The historic Masonic Temple, next to the Dodge-Pratt-Northam Art and Community Center, 106 Schuyler Street, will be the focal point for the History Day events. From 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. the Boonville Historical Club, as well as several Oneida County historical societies, will be on hand with exhibits of interesting information about their areas.

 Tammy DePaola  will be demonstrating carding, spinning, and weaving with a table loom – which shows the process from beginning to end! The Boonville Historical Club will also display the wall covering that members recently completed.

From 11 a.m.-1 p.m., there is a Kids Corner coloring contest for two age groups; up to 7 years, and from 8-12 years old. Kids can win a prize for coloring either a canal scene or a Civil War figure.

Boonville Town and Village Historian, James Pitcher, will be available from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. to answer any questions about local history.

An exciting feature for everyone is the Civil War reenactment unit, which will be camping nearby. Members of the 76^thNew York State Volunteer Infantry look forward to visitors, and the soldiers will be happy to answer questions and explain their activities.

The 76th NYSVI Re-enactors Unit as they appeared at the June 3, 2006 dedication of the historical marker in Erwin Park honoring Boonville's 97th NYSVI.

Included in the History Day events are walking tours to view the historic architecture in the village. Maps are available for self-guided tours throughout the day. If you’re not brave enough to venture out on your own, a guided tour will depart from the Masonic Temple at 11:30 a.m.  Another fun family activity is the Historical Marker Scavenger Hunt.

Maps will be available beginning at 11 a.m., and at 2 p.m. a winning name will be drawn from the correct entries. The lucky winner will receive a gift certificate for the Historic Hulbert House.

Local author Irene Uttendorfsky will be promoting her newest book, “I Will Stand With My Father,” a novel for middle school readers about the Revolutionary War in the Mohawk Valley as seen through the eyes of a 15-year-old Oneida warrior. Irene’s book signing will take place from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Masonic Temple. For more information about Irene visit www.ireneuttendorfsky.com

The Boonville Black River Canal Museum, Main Street and Route 12, will also be a part of History Day. The museum will be open from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., and will host a variety of activities, including an open house, tours, and demonstrations of old-time skills.  The film, “Little Ditch,” an excellent documentary about the building of the Black River Canal, will be shown continuously throughout the day. As always, admission to the museum is free.

Stephanie Dietz, author of “Under the Blinking Light,”will host a book signing at 1 p.m. Her children’s book is based on her two daughters going to camp in the Woodgate area, and it debuted this summer. From 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., there will be a shingle-making demonstration by Bob Coscomb. The cedar shingles can be purchased for a $2 donation. Charlie Hammond will be on hand with his forge to brand the shingles. Mark Kehl from Woody’s Mountain Folk Art will be demonstrating his wood-working talent outside on the lawn.  Peg Sawyer will be inside the Mercantile Building with her loom, and Sharon Woodcock will have a display of antique canal era toys in the Archive Room in the Conference Center. Books, canal items, shirts, and jackets will also be available for sale in the Mercantile Building.

 For more details about the Canal Museum, visit their website: www.blackrivercanalmuseum.com.

In addition to the free History Day activities, the Fall Arts Festival will provide ample opportunity to enjoy food, crafts, cooking contests, music, sidewalk sales, and more fun for the kids. So plan to visit beautiful, historic Boonville on Saturday, October 1.

For more information about the Boonville Fall Arts Festival, call the Chamber office at 942-5112 or visit www.boonvillechamber.com.

Shown after the program at the meeting on April 4, left to right, club president Barb Traxel, guest speaker Lisa Fazio-Ferguson, and club VP Joan Ferguson.

HELLO AND WELCOME TO THE BOONVILLE HISTORICAL CLUB’S BLOG!

Our most recent  meeting took place  Monday evening, April 4, at the Presbyterian Church fellowship hall.  The program – open to the public – featured practicing herbalist Lisa Fazio-Ferguson, owner/operator of Hawthorne Hill Herbs, an herbal apothecary in Newport, New York  (www.hawthornehillherbs.com).

Lisa discussed identification and preparation of local wild plants, many of which can be found growing in our own backyards. These plants can be used for medicinal purposes and as nutritious food. Lisa also  handed out lots of information, including a recipe for nettles soup! Calling our attention to the various species in our area and in the Adirondacks on the “at-risk” list, Lisa said many herbs and flowers are becoming scarce due to loss of habitat and acid rain. 

