HomeMy WebLinkAboutVOCH Historian 2015 Annual Report.pdf2015 Annual Report
Beatrice Szekely, Village of Cayuga Heights Historian
The highlight of 2015 was the year-long Cayuga Heights Centennial Celebration, marking the
incorporation of the village in June 1915. Intended to enhance the sense of community shared by
the 2,800 Cayuga Heights residents, by all accounts the centennial celebration was a great
success. Four talks in the speaker series, publicity for which was funded in part by Celebrations
Grant from the Tompkins County Office of Tourism, were very well attended. The Old House
Tour undertaken in partnership with Historic Ithaca drew roughly twice as many participants as
any previous annual house tour in Tompkins County. A follow-up house history workshop was
led by Historic Ithaca staff member Christine O’Malley in September. Tangible outcomes of the
centennial are the restored lighting fixtures and the exhibit of drawings of village life by the late
Cornell professor Jack Lambert on the walls of the courtroom in the renovated village hall, also
funded in part by a county tourism grant.
The groundbreaking Cayuga Heights History website was launched for the centennial by village
preservationists, Carole Schiffman and Randi Kepecs with input from deputy historian Patricia
Longoria: www.cayugaheightshistory.weebly.com. An interactive map on the site at
http://cayugaheightshistory.weebly.com/interactive-map.html allows visitors to click on anyone
of some 1,000 village address and explore its architectural and residential history. Other
segments present nineteenth century farmhouses and a history of Pleasant Grove Cemetery
prepared by Pat Longoria and Randi Kepecs in coordination with the History Center in
Tompkins County exhibit “In Memoriam: Cemeteries in Tompkins County” which culminated in
a late October tour.
Publications this year, other than extensive text on the Cayuga Heights History website, include
The Story of Marcham Hall by Beatrice Szekely and From Farm to Suburb, a History of Place
Names in Cayuga Heights by Patricia Longoria. Video recordings of the talks in the centennial
speaker series by Carol Sisler on the village’s architectural history, by Fred Cowett on its natural
history, and by Beatrice Szekely with visuals by Patricia Longoria on its early farm history may
be viewed on the website. A village history Facebook page provides updates and a social media
connection to current research: https://www.facebook.com/cayugaheightshistory/?fref=nf.
Having obtained a county grant, Village Clerk Joan Mangione has overseen digitization of
village records, including Board of Trustees minutes dating to 1923, made accessible for
research by information aide Tayo Johnson. In consultation with map archivist and History
Center board member Bob Kibbee an effort to catalogue and preserve hundreds of historic
village maps is under way.
The article appended by Beatrice Szekely, written for the January 2016 Cayuga Heights village
newsletter thanking the many people in the community who came together to make the
centennial possible, provides an outline of the kinds of contacts Szekely, Longoria, Schiffman
and Kepecs maintained in 2015; an estimate of the time they expended altogether during the year
would likely average about 80 hours weekly, much more if research and writing times were
added in.
Thanks for the Success of the Village Centennial
Now that the fun of celebrating the village centennial in 2015 is over, it’s time to say thank you
to everyone who made it possible. The many people who produced the blockbuster June 13
house tour were mentioned in the last issue. Many others made the other events possible.
County historian and former Cayuga Heights resident, Carol Kammen, suggested application for
the Tompkins County tourism office grant that, in part, funded the speaker series. Monthly
meetings of all the municipal historians in the county presided over by Carol at The History
Center of Tompkins County contributed to the planning process. Rod Howe, director of The
History Center, offered constant encouragement, and archivist Donna Eschenbrenner provided
access to valuable materials for research including the photo album of Dorothy Cornell
chronicling the construction of Marcham Hall in 1928. Of note, the library at The History Center
was named this year to honor noted local historian, editor and author John Marcham, son of
Frederick Marcham, village mayor from 1956 to 1988, who grew up in Cayuga Heights at 112
Oak Hill Road.
At the Cornell University Library other individuals have been of great help in research,
especially villager Laura Linke at the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections of Kroch
Library where Anne Sauer, who with her husband Jeff opened her home for the centennial house
tour, is the new director. Pursuing interest in Pleasant Grove Cemetery has been facilitated by
sexton Charlie Pomada, and in Lake View Cemetery by villager Darlene Klein who is involved
in its preservation. Bob Kibbee, retired Cornell map librarian and board member at The History
Center, has been a consultant for the mapping work underlying the Cayuga Heights History
Project website as have staff of the Tompkins County Geographic Information Systems office.
Stay tuned for the launch of the new on-line map of Cayuga Heights where you will be able to
click on every village address to retrieve the histories of its architecture and past residents.
Thanks to Paul Anderson for much of that effort.
Mike Montgomery of Vintage Lighting in Aurora restored Dorothy Cornell’s chandeliers in the
Marcham Hall courtroom. How nicely their glow sets off the drawings by late Professor Jack
Lambert donated to the village by his daughter Sarah. They were framed by Ariel Bullion
Eckland of the Corners Gallery and then prepared for hanging and grouped on the walls drawing
on the curatorial experience of village neighbor Sarah Roberts.
Publicity and financial support for the centennial have come from many sources. Local author
Jane Marsh Dieckmann, anoter past resident, wrote an article for the Ithaca Times before the
house tour. Graphics designer Terry Marcus contributed her expertise for mailings and
brochures. The costs of publicity for the series of talks by Carol Sisler, Fred Cowett, Pat
Longoria and myself, as well as the panel hosted by the Kendal Residents Council and chaired
by Ralph Janis, were made possible by the grant from the Tompkins County Office of Tourism
where Tom Knipe provided professional guidance. Thanks are due to both Paul Anderson and
Pearse Anderson for taping the speaker series events.
Finally, the professional staff of the village contributed throughout the centennial year. Clerk and
Treasurer Joan Mangione oversaw the work of the Public Works Department crew in
refurbishing the clerical office upstairs in Marcham Hall. She has also participated in the
courtroom lighting and other projects undertaken to preserve the historical integrity of the
building. Superintendent of Public Works Brent Cross, who oversaw the addition to the building
a few years ago funded in part by the grant secured by Village Justice Glenn Galbreath, has
given advice and help. Back upstairs, deputy clerk and information aide Tayo Johnson have
answered every request for help in research and the organization of activities. Mayor Kate
Supron and the Board of Trustees have supported all our efforts.
Carrying forward the momentum of the centennial is the new priority. Follow us along on
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cayugaheightshistory/. Better yet join us, as Gail
Wagner, Lee Moon and Gail Cashen have done, and become a staff writer gathering the stories
of village houses for http://cayugaheightshistory.weebly.com/. There will be more history talks
and other events. That only a hundred years could yield such a fine harvest is a tribute to
everyone who has lived in this little 1.8 square mile community and made it interesting. Thanks
to everyone who came to the centennial events; please join in the fun ahead.