Jonathan E. Hoag on Dionondahowa Falls

A running theme of my blog seems to be "While researching something else, I came across this cool thing!" & today's post is no different. I was just searching online for some local suffrage images for a colleague (& myself), when I came across a great virtual cemetery on Find A Grave listing members of the Easton Political Equality Club. I noticed a lot of family names, so I started trying to piece together how folks were related. 

Then I came to Jonathan E. Hoag. & the next person on the list turns out to be his third wife Lydia Martin (nee Dwelle) Hoag. The couple joined the EPOC in 1892, just one year after it's founding. So we have husband/wife suffragists in Easton. Cool! As I start reading Jonathan's bio on Find A Grave, I notice that he was poet & friends with Howard P. (H.P.) Lovecraft! Very cool! Since I just happened to be working in the Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library at the time, I went over to the OPAC & located a copy of The Poetical Works of Jonathan E. Hoag with an Introduction by none other than H.P. Lovecraft.

Jonathan Elihu Hoag of Easton, NY poet & suffragist

Suffragist Lydia (nee Dwelle) Hoag of Easton, NY

Jonathan Elihu Hoag was born in Valley Falls (Rensselaer County), NY on February 10 1831 to Abigail (nee Gifford) Hoag & her husband, Robert Nesbit Hoag. The family, including six other children, moved to South Easton when Joanthan was 8. He moved to Greenwich in 1911, & lived there until his death on December 17, 1927. He was 96 years old, & had outlived three wives.

Hoag wrote poems for family & friends

A brief search of New York Historic Newspapers brought the above clip. Apparently Jonathan was fond of writing poems for family members to commemorate milestones, like his cousin's 80th birthday. There are some such poems in his book, including a few for his mother, and one for his sister Hannah Hoag Balch.

I have yet to read the entire volume of Poetical Works..., & while I have not yet found a poem entitled "An Ode to a Suffragist", I did notice one about Dionondahowa Falls. Please enjoy...

An Ode to the Falls of Dionondawa [sic] 

by Jonathan Elihu Hoag (1917)

Ye towering rocks o’er which the waters fly,

Pray tell me whence ye came and when and why;

Your revered age reveal, your purpose show,

Unseal those mysteries of long ago!

Was it at Nature’s noon that first your height

Rose to the fulgent rays of solar light?

Or was it at the dawn, when nascent earth

Glowed like the nebula that gave it birth?

Speak, hoary torrent of the primal scene,

And trace the course of ages that have been;

Reflect once more that ancient sky, whose rays

Lit the first drops with mist-enshrouded blaze;

Recall each memory, and display the whole

On revelation’s all enlightening scroll!

Tell the long story to yon clinging vine,

On that proud sentinel, the wind-swayed pine;

In whispers tell the tinted flowers that spring

Close to the banks where your swift waters sing;

Tell the green groves by balmy winds caressed,

Where twittering wrens and chirping robins nest;

Why be so loath your secrets to unfold,

Ere time shall leave your gorges dry and old?

Some fateful day the sage will seek in vain,

Where now your ripples run, a numerous train;

And many a weed and thorn will lift its head

O’er the mute pebbles of the arid bed.

So speak, thou cataract, while time remains,

And I will spread thy fame in Doric strains;

Thy wondrous tale to millions shall be dear,

And generations yet unborn shall hear!

When glacial cohorts on the heights arrayed,

In icy wonder watched thy tall cascade;

With deadly purpose scanned thy gorge below,

And stalked with hypoborean skill the foe;

Didst chant a warning, and the glaciers greet

With prophecies of peril and defeat?

On sunny plains to Phoebus wont to yield,

They left their rocky bones strewn o’er the field!

And when the Red Man in primeval pride

In admiration sought they pine-clad side;

In each white spray a Manitou to trace,

And bow before the spirit of the place;

Didst thou to him thy secret then relate,

And tell the copper visitor thy fate!

See Cossayuna, stately, gray and tall.

With question grave, address the waterfall;

“You tell me some,” he grunt, “Me tell you more,”

But naught is heard above the mighty roar.

Then lovely Minnewawa, she whose eyes

Gleam brighter that the stars of midnight skies;

“You tell,” she says, “the many things you know;

“Me tell you Indian lore of long ago.

“Your rocks and torrents, I’ll preserve to fame,

“And your proud falls, Dionaondawa name!”

Then spake the rocks, whose ancient lips so long

Had lain in silence, dumb to speech and song;

With thunderous accents they the records read,

Kept through uncounted years of varied dead;

“Behold our sides, by time’s sharp chisel rent

“When Nature rocked the rising continent,

“Dark were the thick veiled skies, no sound was heard

“Save the black Vulcan’s subterranean word.

“The sooty Cyclops, with gigantic might,

“Heaved up the rocks from realms of Stygian night,

“Plutonian silence and Cimmerian pall

“In hideous mantle shroud and cover all;

“In sunless, moonless, starless, soundless space,

“A new world joins the planetary race,

“Then falls the fiat as the Almighty speaks,

“A rift of light through the deep vapor breaks—

“Sun, moon, and stars their wonted paths assume,

“And ordered heaven supplants the primal gloom.

