1 40 760 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/226792c0167bb99c62109adeb2b701de.JPG 58a96c7cfd0cfab02ee65b33a80117b6 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Publisher Publisher of the item, or of the book or atlas in which it appears. Scope Magazine Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Compassionate Hands Presentation Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource June 1st, 2019 Nursing public history https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/d19ea4ada315ac1e8135312a5ccc506e.JPG 08634f58bc554c84fdcbc22854e2e172 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/48f0be120e6c5f1d6c1dbeaeb125286d.JPG fc42f3f2f57a8fff79bfc238dd517269 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Saratoga County Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data postcard Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. J. Dym Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 29/4/2021 Place of Publication The city (and if necessary) state or country of publication. Mechanicville, N.Y. Repository Name of the repository that holds the original item. Brookside Museum, Saratoga County Historical Society (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) Theme For browsing purposes, we are borrowing and adapting themes from the Library of Congress's American Memory project. Recreation URL Brookside Museum, <a href="https://brookside.pastperfectonline.com/archive/21A4E0AD-2018-4037-975E-594771452160">https://brookside.pastperfectonline.com/archive/21A4E0AD-2018-4037-975E-594771452160</a> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Brown's Bathing Beach, Saratoga Lake, N.Y. 262 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource [1932] Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available C.W. Hughes & Co., Inc. Description An account of the resource A postcard showing Brown's Bathing Beach, with automobile, swingset, and dock. Text on back of postcard reads: 11/9/32 Dear George, Ain't this a glorious country. We all voted against Roosevelt but are now glad election is over & t hat the Dem. have the full swing in Congress etc. instead of each party doing all they could to obstruct working of the other party. When it was half + half. Business is great here + it has picked up a lot in manufacturing in the last two months. All over the USA. Hope to see you soon. [Unsigned] On front: swimming is only 6 months away Language A language of the resource eng Subject The topic of the resource Saratoga Lake (N.Y. : Lake) Postcards Roosevelt, Franklin D. -- Presidency Type The nature or genre of the resource postcard Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1932 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/fadc6814c60d9b12ae48a4c0ed08b915.jpg 55f9b3a27cbd19ff9de267b75eccce7a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Cookbooks Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Print advertising Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image Unk Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. J Dym Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 3/10/2025 Date Depicted (Display) Text version of the date field -- can handle non-numeric characters (ca. 1850s, [1844]). This is the content date field that will display. [1947] Date Depicted (Numeric) Date that the information on the item depicts. In many cases, this will be the same date as that in the date field, but there will be exceptions. For example, a historical map drawnin 1890 might show Saratoga Springs as it was in 1820. Or, the information on the map itself might include detailed information that enables us to extrapolate a date, for example, "based on a survey done in 1841." Many State Archives map catalog records refer to this as the "situation date." [1947] Date Published (Display) Text version of the date field -- can handle non-numeric characters (ca. 1850s, [1844]). This is the date field that will display. [1947] Abstract (& Historical Note) Natural language description of the map itself, providing a general summary of the map and noting significant features. This is the place to introduce keywords and proper names that might be of interest to researchers, but do not warrant a separate subject heading of their own. Inset maps should also be described here, with their full titles given. Whenever historical or explanatory information is available, it should be included here as well. This includes information about items or events that are larger than just the map itself; for example, information about cartographers, a description of the map's historical significance (for example, "This is the first printed map of Saratoga Springs"), notes on the laws leading to a map's creation, descriptions of changes in state or county lines, information about the organization that created the map, how often maps were updated, and information about the map's creation and publication. Many State Archives maps have historical information in the catalog record -- that should be captured in this field. An advertising image promoting the reach of NBC Affiliate KFYR of Bismarck, No. Dakota uses a cartoon style showing a radio tower over an outline map of North Dakota and surrounding states, with cartoon figures. The station broadcast at 550 KC and 5000 watts. The ad claims (with an asterisk) that the station 'comes in loud and clear in a larger area than any other station in the U.S.A.'