Members also discussed a “welcome home” covered dish dinner for our Fort Drum 10th Mountain Division Adopted Platoon, which will probably be held in May. Our soldiers recently returned safe and sound from Afghanistan.

But backing up  a bit – way back! Sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, for several reasons. I went to the December meeting without my camera, and just recently got my hands on the group photo taken that night!

Club member Joyce Charboneau gets some tips from herbalist Lisa Ferguson at the club's most recent meeting.

As usual, the December program was a  delightful Christmas get-together. Club member Linda Marcy invited us to her beautifully decorated home.  Luscious snacks, drinks, and a holiday “sing-along,” accompanied by our own Glenyce Trainor on the keyboard,  put everyone in a festive mood. Twenty members and associate members attended the “musical” meeting, while the snow gently fell outside.

Club members are in a holiday mood during the December meeting.

Because the  club does not meet in January, there’s nothing to report for that month.

Peg Sawyer, center, at the February meeting with new club members, Chris Adsit, left, and Deb Seelman, right.

Yours truly was in Pennsylvania visiting relatives at the time of the February meeting. So, I  can only report second-hand information. The club met at Boonville’s First Presbyterian Church on February 7. Member Laura “Peg” Sawyer presented a program on Architecture of the Great Camps in the Adirondacks in the 1920s and 1930s. She showed photos of some of the great camps, including Sagamore near Raquette Lake. William West Durant, Sagamore’s owner, used natural materials, logs, stone, and twigs for buildings, structures, and furnishings. Laura showed her audience a twig plant stand, a pack basket, an Adirondack chair, and a handmade white-birch container. Club president Barb Traxel welcomed new members Chris Adsit, Deb Seelman, Charlene Ludwikowski, and Diane Kilbourne.

Peg Sawyer talks about Adirondack architecture at the club's February meeting.

The March 7 meeting was scheduled to take place in the Town/Village offices building. The meeting was cancelled, however,  because of the weather! Snow storms in the morning caused school closings, and the policy is, when Adirondack schools are closed, the club does not meet. Often, by the time the club would normally meet, the snow is no longer a problem. But the policy has been in effect for many years! The program was to have been about the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC),  presented by Forest Ranger Robert Coscomb. Perhaps we’ll get to hear him another time.

Mary Yahnke will present a program on “Tourism in the Adirondacks” at the May 2 meeting. It will again take place in the First Presbyterian Church fellowship hall. The public is invited to her presentation, which follows the club’s regular business meeting.

Dr. Slade signing a copy of his book, "Acid Rain, Acid Snow"

The club’s next meeting is planned for Monday, December 6. It will be a festive holiday celebration, with the singing of familiar Christmas carols.

We continue to collect items to send to our Fort Drum Adopted Platoon in Afghanistan, and members are requested to bring donations to the next meeting. Anyone who would like to help with this project, please call club President Barb Traxel at 942-4010.

Members have also been asked to put on their aprons and whip up something special for the Bake Sale during  the  Christmas on the Canal event at the Boonville Black River Canal Museum on Saturday, December 4 (for more information see http://www.blackrivercanalmuseum.com).

Ladies interested in joining the club, please click on our Membership tab at the top to learn more. You can also contact membership chairman Marilyn Fowler or Club Treasurer Vivian Brucker at vivbrucker@yahoo.com or call 942-4251.

 We’ll be updating this site again soon, so we hope you’ll stop back and visit!

Sorry,  it’s been quite a while since I’ve been able to update this blog! There have been several changes over the summer, so to keep you up to date, I’ll post the information here.

At the club’s dinner-meeting this past June, an election of officers was held. Taking over as president is Barbara Traxel; the new vice-president is Joan Ferguson; Melanie Fitzgerald will serve as recording secretary;  Elaine Tompkins remains as corresponding secretary, while Vivian Brucker will serve another term as treasurer. Joanne Sattler continues as  club historian.  These new  officers will serve a two-year term.

The first meeting of the 2010-2011 season was held Monday, October 4, in the Presbyterian Church fellowship hall, and featured a program by member Patty Bellinger. It detailed the life of a young girl in the Adirondacks from birth to graduation in the early 1900s.  The club’s them this season is The Adirondacks. 

