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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. 4<br />
SPRING 2006<br />
INSIDE:<br />
Minerals Up Close<br />
Keeping Family<br />
History Alive<br />
Upcoming Lectures<br />
A “Song to Joy”
2005 Corporate Sponsors<br />
The <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> Institute is honored to recognize these sponsors,<br />
whose generosity, vision, and commitment to the greater good of the community<br />
demonstrate the essence of corporate citizenship.<br />
PRESENTING SPONSORS<br />
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS SPONSOR<br />
CORPORATE SUPPORTERS<br />
CORPORATE FRIEND<br />
CORPORATE DONORS<br />
CORPORATE CONTRIBUTORS<br />
MEDIA SPONSORS<br />
The <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong><br />
Institute, a private charitable<br />
organization recognized<br />
under IRS Code 501(c)(3) as<br />
a tax-exempt public charity,<br />
exists solely to support the<br />
exhibitions, programs, and<br />
research of the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
<strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
IN-KIND PARTNERS<br />
Brooklyn Brewery • The Desmond Hotel & Conference Center • EMS <strong>Magazine</strong> • McNeil & Company
contents<br />
VOL. 1 • NO. 4<br />
SPRING 2006<br />
Fire Department of <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
Ambulance 485, a 1997<br />
Ford-Horton<br />
features<br />
10<br />
13<br />
14<br />
All in the Family by John L. Scherer<br />
Preserving family history provides an important<br />
link between and among generations.<br />
<strong>NYSM</strong> … In Person<br />
Educator Cecile Kowalski talks about how a visit to the<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> turns into an experience.<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>ers in Bloom by Dianne Siegfried<br />
Perennial <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in Bloom volunteers Anthony Macarelli<br />
and Michele Peters team up for the 15th annual <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in<br />
Bloom and their own new venture.<br />
departments<br />
2<br />
Director’s Note<br />
3<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> <strong>New</strong>s<br />
7<br />
Discovery Now<br />
The just-in-time discovery of a new species of wild orchid<br />
and a glimpse into 19th century life along the Delaware and<br />
Hudson Canal by Dr. Charles Sheviak and Scott Cardinal<br />
8<br />
Hidden Treasures<br />
Minerals Under the Microscope by Dr. Marian Lupulescu<br />
Tompkins family clock, c. 1815<br />
Platanthera huronensis<br />
16<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> Stories<br />
After the Horror of War, a “Song to Joy” by Ronald J. Burch<br />
Minerals seen under a polarizing<br />
microscope<br />
www.nysm.nysed.gov<br />
On the Cover<br />
Treasured heirlooms from the Tompkins<br />
Collection, featured in the current<br />
exhibition Preserving Family History: The<br />
Heritage of an Albany County Family<br />
IMAGES BY TED BEBLOWSKI, <strong>NYSM</strong>S<br />
FLORAL ARRANGEMENT BY WILLIAM BURDETT; OTHER IMAGES FROM <strong>NYSM</strong> COLLECTIONS
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 />
As I write this, I can see the snow blown against my window by a gusty<br />
wind. However, I am thinking about the field research season this spring,<br />
when the search for new knowledge and understanding about our<br />
natural world revs up again. Sure, research continues throughout the<br />
winter, but there’s nothing like the prospect of the coming field season<br />
to generate a flurry of hypotheses and planning, and make the natural<br />
scientist look forward to the arrival of spring. This is true not only in<br />
my research, but also across the staff of the <strong>Museum</strong>. It is the quest<br />
for new knowledge through collections-based research that sets the<br />
<strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> apart from most museums around the world.<br />
Research museums have dual missions: discover new knowledge<br />
through collections-based research and disseminate that knowledge<br />
through publications, exhibitions, and public programming. Fewer than<br />
2 percent of museums worldwide are considered research museums,<br />
and unfortunately, their numbers continue to dwindle.<br />
Research museums are often the only research institutions capable<br />
of investigating the biodiversity and natural resource issues related to<br />
creating a sustainable environment. However, the expenses of providing<br />
proper stewardship for their vital collections can place insurmountable<br />
fiscal hardships on many museums. The unfortunate solution for too<br />
many institutions has been the elimination of research programs and<br />
the closure of their collections, followed by the “reinvention” of the<br />
institutions as science centers.<br />
We are working with institutions across the state to help them<br />
provide good stewardship for their collections as we work to ensure that<br />
our own collections—the treasures of <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong>—are preserved<br />
and accessible for all <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>ers. We continue to transform our<br />
galleries to make our collections accessible and to share our discoveries<br />
with our visitors. Your membership and continued support for the<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> helps us build upon the legacy of excellence that has defined<br />
the <strong>Museum</strong> for many years and provide proper stewardship for the<br />
natural and man-made treasures of <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>.<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 />
Ronald J. Burch<br />
Scott Cardinal<br />
Leah Elizabeth Ennis<br />
Cecile Kowalski<br />
Marian Lupulescu<br />
John L. Scherer<br />
Charles Sheviak<br />
Dianne Siegfried<br />
Geoffrey N. Stein<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> <strong>York</strong> in Bloom …<br />
for the 15th Year<br />
This year’s <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in<br />
Bloom—February 24–26—<br />
features two illustrated<br />
lectures by Dr. Steve Chamberlain,<br />
the scientific editor of The<br />
Hosta Journal published by the<br />
American Hosta Society. By day,<br />
Dr. Chamberlain is a professor of<br />
biomedical engineering and<br />
neuroscience at Syracuse University,<br />
but hostas are his passion—he<br />
breeds, names, introduces, and<br />
registers the perennial plant.<br />
Chamberlain’s talks include<br />
“Hosta Obsession” on Saturday<br />
and “Hostas: Foliage and<br />
Flowers” on Sunday at 11:30 a.m<br />
on each each day. Previously,<br />
Chamberlain was a featured<br />
speaker at the Gem, Mineral<br />
and Fossil Show and Sale, held<br />
annually in conjunction with <strong>New</strong><br />
<strong>York</strong> in Bloom. He is an<br />
avid collector of minerals<br />
found in <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
<strong>State</strong>, some of<br />
Floral<br />
arrangement<br />
by William Burdett<br />
which are on loan to the <strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
In a separate talk, <strong>Museum</strong><br />
scientist Dr. Charles Sheviak will<br />
provide an overview of orchids<br />
native to North America and<br />
show images of the plants and<br />
