Myers Residence

Myers Residence

Today was the last day of the Discovery Program in the Hudson. I am very excited that I made it. Soon, I will be getting 15 credits. This course definitely helped me grow as a person. Now, I know more about American History. I know more than just the basic history that I learned in high school. During the Discovery Program, I learned about very important people that helped shape the American Society. Today, for instance, we went to Stephen Myers’ house in Albany. Even though Stephen Myers was very involved in the abolition movements, I never heard about him before. 

Myers and his wife Harriet were the leaders of the Underground Railroad in Albany in the 1850s. The picture above shows Myers’ House. In this house was where many of the decisions about the abolition movements were made. The curator told us that the Underground Railroad was kept secret among the citizens of the town. If outsiders came, the citizens of the town would not mention anything about the Underground Railroad. The railroad was kept a secret because the citizens feared that the outsiders would betray the slaves hiding in the town.

Stephen Myers

Myers was born enslaved in Rensselaer County and freed at age 18.  Having lived as a slave was probably what motivated Myer to help free other slaves. By 1831, Myers and his wife had helped many slaves pursuing their freedom. Years later, Myers along with other abolitionists published a newspaper where they talked about helping fugitives coming from the south and about being against slavery. Thanks to the hard work of the Myers family, many runaways got their freedom. Myers never stopped working for the equality of African Americans. In 1844, the Albany Underground Railroad was described as the most efficient organization in New York State that helped many refugees to get their freedom.

Thanks to the Myers as well as other abolitionists such as Harriet Tubman, Martin Townsend, and John Brown, many runaways that came to Rensselaer County got their freedom. Martin Townsend was not an official abolitionist but he helped the runaway Charles Nalle get his freedom. He intervened to save Charles from being sent back to his owner in the south. Thanks to his intervention, Charles Nalle’s freedom was bought by the citizens of Troy. It is very nice to know that even ordinary people took actions to abolish slavery.  If it was not for the discovery program in the Hudson, I probably would have never learned about these important people that helped shape the American society. 

Volunteering at Waterford

Boat

After doing some blogs, we departed to Waterford which is 30 minutes away from troy. In our way there, it started pouring. I thought our plans were going to get canceled because of the rain. That never happened. Professor Michael kept driving and soon we arrived to our destination. We arrived at a dock which was near the lock 2 of the Erie Canal. Once we got there, our mission was to help cleaning the boat in the picture above. Before starting, one of the men in the boat gave us some history. This kind of boat is called an on rust Dutch boat. Sometimes they are referred to as a yat. The word yat is a Dutch word which means to hunt. The shape of the boats made them faster than any other kind of boats. This is why the Dutch shipping industry became very famous during the 17 century. Other countries would buy boats from the Dutch in order to have a faster voyage. The boats were not only fast but they also could float in very low levels of water. As low as 5 inches of water. I was very impressed by this fact. Due to the size of the boat, you would think that it would require a very high level of water to be able to navigate. This was not the case. In addition, the size and shape of the boat also allowed the Dutch to navigate through very narrow stream. This kind of boat seems to be a kind of modernization during the 17 century.

Professors Toby and Michael

The boat that we were able to clean was made by 250 volunteering people. I can imagine all these people working together. It must have been very exciting. When we got inside, we were able to see the details of the boat more closely. In the bottom, the cabinets assembled the one that actual Dutch ships had. The bottom seemed so big to me that they could have a party of 100 people.  After our tour throughout the boat, we started working. Kassaina and I helped the professors for a while. After that, we swept. And finally, we oiled the floor.

Delicious Waffle

Even though it looked like it was about to rain again, it did not rain. We were able to finish our work. We were given delicious waffles after we were done. Keri was losing her mind due to the deliciousness of the waffles.

