Map of Greenwich: Using History for Art

Some of you may know that I am a hand embroiderer & I design my own patterns. About 6 years ago I embroidered 2 blocks for the APHNYS quilt project. One is partially my own design, the other is the Village of Greenwich Bicentennial logo created by a local student. (When I find her name I will update this post.) I recently saw my quilt blocks at the APHNYS conference in Saratoga Spring, NY in March. The blocks are just basted together, waiting for more municipalities to submit their blocks.

Town and village of Greenwich, NY blocks in APHNYS quilt

I love redwork embroidery, so I snapped some pictures of the other redwork blocks in the quilt. There were other embroidered squares too, some hand done, & some machine, but I didn't take pictures of all the squares.

Town of Moreau, NY redwork block for APHNYS quilt

North Salem, NY redwork block for APHNYS quilt

Town of Deer park, NY redwork block for APHNYS quilt

As you can see above, many of them are maps of the towns, mine included. I decided, after I completed 2 more of my Susan B. Anthony & Chester A. Arthur map, that I would do a cartoon like map of Greenwich. So, using the history, & natural resources of the town, I got to work designing my block. This is what I came up with.

Town of Greenwich, NY by Tisha Dolton, Historian

Oddly enough, history is what got me embroidering in the 1st place.

I began embroidering in 1998 when I started a summer job at the Saratoga Battlefield in upstate NY. All of the other interpretive Rangers had skills when we were stationed at stop 2 on the tour road (the Nielson House), except me. I read for a few weeks, but I had a difficult time putting my book away when visitors arrived. Plus, my introverted nature would allow me to use the book as a crutch. I needed something else. As a kid I did long stitch needlepoint, & remembered enjoying it. Therefore, I decided crewel work & embroidery would be perfect.

What do you use your historical research for?

Washington County History Fair 2013

October 26, 2013 marked the third history fair put on by the Washington County Historical Society. I participated in all 3 history fairs.

The 1st was in 2009 at the Historic Salem Courthouse in Salem, NY. I had an idea for a display that was kind of quirky & it didn't really work. I decided to play off the movie Office Space & create a version of local history "fair." I don't think a single person understood the reference, but they liked the buttons. Lesson #1: Know your audience.

The 2nd was held at Greenwich High School in the village of Greenwich, NY in 2011. This time I basically grabbed anything I thought was cool in my office & brought it along. I was able to have a conversation with some local history buffs relating to the glass plate negatives that a random resident donated. Lesson #2: Bring cool stuff.

For the 3rd year, the history fair was at the Granville Elementary School in Granville, NY. I decided on a poster presentation to talk up the ways in which public historians can use social media to reach out to their communities both near & far. Some of you may know that I use Facebook & twitter (@greenwichhist) to keep everyone abreast of what I am up to, as well as interesting things about history in general. Plus, this blog has allowed me to write about local history in an informal way.

Working on my poster presentation

One of the Gill Room displays

Another display about John Brown, his wife Mary Ann & Lucretia Mott

Many of the exhibitors, public historians, re-enactors, & other local history groups had poster presentations. I did chat with quite a few people, including the newly appointed historian for Jackson, NY. It seemed like many of the visitors were families with school age children, or retirees.

Part of my display- poster presentation, brochures, mugs

The rest of my display- artifacts from the Bicentennial of the USA in 1976

I guess I am hoping that someone out there, reading this will have a suggestion or 2 for how we can make this event better & attract more visitors. There are so many events to compete with, how do we stand out? & the larger question, how do we, as historians, get people interested in history?

I tried this year, by using my grandmother's Bicentennial collection. I chose items that related locally, like calendars from local businesses (Muzicar's in Schuylerville, Agway in Greenwich), & programs from local events. The quirky things like the Campbell Soup Kid dolls, the Uncle Sam bank, & the Bicentennial box of tissues were draws, but most people looked at the book of 1st day covers. After all these years, people still love stamps.

Let me know in the comments below, on my Facebook page, or tweet me if you have any suggestions (& if you attended the history fair). Thanks for reading.

