Luykas Groundhog's Columbia County Adventures

Hello, my name is Luykas Groundhog. I am a history ambassador for the Columbia County Historical Society. This blog is about my adventures as I learn about the history of Columbia County, NY. I love history questions, especially from children! If you're not logged into tumblr, submit a question by e-mail: luykas @ cchsny.org Also find me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/LuykasGroundhog

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Happy Groundhog Day!

Daughter of miner with pet ground hog. Dixie Darby Fuel Company, Marne Mine, Lejunior, Harlan County, Kentucky., 09/13/1946.

Russell Lee, Photographer.  From the Department of the Interior’s series: Photographs of the Medical Survey of the Bituminous Coal Industry

Possibly one of the cutest records in usnatarchives' holdings, this cuddly “Marmota monax” goes by a few other names.  What do you call them? Woodchuck? Groundhog? Whistle-pig? Land-beaver? Varmint?

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I love this photo of a groundhog from the National Archives! I haven't found any images of my ancestors in the Columbia County Historical Society Archives yet, but I'll keep looking!

-Luykas

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Beautiful vintage postcard showing a cousin of mine!

-Luykas

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Happy Groundhog's Day everyone, and Happy Birthday to me!

As I mentioned last year, I didn't quite get the meteorology skills that some of my cousins have (history is really more my thing!). I'm always excited to wake up on this day in our honor and see what their predictions are though!

This year, down in Pennsylvania,  Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter. My cousin Chuck, in Staten Island had a rough start to the morning... the new mayor of New York City, Bil de Blasio, dropped him! Chuck also predicted six more weeks of winter. Cousin Willie, up in Wiarton, Ontario, Canada also predicted winter weather.

Cousin Buckeye Chuck in Marion, Ohio was one of the few who didn't see is shadow, and says that spring is on the way (I've heard from family who say that he is planning on a trip to Florida soon though, so maybe he is a little confused).

What does this all mean for us in Columbia County? I used my strengths, and took to the Columbia County Historical Society's Collections. Based on my cousin's predictions, it is probably going to look like this for a while:

(Warren Street, Hudson, NY, C. 1925-1939)

And like this:

(Postcard of Kinderhook, NY)

There will be time for fun, like this:

(Postcard, showing the toboggan slide at Electric Park, on the shore of Kinderhook Lake)

You should probably invest in some of these to keep warm though:

Stay warm everyone, and if you see Buckeye Chuck, tell him I would like to join him on his Florida vacation!

-Luykas

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Keeping warm on a chilly day, and doing a little historical research...

This advertisement appeared in the Kinderhook Rough Notes (a newspaper) on January 7, 1864, 150 years ago today. It advertises the wares sold by Charles Palmer of Kinderhook, including parlor stoves (small stoves used for heating), cooking stoves (used for cooking food, in the kitchen), and other items made of tin and iron. 

It is not just the articles in newspapers from the 1800s and early 1900s that can be helpful to researchers. Advertisements can provide lots of information about the types of goods that were available at a certain time, in a particular area. Sometimes you get lucky and find an ad with an image of the goods (like the one of the stove), but other times, they just list goods offered by a store. Even that can be helpful though!

How is this useful to a museum, like the Columbia County Historical Society? This kind of research is often done when a museum is trying to re-create a historic space... furnishing a room to look like 1850, or re-creating the entire interior of a house from 1880, for example. For an exhibition on the Civil War, CCHS' curator was working on re-creating a parlor from the 1860s. Here is an image of what she came up with, installed in the Vanderpoel House of History:

She used many different sources while she was doing her research: images of interiors in paintings and prints, descriptions of parlors in letters and stories, even the records that are kept with piece of furniture in museum collections (For example, if it was known that a table was from 1870, that wouldn't work. A chair that was known to be made in 1850 could certainly have been found in a parlor in 1860.). She also kept an eye out for advertisements from the Kinderhook area as she was reading through copies of the Kidnerhook Rough Notes from the 1860s. Did you notice the cast iron stove in the background  of the photo (sitting right in front of the fireplace)?

Take a look at a newspaper today. What will the advertisements in your local paper tell historians of the future?

