Junior Livestock Show: Dairy Goat Wrap Up

By: Erin Crissman, Curator

I know about dairy goats! Frankly, I would have never guessed that dairy goats would ever occupy even a small part of my brain. However, I am so happy to have spent two days in the dairy goat ring at The Farmers' Museum's 63rd Annual Junior Livestock Show.  The kids and their animals were so impressive.  It was a pleasure and a privlidge to pass out ribbons to all of the participants.  After two days, I felt like a parent proudly watching their children at the Parade of Champions at the end of the show.  I updated Facebook fans with some pictures along the way.  Here are some more pictures of me handing out ribbons, as well as some of the kids with their goats.

The very first class of the show is Novice Showman. These are kids who have never shown an animal before. Judge Carri Batt was wonderful. She helped the participants learn about how to show their animals, always put the animal between you and the judge, smile, make sure you look at the judge, and never cross behind your animal - always in front!

Here is novice showman Jasmine Wheatley with her Nubian named Caramel.

Each class for Showmanship (based on age) and for each breed received a Grand Champion and a Reserve Grand Champion.

Here's me handing out ribbons. At first I was very confused about who got what ribbon. By the end of the two days, my ribbon partner Sarah and I had it all figured out. This goat is called a LaMancha.  They don't really have ears.  They are also the only American breed of dairy goat. (See, I learned some stuff!)

When the kids and their animals entered the ring, they walked their animals around so that the judge could see them.  She would eventually tell them to stop and each kid would "set" their animal so that its legs and head were positioned appropriately.

The whole show was very educational for me and good for my soul. I saw kids helping each other and showing pride in their animals and in their work in breeding and raising them. It was amazing. 

Secretly, this was the best part. Who cares about all of the dairy goat breed details when you can see this?

Here is Evy Crumb of Nobarn Farm with her Nigerian Dwarf:

And Judge Carri Batt attempting to evaluate the animal. It was the only one in its class, so automatically received the grand champion. She (the goat, not the judge) was very feisty and would not stand still for evaluation, so Carri just picked her up. Later, on the microphone, she described why this little Nigerian was deserving of a ribbon and added "superior snugability" at the end of her comments.

I agree that this goat does, indeed, have "superior snugability."

I can't wait for next year!

George Washington loved his farm, then he died.

By: Erin Crissman Richardson, Curator

When did I first know that I wanted to be a museum curator?  Normally, in response to this question, I tell a story related to a Girl Scout trip when I was 12.  I have been telling that story for about 10 years.  That was until I discovered a lost manuscript in my parents' basement.  It is a report called "George Washington."  I surmise that it is from second grade or so.  At the top, there is a "Very Good" stamp from the teacher. Obviously, THIS was the moment when I knew that I would always be a museum and/or history nerd.  Here, for your enjoyment, and to help you celebrate Independence Day, is my first work of historical non-fiction:

George Washington

He was born on Feb. 22, 1732.  He had 6 brothers and sisters. One brother owned a house called Mount Vernon. George went to live there when his father died. Gorge learned to survey land in school. One day Lord Fairfax wanted his land measured. So he could show how much he had.  He asked George if he would help him measure his land. This was George's first job.

George married a woman named Martha Curtis. She was a widow with two children. They all lived in Mount Vernon. The house was small in the begining. George built it bigger for his new family.

The war between England and the colonies started.  George was the leader. The war lasted 8 years. When the war was over he went back to Mount Vernon.

Five years later George was elected first Presedent of the Uninted States.

George loved his farm. every day he went out and looked at his farm. Once day he was cought in a rain storm. And he got pneumonia. On December 14, 1799 he died.

Critical review by the author:

1. I call George Washington by his first name throughout as if he is the kid sitting next to me in class.  As a child, I would never have called an adult by his or her first name, EVER.  There are still many adults in my life whom I call Mr. or Mrs. So-and-so.  I am actually surprised that my mother allowed me to hand this in with such informality.
2. There are very few spelling errors.
3. Please make no connection between George Washington's demise and my previous post about visiting outdoor museums in the rain.

