campestris, Meadow<br />
Mushroom<br />
Right: Armillaria mellea, Honey Mushroom<br />
8 ■ Legacy
Mushroom<br />
IMAGES: RON BARBER, <strong>NYSM</strong><br />
It has been nearly 30 years<br />
since 57 wax mushroom models<br />
were removed from exhibit cases<br />
at the “old <strong>Museum</strong>,” where<br />
they were displayed as The Charles<br />
H. Peck testimonial exhibition.<br />
Dr. Peck was <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>’s<br />
botanist from 1867 to 1915 and<br />
the best-known expert on American<br />
fungi, especially mushrooms.<br />
The <strong>Museum</strong> plant and fungus<br />
collections contain thousands of<br />
his specimens, including “type<br />
specimens,” the irreplaceable<br />
standards upon which new species<br />
are based and which are used<br />
by scientists worldwide to settle<br />
questions of identity. Dr. Peck<br />
certainly earned this testimonial,<br />
but he died just days after it was<br />
Clavaria cristata, Crested Coral-Fungus<br />
dedicated and never saw it.<br />
Jules Henri Marchand, the<br />
sculptor of these models, was a<br />
leading innovator in the science<br />
and art of museum display. Born<br />
near Paris in 1877, Marchand<br />
studied in France’s best art schools<br />
and also with sculptor Auguste<br />
Rodin. Just as his career and<br />
family were growing, Marchand<br />
was persuaded by American<br />
industrialist Andrew Corbin to<br />
come to America to design hardware.<br />
After several short periods<br />
of unsatisfying employment, he<br />
landed in Albany in 1909 to do<br />
sculpture for the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong><br />
<strong>Museum</strong>, which was just under<br />
construction.<br />
Marchand, often accompanied<br />
by his sons George and Paul,<br />
worked on the <strong>Museum</strong>’s<br />
dioramas of fossils and Native<br />
American life, which were the<br />
mainstay of the <strong>Museum</strong> until<br />
those exhibitions closed in 1976.<br />
Friends and colleagues of Charles<br />
Peck commissioned the mushroom<br />
exhibit in 1917. The Marchands<br />
had no trouble fulfilling the<br />
commission, as they were familiar<br />
with the mushrooms that grew<br />
near their rural Rensselaer County<br />
home. Sons Paul and George<br />
Marchand went on to make<br />
models of mushrooms, fossils,<br />
insects, and flowers for museums<br />
throughout the United <strong>State</strong>s<br />
into the 1980s. ■<br />
Cantharellus cibarius,<br />
Edible Chanterelle<br />
Dr. John Haines is an<br />
emeritus scientist after<br />
34 years as a scientist<br />
and curator of mycology<br />
(study of mushrooms)<br />
at the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong><br />
<strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
Winter 2005–2006 ■ 9
“Where<br />
Did You Get<br />
All the Bugs ?”<br />
BY JEANINE L. GRINAGE<br />
Questions<br />
abound<br />
and <strong>Museum</strong><br />
educators<br />
encourage<br />
visitors’ curiosity<br />
Jeanine L. Grinage is<br />
director of museum education<br />
and public programs.<br />
Where did you get all<br />
the bugs?” “Where<br />
are the dinosaurs?”<br />
“What’s the difference between<br />
a woolly mammoth and a<br />
mastodont?” There are always<br />
questions—from both adults and<br />
children—and many answers in<br />
the world of museum education<br />
at the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
And, if we’re really doing a good<br />
job, there will be even more<br />
questions generated after a visit<br />
to the <strong>Museum</strong>. That’s what we,<br />
the staff in <strong>Museum</strong> Education,<br />
are all about—fostering the sense<br />
of wonder and curiosity that leads<br />
to the desire to learn even more<br />
about the objects, the people, the<br />
science, and the history behind<br />
the <strong>Museum</strong> exhibits.<br />
At the center of the <strong>Museum</strong>’s<br />
education program is a creative,<br />
committed group of professional<br />
educators. These educators<br />
bring skills and knowledge in<br />
anthropology, science, history,<br />
and geology as well as a deep<br />
commitment to teaching and<br />
learning. The <strong>Museum</strong>’s Visitor<br />
Services staff members also<br />
provide informal educational<br />
opportunities through the work<br />
they do with groups, daily on<br />
the <strong>Museum</strong> floor, and in the<br />
Discovery Place, the children’s<br />