-Luykas

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I just wanted to stop in today to wish a very happy birthday to the 8th President of the United States, Martin Van Buren. Today would have been his 231st birthday! Van Buren was a Columbia County native, from here in Kinderhook. His home, Lindenwald, is right down the road (today NY Route 9H, back then, the Albany Post Road) from the Luykas Van Alen House. He had a farm on his property, so maybe my ancestors who lived behind the Van Alen House  even munched on the former president's veggies :).

Today, you can visit Lindenwald (the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site), which is now a museum. You can read about my visit to the grounds here... someday, I hope to go back for a tour inside!

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Back to School

Since fall means back to school time, I thought you might be interested to learn a little about the Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse.

The Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse is one of the historic buildings preserved by the Columbia County Historical Society, and run as a museum. Each year, visitors of all ages, including modern school kids, come to learn about life in a one-room school.

The Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse was built around 1850, and served as a school until 1945, as Kinderhook District Number 6. The name "Ichabod Crane" comes from the character in the Washington Irving story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Irving was a frequent visitor to Kinderhook, and the character of Ichabod Crane was inspired by his friend Jesse Merwin, who was a school teacher in Kinderhook. Jessie Merwin didn't actually teach in the Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse... it was built to replace the one-room school that he taught in!

One-room schools, like the Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse, were built all over the county. Before school buses, schools had to be close to where students lived. In larger cities or towns, some larger schools were built, with classes for different grades, like we are used to today. In the country though, schools were small. At the Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse, one room held students in grades one through six!

The class was seated with the youngest students in the front, and older students in the back. Some times the teacher would work with the whole class all at once. Other times, students were asked to do seat work at their desks (independent work) while one grade at a time was called up to the lesson bench in the front of the room for a lesson.

When students got to school, they would drop off their hats, coats, and boots in the cloakroom. The Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse has one cloakroom for boys, and one for girls (You can see the doors to the two cloakrooms in the photo above, located at the center, and right side).

School desks were a little different than the ones we use in schools today. Each seat is attached to the desk behind it. This desk has a little pot that would hold ink. Students would write with a pen dipped in the ink. Here I am, practicing my penmanship! Sometimes, a naughty student would dip the ponytail of the student sitting in front of him into the pot of ink!

There was no running water inside the schoolhouse. If students needed to go to the bathroom, they went outside, to an outhouse. For drinking water, a student was sent outside to fill a bucket at a well or stream. Students might drink out of a dipper (think of all the students drinking out of one dipper... what germs!), or bring their own collapsible cup from home.

There was also no furnace in the schoolhouse. All of the heat came from a wood burning stove. Students' families were asked to supply wood to the school to keep the students warm. Sometimes students today are asked to bring a box of tissues to share with the class... aren't you glad you don't have to bring firewood?!?

What do you think, would you like to go to a one-room school like the Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse, or do you prefer school like it is today?

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This weekend, I went to check out the New Kinderhook Farmers’ Market. I enjoyed checking out all the fresh veggies that were grown in Columbia County (yum!) and tasty baked goods that were made here (yum!). On July 27th, I will be back at the market with CCHS’ educators, manning a table with a fun activity for kids- print and make your own seed packets, just like those that the Shakers made many years ago in Mount Lebanon. Come say hello that day- the market runs from 8:30 to 12:30, at the Kinderhook Village Square.

Also, a note for my teacher friends: the CCHS educators will also be presenting a workshop, called Whaling in Hudson, In Documents and Places, as part of the Teaching the Hudson Valley Summer Institute. The Summer Institute is a great place for teachers, school administrators, museum educators (like my friends at CCHS), and environmental educators to learn about ways to teach about the great resources available in the Hudson Valley. If you’re interested in the history of whaling in Hudson, want to learn about starting a research project with your students, or are interested in using real documents to teach within the Common Core curriculum, think about registering for the day. I think I might just check it out myself!

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A couple weeks ago, Jan Franz van Hedgehog-Orange-Ekaert invited me to visit him at his home, Stoddard Corner bookshop in Hudson. I love books (you can read about my visit to the Hudson Children's Book Festival here and here), and Jan Franz told me they had lots of interesting historical books and documents, so I decided to check it out. Here I am with my hosts, Jan Franz the hedgehog and Peter Pherson, the shop's proprietor (owner).

I had a lot of fun exploring the shelves. There were little books, that were my size...

...and big books that I might need some help reading!

