Josh Kilmer-Purcell's Blog, page 100

The Six Nations

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We were recently asked by a curious young person … Who exactly are the Iroquois and how do the relate to the Mohawk? We wrote about the Mohawk woman Kateri Tekakwitha in an earlier blog, but we thought we better clarify the relationship of the Mohawk Nation to the Iroquois Confederacy, also known as the League of Six Nations.

The Mohawk are a distinct tribe, one of six in the Iroquois Confederacy, the others being the Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Tuscarora, and Seneca. The greater Sharon Springs region is part of the ancestral Mohawk homeland, as indicated by the fact that the Mohawk River to the north takes its name from the tribe.

Regarding the formation of the confederacy, sometime between 1450 and 1600 (the date 1570 is often given), or possibly even earlier, the Huron mystic Deganawida and his Mohawk disciple Hiawatha (not to be confused with Longfellow’s fictional Hiawatha) founded the League of Five Nations – an alliance of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca – in what is now upstate New York. The hope was to end the feuding among close neighbors and establish a military advantage over other tribes, thus ensuring survival. A “Great Peace” hopefully would follow, embracing the known Iroquois world.

After the Tuscarora War of 1711-12 between English colonists and the Tuscarora in North Carolina, members of that tribe migrated north, originally settling among the Oneida and, in 1722, gaining recognition in the confederacy, which became the League of Six Nations. Given the military power of the allied tribes, the Iroquois eventually controlled a huge expanse of territory, east to west from the Hudson River to the Illinois River, and north to south, from the Ottawa River to the Tennessee River.

Iroquois is a French adaptation of a Native tribal name from the colonial period. The language family of the Iroquois is known as Iroquoian, which is not exclusive to the six Iroquois tribes – the Huron to the north among others also spoke an Iroquoian dialect. The Native name of the Iroquois is the Haudenosaunee for “They Are Building a Long House,” more commonly translated as “People of the Longhouse.”

Longhouses were constructed out of a post-and-beam or bent sapling frames covered with slabs of elm bark. On the average these dwellings were about 60 feet long by 18 feet wide, with a pointed or rounded roof about 18 feet high and with doors at both ends. They were divided into compartments for different families with raised platforms for sleeping and had central fireplaces with smoke holes in the roof.

The longhouse became a symbol for the alliance itself. The Haudenosaunee have traditionally thought of their confederacy as a longhouse extending across upstate New York, with the Mohawk Nation perceived as the Keeper of the Eastern Door, and the Seneca Nation, as the Keeper of the Western Door. In between those two tribes are the Oneida Nation, Onondaga Nation, Cayuga Nation, and Tuscarora Nation. As the centrally located tribe, the Onondaga play the role of Keepers of the Council Fire and host the Great Council, still held every year.

The founding fathers who shaped the new United States government after the American Revolution are thought to have used the Iroquois Confederacy as a model. The various states were like the different tribes; the senators and congressmen, like the 50 tribal representatives; the president and his cabinet, like the honorary Pine Tree Sachems, the primary spokesmen for their tribes; and Washington, D.C., like Onondaga, the main Onondaga village hosting the Great Council.

Haudenosaunee presently hold reservation lands in New York, Ontario, and Quebec. Others have holdings in Wisconsin and Oklahoma. Individuals and families have also moved to urban areas. In New York City, a Brooklyn community of high-steel workers, most of them Mohawk from Canadian reserves, has developed.

During and after the American Revolution, the Mohawk, who sided with the defeated Loyalists, departed their homes along the Mohawk River, most of them moving to Canada. In 1993, a group of Mohawk from the Akwesasne Reserve, straddling the Saint Lawrence River in both Canada and the U.S., purchased a piece of property on the north shore of the Mohawk River west of Fonda, about 20 miles to the northeast of Sharon Springs. In their ancestral homeland they established a community known as Kanatsiohareke (“Place of the Clean Pot”), one of eight present Mohawk territories in New York and Canada. The residents speak the Mohawk dialect of Iroquoian, hold traditional ceremonies, and practice traditional farming. They also maintain a bed-and-breakfast and a store selling Mohawk arts and crafts. Kanatsiohareke is another great place to visit near Sharon Springs.