their habitats.<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in Bloom is the<br />
<strong>Museum</strong>’s annual fund-raiser for<br />
its two after-school programs,<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> Club and Discovery<br />
Squad. More than 100 floral<br />
arrangements, designed to complement<br />
the <strong>Museum</strong>’s exhibits,<br />
will be on display throughout the<br />
galleries. The hours for the event<br />
are Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.;<br />
Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.;<br />
and Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.<br />
For that weekend only,<br />
admission to the <strong>Museum</strong> is $5.<br />
The admission fee includes entry<br />
to <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in Bloom and the<br />
Gem, Mineral and Fossil<br />
Show and Sale.<br />
Gem,<br />
Mineral and<br />
Fossil Show<br />
Returns<br />
Thousands of gems, minerals,<br />
fossils, and jewelry will be<br />
on display for browsing and<br />
buying during the 13th Annual<br />
James Campbell Memorial Gem,<br />
Mineral and Fossil Show and Sale<br />
on February 25–26 at the <strong>State</strong><br />
<strong>Museum</strong>. The only gem and<br />
mineral show in the Capital Region,<br />
the event draws thousands of<br />
visitors each year and has become<br />
one of the largest gem and<br />
mineral shows in the Northeast.<br />
The Gem, Mineral and Fossil<br />
Show and Sale helps to fund<br />
new acquisitions for the <strong>Museum</strong>’s<br />
gem and mineral collections.<br />
It’s held in conjunction with the<br />
annual <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in Bloom<br />
fund-raiser for the <strong>Museum</strong>’s<br />
after-school programs. For that<br />
weekend only, admission to the<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> is $5. The admission fee<br />
includes entry to both events.<br />
During the show, <strong>Museum</strong><br />
staff will give guided tours of the<br />
mineral and fossil exhibits and<br />
identify visitors’ own minerals and<br />
fossils. Lectures are planned for<br />
At left: Fluorite from Penfield,<br />
10 cm x 12 cm x 22 cm. Photo by<br />
George and Barbara Gearhardt.<br />
Below: Fluorite from Star Lake,<br />
4 cm x 7 cm x 9 cm. Photo by<br />
Erik Rutnik, <strong>NYSM</strong>.<br />
Spring 2006 ■ 3
museum<br />
news<br />
both Saturday and Sunday afternoons.<br />
Dr. Marian Lupulescu, the<br />
<strong>Museum</strong>’s curator of geology,<br />
will discuss “What’s <strong>New</strong> in<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> Mineralogy” on<br />
Saturday at 1 p.m. Dr. Ed Landing,<br />
the state paleontologist, will speak<br />
on “Earth’s Oldest Trees and a<br />
360 Million-Year-Old Logjam in<br />
the Catskills” on Sunday at 1 p.m.<br />
The event highlights the<br />
<strong>Museum</strong>’s active mineral program,<br />
and recent acquisitions will be<br />
exhibited in the mineral gallery<br />
and at the show. “Since we’re<br />
constantly expanding and<br />
upgrading the gallery, there’s<br />
something new to see each year,”<br />
says Michael Hawkins, geology<br />
collections manager.<br />
The <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong>, the Capital<br />
District Mineral Club, and the<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> Academy of<br />
Mineralogy sponsor the event.<br />
On the<br />
Bookshelf<br />
One of the largest volumes<br />
ever published by the<br />
<strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> rolled off<br />
the press this winter. Bulletin #505,<br />
James Eights, 1798–1882, Antarctic<br />
Explorer, Albany Naturalist, His Life,<br />
His Times, His Work, presents<br />
a synopsis of the life and times<br />
of a little-known but respected<br />
19th century scientist from Albany.<br />
Contributing to various fields<br />
of natural history, James Eights<br />
explored extensively in <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
and participated in forays ranging<br />
from Antarctica to Chile, Panama,<br />
Mexico, and possibly the American<br />
Southwest. He donated many<br />
of the biological and geological<br />
specimens he collected to the<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
By gathering information from<br />
many sources, author Daniel<br />
McKinley brings to life Eights’<br />
professional career. The 456-page<br />
volume emphasizes the theory<br />
that Eights’ contributions to science<br />
have been underestimated and<br />
misunderstood. It is an enlightening<br />
book sure to capture the<br />
interest of both the professional<br />
scientist and the general public.<br />
Other recent publications<br />
include:<br />
■ Map and Chart 45, Stratigraphy<br />
of the Devonian and Upper<br />
Silurian in the Vicinity of the<br />
Retsof, Sterling, and Hampton<br />
Corners Mines in Livingston<br />
County, <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>.<br />
■ A color, page-sized map of the<br />
surficial deposits in <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>.<br />
This map complements the<br />
8 1 /2" x 11"x 2" generalized<br />
bedrock map, and is available<br />
free-of-charge.<br />
■ Bulletin #502, Natural History<br />
of the Albany Pine Bush, by<br />
Jeffrey K. Barnes, with an<br />
accompanying trail map.<br />
For more information about<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> publications, visit<br />
www.nysm.nysed.gov/publications<br />
or call 518-502-5344.<br />
F.D.N.Y.<br />
Ambulance<br />
on Exhibit<br />
A1997 Ford-Horton ambulance<br />
at the World Trade<br />
Center on September 11,<br />
2001, has been acquired by the<br />
<strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> as a gift of the<br />
Fire Department of <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>.<br />
Representing the increasing role<br />
fire departments play in emergency<br />
medical services, the vehicle is<br />
displayed in the <strong>Museum</strong>’s fire<br />
apparatus exhibit.<br />
Featured in the recent Help Is<br />
Here exhibit, the F.D.N.Y. rig until<br />
October 2004 was part of the<br />
largest fleet of ambulances operated<br />
by any municipality in the<br />
United <strong>State</strong>s. Although showing<br />
the scars of 125,000 miles of use—<br />
mostly in Queens as Ambulance<br />
485 of EMS Battalion 49—the<br />
ambulance remains operational<br />
and was driven to Albany from<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> for the Help Is Here<br />
opening in November 2004.<br />
On September 11, 2001,<br />
paramedics Carlos Lillo and<br />
Roberto D. Abril, the crew for<br />
Ambulance 485, responded to<br />
4 ■ Legacy
Above, top: Fire Department of <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
Ambulance 485, a 1997 Ford-Horton<br />
Above: Delhi Volunteer Fire Department<br />
ambulance, a 1987 Ford-Medical Coaches<br />
the World Trade Center catastrophe.<br />
Driver Abril, ferrying victims<br />
of the initial airplane crashes and<br />
fires, survived the collapse of the<br />
towers. Lillo, who was treating<br />
patients on the scene, did not.<br />
He was one of six EMS providers<br />
who died in service at the Trade<br />
Center that day.<br />
The F.D.N.Y. ambulance is one<br />
of two vehicles borrowed for the<br />
Help Is Here exhibit that are now<br />
part of the <strong>Museum</strong>’s permanent<br />
collection. In 2005, the <strong>Museum</strong><br />
