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100 Years of History
By Erin Doane, Senior CuratorOn November 7, 1923, the Elmira chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution held a meeting. At that meeting, the organization’s president Dr. Arthur W. Booth proposed...
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Ace Photographer
By Rachel Dworkin, archivist Over the years, I must have seen the logo of Ace Photo Studio on the back of a hundred photos in our collection, but I didn’t know much about the studio or George “Ace”...
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The Demise of the Beneficial Order of Earnest Workers
by Susan Zehnder, Education Director Every day when opening our social media accounts, we discover new scams aimed at tempting us to send money or provide personal information. Despite filters, and...
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An Artist’s Artist: Julius Lars Hoftrup
by Erin Doane, Senior CuratorTwo different donors recently gave us paintings by Lars Hoftrup. One donated three watercolors and the other a single oil on board. It felt like an odd coincidence that...
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True Crime Reporting
By Rachel Dworkin, Archivist On March 15, 1964, 12-year-old Mary Theresa Simpson went missing after heading home from her cousin’s house. After a few hours of waiting, her father called the police. For...
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Stand up for Safety: Aviator Leon "Windy" Smith
by Susan Zehnder, Education Director “It is mighty easy Mr. Praeger for you to sit in your swivel chair in Washington and tell the flyers when they can fly…”Windy Smith in the cockpitWhen Leon D....
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May Day at Elmira College
by Erin Doane, Senior Curator May Day is an ancient spring festival that originated in Europe to rejoice in the coming of summer. In 1902, Dean M. Anstice Harris started what would become a 65-year...
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A Listing of Local Photographers
By Rachel Dworkin, ArchivistsThere were almost 50 photography studios in operation in Chemung County during the 19th century. For much of that century, there were no amateur photographers. Taking and...
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Fly the Friendly Skies? The First African American Stewardess
By Susan Zehnder, Education DirectorDo you remember Mohawk Airlines? The “Route of the Air Chiefs” airline carried passengers all around New York State. It was one of the first feeder airlines to take...
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The American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association
by Erin Doane, Senior CuratorIn June 1955, nearly 1,000 people attended the 19th annual district convention of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA) at the Mark Twain Hotel...
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Operation Elmira
By Rachel Dworkin, archivistOn D-Day, June 6, 1944, just as the sun was setting, two waves of Douglas C-47s towing Horsa and Waco CG-4A gliders flew east over Utah Beach in Normandy, France. They were...
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Elmira's Fire Chief John H. Espey
By Susan Zehnder, Education DirectorImagine knowing what you want to do from a young age and then doing it for half a century. One such determined man was Elmira fire fighter John H. Espey. First...
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Swimming in Wool
by Erin Doane, Senior CuratorThere’s nothing better on a hot summer day than taking a dip in some nice cool water. For centuries people have used lakes, rivers, oceans, and pools to help beat the heat....
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The Diarists of the 107th New York Volunteers
By Rachel Dworkin, ArchivistThe past is a foreign country, but, if you’re really lucky, you might just find a pen pal. As archivist at the Chemung County Historical Society, it is one of my great, and...
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At the Corners of Church and Main Streets
by Erin Doane, Senior CuratorMap of the City of Elmira from actual surveys by G.M. Hopkins, C.E., 1865Jervis Langdon was an entrepreneur, an abolitionist, a philanthropist, and the father-in-law of...
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New Project with the Smithsonian
by Susan Zehnder, Education DirectorThere is no life that is not geographic.-Ruth Wilson GilmoreI heard this statement back in July at a workshop for the first group of educators involved in a new...
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A Friendly Family
By Rachel Dworkin, Archivist It’s fascinating the influence a single family can have on a town, or even a nation. In the 1850s, four brothers immigrated to America from Bavaria, Germany. They were the...
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Grand Pictures
by Susan Zehnder, Education Director If you’ve had a chance to wander through our exhibit “Grand, Domestic and Truly Comfy,” you’ve seen recreations of some of the rooms from the Langdon Mansion, once...
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Hallowe’en in 1924
by Erin Doane, Senior CuratorIf you lived in Elmira 100 years ago, on October 31 you would not see children in costumes trick-or-treating. Going house-to-house collecting candy and other goodies on...
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Ghost Walk 2024
by Susan Zehnder, Education DirectorOver 500 people joined us for our 18th annual Ghost Walk in Woodlawn Cemetery. This event has a lot of moving parts, and once again, we’re grateful for the help and...
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Honk If You Love Bumper Stickers
By Rachel Dworkin, Archivist It’s election season and political bumper stickers are out in force. They’re taking over my office too. We were recently donated 20+ bumper stickers for local, state, and...
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Better Films
by Susan Zehnder, Education DirectorThe 19th century saw photography inspire a brand-new medium: moving pictures. By the end of the century, most movies were 30 seconds or less, but they captivated...
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The Sellers of Knox Hats in Elmira
by Erin Doane, senior curatorThe Knox Hat Company of New York City produced fine hats for nearly 100 years. Before his speech at the Cooper Institute in 1860, Abraham Lincoln purchased a new Knox...
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Working at the Langdon Mansion
by Rachel Dworkin, ArchivistWandering through our current exhibit on the Langdon mansion, “Grand, Domestic and Truly Comfy,” it’s tempting to imagine one’s self living there. But what about working...
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Cookies (no calories)
by Susan Zehnder, Education DirectorFor many of us, the holidays are all about smells: evergreens, scented candles, and freshly baked treats. And when the timer goes off and the warm smell of cookies...
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