 

 

The History Boys are

Chris Campbell has made his permanent home in Cherry Valley, NY. The Campbell family dates back to 1739 in this town, situated about eight miles from Sharon Springs. Some family members were captured by Tories and Iroquois allies in the Cherry Valley Massacre of 1778 during the American Revolution and taken to Canada, released two years later in Albany as part of a prisoner exchange. Chris is a rare book and map collector and has had a lifelong interest in history, especially relating to upstate New York and colonial land patents. He was the founder and first chairman of the Cherry Valley Planning Board and has worked as a surveyor and realtor as well as a researcher for the Otsego County map department. His hobbies include Ham radio.

 

Carl Waldman, also living in Cherry Valley, is a former archivist for the New York State Historical Association in Cooperstown. He is he author of a number of reference books published by Facts On File, including Atlas of the North American Indian and Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, both originally published in the 1980s and both in their third editions. He is the co-author of Encyclopedia of Exploration (2005) and Encyclopedia of European Peoples (2006). Carl has also done screenwriting about Native Americans, including an episode of Miami Vice entitled “Indian Wars” and the Legend of Two-Path, a drama about the Native American side of Raleigh’s Lost Colony, shown at Festival Park on Roanoke Island in North Carolina. His hobbies include music and he works with young people in the Performance and Production Workshops at the Cherry Valley Old School.

 

 

The Dash

 

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At New Market Elementary School in Sophia, NC, Field Day was much anticipated.   Each grade level competed within itself in all kinds of physical activities:  relays, jumping rope, obstacle courses made out of hay bales, etc.    More important than the blue, red and white ribbons that were handed out to the victors (though these were all VERY important, too) all sorts of castes, hierarchies and social strata that would dictate our lives for the next year would be firmly decided that day in the schoolyard.

Each classroom in a particular grade-level, would supply 3 girls and 3 boys to compete in each competition (kind of like the Hunger Games but less nihilistic).  If more than 4 kids wanted to compete in a certain event, the class would have to hold some sort of preliminary.

By the 2nd grade, my reputation as a Type A/teacher’s pet/future Valedictorian was already established.  My athletic abilities–generally masked by a body frame that was politely referred to as “husky” in those days—had never really been questioned or even entertained by my peers.

For whatever reason, the pinnacle event on Field Day was the 50 yard dash.  I don’t know what made me raise my hand that day when Ms. Pugh asked which boys wanted to represent the class in the race, but I did, and that put the number of volunteers at 5.  This necessitated a “run-off”.

It was a rainy Spring day but nonetheless, Ms. Pugh sent the five us out to the field behind the school.  All of our classmates lined up at the row of windows that looked down on the grass.  I bent forward with my hand resting on my knee ready to push my chubby self forward with a little extra thrust.  I vaguely remember looking over my right shoulder as the teacher opened up the window and shouted

On your mark!  Get set!  Go!

And we were off.

Racing toward the chain link fence that bordered one end of the school property, I’m certain that if I went back now the distance would seem so short, but then it seemed like a long, long way. Arms and legs pumping furiously, we remained fairly closely packed.  As the fence came ever closer, one could inhale the scent of adrenaline with each exhausted deep breath in.

Just as I was thinking that in a matter of seconds it would all be over, my foot slipped on the wet grass.  Propelled by the forward-moving momentum of my belly, I skidded forward faster than the speed of light.  My arms and hands reached out instinctively to brace myself for a fall, but that chain link grid must have been precisely placed there by an angel.

And by a twist of gravity and fate, I was the first boy to touch the fence.

As we all turned back to face the school, I could see classmates jumping up and down (even at that age people like to root for the underdog).  I could feel the heat on my cheeks as they blushed with that odd childhood mix of pride and shame.

On Field Day, I represented my class well.  I came home with a white third-place ribbon in my hand, a head full of dreams, and a chest so swollen from pride that I wore stretchy t-shirts for days afterward.

After all of these years and all of the subsequent milestones I still remember this singular achievement.

The memory came running back to me the other day when I heard someone say:

We all live in the dash.

What do you mean?,  I asked.

In my mind, all that I could conjure was how quickly those 50 yards seemed to pass beneath my feet so many years ago.  To an 8 year old, all of the exhilarating joys and dismal tragedies of life can indeed be found in a 50 yard foot race and its finish line.