hands-on area of the <strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
“The <strong>Museum</strong> educator can<br />
help visitors to take what they<br />
already know and use the <strong>Museum</strong><br />
visit to bring it to a new level,”<br />
says Cecile Kowalski, a <strong>Museum</strong><br />
educator. “In a museum, you can<br />
learn with all your senses and<br />
be surrounded by your learning<br />
experience. Around every corner<br />
of the <strong>Museum</strong> is something new<br />
to discover.”<br />
All education programs and<br />
materials at the <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> are<br />
directly linked to, and supportive<br />
of, the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> Learning<br />
Standards—whether it is a class<br />
on Native Peoples provided to a<br />
curious group of 5th graders or a<br />
fluorescent rocks program in the<br />
Mineral Gallery for an 9th grade<br />
earth science class.<br />
Throughout the year, more<br />
than 40,000 school children with<br />
their teachers and chaperones<br />
come to the <strong>Museum</strong> and<br />
participate in lessons taught by<br />
one of the five <strong>Museum</strong> educators.<br />
During May and June alone,<br />
the <strong>Museum</strong> hosts between<br />
700–1,000 students a day. Before<br />
the visit, teachers select lessons<br />
with titles such as Cradleboards<br />
10 ■ Legacy
BUG IMAGES: JASON CRYAN, <strong>NYSM</strong>; OTHER IMAGES: STEPHANIE MILLER, <strong>NYSM</strong><br />
and Cornhusk Dolls; Geology:<br />
Gastropods to Garnet; People of<br />
the Longhouse; Native Peoples<br />
of <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>; and Birds and<br />
Mammals. All lessons are tailored<br />
to the grade level of the class.<br />
Teachers may also take<br />
advantage of a growing series of<br />
teachers’ guides that are available<br />
on the <strong>Museum</strong> Web site or a<br />
CD-ROM. The teachers’ guides<br />
provide teachers and parents<br />
with a description of a specific<br />
exhibition and its contents as<br />
well as the relevant <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
<strong>State</strong> Learning Standards. The<br />
guides contain pre- and post-visit<br />
activities that may be used in<br />
the classroom. They also offer<br />
suggestions for making the visit an<br />
enriched educational experience.<br />
There are seven guides available<br />
now and additional guides<br />
on permanent and temporary<br />
exhibitions are in development.<br />
In addition to the school<br />
groups that register with us,<br />
about an equal number arrive<br />
with no advance arrangements.<br />
These groups take advantage<br />
of the exploration carts that are<br />
located on the <strong>Museum</strong> floor.<br />
Touching bear skins and deer<br />
hooves, guessing the purpose of<br />
what turns out to be a button<br />
hook, using a tape measure to<br />
actually see the size of a blue<br />
whale, or trying to fit 12 people<br />
into a space equivalent to a<br />
tenement apartment bring to<br />
life the history and science in<br />
the <strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
Beyond the <strong>Museum</strong> Walls<br />
Education at the <strong>Museum</strong><br />
extends beyond the walls of<br />
the building. Through two<br />
significant partnerships, we are<br />
able to engage middle school<br />
students at the nearby Thomas<br />
O’Brien Academy of Science and<br />
Technology (TOAST) and other<br />
students across the state and<br />
the nation.<br />
TOAST and the <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong><br />
All education programs and materials at the <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> are directly<br />
linked to, and supportive of, the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> Learning Standards.<br />
have an exciting partnership that<br />
brings the <strong>Museum</strong> to the school<br />
and the school to the <strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
We have assisted, through the<br />
loan of artifacts, with the establishment<br />
of a museum room at<br />
TOAST. Educators, scientists and<br />
researchers from the <strong>Museum</strong><br />
teach lessons both at the school<br />
and in the <strong>Museum</strong>. Each fall,<br />
the students, families and teachers<br />
from TOAST have a special<br />
night at the <strong>Museum</strong>. The entire<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> is open and exploration<br />