Do any of you have school reports to help us celebrate Independence Day?

Above: George Washington and his family at Mount Vernon.  1889 image by Kurz and Allison.  Image courtesy of the Library Of Congress and can be found here.

Update: Bump Tavern

Since I last updated you on progress in Bump Tavern, many changes have taken place in the first floor rooms in Bump Tavern. They have slowly transformed from a dining room and bedroom/office into a sitting room and best bedroom.  Here's a pictorial update.

In the new sitting room, we've made this the long-term guests and Bump family's social hub. While overnight guests and village patrons looking for gossip and a quick beer used the tap room for those purposes, the Bump family and their summer-long vacationing guests from New York City used the sitting room for, well, sitting. However, it was also the place to catch a quick meal, a cup of tea or lemonade, darn socks, read a book, play the piano, sing, have a party or take a nap. 

Most curators can be real royal pains when it comes to moving objects for exhibition.  I try very hard not to be "that" curator. However, on this particular project, I failed miserably at planning ahead in the egress and logistics department. I decided to add a piano to the room AFTER the new, and immobile, railings were installed.  Here's an image of our wonderful collections and facilities staff gently assembling the piano in its new home after they had lifted it over the railing.

And here is preparator Stephen Loughman re-hanging some of the artwork. Notice the fully assembled piano in the background.

The adjoining room has been transformed from a bedroom/office for the tavern keeper into a best bedroom for favored or frequent guests.  New research has shown that the tavern owner most likely kept all of his cash and books in the bar area, rather than have two office locations.  And, since the Bump family lived in the tavern all year long, they may have had a more private room on the upper floors. We know from letters that by the 1860s, this room was used by guests and today it has been slightly re-furnished to represent two women travelling to the Catskills for the summer.  The dresser is part of the tavern's original furnishings was donated to us recently by ancestors.

We've refreshed the bed with a newly acquired coverlet woven by David Johnson in orleans county for Rhoda C. Dix.  Maybe Rhoda was the youngest child in a large family.  She had Johnson weave "Property of Rhoda C. Dix" into the corner block. Although not unheard of, this language is very rare. I can only envision a young woman who must constantly protect her belongings from pillaging older sisters.

Another 15 minutes of fame for the Cardiff Giant

By: Erin Crissman, Curator

Last week, the Cardiff Giant received yet another opportunity for fame and stardom. A production crew from Optomem Productions came to film the Giant and to stage a reenactment of his burial and unearthing. They are producing a show for the Travel Channel called Mysteries of the Museum.  Ok, so the Giant isn't really a mystery any more, but he still makes a great story!

It was quite a full day. The crew arrived at about 9am. We undressed the Giant (well, not really since he is already undressed) by removing all of his exhibition props, labels, fencing bunting, banner and exhibition labels.  Then, we wheeled him out into the center of the entry area for some overhead shots.   

The crew spent the morning filming the Giant from a variety of angles and in a variety of dramatic lighting environments.

During the entire morning, it was quite pleasant outside.  Thankfully, it started raining for the afternoon's planned outside filming. (Don't things always work out that way?)

The guys made a mock-up of the Giant and some of our interpretive staff pretended to bury him. 

Ted Shuart, Patrick McGreggor and Rick Aborn were valiant and brave as they prepared to perpetrate one of the greatest hoaxes in American history.

Well, they stood in the rain for a few hours awaiting direction, but they did risk colds.

We're all excited to see the final show. The series will begin airing on the Travel Channel either late this year, or early in 2011. We will keep you posted.

Curious to find out who else will be featured?  Here's a great story about the crew filming at the Lizzy Borden House in Fall River, MA.

