Christmas in Schenectady

This post features a few festive photos from our collection showing Christmas over the years.

A svelte Santa was chosen for the 1970 Christmas Parade.

Santa stopped trimming his beard for the 1985 Christmas Parade

One of the floats in the 1986 parade. 

Going back a bit further to the 1949 parade which featured this large
inflatable train.

Christ Church on State Street all decked out for Christmas in 1896.

What better way to spend your Christmas than hanging
out in Vale Cemetery. 

The Salvation Army collecting toys to give out on Christmas. 

Surrounded by toys at the Schenectady County Historical Society.

Holding lanterns by the Stockade's Christmas tree.

A very Stockade Christmas at the junction of Green, Front and Ferry.

Young carolers in Schenectady's Stockade neighborhood.

Schenectady's Haunted Past: Victorian Spectres in the Stockade

This post was written by SCHS's Assistant Curator Kaitlin Morton-Bentley

As Halloween draws near, it is the time of year to think about haunted houses and ghost stories. The Stockade neighborhood is over 350 years old and has seen its share of characters come and go. Our Candlelight Walking Tours held every Friday in October explore these stories, some which have been written down decades ago by folklore enthusiasts and some which were told to us firsthand. 

Undated photograph of Green, Front, and Ferry Street.
Courtesy of the Grems-Doolittle Photograph Collection

New for this year is our Victorian Candlelight Tour. Victorian culture was passionate about death and mourning. The nation experienced an unprecedented loss of young life during the Civil War, leaving families looking for ways to recognize the passing of their loved ones. Elaborate mourning rituals developed, including dressing in black for months or years and withdrawing from society. A woman in mourning might write on stationary edged in black or wear jewelry made from the woven hair of a deceased loved one. Victorians embraced death and mourning, and it is no surprise that some of our best stories come from that time period, including three stories about ghosts near Green Street.


There is a story about a little boy ghost in a Green Street apartment, perhaps the young son of one of the servants who lived in the Ellis brothers’ mansion. The boy may have lived in a small servants quarters building just behind the mansion and would have run back and forth between the two.  He is dressed in brown pants and jacket with a white shirt and is known to be mischievous by throwing candlesticks and other small objects in the present day apartments. The woman who lives in this apartment has reported several encounters with this boy ghost. At night she felt a hand touching a sore spot on her spine, making the pain go away, but when she woke up there was no one there. She once saw a candle wiggle out of its holder by itself and fly across the room to hit the wall. She believes the young ghost wants attention, so if she talks to him, he does not cause as much mischief. When she loses items she asks the ghost to put them back before she starts searching, and they usually return on their own. This little boy ghost is a benevolent spirit and just wants to have a little fun.

The blurred faces give this photo an eerie, otherworldly quality.
Courtesy of the Grems-Doolittle Photograph Collection 

The original burying ground for the Stockade was located about halfway down Green Street. By the 19th century the burial ground was getting crowded, and they decided to build a new and bigger cemetery called Vale Cemetery. All of the people buried in the old cemetery were moved to Vale. Vale was one of the many new Victorian rural cemeteries, built not just to hold graves, but to serve as a place of nature where the living could enjoy picnic lunches and strolls alongside those who had passed on. Vale Cemetery was dedicated in 1857. Just south of Vale Park there used to be a grand mansion, which was known to be haunted. Dishes and trays were snatched from maids’ hands, and forks and spoons were grabbed as guests tried to eat. Dishes rattled in empty rooms, windows mysteriously opened and closed, and doors banged when there was no wind. The mansion was torn down decades ago. Perhaps the ghost was a spirit whose grave had been moved from the Stockade to Vale Cemetery and did not care for its new neighbors?


Ferry at Front Street, 1892. Courtesy of the Grems-Doolittle Photograph Collection

Further down the road, Green Street meets Front Street, another street filled with older houses. In one such house there is a recent story about a young woman who rented an apartment. The landlord told her she probably wouldn’t last long, because the building was haunted. She told the landlord that she did not believe in ghosts. She soon learned why so many tenants had left before. Doors would open and shut by themselves, and at night her blankets were pulled off her by invisible hands. One morning she woke up to all her things strewn about the apartment. There were cold spots in the rooms that wouldn’t warm up no matter how high she turned up the heat. The young woman decided she couldn’t take it anymore and informed the landlord she would be moving out immediately. The last nights she spent there were peaceful. Clearly the spirit who lived there was not in favor of having a roommate.



While there haven't been any reports of hauntings at 26 Front Street (that we know of), this
 photo of residents at 26 Front from the late 19th Century shows an example of Victorian fashion.
 Courtesy of the Grems-Doolittle Photograph Collection

Come see the sites of these stories and hear even more about the haunted past of the Stockade! Candlelight Walking Tours will be held Friday October 9, 16, 23, and 30 at 7:00pm and 7:30pm. Tickets can be purchased online at schenectadyhistorical.org/walking-tours. For further information contact exhibits@schenectadyhistorical.org.

Christmas and the Erie Canal in Schenectady

Youngsters ice-skate on the frozen Erie Canal in this photograph taken circa 1910. The skating area, just south of State Street on what is now Erie Boulevard, was a popular place for children and families to have fun during the holidays. On the weekends before Christmas, lanterns and music were brought in to make skating an even jollier affair. Image from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection. 