carts, arts and crafts activities,<br />
and refreshments are available.<br />
Because of their frequent<br />
experiences here, the students<br />
see the <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> as their<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> and they enjoy acting<br />
as tour guides and sharing their<br />
knowledge about the exhibitions<br />
and artifacts.<br />
The <strong>Museum</strong> also benefits<br />
from this partnership. TOAST<br />
students are always willing to<br />
serve as pioneers as we try out<br />
new programs. The teachers<br />
and students at TOAST were<br />
enthusiastic volunteers as <strong>Museum</strong><br />
scientists, with assistance from<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> program and education<br />
staff, began the Cool To Be A<br />
Scientist program. We know how<br />
important it is to reach students<br />
in their early years if we want<br />
to have an impact on their<br />
career aspirations. Cool To Be<br />
A Scientist lets kids experience<br />
the excitement that <strong>Museum</strong><br />
scientists and researchers bring<br />
to their work.<br />
“I interact with a lot of teachers<br />
over the year, and they often<br />
ask if I could come talk to their<br />
classes,” says Chuck Ver Straeten,<br />
a geologist at the <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
“That would become a full-time<br />
job itself, so it’s worked out well<br />
to have larger school groups<br />
come to the <strong>Museum</strong>, spend an<br />
hour interacting with three of<br />
the scientists, and then go<br />
explore the museum. All of us<br />
walk away with a new burst of<br />
energy and interest.”<br />
Winter 2005–2006 ■ 11
STEPHANIE MILLER, <strong>NYSM</strong><br />
<strong>Museum</strong> Education partners<br />
with the Schenectady City<br />
School District on Project View,<br />
a distance-learning program<br />
(www.projectview.org/<br />
aboutprojectview.htm). Project<br />
View, a Federal Technology<br />
Innovation Challenge Grant led<br />
by the Schenectady City School<br />
District, expands learning opportunities<br />
beyond the classroom.<br />
Through the program, schools<br />
from <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> and around the<br />
country are able to take part in a<br />
lesson taught by <strong>Museum</strong> educators<br />
in our video studio. With<br />
recent additions to our equipment,<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> Education will be<br />
able to provide real-time lessons<br />
After School<br />
and in the Summer<br />
The learning does not stop<br />
at the end of the school day<br />
or school year. We have two<br />
award-winning after-school<br />
programs for elementary- and<br />
high school-aged children. The<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> Club and the Discovery<br />
Squad provide homework help,<br />
tutoring and classes on the<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> floor with scientists,<br />
historians, curators and educators<br />
Monday through Friday from<br />
September through June. Our<br />
summer Time Tunnel day camp,<br />
which this summer had record<br />
enrollment during the three<br />
two-week sessions, provides daily<br />
“In a museum, you can learn with all your senses and be surrounded by your<br />
learning experience. Around every corner of the <strong>Museum</strong> is something new<br />
to discover.” – Cecile Kowalski, <strong>Museum</strong> educator<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> education experiences.<br />
Perhaps the most rewarding<br />
educational program offered<br />
this year was for Camp Sundown,<br />
a camp for individuals with<br />
xeroderma pigmentosum—a<br />
debilitating disease that prohibits<br />
sufferers from being exposed to<br />
the sun and other ultraviolet light.<br />
Staff from <strong>Museum</strong> Education,<br />
Visitor Services, and throughout<br />
the <strong>Museum</strong> volunteered to open<br />
the <strong>Museum</strong> from 10 p.m. until<br />
1 a.m. on a Thursday night so that<br />
participants in Camp Sundown,<br />
both children and adults, could<br />
have a full <strong>Museum</strong> experience.<br />
Each day brings new experiences<br />
and new discoveries in<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> Education. We serve<br />
as a crossroad where research,<br />
collections, and exhibitions meet<br />
the public to provide learning<br />