There were familiar books (many of the books in this photo were published by the Columbia County Historical Society) about local history.

Stoddard Corner carries many old books and manuscripts (a book or document written by hand, not printed-- that means there is usually one one of them! For example, diaries, letters, and even hand-written pieces of music are manuscripts). As you can see by the top book in the photo below, I got to see some autograph books. In the 1800s and early 1900s, people kept autograph books, and would have friends sign the pages (kind of like we do with school yearbooks now). Maybe I should get myself an autograph book and collect signatures from all the great history loving people I meet!

There were diaries in the shop, including several that were kept by farmers. It was not uncommon for farmers to keep a daily log, with notes about the weather and their crops. It would have been neat (and very helpful, if you were a farmer trying to figure out when to plan seeds) to be able to look back at records of what the weather was like on a particular day for the previous ten years!

A big thanks to my friend Jan Franz van Hedgehog-Orange-Ekaert. I had a great time checking out the books and manuscripts at Stoddard Corner!

-Luykas

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In honor of women's history month, I thought I might introduce you to some important women in Columbia County history, and artifacts from women in Columbia County. First up, Samantha Littlefield Huntley.

As you can see from her photographed portrait, Samantha Huntley was an artist. She was born Samantha Littlefield, but her family called her "Mantie." The family home was in Watervliet, just to our north!

In 1884, she married Frank Huntley, and they had a son, named Grant, in 1887. Samantha Huntley then began her career as an artist. She studied art in both New York City and Paris.

Huntley liked to paint portraits. She painted New York Governor Martin Glynn (who was from Valatie... I'll write about him someday too!). She also did portraits of children, military officials, and archbishops. You can see a scan of a catalog from an exhibition of her paintings that was held in 1911 (online here).

So what does Samantha Huntley have to do with Columbia County? In 1923, she built a home and studio on William Street in Kinderhook! During her years in Kinderhook, she even painted a portrait of a prominent Kinderhook resident... Postmaster Jul Johnson.

I love all the details she included in the background. Could you guess that Jul Johnson had something to do with the Postal Service if I hadn't mentioned it first?

-Luykas

P.S. The education team here at CCHS wanted me to mention that both the photograph of Samantha Huntley, and the portrait she painted of Jul Johnson, are included in a lesson plan that is available online! Visit the Columbia County Historical Society's website, then go to "Education," "Online Resources," and click on "Portraits"

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Happy Presidents' Day!

Once again, I thought I would celebrate Presidents' Day by celebrating our 8th president, Martin Van Buren, who was from Kinderhook. Last year, I made a quick visit to his house (I'm still hoping to get a tour of the inside, when they open for the season!).

This year, I thought I would show you a neat object from our collection that features a painted portrait of Martin Van Buren... a sled!

This portrait was made in 1841, the last year Martin Van Buren was in office as president. The back of the sled has an inscription (writing) that tells us a little about the history of the portrait. It says: "Presented to William Cornell By his Friend J. Brooks, Jr. Albany, N.Y., 1841, Painted by Donald Fisher."

We don't know why the artist, Donald Fisher, decided to paint the president on a sled (but I think its pretty appropriate today, since Presidents' Day is in February!). We also don't know much about William Cornell or Donald Fisher. We have found some records about a "J. Brooks, Jr." in Albany, who might have been the person who gave the sled-- he owned a grocery store in Albany. We don't know why he choose this kind of present for his friend though!

How did you celebrate Presidents' Day? Did you spot a portrait of one of our presidents today (hint: did you use any money today?)?

-Luykas

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Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you are all having a wonderful Valentine's Day, celebrating the people that you love (and maybe enjoying some chocolate too!). Last year, I shared with you some printed Valentine's from the historical society's collection that were sent by people in Columbia County to their sweethearts. Printed Valentine cards are not the only way to show your love though! Some people prefer to express their love in poetry!

This card is not colorful, like the printed valentine's, but it has a sweet poem written on beautiful lacy paper:

"Your form as fair as ever painter drew,

Your matchless eyes, of clear and deepest blue

The magic which lightens up your face,

Your silvery tones, your thoughts expressed with grace,

Your gentle temper, manners, all combing

To make me choose thy for my Valentine

  You'll wonder who has send you this,

But that's the puzzle for you, Miss,

And yet I have but little doubt,

That if you guess you'll find me out,

No other motive have been mine,

For sending you this Valentine,

Except my friendship to express,

And wish you health and happiness."