Schodack Island

View from Schodack Island 

After doing some blogs, we departed to Schodack Island. Once we arrived, we settled our bags and started our journey. Proffesor Toby explained to us the impact of mercury in the environment. I also did a little bit of research on mercury since the topic seemed to me very complex. The primary source of mercury is rainfall. Once in the water, mercury settles in the bottom and becomes sediments. Mercury is then absorbed by the soil and later by the plants. Bacteria that live in the soil also feed on mercury. As a result, bacteria and plants accumulate mercury in their systems. As fishes and other aquatic animals feed on the bacteria and plants containing mercury, they also accumulate mercury in the bodies.
Proffesor Toby explained that this process is called bioaccumulation and it is pretty much how mercury enters the food chain. Consequently, mercury can disturb an entire ecosystem. Since fishes can be a high source of mercury in the food chain, many people who fish and who eat fish are warned about the danger of mercury. I love fish and if I could I would eat it every day! That was what I thought before. Now I am becoming more aware of the situation. I knew about the danger of high level of mercury. However, I did not know how mercury enters the food chain or the big impact that it causes to the environment. Having small conversations with the professors definitely help me understand small matters that are happening nowadays.Another topic we talked about was the current of the Hudson River. When we were standing in the dock, we saw a piece of trunk floating in the river. Keri and I were so confused when Proffesor toby said that the piece of trunk was going in opposite direction of the current. We saw the waves going to the right and so was doing the piece of trunk. That is why we assumed that the piece of trunk was going with the current not opposite to the current. However, Proffesor Toby told us that the waves that we were seeing were actually a tide, not the current of the river. I found this very fascinating. A tidal fluctuation is caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon. While the earth rotates, a bulge of ocean water is created which then triggers the tidal fluctuations.
Toby sent us to explore the island for half an hour. While exploring I read some of the posters that were around the island. One of the posters said that part of the Schodack Island is the site of a Bird Conversation Area (BCA). This Bird Conversation Area is home of Bald Eagles, Cerulean warbles and Blue Herons. I found this very interesting since I already knew about the Bald Eagles. These eagles were at risk of extinction years ago. However, they are now returning back. It felt nice being in a place that was especially assigned for the reservation of species at risk of extinction. In other poster in the Schodack Island, I read that the Mohicans inhabited the area before the Europeans arrived. Once the Europeans started taking lands over, the Mohicans departed to the north.
When we finished exploring, we walked to a dock which was located across the island. I was ready to go into the water. When I got in, I felt I was sinking because of all the mood at the bottom of the river. It felt really nasty. However, I enjoyed it very much. I always wanted to get all moody and I finally did it. Professor Toby was trying to catch some fishes with his nest. Unfortunately, we got no fish.  When we were about to leave, Keri started a mood fight. Kassaina, Michelle, Keri and I were the main participants in the fight. None of the other girls felt like being in the fight. Even though Krista did not want to be part of the mood fight, she got all moody too. Today was definitely a great day.

Metropolitan Museum and the Indian Museum

In the Subway

Today was another day in the big city. After doing some blogs like every morning, we went to the closest subway station which was right outside Barnard College. Once in the subway station, we took train 1.  After getting off the train, we walked couple of blocks to a bus stop. While we walked to the bus stop, I was rapt by the beauty of the architecture around us. Even though I come to New York City often, I never stop liking the buildings and being impressed by them. I noticed many roof gardens on the buildings. This is definitely a great way to help the environment.

The bus took us to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The first section in the museum that I went to was American wing. In this section, I saw paintings done by Thomas Cole, Frederic Church, Robert S. Duncanson, Asher B. Durand and others. All these artists were part of the Hudson School of Painting. The pictures in the left show some of the painting done by students of the Hudson School of Painting.

The first painting was done by Asher Durand, who produced different works in response to the death of Thomas Cole. This painting is called The scene from Thanatopsis. The second painting was done by Robert Duncanson, a freeborn African American. This painting is a landscape with cows watering in a stream. In many of his paintings, Duncanson depicted how African Americans' lives were like. The third painting was done by Thomas Cole, who founded the Hudson School of Painting. His painting is called  the Titan's Goblet.