No matter who you are or what mark you make on history, ultimately your name is going to be followed by the year you were born and the year you died—nothing separating them but a dash.  So everything you do in life fits into that little piece of punctuation between two dates.

Though one could protest this trivialization of life, it is at least partly true.  Think about all of the amazing men and women of history who accomplished extraordinary things, sometimes even feats that changed the course of human civilization.  Then think about how much the average person on the street could tell you about any of them.

So often the largest obstacles we face in life are those posed by the value we place on how others will judge us.

But if life really can be summed up as a line between two dates, perhaps we are better off making the decisions that bring us personal satisfaction and forgetting about the opinions of others as easily as they will forget about us.

Seize each moment.

When someone asks, raise your hand.

When given the opportunity to run, run.

 

 

Gartending: Turkish Stalemate

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For the Spring and Summer growing season, we bring you a new feature at Beekman 1802, the Soused Gnome.  He’ll teach  you how to “gartend”–create perfect seasonal cocktails using fresh ingredients from the garden.

 

The Manhattan Cocktail is one of those drinks that have a glorious history attached to a venerable name.  Who doesn’t enjoy a drink named after the greatest city in the world?  A Manhattan can stimulate your hunger like no other cocktail.  It might be the Bourbon Whiskey or the Sweet Vermouth but what I think the Manhattan cocktail is best at becoming an exciting launching pad for flavor.

PAMA is made with all-natural pomegranate juice, premium vodka and a touch of imported tequila.  It is not syrupy sweet.  They seem to get the dry factor down by tempering the tangy/sweet flavor of the pomegranate along with a refreshingly dry finish.

This is elegant stuff, perfectly geared to a unique form of the Manhattan cocktail.

I’ve become a fan of Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon.  It drinks as smoothly as Bourbon that costs triple the price.  There is the certain elegance to this Whiskey and it takes to mixing just as easily as it does drinking a glass neat or on the rocks.  I suppose that it would work in just about any cocktail that calls for an ultra-premium brand of Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey.

There is something that differentiates Kentucky Bourbon from all others.  That is the limestone water.  After spending a couple of days in Louisville during the Kentucky Derby, I noticed softness to the water.  This softness makes for perfectly distilled brown spirits.  Kentucky water tastes like no other and this specific terroir gives Kentucky Bourbon the flavor of the place.

The garden element in my somewhat twisted Manhattan cocktail is the addition of some freshly crushed pomegranate fruit along with the Bourbon and the pomegranate liqueur.  The muddled fruit gives this drink depth and a certain thickness.  It almost becomes a fruit shake bound together by ice, Carpano Antica Formula sweet Vermouth, a touch of Raki (with a tip of my dervish cap to Turkey), and the aromatic, Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon.

The color of this drink is just gorgeous as well.  Your friends will want to seek out their own bottle of PAMA and discover new uses for this unique spirit on their own.

 

Turkish Stalemate Cocktail

Ingredients

to mystify 2 of your closest friends

 

1 Shot Raki

1 Shot Pama Pomegranate Liqueur

2 Shots Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon

½ shot Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth

1 Pomegranate sliced and diced for muddling

Angostura Bitters (a couple of shakes)

Home cured cherries (Apple Jack or Brandy cured cherries-essential!)

 

Preparation:  

Muddle ½ of your pomegranate in a stainless steel cocktail mixing cup

Add the liquors, stir and continue to muddle

Add a couple of your home cured cherries, then continue to muddle

Add a couple cubes of ice

Shake and strain into champagne glasses with fresh ice, shake some Angostura over the top

Enjoy a couple in the garden surrounded by whirling dervishes.

 

Warren Bobrow is the Food and Drink Editor of the 501c3, non profit Wild Table on Wild River Review located in Princeton, New Jersey.  He has published over three hundred articles in about three years on everything from cocktail mixology to restaurant reviews and travel articles.  Learn more from his website, The Cocktail Whisperer,  or by visiting his blogs at The Daily Basic, Foodista, and Williams-Sonoma

 

 

BANK

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Jim Grinches and Norm Phenix, the owners of 204 Main Bar & Bistro, are converting the village’s original bank into a gallery space that will feature rotating exhibitions that mine the incredible wealth of artistic talent in our area.