that satisfies their natural curiosity<br />
and that is enjoyable and<br />
memorable. We want each visitor<br />
to leave reluctantly and return<br />
anticipating another memorable<br />
experience. ■<br />
Above: Students from the Albany<br />
City School District explore the<br />
<strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
At right: Cathy Cozzens of Visitor<br />
Services helps a middle school<br />
student hold a skull that is much<br />
heavier than it looks.<br />
from both research labs and the<br />
exhibition floor. Although distance<br />
lessons do not give students the<br />
same whole body/sight-touchsound<br />
experience they can get<br />
at the <strong>Museum</strong>, they are an<br />
effective tool for districts that are<br />
unable to visit because of distance<br />
or travel budget limitations,<br />
and for youth in care facilities<br />
who cannot visit the <strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
JOHN WHIPPLE<br />
12 ■ Legacy
Left: The <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong><br />
<strong>Museum</strong> research expedition<br />
team with wildlife officers in<br />
the Ankasa Resource Reserve,<br />
Ghana, West Africa.<br />
Below: Julie Urban with school<br />
children in the Ankasa Resource<br />
Reserve, Ghana, West Africa.<br />
BY JULIE URBAN<br />
Into Africa<br />
Surprises, intrigue, and discovery<br />
mark first trip to Africa<br />
Jaguar tracks in Belize. A venomous<br />
bushmaster snake in<br />
Costa Rica. A herd of charging<br />
peccaries in Peru. My life as a<br />
biology graduate student is more<br />
exciting than I could have ever<br />
dreamed! And recently, as I<br />
heard a series of strange sounds<br />
approaching me in a remote<br />
tropical rainforest in Ghana, I<br />
wondered what exotic wildlife I<br />
would encounter on my first insect<br />
collecting trip to Africa. As the<br />
source of these sounds came into<br />
view, I saw that it was a group of<br />
50 school children on their way<br />
to a science summer camp. This<br />
experience came to typify my visit<br />
to Ghana; it was the people, not<br />
the wildlife, that brought the<br />
most exciting and unexpected<br />
adventures.<br />
By far, the most intriguing<br />
encounter in West Africa—a trip<br />
funded by a National Science<br />
Foundation research grant awarded<br />
to <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong><br />
scientist Dr. Jason Cryan—occurred<br />
on a day trip with Jason and <strong>State</strong><br />
<strong>Museum</strong> entomologist Dr. Tim<br />
McCabe. We set out with Tony,<br />
the driver of our van, to scout<br />
out an area near the Ghana/Togo<br />
border as a potential fieldwork<br />
site. The standard practice for these<br />
scouting trips was to drive to the<br />
area, walk around a bit collecting<br />
insects, and determine where to set<br />
up light traps for night collecting.<br />
If the area seemed suitable for<br />
more intensive collecting efforts, we<br />
had to visit the local village chief<br />
to formally ask permission to conduct<br />
our research in their territory.<br />
In this particular case, we decided<br />
that the area was promising, so we<br />
needed to visit the closest village,<br />
Shiare, and its leaders.<br />
Tony stopped the van to speak<br />
with several people walking along<br />
the road, and soon three young<br />
women from the group climbed<br />
into the vehicle with us. Although<br />
they spoke in the Twi language,<br />
it was clear to me that the women<br />
were going to Shiare, and they<br />
would show us the way. Soon the<br />
road became too narrow and steep<br />
for the van, and we continued on<br />
foot. We walked for the next hour<br />
along an ascending, serpentine<br />
trail that kept our mountainous<br />
destination hidden from view.<br />
Near the summit, the trail<br />
descended into the mud and stone<br />
dwellings of Shiare, where we were<br />
brought to the center of town<br />
and given a seat on a long bench.<br />
The chief and village elders soon<br />
emerged. Tony spoke in Twi<br />
announcing our intentions to<br />
the elders and approximately<br />
200 villagers who had appeared<br />
and taken seats on ledges all<br />
around us. After Tony finished his<br />
speech, a town discussion ensued.<br />
For the next 20 minutes, people<br />
of the town stood up and made<br />
speeches in a language that none<br />
of us, including Tony, understood.<br />
The debate was quite heated, and<br />
to my discomfort, their gestures<br />