. According to the website Faded Signals, the station came on the air in 1925, founded by Phillip and Etta Meyer. From a golden era 1930s-1950s, the station carried NBC programming, swithcing to Top 40 in the 1960s. In 1966, KFYR-FM launched, switching up music genres until rturning to Top 40 in 2012. The Meyers sold the radio station -- and its sister TV station, on the air since 1953--and in 2014 Clear Channel Owned it by 2014. (https://fadedsignals.com/post/85072189542/kfyr-signed-on-the-air-from-bismarck-nd-in) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource KFYR Comes in Loud and Clear out Here Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource [1947] https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/9e3b6e4e1cafa3f94a5739c3dc7ece9c.png adbf22d539b53af35be191983d96429b https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/fe9c16c3d8149b3cddb1ec75d8aa5df5.mov 5585754b5f3e4fe48f0f16ef7e4453bc https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/24c03b2ae970845a6a5896cd524a7c3f.png 35b930168b938ebf1432c3394659fee8 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/3f407ff07ba668590d1a01c8cfa3ccee.png b9a7291f22ab234d1e591ae119fb5aa3 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/83e98f44a3070b7b770f13e06c3af564.png dd4772a21f7fec24e3d1efe39a8f5cad https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/1498fd233d8d6655bcc07b1d21de0fa9.png 268c803da55f703fb83910e08e3e4712 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/b40049fa4a018c03814228d476fc0dba.png 31d33f7da61118c7ff6bb27899453f0a https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/fda2e08c82923a30a669add56a33c7d1.png 33119aad3ab9582786385b7779f76cf6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Latinx Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Ashley Polanco Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Juliana Boucher, Samantha García, Jonnea Herman, Isabel Rojas, Alison Ungaro Letellier, Aaron Schneider Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Ashley Polanco Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 04/26/2016 Location The location of the interview Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs NY Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource How does the media represent Latinxs? Latinx Students Video Interview Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 03/23/2016 - 03/24/2016 Language A language of the resource English Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Ashley Polanco Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ashley Polanco Description An account of the resource Latinx students from Skidmore College spoke with Ashley Polanco and Alyssa Morales on the ways in which the media perceives Latinxs. Argentina Cuba Latinos Latinx oral history Peru Skidmore College student https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/27ff129a075d148f70ef055434d382e0.png 434c4b4e9f97cf6ff1b0abef7f75f546 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/2e8944acdb917b8480164a1c527b5aff.mov 670e82b3fd30ef7cf338033c5b3376d7 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/39213105a3cc20e432c479f3d26810a4.png 9011c29331efa63a0c6a27e910d3bdfb https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/9d5d2ab21dd8d9cea213ff11a03d5d55.png f196f9a4be9995248ab640d44048a28e https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/e11779ddbf288eecf948beea3b74aa03.png fa2b0313360f79f23499956303f53078 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/6e0eb354b218f2c0830e24c1db3bf6a4.png 99a9e63034a957174781d43997c45988 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/42b7b4024779d03be3a10ced6e574caf.png d5728f90b620b072e5607b045223f0d2 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/45f4690aa200ba4dd25878052bfdcb7c.png 355e0e8cb84f1e3268bdfa3b27555161 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/e23f8988b01923b46aaf24184266e04f.png f29acc2ed73337d9448946ae88875421 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/ac5919a9fd6470399f0ff0de0a61ab4e.jpg c687d198c3da0702249cd5bb60675d98 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Latinx Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Ashley Polanco Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Juliana Boucher, Samantha García, Jonnea Herman, Isabel Rojas, Alison Ungaro Letellier, Aaron Schneider Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Ashley Polanco Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 04/26/2016 Location The location of the interview Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs NY Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource When People See me: Skidmore Latinx Student Interviews Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ashley Polanco Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 03/23/2016 - 03/24/2016 Language A language of the resource English Description An account of the resource Latinx students from Skidmore College engaged in a conversation with Ashley Polanco and Alyssa Morales of Raices about race within Latinx communities. They share their experiences of how others perceive their identities. Dominican family Latinos Latinx Mexican oral history Puerto Rican race Skidmore College student https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/bce5c9303ddcf12bb1b466681925a1c3.jpg 4a764c2a8b653bd94b59fd267bb1b282 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Peg Boyers and Dog Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Emma Dodge Hanson https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/d00f61792e3a7b0e5e7400b457407656.m4a 8315cd4521b13d60393b20c6286072fc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Peg