Larry Hart wrote in his "Tales of Old Dorp" newspaper column in 1980 that local resident Lew McCue, who grew up in Schenectady and worked on the canal in his younger days, "had a canal story or poem for almost any occasion." Christmas was no exception. McCue shared with Hart his memories of Christmas days during the canal era.

This image of Lewis "Lew" McCue, circa 1950, was taken by Schenectady Gazette photographer Ed Schultz. McCue, who shared his memories of the Erie Canal with local historian and newspaper reporter Larry Hart, died in 1965 at the age of 82. Image from McCue surname file.   

McCue shared his memories of his 1880s boyhood in Schenectady; he credited the canal with making the Christmas season brighter. Special and exotic goods arrived in Schenectady, brought to town by shippers operating on the canal, right before the November closing of the canal each winter. These shipments made fruits such as bananas, oranges, figs, grapefruits, and pineapples plentiful during the holiday season. The canal barges also brought wine, cheeses, nuts, ginger, molasses, books, hardware, cloth, and stationery from faraway places. While everyone appreciated these special goods flowing into town just in time for the holidays, McCue noted that those who remembered life in Schenectady before the canal opened in 1825 were especially awed by the range of goods that the canal made it possible to be brought into town.

In this image of the Erie Canal, taken from the State Street canal bridge sometime before 1887, barges can be seen lined up along the warehouses that lined the canal. Just before the closing of the canal each November, barges would bring large shipments of goods up from New York City wholesalers, just in time for the holiday season. Image from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection. 

The canal also offered a special holiday delight in the form of recreation. On the weekends just before Christmas, McCue remembered, Schenectady's merchants provided funds to have Japanese lanterns hung along the ice skating area of the canal (the area just south of State Street on what is now Erie Boulevard), and hired bands to perform music for the skaters. Wintertime horse races were also held along a mile length of the canal from the Washington Avenue bridge westward.

Local men bundle up to watch horses race on the frozen bed of the Erie Canal in this undated photograph. Horse racing and ice skating were popular wintertime pursuits along the canal; Lew McCue especially associated these activities with Christmastime in the area. Image from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection. 

While local kids used the canal for ice skating, they also imagined that the canal provided a means for Santa Claus to hasten his travels across New York State. McCue shared with Hart that the children in Schenectady in the late 1800s believed that, rather than traveling with flying reindeer in the sky, Santa Claus' reindeer drew his sled along the frozen canal.

While a youth working on the canal, McCue also learned a holiday song from other canal workers, the lyrics of which he passed along to Larry Hart, who published them in his "Tales of Old Dorp" column:

There was always a Santa Claus on the Erie Canal, 
Mrs. Claus powdered her nose and joined in as well. 
There were cargoes of spice, nuts and logwood for toys, 
And many other things for girls and boys, 
And tons and tons of molasses, with a Christmas smell. 
Yes, there was always a Santa Claus on the Erie Canal.

The Mystery of the Teddy Bear

The cartoon that led to the origin of the teddy bear. 

This blog entry is written by SCHS Assistant Curator Kaitlin Morton-Bentley.

The teddy bear is one of the most beloved toys all around the world, both with children and with adults. Some teddy bears are made to be cuddled and loved, while some designer teddy bears are created to be admired from afar. This familiar object has a surprisingly contentious beginning. The name “teddy bear” comes from a story about Teddy Roosevelt on a bear hunt in 1902 and the first teddy bear was invented the same year. The details of these events, however, are still a bit mysterious.

President Roosevelt traveled to Mississippi to settle a boundary dispute with Louisiana. During a break in negotiations, he was invited to go on a special hunting expedition organized by local sportsmen on the Mississippi Delta. Roosevelt was eager to shoot a bear during the hunt but no bears could be found. The organizers of the hunt finally used their dogs to chase down a bear and tied him to a tree for the President to shoot.

All sources agree that Roosevelt refused to shoot the bear. What happened after, however, is debatable. Some sources say he refused because it was a very young bear and he did not want to take the life of a defenseless cub, and so he set the bear free.  Other sources reported that the bear was quite old, and Roosevelt did not feel the hunt was fair. He then ordered the bear killed by a knife and skinned.  Roosevelt’s decision to spare the life of a bear became famous when it was recreated in a cartoon by Clifford K. Berryman for the Washington Evening Star entitled “Drawing the Line in Mississippi.” Interestingly, early versions of the cartoon show a much larger and older bear, with later cartoons portraying the bear as younger and friendlier. It is this later version that has become famous for inspiring the birth of the teddy bear.

This teddy bear, on display in the exhibit The Teddy Bear: Celebrating the Bears in Our Lives, is modeled after the first teddy bears. Notice the long arms, pointed  nose, stooped back, and short fur. Early teddy bears had movable heads and limbs. Teddy bears today tend to have rounder faces, shorter unjointed limbs, and softer fur. 

Soon after the publication of the cartoon, stuffed toy bears called “Teddy’s Bears” began appearing in stores. The creation of the first teddy bear, however, is questionable. Inventors from both the United States and Germany claim to have originated the teddy bear at the same time.