Glamour shots for our venerable old lady

By: Erin Crissman, Curator

Last week, I was happy to organize professional photography for our oldest object, a 1750s Dutch plow.  Only three of these plows are known to exist in the United States. One is at the Smithsonian, one at the Daniel Parrish Whitter Agricultural Museum in Syracuse, NY and one here at The Farmers' Museum.  We don't know much about the origins of our plow, but the example at the Smithsonian is marked with a 1769 date and came from the Mohawk Valley area.

Even though we have very little information about the plow's original owner, it most certainly came from the Mohawk River valley between Albany and Amsterdam.  Since the Mohawk River has a wide floodplain, the Dutch settlers (New York State was originally a Dutch colony) probably found this land very similar to their native soil in the Netherlands - mostly silt, free of rocks and incredibly flat.  It is amazing what cultural history can tell us when there is no written documentation about the provenance of an object!

This wheeled plow was likely a great solution for the very flat land of the Netherlands. The larger wheel sat in the just-plowed furrow while the smaller wheel sat on the un-tilled land.  Plowing with this type of plow was typically accomplished in a continuous circle around the field. 

However, outside of the river valley, these Dutch natives likely found their traditional plows ill-suited for the rocky and hilly terrain of Upstate New York. The circular plowing method, used for flat land, was ineffective for hilly terrain, so the side-hill plow was developed. This type of plow has an adjustable moldboard (the curved wood piece behind the share that forces the soil to fall in a specific direction). It could be flipped from one side of the plow to another. This allowed farmers to plow across the breadth of the hill, rather than up and down in a circle pattern.

Despite the very hard labor that this plow performed during its lifetime (and it shows A LOT of wear and tear from years and years of use), today it is incredibly fragile.  It took four guys to safely move it onto the background paper for photography.  

Stay tuned for another perspective on this plow from Steve Kellogg, our blacksmith.

Above: Plow, ca.1750-1770, The Farmers' Museum Collection, F0031.1975 (Photo by Richard Walker)

Food, Inc[redible]

By: Erin Crissman, CuratorA few days ago, I had the pleasure of watching Food, Inc. for the first time with farmers, community members and friends. The program was sponsored jointly by Otsego2000 and The Farmers' Museum. With very little publicity, we were all amazed that the theater was completely full, people were sitting along the edges and I (with a few others) were standing in the doorway. I was moved that people of every age - literally from 8 through 90 were in the audience. Although I had heard all of the information presented in the film at some point, it was a much different experience to see chicken farming and feed lots on the big screen. I was most touched by the stories of the farmers interviewed in the film. I won't speak for the truth, fiction or otherwise of what was presented, because there are several sides to every story (truths, rather than TRUTH is an important part of how I approach my job- Monsanto, for example, has an entire web page devoted to their side of the story). Regardless, the farmers were passionate about their participation in our food system, how they would like it to change (or not) and most expressed concern about how their way of life had become unprofitable, mostly due to economies of scale. What does this have to do with my job? A lot more than I thought when I went into the movie. For me, this was a personal call to action, not only about how I choose to eat, but also about what my responsiblities are as curator of The Farmers' Museum. If you had my job and wanted The Farmers' Museum to collect some key objects that tell the story of agriculture today- what would those be? Suggestions welcome! Thanks again to: Otsego2000 Cooperstown Farmer's Market CADE and Foodshed Buying Club for their support!

2010 - Lift Off!

By: Erin Crissman, Curator

This year will mark my second full year as Curator at TFM. Since I arrived in May of 2008, I’ve been completing projects scheduled before I arrived, assessing what needs to be done and making priority lists for the future. This year, though, I feel more at home (partly due the house my fiancée and I purchased right in the Village of Cooperstown) more a part of the team, rather than the “new curator.” Here are a few things I’ll be working on in 2010: Historic Village