The first show at BANK will open as part of Garden Party Festival on Memorial Day Weekend and will feature 4 artists:

 

James Richardson (sculpture)

Born in 1980, James Richardson was, at best, indifferent toward art, its creators and connoisseurs.   By 2001, an aspiring Communications Major with a bright future in retail, Richardson embarked on a college history trip to Italy and returned mesmerized by Italian renaissance sculptures.  Two years later, Richardson enrolled at SUNY Albany with the intent of immersing himself in the study of sculpture.  James’ final project as an undergraduate, Tower 1, remained installed on the University grounds for 3 years until dormitory construction forced its removal.  In 2011, Richardson accepted a commission from the Cooperstown Art Association to build Tower 2.  Richardson currently works and lives in Cooperstown, NY.

 

Duncan Chase (sculpture)

Duncan constructs assemblages that depict a moment frozen in time. Within these stories are themes of work, protection, rage, and compassion. The sculptures initially boast strength and virility and yet slowly yield to become objects that speak vulnerability and humanism and illustrate cultural expectations of men –hidden desires, imbalance of power, dependency and helplessness.

In his installations, he employs the familiar and somewhat universal elements of birds, insects, musical instruments, and architecture as reoccurring themes.  “In order to understand a story, as well as a piece of art, we must be able to recognize elements from our subconscious and conscious memory. We all have personal experiences and emotions surrounding animals, music, and architecture, so these elements hopefully become the viewer’s doorway, or entry, thus allowing the universal to become personal engagement.”

 

Chris Duncan (sculpture and collage)

Chris Duncan is a Professor of Visual Arts and Union College and his work has been widely exhibited and praised.  The constructing and the making process is essential to the final form.  He assembles and disassembles elements looking for combinations of line and volume, gravity and balance that make sense visually and physically. He looks for structure and expressiveness–a kind of tension between the raw and the cooked.

 

Steve Larson (hand printed wallpaper)

Steve Larson co-founded Adelphi Paper Hangings in 1999 in conjunction with Chris Ohrstrom.  His exposure to wallpaper as a child came from the wallpaper pattern books lining the lower shelves of the paint and decorating store which his father managed.  His early artistic career, after studying ceramics at the University of Washington in Seattle, centered on producing sculptures, many of which were of papier maché covered with  wallpapers from the 1950’s and 60’s from rolls he found in basement storerooms and attics of small town paint stores.

Eventually, these colors and styles began to seem too limited for his work and he developed an interested in producing his own papers.  In 1997, a serendipitous opportunity to work at the American Paperstaining Manufactory at the Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown, an operation also founded by Chris Ohrstrom, allowed him to learn historic techniques first hand.

At Adelphi’s inception Steve focused on formulating paints and refining printing techniques for simple block printed papers.  Since then he has investigated and reproduced traditional flocked papers, plain varnished papers as well as patterns with both irisé print and irisé ground colors.   He is currently developing a line of contemporary block printed patterns which can be tailored to fit specific spaces.

As a special part of this inaugural event, a second part of the show will feature an installation called “The Banality of It All”, conceived by Jim and executed by Norm.  They explore the premise that “1 is mundane but hundreds can be beautiful”.  Onlookers will be able to take home a piece of the exhibit.

 

The gallery will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday and by appointment.

 

Friday 2pm-7pm

Saturday 12pm-7pm

Sunday 12pm-5pm

 

New exhibits will launch approximately every 3 months, and for those who live far and away from Sharon Springs, we’ll post an online “gallery” of each exhibit.

 

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5 Beautiful Things

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This new feature is designed to inspire you to look at the world around you, to take note of the season at hand and to capture it – in memory or on film – for posterity. I will be choosing five photos each week for Beekman1802.com with this aim in mind. We’re calling the feature, The Five Most Beautiful Things In The World This Week

 

Five Memories of Mum

With Mother’s Day coming up this weekend, I could not let the occasion pass without touting the dear woman who gave me life. She is, indeed, one of the most beautiful beings the world has ever seen: in spirit and in form. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of my mother, her strength, her wisdom, her optimism and her delight in the small, simple pleasures that make life happier. She instilled so much of that sense of brightness in my own heart that I cannot help but be eternally grateful to her. She gave me so much, including the tremendous childhood memories I carry with me every day. Below are five of my favourites.

 

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1.