confirmed that the debate was<br />
about us. At one point, Tony<br />
indicated that Jason should present<br />
to the chief the culturally standard<br />
gift bottle of schnapps, along<br />
with a small amount of cash.<br />
After more discussion, the chief<br />
suddenly stood up, spoke one<br />
sentence very firmly, and placed<br />
the schnapps on the ground. He<br />
then shook our hands. The elders<br />
followed suit, and we were<br />
gestured to leave. Apparently, we<br />
had been granted permission to<br />
collect insects along the road<br />
outside their village.<br />
We had exciting experiences<br />
with wildlife too, including finding<br />
a potentially new species of<br />
planthopper. But overall, what I’ll<br />
remember most about my first<br />
trip to Africa are the people. ■<br />
Julie Urban is a doctoral<br />
student in the Department<br />
of Biological Sciences at the<br />
University at Albany. She<br />
is a dissertation research<br />
fellow at the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
<strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong>’s Laboratory<br />
for Conservation and<br />
Evolutionary Genetics under<br />
the direction of Dr. Jason<br />
Cryan. Her research is an<br />
investigation, primarily using<br />
DNA sequence evidence, of<br />
the evolutionary relationships<br />
within a diverse group of<br />
sap-feeding insects collectively<br />
called planthoppers.<br />
Winter 2005–2006 ■ 13
The Great Debate<br />
Just what are the top sports moments<br />
Maria C. Sparks is<br />
managing editor of Legacy.<br />
Guest curator Mark McGuire<br />
knew that compiling a<br />
list of the top 10 <strong>New</strong><br />
<strong>York</strong> sports moments would be<br />
daunting. In fact, he dubbed the<br />
effort a “subjective exercise in<br />
futility.” Even so, he was able to<br />
come up with not just 10, but<br />
25 significant moments in the<br />
history of <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> sports.<br />
Each of those moments is<br />
included in Miracles: <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>’s<br />
Greatest Sports Moments, an<br />
exhibition idea first pitched<br />
about five years ago. But timing<br />
is everything, and when Sports:<br />
Breaking Records, Breaking<br />
Barriers from the Smithsonian<br />
Institution Traveling Exhibition<br />
Service was under contract,<br />
thoughts returned to an exhibition<br />
about <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> sports. Miracles<br />
was developed to complement<br />
the traveling exhibition, which<br />
explores individual achievement<br />
in sports and its impact on society.<br />
As the Miracles exhibition<br />
shows, historic moments in every<br />
major U.S. sport have taken place<br />
both in <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> and in other<br />
locales with <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> teams. Many<br />
of those moments are considered<br />
all-time sports milestones or a<br />
win for the ages—the kind of<br />
moment that lives on in the<br />
national consciousness or in the<br />
personal memory of a sports fan.<br />
“What strikes me about the<br />
exhibition is how you can almost<br />
take that list of <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> sports<br />
moments and make them an<br />
all-American story,” says Cliff<br />
14 ■ Legacy
Behind-the-Scenes<br />
Here’s an inside look at the making of Miracles:<br />
JANUARY 2005<br />
• Cliff Siegfried invites Mark McGuire to curate the exhibit<br />
in <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> history?<br />
Siegfried, director of the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
<strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
Throughout the exhibition’s<br />
run, sports fans will have an<br />
opportunity to show how they<br />
would rank the top moments in<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> sports history. By using<br />
an interactive kiosk, visitors can<br />
create their own top 10 lists from<br />
McGuire’s 25 sports moments.<br />
The interactive will compile the<br />
results and generate a top 10 list<br />
based on voters’ choices.<br />
As visitors may find, deciding on<br />
just 10 events is not an easy task.<br />
In fact, McGuire was asked to<br />
compile only a top 10 list; he asked<br />
to expand the number to 25 as<br />
“self-preservation,” knowing that<br />
each of these events is important.<br />