Unfortunately, we don't know who wrote it (or who they sent it too), but we know it was written by someone in Hudson.

On this one, the writer glued some colorful printed pictures on the front, and penned a poem inside:

"The clouds that rest on the mountains breast

            It kissed by the viewless air

And the western breeze kisses the trees

            And woes the flowers to fair

And the weeping willows are kissed by the billow

            And the day stare kisses the sea

Then why not dearest, loveliest, fairest

            Give a kiss to me

And the bright moonbeam kisses the stream

            The hill and the peaceful vale

And the shady bower at eves hour

            Is woo'd by the nightingale

And the lily and the rose each flower blows that

            Are kissed by the forest breeze

Then why not dearest, loveliest, fairest

            Give a kiss to me

And the clasp the earth

            And moonbeams kiss the sea

What are all of the kissing worth

            If thou kiss not me

Receive this tribute gentle maid

            From one who loves the dearly

Nor think his language idly said

            Tis written most sincerely

I take this leafe as it is sent

            For ne'er were words more truly meant

  Here is a tribute for you to see

            Seek and find the writer if you can"

This one is from some one who must have liked poetry, but maybe wasn't so good at writing it. Rather than a hand-written poem inside, it has a printed poem... just like buying a card at the card store today that has a poem in it! The lacy cutout paper on the front is certainly pretty:

"Pensive Beauty

Oh! deem not that the heart is sad

Ah no! 'tis but the trace of love.

Kindness may make the face look glad,

But love alone the heart can move."

Whether you are a poet, or not, I hope you have a lovely Valentine's Day!

Love, Luykas OXOX

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Skating, skating...

Since it is my first year not hibernating through the winter, I'm learning about some of the fun things people have done in Columbia County to pass the time in the cold weather. One way that people had fun (and still do!) when it got cold was ice skating. Columbia County has many lakes and ponds that are perfect for ice skating once they froze over.

Skating was such a popular pastime in Hudson that the Hudson Skating Club was formed in the middle of the 1800s. In fact, skating was really popular all over, and many towns and cities created skating clubs. The Hudson Skating Club published rules for proper behavior on the skating pond in the Hudson Weekly Star newspaper on January 11, 1862. The rules stated:

No stones, sticks, cigar stumps or other obstructions shall be thrown or left upon the ice.

No improper language, swearing, or indecent behavior will be allowed on or near the ice.

Persons are forbidden to break or cut holes in any part of the ice.

No sleds will be allowed on the ice without permission from a member of the Ice Committee.

No persons allowed to remain on the ice while a RED SIGNAL is displayed from the building.

No gentleman allowed in the building without a ticket.

I guess most of the rules would still be pretty useful at the skating pond today!

Here is a pair of ice skates that are in CCHS' collection:

They were made some time between 1875 and 1900. They look a lot different from the skates people use today, don't they?

This postcard shows people skating on "Lake Underhill" in Hudson (today, it is called "Underhill Pond"):

The postcard is from 1910. If you look closely, you can see that the people are dressed quite differently than we might to go ice skating today- most women wouldn't wear long dresses to go skating!

Do you like to ice skate? Do you go to Hudson to skate on Oakdale Lake (which is right near Underhill Pond, and still hosts ice skating in the winter), or do you have another favorite spot?

-Luykas

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Happy Groundhog Day!

He Who Laughs Last… 02/05/1927

From the Clifford Berryman Political Cartoon Collection

Clifford Berryman’s groundhog has a laugh at a hapless weather forecaster’s expense.

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Great political cartoon from the National Archives too!

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Hopefully the groundhog (seen here in an image from our Rare Books Division) doesn’t see his shadow today - if he does, that, of course, would mean six more weeks of cold, hard winter. But if he does, NYPL has you covered. Drop into one of our nice warm libraries for many, many, MANY...

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Look at the beautiful groundhog print the New York Public Library posted today... my ancestors?

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Happy Groundhog's Day!

Happy Groundhog's Day... and Happy Birthday to me! (and also a very Happy Birthday to our library volunteer, Vieve!)