My mother used to always write adorable little messages of encouragement and love on the paper napkins she would put into our lunch boxes before school. My brother and I would not know what she had said in her note until it was lunchtime. It was midday encouragement and a reminder that she was always there with us in spirit. For a kid like me, who was bullied a lot growing up, this was monumental support.

2.

Each night my mum would tuck us into bed. These were some of my best moments with her. It was a chance to really talk to her about how we were feeling and a chance for her to let us know how much we were loved. My younger brother often needed encouragement to fall asleep and she would oblige by gently stroking his back with her fingertips until he drifted off to dreamland. She would turn off the lamp and we were assured of pleasant dreams.

3.

Mum was always inspiring us to do the best at the things we loved to do. For my brother, it was sports. For me, it was the arts. When I was 10 or 11, she signed me up for weekend art lessons at a fancy little school downtown. Those Saturdays I spent with her are still thought of with so much fondness. I felt lucky to have this wonderful person all to myself for the day: lunch at a café, a little shopping afterwards, a discussion about the art techniques I had just learned. Saturdays were Andrew Days!

4.

Christmases growing up were wonderful. Decorating the tree with mum was always a delight. She would blast the Christmas music and always have a tray of her mincemeat tarts for us to enjoy as we decorated. There was only one rule: the tree had to have lots of sparkle!

5.

My mother’s laugh. It is one of the most joyful sounds, emanating right from the happy spirit within her.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mum! And to all mothers!

Tell us what you love most about your mom in the comments section below

Gartending: Rum Punch

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For the Spring and Summer growing season, we bring you a new feature at Beekman 1802, the Soused Gnome.  He’ll teach  you how to “gartend”–create perfect seasonal cocktails using fresh ingredients from the garden.

 

Rum punches are as easy of a cocktail to build as any in my pantheon of quick and easy drinks.  The Rum Punch is called a punch because of the addition of citrus juices.    The Soused Gnome is particularly fond of the Rum Punch because with the addition of freshly squeezed (highly suggested) fruit juices, these cocktails can truly sing a passionate song that may not be remembered the next day!

I’ve taken the time to concoct a seriously strong Rum Punch that speaks clearly of the garden and ingredients that are easily sourced.

The Rum Punch is a fun drink to make in a batch.  You can serve it in a Punchbowl!  A punchbowl is a great way to bring a crowd together with long straws and a big thirst.

Smuggler’s Cove, the famous Tiki Bar located in San Francisco serves their Rum Punch with as many straws as are needed to get the job done.

Be it two or more straws- everyone is going to get soused!

 

The (Soused) Gnome Knows Cocktail  (a lovely Rum Punch)

Will slosh about 10 or more persons easily (so please, be careful!)

 

Ingredients:

½ 750 ml. Bottle Ron Atlantico Platino

½ 750 ml. Bottle Mount Gay Extra Old Rum

½  750 ml. Bottle of Over-proof Rum like Wray and Nephew

Coconut Water ice – Freeze sweetened coconut water in an ice cube tray

2 Cups each freshly squeezed lime, orange, grapefruit and passion-fruit juices

2 cups Coconut milk (sweetened)

Fresh Nutmeg (to finish)

Fresh Mint from your garden

 

Preparation:

Muddle mint in the bottom of your mixing bowl to release essential oils

Add liquors, stir

Add juices and coconut milk, then stir to combine

Add Coconut Water ice, stir grate nutmeg over top & garnish with lemon zests and fresh mint for a frosty finish!

 

Serve with long party straws and play funky Tiki-Bar music!

 

Warren Bobrow is the Food and Drink Editor of the 501c3, non profit Wild Table on Wild River Review located in Princeton, New Jersey.  He has published over three hundred articles in about three years on everything from cocktail mixology to restaurant reviews and travel articles.  Learn more from his website, The Cocktail Whisperer,  or by visiting his blogs at The Daily Basic, Foodista, and Williams-Sonoma

5 Beautiful Things

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This new feature is designed to inspire you to look at the world around you, to take note of the season at hand and to capture it – in memory or on film – for posterity. I will be choosing five photos each week for Beekman1802.com with this aim in mind. We’re calling the feature, The Five Most Beautiful Things In The World This Week

 

String Gardens

A new trend in houseplant display is the suspension of small plants from sturdy strings, grouped together at varying heights to create a floating or climbing effect. These groupings are called string gardens.