The Oxbow

The picture above shows one of the largest paintings of Thomas Cole. It is called the Oxbow. The painting shows the view from Mount Holyoke in Massachusetts. Cole was fascinated by this view and the wind. This is probably why the tree in the left of the painting seems to be hit by the strong breeze of a thunderstorm. While there is a thunderstorm in the left side of the painting, there is a calm scenery in the right side. Not everybody  put together two opposite things and make it shine. However, Thomas Cole did it. He juxtaposed calm and stormy sceneries.  This is definitely a great work.

I was intrigued by the painting in the picture above. This painting was done by Joseph Badget in 1760. It caught my attention because of the shape of the whole body, from top to bottom. The body seems to be disproportional to the head. In addition, the dress is too symmetrical. It looks the same to me in almost every angle. The person in the painting may look like a girl but it is actually a boy. This was Badget's three year old grandson, James. I could not believe that it was a boy. However, then I remembered the curator at Johnson Hall telling that children were dressed similar during the 1700s. Therefore, it was normal for a three year old boy to wear a dress which was probably made exclusively for him. This painting was very different from all the ones that I have seen and it really intrigued me.

Set of Tumblers

Donations of Russel Sage

After going through the paintings, we found the different items that Mrs. Russell Sage donated to the Metropolitan Museum. The set of Tumblers shown in the picture above was one of the gift of Mrs. Russell Sage. She also donated a jug, a bureau table, a fire screen and a dresser. All these items seemed of very good qualities. Clearly, Mrs Russell Sage wanted to be involved in the community. Her donations make her part of the Metropolitan Museum.

After we saw part of the museum, we went to lunch. I was very glad I followed the professors because they went to a Dali place which had really nice prices and the food was delicious. Now on, I will try to follow the professors since they are the one who know where the real food is at. After eating my delicious meal, I went to the national Museum of American Indians. I love learning about the people who lived in the New World before the Europeans arrived. I learned about the Iroquois in New York from Proffesor Andor's weekly readings. The Books the Hudson and the New York and the Ohio Country give good explanations about the Iroquois. Thanks to the weekly readings, I had some fresh knowledge about the American Indians before entering the museum. Being able to see their customs, their utensils and others stuff was a great experience.

Riffle Case

The picture above shows an Assiniboine rifle case which was decorated with beadwork and long fridge. The case was decorated by Indians of different groups.   This rifle case is an example of how Indians were obtaining new ideas not only from the Europeans but also from the other Indian groups.

Architecture Rally in the City

To me, there is nothing better than an exciting day in the city. I love taking the subway and running into people from different parts of the world. Downtown, New York is definitely the place where I would love to live. Even Though I live close by it, it is not the same. The Bronx which is where I live has diversity of people, but it does not have as much diversity as downtown, New York.  After doing some Blogs, Professor Michael gave us a list of buildings that we had to find in the city. The package that enlisted the buildings gave us the addresses and some history about the buildings. We were encouraged to ask for help if we get lost. I was assigned to work with Krista and Andrea who never took the subway before. Even though, I live in the city with my father, I did not know a lot about the subway because I recently moved with him. I certainly took the subway before. However, I did not know how to manage the system. Therefore, the three of us started pretty much as amateurs.At the beginning, we were a little bit confused about the map. Fortunately, we did not make any mistakes. Even though we struggled a little bit with the map, we did not get lost or take the wrong train. We lost a little bit of time by deciding to which building to go first. In addition, we took some time to learn how to use the map.

Citicorp Center

The picture above shows the Citicorp center building. This building was the first one we went to. It is located in Lexington Avenue and 54^th street. I was surprised to read that the building was constructed in 1978. The architecture looked to me very modern. When I first saw the building, I thought it would not be older than 20 years. However, this was not the case. The building is made up steel and glass and it contains business offices. I love the top structure of the building. This top definitely highlights the building from the others.

St. Patrick's Church

St. Patrick’s Church, shown in the picture above, was also one of the buildings in the package. I was very excited to see this church since churches usually have wonderful architectures. And indeed, St. Patrick’s church’s architecture was amazing. I might have walked by this and other buildings in the package before. However, I never took a day to observe the beautiful architecture that New York has. Due to the many people that were around me and to the height of the building, it was difficult for me to take a good picture. Even though the building was being restored, I was able to see some details in the tower. Krista, Andrea and I were trying to see the architecture inside the building. However, this was also a little bit difficult because there were a lots of people since it was church time. I would have feel very disrespectful if I walked in taking pictures and only looking at the architecture of the building. I told Krista and Andrea we were better off just looking from the outside.

