On Wednesday February 1st at 1:00 pm the Fabius Historical Society will host a special WWI presentation by retired Cortland College Professor Sam Kelley at the Fabius Community Center. Kelley will talk about the US in World War I, specifically sending the 93rd Division to France as well as the New York 369, one of the most famous regiments. There is no charge for this event. Light refreshments will be served following the program. For more information please contact Sandy Beglinger at 315-683-5878.
On Saturday February 4th the Friends of Lorenzo will host a Bootleggers Ball. Come and enjoy as the Friends of Lorenzo transform a local establishment TBD into an action-filled speakeasy featuring live Jazz music, cocktails from local distilleries, gaming tables, dancing and more. Wear your best flapper dress and bootleg best. For more information or tickets please visit www.friendsoflorenzo.org/bootleggers-ball.
On Saturday February 4th from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm the Oneida County History Center will host a special presentation by the Utica/Oneida Branch NAACP in honor of Black History Month entitled “The Crisis in Black Education.” The program will include special panel discussion moderated by Mrs. Evon Ervin, poetry readings, dance presentations, musical performances and more. There is no charge for this event. For more information please call 315-796-2512 or visitwww.oneidacountyhistory.org.
On Saturday February 11th at 1:00 pm the Oneida County History Center will host “A Soldier’s Journey through the Heart of the Park.” Railroad historian John Taibi will use period photographs to tell the story of his father’s trip from Utica to Lake Placid on the New York Central Railroad. There is no charge for this event. For more information please call 315-796-2512 or visit www.oneidacountyhistory.org.
On Sunday February 19th at 1:00 pm the Oneida Community Mansion House welcomes author Carol Faulkner who will present on adultery in the late 19thcentury. Faulkner, author of Lucretia Mott’s Heresy: Abolition and Women’s Rights in 19th-Century America and Women’s Radical Reconstruction, will examine the debate over adultery and marriage among nineteenth-century Americans. During the mind-19th century feminists, abolitionists, communitarians, free lovers and spiritualists challenged the legal institution of marriage, and imagined more egalitarian, consensual relationships between men and women. While society condemned adultery, these reformers condemned marriage. The 2017 speakers series is sponsored by a Humanities New York Action Grant. Admission is $7 for adults and $3 for students (members of the Oneida Community Mansion House are admitted for no additional donation). For more information please call 315-363-0745 or visitwww.oneidacommunity.org.
On Friday February 24th at 3:00 pm Oneida Community Mansion House Curator of Education Molly Jessup will lead a special “Behind the Scenes Tour” of the Mansion House. The tour will feature a rare opportunity to explore the attic spaces, basements and towers of the National Historic Landmark. Tour admission is $5 for OCMH members and $15 for all adults and $8 for students aged 8 & up. Reservations are required in advance of the tour, to reserve your spot please call 315-363-0745.
On Saturday February 25th at 11:00 am & 3:00 pm Oneida Community Mansion House Curator of Education Molly Jessup will lead a special “Behind the Scenes Tour” of the Mansion House. The tour will feature a rare opportunity to explore the attic spaces, basements and towers of the National Historic Landmark. Tour admission is $5 for OCMH members and $15 for all adults and $8 for students aged 8 & up. Reservations are required in advance of the tour, to reserve your spot please call 315-363-0745.
On Saturday February 25th at 1:00 pm the Oneida County History Center will host a special presentation entitled Adirondack “French Louie.” Regional historian Peter Hemmerich will speak about “French Louie” Seymour, a well-known character in Adirondack Folklore. Louie was an eccentric hermit who lived in the wilderness of the West Canada Lakes region during the late 19th and early 20thcenturies, spending most of his time as a guide, trapper and woodsmen. There is no charge for this event. For more information please call 315-796-2512 or visitwww.oneidacountyhistory.org.
On Sunday March 19th from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm the Madison County Historical Society will host a special “Art of Theorem Painting Workshop.” Artist and educator Pamela Vogan Lynch will lead participants through the steps and techniques needed to create a framed theorem painting of a basket of pansies utilizing materials by theorem designer, Jean Hansen. Theorem materials will be provided. The workshop is for adults and children aged 12 and up. The cost of the workshop is $18 per person. Registrations is required. To register or for more information please call315-363-4136 or email history@mchs1900.org.
On Sunday March 19th at 1:00 pm the Oneida Community hosts a special presentation entitled “Uncle Johnny’s Girl Farm: Escapism Through Utopian Fantasy in the Mid-Twentieth Century.” Come and learn how during the mid-20thcentury men’s magazines ran stories describing the “sex cult that rocked New York,” a myth-based and dramatic re-telling on of the Oneida Community with salacious details. These stories reveal twentieth century ideals about marriage, masculinity and monogamy through the interpretation of their utopia. Admission is free for members or $2 + museum admission for non-members. For more information please call 315-363-0745 or visit www.oneidacommunity.org.
On Friday March 24th at 6:30 pm the Morrisville Public Library welcomes Madison County Historian Matthew Urtz who will present “Faces from the Archives.” Utilizing records from Madison County’s extensive government records Urtz will tell the stories of different people and events. He will also feature different collections of documents to showcase the wide collection of documents that are available to researchers. There is no charge for this event. For more information please call 315-684-9130.