McGuire, the television/radio<br />
Miracles: <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>'s Greatest Sports<br />
Moments runs through March 26, 2006.<br />
Local support provided by the NBA, <strong>New</strong><br />
<strong>York</strong> Yankees, Nextel, Picotte Companies,<br />
RBC Dain Rauscher, and Time Warner Cable.<br />
FOX 23 is the media sponsor.<br />
FOOTBALL HELMET COURTESY OF PRO FOOTBALL<br />
HALL OF FAME.<br />
TOM SEAVER AUTOGRAPHED BASEBALL COURTESY OF<br />
MARK MCGUIRE.<br />
REPLICA 1980 OLYMPIC US HOCKEY JERSEY COURTESY<br />
OLYMPIC REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY.<br />
BY MARIA C. SPARKS<br />
writer for the Times Union<br />
(Albany, N.Y.), also writes a<br />
weekly sports column, From the<br />
Upper Deck, for the newspaper’s<br />
Web site, timesunion.com. A<br />
sports fan and native of Northport,<br />
Long Island, he has written two<br />
books on baseball and written<br />
for national magazines including<br />
Baseball Digest, Baseball Weekly,<br />
Baseball America, and Golf<br />
Illustrated.<br />
“Over the course of doing this,<br />
15 things may have been in the<br />
top 10 at one time or another,”<br />
says McGuire. He already guesses<br />
which moment will spark the most<br />
debate: Lou Gehrig’s farewell<br />
speech in 1939. It’s not a sports<br />
accomplishment, he says, but it<br />
is a great sports moment. ■<br />
FEBRUARY 2005<br />
• Mark McGuire submits draft script for exhibition and timeline<br />
brochure<br />
MARCH 2005<br />
• Exhibit team has kick-off meeting, divides responsibilities<br />
• Exhibit script/timeline is fact-checked and edited<br />
• Tentative checklist of project steps established<br />
• Initial budget established<br />
• <strong>New</strong> England Technology Group (NETG) presents proposals<br />
for voting interactive and film to be used in the exhibit<br />
APRIL 2005<br />
• Potential lenders contacted<br />
• Image research begins<br />
• NETG contracted for Top 10 film and voting interactive<br />
• Budget revisited<br />
MAY 2005<br />
• Script, images, and checklist reviewed and approved<br />
• Case layout and floor plan designed<br />
• Loan agreements sent to lenders<br />
• Budget revisited<br />
• Approval of NETG’s concept for interactive and film<br />
• Image search continues<br />
JUNE 2005<br />
• Design review of floor plan and exhibit graphics<br />
• Budget revisited<br />
• Final images selected and approved<br />
JULY 2005<br />
• Planning of related public programs underway<br />
• Loan objects begin arriving<br />
• Exhibit designer prepares “scope of work” document for<br />
production department, detailing design requirements<br />
such as exhibit panels, gallery paint colors, and construction<br />
i.e., walls, bases, plexi, and artifact mounts<br />
• Budget revisited<br />
• Final images received and circulated to graphics and NETG<br />
AUGUST 2005<br />
• Artifacts assembled in preparation area for mount building<br />
• Final review meeting<br />
• NETG projects completed<br />
SEPTEMBER 2005<br />
• Artifact mount building continues<br />
• Graphics <strong>final</strong>ized, printed, and mounted<br />
• Temporary walls and bases in place<br />
• Painting<br />
• Details of public programs <strong>final</strong>ized<br />
OCTOBER 2005<br />
• October 3–14: Installation of exhibition, AV component<br />
installation and testing, lighting<br />
• October 15: Exhibition opens to the public<br />
– Nancy Kelley, exhibitions coordinator<br />
Winter 2005–2006 ■ 15
new york stories<br />
A mother and daughter<br />
hand-stitched this quilt while<br />
traveling along the Erie Canal<br />
in the mid-19th century.<br />
Inset: Erie Canal Lock 52 in<br />
Port Byron, c. 1900<br />
IMAGES: <strong>NYSM</strong><br />
History in Every Piece BY CRAIG WILLIAMS<br />
Craig Williams has been<br />
a history curator at the<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong><br />
since 1983.<br />
The pattern of this mid-19th century quilt is<br />
called “broken dishes.” It is made of 21,559<br />
small pieces of fabric, artistically hand-stitched<br />
into a quilt more than 6 feet by 8 feet in size. When<br />
looking at this quilt, what one should really see<br />
is a single remarkable artifact of upstate <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
history, one that is rich on many levels.<br />
Phillip C. and Patricia A. English of Maryland<br />
donated the quilt to the <strong>Museum</strong> in late 2004. They<br />
did so in honor of Mr. English’s parents, Carl English,<br />
