Growing Up on the Southside 1957 – 1970
(By popular demand SATURDAY November 06, 2021 for the 1st FALL TOUR!)
WHEN: Saturday November 06, 2021
Sign In begins at 8AM (Registration, Questions, Safety Briefing), and the Tour STARTS at 9AM.
Allow 2 to 3 hours, but participants can leave at any time (Please inform Tour Guide when leaving).
PANDEMIC CONCERNS – This tour is outdoors with social distancing. We will adhere to all NYS and CDC guidelines in effect at the time of the event.
Other personal protective measures such as masks are optional based on your personal comfort.
Your Tour Guide has received the three Covid-19 Vaccination doses.
WHERE: Meet at the Rotary Park Terminal Building on Southern Ave by NLT 8:30 am. We will start on time. Parking and rest rooms are available at the Terminal. NO REST ROOMS ALONG THE TOUR!
Special Needs: The walk includes unpaved dirt paths, uneven surfaces, outdoors, etc.
Moderate to vigorous physical activity.
Pets: Please do not bring your pets, as we may encounter other “pets” that are not under owner command or on a leash.
REGISTRATION: Advance registration is requested and appreciated. Please register by phone or email.
If you have questions or concerns, contact Gary. Southside Territory Details list available upon request.
Gary T. Staffo
Phone: 703-336-7241
Email: 6226gardenroad@gmail.com
(NOTE: This is an independent event and is not an official program of the Little Falls Historical Society.)
Tour Guide, Organizer and Historical Society Member, Gary Staffo, has requested that the Little Falls Historical Society share the Southside Walking Tour VIII – 1st FALL Tour!
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumGrowing Up on the Southside 1957 – 1970
(By popular demand SATURDAY November 06, 2021 for the 1st FALL TOUR!)
WHEN: Saturday November 06, 2021
Sign In begins at 8AM (Registration, Questions, Safety Briefing), and the Tour STARTS at 9AM.
Allow 2 to 3 hours, but participants can leave at any time (Please inform Tour Guide when leaving).
PANDEMIC CONCERNS – This tour is outdoors with social distancing. We will adhere to all NYS and CDC guidelines in effect at the time of the event.
Other personal protective measures such as masks are optional based on your personal comfort.
Your Tour Guide has received the three Covid-19 Vaccination doses.
WHERE: Meet at the Rotary Park Terminal Building on Southern Ave by NLT 8:30 am. We will start on time. Parking and rest rooms are available at the Terminal. NO REST ROOMS ALONG THE TOUR!
Special Needs: The walk includes unpaved dirt paths, uneven surfaces, outdoors, etc.
Moderate to vigorous physical activity.
Pets: Please do not bring your pets, as we may encounter other “pets” that are not under owner command or on a leash.
REGISTRATION: Advance registration is requested and appreciated. Please register by phone or email.
If you have questions or concerns, contact Gary. Southside Territory Details list available upon request.
Gary T. Staffo
Phone: 703-336-7241
Email: 6226gardenroad@gmail.com
(NOTE: This is an independent event and is not an official program of the Little Falls Historical Society.)
Dairy Farming In Herkimer County: The More Things Change… by De Wayne W. Perry
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumDairy farming has been integral to life in Herkimer County since the first European settlers—the Palatine Germans—arrived in the Mohawk Valley in the early-1700s, and some of their descendants still operate dairies around Little Falls and elsewhere throughout the county.
The Magnificent Mile at Little Falls by Louis W. Baum, Jr.
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumWhen it comes right down to it, Little Falls is all about water. The earliest explorers in America found it easiest to move along the waterways and rivers as did the Native Americans living here. In the 1600s and 1700s the British colonies extended inward from the Atlantic Ocean to the Appalachian Mountains.
Burwell Street Namesake and Moreland Park Visionary
/by Little Falls Historical Society Museumby Jeffrey Gressler
Since 1911, Moreland Park has played an important role in community life for generations of Little Falls residents. Family picnics, group outings, community events and celebrations, wedding receptions, birthday and graduation parties, family and class reunions, and kids squealing with delight on the playground equipment are all common occurrences on the park’s bucolic grounds. We all have our own Moreland Park memories.
by Jeffrey Gressler
He Still Sustains: Pitt the Painter’s Studio Loft
/by Little Falls Historical Society Museumby Laura Laubenthal
From 2011 to 2013, I wrote my master’s degree thesis for the Cooperstown Graduate Program about “Pitt the Painter” and his role in showcasing the identity of Little Falls by means of his artwork. The project was largely based on oral histories told by those in town who remembered him since his death on September 4, 2007. While I spoke with several people, there were so many more I did not reach, as Pitt’s sphere of influence seemed immeasurable. The project went on, and it was apparent that these stories meshed together as modern-day folklore about talent, humor, addiction, and belonging.
by Laura Laubenthal
A FAN’S NOTES ON THE RETURN OF VINTAGE BASE BALL TO LITTLE FALLS
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumThis author admits upfront that he is both a local history nut and a diehard New York Yankees fan. The intertwined paths of baseball and American history resonate with me. Older readers of this piece will likely recall watching Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio and the transformational impact of Jackie Robinson. This author’s baseball roots trace to Willie Mays, Duke Snyder and Mickey Mantle, ah, The Mick, my favorite. I grew up assuming that the Yankees would always play in the World Series each year.
2021 Canal Days Celebration included the return of vintage base ball to Little Falls in the form of a three-team, three-game, round-robin tournament. The newly formed Little Falls Alerts competed against the Catskill area Bovina Dairymen and the Mountain Athletic Club, all retrieved names from the earliest days of American baseball. 1860’s, 1880’s and 1890’s era base ball game rules were in place at different times during the three games.