The door in the picture is one of the front door of the church. We felt in love with this door because it was enormous and its design caught our eyes. 

St. Patrick’s church is the largest neo-gothic-style catholic cathedral in North America. It took 28 years to construct this church, from 1851 to 1888. The towers were added in 1888. This building was definitely present during many important dates in the American History such as the civil war, the great depression and others. The civil war was the reason why the construction of the building was halted in 1858. This cathedral is another part of American history.

Hearts Magazine Building

Two other building that fascinated me due to their designs were the Hearts Magazine Building and Time warner center. As the picture above shows, the magazine building is made up glass and steel. The base of the tower is made up stone and it was constructed in 1928. The tower was postponed due to the great depression. It was then completed in 2004. This building is the site of Hearts corporation which brings together publications and communications companies such as Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping and the San Francisco Chronicle. This is one of the buildings that makes New York City a very busy city.
The three of us, Krista, Andrea and I, will always remember this building, not only because of its design but because of the hard time it gave us. For some reason, the address of this building in the package was Eight Ave and 47th street. Since we were at 43th street we decided to walk the extra 4 blocks to get to the building. From far we could see the building, so we kept walking toward it. We walked approximately half an hour to get to this building. The actual address was 8 avenue and 57^th street instead of 8 avenue and 47^th street. We walked neatly 14 blocks to get to this building. That amount might not sound very large. However, because it was a really hot day and there were a lots of people walking in the streets, this was torture to us. Due to this, we will always remember the magazine building.

Time Warner Center (Taken from Google)

The design of Time Warner Center also fascinated me. It seems that it is made up a really delicate glass. The building is a mixture of other skyscrapers. It was constructed in 2003. Therefore, it is one of the newest skyscrapers in the city. The building was so tall that I was not able to take a nice picture of it. Krista and Andrea did not like the building. This one was my favorite one. Unfortunately, we were running out of time so we were not able to go inside.

As we walked in the city, we noticed of couple of things that were bad for the environment. For instance, the picture above shows a vending cart which is creating a great amount of smoke. The smoke contributes to the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which brings bad consequences to the earth such as global warning. The amount of cars also contributes to the increase of Carbon dioxide. Usually, there is only one person per each car.

The picture above shows a positive intervention that helps the environment. Whoever invented this kinds of chair is a genius. The plants in the chair help decrease the amount of carbon going to the atmosphere. In addition, many buildings around New York have roof gardens. These two are very positive to the environment since we need trees to get rid of the carbon dioxide in the air.

Depart to New York City

I was waiting for this day long time ago. I could not wait to go to the big city. Even though I live in the city with my father, I think it will be a great experience staying in the city for a week with my college friends. We departed to the city around 8 o’clock in the morning. In our way there, we stopped at a hill in order to admire the beautiful landscape of the mountains and the river. I felt that the ride was a little bit dangerous because the road was very curvy. However, the beauty of the landscape made the danger worthy. The pictures above show the landscapes of the river and the mountains. Beauties like this one is what inspired many artists such as Frederic Church and Thomas Cole.

Bald Eagles

The Bald Eagles are briefly described in a post which was hanging where we were. The post describes that these eagles almost became extinct due to the destruction of their habitat, selective killing and the use of pesticides. This caused me a great discontent. Professor Toby had explained that many animals became extinct due to the destruction of their habitat and this is what was happening to the bald eagles.  The post also says that in 1940 the United States passed a law that makes illegal the killing, possessing, selling or trading of bald Eagles. Thanks to this law Bald Eagles are returning back to New York.