a former Cornell University professor, and Elsie English,<br />
who still lives in Ithaca not far from the family’s historic<br />
home in the town of Dryden. The quilt has remained<br />
in the family for four generations, but its artistry and<br />
history have reached well beyond the family. It has<br />
been exhibited at the <strong>Museum</strong> of American Folk Art<br />
and was featured in the 1992 publication <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
Beauties—Quilts from the Empire <strong>State</strong>.<br />
According to family tradition, Nancy Snyder<br />
Osborn (1823–1909) created the quilt while traveling<br />
with her husband Chauncey on a canal boat. Her<br />
mother assisted in the quilt’s production. The family<br />
was one of several thousand in the mid-19th century<br />
who transported products by boat across <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
<strong>State</strong> on the Erie Canal and its adjoining waterways.<br />
Families traveling together on boats were the norm.<br />
Anecdotal evidence indicates that it was not<br />
uncommon for families to work brief periods on<br />
the canal during periods of transition in their<br />
lives. It was a work environment where the entire<br />
family could pitch in for the economic benefit of<br />
all. Perhaps to earn enough money to move onto<br />
a more settled life, families might spend several<br />
seasons on the canal. For Nancy and Chauncey<br />
Osborn, we know that their later years were<br />
dedicated to a farm on Nancy’s family property<br />
in Dryden.<br />
Records in the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> Library provide<br />
some additional clues. The published 1870 register<br />
of canal boats lists the “J.A. Jarvis” of Ithaca as the<br />
property of Peter Snyder, Nancy’s grandfather. The<br />
boat was first on the canal in 1857, not long after<br />
Nancy and Chauncey were married. Likely, this is<br />
the boat on which the quilt was made. It was one<br />
of several dozen that listed Ithaca as their hailing<br />
place, using Cayuga Lake and the Cayuga-Seneca<br />
Canal to reach the Erie Canal. Peter Snyder probably<br />
used the boat to bring wheat and other products<br />
from his Dryden farm to market. It is another indication<br />
of an entire family working toward a common<br />
goal—much like the 21,559 pieces of fabric working<br />
together to make a wonderful quilt. ■<br />
16 ■ Legacy
13th Annual<br />
James Campbell Memorial<br />
Saturday and Sunday,<br />
February 25 and 26<br />
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. ◆ Terrace Gallery – 4th Floor<br />
See thousands of gems, jewelry, minerals, lapidary equipment, fossils, and much more<br />
at the annual Gem, Mineral and Fossil Show and Sale. <strong>Museum</strong> staff will give guided tours<br />
of the mineral and fossil exhibitions and identify visitors’ own minerals and fossils.<br />
Lectures on the mineralogy of <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> will be held<br />
throughout the afternoon on both days.<br />
Admission to the <strong>Museum</strong> is $5, which includes entry to the both the Gem, Mineral and Fossil Show and Sale and<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in Bloom. Children ages 12 and under are free when accompanied by an adult. Proceeds help fund<br />
new acquisitions for the <strong>Museum</strong>’s gem and mineral collections.
close-ups<br />
IMAGES: TRUEMASTER TRIMINGHAM, <strong>NYSM</strong><br />
Clockwise starting top left: Cabbage Patch Doll with traditional-style Iroquois clothing, 2000, Governor’s<br />
Collection of Contemporary Native American Crafts, Native Peoples of <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>; Pileated woodpecker, Birds<br />
of <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>; Carved granite keystone, c. 1900, from a <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> City building, <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> Metropolis; Detail<br />
of Parade Carriage, c. 1875, Fire Engine Hall.<br />
Tell us what you think about Legacy. Send your comments to nysmfeedback@mail.nysed.gov.<br />
For a schedule of exhibitions, programs and events, see The <strong>Museum</strong> Calendar or visit<br />
www.nysm.nysed.gov/calendar/<br />
The <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> is a program of The University of the <strong>State</strong> of <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>/The <strong>State</strong> Education Department