Pharmacy Restoration. Like Dr. Jackson’s Office last year, the Pharmacy will receive some TLC from the curatorial and facilities departments. We emptied the pharmacy of its collection objects, herbs and glassware to ready it for the plaster-repair crew to begin next week. This project is slightly less intense than Dr. Jackson’s office. The Pharmacy is just receiving an interior face-lift rather than a complete overhaul and new exhibition. Stay tuned for photographic updates! Bump Tavern: This is often considered to be the gem of our building collection at the museum. Bump was one of the first non-craft buildings to come to the museum (in 13 pieces!) and although it receives a lot of maintenance, it hasn’t had serious attention in about 10 years. In a multi-year project, Bump’s exhibition rooms will get a face lift, some new printed interpretation and new paint. Come out to see our newly polished gem Memorial Day weekend. New collection initiatives

Thanks to a very supportive donor, TFM will undertake two major collections projects in 2010.

The first is to create a new collection of rural photography that will document changes in agricultural practice and farm family life in Central New York from 1840 to the present. Think you have some photographs in your family’s collection that might fit into this new initiative? Stay tuned for further updates! Above: Dagerreotype of Patience Clark Armstrong, Plainfield Center, Otsego County, NY ca 1850-1875. The Farmers' Museum Collection, Museum Purchase, F0003.2006(02)

We’ll also be launching a new collections website, an on-line database, in conjunction with the New York State Historical Association Research Library. This new project will provide incredible access to many of our 20,000 objects with contextual information from the NYSHA Research Library’s collection. Over the next 12 months, you’ll be able to explore our collection of woodworking tools, for example, and also find related library materials like trade catalogs, cabinetmaker account books, business records and other manuscript material. I can’t wait for these exciting projects! Share

Candlelight Evening - the Niagara Falls of museum events

By: Erin Crissman, Curator As a native Western New Yorker, I have a special place in my heart for Niagara Falls. What does this have to do with Candlelight Evening at the Farmers' Museum? They both fit well into one of Immanuel Kant's definitions of the sublime. Candlelight and Niagara are simultaneously beautiful and horrifying. Here's why:

When I describe The Farmers' Museum's Candlelight Evening event to other museum curators, they're typically shocked. Why would anyone light 1000 candles inside historic buildings - MADE OF WOOD - then allow 3000 visitors inside? I used to share these fears and still approach the event's set-up with caution.

Each year, some of the things that come to mind as I prepare for Candlelight are -

"How about a little fire, Scarecrow?"

and one of my favorite campfire songs:

There'll be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight (aka - Old Lady Leary)- a song about the great Chicago fire. Who doesn't enjoy shouting "Fire! Fire! Fire!" as an 8 year old?

Fortunately, we have a stupendous staff and lots of security and fire safety at The Farmers' Museum. Despite the quizzical looks from my other museum colleagues, I feel quite safe, and I know our buildings and objects are safe as well. Of course, I do take precautions, along with other staff, to ensure the safety of our buildings, objects and visitors during the three hour event. All staff here are trained annualy in fire safety, how to use fire extinguishers, and how to safely start and extinquish wood fires.

For this specific event, there are some additional precautions we take.

Patrick McGregor and I took down the curtains in the More House to keep them away from the flames.

Patrick places the votives on two-by-fours so that they're not too close to the wood muntins on our historic windows. No, the lumber isn't historically accurate, but neither are votive candles. Before a generous family donated 1200 glass votives to the event many years ago, the candles were placed in assorted baby food jars.All of the buildings are staffed with historic interpreters, volunteers or staff, like myself, to ensure that nothing goes wrong. This is the 30th annual Candlelight Evening, and although we've had a few fires in our historic buildings in that time, none of them were on the Sunday before Christmas!

I'm proud to be a part of the team that puts on this event every year. The crew takes the "terrifying" out of the day, so that we can all focus on the beautiful.

Contest Announcement: How Many Candles?