In the United States, Morris Michtom and his wife Rose owned a small candy store in Brooklyn.  Inspired by Berryman’s cartoon of Roosevelt and the bear, Rose made a toy bear out of brown plush and stuffing with movable arms and legs. She placed the bear in the store window next to a copy of the cartoon and called the bear “Teddy’s Bear.” The bear quickly sold, and soon they had orders for a dozen more.  From this success Morris and Rose formed the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company in 1907, a toy company that lives on today as part of Mattel.

Across the Atlantic in Giengen, Germany, Margarete Steiff had been making and selling stuffed animals for decades before she created her first teddy bear in 1902. Confined to a wheelchair at a young age by polio, she had become an accomplished seamstress and by 1880 established her own company that sold felt elephants, monkeys, horses, camels, pigs, mice, cats, and dogs.  After observing brown bears in the Zoological Gardens in Stuttgart, her eldest nephew, Richard Steiff, suggested that she try making a toy bear with movable head and limbs. Margarete was skeptical at first, but when an American toy buyer from George Borgfeldt & Co. ordered 3,000 bears at the 1903 Leipzig Toy Fair, she was convinced of the potential of the stuffed bear.  The Margarete Steiff brand quickly grew into an international leader in teddy bear production that continues to produce a vast array of teddy bears and other stuffed animals for children and collectors alike. The Steiff Company maintains today that they created the teddy bear first.

In spite of the mysterious details surrounding Roosevelt’s bear hunt and the origins of the stuffed bear, the teddy bear only continues to gain in popularity worldwide. For play, comfort, or collecting, the teddy bear is like no other.

You can learn more about teddy bears and see some special bears on display by visiting our exhibit, The Teddy Bear: Celebrating the Bears in Our Lives. The exhibit is on display during the Festival of Trees through December 14, 2014. Admission to the Festival of Trees is $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for children ages 5-12. Children under 5 years of age are admitted free. For more information about the exhibit, or about the Festival of Trees, please contact Assistant Curator Kaitlin Morton-Bentley or call 518-374-0263, option 4.

Image from last year's Festival of Trees. The Festival is held annually as a joint fundraiser for the Schenectady County Historical Society and the YWCA of Northeastern New York.  

A Dash of Thanksgiving Humor

Local readers chuckled at this Thanksgiving illustration that appeared in the Quaker Street Review on November 17, 1892. Image obtained via www.fultonhistory.com. 

The holiday of Thanksgiving, during its long years of tradition, has been an occasion for giving solemn thanks and enjoying communion with family. However, Thanksgiving does have its lighter side. In celebration of Thanksgiving - and with tongue firmly in cheek - we offer humorous bits about Thanksgiving, gleaned from 19th-century Schenectady newspapers. Even 150 years ago, local residents had plenty of funny tidbits to share about Thanksgiving.

The most common, of course, is turkey humor:

"The most unhappy man we saw on Thanksgiving eve was a grocer. He had sold his last turkey, and company was coming. He had sold his last turkey, but he could get another, you know. And so, shutting up his store, he started off for the other turkey. He not only started, but he travelled. He went to Johnson's. He went to Stavers'. He went to Bronk's. He went to the head of State Street and down again to Frog Alley. He traveled Union Street to the extent of the College thereof, and he went in every other direction; but not a turkey could he find. And not a turkey had he - had he - all for Thanksgiving day. We expect our grocer said the usual thanks at his bountiful table, next day, but there was lacking a bit of heart in the matter. That's what comes from having too many customers. It's pretty bad when company comes."
 - Schenectady Daily Evening Star, 9 December 1865

"Never mind about the mythical raid on Cuba! There is no doubt of our citizens being extensively engaged in perfecting arrangements for a universal war on Turkey."
- Schenectady Daily Evening Star, 14 November 1863

"There was once a turkey ... But Thanksgiving day arrived by order of the Governor. And, as if the Governor had ordered the sacrifice, that turkey was beheaded ... we hope it will not be deemed immodest when we say, that the turkey adorned our table. He 'came on' dripping with fatness and 'extreme' with dressing. He was greasy with gravy and delicious as to smell. He was white and tender at the breast and savory at the bowels. His limbs were done to a nicety, and his wings emphatically good. In fact, He made the meal of the year, that turkey, and we shall never recur to the fact without regret that he didn't have a brother or a sister, or a dozen of both."
- Schenectady Evening Star and Times, 21 November 1862

"We would advise turkeys to roost high, if they expect to pass over the day unmolested."
- Quaker Street Review, 8 November 1894

And there's also, of course, humor about those who overindulge in drink when making merry on Thanksgiving:

"We are without a promised report of the temperance lecture last evening. Our reporter was invited out to a thanksgiving dinner and we haven't seen him since. We understand that he was seen about eleven o'clock last night in the neighborhood of the dry dock inquiring where the lecture was to be held. He stated that he had eaten so much turkey that he was obliged to take an overdose of the 'green seal' to quiet the squakings [sic] of the biped inside and that the medicine had got the better of him. Any information of his whereabouts will be thankfully received at this office, and no questions asked."
- Schenectady Daily Evening Star, 29 November 1867

Happy Birthday, Schenectady County!