Boyers From Venezuela to Cuba Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 03/25/2016 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/06883a235e04dc1e7ec11275a48c6b6d.m4a 39dbfacf2202682ed408265cbdae173a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Peg Boyers Identity Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 03/25/2016 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/85bc110106171961494309e7c292e05f.m4a 0aff49cfa30df59697cfcea62e616a75 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Peg Boyers Migrant Community/Immigration Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 03/25/2016 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Latinx Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sarah Coker Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Peg Boyers Location The location of the interview Saratoga Springs, NY Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Sarah Coker Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 04/26/2016 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Peg Boyers Interview Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 03/25/2016 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sarah Coker Language A language of the resource eng Description An account of the resource <div>Peg Boyers is a Skidmore alumni and faculty lecturer in the English Department, as well as executive editor of Salmagundi Magazine. She spoke with Skidmore Student Sarah Coker at her home in Saratoga Springs on March 25<span>^th</span>&nbsp;2016 about Cuban identity, Cubans in the United States, and her travel experiences as a child.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> Cuba Cuban culture family identity immigration Latin America Latina Latino Latinx migration oral history Skidmore College Skidmore faculty https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/e84c6b4604782006a70f3ca14ec3a158.m4a 43e44af35514205fcb21d2d84825e521 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Santiago Avendaño: Family https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/39434239eb65a0b70b1bfa13c94ff976.m4a ab254f679bc9c706c3d23677b3dff5f3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Santiago Avendaño: Family (2) https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/a547c135aca3a6565c13292f11987021.m4a ed388db77bc27f3c88b1d0acce6cb256 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Santiago Avendaño: Family (Machismo) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Latinx Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Aaron Schneider Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Santiago Avendano Location The location of the interview Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Santiago Avendaño Interview Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Aaron Schneider Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 03/25/2016 Description An account of the resource Santiago Avendaño is a Skidmore College student from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He spoke with Aaron Schneider about his racial identity and his relationship to his country of origin. Argentina culture ethnicity family identity immigration Latin America Latino Latinx machismo oral history Skidmore College Skidmore College student https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/4e76e28272950cca87fa388c1cca9a77.jpg 7a8df03b2b5791ad0b2005408706426c https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/e5485a08fdbf42fa80ef340f2957b59c.mp4 b28f140b2b7ce661d39b31623857672a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Migration Story Language A language of the resource eng https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/3abc915f9c1c10c7fd9985ccdf5bce10.mp4 5105b3866d5403d2947935d37aa5eb83 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Nurianny Montilla Identity Part 1: Trujillo, Food https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/c8c845cd243d2f815c2f7fb995ceb5d4.mp4 ed6866c913cbdede2ed527ffada16022 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Nurianny Montilla Identity Part 2: Hair https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/ec94d846a7569f5c561b97c8f9565c50.mp4 1a7441711c22e5f71197ea436fe24e72 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Nurianny Montilla Identity Part 3: Anthro 101 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/2f59fe1037137da2f832618100ccefae.mp4 c7b088fd8410339223df9a2d57827124 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Nurianny Montilla Daily Life at Skidmore https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/19beb7c4e6f29f170c36b8aba16947ba.mp4 ef7a29dcf14f3b475a288238581a6aab Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Nurianny Montilla Daily Life at Skidmore, Family Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Latinx Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Abby Outterson Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Nurianny Montilla Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Abby Outterson Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 04/26/2016 Location The location of the interview Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Nurianny Montilla Interview Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Abby Outterson Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 03/26/2016 Description An account of the resource Nurianny Montilla is a Skidmore student living in Saratoga Springs, NY. She is a senior at Skidmore majoring in sociology, and she spoke with fellow Skidmore