Manor of the Philipse Family

 Before going to New York City, we stopped at sleepy Hollow which was named after Washington Irving’s book, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I was very happy that we visited this town. I never imagined that Sleepy Hollow would be the name of an actual town. When Professor Michael told us we were going to go to Sleepy Hollow, I was very surprised since I thought sleepy Hollow only existed in Irving’s book. Once we were in Sleepy Hollow, we went to Philipsburg Manor.The Philipsburg manor was owned by the Philipse family. The picture above shows the house of the Philipse. In this manor, products such as flour, butter, remedies and others were made. The accessibility to deep water shipping that they had helped them to transport their goods to New York CIty where they made good profit. The Philipse who were Dutch did not spend a lot of time in the manor. Thanks to that the slaves knew how to write and read, the business never stopped. When the owners came back from wherever they were, everything was under control thanks to the slaves. This really impressed me because from the historical houses we have been to so far, no one of their slaves were skilled. In addition, many people did not have a lot of slaves because they feared that slave upraise might occur.

However, it seems that the Philipse family did not worry about that since they had 23 slaves.
 The Philipse Family did not only farm but they also owned the international shipping slavery. The family participated in the triangular trade which brought slaves from Africa to Europe and from Europe to the New World. Due to their farming and slave shipping, the Philipse family became very wealthy and famous in New York. However, their slave shipping business brought many problems to America. Sometimes I wonder if people who participated in slave shipping should be granted a historical monument New York.

Irving's House in Sunnyside

After eating lunch in sleepy Hollow, we went to Washington Irving’s house which was couple miles away from Sleepy Hollow. Before going inside the house, I was able to see the railroad which was very close to the house. Even though Irving had to deal with the noise of the train, he received money which helped him with his paintings. Since Irving became very famous, I expected his house to be a mansion like those of Vanderbilt. However, Irving’s house was smaller and simpler than I expected. One thing I noticed in the house is that Irving really liked to be in contact with nature. How the house was designed and decorated shows how Irving was so in love with nature. Many of the wall paper were greenish and there were windows everywhere. As the book The Hudson by Tom Lewis describes, Irving felt very inspired by the landscapes of the Hudson. If I had awakened every day looking at the beautiful landscapes of the Hudson, I probably would have become a writer or artist too.

Historical Places in the Mid-hudson

Today was a very busy day. We visited three different historical houses that were close to each other. Even though it was cold and it was raining, I enjoyed today very much.

Franklin D. Roosevelt's House

The first historical house that we visited was the home of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The picture above shows the frontage of FDR’s house. I was fascinated by the design of the building. It looked to me like the mansions in Florida. The small columns in the front and in the balcony make the house look gorgeous. In addition, the white and green in the windows plus the palm plants in the front give the house a beach house look. the back of the house has beautiful view to the Hudson River and the mountains. It seems that The Hudson River was part of many important people in the history of the U.S..  For instance, Franklin D. Roosevelt grew up watching the Hudson River. He was born and died in this house even though he traveled a lot.
Franklin Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882. Both of his parents came from prominent Hudson River valley families. Roosevelt did not have a lots of contact with children of his age because he never went to school. Instead, he was educated by tutors and governesses. Even though he did not have contact with other children, he traveled a lot to Europe with his parents. He did not have the fun to play with other children but at least he traveled to different countries. When he turned 14, he was sent to a philosophical school in Groton. In this school, Roosevelt learned that everybody not only has privileges and respect in a society but they also own duty.  This school taught Roosevelt social responsibility.Roosevelt attended Harvard where he graduated in 1904. Later he attended Columbia Law School. Roosevelt started following the political steps as his cousin Theodore Roosevelt who was a previous president. He became part of the senate where he started to draw attention due to his last name and his reform temperament. He did not only become part of the senate but he also worked in the Navy. In 1913, he was named as assistant Secretary of the Navy. Now, Roosevelt was part of two important organizations.