This basic county map depicts Schenectady County today. Image from http://www.nysegov.com.

Today marks the date the Schenectady County was established. On March 7, 1809, Schenectady County split off of Albany County. Albany County was one of the original counties in the colony of New York created in November 1683 by colonial governor Thomas Dongan. The act creating Albany County defined the territory of the county "to containe the Towns of Albany, the Collony Rensselaerwyck, Schonecteda, and all the villages, neighborhoods, and Christian Plantaçons on the east side of Hudson River from Roelef's Creek, and on the west side from Sawyer's Creek (Saugerties) to the Sarraghtoga." Although the boundaries of Albany County changed many times over the next 125 years, Schenectady and the surrounding towns remained part of Albany County. When Schenectady County was created in 1809, it was the last change made to the boundaries of Albany County.

Portion of map of New York Province, 1776, showing Albany County, which at that time included the area that would later become Schenectady County. Image from People of Colonial Albany Live Here site, New York State Museum (https://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/index.html)

Portion of 1808 New York State map showing Albany County, one year before Schenectady County split from Albany County. Image from collections of Grems-Doolittle Library.

When Schenectady County was created, it consisted of the city of Schenectady and the towns of Duanesburg, Princetown, and Niskayuna (Niskayuna itself being newly incorporated from Watervliet on the same date). Glenville and Rotterdam would be incorporated from the city of Schenectady several years later, in 1820. The act that created Schenectady County charged the county with its new responsibilities to prepare a court house and jail, record deeds, maintain records of election returns, collect taxes, and to appoint a county clerk and county treasurer. The city of Schenectady was chosen as the county seat. The History of the County of Schenectady, authored by George Rogers Howell and John H. Munsell, listed that in 1809 the total valuation of real and personal estate of the county was $1,841,728.

Portion of 1824 New York State map showing Schenectady County. Image from collections of Grems-Doolittle Library.

A Schenectady County Thanksgiving Tale

"Thanksgiving An Inspiration Peculiar to the Nation." A festive meal, time with family and friends, and even football are featured in this drawing. Image from Library of Congress. 

"Why should we have Thanksgiving
For just one little day?
Should we not always be thankful?
Should we not always pray?
While the leaves are crimson and glowing,
While the fall mists are in the air,
While your heart is with gladness o'erflowing
Don't you breathe up a little prayer
To the Heavenly Father who made you
And this earth so broad and fair?

Thanksgiving really comes every day:
When you look at the sky and trees:
When you look at the silvery river
And feel the Autumn breeze.
When you feel a queer little ache
In your soul for the very joy of living,
Reach out your hand for the hand of God,
And remember -- That is Thanksgiving!"

- Poem entitled "Thanksgiving," written by Bertha R. Wolcott, Schenectady High School student, from SHUCIS literary magazine, November 1922.

Tomorrow, people all around Schenectady County will celebrate Thanksgiving Day. The Thanksgiving holiday is traced to the 1621 harvest feast at the Plymouth Plantation. Autumn and early winter celebrations continued in subsequent years as religious and civil traditions. Thanksgiving Day became an official federal holiday in 1863, when Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."

Larry Hart, a Schenectady Gazette reporter and long-time Schenectady city and county historian, remembered in his "Tales of Old Dorp" newspaper column one Thanksgiving he experienced as a boy growing up, when he and his family lived in Carman during the Great Depression. This wonderful Thanksgiving story is worth sharing in its entirety:

"It was 1933, when the Depression was at its lowest depths. Yet, that holiday was far from being somber of even ordinary.

"Like so many breadwinners at the time, Dad wasn't having the best of luck in finding work that might supplement his meager trucking business. At school the past week, all of us kids had been drawing and coloring pictures of the strutting turkey as is the custom yet today. There were not a few of us, however, who knew deep down that our dinner table would not be favored this year at least with the impressive sight of a tom turkey on a platter, roasted to a steaming brown and ready for carving.

"Prices were low enough in 1933. The trouble was that few families in our circle bought anything at the stores which might be considered 'extras' -- such as a turkey, or a second radio set, or even a second newspaper. Now that we look back on those times, the Great Depression must have been rougher on the adults who had to worry about money problems than [on] the youngsters, who were quite content to enjoy everything that life had to offer.

"It so happened that in 1933 our Boy Scout Troop 32 had raised extra money through various projects which was to be used for Thanksgiving baskets for the absolute needy of the Carman neighborhood. We don't recall, probably were never told, how the names were received but that didn't matter. All we can remember is the great feeling of being a part of some special mission that Tuesday or Wednesday night before the big holiday, when we were driven around parts of Carman by our Dads to deliver those baskets. They were bulging with fruits and nuts, canned goods, and -- biggest of all -- a dressed turkey. The incredulous looks on the faces of those who answered the door that night, looks which softened to tearful, heartwarming smiles as they understood our visit, are indelible in our memories.

"Needless to say, the chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes, turnip, and homemade apple pie which Ma served on that Thanksgiving, 1933, was a repast especially enjoyable to us. A ham sandwich would have done just as well."

We at the Schenectady County Historical Society wish everyone in our local community -- and beyond -- a happy Thanksgiving!

