Take
our online Community
Conversations Survey and share your thoughts about the Rensselaer
County Historical Society
GREAT
EVENTS COMING UP AT RCHS
 HUDSON
RIVER DINNER CRUISE
Sunday, July19, 3-9pm
$85/members of RCHS,
Historic Albany, Albany Institute, Albany County Historical Association
and Columbia County Historical Society
$95 not-yet-members
2009 Times Union "Best
Local Artist" and historian Len
Tantillo narrates scenic and historical highlights along the
Hudson as we cruise from Troy to the Athens Lighthouse and back
aboard the luxurious Captain
J.P. II, enjoying a delicious dinner along the way. Tickets
available online
or by mail(pdf).
Photo shows Athens Lighthouse from 2008 RCHS boat cruise.
COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS
RCHS is committed to
making the organization a viable, vibrant and valuable
community resource. To do this, we are hosting a series of “Community
Conversations" in the next several weeks where we will ask
how well we are
meeting community needs, what we currently do that people value,
what more
we should be doing and how we can use our resources to address
current
issues and interests in Rensselaer County.
These small group
conversations are scheduled for Wednesday, June 17 at 5:30 pm,
Monday, June 22 at 5:30 pm and Wednesday, June 24 at 8:30 am at
RCHS, 57 Second Street, Troy. Each conversational group will last
approximately 1-1.5 hours, depending on the number of people who
sign up.If you
are interested in taking part, please contact RCHS by e-mailing
info@rchsonline.org or
calling 272-7232 ext. 14. This project has been funded by a Get
Set! Grant from the Upstate History Alliance and we are working
with Kaleel Jamison Consulting.
We also invite you
to take part in an online
survey which will provide us
with the data to clarify what the wider community wants from RCHS,
the
county’s main historical organization.
If you know of others
who might want to help with this effort to craft a
new, sustainable model for RCHS, please forward the link above
and tell them
about the Community Conversation dates. They can contact us about
attending
one of the sessions. Additional conversation dates will be set,
if needed.
We are always happy to hear from you at any time – your
ideas on how to make
RCHS a better organization, recognizing every face and every story,
are
critical to our continued viability and success. Thank you in
advance for
your willingness to help.
RCHS ANNOUNCES
CHANGE IN PUBLIC HOURS
In an effort to control
costs and continue to provide services while we reinvent RCHS,
we are announcing new public hours. Starting the week of May 26,
RCHS will be open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from noon to
5 pm. We are committed to providing the highest level of access
and service possible with our current resources. We are happy
to work with you to provide tours or research services at other
pre-scheduled times. To request an appointment outside of our
new public hours, please leave a message at 272-7232 ext. 10 or
e-mail info@rchsonline.org.
To the extent possible, we will be dedicating Wednesdays to work
on our reinvention, including the development of new, income-generating
programs and services.
Please note that RCHS
will not be open on Saturday, July 4th.
NEW EXHIBITION!
GETTING THERE:
Historians in Training Explore Travel Through Time
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - Fall, 2009
“But
Oh! what bliss to steal a kiss on the boat to Albany”
 A
piece of sheet music, a section of trolley track, an elegant,
if faded, carriage, and a rusting horseshoe. All of these objects
are among the artifacts from the Rensselaer County Historical
Society collection researched by students from Tony Rieth’s
and Karen Bechdol’s combined English/Social Studies class
at Troy High School. These 25 “Historians in Training”
are part of an exciting collaboration between Troy High School,
RCHS and The Record.
In early 2009, with
the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial approaching, RCHS
staff provided the students with a broad selection of transportation
themed objects from which to choose. The Historians in Training
then picked the objects they wanted to research and uncovered
their stories, writing articles that will appear in The Record.
These stories provide an eclectic window into the impact that
planes, trains, and automobiles (as well as boats and horses)
have had on the history of Rensselaer County
Through this collaborative,
the Historians in Training developed research and writing skills
and had the opportunity to explore careers in history museums
and journalism. Most importantly, they discovered fascinating
stories from the past, and through their research and articles,
are making local history accessible to our community. Their
artifacts and the stories they uncovered make up this exciting
exhibition.
