A flyer for this event can be found here.

The Schenectady Blue Jays, 1946-1957
Presented by Frank Keetz

When: 2:00 p.m., Saturday, June 30, 2012
Where: Schenectady County Historical Society, 32 Washington Avenue, Schenectady, NY 12305
Admission: $5.00; Free for Schenectady County Historical Society members

The Schenectady Blue Jays baseball team, an affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, originated in 1946. The team played their home games at McNearney Stadium in Schenectady until disbanding in 1957. Frank Keetz, local baseball historian and author, will trace the history of the team and its impact in the area.

Frank Keetz has written several publications about sports in the Schenectady area, including They, Too, Were ‘Boys of Summer:’ A Case Study of the Schenectady Blue Jays in the Eastern League 1951-1957, Class ‘C’ Baseball: A Case Study of the Schenectady Blue Jays in the Canadian-American League 1946-1950, and The Mohawk Colored Giants of Schenectady.  

For more information, contact Melissa Tacke, Librarian/Archivist at the Schenectady County Historical Society, by phone at 518-374-0263, option “3”, or by email at librarian@schist.org. The Schenectady County Historical Society is wheelchair accessible, with off-street parking behind the building and overflow parking next door at the YWCA.

A Reunion of Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni, Family and Friends
When: 2:00-4:00 p.m., Saturday, June 16, 2012
Where: Schenectady County Historical Society, 32 Washington Avenue, Schenectady, NY
Admission: Free and open to the public; RSVP suggested for CCC alumni.
Contact: For information or to RSVP, Melissa Tacke, Librarian/Archivist, 518-374-0263, option “3”; librarian@schist.org

On Saturday, June 16, 2012, the Schenectady County Historical Society will host a reunion of Civilian Conservation Corps alumni, family, & friends from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at 32 Washington Avenue, Schenectady, New York 12305. Marty Podskoch, author of Adirondack Civilian Conservation Corps Camps: Their History, Memories and Legacy, will give a short presentation and will invite participants to share memories of the camps.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) began on March 31, 1933 under President Roosevelt’s “New Deal” to relieve the poverty and unemployment of the Depression. Camps were set up in many New York towns, state parks, and forests.  Workers built trails, roads, campsites and dams, stocked fish, built and maintained fire tower observer’s cabins and telephone lines, fought fires, and planted millions of trees. The CCC disbanded in 1942 due to the need for men in World War II.

Marty Podskoch is a retired teacher and is the author of six books: Fire Towers of the Catskills: Their History and Lore, two volumes of Adirondack fire tower books: Adirondack Fire Towers: Their History and Lore, the Southern Districts, and Northern Districts and two other books, Adirondack Stories: Historical Sketches and Adirondack Stories II: Historical Sketches, from his weekly illustrated newspaper column.

Adirondack Civilian Conservation Corps Camps: Their History, Memories and Legacy contains over 500 pictures and illustrations, 26 maps, and 25 charts. The author will have all of his books available after the presentation for sale and signing.

For more information on the reunion or to RSVP, contact Melissa Tacke, Librarian/Archivist at the Schenectady County Historical Society, by phone at 518-374-0263, option “3”, or by email at librarian@schist.org. The Schenectady County Historical Society is wheelchair accessible, with off-street parking behind the building and overflow parking next door at the YWCA.

If anyone has information or pictures of relatives or friends who worked at one of the CCC camps, please contact Melissa Tacke, at 518-374-0263 or at librarian@schist.org, or Marty Podskoch at 36 Waterhole Rd., Colchester, CT 06415, at 860-267-2442, or at podskoch@comcast.net.

Founded in 1905, the Schenectady County Historical Society (SCHS) strives to:

1. To promote and encourage original historical research
2. To disseminate a greater knowledge of the history of the State of New York and particularly Schenectady County
3. To gather, preserve, display, and make available for study relics, books, manuscripts, papers, photographs and other records and materials relating to the early and current history of Schenectady County and of the surrounding area
4. To encourage the suitable marking of places of historic interest to acquire by purchase, gifts, device [sic], or otherwise the title to or the custody and control of historic sites and structures

 Under the general supervision of the Curator, the recently created position of Assistant Curator/Educator assists in the management of the Permanent Collection and the facilitation of exhibitions as well as the development of educational programming at the multiple sites of SCHS.

 SCHS owns and operates the Schenectady County History Museum, the Grems-Dolittle Library, the Mabee Farm Historic Site, and the George E. Franchere Education Center.

 The duties of the position include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Helps with all aspects of collections management related to the three-dimensional collection (inventory, research, environmental monitoring, storage, ect.).
• Updating and maintaining the Mabee Farm (MF) PastPerfect database information and its consolidation with the PastPerfect information on the Society server at HQ.
• Preparing and updating a full comprehensive inventory of all accessioned objects located at the MF.
• Researching, planning, designing, constructing, and installing Society exhibits at all sites
• Writing grant applications with regard to the funding of MF programs and acquisition of material resources.
• Leading tours, presenting programs, and developing and implementing classroom-based school programs
• Plans, staffs, conducts, and supervises 4^th and 7^th grade School programs
• Developing and administering educational curriculum and interpretive programs for the MF through identification of themes, audiences, and interpretive methods.
• Updates Society websites and its Facebook page as needed
• Recruit, train, and schedule of teaching-volunteers for classroom-based and on-site school education programs

Candidates should submit their cover letter and resume to:

Ryan Mahoney

Schenectady County Historical Society

32 Washington Ave.

Schenectady, NY 12305

curator@schist.org.

www.schenectadyhistory.net

Free to members – $5 to non-members

From the volunteer era, to the first professional department, fire fighting has been an integral aspect of life in Schenectady.  This exhibit shows the evolution of firefighting in the City of Schenectady from the early 1700s on through to the 20^th century.  This exhibit also highlights some of the more interesting fires to occur in Schenectady’s history.  Included in this night will be a brief talk on the history of Schenectady Fire Department by Dr. Lyle Barlyn.

Saturday, January 29, 1PM- Book Talk- Clarissa Putman of Tribes Hill

The Grems-Doolittle Library has a blog about library news and collections at http://gremsdoolittlelibrary.blogspot.com