New York Traveler.net

First Church in Albany

The First Church in Albany is the second-oldest church in New York State and houses the oldest pulpit in the United States. Originally called the Dutch Reformed Church in 1642, the place is loaded with history. We got the chance to attend a Sunday service and tour the church two summers ago. It was wonderful! My daughter, an Alexander Hamilton fan, was thrilled to be in the church of his wife’s family. Hamilton’s Upstate memorial funeral service was also held here in the church. And Theodore Roosevelt attended the church during his years in Albany as governor. The church was recognized by Congress in 1974 as a National Historic Site.

Albany is New York State’s capital city. The Hudson River connects Albany with New York City. Historically, this wateroute has been the only way people could move from New York City to Upstate New York. Therefore Albany has been an extremely ethically-diverse city from the beginning.

We arrived to Albany early Sunday morning, barely making it in time for the church service (Albany is a 2 hours+ drive for us). The church service was sweet and simple. The parson preached from Matthew 18:15 (“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.”). There were not many people attending the church that day (I guess on Labor Day, many clear out of the city and head for the vacation areas), but the people we did meet were extremely friendly. One lady (I think her name was Mary) offered to take us for a light tour of the church. What a treat! She took us to the front of the sanctuary, and showed us the famous pulpit. >>> Read more of ‘First Church in Albany’

The Smallest Church in the World, Oneida, NY

We took a trek out to the geographic center of the state and had the opportunity to visit a few small places in the area. Our first stop was visiting the Smallest Church in the World!

The church (under 29 square feet) was established in 1989 as a “witness to God.” It is non-denominational. I know that the community of Oneida, NY, is very religious– I have perused the town library and their selection of books is phenomenal. It is a great resource for any serious student of the Bible or religions. Central New York has traditionally been the epicenter for all sorts of religious movements (The Second Great Awakening, Joseph Smith Mormonism, Noyes’ Oneida Community, to mention a few).

This little chapel sits on a small man-made island, as you can see from the picture. It is so cute. A dilapidated boat was roped to the pier at the pond’s end– the only means of transportation to the chapel. You can read an interesting story of someone who attended a church service in the chapel, here.

The little chapel here sits in the middle of one of two small ponds. A paved road (leading to more residences throughout the village) divides the ponds. Both ponds were very obviously smaller in size in the past, because now a telephone pole and street sign were sitting completely in water. The pond’s edge lapped threateningly up against the low shoulder of the road. The pond was also infringing onto the properties of some of the residences– one property’s stone wall and cluster of juniper shrubs were sitting in water. The house was a mere fifteen feet from the pond’s edge. Yikes!

It is very evident that something about Upstate’s watershed is changing. The damaging floods of the summer of 2006 (was it really that long ago?) were proof, as vast sections of Upstate hamlets were engulfed by rising creeks, streams, and rivers. We’ve been noticing that our local streams and watersheds are diverting somewhat; new pools are forming, and existing ponds and lakes are expanding their reach. Hopefully these “minor” problems are a heads-up to communities that will have to find new ways to deal with the changing waterscape in the state.

The Living History Weekend, German Flatts, NY

In late autumn, 2006, we took a trip to the Living History Weekend in German Flatts, NY. German Flatts is one of the oldest Upstate New York settlements. Unfortunately, and predictably, it was pouring rain AGAIN (we had a lot of rain that year, and a few devastating floods). This put a real damper on our visit, so to speak. Turnout on the day that we went (Saturday) was very low. Still, we enjoyed what we were able to see.

The high point was seeing the Fort Herkimer Church. My children are descendants of the Palatine Germans that settled this area, who built this church, among others. Revolutionary General Nicolas Herkimer’s parents also assisted in the building of the church, and they are buried in the graveyard.

The Fort Herkimer Church is one of the oldest churches in New York State, begun in 1753. Made of stone, it served as an important fortification for area residents during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. There are over thirty gunports in the walls, and thick buttresses project from the building’s four corners.