By: Erin Crissman, Curator

We’re preparing for Candlelight Evening – a major undertaking. On December 20th, the historic village will be aglow with many, many candles. How many candles do you think Patrick MacGregor places throughout the museum for the three hour event? We invite you to submit your guess! The person with the closest guess, without going over the actual number, will receive a family membership to the New York State Historical Association which includes free admission all year to The Farmers’ Museum and Fenimore Art Museum. If you’re already a member, it makes a great Christmas gift! To submit the results of your mental mathematics, send an email to stayconnected@nysha.org with “candles” in the subject line. The email should contain your guess, as well as your email address and physical address so we can notify the winner. Entries will be collected through midnight on December 14th. Winner announced on December 15th. Good luck! In case you’re wondering where this contest idea came from, it is derived from one of my important museum experiences as a child. We visited George Washington’s Mt. Vernon where there was a “guess the number” contest. Participants were asked to guess the number of timothy seeds in a large jar. My dad won! The prize was a US flag (a new flag, not a collection object!) that was flown on the flagpole at the historic site. My dad is an engineer, and great at math. We were still surprised he won out of the thousands of entries they must have had. I do not envy the person who had to actually count the seeds, though.

Happy Thanksgiving!

By: Kajsa Sabatke, Interpretive Projects Coordinator

Happy Thanksgiving! The staff at The Farmers’ Museum will be celebrating with our families and friends and then heading back to work for two days as the museum opens for Thanksgiving at The Farmers’ Museum. What foods are important at your Thanksgiving celebrations? I asked some of my coworkers what other dishes, in addition to turkey, are essential to their families’ Thanksgiving meals. Not surprisingly, many of them responded with pies: apple, apricot, chocolate, and pumpkin pies all made the list. Stuffing made the list several times, although every family has its own “right” recipe. Some staff mentioned food made by their mother or another relative. Erin’s Thanksgiving includes Under the Sea salad made by her grandmother. Cranberry salad, cranberry relish, applesauce and yams, oyster stew and sweet potatoes with marshmallows are also favorites. I can personally attest to the delicious addition of marshmallows to sweet potatoes or squash as someone who was banned from marshmallow duty after my zealous quantity of marshmallows overflowed the squash and covered the oven racks. My marshmallow incident, which happened when I was about 11, is a story my family still loves to tell – or at least tease me about – every year. Another favorite Thanksgiving tale comes from the first time I hosted dinner, in an apartment near some railroad tracks. The rumbling of the trains helped the oven unplug itself sometime between the turkey going in and about 30 minute later when I realized that the turkey wasn’t cooking. Luckily, the problem was easily remedied after we pulled the oven away from the wall and plugged it back in. Do you have any favorite Thanksgiving stories, dishes, or recipes? Please share them! And stop by to visit us on Friday and Saturday.

Secret Life of Objects: Two-Headed Calf

By: Erin Crissman, Curator

There are some objects in The Farmers’ Museum Collection that I find very curious. As a curator, my curiosity is often not about the object itself, but about how the object came to the museum and when. As with most organizations, The Farmers’ Museum has a few periods in its history that have a specific set of characteristics. In the 1990s, TFM acquired furniture and decorative arts for new domestic spaces (More House) and re-furnishing of old spaces (Bump Tavern, Lippit House). In the 1940s and 1950s, the staff collected and re-constructed most of the buildings at the Museum. This early period is probably my favorite. The staff collected objects that weren’t very old (about 50 years or less) and even had a staff person who scoured trashcans and dumpsters for castoffs. These are still some of the Museum’s best pieces today. When I first came across the two-headed calf, I thought that it had surely been acquired in the 1940s. That was the era that brought us the Cardiff Giant, after all. I was surprised to learn that it was donated in 1979 – much later than I had originally thought. It has a wonderful story behind it as well. The calf was born in 1875 on M. John Eysaman’s farm near Little Falls, NY. It only lived for a few moments. Mr. Eysaman took the calf to a local taxidermist for preservation and had a glass case constructed to house it. His intention was to exhibit the calf, probably at local fairs. This curious animal is part of a fascination with grotesque themes in the late 19th century. It may have had both scientific and sensationalist value to Eysaman and whoever came to see it. The calf was given to TFM in 1979 by Mr. Eysaman’s great granddaughter, Anne Eysaman Schuyler. She said that the calf had "always been a conversation piece" in her home. I would think so!