Labor Day in Schenectady

A man lifts a banner championing the eight-hour movement in this drawing from the Salt Lake Herald dated September 3, 1906. A caption below the drawing simply reads, "His Day and His Flag." Image from www.loc.gov. 

"Labor Day is about the most correctly named holiday we have, as most people work harder when taking a holiday than they do at their every day occupations."
- Quaker Street Review, Thursday, September 16, 1897.

The residents of Schenectady County have celebrated Labor Day for more than 125 years. Although the holiday has its origin in the struggles that labor unions undertook on behalf of American workers, for many of us, it's simply a nice long weekend -- a last chance to enjoy the summer before fall settles in. Such a conception of Labor Day is certainly not new; it seems to have been a part of the holiday's celebrations from the beginning.

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on September 5, 1882, in New York City, and was planned by the city's Central Labor Union. In 1884, the Central Labor Union urged unions in other locales to celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on the first Monday in September. New York was among the first few states to adopt Labor Day as an official state holiday in 1887. Many states followed suit over the course of the next few years, and in 1894, the United States designated Labor Day a national holiday.

Newspaper rendering of first Labor Day parade in New York City in 1882. Image from www.wikipedia.org. 

Another labor holiday that has largely failed to take hold in the United States -- although the origins of the holiday are American -- is May Day (now also known as International Workers' Day), celebrated on May 1. In October 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions unanimously decided at a convention to set May 1, 1886, as the date by which an eight-hour work day would become standard. On May 1, 1886, a general strike and demonstrations were held in support of the eight-hour day movement, which championed eight hours for work, eight hours for sleep, and eight hours for recreation for workers. An international meeting of Socialists in 1889 decided to encourage solidarity with the struggle for the eight-hour day by making May 1 an international labor day. As May Day developed as a holiday associated with radical labor unions, anarchists, and socialists -- as well as with the commemoration of the 1886 Haymarket Tragedy in Chicago -- trade unions advocated the September date for Labor Day perhaps in part to distance themselves from the radical political associations of May Day.

On New York State's first official Labor Day in 1887, the Albany Evening Journal reported, "the celebration has been taken in charge by the various labor organizations of respective localities and while the primary ideas of the day, recreation and rest, are emphasized, at the same time the occasion will be taken to show the numerical strength of organized labor throughout the state."

The organizers of the 1911 Labor Day celebration in Schenectady, as they appeared in the Schenectady Gazette. Left to right: J.T. McConville, Alexander Golden, E. Dwelly, P.J. Hemmerling, Fred LaCrosse, A.W. Slover, L.J. Humpf, Michael Kennedy.  All were members of the Schenectady Labor Temple Association. Image from www.fultonhistory.com. 

In Schenectady, during the late 1800s and early 1900s, many Labor Day celebrations were organized by the Schenectady Labor Temple Association and the Schenectady Trades Assembly. These celebrations often featured a parade, followed by picnics and other festivities. A number of groups marched in the 1900 parade, including the Schenectady Police, the Citizens Corps Band, and numerous trade unions such as the Blacksmith Helpers, the Iron and Brass Moulders, the Journeyman Tailors, the Musicians Protective Union, and the Tip and Sheet Metal Workers. In 1911, the Labor Temple Association organized a parade that marched from the Trades Assembly Hall on State Street, up State Street, around Crescent Park (now Veterans Park), to Washington Avenue and across the dike to Glenotia Park in Scotia for a general celebration, picnic, and field day.

Other organizations, including fraternal organizations and churches, also sponsored Labor Day commemorations or celebrations in Schenectady. Some were explicitly connected with the concept of labor, such as a special sermon on "The Dignity of Labor" delivered at the Second Reformed Church in 1911. Others celebrated with relaxation, sports, and coming together as a community. In Schenectady during the late 19th and early 20 century, Labor Day celebrations included baseball, basketball, and croquet games, picnics, hot-air balloon rides, wrestling matches, track meets and field days, golf and bowling tournaments, clambakes, fireworks, concerts and dances, and other amusements. Newspaper notices on the society pages of area newspapers show that many Schenectadians used the Labor Day holiday as an opportunity to visit family and friends, go on camping trips or pleasure trips, or to host visiting relatives.

In the early years of the twentieth century, as now, businesses used the Labor Day holiday as a focus for advertisements, sales, and promotions. This 1911 advertisement for the New York Central railroad promoted Labor Day excursions to Niagara Falls, and appeared in the Schenectady Gazette. Image from www.fultonhistory.com.

For some local people, Labor Day remains a celebration of the laborer and the contributions of labor unions. Louis Altieri of Schenectady was quoted in a 2001 Daily Gazette article as saying, "Labor Day is very important to me. It gives me a chance to reflect on all the sacrifices people had to go through in the labor movement to achieve benefits. I hope people look at Labor Day as a day of thanksgiving for what people have done."

Three Decades of Niska-Day

A glimpse of Niska-Day activities at Craig Elementary School in 2009.
Photo from the Daily Gazette (www.dailygazette.com). 

This Saturday is the 32nd annual Niska-Day in Niskayuna. Organized by the Niskayuna Community Action Program (N-CAP), the event serves to celebrate and foster a feeling of community in the town.