senior Abigail Outterson on March 26th, 2016 about her experiences being born in the Dominican Republic, growing up in New Jersey, and coming to Saratoga Springs to attend Skidmore College. Dominican identity Latina Latinx oral history Skidmore College student https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/3083b8bde9774e5ccd93da6f971cec8f.jpg d786e42db8cfb684dedb18f330664af1 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/57cec8bd18ac1a8cce10892172828f56.mp4 082b1678af3f7aad8db7501ed2fa1bf7 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Census" https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/8def13f91461ed193ecbed0c95cefa0d.mp4 e1f8a5e84b6be799299c4216a35afa47 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "School E-mail" https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/42aa88e09f00fffbd0758f11c8e25187.mp4 845561f85dc2573e7cb9cea0c199529a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Are Latinx united?" https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/0c649be416d997681b5eab9e2d532f7a.mp4 eb76b937116ba3871c6c88f733f63447 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Dream and Family" https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/545c81daaf514d47b6c889976c06e13c.mp4 386a50c1f192c8c11c3050e5876676de Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "First Jobs" https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/872ab7292871cf504d7d6a144dccef2e.mp4 d7f6bb442a8477a9c3b154d14ea9f163 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Gender Differences" https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/0ec90975ab64b5cf9c45c74866524fef.mp4 45588429561b270521e944f8de5def63 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Settling" Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Latinx Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Alison Ungaro Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Aldo X. Dennis X. Location The location of the interview College Point, Queens, NY. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Aldo and Dennis Video Interview Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 03/27/2016 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Alison Ungaro Description An account of the resource Aldo and Dennis X. are two brothers living in Long Island, New York. They are uncles of Skidmore student Alison Ungaro, and spoke with her about their experience migrating from Peru to the United States through work, education, community, religion and family. Type The nature or genre of the resource oral history Latinx oral history https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/2b84cdb53eece17da7d7f21050775a95.m4a bc893e4c21c40b06823b4867171e42b3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Daniel Valencia: Language https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/1f0e3c5dc51323dcf5ec2fd7f60e74c9.m4a 27315d18d8078ab3df9772394d834084 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Daniel Valencial Culture - Mom & Dad https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/7a02cb72edc3c2851b83ec3cb973f5ef.m4a 0f31e196eb586472a69e2c1e210568c0 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Daniel Valencia: Two Cultures Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Latinx Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Sarah Coburn Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 04/26/2016 Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sarah Coburn Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Daniel Valencia Location The location of the interview Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Daniel Valencia Interview Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sarah Coburn Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 04/02/2016 Description An account of the resource Danny Valencia is a college student and route setter at The Rock Club in New Rochelle, NY living in White Plains, NY. He spoke with Sarah Coburn on April 9th, 2016 about his memories of living in and visiting Colombia and experiences of being a Latino immigrant in the United States. bicultural Colombia culture family language Latino Latinx oral history Skidmore College student https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/fb0071e6f7ea8c3b92f6e23ea7dfa458.jpg 98ea060ad899c82d0bc10a322645f3c4 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/5b104ca7205e0f41db9dd321faa3c3f6.mp3 8227d5a94a2c8e2efd4f4def5d9106b9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource We Are the Same, But Different https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/d165811e0e48432ccee4707008d60d8a.mp3 4536c95963210b2be5b269c9616c84ae Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Who am I? https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/77245533b415859f0a9791da7e6a3a36.mp3 130160d59569852b8bd2cc780635bad4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Mestizo/a Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Ricky Ríos Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Sarah Cobrun Ricky Ríos Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 04/26/2016 Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Cinthia Durán Location The location of the interview Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Cinthia Durán Interview Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 04/03/2016 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ricky Rios culture Ecuador ethnicity Gender identity Indigenous Latin America Latina Latino Latinx Mestiza mestizo race