By Norm Parry
(New Woodstock, NY – June 2013) Dr. Richard J. Giarrusso will show selections from his ceramics-stoneware and redware collection at the New Woodstock Free Library during the month of June. A reception featuring the opportunity to hear Giarrusso describe the history of the pottery-making industry in New York state and its relationship to the Erie Canal will be held June 7 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the library.
The New Woodstock Free Library, located at 2106 Main Street (Route 13), will show Giarrusso’s collection during all regular library hours.
Giarrusso, a dentist with offices at Armory Square in Syracuse, began collecting New York stoneware pottery in the late 1970s. From a single piece found at a local antique show, the collection has grown to more than 200 pieces, each with a story to tell about the history and importance of the pottery industry in New York state.
Giarrusso’s collection follows and chronicles the course of the Erie Canal and other waterways in the state through their connection with the pottery industry.
“The objective of this display is to acquaint visitors with the role of pottery making in the history of New York,” Giarrusso said. “A chance phone call to William Ketchum, author of the definitive reference book on North American stoneware, led me to a growing interest in this field.
“Through readings of a number of related texts, it became apparent to me that the development of the pottery-making industry in New York paralleled the history of the area from its early colonial days as a military tract, through the building of the Erie Canal and the industrial development of the Central New York region.”
For more information about this and other programs or events at the library, call 315.662.3134 or visit midyork.org/newwoodstock.
The New Woodstock Free Library is open Monday through Friday 1 to 5 p.m., Monday and Wednesday evenings 7 to 9 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. The library is also open whenever the blue library symbol flag is flying out front.
Children’s hour is every Tuesday at 11 a.m.