In the fall of 1981, N-CAP began planning the first Niskayuna Community Day (the name was soon changed to Niska-Day), sending a letter encouraging community organizations, schools, businesses, churches, and neighborhood associations to participate. The first Niska-Day was held on May 29, 1982. Organizer J. Daniel Tearno said that "people were skeptical" about Niska-Day initially, since the "bedroom community" had never before demonstrated community pride. However, the first Niska-Day proved to be a success. Rainy weather did not keep crowds away from the day-long festivities, which included a parade, a magic show, a "celebrity softball" game of television station WTEN versus radio stations WTRY and WPYX, tug-of-war, musical performances, craft and game booths, an art show, chess competition, a fun run, a tennis tournament, soccer scrimmages, and a dance contest. More than 70 groups participated in the first parade.

The crowd at the first Niska-Day in 1982 gather around Niskayuna High School students in tug-of-war. From Niska-Day clipping file.  

Cover of program for the first Niska-Day. From Niska-Day clipping file. 

Many of the features of Niska-Day have remained the same over the past 32 years, such as the parade, musical performances, craft and game booths, fireworks display, etc. Each year's celebration has had a theme, ranging from education and volunteerism to Mardi Gras and "going country" (this year's glitzy Las Vegas theme even features an Elvis impersonator as grand marshal). Festivities were generally held on the grounds of Niskayuna High School. In 2008, due to construction at the high school, events were held at Craig Elementary School. The decision was made to continue festivities at Craig due to the proximity to the Niskayuna Soccer Club Fields for extra picnic and family space. In addition to the standard Niska-Day activities, there have been a few highlights that stand out over the years. In 1987, students at Niskayuna Middle School constructed a float that operated as a working kazoo. Billed as the "World's Largest Kazoo," it was over 8 feet long. A snare drum head served as its resonator. In 1990, the Hometown Sprits, a basketball team made up of local politicians, teachers, and coaches, played against the Harlem Wizards. Niska-Day featured a Civil War encampment in 1991 and a re-enactment in 2003. The 1991 Niska-Day was reported to have drawn more than 20,000 people -- more than the population of the entire town at that time. Estimates of attendance for other years during the 1990s tended to range around 7,000-10,000.

Refreshment booth at Niska-Day in 2010. Photo from http://www.niskaday.org/. 

Niska-Day has also faced some challenges through its history. The 1986 Niska-Day was thought at the time to be possibly the last, due to liability insurance costs. A few years later, in response to reported cases of measles at Rosendale Elementary School, organizers encouraged pupils from that school not to attend (those who did attend Niska-Day would be required to present proof of immunization). Niska-Day has often fallen on rainy days, but, as Niska-Day Committee Co-Chair Denise Leader said in 2008, "we've come to realize that if you put the tents up, they will come." Only one Niska-Day has been cancelled due to inclement weather -- a snowstorm in May 2002. Niska-Day could not be rescheduled, but organizers created a Niska-Night on the Green celebration in July of that year on the grounds of Niskayuna Town Hall.

The annual Niska-Day celebration is the largest of its kind in the region. "This kind of thing is really essential to a community," said Elizabeth Kiffney, Niska-Day chair, in 1987. "It's a day for families and neighbors to be friends and neighbors - together." Niska-Day Committee Co-Chair Bill Leader said in 2011, "This event has been going on for 30 years. Kids that grew up with Niska-Day are now parents bringing their kids."

For more information about this year's Niska-Day activities, visit http://www.niskaday.org.

A Mother's Day Treat

Photographs of a Scotia mother and child: Nellie Reynolds and her baby, Neil Bailey Reynolds, 1903. Photographs from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection. 

Turn-of-the-century family photographs in our collections tend to be posed portraits. The people shown in them may look stern; even if they are smiling, they tend to capture the family as it wished to be presented to the world -- dressed in their finest clothes, all assembled together, giving the appearance of unity, abundance, and vitality. It is rare to see photographs of this era that capture the spontaneous moments of everyday life.

That is what makes the above photographs such a special treat in celebration of Mother's Day. The love, tenderness, and sense of playfulness between the mother and her baby are palpable. We see the mother's smile spread into a delighted grin as the baby rolls and kicks on her lap, and can almost hear the gurgling and babbling of the infant. The photographs are a rare glimpse of the connection between mother and child.

"The Best Santa Claus in the World": Schenectady's Frank Mauro

Frank Mauro acts the part of Santa Claus at the Carl Company department store in 1951. From Larry Hart Collection. 

When the Carl Company closed its doors in Schenectady, one sentiment written in a memory book made available to the store's customers in the weeks before the store's closing read, "The Carl Company had the best Santa Claus in the world!" This sentiment could likely have referred to Frank Mauro, who acted as Santa for the Carl Company for three decades.

The interior of the Carl Company department store during the holiday shopping season, ca. 1950. From Larry Hart Collection. 

Frank Mauro was born in Italy and moved with his parents, Louis and Antonetta, to the United States in 1910. By 1919, the family had moved to Schenectady. Mauro's first publicity as an artist came in 1921, when he was mentioned in a Schenectady Gazette article about a kite-making contest in Pleasant Valley Park: "Frank Mauro, a young contestant, has been amusing a large crowd with his comic cartoons. Every day a different cartoon appears on the bulletin board and it pays to read them over, as they often are scenes happening in the park." He was then only 15 years old. He began his working life at G.E., where he worked until he established his used car dealership, Mauro Auto Sales, in 1936. He married Rose Furlano that year, and the couple went on to have two children. Mauro would continue to work as an auto dealer until his retirement in 1984.