In keeping with this theme, the group’s next meeting will feature well-known local author, activist,  and historian Dr. John Slade, of Woodgate. He will present a program entitled Acid Rain, Acid Snow, also  the title of a  book he published in 2000. Not only does Slade lament the declining Adirondack environment resulting from acid rain and snow, the book also contains many original poetry pieces. The meeting is scheduled for Monday, November 1, in the fellowship hall of the Presbyterian Church, beginning at 6:45 p.m.  

The club continues to sponsor a platoon from Fort Drum, and has recently sent several cartons to the soldiers of the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Reconnaissance Platoon (CBRN Recce – pronounced “see-burn rec-key” - or Chem Recce for short). The  platoon is part of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion (HHC1st BSTB), 10th Mountain Division, (Light Infantry). 

Plans call for more boxes to go out shortly. If you’d like to donate some goodies or toiletries or other personal items, including books and magazines, please see our list posted on November 9, 2009, entitled,

No, they're not aliens! These are members of our adopted platoon, in protective garb, ready for duty!

 leave a comment below with any questions you may have. 

For more information on the next meeting or about becoming a club member, contact President Barb Traxel at 942-4010, or Treasurer Vivian Brucker at 942-4251.

Thanks for visiting our blog! Stop by again soon. We’ll continue to update these pages, and we welcome your comments.  

Some of the attendees enjoying refreshments after the Oneida County Historians Association meeting. Left to right, Elmer Niles, Carl Saporito, Judy Routson, Earl Allen, Bonny Niles, Lou Parrotta, OCHA President Dick Williams, and Jean Williams. Thanks, Dick and Jean, for the delicious goodies!

I was honored to be asked to give a brief presentation to the Oneida County Historians Association (OCHA) on Tuesday evening, June 22,  about this blog. Not just the blog, but also  why we went with WordPress. The meeting was hosted by The Clinton Historical Society (www.clintonhistory.org). OCHA President Dick Williams is also a member of this group.    

The Oneida County Historians Association is an organization of  county municipal historians, local historical societies, and other such groups.  Although the Boonville Historical Club is not a society, we like to support local and county history.    

Hubby and I  dodged the raindrops on our way to the former Clinton Baptist Church, home of the Clinton Historical Society. Nevertheless, it was worth the trip: the topic was interesting and timely, and I enjoyed meeting like-minded people, all devoted to conserving our area’s rich history.     

On the agenda with me  were two excellent and very knowledgeable speakers, Phillipa Brown and Carl Saporito. Phillipa, or “Flip,” is the Waterville town historian, and Carl is webmaster and paginator for the Oneida County Historical Society (OCHS)  website (www.oneidacountyhistory.org).    

Flip maintains a colorful and interesting daily blog (www.huddleblogger.com), and has garnered many followers. She enjoys history and her blog, and she’s definitely a busy lady!  

Carl, too, proved his dedication to history. He  does a wonderful job keeping the OCHS website up and running. He’s well versed on the how-tos of being a webmaster and gave a thoroughly interesting talk about his duties.   

We all emphasized that modern technology is definitely a boost for all historians and historical groups. Easy to use and access, it  helps publicize any group and its activities.    

President Dick Williams  added to the program. He reinforced the benefits  of using free websites, blogs, e-mails, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media to attract more people to historical organizations and events. There are many sites available to help spread the word about preserving our heritage, and we should all take advantage of them!

Those receiving the awards at Boonville Elementary were Raigen McGahey, a student in Ms. Tina Weiler’s class; Madeline Maher, in Mr. Richard Chrisman’s class, Sadie Buckingham, from Ms. Jackie Layton’s class, and Hannah Hutchinson from Ms. Christina Kornatowski’s class.  

At Forestport Elementary, the award went to Elizabeth Seelman, whose teacher was Ms. Erin Burns.  

The West Leyden award recipient was Ashley Britton, a student of Ms. Christina Jokajtys.  

Adirondack Central High School graduating seniors Amanda Marsh and Dalton Hyde tied for the club’s annual cash award, which they received during commencement exercises Saturday, June 26. Since 1979, the club has given this award at graduation to the senior receiving the highest mark in a grade 12 Social Studies elective, taught by the Social Studies Department. Both Amanda and Dalton had a 99 average. (Sorry we have no photos of the students!)  