Because of the rain, the scheduled church tour was cancelled, but a very gracious lady allowed us to look in the church when she heard I research genealogy and local history. Inside the church, it looks like any typical Colonial American church: wooden floors, wooden pews with small swinging doors, and a wooden pulpit raised up several feet. It is a plain church, not as fancy as the Dutch Reformed Church we visited in Albany. It is similar in format if not in scale and style.

After seeing the church, we wandered into the reenactment Civil War camps for a bit. There was not a lot of activity and hardly any other visitors, because of the rain. We puttered around and took this cute shot.

The kids also bought some Civil War hats (Union, of course) and a few toy rifles.

The man who plays Abraham Lincoln, a local celebrity now, was not coming, due to a previous commitment. The events schedule stated that a parade drill and cannon firing was due now, but everyone was huddled in their tents. When the rain finally receded, we asked one of the Confederate soldiers if they were going to fire off any weaponry. A bugler was called to rouse the troops out of their warm tents and onto the soggy training ground.

The captain gave us a nice speech and some background on Civil War cannons, and soldiers were ordered to fired off a shot.

Some Confederate soldiers bravely geared up and did an army drill for us, complete with firing of guns.

It was all very low-key, however, and certainly not the big hullabaloo we read about in the paper. I’d say there were only four or five other families around. When I asked about the scheduled fiddler’s jamboree, we were informed that was canceled, too. This was very disappointing, and ruined the visit for me.

We meandered the site for a while. We stood at the banks of the mighty Mohawk River. How desperately beautiful it is–how I longed to hop in a canoe and paddle away (it’s the Indian in me).

The area saw tremendous damage during the June 2006 floods. The photos below show some of the debris field. The river gushed off course and surged through the area next to the camp- I’d say it surged a good 1/4 mile from its banks here. The gashed land was filled with tree roots, limbs, old roofing shingles, plastic tarps, etc. It was a disaster.

One highlight was talking to a genuine blacksmith. He made a beautiful iron hook as he chatted about iron works, historical ore mining in the Adirondacks, and the history of smithing. The Adirondacks used to supply great quantities of iron for the country. There are large areas filled with titanium there (used for airplane sheathing and such things as mineral makeup). However, the Adirondacks mines have been closed, due to over-regulation from New York State. Mining is now predominantly in areas of the South, such as North Carolina because the ore is easily accessible. The mining businesses down there also aren’t taxed arms and legs like they are in New York.

We didn’t stay for the scheduled reenactment of the “large-scale” battle. The kids wanted to, but everything on the schedule had so far been canceled, and I really didn’t want to hang around for three more hours in the intermittent rain, waiting for an event that might not even happen. Perhaps we’d visit again, when there might be more sunshine and more activity.

Old Stone Fort in Schoharie, NY

In the autumn of 2006, we made the lengthy drive out to beautiful Schoharie, NY, in the eastern region of New York State. Our destination: The Old Stone Fort and Museum.

The Stone Fort was originally built as a Dutch Reformed Church in 1772. The names of the parishoners are carved into the stones of the walls. In 1777, an uprising of Tories in the area caused the Patriots to build a stockade around the church. Continental soldiers were garrisoned there in 1778 and 1779. During the nasty British raids on the Mohawk Valley during this time, this fort sheltered the local residents.

After the Revolution, the fort became a church again until it was sold as an armory for the State in 1857. Twenty years later, the building was given to Schoharie County as an historic site, and the Fort opened as a museum in 1888.

And wow! This was one interesting museum! Think of something–anything– and the antique version of it was displayed! Arrowheads (billions of them), buttons, weapons, dolls, uniforms, fossils, a whale’s tooth, shoe buckles from Patriot’s boots, medals, letters, 19th century- era weaponry from the Philippines (including old war shields and spears), minerals, vehicles, tools, stuffed birds, paper, deeds, documents, badges, musical instruments, dental tools, farm tools, one of the first mechanical calculators, portraits, and much more!

Here is a list of the things I found the most intriguing:

Letter written by Joseph Brant to a Patriot friend: The writing was beautiful. Either Brant took a lot of penmanship classes or he dictated his letter to a scribe. It was amazing to see.

