Why My History Hobby

I am shipping off for a vacation in Vegas ,yes , Vegas next week. I have to fly and I hate to fly. I also will see the Grand Canyon and ancient ruins of south west native populations of + 1000 yrs ago. When I get back I begin another season of occasional digging into the past. Why do I explore these less than ancient ruins like old farmers landfills to attempt to piece together rather small aspects of small town life and history. Well , I remember last July for instance , a hot day after a cool spring. I am sitting eating my lunch inside a clump of trees on a large rock. I am working on an old foundation of a long gone barn. I am finding all sorts of tidbits which I shall report on another occasion after more work. I realize to most people this is a bore. My own wife of 29 yrs finds it odd. But to me I am at peace , piecing together a part of the world that is not really cared about. My pondering as I eat lunch in solitude is in a sense meditative. I enjoy the peace as my wife enjoys the noise of a casino. Finally I in my semi-retired state have time to do this and I am , after all those years in the workforce helping to solve , train , understand all those people's problems in my career feel free. Enjoying my lunch on a warm summer day , reporting on what I have found or remembering a piece of history worth relating. I enjoy this peace , if it is exploring where the KKK met in Castleton or where the old Hilltop Tavern once stood on Rt9. Interviewing people on what they know , grasping what was and turning it around to better have an understanding of what was going on and solutions people came up with to go about their lives. This is my hobby. Of much importance , no. The interests I pursue are much more about me and my self satisfied peace. If you live in the 12033 region of New York or near 06037 in Connecticut maybe I will see you in the next 7 or 8 months doing some research. I'll be smiling.

Kate Smith's Good Luck Tomb in Lake Placid

We are currently in the middle of The Olympics 2010 in Canada. For a number of yrs I lived in the Lake Placid area where the 1932 & 1980 winter games were held. Many Olympic athletes still come from or train in that region. I have met along the way a few of the athletes along the way. One story I have been told more than a couple of times is an odd good luck ritual involving the tomb of the late singer Kate Smith who lived much of her life in the Placid area. Kate Smith was a singer popular in the 30's 40's & 50's primarily. She had a radio show in the forties & a tv show in the fifties. Someone your grandparents would know well. She was best known for her rendition of God Bless America one hears at ballparks around the nation to this day. She was also a huge sports fan. Fordham football to Celtics basketball and she loved hockey. The Philadelphia Fliers Hockey Team used to have her sing to open games when The Broad Street Bullies were around. She was considered the good luck charm for the team , those that know flyer history know this well. She died circa 1986 and was interred at Saint Agnes Cemetary in her beloved Lake Placid. Somewhere along the way a ritual began in the intervening yrs where Olympic athletes or just some locals kids visit the tomb sometimes in the dead of night and touch her resting place & ask for Kate's blessing. Luge to hockey players to bobsledders have apparently made the trudge especially the women athletes. This applies not just to native Adk Mt people but others hopefuls looking for that edge. I have never been able to track down where or when or who began this occasional tradition but it has gone to Vancouver 2010 I am sure.

Lunch With A Friend

This noon time I will be lunching with an old friend Ron Kunicki. Why am I writing this in a blog ? I have known this guy since 2nd grade. I am in my fifties as is he. Grew up in same hometown. Old friends are nice , we can speak in a short hand way that cuts to the quick on a variety of topics. Nine words work instead of twenty three. Ron has also seen me at perhaps close to my lowest point and remains a friend. Can't buy that. His Mom is still kicking and she accepts me for what I am. That is always a comfort , not playing role of whatever. Perhaps the best part of our friendship is that it frees me to push on with my other areas of life. We don't see each other often enough to get on each others nerves but often enough to center myself. From where I came....was.......went.......am going ......ect. Friendship with someone you have known for a long time keeps one honest about the life you really have come to. From that perspective the chance of going down one to many blind alleys is lessened. You bullshit yourself less often. Sometimes , that can bring some peace............really. To old friends.

Cairns so far discovered in Schodack region

Late last fall while scouting out wooded area south of Green Avenue & Scott Avenue region of Castleton/Schodack I came upon a cairn. Essentially a man made pile of stones. Having traveled these woods as a kid I instantly remembered stumbling across this area before many yrs prior. In my estimation the cairn was originally constructed to be about three to three and a half feet tall. It has since had rocks fall or tumble off. The stones on the bottom appear of the flat variety with rounded smoother stones used from the base. Cairns are common throughout the world. Used for marking trails , gravesites in more ancient times and boundary markers to name a few more common uses. Sometimes a cairn is simply a stone pile left from over from farm field removal or from stone fence building. I found one such cairn in Dutchess County while investigating one of the many stone fence areas of that region a few yrs ago. I believe this particular cairn was a boundary line configuration. Nearby on another pass through the area many yrs ago I uncovered pieces of old brittle barb wire that ran for quite a distance. I contemplated deconstructing the cairn but decided to leave the original work in place as I should have. I doubt this is used as a marker anymore but leaving the original keeps the integrity of the setting. I estimate this cairn to be a minimum of 60yrs old. I have known of it's being in place for atleast 45 yrs. Boulders or trees were used often in yrs past. Some trees have surveyors spikes in them to show boundaries. these were common practices in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In England such places as the North York Moors have old concrete or carved stone structures some dating hundreds of yrs back. Probably in many cases boundary markers. One such edifice in North York is named Fat Betty { you can Google her}. I still have a photo of her I took yrs ago. As an afterthought there are two other small rock piles I have come across in Schodack region , one in wooded area of Maple Hill High School , another off Graw Rd. Both consist of appx 8 or so rocks. Their origin I don't at present have a speculation on. Perhaps debris collection.