also acquired a 1987 Ford-Medical<br />
Coaches Type III modular ambulance<br />
used by the Delhi village<br />
fire department until 2004. The<br />
product of the then only major<br />
manufacturer of ambulances in<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>, the rig combines a Ford<br />
chassis with a Medical Coaches<br />
<strong>NYSM</strong><br />
body. Medical Coaches, based in<br />
Oneonta, continues to build<br />
other types of mobile medical<br />
equipment and generously<br />
underwrote half the acquisition<br />
cost of the ambulance.<br />
– Geoffrey N. Stein, Senior<br />
Historian<br />
A Look Back<br />
Theodore Roosevelt Speaks<br />
at Opening of <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong><br />
Because of his avid interest<br />
in natural history, Theodore<br />
Roosevelt was asked to<br />
speak at the event celebrating<br />
the opening of the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
<strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong>. In his comments<br />
on December 29, 1916, Roosevelt<br />
indicated that the <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong><br />
should be a museum of arts and<br />
letters as well as a museum of<br />
natural history.<br />
“Here should be in this<br />
museum, for the instruction and<br />
inspiration of our people, a<br />
full representation of American<br />
History since the time when <strong>New</strong><br />
<strong>York</strong> cast off its provincial<br />
character and became an integral<br />
portion of the American republic.<br />
Finally there should be here all<br />
the representation possible of the<br />
great arts and great literatures of<br />
the nations of the past, and the<br />
nations of the present; so that,<br />
enriched by the knowledge of<br />
what has been done elsewhere,<br />
in time and in space, our own<br />
people shall be better equipped<br />
to work in the fields of original<br />
productive scholarship. All this<br />
lies in the future,” Roosevelt said<br />
in his remarks.<br />
– Leah Elizabeth Ennis, Intern<br />
Must Sees<br />
Ann Zane Shanks:<br />
Behind the Lens<br />
Through February 26<br />
Bank of America<br />
Great Art Series<br />
The World in Brooklyn:<br />
Selections from the<br />
Brooklyn <strong>Museum</strong><br />
Through March 6<br />
Miracles: <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>’s<br />
Greatest Sports Moments<br />
Through March 26<br />
Driven to Abstraction:<br />
Contemporary Work by<br />
American Artists<br />
Through March 26<br />
Right, top: Tadasky (Kuwayama),<br />
Untitled B #125, 1964. Oil on canvas,<br />
32 1 /2 x 32 1 /2 inches, Collection<br />
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo,<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
Right, middle: Grouse, Karen<br />
Allaben-Confer (N.Y.), graphite and<br />
color pencil on paper<br />
Right, bottom: Stingray, Juan Cristobal<br />
Calle (Colombia), computer/pen and ink<br />
See The <strong>Museum</strong> Calendar<br />
for details.<br />
Upcoming<br />
Exhibitions<br />
Bank of America<br />
Great Art Series<br />
Op Art Revisited:<br />
Selections from the<br />
Albright-Knox Art Gallery<br />
April 8–August 13<br />
COM.EN.ART<br />
April 20–August 30<br />
Focus on Nature IX<br />
April 20–September 10<br />
Spring 2006 ■ 5
museum<br />
news<br />
GLENN JOHNSON<br />
Northeast<br />
Natural<br />
History<br />
Conference<br />
Emydoidea blandingii,<br />
Blanding’s turtle<br />
The <strong>Museum</strong> Series Lectures<br />
on Biology and Conservation<br />
Atalk on a rare species of<br />
turtle kicks off a series<br />
of free noontime lectures<br />
on Wednesdays this April.<br />
Sponsored by the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong><br />
Biodiversity Research Institute,<br />
the lecture series highlights<br />
research and conservation efforts<br />
to preserve the biodiversity of<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong>. All lectures take<br />
place in the <strong>Museum</strong> Theater.<br />
The series includes:<br />
■ A talk on April 5 by Dr. Glenn<br />
Johnson, associate professor of<br />
biology at SUNY Potsdam, on<br />
the status and ecology of a<br />
newly discovered population of<br />
Blanding’s turtle, a <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
<strong>State</strong> Threatened Species.<br />
■ A lecture on April 12 by<br />
Stephanie Gifford, director of<br />
ecological management for the<br />
Eastern Chapter of The Nature<br />
Conservancy, on the role of fire<br />
in the ecology of the Albany Pine<br />
Bush, Long Island Pine Barrens,<br />
and northern Shawangunks.<br />
■ A presentation on April 19<br />
by Dr. Roland Kays of the<br />
<strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> and Dr. George<br />
Robinson of the University at<br />
Albany on the ecological background<br />
of Lyme Disease in the<br />
Albany Pine Bush.<br />
■ A discussion on April 26 by<br />
Dr. Antonio (Toni) DiTommaso,<br />
associate professor of weed<br />
science at Cornell University, of<br />
how the perennial, non-native<br />
pale and black swallow-wort<br />
(Vincetoxicum spp.) threaten<br />
the diversity and stability of<br />
several natural ecosystems in<br />
the state.<br />
More than 300 people are<br />
expected to attend the<br />
Northeast Natural History<br />
Conference at the Empire <strong>State</strong><br />
Plaza Convention Center on April<br />
20–21. During the conference,<br />
researchers will present current<br />
information on various aspects of<br />
the natural history of northeastern<br />
United <strong>State</strong>s and Canada. The<br />
conference, organized by the <strong>New</strong><br />
<strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> Biodiversity Research<br />
Institute and the <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong>,<br />
is geared to scientists, students,<br />
and those who work for organizations<br />
involved with natural<br />
history research and conservation.<br />
For more information, visit<br />
www.nysm.nysed.gov/nhc/.<br />
Lectures on<br />
Earth’s History<br />
Aseries of mini-lectures on<br />
the 4.6 billion-year-old<br />
history of the Earth and<br />
life begins May 4. The free series<br />
continues on Thursdays at 7 p.m.<br />
through May 25. Each night<br />
features three 20-minute lectures.<br />
The first three weeks address Earth<br />
and life through deep time, including<br />
the origins of the Earth and<br />
moon, climate change through<br />
time, and mass extinctions. Lectures<br />
on May 25 explore <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>’s deep<br />
geological and life history. See<br />
The <strong>Museum</strong> Calendar for details.<br />
<strong>NYSM</strong><br />
6 ■ Legacy
discovery now<br />
At Home on the Delaware & Hudson Canal<br />
Excavations at a site in<br />
Deerpark, N.Y., have so far<br />
produced 3,711 artifacts, part<br />
of a house foundation, a stonelined<br />
well, and partial foundations<br />
of at least one outbuilding. These<br />
artifacts and features correspond<br />
to a dwelling marked on an<br />
1859 map as belonging to “D&G<br />
Rhoades” and have begun to tell<br />
about life on the property.<br />
Historical research indicates that<br />
Darius and George Rhodes had<br />
purchased the property in 1852<br />
(the name was misspelled on the<br />
map). From the 1860 federal<br />
census, it was found that Darius<br />