Deeds for tracts of land: everyday, boring documents? Not these. They did have the usual mumbo-jumbo legalese found in any deed, with the signatures following; but the interesting things were at the bottom: dark brown spots and little cartoon pictures— the “marks” of the Indians who sold their land. They “made their mark” with their own blood and then drew a cartoon of their name (like, Running Wolf and Turtle Leaf).

Money: There were miscellaneous coins and bills, but the showpiece was an original Three Dollar Note dated 1776. Another note, $5, was dated 1779. These are truly rare– money was very, very rare during the Revolution.

Butler’s Rangers Badge: The original badge from 1774 or so, given to the American Loyalists who joined Walter Butler’s motley crew of murderers. Also displayed were original weapons used during the Revolution– bayonets, muskets, pistols, knives. Needless to say, my sons loved this area.

Hair wreaths: Yep. Wreaths made of hair. Typical colors, too. The display card read that women would often save hair after brushing, and after enough had been reserved, they “combed” through the strands to organize them into similar colors. They then wound the hair around a narrow pencil-like implement, to curl the strands. Then they assembled and attached the curled hair into a circular wreath. Some were adorned with ribbons. They actually hung these things on their walls.

Maxim machine gun made in Berlin in 1918: There were lots of guns at the museum. But this one was pretty impressive– it was huge and looked fierce.

Wood from Tim Murphy’s coffin: You don’t know who Tim Murphy was?!?!?! How can you not? Actually, I didn’t either, until my brainy kids informed me that Murphy was a member of Dan Morgan’s gang. If you don’t know who Dan Morgan is, well, then, shame on you! Even I know that! You’d be speaking in a British accent if not for him. You can brush up on your American history here.

Oldest fire engine in the United States: This fire engine was constructed one year before George Washington was born. Neat!

After satiating ourselves in the Fort, we trekked across the complex to see the other buildings. They were smaller and held fewer, less interesting objects (at least, to us), but it was still very enjoyable. One building displayed antique technology: radios, microphones, stereos, televisions, etc.

A barn, one of the oldest in the state as it is from Revolutionary days, held various farm implements. A unique freedom pole and a small hay barn were outside of this building.

The Red Schoolhouse was interesting. It was a “hands-on”building. It was modeled after what a real schoolhouse would have looked like in post-Civil War days. You could sit in the small wooden desks, handle the slates, gaze at portraits of George Washington and Abe Lincoln. It was interesting. Small lesson books on each desk had examples of elementary-grade curricula.

Leafing through the curriculum example was a real treat. The mathematics section was not difficult but the language of the questions was incredibly complex when compared to our “Reader’s Digest” type of writing today. The students obviously had excellent reading comprehension skills, even at such a young age as took this elementary math.

I copied a few questions from the book:

1. How many acres of land in three fields containing 40, 15, and 25 acres, respectively?

2. For how much must I sell a horse that cost me 120 dollars to gain 25 dollars?

3. A pole is 15 feet in the air, 9 feet in the water, and 5 feet in the earth. How long is the pole?

In the back of the book were some “laws.” I am not sure if the student memorized these laws, or if these were supposed to be a help for the teacher. Read the two that I copied and note the complex language of the writing!

The Law of Readiness: When a modifiable bond is ready to act, to act gives satisfaction and not to act gives annoyance.

The Law of Effect: A modifiable bond is strengthened or weakened according to as satisfyingness or annoyances attends its exercise.

It was quite an education to peruse the schoolhouse.

I hope to go back to the Old Stone Fort, and take my husband next time. A great museum!

The Ultimate Trip

I just found out that beloved minister Dr. D. James Kennedy died in the early morning of September 5th.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA., (September 5,2007) — Founder and Senior Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Succumbs to Complications from Cardiac Arrest. Dr. D. James Kennedy, founder and senior pastor for 48 years of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (CRPC) in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., passed away peacefully in his sleep at approximately 2:15 a.m. at his home with his wife and daughter by his bedside, following complications from a cardiac event last December. He was 76.

My family was blessed greatly by listening to his Coral Ridge Hour every Saturday night and reading some of his books. God bless his family and church.

We know we will see him again someday.

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. 1Thessalonians 4:13-18