Groundhog's Day is the day that people look to highly trained meteorologist (a person, or groundhog, who studies the atmosphere and weather patterns) groundhogs for the weather report. They want to know if we'll have six more weeks of winter, or if spring is on its way.

You can read about today's reports from esteemed groundhog meteorologists Punxsutawney Phil and Malverne Mel.

As you can imagine, I get asked all the time about my predictions... but I study history, not weather! It got me thinking about how weather in Columbia County is documented in our archives.

Maybe, like Phil predicted, we're due for an early spring:

Which, of course, would lead us into a beautiful summer:

Or maybe cousin Mel is right, and we're due for six more weeks of winter,  and Kinderhook will look more like this (plus those great snow sculptures that appear around town now!):

At least if winter stuck around a little longer, we could have more winter fun like this:

As I said, predicting the weather is not my skill... but I hope Phil is right, I'm ready for spring!

-Luykas

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I'm back!

Hi everyone! Did you miss me? I missed you!

I suppose you're probably wondering where I went. You see, groundhogs are not big fans of the cold and snow, so we spend our winters hibernating. We hibernate in a burrow underground. After we spend the fall eating and eating and eating (so that we have enough energy to get through the winter), we get cozy in our burrow, and go into a deep sleep... until Spring!

But this year, I just couldn't sleep! I dreamed about all the neat historic places I visited last summer, and all of the nice people I got to meet. So, I decided to come back early. The staff at CCHS told me I was welcome to hang out at the museum (which has heat!), and they even gave me a scarf to help keep me comfy.

I guess I should have realized that it would be nicer to spend my winter in the museum, but there was another reason I decided to hibernate this year. You see, groundhogs don't drive... so I need a ride to get to a lot of the places I like to visit. The staff and volunteers at the museum are so nice about taking me where I want to go. Ashley, the educator, is often the one who takes me, but I knew that she would not be available this winter... because she had a baby! I just had to meet this newest, youngest historian at CCHS. Maybe she'll join me on some adventures some day!

Here we are... the camera caught us right after she told me a funny joke!

So that's where I've been for the last couple of months. I'm excited to be back, and I'm working on some fun posts for the next couple of weeks. Did you learn about any interesting history stories while I was asleep?

-Luykas

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Happy Halloween!

I thought I would share this postcard from our collection, and some historic Halloween games with you today.

In the 1920’s and 1930’s, Halloween parties were a popular way to celebrate the holiday. On Halloween, people thought that the spirit world and the living world were closer than usual, and that it was a good time to try to tell your fortune, or get a glimpse into the future. Fortune telling games were popular at parties. Here are two that you can try today:

1. Learn your future from a bowl of seeds or beans, from the Kiddies’ Halloween Book, 1931

-Fill a bowl with dry pumpkins seeds, dry beans (lima beans, pinto beans, split peas…), m&m’s… something small and dry.

-Dip a spoon into the bowl, and fill it with seeds.

-Recite this poem, reading one line for each bean in your spoon. The line you end on is your fortune:

One seed shows you’ll get a letter,

Two a dish you’re going to break.

Three seeds, you’ll hear some good news,

Four, a ride you soon will take.

Five, you will be disappointed,

Six, you’re going to meet a friend.

Seven brings you a surprise,

Eight some money you will spend.

Nine shows there’s pleasure coming,

Ten, you’ll have something to wear.

Eleven, you will take a trip,

Twelve, some good luck you will share.

Thirteen seeds, you’ll have a fright,

Fourteen, your future days are bright.

#2: Learn your future through some objects you can find around the house!

-Fill saucers or small bowls with the following objects: a key, a stone, a rubber band, dirt, and water.

-Put on a blindfold, or close your eyes (no peeking!).

-Slowly wave your hand over the saucers, while you recite the alphabet. Stop your hand when you get to “z.” The saucer that your hand is over will tell your fortune:

A key: good luck

A stone: you will build a house

A rubber band: you will live a lively or “snappy” life

Dirt: you will make a trip by car

Water: you will have clear sailing and a happy life

I hope everyone gets a good fortune, and has a happy and safe Halloween! I guess I should go figure out a costume to wear… I was hoping for some candy, but the staff at the museum told me that you only get candy if you have a costume! Maybe I can recycle my Mardi Gras mask?

-Luykas