was a carpenter and that his older<br />
brother George was a foreman<br />
on the Delaware & Hudson<br />
Canal. The brothers (with their<br />
wives and children) shared the<br />
home until 1866 when Darius<br />
and his family moved to nearby<br />
Port Jervis. By 1870, George had<br />
been promoted to a supervisor of<br />
the canal. No further record of<br />
George and his family could be<br />
located. Darius appears in the<br />
historical records once more in<br />
the 1900 federal census, still<br />
living in Port Jervis with his wife<br />
Harriet. George sold the house<br />
in 1876 and it no longer appears<br />
on maps by 1905, suggesting<br />
that it been abandoned before<br />
then and returned to use as an<br />
agricultural field.<br />
The artifacts suggest aspects<br />
of the daily lives of the family as<br />
well as show increased affluence<br />
as the brothers’ financial status<br />
improved. Most of the items<br />
are typically found in a mid-19th<br />
century household. These can be<br />
used to address research questions<br />
of general life in 19th century<br />
households and the effects of the<br />
Delaware & Hudson Canal on the<br />
local economy and community.<br />
– Scott Cardinal, Principal<br />
Investigator, Cultural Resource<br />
Survey Program<br />
Know Thine Own Flora<br />
CRSP<br />
CRSP<br />
Smoking pipe bowl fragment<br />
recovered from the Rhoades site<br />
Eastern wall of the house<br />
foundation<br />
Platanthera huronensis<br />
Many people are surprised<br />
to learn that orchids<br />
grow wild in <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>,<br />
and even botanists are sometimes<br />
surprised at the secrets still to be<br />
learned about these plants.<br />
Orchids of the genus Platanthera<br />
are found throughout the Great<br />
Lakes region and eastward. One<br />
familiar orchid, P. hyperborea,<br />
occurs throughout Upstate <strong>New</strong><br />
<strong>York</strong>. Fieldwork by <strong>Museum</strong><br />
botanists, however, disclosed a<br />
second, equally frequent plant that<br />
was going under the same name.<br />
Similar in appearance, the two<br />
plants are but parts of a bewildering<br />
complex that has puzzled<br />
systematists for 150 years. Part of<br />
the problem has been the vast<br />
transcontinental range of the group:<br />
The Northeast is at its southeastern<br />
limit, and the group is especially<br />
diverse in the western mountains<br />
and North. To fully understand<br />
these plants, field study was<br />
needed throughout their range.<br />
Field and laboratory study<br />
showed the two plants to be<br />
distinct species, the second being<br />
Platanthera huronensis, a name<br />
proposed in 1818 but never really<br />
understood until now. A paper<br />
delineating the second species<br />
was near publication when an<br />
inconsistency in a single detail led<br />
to an unexpected discovery: the<br />
plant known as P. hyperborea<br />
was actually new to science.<br />
This story illustrates an important<br />
point. Although much conservation<br />
and media attention focuses<br />
on tropical biodiversity, we have<br />
much to discover about what’s<br />
growing in <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>!<br />
– Dr. Charles Sheviak, Curator of<br />
Vascular Plants<br />
Spring 2006 ■ 7
hidden treasures<br />
This picture shows the mineral composition<br />
of a gabbro (a rock formed<br />
deep in the Earth). The plagioclase is<br />
twinned—a combination of mineral<br />
grains of the same composition with<br />
different optical orientation (lighter<br />
lamellae alternating with darker ones).<br />
The colored minerals are pyroxene<br />
grains. Daters Mine, Hudson Highlands,<br />
Orange Co.<br />
BY DR. MARIAN LUPULESCU<br />
Minerals<br />
<strong>New</strong> minerals replace the early formed ones with the help of the fluids (e.g., “fingers”<br />
of pyroxene in rainbow-colored scapolite). The green mineral from the right lower corner<br />
is also pyroxene. Hogencamp Mine, Hudson Highlands, Orange Co.<br />
The minerals react with different components from the atmosphere<br />
a long time on a mine dump, the barren material excavated with th<br />
(yellow relics) is almost completely replaced by marcasite, an iron b<br />
This type of “wormy” appearance<br />
called myrmekite appears between<br />
quartz (light gray “worms”) and<br />
plagioclase (dark), and probably<br />
formed as a result of an exchange<br />
reaction in solid state. Spanish Mine,<br />
Hudson Highlands, Orange Co.<br />
It is sometimes difficult to<br />
identify minerals from<br />
in-hand specimens, especially<br />
when they are in rocks and<br />
ores or when they are very<br />
fine-grained. To look deeper<br />
into the minerals and see their<br />
hidden secrets, mineralogists<br />
use the polarizing microscope<br />
or the electron microscope to<br />
study minerals that are within<br />
thin (30 microns thickness) and<br />
polished sections.<br />
When ordinary light, consisting<br />
of waves vibrating in all<br />
directions, is passed through<br />
a polarizing microscope, it<br />
becomes plane-polarized light<br />
(and all the time vibrates in<br />
a single plane). The planepolarized<br />
light is transmitted<br />
into the minerals or is reflected<br />
from their surface and generates<br />
a variety of optical properties<br />
called relief, birefringence,<br />
extinction, dispersion, optical<br />
angle, or interference colors.<br />
These properties are used to<br />
identify and distinguish between<br />
different mineral species and<br />
varieties.<br />
Mineral grains that are<br />
extremely small are studied<br />
8 ■ Legacy
Left: Large, red-brown crystals of a titanium-bearing amphibole (kaersutite) float in a<br />
groundmass of smaller amphiboles and plagioclase. The crystal displays zones of<br />
different colors reflecting the changes in the composition of the melt that generated<br />
the amphibole. O’Neil Mine, Hudson Highlands, Orange Co.<br />
Right: The metallic minerals in polished sections reflect the light. The color and tint of<br />
the mineral is created from wavelengths of light, some that are more strongly reflected<br />
than the others. The pyrrhotite (darker yellow) hosts chalcopyrite (yellow) and pyrite<br />
(white-yellow). Hogencamp Mine, Hudson Highlands, Orange Co.<br />
Under the Microscope<br />
and their composition and structure slightly changes if they stay<br />
e ore and left outside the mine. Pyrrhotite, a low iron sulfide<br />
i-sulfide (yellow with a green tint).<br />
Large olivine crystal in a camptonite rock. The groundmass contains amphibole (reddish-brown), pyroxene (vivid colors) and plagioclase<br />
(white). Camptonite is a rock formed deep in the Earth. O’Neil Mine, Hudson Highlands, Orange Co.<br />
IMAGES: MARIAN LUPULESCU, <strong>NYSM</strong><br />
using electron microscopy. In<br />
this approach, a broad beam of<br />
incident radiation (electrons)<br />
strikes the specimen in the<br />
thin and polished sample. An<br />
instrument called a spectrometer<br />
captures the secondary<br />
radiation emitted by the<br />
mineral, analyzes it and gives<br />
information on the composition<br />
of a few cubic micrometers<br />
of material. The worldwide<br />
development of spectrometry<br />
combined with electron<br />
microscopy allowed for the<br />
discovery of new species in the<br />
chemically complex group of<br />