Mauro's commitment to art and entertainment ran through his entire life, and he often drew in public to entertain others. A 1932 Gazette article described Mauro's efforts in drawing crowds to the Carl Company during a sale of fur coats: "at 11 o'clock a young man in painter's smock stepped into the window, adjusted a big easel and went to work drawing quickly on the big sheet of paper. The crowds soon gathered. He drew and there appeared an amusing fat boy and his little dog. Quickly lettering a message at the top of the paper the artist, Frank F. Mauro, introduced his cartoon boy, Dick Doolittle Dunn and dog. After that the sheets were filled with pictures of Dick in different amusing poses always saying something about the Carl fur sale . . . All the time the artist, Mr. Mauro, was drawing quickly and cleverly so that the succeeding scenes seemed like a moving picture. It amused the crowds greatly and many of the women and girls stopped in to see the bargains in coats which the store was offering." Mauro copyrighted his images of newspaper-boy Dick Doolittle Dunn and his dog Fido that year, and continued to draw them for years. Historian Larry Hart notes that the duo appeared in local publications, but in searching newspapers and other documents in our library, I have not yet come across any of Mauro's work.

This photo of Mauro in his later life appeared with his obituary in the March 13, 1987 Schenectady Gazette. Below his photo and name, it read "Was a Carl Co. Santa." Image obtained via Google News Archives.  

During World War II, Mauro painted shop windows and billboards to promote the sale of war bonds to Schenectadians. In 1942, in preparation for "Tank Week," a week-long drive to sell war stamps and bonds to fund the purchase of an ALCO-made M-3 tank for General MacArthur, the Schenectady Gazette highlighted Mauro's artwork: "Some of the stores in the city began to take on a tank week atmosphere yesterday when Frank Mauro, local artist, started decorating windows with a water color outline of one of the big tanks. Thus far he has been engaged to decorate 35 windows and hopes to do more if time will permit. He is doing this work without charge as his contribution to the campaign." Gazette editorial column writer "Van" wrote that Mauro also made sketches of Dick Doolittle Dunn in support of the war bond effort in Crescent Park over the course of several months. Van also added that in addition to his talents as an artist, Mauro was "an A-1 yarn spinner and is seldom seen without a cigar in his mouth."

Mauro was especially engaged with sharing his love of cartooning with local children. He began teaching cartoon classes for children and regularly giving cartooning demonstrations during the 1930s and headed a local Cartoon Club. During the summer of 1949, he gave free cartooning classes to children nearly every day of the week at 13 of the city's parks and playgrounds, reaching nearly 500 local kids. He often was featured as an entertainer at the Schenectady Hobby Show and Central Park Play Day and other local festivals and holiday celebrations. During the 1950s, he brought cheer to children in Sunnyview Hospital through his sketches and cartoons. Cartooning even followed him to his place of business; a 1950 Schenectady Gazette article noted that between 35 and 40 youngsters gathered every day after school to receive a quick sketch from Mauro or have him look at their drawings. Mauro said he enjoyed having the children visit and that it wasn't a hindrance to conducting business -- if a customer came in, the children would wait.

Spooky Schenectady: Halloween Images from the Grems-Doolittle Library

We wish everyone a safe, fun, and happy Halloween! In celebration, here's a look at some tricks and treats of times past in Schenectady.

1969 Halloween parade at Euclid Elementary School. Photo from Eleanor Jaeger School Photograph Collection.



Notice regarding Halloween from an 1863 issue of the Schenectady Evening Star and Times newspaper. Image obtained via www.fultonhistory.com.






1903 newspaper clipping from the Utica Globe depicting a "wheel puzzle" assembled by Halloween-inspired vandals in front of Samuel Hillis's grocery on Mohawk Avenue in Scotia. The Globe reported that the store "was blocked on both sides by 23 wagons, carriages, busses, and carryalls, so closely packed together with wheels locked that the work of removing them was something like the famous '15' puzzle of a few years ago. It remains somewhat of a mystery because the thing was done by 11:00 p.m. The majority of people look upon it as a good joke, remembering their own youthful days and pranks, but there are one or two who have lived long long beyond their 'happy days' and forget that they were many, many years ago young too." James Ransom of Scotia, who spoke with Larry Hart about the prank at the age of 81 in 1972, recalls that "it was done just about every year from about the turn of the century until maybe about 1910 or so . . . Of course the boys had to pick different places each year, but it was always done. I guess it was kind of expected, like a sort of Halloween ritual." Photo of image from Larry Hart Collection.






1927 newspaper advertisement for Halloween masquerade party at the Cains Castle "College of Dancing" at 164 Barrett Street in Schenectady. Image obtained via www.fultonhistory.com.





Costumed children take part in a sidewalk parade down Union Street in 1950. Photograph from Larry Hart Collection.



1937 advertisement for Halloween costumes for children and adults at Kresge's, 271 State Street, Schenectady. Image obtained via www.fultonhistory.com.