Here’s a photo of the calf in the Kirby Free Library in Salisbury Center, NY, taken in April of 1979, just a few months before coming to The Farmer’s Museum’s collection.

For a few years, the two headed calf was part of the Museum of Curiosities exhibit at The Farmers’ Museum – along with the Cardiff Giant, of course!

Lights, Camera, Carousel!

By: Erin Crissman, Curator

For the last two weeks, Richard Walker has been photographing the Empire State Carousel for a new book due out Memorial Day Weekend, 2010. This new publication will offer information about the carousel's 23 hand-carved animals and additional fun bits of info about the other colorful components of our amazing mobile museum. Did you know that virtually every part of the carousel is carved or decorated? Portrait panels of famous New Yorkers, folklore panels, historical murals and quilted banners all help to enhance the ways in which the Empire State Carousel tells our state's story. The book will also share some stories from head carver and carousel project organizer, Gerry Holzman.

I'm looking forward to this book! I notice something new each time I visit the carousel. (Of course, I'm partial to those visits being lunchtime rides with visiting family and friends; just one of the many perks of my job!) Like most visitors, I would love something to reference that will tell me more about this amazing, and largest, object in The Farmers' Museum Collection. Stay tuned for more!

Secret Life of Objects: Duffy Stagecoach

By: Erin Crissman, Curator

This is one of a series of posts about the "other life" many objects had before they arrived at The Farmers' Museum.

If you participated in this week's Facebook Poll, the following may look familiar to you.

On which of the following occasions would you don a fake beard and top hat?

Halloween

President's Day

A visit to Ford's Theater

The last ride of Duffy's Tally-Ho Stagecoach

They are part of my every-day attire

If you were inspired by the first choice - you win!

In September 1953, between 14 and 16 men piled (and I do mean piled) atop Duffy's Tally-Ho Stagecoach for its official last ride. The ride began at Todd's General Store, inside The Farmers' Museum where the stage picked up "actual mail." Then, the coach left the museum grounds and travelled into Cooperstown, where it delivered the mail to the Post Office. After a long dinner at the Tunicliff Inn, the stage was officially gifted to The Farmers' Museum by owner George Duffy. Afterwards, the coach travelled back to The Farmers' Museum filled with local children who had piled in while the coach was parked outside the Inn during dinner.

Stagecoach in front of the Dr. Jackson's Office at The Farmers' Museum.

Since then, the stage has remained parked inside The Farmers Museum's main barn. I was surprised when museum friend (and daughter of one of the coaches' last riders) brought in this photograph and news articles chronicling this event. I had no idea that it went out of service with such fanfare!

In use in a local parade in the 1930s.

Although we call this vehicle Duffy's Tally-Ho Stagecoach, it was only referred to by that moniker for the last few decades of its service. The stagecoach was built about 1870 by Abbot, Downing and Company of Concord, New Hampshire. After its first trip from the factory to Cooperstown, it remained in Otsego County. Captain Abaithar H. Watkins, the original owner, inherited a mail-delivery contract from his father. Watkins began driving stagecoaches at age 14 and eventually owned portions of several transportation businesses throughout New York State.

The Duffys purchased the vehicle in 1908 and used it in a variety of parades in Fort Plain, NY, and in other locations around the county, for the next 45 years. Mr. Duffy invited a number of gentlemen to participate in the last ride events, and since he through the coach had been made in the 1820s, he required that they wear "Civil War Era" attire. The Abe Lincoln get-ups don't seem as out of place now that I know it was a requirement of all participants!

Delivering "actual mail" to the Cooperstown Post Office.