rare minerals.<br />
The <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong><br />
has a large collection of thin<br />
and polished sections from rocks,<br />
ores and minerals that were<br />
found across the state. These<br />
are used for fundamental<br />
research projects by <strong>Museum</strong><br />
staff and outside researchers.<br />
Shown on these pages are<br />
microphotographs of some<br />
mineral specimens from the<br />
<strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong>’s collection<br />
that were taken by looking<br />
through the polarizing<br />
microscope. ■<br />
Dr. Marian Lupulescu is the<br />
curator of geology at the<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
Spring 2006 ■ 9
BY JOHN L. SCHERER<br />
All in the Family<br />
What inspires a family to collect and<br />
preserve things through the generations?<br />
made falls into this category.<br />
Or perhaps items were saved<br />
because they belonged to a<br />
distinguished ancestor who served<br />
in government or the military.<br />
The <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> has a family<br />
collection that was donated by the<br />
daughter of Rear Admiral William<br />
Potter who commanded the<br />
“Great White Fleet” that traveled<br />
the world in 1907 and 1908 to<br />
display U.S. might and power.<br />
The donor spent most of her<br />
later life attaching labels to family<br />
items to indicate where they were<br />
acquired and who owned them.<br />
Above: Tobias Ten Eyck<br />
family bible, 1730;<br />
Tompkins barn, Stephen Jr.<br />
at right with sons, William<br />
and Vanderzee, c. 1892<br />
John L. Scherer is in his<br />
39th year as curator<br />
of decorative arts at the<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
The reasons that families save<br />
their belongings are as varied<br />
as the families themselves.<br />
Relatives commemorate major<br />
events in the lives of family<br />
members by preserving objects<br />
associated with that event. My<br />
great-great grandfather, Francis<br />
Betts, was proud that he fought<br />
in the Civil War, and the family<br />
has preserved his discharge papers,<br />
pistol, and a photo of him in his<br />
uniform. My wife’s mother’s family<br />
came from Denmark in the early<br />
20th century. The trip across<br />
the ocean in steerage to a new<br />
country was certainly a major event<br />
to be remembered and related<br />
over and over to children and<br />
grandchildren. Her family has<br />
saved the printed flyer from the<br />
ship as well as a dinner menu.<br />
Often families will preserve<br />
handmade artifacts that can be<br />
displayed. An object actually<br />
created by a family member has<br />
additional intrinsic value. A quilt or<br />
tablecloth that great-grandmother<br />
Connecting Generations<br />
Together<br />
The most important motive for<br />
families to preserve their history<br />
is linkage—to remind us we are<br />
forever and unbreakably joined.<br />
We belong to each other. We are<br />
one. It is for this reason that we<br />
revere owning something that was<br />
made or used by our ancestors.<br />
Status is another important<br />
motive expressed in family collections.<br />
Families tend to save those<br />
items that represent status and<br />
emphasize the importance of the<br />
family. For example, many wealthy<br />
<strong>New</strong> England families have<br />
preserved beautiful silver and<br />
hand-crafted furniture from the<br />
18th and early 19th centuries.<br />
10 ■ Legacy
Secretary that belonged to Andries Ten<br />
Eyck, Albany County, c. 1780<br />
IMAGES: TED BEBLOWSKI, <strong>NYSM</strong><br />
Objects associated with<br />
recording a family’s history are<br />
treasured. Family bibles, framed<br />
marriage certificates, portraits,<br />
and photographs are all saved to<br />
document a family’s history.<br />
In addition, families tend to save<br />
objects associated with remembrance<br />
and commemoration.<br />
Jewelry owned by one’s grandparents<br />
commemorates their life.<br />
In the 19th century there was<br />
also mourning jewelry that was<br />
distributed to family. It often<br />
contained the hair of the deceased.<br />
Sometimes framed wreathes were<br />
made from the deceased’s hair.<br />
Coffin plates were also saved, as<br />
were hand-painted and needlework<br />
memorials to family members<br />
who had died.<br />
Of course, there are also family<br />
heirlooms that pass down through<br />
several generations of a family. It<br />
could be the family clock or some<br />
prized piece of furniture or silver.<br />
My great-great grandfather, George<br />
Scherer, arrived in the United<br />
<strong>State</strong>s from Germany in 1854,<br />
and for his 64th birthday in 1894<br />
his family gave him an engraved<br />
gold-headed walking stick. The<br />
walking stick had descended to<br />
the eldest son for several generations.<br />
I was so pleased when my<br />
grandmother presented it to me<br />
as the eldest grandson.<br />
Revisiting the Family Tree<br />
In this country, interest in family<br />
history was promoted in the<br />
early 19th century by renewed<br />
interest in the Pilgrims who arrived<br />
on the Mayflower in 1620. Exhibits<br />
in Plymouth, Massachusetts,<br />
displayed chairs, cradles, and relics<br />
that were once owned by the<br />
Pilgrims, but were now owned by<br />
their descendants. The rock that<br />
the Pilgrims first set foot on was<br />
memorialized, and it became not<br />
only desirable, but also fashionable<br />
to claim Mayflower descent. A<br />
romanticized view of our nation’s<br />
first settlers inspired others to search<br />
out their family history and discover<br />
family heirlooms of their own.<br />
The Centennial Exposition in<br />
Philadelphia in 1876 created<br />
additional incentive to explore<br />
family history. Descendants of<br />
those who fought in the American<br />
Revolution loaned family pieces<br />
for exhibit, and their ancestors<br />
were commended. Patriotism<br />
fostered family pride, and the<br />
Centennial encouraged an interest<br />
in our country’s history and in<br />
American antiques. Older families<br />
retained the belongings of<br />
great-grandparents to represent<br />
continuity with the past.<br />
Finally, an important boost to<br />
preserving family history came<br />
100 years later during the Bicentennial<br />
in 1976. This time it was<br />
a television adaptation of a novel<br />
by Alex Haley called “Roots.” The<br />
five episodes detailed the family<br />
history of an African-American<br />
family whose immigrant ancestor<br />
arrived as a slave. All of America<br />
now searched for their roots, and<br />
genealogy became and still is a big<br />
time business. Interest in family<br />
encouraged the saving of family<br />
memorabilia and heirlooms.<br />
Eight Generations<br />
of Treasures<br />
The <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong><br />
has recently acquired an<br />
important family collection from<br />
the Tompkins family of Coeyman’s<br />
Hollow, Albany County. The<br />
exhibition Preserving Family<br />
History: The Heritage of an<br />
Albany County Family, now on<br />
view in the Crossroads Gallery<br />
through 2006, features this<br />
collection. The exhibit explores the<br />
material culture and heritage of<br />
the Tompkins family and provides<br />
insight as to why families care<br />
