History of the Region
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History, until very recently perhaps, has been recorded by those in power. You know, the victor not only gets the spoils of war but gets to tell how it happened.
Last week, our Canadian friend Hank Hofmann sent me a link to a Globe and Mail...
Photography by Mark Kurtz except where noted.
Construction of the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival ice palace has begun, with one aspect of the building process being no different than it was 75 years ago, the ice harvest. Garrett Foster, Michael...
For most of human history travel was a luxury largely reserved for the rich. Not so many generations past, crossing the ocean was a one-time gamble of last resort. Yes, millions of tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breath free made their way...
“Primogeniture” is a seldom-used word. It crops up now because royal succession is making headlines – as with the widely-reported news that Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is expecting her first child.
Although I’ve met the...
With November 11 looming over the first third of this month, it’s been poppy time where I live once more.
Having spent the majority of my life in the U.S. I can contemplate this quaint Canadian custom with an anthropologist’s detachment....
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Museums and Galleries
Historical Sites and Associations
Specials Reports
Audio Series:The Adirondack Attic
Andy Flynn uses the objects people make, use, and leave behind to tell stories about the life and times of the region.
Audio SeriesStoryCorps in the North Country: North Country residents have shared their stories with this national oral history project during visits to the region in 2006 and in 2008.
Audio Slideshow:Upper Canada Village welcomes addition
Lucy Martin reports on the newest addition to Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, Ontario--the Ancient Brethren Lodge.
Slideshow:Old mill requires old skills
Lucy Martin returns to Watson's Mill in Manotick, Ontario to see how old millstones can be made new again, and learn about other vanishings arts of the miller's trade.
Audio Slideshow:Anique North Country Postcards
Jon Kopp, a former state forester who owns an antique store in Tupper Lake, has set out to collect thousands of vintage North Country postcards. He shares his collection with Brian Mann.
No Bigger Than a Piano Box: a North Country Schoolhouse in 1893
By historian Betsy Kepes. Based on the 1893 diary of a North Country schoolteacher. A Women's History Month special. Teacher's guide and CD available.
Audio Slideshow:Canada's Rideau Canal hits 175th anniversary
The Rideau Canal is a manmade waterway connecting Kingston to Ottawa. Lucy Martin was in scenic Merrickville for one of the year’s many 175th anniversary celebrations.
Audio Slideshow:Volunteers keep Watson's Mill alive
Watson's Mill opened for business in 1860 on the Rideau River in Manotick. It comes alive in the summer — full of the noise of water, turbines, grindstones, and people. Lucy Martin followed two modern enthusiasts who help keep it all turning.
Audio Slideshow:Mining in Lyon Mountain
Brian Mann talks with author Lawrence Gooley about the hard and dangerous history of mining at Lyon Mountain.
Audio Slideshow:Flower Library Gets Facelift
Todd Moe tours an Art Nouveau gem, Flower Memorial Library in Watertown, as it undergoes renovation in its centennial year.
Audio Slideshow:Aboad La Duchesse in Clayton
La Duchesse is a 110-foot Gilded Age treasure that's become the crown jewel of the Antique Boat Museum's collection in Clayton. Todd Moe tours the historic houseboat.
Audio SlideshowKing's Garden at Ft. Ticonderoga
1920s landscape architect Marion Coffin designed a pleasure garden for the Pell family's summer home, the Pavillion, at Fort Ticonderoga. It was neglected and almost forgotten until, about ten years ago, workers began to restore the garden to Coffin's plan. Todd Moe takes a tour.
SlideshowA Look Inside Temple Beth Joseph, Tupper Lake
Beth Joseph Synagogue in Tupper Lake is the oldest synagogue in the Adirondacks. Built in 1905, its origins stem from the late 1800s, when Jewish immigrants from Russia and eastern Europe arrived in America. It had been closed up for decades when a summer resident asked to take a look inside. What she found was a national treasure.
Audio SlideshowSt. William's on Long Point
In the late 1800s, St. William's was the parish church for Raquette Lake and served many of the Irish and French-Canadian Catholics who were the early pioneers on the Lake. Today, it's a seasonal camp and cultural center, accessible only by boat. Todd Moe visited during restoration work.
SlideshowCape Vincent French Festival 2005
In the early 1600s, French settlers came to the eastern end of Lake Ontario. Much of northern Jefferson County traces descent from them and Cape Vincent holds an annual French Festival to celebrate the heritage. David Sommerstein was on hand and sends this audio postcard.
Audio SlideshowSaving Sackets Harbor's Historic House of Healing
A group of history buffs wants to restore the old Stone Hospital at Madison Barracks as a military heritage center and cornerstone for restoration work. Todd Moe has more.
Audio SlideshowFollowing Photographer Seneca Ray Stoddard
In the late 1800s, photographer Seneca Ray Stoddard captured some of the most iconic scenes in north country Now another Glens Falls native, Mark Bowie, has spent two years photographing the exact same scenes.
SlideshowThe School of Agriculture, Canton NY
SUNY Canton started life as The School of Agriculture in 1906. This slideshow is part of a display from the school archives presented at the Third Annual Symposium on Education, Environment and Economic Vitality in April 2005.
Audio SlideshowA Walking Tour of Sackets Harbor: Battlefield, Bay and Barracks
Todd Moe tours historic Sackets Harbor, one of five villages hosting Seaway Trail Walks this summer.
Photo Audio EssayChildren's Camps in the Adirondacks
The Adirondack Museum opens today for the summer season. A major new exhibition looks at the history of the region's summer camps.