Skidmore College https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/87dbeba0ef16447a7e24ef34b4be2221.mp3 8317494315e2ce14e620238b9621d905 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/4ba9ad7527ba8ca5bb3f3e0a6368bd55.mp3 9f3666e2aee57fe35069e9e088fb43db Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource David Parra: Living in NYC https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/545ecb2df098f32ba975bb907da1b1d6.mp3 2f8e4d1d04e15b6a94c6c78b88a7bd09 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/f7e3b8ce58602af232ccd5af7d3ecdc3.mp3 450b36cf46c238e6851cecf1cabbee80 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/eab4415f9d2d92401033a87086d84c4b.mp3 3f5c1ab3bb6aea167a073f470627dcb8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource David Parra: Dominican Identity https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/2d2e0b4ca1b3a603224079e9d7828fd2.mp3 e77359e99febd52766d54944de920e1a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource David Parra: Dominican York https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/74ccfb24cf5748f910b6d9a57b19f543.mp3 585113e37e7418a4c5343a07654a1522 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/51da4a35acfb0412b97db68900548bac.mp3 968920ba2f192ba30d6d498e2c293512 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/7b627a0734a9b41cc076a538cd4153e8.mp3 85b8e08632eef9a4f21482ceedab412d https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/72539a15c7cf6bc8b2b5047862f66d69.mp3 d653ae2c7ed243ef7883decff58eaa6f https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/f12bd53eaf6d0890a2de22af8e175cc0.mp3 078081ea7b1cbc1b1ce7f6895a09850a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Latinx Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Arlene Hernandez Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed David Parra Location The location of the interview Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Arlene Hernandez Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 04/04/2016 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource David Parra Interview Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 04/04/2016 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Arlene Hernandez Language A language of the resource eng Description An account of the resource David Parra, a Skidmore College student, was born and raised in New York City. His mother immigrated to New York City from the Dominican Republic in her 20s. David spoke with Arlene Hernandez on April 4, 2016 about his experiences with education, family, work and more related to his Dominican identity. basketball bilingual culture Dominican Republic English family identity immigrant language Latin America Latino Latinx migration Motivation New York (state) New York City oral history Skidmore College Spanish student work https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/4d4a934d45ef57ffb7c77cc4142fffcf.m4a 1d7f730fe4a69ab116210955eff1b861 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Miguel Hoyos Motherland https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/73566b79492128180df16eb63a961c6a.m4a 246b076fb519898d5c1b818dc1197cf7 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Miguel Hoyos Catalina Experiences https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/faf421308355a1540c5ecad95467c2d5.m4a 16d6daa301127608480c5b09e59dc5f6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Miguel Hoyos No al Hambre https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/2081469fdd31a51a782a1d3bed9c1822.m4a 6a56994a9e1a45f455f4d473a5eb3414 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Miguel Hoyos Racetrack Family Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Latinx Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Gloria Peters Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Miguel Hoyos Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Gloria Peters Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 04/26/2016 Location The location of the interview Saratoga Springs, NY Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Miguel Hoyos Interview Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gloria Peters Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 04/07/2016 Description An account of the resource Miguel Hoyos is an artist living in Saratoga Springs, New York. He spoke with Gloria Peters on April 7, 2016 about his memories of Colombia, his experiences in the United States, and the way Latinxs' experiences of discrimination and suffering are present in his art and his own experiences. artist Colombia Colombian community ethnicity family immigration Latinx oral history paintings race https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/9aff216255b9fd2804e73fb68c5183ef.jpg ef2cac02da67a3a796065e2c007736a8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Adult and Senior Center of Saratoga Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 5/12/17 Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Phoebe Radcliffe Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1990-60YearsYoung-ComputerClub Title A name given to the resource [Senior Center Computer Club Members, 2005] Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 06/12/2005 Description An account of the resource A group of seniors who comprise the Computer Club Provenance A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource. Adult and Senior Center of Saratoga Language A language of the resource English Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Photograph