Early era Little Falls base ball teams included the Rough and Readys and the Pastimes in the 1860’s, the Excelsiors in the 1870’s and the Rocktons and the Alerts in the 1880’s – 90’s. The Alerts took the field in the north end of Ward Square in the 1880’s-90’s for most of their games. Games were heavily attended.
I watched most of the first game between the Alerts and the Bovina Dairymen and the entire third game between the local nine and the Mountain Athletic Club. I was not present for the second game between the two Catskill region teams.
Authenticity, gentlemanly conduct, high-spirited competitiveness and inter-team camaraderie graced the daylong tournament. The local nine may have lost both of their games to the longer-established downstate teams, but their athleticism and baseball acumen were in evidence throughout; an important foothold was re-established and another Little Falls tradition has been reborn. Vintage base ball is back in Little Falls after a long hiatus. The new Alerts will now carry forward our vintage base ball banner. Three cheers for the Alerts!
Vintage base ball both resembles and differs from our modern national pastime. The players do not wear ball gloves, hit balls caught on the first bounce are still outs; the difference in rules is too complex to be fully captured in this piece. Vintage base ball equipment, including bats, balls and catcher’s gear is also quite different.
The Little Falls Historical Society has provided financial sponsorship for the Alerts, including the purchase of four high-quality bats hand-turned to perfection by local craftsman Ian Giudilli who labeled each bat “made in Little Falls” and “Rough and Ready.”
In conclusion, Little Falls vintage base ball is back and being roundly embraced by a talented group of local athletes eager to call themselves Alerts. The Little Falls Historical Society and the Little Falls Family and Youth Center have partnered to back the Alerts and the City is eager to provide the ballfields for games. Hopefully, Canal Days Celebrations will feature an annual vintage base ball tournament. Long live the Little Falls Alerts!
“Surviving Childhood in Little Falls” by Cynthia Holick Foley
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumWhen asked if I had any siblings, I often quipped, “My brother and I were only children.” While my first decade was spent in the peaceful and prosperous 1950s, his was spent just prior and during World War II. Recently my big brother, Jan Holick Sr., (born 1935, and graduated from Little Falls High School 1953,) sat down with me, (born 1951, and graduated 1969,) and shared his memories of a time I never knew except in history books. He was kind enough to open a window to his past, and this article invites you to share that view.
UPDATED HISTORICAL SOCIETY CANAL DAYS CELEBRATION EVENTS SCHEDULE
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumThe recent uptick in COVID-19 cases in Herkimer County has forced our board directors and officers to rethink our Canal Days Celebration calendar of events and museum operation. Foremost in our thinking is public safety. We regret any inconveniences that these adjustments may cause.
The CHURCH STREET CEMETERY TOUR was scheduled for Friday August 13 at 6:00 PM. Due to concerns over crowd density and social distancing, the event has been cancelled. We have made provisions so that people can individually enjoy self-guided tours. You can either pick up a tour brochure from the sealed plastic container that has been placed on the visitor bench near the caretaker’s cabin inside the main Monroe Street entrance to the cemetery or download the cemetery tour from our website. The brochure’s thirty-five graves have all been marked in sequence by stakes with surveyor’s tape. The tour begins at gravesite #1 in the area behind the African American monument nearby the caretaker’s cabin.
HISTORICAL MARKERS DEDICATION CEREMONIES – Twin dedication ceremonies for the Old Bank Building historic marker and the 1782 Gristmill Attack historic marker will begin at 10:30 AM at the base of the west ramp off Burke Bridge near the intersection of West Mill Street and the industrial park roadway. There will be no historic marker dedication ceremony outside the museum that had been scheduled for 10:00 AM.
VINTAGE BASE BALL TOURNAMENT – Games for the three-team, round-robin tournament will be played at 10:30 AM, 1:00 PM and 3:30 PM on Field #3 behind the main field at Veterans’ Memorial Park. The Historical Society is the primary financial sponsor of the Little Falls Alerts, one of the three tournament teams.
MUSEUM VISITATION APPOINTMENTS are not being accepted at this time. Please visit our website linked below.
We urge all persons attending any of these events to follow CDC COVID-19 safety protocols regarding mask wearing and social distancing.
Long Ago From a Far Away Land by Jessie Snyder Thompson Huberty
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumIn February of 1935, while snow fell heavily over Herkimer County in upstate New York, a cable arrived at the home of The Honorable Homer P. Snyder on Ann Street in Little Falls. It announced the birth of H.P.’s first great grandchild. It read: “Mother and child doing fine. Father barely survived!” Thus, I arrived amidst tropical breezes in the city of Manila, on the island of Luzon, in the Philippines, set between the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Manila: 8324 miles away from the city on the Mohawk River.
HISTORICAL SOCIETY CANCELLING CEMETERY WALKING TOUR AND HISTORIC MARKER DEDICATIONS
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumMost Little Falls residents know who Nathaniel Benton, H.P. Snyder, and D.H. Burrell were, but who were Enoch Moore, Arphaxed Loomis, Titus Sheard, and Peewash and how did each of these individuals impact community history? What do gravestones with weeping angels, shrouded urns, and tree stumps represent? What interesting life stories are hidden away in Little Falls’ main cemetery?
The self-guided walking tour is about one-half mile in length over generally grassy roadways and will last approximately 90 minutes. No restrooms are available.
HISTORICAL MARKERS DEDICATION CEREMONIES – Twin dedication ceremonies for the Old Bank Building historic marker and the 1782 Gristmill Attack historic marker will begin at 10:30 AM at the base of the west ramp off Burke Bridge near the intersection of West Mill Street and the industrial park roadway. There will be no historic marker dedication ceremony outside the museum that had been scheduled for 10:00 AM.
Due to Covid-19 concerns, the Old Bank Building Museum is currently closed. View the updated press release here.