1976: Celebrating the Bicentennial (Part 1)

My grandmother, Jaqueline Martin (nee Drew) was a avid collector of stuff. She also, had a love of history & participated in the Bicentennial celebrations in Schuylerville, NY in 1976-77. With the death of my grandfather last year, my mother & I found a bunch of Bicentennial memorabilia which I will share with you over the next few moths. I will be featuring some things at the Washington County History Fair in Granville, NY this Saturday, October 26, 2013 also. (For more information on this- see my Facebook page.)

I hope that through my grandmother's collection & a binder full of clippings I have in the office, I can piece together a localized, personal view of the Bicentennial...

My grandmother loved to color. She would sit & color with us, or by herself, while she listened to "her programs" (game shows, soap operas) on the television. So, I thought I would start this series off with the Bicentennial coloring books in her collection.

Over sized coloring book put out by Colgate Toothpaste

My personal favorite by the Samuel Lowe Co of WI

 This coloring book by the Samuel Lowe Company in Kenosha, WI is thick & well drawn. It covers more events than the others in this collection. I love the suffrage page below. There is also a page on Chester Arthur, as the presidents are represented. Some omissions are the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848, & specific suffragists, like Susan B. Anthony. Oh, well.

Radio and 19th Amendment pages in the Lowe coloring book

Slim coloring book covering 200 years of US history

Coloring book specifically on the Revolution

Sesquicentennial in Greenwich: 1959

Sesquicentennial Banner - Greenwich, NY 1959

In 1959 the village of Greenwich, NY hosted an elaborate Sesquicentennial celebration, complete with two parades, & a pageant called "Whipple City Grows."

Front page of Whipple City Grows and ticket stub

The schedule of events is listed in the center of the program above.

Saturday, August 1, 1959 was Sesquicentennial Parade Day which included the parade from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. & the Queen's Ball at the high school from 9:00 to midnight.

Sunday, August 2, 1959 was Religious Dedication Day with all of the local churches hosting special services in the morning & an interfaith service at 8:00 p.m.

Monday, August 3, 1959 was Youth Day- filled with baseball, softball, swimming, & an "Outdoor Street Dance."

Tuesday, August 4, 1959 was Agricultural Day featuring a hay ride, square dance, old-time farm equipment & exhibits by the Farm Bureau, Soil Conservation, the Grange, 4-H, & others.

Wednesday, August 5, 1959 was Ladies' Day (sorry fellas). This included a luncheon, a reception, a dinner for Lt. Governor Malcolm Wilson, a fashion show, & the crowning of the "Sesquicentennial Queen." 

Thursday, August 6, 1959 was Homecoming Day with open houses at the various churches & fraternal organizations like the Independent Order Of Fellows. 

Friday, August 7, 1959 was Industrial Day which included guided tours of local industries. Plus, the final judging of the "Brothers of the Brush" beard growing competition ended with a shaving contest!

Saturday, August 8, 1959 was Fireman's Day. The week of festivities concluded with the Washington County Fireman's Parade at 2:00 p.m. & the final of 4 performances of "Whipple City Grows"!

Sesquicentennial book and Washington County VFA Convention Program

Housing Committee badge

Some Housing Committee documents still survive. Then, as now, there was little accommodation for out-of-town guests. So, the committee members were in charge of finding housing for people coming to town for the week long celebration. Marion Harrington was the Housing Committee Chair.

Wooden nickels- one with the Sesquicentennial logo 1959

When we held the Town of Greenwich Bicentennial in 2003, & the Village of Greenwich Bicentennial in 2009, I looked into having wooden nickels done, but the funds just weren't there. I did have a wooden nickel collector call me though. The gentleman told me that he would buy a bunch of them if we decided to do it so he could trade & sell with other wooden nickel collectors! (Who knew...)

Cemetery brochure

10 years ago, during the Town of Greenwich Bicentennial (Has it really been that long?), Ken Perry & I created a cemetery tour brochure for the Greenwich Cemetery. We even conducted a tour, though Ken did much more of it than I.

I have printed up more of the brochures available in the Town Office Building & (hopefully) in the Information Booth between the village & town buildings.

I also thought I would make it available here as well.