Aerodrome Schenectady

Of all my 60's memories , The Areodrome in Schenectady NY has a certain power. It was located at 1588 State Street and had some fantastic groups for the time. The Doors...3 Dog Night...Yardbirds ect. I have been told Hendrix played the venue. A man by the name of Jack Rubin was the major bankroller of the site but I remember a man named Terry Hooper was also involved. Hooper was an acquaintance of The Beatles and had a small....very small part in the movie A Hard Days Night which was for those that don't know the era was a Beatles movie. Hooper went on the two rock & roll staions WPTR & WTRY to advertise the opening in 1067 I believe. I soppose the venue could hold over 2000 people which was big by those days night club standards. I bought my first Rolling Stone magazine at one of the shops there. Those days it was much more a newspaper than a glossy. Yes they had little boutiques there. What I really remember was the SOUND SYSTEM. Trust me they advertised it at the time of opening as one of the top systems on the East Coast and it was. Truly SOTA for it's era. Most of it solid state but still some tube amplification and reproduction was originally installed. Made a difference. The stage had a high acoustic value when built but lost some value when later rebuilt & modified. I believe I traveled there around 10x in my highschool & early college yrs. It fell into some disrepair in the late 60's & early 70's and closed I believe in 72 or 73. Now torn down but I believe a popular music icon from that era bring some great music to the upstate area & my youth.

Christmas 1969: Schodack NY

Thinking deep into the past recently at my daughters Christmas party I went back about 40 yrs to 1969. Vietnam war still raged though my brother was back from that conflict as of September of that year. He still carries burdens from that war. Midterm exams done.....the end of my high school yrs were within sight....trust me ....I was thrilled with that prospect. My sports era well over bad knee and back in place for my future. Played soccer in a senior league many yrs later but for only a short time. But generally speaking....I was happy to be done with sports and being on a bench. I was not a great athlete and frankly sick and tired of hearing crap about how it prepared you for that unknown future. So here I was at my final High School Christmas vacation. One more winter slog to go...one more spring and group of final exams. I guess I am saying I was in a place of peace within. I was generally happy or perhaps just worn down from the era of the 60's. My perception was that people were in a hurry to get over that decade....the sooner the better. From counter culture to the moon landing , mass protest,civil rights , a rising tide of consevative politics made for a blur that Christmas. People were kind of looking over the horizon......I was not. I was out with friends for we were now mobil going to places like the Areodrome on Central Avenue to Albany and movies ect. By the way , thank you Elizabeth . Did I mention beer....the legal drinking age was 18 and I was 18 so Schlitz and I there as well. My buds Ron & John were close by. We all knew there were dark clouds on the horizon , war , college aging parents but there was that taste of new freedom and a promise of something more. Oh and by the way , I had my first glass of serious wine not the Ripple or Boones farm variety. A glass of Pinot Noir , at my aunts house for Christmas Dinner. I felt so adult for a moment. I took a long walk in the woods with Liz. The 60's may be close to over but I finally felt I was beginning. For Christmas day a watch......socks and underwear....always got that from my Mother....an aftershave popular at the time called Hai Karate and various other clothes ect,. New Years was fun and something we had heard about from our science teacher Unix Time started. My friends and I were probably way to serious at times that yr with Vietnam and the like hanging over our lives but that may have been my favorite Christmas not so much for what was but might be ahead. Not so much about me but what a young heart might be beyond the then me.

Opening of Castleton Thruway Bridge Schodack NY

It was, according to records May 26,1959 that was the official opening of the Castleton Thruway Bridge. This bridge was at the time considered one of the crown jewels of the NYS Thruway System. Deemed a big enough event to have an opening ceremony with the then Governor Nelson Rockefeller in attendance. I have to admit that though a small kid I was in attendance. So this blog is from personal memory. The thruway was blocked off for this section of highway. A grandstand had been built on the side of the highway heading west. The weather a sunny warm day. A beautiful day for a bridge opening. The crowd was appx 250+ in attendance. This was a huge day for the small town of Schodack N.Y. The local high school Maple Hill High School , sent their band. Many politians were in attendance including the then Town Supervisor Lewis Hudson who gave the introductory speech for the Governor. After three or four speeches the ribbon cutting occurred. It was a blue ribbon stretched accross the entire 4 lanes of the highway. The news cameras snapped pictures , the ribbon was cut. Later people took pieces of the ribbon for a personal memory. Rockefeller dove into the crowd and shook hands with the invited guests etc. He still had Presidential ambitions at that point in his career so he was really pressing the flesh. Often saying "hi how are ya." After a period of about 20 minutes the NYS Troopers began to line up cars for exit. Everyone got to drive over the bridge that day in a loop ending on the eastern lane . The last toll free ride for the bridge. Later on that day the span was open to regular thruway users. Many years later I asked Lewis Hudson why the bridge was named for the village Castleton which is a few miles from the bridge. He said he was told that it was felt people would not be able to pronounce Schodack so hence the current name.