“We gaze above, where circling seraphim

“Induct a foaming torrent o’er our brim;

“With sprightly grace the crystal waters flow,

“And loud reverberate in the gulf below;

“Through the deep gorge with rushing force to rage,

“And serve the mill-wheels for a future age.

“In days to come a million souls shall reap

“The blessings our tumultuous waters keep,

“And industry, with all her copious store,

“Shall feed the mendicant and clothe the poor.

“Its work complete, the useful stream shall glide

“To where the river meets the salty tide;

“And there the laboring flood at least shall rest,

“Safe sleeping on Old Ocean’s ample breast!”

Dionondahowa Falls from the Easton side looking toward the Stevens & Thompson Paper Mill

The Gill Room & Battenkill Inspired

Sandy McReynolds, Gill Room Historian, is not one to appear on camera, but Hannah DeGarmo can put even the most behind-the-scenes type of person at ease. Learn about all of the treasures in the Gill Room at Greenwich Free Library.

I hope you enjoy the video. Currently, all of the Battenkill Inspired videos can be seen at kiosks at Crandall Public Library, & Greenwich Free Library. Or you can view the videos on the Folklife Center's YouTube channel. There are currently 28 shorts, including films on Cliff Oliver, Susan B. Anthony, Eddy Plow Works, & Bob Warren.


"Battenkill Inspired: The Flow of Creativity, Ingenuity, and the River" celebrates art and culture throughout the Battenkill watershed. Videos are released weekly as part of the celebration of the Folklife Center's 25th anniversary and Crandall Library's 125th year. . Filmed, Directed, and Edited by Kevin Rogan, Sara LaPell, Hannah DeGarmo & Todd DeGarmo Opening & closing music composed by Benjamin Phelps Closing image: "River Reflections" by George Van Hook www.georgevanhookartist.com Produced by Todd DeGarmo 2017 based on the exhibit, Battenkill Inspired Folklife Gallery January to June 2015 Funding for this project came from a 2017 Corridor of Commerce Grant from the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership Additional support was provided by: New York State Council on the Arts - Folk Arts Program Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust Helen & Michael Casper Fellowship for Internship Support

Bob Warren & Battenkill Inspired

Bob Warren has been a part of the local music scene for many years. He is also great at turning local history (his song cycle of Susan B. Anthony) & the local community (Greenwich: The Musical) into entertainment! He is also a patient & talented producer, with a studio in his home along the Battenkill.

I hope you enjoy the video. Currently, all of the Battenkill Inspired videos can be seen at kiosks at Crandall Public Library, & Greenwich Free Library. Or you can view the videos on the Folklife Center's YouTube channel. There are currently 28 shorts, including films on Cliff Oliver, Susan B. Anthony, Eddy Plow Works, & the Gill Room.


"Battenkill Inspired: The Flow of Creativity, Ingenuity, and the River" celebrates art and culture throughout the Battenkill watershed. Videos are released weekly as part of the celebration of the Folklife Center's 25th anniversary and Crandall Library's 125th year. . Filmed, Directed, and Edited by Kevin Rogan, Sara LaPell, Hannah DeGarmo & Todd DeGarmo Opening & closing music composed by Benjamin Phelps Closing image: "River Reflections" by George Van Hook www.georgevanhookartist.com Produced by Todd DeGarmo 2017 based on the exhibit, Battenkill Inspired Folklife Gallery January to June 2015 Funding for this project came from a 2017 Corridor of Commerce Grant from the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership Additional support was provided by: New York State Council on the Arts - Folk Arts Program Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust Helen & Michael Casper Fellowship for Internship Support

Cliff Oliver & Battenkill Inspired

Cliff Oliver is one of the best people in Greenwich. His provocative slave narrative photographs, which utilize the Battenkill river, will stir your soul. & if you ever have the chance to catch one of his re-enactments of Solomon Northup of Twelve Years a Slave fame, take it.

Cliff (Harlem Hellfighter) & I (Suffragist Cyclist) at the 2018 Whipple City Days parade

Cliff Oliver as Solomon Northup

I hope you enjoy the video. Currently, all of the Battenkill Inspired videos can be seen at kiosks at Crandall Public Library, & Greenwich Free Library. Or you can view the videos on the Folklife Center's YouTube channel. There are currently 28 shorts, including films on Bob Warren, Susan B. Anthony, Eddy Plow Works, & the Gill Room.