Adirondack Central High School, Boonville, New York

 The Boonville Historical Club is continuing to collect magazines, toiletries, and snack items for its adopted 10th Mountain Division soldiers, currently stationed in Afghanistan. Several club members met Tuesday morning, June 8, to pack three cartons for shipment to the soldiers.    

 If anyone would like to donate items for the platoon, please see our earlier post here, about what we’re collecting,  or call Joyce Charboneau at 942-4835, for more information.   

The Boonville Historical Club held its end-of-season dinner meeting and election of officers on Monday evening, June 7, at Steak & Brew Restaurant, Turin, with 22 members attending.

Several members were recognized for perfect attendance and membership milestones. Those with perfect attendance during the 2009-2010 season were: Jeanne Cerro, Joyce Charboneau, and Judy Routson. Others recognized were Vivian Brucker, with two years perfect attendance; Glenyce Trainor, three years; Barb Traxel; four years; and Patty Bellinger, 11 years. Patty and Joanne Sattler were recognized for 15 years of membership, while Melanie Fitzgerald was honored for her 25-year membership.

Congratulations to Barb Traxel, who will serve as president for the next two years; also to our new vice-president, Joan Ferguson. Vivian Brucker remains as treasurer, while  Melanie Fitzgerald replaces Barb as recording secretary. Elaine Tompkins and Joanne Sattler will continue as corresponding secretary and  historian, respectively.

After several years without a recipient, the club’s Outstanding Citizen Award , commonly referred to as The Woman of the Year Award, went to former club president Daphne Larrabee (see previous post).

The club has adjourned for the summer and will reconvene regular meetings in October. Women who live in the Adirondack School District are welcome to join the club, and can contact Vivian Brucker at 942-4251 for more information.  

In photo, front row, left to right:  Judy Routson, Joan Ferguson, Patty Bellinger, Melanie Fitzgerald, Vivian Brucker, Joyce Charboneau, Laura Sawyer; in back, Geraldine Crumb, Joanne Sattler, Elaine Tompkins, Carol Kulpa, Jeanne Cerro, Daphne Larrabee, Nancy Trainor, Linda Marcy, Evelyn Wagoner, Ruth Hughes, Barbara Traxel, Glenyce Trainor, Marilyn Fowler, and Shirley Linck.

Daphne Larrabee

Congratulations to Daphne Larrabee!

She’s the Boonville Historical Club’s most recent Woman of the Year. The announcement was made at the annual end-of-the-season dinner meeting, Monday evening, June 7, at Steak & Brew Restaurant, Turin.

 A retired teacher and busy community volunteer, Daphne is the sixth woman to receive the coveted title, officially labeled, The Outstanding Citizen Award.  Members have taken to calling it the Woman of the Year Award since shortly after it was initiated in 2002. We don’t choose a winner every year – only if the committee finds someone who fulfills the criteria. 

 A Historical Club member since 1989, Daphne served as president from 2006-2008. She also volunteers at Matthew’s Place (local thrift shop and food bank), is on the board of directors for the Boonville Black River Canal Museum, and assists in many capacities at the Boonville United Methodist Church. She has been a long-time member of the church administrative council, is in charge of the volunteer clean-up crew, and is active in the United Methodist Women‘s group. Her duties with the Black River Canal Museum include the difficult task of recruiting, scheduling, and training volunteer guides.

While club president, Daphne presented a donation to Black River Canal Museum Director Dale Ferris.

 Daphne is a very busy woman, indeed!

 A Rochester native, Daphne taught third grade, kindergarten, and remedial reading in the Adirondack School District for approximately 23 years, before her retirement a few years ago. She met her late husband, Bob, while student teaching there. She and Bob, who passed away in 2002, were married in 1962 and had three children.

When her children were growing up, Daphne operated a small nursery school from her home. She was also involved in scouting with her children, and later Brownies with her only granddaughter. A former board director of the Dodge-Pratt-Northam Art and Community Center in Boonville, Daphne also at one time served as its secretary.

Under her tenure as Historical Club president, members completed a beautiful quilted wall hanging, now on display at the Canal Museum. Another major project was the installation of a bench near Erwin Library in memory of deceased member Jo Vella.

As chairperson of the club’s fundraising committee in 2006, Daphne spearheaded a campaign to raise money for the repair and restoration of the Gettysburg monument to the 97^th Regiment. The fundraising was so successful that a marker was also dedicated in Boonville’s Erwin Park.