Field Season Starts Soon!

The first batch of equipment arrives on-site this weekend and preparations are well underway to begin excavations at Wiawaka this summer. We will be excavating two middens (garbage scatters/dumps) and at the location of the original Pine Cottage, looking for evidence of the experiences of those who stayed on-site.

Regular research posts will begin to be posted here as work gets underway. For more photos and quick updates, follow us on Facebook!

There are several volunteer spots still available for this summer's excavations. We'd love you to come join us and learn about archaeology hands-on, uncovering Wiawaka's history. More information is available here.

Dig at Wiawaka: Summer Volunteer Opportunities

HANDS-ON ARCHAEOLOGY AT WIAWAKA

We are looking for volunteers to help excavate at Wiawaka Holiday House at the southern end of Lake George, New York. We will be documenting the early years of the Holiday House by looking at the materials the visitors and organizers left behind. Wiawaka Holiday House was founded in 1903 to provide affordable vacations for the working women in the factories of Troy and Cohoes, New York.

No previous archaeological experience is necessary; you will learn archaeological techniques hands-on at the site. All equipment will be provided.

Please agree to volunteer for 3 or more days; 18 years of age or older only.

Accommodation and meals are available at Wiawaka Holiday House for a fee.* There is no charge to volunteer.

What can you expect? We will be excavating at areas on-site where evidence of Wiawaka’s early years is expected. Excavation involves the following physical activities: crouching or kneeling on the ground for long periods of time, occasional shoveling, lifting buckets of dirt to pour it into a screen, shaking the screen to separate artifacts from the soil, and filling the hole back in once all the information has been recovered. We will spend 8 hours a day Monday through Friday excavating, taking one hour for lunch in the middle of the day. Instruction will include archaeological methods, note taking, and basic artifact identification and interpretation. Rain day volunteers are more than welcome to help process artifacts in the lab. Participants can either purchase lunch at Wiawaka* or pack a lunch to eat on-site. There is no smoking permitted anywhere on Wiawaka property.

Excavation Dates: 
June 3 through June 28, 2013 and July 15 through July 26, 2013

Megan Springate, excavation director, is a PhD student at the University of Maryland.

For information and to sign up for this unique opportunity, contact Megan Springate at mes@umd.edu or 732-768-2985


* Volunteers are welcome to stay overnight at Wiawaka for $75 per night prior to June 19. Meals are available only after June 19th. After June 19th, the room rate is $110 weekdays and $125 weekends, including meals. Volunteers who wish to purchase meals onsite after June 19th may do so: $8 for breakfast, $12 for lunch, $16 for dinner.

Research: Schlesinger Library

The Schlesinger Library. Radcliffe Yard is undergoing major work this summer,
so there are construction fences everywhere! July 24, 2012

I am currently researching at the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, part of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.(1)

In the archives at the Schlesinger are two collections from two other holiday houses: Fernside and Rockport Lodge (click on the names of these places to read the finding aids). Both were in operation at the same time as Wiawaka. Looking at their archives will give me a sense of how alike and different these similar vacation houses were. In the Wiawaka archives are promotional materials from Fernside, so they were certainly aware of each other!

Right now, I am transcribing index cards of visitors to Fernside so I can get a sense of who their visitors were, and can then compare them to those who visited Wiawaka.



(1) This research is generously funded by a Dissertation Research Grant from the Schlesinger Library.

Bunco Party!

Bunco Party, August 18, 1938. Wiawaka Holiday House Archives, Box 1.
Image use courtesy of Rensselaer County Historical Society, Troy, New York.*

In 1938, someone kept "YE OLE SCRAP BOOK - Parties, Teas, etc.." a typescript manuscript detailing the day-to-day entertainments of those staying at and visiting Wiawaka.(1) Spanning the summer, the book was likely kept by a staff member who was on-site all season -- perhaps the Housemother.

One of the games recorded in the book is Bunco, a dice game with origins in eighteenth century England and a history in the US that begins in 1855 during the California gold rush. By the late nineteenth century, Bunco was popular across the US. It remained popular through Prohibition, but largely faded from play by 1940.(2) While I'm not sure what it means, I find it interesting that Bunco was played at Wiawaka during the years it was declining in popularity. Unfortunately, we don't have the games rosters from earlier years to know whether it had a history at the site during its heyday.

One of the Bunco Party entries in Ye Ole Scrap Book, dated August 18, 1938 (and pictured above) reads:

On Thursday evening the Misses Fagans conducted a Bunco Party. Twenty two guests attended and from the noise that prevailed a very happy time was enjoyed by all present.
Miss Caroline Chadwick, from Ohio, won the following prizes:
     1. Door prize.
     2. Dark horse.
     3. Table prize.
Miss Chadwick certainly walked off with the prizes. The seventeenth must be her lucky day.
The prizes were numerous and each guest received one.
The Misses Oliver and Milspaugh assisted in the party preparations.(1)

Traditionally played with 12 to 20 players at tables of four, three dice are rolled and points allocated. Roll three of a kind and BUNCO! Bunco equipment is minimal: three 6-sided dice, one "fuzzy die" (you can substitute a different colored, regular-sized die!), a bell (or you can yell "DING"!), and score paper. A set of complete rules are available at the World Bunco Association website.

Sources:
1. Wiawaka Holiday House (1938) Ye Ole Scrap Book, Wiawaka Holiday House Archives, Box 1. Rensselaer County Historical Society, Troy, New York.
2. World Bunco Association (2012) Bunco History. www.worldbunco.com/history.html


Notes:
*  I was using ambient light while taking reference photos of documents. The shadow at the bottom of the page is my head...

Research: Rensselaer County Historical Society

Rensselaer County Historical Society, Troy, New York. June 20, 2012

I spent several days researching Wiawaka at the Rensselaer County Historical Society in Troy, New York. They have a great library and archives, including an extensive Wiawaka Holiday House archive. The Wiawaka archives includes annual reports, receipts and bills, financial statements, guest registers, advertising pieces, and newspaper clippings, to name just a few. Bonus: it's air conditioned.

Just up the street from the RCHS is St. John's Episcopal Church. Founded in 1830, Wiawaka founder Mary Wiltse Fuller was a member of this church. The short history of the church on their website tells of the active involvement of other members, including women, in other areas of reform.

St. John's Episcopal Church, Troy, New York. June 20, 2012

Research: Adirondack Museum

Entrance to the Adirondack Museum, June 18, 2012.

I am doing some archival research at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake, New York. It is a gorgeous museum, much larger than I imagined with a variety of buildings and exhibits spanning the various experiences and histories of the Adirondack Mountains. A full day isn't enough to do the whole museum (or the spectacular views from the grounds) justice.

Also at the Adirondack Museum is an impressive library and archives documenting the history of the Adirondacks. It is tucked away, and you need to make an appointment to do research, but your visit will be rewarded with a collection of maps, books, manuscripts, and photographs. What am I looking at? Their trove of Seneca Ray Stoddard images of the Crosbyside Hotel, various histories of the Lake George area, clippings files and historic maps that include Wiawaka/the Crosbyside.

New York State History Conference Schedule

The schedule for the 33rd Conference on New York State History has been posted, and is available online (click here for a .pdf version). Over 60 papers and presentations are scheduled between June 14 and 16, 2012. There are some really fantastic sessions and papers on offer; choosing which to attend will be difficult.

Our panel on the Reformative Power of Women's Leisure, which includes a presentation on Wiawaka, will be on Saturday, June 16 from 10:30am to 12:00 noon. Hope to see you there!