Twelve Years is a Long Time to Hope, 2014 redwork embroidery by Tisha Dolton 

"Battenkill Inspired: The Flow of Creativity, Ingenuity, and the River" celebrates art and culture throughout the Battenkill watershed. Videos are released weekly as part of the celebration of the Folklife Center's 25th anniversary and Crandall Library's 125th year. . Filmed, Directed, and Edited by Kevin Rogan, Sara LaPell, Hannah DeGarmo & Todd DeGarmo Opening & closing music composed by Benjamin Phelps Closing image: "River Reflections" by George Van Hook www.georgevanhookartist.com Produced by Todd DeGarmo 2017 based on the exhibit, Battenkill Inspired Folklife Gallery January to June 2015 Funding for this project came from a 2017 Corridor of Commerce Grant from the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership Additional support was provided by: New York State Council on the Arts - Folk Arts Program Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust Helen & Michael Casper Fellowship for Internship Support

Susan B. Anthony & Battenkill Inspired

If you follow this blog, or are from Greenwich, NY & the surrounding area, you know that famed suffragist, Susan B. Anthony spent much of her early life here along the Battenkill river. I have mentioned her numerous times, but two of the more interesting posts are Happy Birthday Susan B from 2013 & Susan B. Anthony Memorabilia from 2015.

The Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library has created a bunch of 2 minute shorts about various aspects of the Battenkill. It couldn't be done without mentioning one of it's most famous daughters.

I hope you enjoy the video. Currently, all of the Battenkill Inspired videos can be seen at kiosks at Crandall Public Library, & Greenwich Free Library. Or you can view the videos on the Folklife Center's YouTube channel. There are currently 28 shorts, including films on Cliff Oliver, Bob Warren, Eddy Plow Works, & the Gill Room.



"Battenkill Inspired: The Flow of Creativity, Ingenuity, and the River" celebrates art and culture throughout the Battenkill watershed. Videos are released weekly as part of the celebration of the Folklife Center's 25th anniversary and Crandall Library's 125th year. . Filmed, Directed, and Edited by Kevin Rogan, Sara LaPell, Hannah DeGarmo & Todd DeGarmo Opening & closing music composed by Benjamin Phelps Closing image: "River Reflections" by George Van Hook www.georgevanhookartist.com Produced by Todd DeGarmo 2017 based on the exhibit, Battenkill Inspired Folklife Gallery January to June 2015 Funding for this project came from a 2017 Corridor of Commerce Grant from the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership Additional support was provided by: New York State Council on the Arts - Folk Arts Program Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust Helen & Michael Casper Fellowship for Internship Support

Eddy Plow Works and Battenkill Inspired

In 2013 I wrote a brief blog post about the Eddy Plow Works here in the village of Greenwich. This year, after seeing that blog post, Hannah DeGarmo, who was working on a series of short videos for the Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library, contacted me about speaking on camera about the Eddy Plow Works. I agreed & we met on the Easton bank of the Battenkill River near the recently restored, & currently for sale, Eddy Plow building. We basically did my speaking portion in a couple of segments & decided on a filming without a script. I tried to speak in a conversational manner...

I hope you enjoy the video. Currently, all of the Battenkill Inspired videos can be seen at kiosks at Crandall Public Library, & Greenwich Free Library. Or you can view the videos on the Folklife Center's YouTube channel. There are currently 28 shorts, including films on Cliff Oliver, Bob Warren, Susan B. Anthony, & the Gill Room.



"Battenkill Inspired: The Flow of Creativity, Ingenuity, and the River" celebrates art and culture throughout the Battenkill watershed. Videos are released weekly as part of the celebration of the Folklife Center's 25th anniversary and Crandall Library's 125th year. . Filmed, Directed, and Edited by Kevin Rogan, Sara LaPell, Hannah DeGarmo & Todd DeGarmo Opening & closing music composed by Benjamin Phelps Closing image: "River Reflections" by George Van Hook www.georgevanhookartist.com Produced by Todd DeGarmo 2017 based on the exhibit, Battenkill Inspired Folklife Gallery January to June 2015 Funding for this project came from a 2017 Corridor of Commerce Grant from the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership Additional support was provided by: New York State Council on the Arts - Folk Arts Program Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust Helen & Michael Casper Fellowship for Internship Support

Greenwich Artifacts on Display at Crandall Library

When Todd DeGarmo, Founding Director of the Folklife Center, asked me if I had an artifacts pertaining to the Batten Kill to round out his exhibition I had to step back & think. As a public historian, not a museum, or historical society, I don't collect objects. This is mainly because there is little to no place to store anything properly, but I looked around my office & found a few items.

As you can see from the images below, there was a bit of adjustment until the objects were finally set, & the labeling complete.

First stage of setting the objects for display

Adding some maps

Some of the artifacts are from Hollingsworth & Vose Co. The paper company still operates two factories along the Batten Kill in Greenwich & Easton, has made many different kinds of paper products over the years. Featured here are automotive filters, paper used at the top of drapes, and a disposable bed sheet.

The layout is taking shape with maps, images, & labels

Also included is a painted serving tray attributed to the American Tea Tray Co, linen broom twine attributed to the Dunbarton Mill, & parts from the Eddy Plow Company. (There is an Eddy Plow on display, but it is not owned by the Town of Greenwich.)

To see the completed exhibit, which includes much more than the artifacts seen here, stop by the Folklife Gallery at Crandall Library during regular library hours. Or, better yet, come to the Open Reception on Thursday, March 12, 2015 from 5-7 pm. RSVP on Facebook.

See you there!

Battenkill Inspired exhibition at the Folklife Center of Crandall Public Library, Glens Falls, NY