about their history and what they<br />
tend to collect and preserve.<br />
The Tompkins family gathered<br />
a large collection through eight<br />
generations, spanning over<br />
250 years. Beginning with the<br />
possessions of Andries Ten Eyck,<br />
who settled in southern Albany<br />
County in 1749, the collection<br />
grew as it descended through<br />
the Ten Eycks and Vanderzees to<br />
the Tompkins family. It includes<br />
furniture, monogrammed silver,<br />
quilts, coverlets, jewelry, farm<br />
equipment, framed marriage<br />
certificates, family bibles, account<br />
books, ledgers, and hundreds<br />
of family photographs, all docu-<br />
Jane Vanderzee<br />
Tompkins and her<br />
son Stephen Jr.,<br />
c. 1861<br />
Silver spoon,<br />
c. 1790, and<br />
fork, c. 1860,<br />
monogrammed<br />
for Jane and<br />
Maria Ten Eyck<br />
Tompkins family quilt, c. 1865, and<br />
coverlet, c. 1830<br />
Spring 2006 ■ 11
Left: Decorative marriage certificate for Stephen Tompkins and Elizabeth Cole, 1879<br />
Middle: Homespun linen sheets initialed for Jane Vanderzee, c. 1860, and Maria Ten Eyck, c. 1820<br />
Bottom: Hudson Valley chair stamped ATE for Andries Ten Eyck, c. 1750<br />
menting the life of this family.<br />
Most family collections are<br />
formed by several generations<br />
living in the same homestead. It<br />
is easy to gather a collection in<br />
this manner as the family possessions<br />
are inherited along with the<br />
house. As the Tompkins family<br />
married into other nearby families,<br />
the collection grew. It remained in<br />
the family homestead in Coeymans<br />
Hollow for several generations<br />
until John Tompkins (1919–1977)<br />
inherited the farm in 1966.<br />
John was fascinated with<br />
his family history and treasured<br />
and cared for the large family<br />
collection. While his brother<br />
Stephen (1914–1998) went off<br />
to college and became a vice<br />
president for Chrysler Motor<br />
Corporation in Detroit, John<br />
ran the family farm. He<br />
pursued the family genealogy<br />
and acquired other family<br />
heirlooms from aunts and<br />
distant cousins. When he died<br />
in 1977, the farm was sold to<br />
the Sycamore Country Club.<br />
The farm house was demolished,<br />
but the huge barn is now the<br />
club house.<br />
Brother Stephen became the<br />
next family curator and the<br />
collection went to the suburbs of<br />
Detroit, Michigan, and eventually<br />
to Paradise Valley, Arizona. The<br />
first donation to the <strong>Museum</strong><br />
from Stephen and Georgann<br />
Byrd-Tompkins arrived in 1990,<br />
with the bulk of the collection<br />
donated by Georgann shortly<br />
after Stephen’s death in 1998.<br />
Stephen’s daughter Polly Tompkins<br />
of Rochester Hills, Michigan, added<br />
other items in 2002 and 2004.<br />
Like those who are proud of<br />
their Mayflower ancestry, the<br />
Tompkins family was very proud<br />
of their early <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> Dutch<br />
ancestry. They preserved this in<br />
the naming of their children. Ten<br />
Eyck was used as a middle name<br />
for several generations, and John<br />
and Stephen’s father was named<br />
Vanderzee Tompkins. The centerpiece<br />
of the family collection is<br />
the original early <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> Dutch<br />
furniture used to furnish the 1749<br />
home of ancestor Andries Ten<br />
Eyck (1718–1802). This furniture<br />
passed through eight generations<br />
before arriving at the <strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
Safeguarding Family<br />
Collections<br />
As the Tompkins family experience<br />
shows, there needs to<br />
be an interested family member<br />
in each generation—or at least<br />
every other generation—to continue<br />
the preservation of the<br />
family possessions. It is a major<br />
responsibility, and although some<br />
relish the privilege of living with<br />
history, others may find it a burden.<br />
If family heirlooms have a<br />
high monetary value, they are<br />
sometimes sold at auction to the<br />
highest bidder and both provenance<br />
and history are lost.<br />
Other objects once held dear<br />
may not survive the challenges of<br />
time. Treasured by earlier generations,<br />
family photographs may be<br />
disposed of by their descendants<br />
who see only unidentifiable<br />
strangers. This is especially true if<br />
no family member took the time<br />
to identify the people in the<br />
photographs. It is common to see<br />
family photographs sold in some<br />
antique shops to become someone<br />
else’s instant ancestors.<br />
Oftentimes, however, museums<br />
come to the rescue and continue<br />
to preserve the history along with<br />
the artifacts. Family collections are<br />
important to museums because<br />
they have context. If the history<br />
of a family is known, it is easier<br />
to understand how their material<br />
goods were used and what they<br />
meant to the family. It is just<br />
such collections that can be used<br />
to gauge isolated artifacts that<br />
appear on the market with little<br />
or no history associated with them.<br />
The <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong><br />
has numerous family collections<br />
covering different areas of <strong>New</strong><br />
<strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> and spanning several<br />
time periods. These collections,<br />
once treasured by family members,<br />
were eventually donated to the<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> because the family suddenly<br />
ran out of heirs or because<br />
recent generations did not have<br />
the interest or space to continue<br />
caring for these antiques.<br />
When families preserve their<br />
past and traditions along with<br />
their treasured possessions, it<br />
allows earlier generations to speak<br />
to the present. This intimacy<br />
with the past provides a personal<br />
insight into the lives of early <strong>New</strong><br />
<strong>York</strong>ers, enabling museums to<br />
interpret the families whose lives<br />
define our history. ■<br />
IMAGES: TED BEBLOWSKI, <strong>NYSM</strong><br />
12 ■ Legacy
<strong>NYSM</strong> … in person<br />
Educator Cecile Kowalski<br />
draws connections<br />
between <strong>Museum</strong> exhibits<br />
and life experiences<br />
Q. What do you enjoy about<br />
being an educator at the <strong>State</strong><br />
<strong>Museum</strong>?<br />
A. With each new group I teach,<br />
I have the opportunity to help<br />
people see things in a new way<br />
and make connections that<br />
they hadn’t thought of before.<br />
Visitors come to us with different<br />
backgrounds and experiences,<br />
and I have the opportunity to<br />
help them take their experience<br />
one step further.<br />
Q. Describe your typical day<br />
at the <strong>Museum</strong> during the<br />
school year.<br />
A. The most “typical” day<br />
would involve teaching three 4th<br />
grade classes for “People of the<br />
Longhouse” programs. But on<br />
any given day, I could also teach<br />
three age groups—pre-K through<br />
adult—and as many different<br />
programs. At the same time,<br />
there could be many other groups<br />
that are having programs with<br />
other educators or viewing the<br />
exhibits on their own.<br />
In addition to “People of the<br />
Longhouse,” the current regularly<br />