Lending a modern visual element to your room’s landscape, the effect also has a touch of 1970s throwback, a time when hanging plants in macramé slings were all the rage. Creating a string garden is simple enough – at least in theory – and the effect can be beautifully whimsical and striking. Click here to see how they’re made.

While almost any plant can be used in string-garden arrangements, it is recommended to avoid perennials and annuals for this type of display since they require more particular care. Epiphytes, plants which require little to no soil, such as orchids and various types of ferns, are highly recommended for string gardens since their root structures prefer aerated environments. Belgian artist Fedor van der Valk has become something an expert on string garden arrangements and he has some beautiful examples at his website, stringgardens.com.

String gardens are ideal for the urban gardener since they grow vertically, saving on space and maximizing light exposure. I am still not entirely sold on their practicality, however. Misting their roots does not seem like sufficient hydration. Conversely, dunking them regularly into bowls of water would create plenty of drips and debris on the floor below.

Still, once the ‘how-to’ is mastered, the effect is quite magical – a parade of floating plants, bobbing gently on a string swing.

 

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All photos from Stringgardens.com

 

Andrew Ritchie is the creator of Martha Moments, a blog devoted Martha-Stewart related content and her community of supporters. He lives and works in Toronto, Canada, and has been a longtime friend of Brent & Josh, Beekman 1802 and Sharon Springs. Each week he’ll scour the world (wide web) to find the 5 most beautiful things to inspire you. Follow Andrew on Pinterest.

 

2012 Garden Party

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Thinking of taking a drive for Memorial Day weekend?  Help our village Spring back to life at this year’s Garden Party Festival.

In addition to the wonderful merchants throughout Sharon Springs, local craftspeople, artists, farmers and food purveyors from all over the Mohawk Valley, here’s a list of other events during the weekend to help you plan your trip:

Become a part of our roots.  If you’ve already been digging and separating in your own garden, bring your remnants and be a part of our perennial plant exchange.   Take a piece of Sharon Springs home with you!


Take a Walk on the Wild Side of Sharon Spring’s history with a guided walking tour of the historic buildings of the village. Space is limited.  Click here to reserve your tickets.


Are you as fascinated by collector plates as we are?  Check out the cool new exhibit at the 204 Main gallery.  Buy a plate and help the village restore Chalybeate Park!


Hay now!   Rotary Club of Sharon Springs is offering hay rides up the hills of the village.  See structures you otherwise probably wouldn’t venture to see!  Rides take approximately 1 hour and begin on the hour from 11-3 on Saturday.  Space is limited. Email sharonrotary@gmail.com to reserve your space and time.  $10


Be a part of the chatter.  Stop in the Village Hall Gallery and tell editor Leila Durkin why you love visiting Sharon Springs.  You could be in the next issue of The Chatter!


To celebrate the conclusion of the weekend,  enjoy a historic concert in the parlor of the Gardner Stone House, one of the most beautiful homes in Sharon Springs!   The concert is titled “Non piu mesta” from the famous final aria of Rossini’s La Cenerentola (Cinderella).  Tickets are $10 and reservations can be made by calling Robert Gosselink at 518.234.2259


Before & After:  restoration has just started on the historic park in the center of the village.  Take a look at what it looks like now then come back next year to see what a little hard work and community spirit can accomplish!

 

For more information about lodging, restaurants and attractions in neighboring towns and villages, visit enjoysharonsprings.com or the website for our Chamber of Commerce.

 

 

The Chatter for May

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We’ve lobbied really hard for Garrison Keillor to give up life in Lake Wobegone and move to Sharon Springs,  but thus far he has not answered our letters or returned our calls.

Sharon Springs has beautiful people and above-average children, too, so on to Plan B.

What is a small town village without a small town paper to keep track of what everyone is doing?

Leila Durkin, proprietor of The Village Hall Gallery, is now editor of our own little paper.

Each month you can check back here for a new issue and follow the lives of the real village people.  If you pay a real visit, you  may even want to submit a story idea of your own!

You may not live in small town, but at least you can pretend.

See below for the May 2012 Issue

 

 

Are you planning to visit Sharon Springs?  Stop by The Village Hall Gallery and tell Leila about your visit.  Next month you could be  a part of the chatter!