Boys march in the 1967 Halloween parade at Euclid Elementary School. Photograph from Eleanor Jaeger School Photograph Collection.



Celebrating St. Patrick's Day and Irish-American Heritage in Schenectady



Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Postcard from Larry Hart Collection.



Over the years, St. Patrick's Day has been celebrated in Schenectady in a variety of ways. Newspaper clippings of the 1860s mention special church services and parades. In the early days of the 20th century, dinners, dances, and parties were held, and local merchants such as Barney's sold green carnations. Newspapers of the 1950s featured St. Patrick's Day recipes for home entertaining, and St. Patrick's Day sales were promoted by local businesses.

The celebration of St. Patrick's Day this Saturday also offers an opportunity to highlight the history of Irish-Americans in the city and county. Schenectady's division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), a Catholic, Irish-American organization, was founded in 1880. The organization first met at the Center Street Opera House; the organization first appears in the 1882 city directory, listing Bernard Whyte as President and Martin Kelly as Secretary. The Hibernians met at a number of locations over the years, including the Van Curler Opera House, 729-733 State Street, and their current location at 1746 State Street, where the organization moved in 2000. The Schenectady Ancient Order of Hibernians have been active in promoting the culture, music, and language of Ireland, and have also been an important part of Schenectady's Irish-American community over the years, holding numerous social events including dances, variety shows, parties, communion breakfasts, Celtic Faire, and cocktail parties. As a group, the Schenectady AOH has also donated money to local causes, including scholarships for local high school students and funds for St. Clare's Hospital. The Hibernians have also organized and/or marched in St. Patrick's Day parades in Schenectady and in Albany.

A notice regarding the celebration of St. Patrick's Day in Schenectady in the March 19, 1866 Evening Star shows that imbibing on the holiday is nothing new. Image of newspaper retrieved via http://www.fultonhistory.com/.

Another organization that was active in annual St. Patrick's Day festivities was the Schenectady chapter of the Society of Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick. During the 1910s, the Friendly Sons hosted large dinners in celebration of the holiday, featuring speakers, songs, and fellowship. A 1911 newspaper clipping describes the celebration at the Vendome Hotel: "Sprigs of genuine shamrock were worn by many of the guests. The menu cards and favors were printed in green and tied with green ribbons and even the menu was tinged with the same color wherever possible, as in the ices, ice cream and punches, which were flavored and colored with pistachio and creme de menthe. Then there were green lights and the green ribbon insignia was displayed across the shirtfront of every guest, running from the northwest to the southeast."

Monsignor John L. Reilly, 1940.
Photograph from Grems-Doolittle
Library Photograph Collection.

One of the speakers who consistently addressed the annual St. Patrick's Day festivities of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick was the Monsignor John L. Reilly. The Rt. Rev. Msgr. John Liguori Reilly was born in 1853 in Albany. He attended Niagara University, where he earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees. After completing his studies at St. Joseph Provincial Seminary in Troy, he became an ordained priest in 1876. He served as pastor for a few churches in New York State before coming to Schenectady in 1886. He was appointed a Monsignor by Pope Pius in 1904. He served the churches of St. John the Evangelist and St. John the Baptist for nearly 60 years. He often spoke before various organizations on behalf of the welfare of the city, and was recognized for his service in the fight against tuberculosis in the 1920s. He was a chaplain of the Schenectady council Knights of Columbus since its organization and was a charter member of the Schenectady Hospital Association and the Board of Managers of Ellis Hospital, member of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, the Schenectady County Historical Society, the Ingersoll Home, the Rotary Club, and the Schenectady County Humane Society. He received an honorary doctorate degree from Union College in 1943. He died at the age of 91 in 1945; at the time of his death, he was the oldest active priest in the United States. His obituary in the Schenectady Gazette stated that Reilly was "the symbol of Catholicism in Schenectady." He is buried at St. Agnes' Cemetery in Albany.

A ledger book of John Piper shows money sent to people in Ireland. The first page of the ledger reads, "John Piper is my name. Ireland is my nation - John Piper, Schenectady, New York." Image from Alonzo P. Strong Ledgers.

Schenectady Hibernians raise the Irish flag at the
corner of State and Jay Streets on March 17, 1986.
Photograph from Larry Hart Collection.

Monsignor Reilly and other prominent local Irish-Americans were highlighted in a clipping dated March 17, 1906, which included photographs of "Schenectady Irishmen typical of the race." Many of the men were prominent members of the community as well as men who were involved in Irish-American organizations such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Friendly Songs of Saint Patrick. The men featured are: James Devine, Thomas M. Gleason, Patrick B. Kearney, John McDermott, Patrick H. McDermott, James C. McDonald, P.H. McDonough, John McEnroe, Daniel Naylon Sr. and Jr., Michael Nolan, William P. Nolan, and Monsignor John L. Reilly.

Many resources are available in the library to help researchers explore the history of St. Patrick's Day celebrations in Schenectady, as well as to trace the history of thr Irish-American community in Schenectady and Irish genealogy. Some materials include clipping files, family files, naturalization records, church records, original documents, books on Irish and Irish-American genealogy, and photographs.