Elevator

Unfortunately, Roosevelt contracted polio when he was 39 year old. The picture above shows the elevator that he used to transport himself to the different levels of the house. I was amazed when I learned that there was an elevator in the house. The curator explained that the elevator was installed when house was restored. A portable ramp was also built. The ramp was removed when visitors came to visit and it was put back on when the visitors were gone. Roosevelt did not want anybody to know that he had polio since back in those days, physical disabilities were associated with mental disabilities. Roosevelt was really positive. He started physical therapy hoping that he was going to walk again. However, he never did. It must have been very hard for him go through such a terrible transition. I can’t imagine myself not being able to walk. I feel that If I miss one of the limbs it would be the end for me because many job nowadays require physical work. The fact that Roosevelt kept going, it is very motivating. Since he lost some familiar members due to a fire, he was afraid that because he could not walk he would not be able to go down stairs in the case of a fire. He, then decided to practice his escape by rolling down the stairs with nobody’s help. That is the attitude!When Roosevelt became president, he dealt with the great depression and War World II.  He funded many programs in order to help the poor during the depression. Being in Franklin D.  Roosevelt House was a great experience. However, I was bothered by the fact that his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, was not mentioned at all. Even though the house belonged to Franklin Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt should have had some attention since she was his advisor and confidante. Since Franklin could not walk, Eleanor visited and reported on the places he was not able to go. Despite Franklin’s infidelity to his wife Eleanor, she stuck to him when he needed her and that makes her important enough to be mention in his husband’s house.
Even though the curator at Franklin D. Roosevelt's house did not mention Eleanor, we visited her house and learned more about her life. 

Vanderbilt's Mansion

The second historical place that we visited was the Vanderbilt mansion. This mansion was just a few minutes away from Roosevelt’s House. It was built during the Gilded-age which was the period of time that the government did not levy any taxes and thus what one earned was exactly what he or she kept. In other words, people were getting big profits. The Vanderbilt family ran different types of businesses in New York. The family ran the New York Central Railroad. During this time, trains served as a good way of transporting goods. Due to this, the Vanderbilt family made a good profit. In May 1895, Frederic and Louise Vanderbilt purchased Hyde Park which provides a wonderful view to the Hudson River. Here they built the Pavilion House which was where they stayed while their mansion was being constructed. It took two years to build the mansion.

The mansion consists of 54 rooms and 22 fire places. Even though there were 22 fire places, only two of them were used. The living room, the dining hall and the library were in the first floor. The family bedrooms were in the second floor while the kitchen was in the basement. In addition, the male servants had their own place in the basement while the female servants stayed in the third floor. The architecture of the mansion is extremely gorgeous. According to the curators, the Vanderbilt wanted their mansion to resemble a king’s mansion because they believe they were the loyalty. The mansion was usually for intimate parties of 20 people. The mansion symbolizes the prosperous period that hit America during the Gilded-age. This house was the most beautiful one that I have even seen and I definitely would like to live in it.

Eleanor's House

Dinning Table

Our third and last historical place of the day was the Eleanor Roosevelt house. As I mentioned before, Eleanor became the eyes of Franklin Roosevelt when he contracted polio. Eleanor’s life was not very happy. Her mother underestimated her because she was not as pretty as the other girls. I guess that since women did not have a say back in the days, they relied on their beauty in order to attract wealthy husbands. Eleanor did not need the beauty because she was smart enough to find her voice. Even though her father was an alcoholic, he made her feel special and gave her the love that her mother did not give her. Unfortunately, her father died a year after her mother died. She now moved with her grandmother who sent her to England to study when she was a teenager.Years later, she married Franklin D. Roosevelt who cheated on her with her secretary Lucy. Even though he cheated on her, she decided to stick with him. Both, her childhood and adulthood were not very happy. She now was living with someone who cheated on her and she also had to deal with her mother-in law Sara who tried to keep Eleanor’s children to herself. Sara even told the children to call her mama. I definitely would not be happy with someone who cheated on me plus having to deal to his mother. Even though Eleanor went through these hardships, she became a very influential woman. She participated in the woman civil rights and was the firsthand knowledge of the president. She gathered information about the country’s plight and passed it to the president who then took actions. She explored the impoverished areas and informed Roosevelt what she saw. Thanks to her, many poor people around the country were helped by the programs that Roosevelt started during the great depression. Visiting Vall-kills, which was where Eleanor stayed while Franklin traveled, was a great experience. I was in the same place of one of the women who fought for the rights that I have today. Thanks to Eleanor many women’s lives were changed.