Audio SlideshowMusic Hall Restoration in Heuvelton
A group of residents and historians in Heuvelton is trying to preserve Pickens Hall, one of the oldest buildings in the village. And the building's restoration has sparked a renewed interest in the career of Bessie Abott, a granddaughter of the original owner of Pickens Hall. Bessie took the opera world by storm in the early 1900s. Todd Moe reports.
Audio SlideshowNapoleon's Brother in the North Country
David Sommerstein visits the historic Benton House in the town of Oxbow in Jefferson County, the former home of Joseph Bonaparte's extramarital daughter.
Photo/Audio
EssayInside Dark Island's Castle
On the St. Lawrence River near Chippewa Bay, a representative for the buyers of Dark Island and its historic castle gave David Sommerstein a peek of what visitors could see as early as next summer.
Audio SeriesLeonora Barry: First Voice for Working Women
North Country Public Radio presents an extraordinary profile of one of the unsung heroes in the history of the struggle for the rights of working women in America.
Audio SeriesIce Storm '98: A Retrospective
This retrospective looks back on Ice Storm '98 through the sounds and stories we all shared during those three weeks of disaster—and community.
Frank Forney, Philadelphia, cutting wood with his nephew on Route 11 in Antwerp. Photo: David Sommerstein
Heard Up North: the guy who painted the Thousand Islands bridge
Apr 03, 2013 — You never know who you're going to meet by the side of the road in the North Country. David Sommerstein stopped to chat with a guy sawing firewood recently. It turns out he painted one of the tallest bridges over the St. Lawrence River. Today's Heard Up North features Frank Forney of Philadelphia. Go to full article
Adirondack Attic: an heirloom from baseball's early days
Apr 02, 2013 — Just in time for the start of baseball season, Andy Flynn visits the Adirondack Museum for a look at a baseball uniform from the 1870's. Go to full article
Alternatives to Incarceration: One man enters the system
Mar 27, 2013 — When Governor Nelson Rockefeller pushed through his landmark drug laws in New York forty years ago, he argued that any alternatives to his new tough on crime zero tolerance approach had failed:
"I was on this kick of trying to get the addict off the street, into treatment. Now this was a beautiful concept, except it just didn't happen to relate to the realities because the pushers keep finding new people. And I have to say that as far as I am aware, there is no known, absolute cure for addiction."
But in recent years, those Rockefeller Drug Laws have gone through a series of reforms. These days, cash-strapped states like New York are struggling to reduce inmate populations so that they can close expensive prisons. Governor Andrew Cuomo plans to mothball two more correctional facilities downstate this year.
And reducing the number of people behind bars means experimenting with diversion programs for non-violent drug offenders: States are offering counseling programs, rehabilitation and therapy, and opening alternative, "drug courts." The goal is to battle drug addiction without incarceration.
This week, as part of our Prison Time Media Project, Natasha Haverty follows the journey of one man through a system that's trying to turn away from mass incarceration. Here's part one of her three-part series. Go to full article
"I was on this kick of trying to get the addict off the street, into treatment. Now this was a beautiful concept, except it just didn't happen to relate to the realities because the pushers keep finding new people. And I have to say that as far as I am aware, there is no known, absolute cure for addiction."
But in recent years, those Rockefeller Drug Laws have gone through a series of reforms. These days, cash-strapped states like New York are struggling to reduce inmate populations so that they can close expensive prisons. Governor Andrew Cuomo plans to mothball two more correctional facilities downstate this year.
And reducing the number of people behind bars means experimenting with diversion programs for non-violent drug offenders: States are offering counseling programs, rehabilitation and therapy, and opening alternative, "drug courts." The goal is to battle drug addiction without incarceration.
This week, as part of our Prison Time Media Project, Natasha Haverty follows the journey of one man through a system that's trying to turn away from mass incarceration. Here's part one of her three-part series. Go to full article
Thoughts on the Iraq War, then and now
Mar 22, 2013 — It's been 10 years since the beginning of the second Iraq War.
The war created a deep division in the country and here in the North Country, and fueled a... Go to full article
The war created a deep division in the country and here in the North Country, and fueled a... Go to full article
National Storytelling Day: "The White Feather" by Mitch Lee
Mar 20, 2013 — Today is the first day of spring. It's also World Storytelling Day -- a global celebration of the art of oral storytelling, celebrated every year on the vernal equinox in... Go to full article
How old photos inspired new Adirondack art
Lake Placid, NY, Mar 19, 2013 — More than two-dozen glass plate negatives from a century ago have been re-imagined by a group of Adirondack artists in a new exhibit at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts. ... Go to full article
Long Lake explores its French Canadian roots
Long Lake, NY, Mar 18, 2013 — Students and faculty at Long Lake Central School are focusing on the community's French Canadian history and culture this week. The school will host an evening of music,... Go to full article
The stories behind ski hills of the past
Mar 15, 2013 — For every ski area that's survived, like Titus Mountain or Mt. Pisgah in Saranac Lake, there are dozens of ski hills that didn't.
Jeremy Davis has been documenting... Go to full article
Jeremy Davis has been documenting... Go to full article
What happens to an old warship, 200 years later?
Whitehall, NY, Mar 14, 2013 — The war of 1812 may seem like it happened a long time ago. But in Whitehall, New York, residents have a daily reminder: the Ticonderoga.
For the past 50 years,... Go to full article
For the past 50 years,... Go to full article
Aerial photos reveal Ontario communities flooded 50 years
Ottawa, ON, Mar 13, 2013 — It's been more than 50 years since Inundation Day -- July 1, 1958, when ten Ontario communities along the St. Lawrence were purposefully flooded and 6,500 people relocated so... Go to full article
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