WALK
THROUGH HISTORY
Beginning May 2, 2009,
RCHS Staff will offer walking
tours of historic downtown Troy on Saturday mornings, leaving
from the Market Table at the Troy Farmer’s Market at 10:30
am.
“Our walking
tours are a fun way to stretch your legs, and explore the history
that you walk by everyday,” explains Mari Shopsis, RCHS
Director of Education.. Each week brings a different theme for
the tours, which are led by Historical Society staff and frequently
incorporate historic photographs and readings from letters and
diaries. The tours last approximately an hour. Cost: $5 for not-yet-members
of the Historical Society/members free.
Worried about what
to do with your purchases? “If you want to shop before the
walking tour, we can swing by the Historical Society and you can
leave your bags in our building while you tour,” says Shopsis.
Help
Keep the Lights On and the History Alive!
What
does a typical week at the Rensselaer County Historical Society
look like?
School buses
stop traffic on Second Street as 2nd graders come in the doors
to take a walking tour through our historic urban downtown. The
new owner of an old rowhouse browses through city directories
to uncover the story of his home. A class of future interior designers
studies historic furniture in the Hart-Cluett House and high school
students participating in the Historians in Training project come
in after-school and fill the Research Library with the sounds
of discovery.
A
typical week at the Rensselaer County Historical Society is busy,
diverse – and at risk. RCHS is experiencing severe
financial difficulty and needs your
help to continue serving our community and fulfilling our mission
“to enrich the present and advocate for the future by bringing
the region’s past to life recognizing every face
and every story.”
The current
economic climate has created a “perfect storm,” making
it difficult to sustain current services. Without immediate financial
support, RCHS may need to close our doors or reduce public access
while we work to implement new strategies that will sustain our
organization now and in the future.
If
we must close...
...exciting
new educational initiatives, popular public programs, and long-planned
exhibits will be cancelled. RCHS recently was awarded
a competitive grant from the Institute for Museum and Library
Services to develop our school programming and help K-12 students
connect with the rich and important history of our region. RCHS's
public programming looks at the present through the lens of the
past, helping our community build a brighter future.
...we
will be forced to abandon or reduce our commitment to support
community efforts to capitalize on the economic development potential
of Rensselaer County's historic landscape and built environment.
RCHS has been a key partner in developing and promoting heritage
tourism in our region. RCHS staff members, who together have over
74 years of collective service and a wealth of knowledge about
the history of our community, serve on a variety of county initiatives
and provide historical information and educational programs and
services for visitors, school children, community leaders, local
and regional businesses and government officials, and the media.
...historical
collections resources will become inaccessible to the public.
RCHS is a resource for people around the corner and around the
world. RCHS's collection of documents, photographs, and artifacts
is used on a daily basis. In just the past few months, high school
students, police detectives, historians researching the Underground
Railroad, genealogists, artists working on public art projects
and more have used historical collections to pursue a range of
questions and projects.
RCHS
has launched a “Keep the Lights on and the History
Alive” Campaign – and we need your
help. We are seeking both short- and long-term assistance
to keep our organization active and serving Rensselaer County
and the Capital Region. We need a minimum of $30,000 each month
to maintain our current activities and preserve the historical
artifacts we hold for the benefit of people today and in the future.
Unfortunately, in recent months our operating income has averaged
under $10,000.
What
can you do?
- Pass this message
on to your friends, family, colleagues and ask them to pass
it along – Getting the word out is still a key to success
- Make a tax-deductible
donation
to RCHS
- Give an RCHS membership
as a birthday present or gift to a new neighbor
- Tell
your friends, family and colleagues about the great programs
happening at RCHS and encourage them to get involved
- Distribute RCHS
membership brochures (pdf)
and fact sheets
(word document) to your clubs and community organizations
- Sponsor a field
trip to RCHS for your child's school
- Hold a brunch or
get-together and make a group donation to RCHS Volunteer
to help with an RCHS program or project
- Send
us your ideas! What would you like to see RCHS do? How can
we increase our service to the community and lay a foundation
for ongoing financial sustainability?
Thanks for
your help! We look forward to working with you to build a strong
future for Rensselaer County’s history!!
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