scheduled school programs<br />
include: “A ... B ... What Do You<br />
See?,” “Birds and Mammals,”<br />
“Cradleboards and Cornhusk<br />
Dolls,” “Ellis Island Experience,”<br />
“Fur and Feathers,” “Geology—<br />
Gastropods to Garnets,” “Street<br />
Scenes: NYC in 1895,” “Seashore<br />
and Salt Marsh,” “Adirondack<br />
Peaks,” “Metro Intro,” and “Native<br />
People of <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>.”<br />
During the fall and winter,<br />
we teach a lot of “People of the<br />
Longhouse” programs. Some days<br />
all the students will be about<br />
the same grade level (usually 4th<br />
grade). Recently, I had a pre-school<br />
group followed by a combined<br />
2nd/3rd grade group with adult<br />
chaperones who were also<br />
asking questions and interacting<br />
along with the kids. This was<br />
followed by an 8th grade group.<br />
The same materials were covered,<br />
but at very different levels of<br />
sophistication.<br />
Q. How do you make<br />
history and science come alive<br />
for visitors?<br />
A. I like to teach programs that<br />
I can connect or relate to. I like<br />
to use the exhibit that has the<br />
figure based on my likeness in it<br />
[Hester Street in the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
Metropolis section]. I use this<br />
exhibit to talk about how the<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> creates figures that are<br />
as “real” looking as possible.<br />
This usually generates questions<br />
about where the clothing and<br />
other objects in the exhibit come<br />
from and whether they are “real.”<br />
It’s a hook to get the students<br />
thinking more in-depth about<br />
the exhibit.<br />
I also like to use the subway<br />
LEAH ELIZABETH ENNIS<br />
token my sister gave me or the<br />
cradleboard that has my son’s<br />
teddy bear in it. Anything that<br />
makes it personal to me helps me<br />
make it personal to the visitor.<br />
Q. What exhibit or program<br />
do you find particularly<br />
intriguing?<br />
A. That would change from week<br />
to week because it will always<br />
be the exhibit or program that<br />
has most recently touched me<br />
personally.<br />
Q. Why is education an<br />
important part of the <strong>State</strong><br />
<strong>Museum</strong>?<br />
A. As a kid my parents took<br />
me to museums all the time, so<br />
I am very comfortable going to<br />
museums. Not everyone has that<br />
same comfort level. It’s up to us<br />
to help visitors take their knowledge<br />
and experience and use<br />
it in new and different ways so<br />
they can relate to the exhibit.<br />
It’s not all about “What is it?”<br />
or what facts they know about<br />
something. A museum is not a<br />
book—it’s an experience. ■<br />
Cecile Kowalski, an educator<br />
at the <strong>Museum</strong> since 1974,<br />
helps make visiting the <strong>Museum</strong><br />
a personal experience.<br />
Spring 2006 ■ 13
<strong>New</strong><strong>York</strong>ers<br />
in<br />
BY DIANNE SIEGFRIED<br />
THE NEW YORK IN BLOOM FUND-RAISER BRINGS<br />
OUT THE CREATIVE AND ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT<br />
OF ANTHONY MACARELLI AND MICHELE PETERS<br />
Anthony Macarelli and Michele<br />
Peters, co-chairs of the exhibits<br />
committee, participate in a<br />
planning session.<br />
Dianne Siegfried is a<br />
member of the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
in Bloom committee.<br />
More than 15 years ago<br />
Anthony Macarelli, a<br />
successful hair stylist with<br />
his own business, attended a juried<br />
flower and garden show. One of<br />
his customers had entered a floral<br />
arrangement and won first place.<br />
Macarelli says he looked at the<br />
arrangement and thought, “I could<br />
do that.”<br />
And he did. He became known<br />
in garden club and professional<br />
floral designing circles as an amateur<br />
with a lot of talent. Through<br />
his new friends and associates he<br />
learned of the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong><br />
<strong>Museum</strong>’s <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in Bloom<br />
fund-raiser, which supports the<br />
<strong>Museum</strong>’s after-school programs<br />
for local children and teens. One<br />
weekend every February, visitors<br />
are greeted by the extraordinary<br />
eye-catching colors and wafting<br />
exotic fragrances of spectacular<br />
floral arrangements that interpret<br />
the <strong>Museum</strong>’s permanent and<br />
temporary exhibits. <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in<br />
Bloom, now marking its 15th year,<br />
showcases floral arrangements by<br />
garden club members and amateur<br />
and professional designers from<br />
throughout <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong>.<br />
On February 24–26, more than<br />
100 exhibitors’ arrangements will<br />
be on display in the first floor<br />
galleries of the <strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
Macarelli’s involvement in <strong>New</strong><br />
<strong>York</strong> in Bloom reaches back to<br />
1992, when he was an exhibitor<br />
at the second <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in Bloom<br />
event. In 1997, he joined the<br />
event’s planning committee and<br />
two years later, became co-chair<br />
of the exhibits committee. Macarelli<br />
says he increased his involvement<br />
in <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in Bloom because<br />
he loves participating in the show<br />
and the end result of benefiting<br />
the programs is worth the effort.<br />
“I enjoy the camaraderie of<br />
working with such a diverse group<br />
of people—<strong>Museum</strong> staff, professional<br />
floral designers, garden<br />
club members, the <strong>Museum</strong><br />
Club and Discovery Squad kids—<br />
volunteers from all walks of life all<br />
working together to put on this<br />
extravagant show with a purpose,”<br />
says Macarelli.<br />
He brought Michele Peters, a<br />
professional florist and associate<br />
of his through a local flower and<br />
garden show, to <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in<br />
Bloom in 2001. With her usual<br />
enthusiasm and boundless energy,<br />
Peters jumped in feet first. She<br />
became exhibitor, committee<br />
member and Macarelli’s co-chair.<br />
Peters, with her formal training<br />
through SUNY Cobleskill’s<br />
Environmental Horticulture program<br />
and work at area florists, and<br />
Macarelli, with his self-taught<br />
amateur status, have formed a<br />
dedicated, hardworking team. By<br />
all accounts, they have taken a<br />
successful program and made it<br />
into a great program. Through<br />
their leadership, <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in Bloom<br />
has grown from 35 exhibitors in<br />
a portion of the <strong>Museum</strong> to more<br />
than 109 exhibitors displaying<br />
their work throughout the first<br />
floor galleries. Attendance at the<br />
14 ■ Legacy
Floral arrangements by Michele Peters<br />
IMAGES: DIANNE SIEGFRIED<br />
event has grown, too, with more<br />
than 28,000 people streaming<br />
through the galleries last year.<br />
Peters and Macarelli believe in,<br />
and are committed to, the cause<br />
of fund-raising for the <strong>Museum</strong><br />
Club and Discovery Squad afterschool<br />
programs. They both say<br />