War!

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The Battle of New Dorlach

The New York Frontier around Sharon Springs was the setting for many skirmishes between Loyalists and Rebels and respective Native American allies during the American Revolution.

Because of continuing Loyalist raids in the Mohawk Valley in 1780, Governor George Clinton of New York gave Colonel Marinus Willett command of the militia to defend the region. He was headquartered at Fort Plain on the Mohawk River about 13 miles north of present Sharon Springs.

On July 9th, 1781, an invading force of Tories under Lieutenant John Dockstader and Mohawk allies under Quackyack – as many as 300 all told – sacked Currytown (about seven miles northeast of present Sharon Springs in what is now the township of Root), taking prisoners along with livestock and other plunder. The Tories then camped at Cedar Swamp (in present Sharon Center slightly less than two miles east from present Sharon Springs).

The next day, July 10th, 1781, on learning of smoke rising from the burning homes at Currytown, Colonel Willett sent out scouting parties, one of which located the Loyalist camp. Willett gathered additional militia, assembling a force of a reported 260 men, and moved on the enemy encampment.

On arriving at the camp, Willett sent Lieutenant Jacob Sammons with ten men over a ridge to the edge of the camp as a decoy. They fired on the invading army, then withdrew southward. The Tories and Native allies gathered up their weapons and pursued them. Willett’s men, hiding behind trees and landforms, fired on them. The engagement lasted about an hour and a half before Dockstader’s men fled. Of the Tory and Mohawk force an estimated 50 men were killed and wounded. Their captives from Currytown were also killed and scalped before the invading force retreated. At the time captives were worth more than scalps, but a bounty had been placed on both by the British. The Rebels reportedly suffered five men killed and nine wounded.

Because of Willett’s victory, neighboring settlements were spared for the time being. Other raids and counterattacks occurred in the region throughout 1781 and into the following year. But the war was winding down with peace negotiations beginning in April 1782, leading to the Treaty of Paris of September 3, 1783, ending the Revolutionary War. Willett’s militia force was disbanded the next month.

A historical marker on the south side of present Route 20 designates the battle site:

 

SHARON BATTLE

ON SOUTH SIDE OF ROAD

COL. WILLETT’S COMMAND

DEFEATED TORY-INDIAN RAIDERS

JULY 10, 1781

Cedar Swamp is located nearby on the north side of Route 20, initially constructed two decades later as the first Great Western Turnpike and becoming known as the Cherry Valley Turnpike. There is some dispute among historians over the exact location of the battle. Yet wherever you go throughout the Sharon Springs region – with or without markers – history is in the air.

 

Note:  Known as the Battle of Sharon in some texts and the Battle of New Dorlach (also appearing as Dorlock, Durlagh, and Turlough) in others. New Dorlach was named by German settlers after a town in Germany, becoming known as Sharon in 1797 when the county was reorganized.

 

The History Boys are

Chris Campbell has made his permanent home in Cherry Valley, NY. The Campbell family dates back to 1739 in this town, situated about eight miles from Sharon Springs. Some family members were captured by Tories and Iroquois allies in the Cherry Valley Massacre of 1778 during the American Revolution and taken to Canada, released two years later in Albany as part of a prisoner exchange. Chris is a rare book and map collector and has had a lifelong interest in history, especially relating to upstate New York and colonial land patents. He was the founder and first chairman of the Cherry Valley Planning Board and has worked as a surveyor and realtor as well as a researcher for the Otsego County map department. His hobbies include Ham radio.

Carl Waldman, also living in Cherry Valley, is a former archivist for the New York State Historical Association in Cooperstown. He is he author of a number of reference books published by Facts On File, including Atlas of the North American Indian and Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, both originally published in the 1980s and both in their third editions. He is the co-author of Encyclopedia of Exploration (2005) and Encyclopedia of European Peoples (2006). Carl has also done screenwriting about Native Americans, including an episode of Miami Vice entitled “Indian Wars” and the Legend of Two-Path, a drama about the Native American side of Raleigh’s Lost Colony, shown at Festival Park on Roanoke Island in North Carolina. His hobbies include music and he works with young people in the Performance and Production Workshops at the Cherry Valley Old School.