Remembering Solomon Northup

The Schroon-North Hudson Historical Society is one of three locations celebrating the 18th annual Solomon Northup Days, starting Saturday. (July 16)

The event is being staged by The North Country Underground Railroad Historical Association. Events will also take place in Ft. Edward and Keeseville.

You may recall Northup, who was born a free man in Essex County in what was then an area which is today known as Schroon and Minerva, was kidnapped into slavery and emerged to write about his ordeal in the gripping autobiography, Twelve Years a Slave, published in 1853.

That book became the basis for the 2014 Oscar winning film, “12 Years a Slave”, starring Oscar winner, Lupita N’yongo.

More from event organizer Peter Slocum: 

“Northup worked along Lake Champlain and the Champlain Canal, in Fort Edward, Saratoga Springs and other areas throughout New York State before being kidnapped. The Saturday morning kick-off event takes place in Fort Edward at the Old Fort House Museum, with a walking tour of the neighborhood where Solomon grew up, and a re-enactor, Clifford Mealy Oliver, playing the main character in drama.

This begins at 10 a.m. and will be followed with other activities at the Museum, at 29 Broadway. Saturday afternoon an expanded exhibit on Solomon Northup will be opening at the Schroon Lake/North Hudson Historical Society. This coincides with the 47th Annual Arts and Crafts Festival at Schroon Lake. The Museum is at 1144 Rt. 9, in the village. On Sunday, The North Country Underground Railroad Historical Association will present the final portion of the weekend events. Angela (Angie) M. Terrell, great-great granddaughter of New York City UGRR conductor Louis Napoleon, who conducted many of the people whose stories Sydney Howard Gay kept in a Record of Fugitives between 1855 and 1856, will speak about her own research.

Terrell, a retired reporter for the Washington Post and other newspapers, has only recently learned about her ancestor's connection with the movement to help people escape from slavery before the Civil War. This program will begin at 1 p.m. at The Adirondack Architectural Heritage Building, 1745 Main Street, Keeseville, across the street from an important abolitionist gathering spot. The program will also offer details about Solomon Northup's legal struggles with Washington Allen, a Peru landowner who hired Northup to ship logs south on Lake Champlain to Troy. Don Papson, Underground Railroad, author and museum founder, and Renee Moore, founder of the Solomon Northup event will be on hand that day to answer questions. This program is made possible, in part, by the Essex County Arts Council Cultural Assistance Program Grant supported by the Essex County Board of Supervisors”.

Preserving Memories of the Schroon Lake Fish and Game Club

Schroon's Strand and Paramount Theatres on The World Stage

EMILY ROSSI-SNOOK WITH A POSTER FROM THE STRAND.

It’s been said that Schroon Lake is the cross-roads of the world, and the more we spend time here, the more we believe it. There are so many small world connections that continue to amaze us. So it’s no surprise when Emily Rossi-Snook recently wrote to us to tell us about a Schroon connection to the Grammy’s Miami, Hollywood and Marlon Brando. Read on. From Emily:

“Any Schroon Lakers going to be in Miami after March 4? The History Miami Museum is hosting the traveling Frank Sinatra exhibit, curated by the Grammy Museum. It originated in New York at Lincoln Center, then on to LA to the Grammy Museum and will open in Miami on March 4. It will also be in Brazil for the summer Olympics.  What does this have to do with Schroon Lake? Look closely at the title cards for the Sinatra movie posters; "From the Rossi Collection, Strand and Paramount Theaters, Schroon Lake, NY.

OK, this is a stretch for Schroon Lake and you have to be an "Old Timer", but the documentary film "Talk To Me Marlon", about the actor Marlon Brando is on the "short list" for best documentary film" for the Oscars. Watch the trailer by clicking here.

It was also on David Edlestein's Best Ten Films of 2015. I hear that it is now available on Showtime. Again, what does this have to do with Schroon Lake? The home movie footage from the filming of "On the Waterfront" with Brando horsing around off screen has a clear shot of Charlie Rossi, long time Schroon Laker and owner /operator of the former Paramount Theater on Main Street  (Check out the plaque at the community garden, site of the Paramount ).

It was Charlie's home movies of the screening of "Waterfront" that was used for this documentary. NOTE: for those of you who don't remember Charlie, he's wearing his cap backwards in the clip. This footage with Brando and Charlie Rossi was used a couple of other times; Feb 20, 2013 on ABC news, "Mad About Oscar" with Katie Couric, has the clip with Marlon and Charlie.  

The Rossi's lived in Schroon Lake and Hoboken, NJ. Charlie loved all aspects of the movies and when Hollywood came to his two hometowns, he was there with his 16mm camera. He was an extra on the set of "Waterfront"; you can spot him in several scenes in the movie. He was also a stand-in for Lee J. Cobb to prepare for several shots”.

Editor’s Note: The Rossi’s also have footage from behind the scenes of the filming of "Marjorie Morningstar" at Scaroon Manor in 1957 which Emily’s daughter Elena Rossi-Snook, a film archivist encouraged her mum to deposit with the Academy film archive in Hollywood, where they oversee preserving and lending out of the footage.

Founding Fashion: The Diversity of Regularity in 18th-Century Military Clothing

This weekend is your last chance to check out  Fort Ticonderoga Museum’s clothing exhibition entitled, Founding Fashion: The Diversity of Regularity in 18th-Century Military Clothing.

The exhibit closes on November 1, 2015. This remarkable collection of historical military garments, accessories, and artworks. It explores how European military fashion and global commerce influenced American martial appearance throughout the American Revolution. Founding Fashion is included in a Fort Ticonderoga general admission ticket and is located in the Deborah Clarke Mars Educational Center at Fort Ticonderoga. To learn more about this exhibit and related programs click here,  or call 518-585-2821. More from Fort Ti:

“This is the last opportunity to see the finest and earliest pieces of military textiles from Fort Ticonderoga’s rich collection,” said Matthew Keagle, Fort Ticonderoga’s Curator of Collections. “These represent the years before, during, and after the American Revolution and illustrate the evolution of military dress the way virtually no other collection in North America can.”

The objects and artworks featured in this exhibit are unique and can only be seen at Fort Ticonderoga. The key objects in the exhibit include four extremely rare and important American and British 18th-century uniforms along with three other related textile objects including an American soldier’s knapsack, a British officer’s sash, and one of the few surviving examples of a British army soldier’s blanket. Remarkably, each of these key objects in the exhibit has a provenance of use in America prior to or connected with the American Revolution.

One featured uniform coat in the exhibit was worn by Cyrus Baldwin from the Boston Independent Corps of Cadets, the oldest surviving American-made military uniform and a witness to the events leading up to the American Revolution.

Don’t miss the opportunity to explore this incredible collection of original clothing, accessories, and artwork, on display together for the first time!

Funding for the Founding Fashion was made possible in part by the following supporters: Best Western Plus Ticonderoga, D&E Technologies, Glens Falls National Bank, History Channel, Lake George Mirror, National Grid, Ticonderoga Credit Union, and individual donors".