they have loved being on board<br />
to watch the after-school programs<br />
grow as <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in Bloom has<br />
grown. “It is rewarding to know<br />
that we have contributed to a<br />
fund-raising effort that enriches<br />
children’s lives and helps maintain<br />
a safe, fun learning environment<br />
where they can set academic and<br />
social goals … and meet them,”<br />
says Peters.<br />
They are also driven by the<br />
challenges of interpreting the<br />
<strong>Museum</strong>’s exhibits and providing<br />
that opportunity for creative<br />
expression to other floral designers.<br />
Each year, they aim to top the<br />
number of exhibitors.<br />
“I can’t imagine any more<br />
dedicated volunteers,” says Cliff<br />
Siegfried, director of the <strong>State</strong><br />
<strong>Museum</strong>. “They unselfishly give of<br />
their time and work well with the<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> staff and the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
in Bloom committee to put on<br />
this event. They lead with an<br />
example of excellence and set<br />
the standard for everyone else.”<br />
As they wrap up <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in<br />
Bloom 2006, they will start the<br />
yearlong preparation for the<br />
2007 event. Meanwhile, these<br />
self-starters have teamed on<br />
another endeavor. Along with<br />
Michael Harbison, a professional<br />
florist and fellow exhibitor at<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in Bloom, they opened<br />
Ambiance, Florals and Events in<br />
December 2005.<br />
Macarelli says that his experiences<br />
at the <strong>Museum</strong> and the<br />
professional and personal contacts<br />
he has made through <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
in Bloom all influenced his<br />
decision to switch careers and<br />
become a professional floral<br />
designer. For Peters, opening her<br />
own business is the realization of<br />
a lifelong dream that began when,<br />
as a young child, she would sit<br />
at a table with her grandmother<br />
to arrange flowers. “I always<br />
wanted to have my own business,”<br />
says Peters. “I wish my Nana<br />
could see me now. She’d be very<br />
proud of me!”<br />
“Those of us who have worked<br />
“It is rewarding to know that we have contributed to a fund-raising effort that<br />
enriches children’s lives and helps maintain a safe, fun learning environment …”<br />
—Michele Peters<br />
with Anthony and Michele through<br />
the years know what a winning<br />
team they are,” says Siegfried.<br />
“We wish them success and are<br />
grateful that even though their<br />
lives and careers are changing<br />
dramatically, they are committed<br />
to keeping in touch with, and<br />
being involved in, the community<br />
through <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in Bloom.” ■<br />
Editor’s note: The <strong>New</strong><br />
<strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> offers<br />
many interesting and<br />
educational opportunities<br />
for volunteers, interns, and<br />
those interested in community<br />
service placements.<br />
For more information on<br />
how to become involved,<br />
call 518-402-5869.<br />
Spring 2006 ■ 15
new york stories<br />
“Lied an Die Freude” by Miriam Sommerburg, 14 x 18 inches<br />
TED BEBLOWSKI, <strong>NYSM</strong><br />
After the Horror of War, a “Song to Joy”<br />
BY RONALD J. BURCH<br />
Ronald J. Burch is curator<br />
of art and architecture<br />
at the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong><br />
<strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
In June 1944, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt<br />
signed an Executive Order creating the War Refugee<br />
Board, which sent representatives to Europe to<br />
select 1,000 refugees to come to America for the<br />
duration of World War II. After crossing the wartime<br />
Atlantic on a U.S. Army transport, the 982 refugees<br />
traveled by rail to the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee<br />
Shelter in Oswego, N.Y., where they stayed, behind<br />
barbed wire, from August 1944 until January 1946.<br />
They were the only group of European refugees<br />
officially sheltered by the United <strong>State</strong>s during the war.<br />
Artist Miriam Sommerburg (1910–1980) was<br />
among them. When the Fort Ontario shelter closed,<br />
allowing her and her fellow refugees to enter the<br />
United <strong>State</strong>s officially and seek citizenship, she settled<br />
in <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> City’s Greenwich Village. During her<br />
career there, she held nine one-woman shows and<br />
won a number of prizes. Her work is in the collections<br />
of several museums, including the Metropolitan<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> of Art and the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
Sommerburg’s polychrome woodcut, “Lied an<br />
Die Freude” (“Song to Joy”), was recently donated<br />
to the <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> by Robert J. Maurer, former<br />
executive deputy commissioner of the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
<strong>State</strong> Education Department. It becomes the<br />
second Sommerburg in the <strong>Museum</strong>’s collection.<br />
A small woodcut by Sommerburg of the Fort<br />
Ontario shelter, dated 1944, is already on display<br />
in the <strong>Museum</strong>’s Bitter Hope: From Holocaust to<br />
Haven exhibition.<br />
In “Lied an Die Freude,” brightly colored abstract<br />
figures dance across the image, conveying a sense<br />
of joy and physical release. This post-war piece stands<br />
in interesting contrast to the quiet landscape from<br />
1944 currently on exhibit, a piece that documents a<br />
less than joyful time and place. ■<br />
16 ■ Legacy
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Museum</strong><br />
Summer Day Camp<br />
An exciting, fun-filled way for your child to fill her or his summer days!<br />
Open to children entering first through seventh grades, Time Tunnel is a<br />
beloved and respected museum-based day camp. Three two-week sessions<br />
encourage children to catch the joy of exploration and discovery<br />
through educational programs using the <strong>Museum</strong>’s exhibits, arts and crafts,<br />
cooperative games, computers, swimming and much, much more!<br />
Time Tunnel fills quickly so take advantage of this awesome summer camp<br />
opportunity soon. See you this summer!<br />
JULY 3 – JULY 14<br />
Private Eye: Calling All <strong>Museum</strong> Detectives<br />
JULY 17 – JULY 28<br />
Symbols, Signs and the <strong>Museum</strong>’s “Chamber of Secrets”<br />
JULY 31 – AUGUST 11<br />
Time Tunnel’s Greatest Hits!<br />
For more information,<br />
call the Time Tunnel Registrar at 518-402-5019, e-mail<br />
jgreenou@mail.nysed.gov or visit www.nysm.nysed.gov/.<br />
This program is made possible, in part, by the Citizens Bank Foundation.
close-ups<br />
IMAGES: TRUEMASTER TRIMINGHAM, <strong>NYSM</strong><br />
Clockwise starting top right: Empire <strong>State</strong> Building, Skyscraper City; classroom discussion on citizenship at<br />
P.S. 52 in Brooklyn, City of Neighborhoods; water bug, Ancient Life of <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>; and Oscar, Sesame Street.<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