computers Saratoga Springs Senior Center technology https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/66ecd37e41d28dfe4c47772ddea5148b.jpg e61d89f8657d13cd7c5aa2ad9aa57fe3 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/ead395b188029008a536db290674b178.jpeg a6bbd366037a475bdb5973a737cbe996 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Adult and Senior Center of Saratoga Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Fitness knows no age Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 06/1986 June 1986 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. The Saratogian Description An account of the resource In this article, margaret Lebrun writes that "fitness doesn't have to wane with age." Her examples are pool-playing Charles Shortsleeves and the bowlers Betty and Harvey mead. They participate in the fourth annual games for adults age 55 and older sponsored by the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation with the Office for Aging. While teh games are "no olympics" their are activities including pingpong, shuffleboard, pinochle and tennis, basketball, and track and field. While the first two games were held in Albany, the 1986 gamestook place in Cortland, New York. Language A language of the resource eng Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lebrun, Margaret, staff writer Type The nature or genre of the resource newspaper article https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/eea7b0f957fa3c8f6c1d3656db3d3b69.jpg 2c9ed8c2728876c95a5448ff1926aef6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Adult and Senior Center of Saratoga Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 5/12/17 Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Phoebe Radcliffe Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1977-60YearsYoung-BreakingGround Title A name given to the resource Breaking Ground Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 09/09/1977 1977 Description An account of the resource A newspaper clipping showing the beginning of construction for the center at 5 Williams St. Provenance A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource. Adult and Senior Center of Saratoga Language A language of the resource English Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Newspaper 5 Williams construction Saratoga Springs Senior Center https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/4476dde7f94fd93502ed600d4b1e112f.png 20f09cf190d33dde41dc3b27e822abee Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Mapping Saratoga Springs Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1700- Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Advertisement, Lester Brothers Real Estate Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 0ctober 10, 1903 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. The Saratogian https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/bb7728d13b337413eee904280491c15e.jpg ad736b49156b2e3832ae2524ce63b376 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/935bd5d7ac4027fa126a88a8e581c51b.m4a 8ce8fd3f456571ffaff64c33a2f96fc5 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/302c148993179e06f3f0bab8b3a22e99.jpg fff7d77e5ab015199ec15c8a7a14b448 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/62e66feefaa9462c2cc743ca8569afa9.pdf 970423d2b78f3c23effe7588bc793ed7 PDF Text Text 1 Title Evelyn Vasquez Interview Date June 2nd, 2018 Language Eng Interviewer Emily Rizzo Location Media Services, Skidmore Library, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY Original Format Audio Recording Duration 39:30 Tags HEOP , Opportunity Program , Raíces , Study abroad , Alumni , Oral history , Skidmore College �2 ER: Can we start with you saying your full name, your class year, your major, and where you’re from? E: Class of 1998. originally from the DR, I was born there, grew up in Washington Heights, New York. currently live in Westchester, NY. ER: You said you met your husband here? Can we talk about that? EV: So, we met here. we were both HEOP students. It also happened that he's also Dominican, so I guess there was an attraction, some sort of comfortable place with that. we actually didn’t date until senior year. and that's when we became a couple, things happen in-between, and 10 years after we graduated... yeah 10 years, we got together for good. we have now four kids, two boys and two girls, ages of 12 and four, four through 12. One of the benefits of your partner being from the same school and actually the same year, makes coming back actually so much sweeter. Because he's also comfortable in the environment, he also wants to come and see friends. and we can sort of reminisce together, "Oh you remember in the cafeteria, all the parties we attended..." So, it's sort of an always Skidmore reminder when that happens to someone, which is a good thing. ER: Yeah. What have you guys been reminiscing about? Anything that is really sticking out? EV: Oh, me trying to get all the girls off his back! *Laughs* The majority here are girls. The student population is mostly female, and I think was 60... I don’t know I can’t remember the ratio but... So, I always joke with him, I always had to stand my ground and let the girls know, "Hey he's with me." [Laugh]. ER: It's always a problem here. �3 EV: Then the other thing we reminisce about is our HEOP experience and our HEOP summer. And a character that's always lively from a professor perspective was Sheldon [Solomon, professor of psychology]. So all the funny grades he would give us and then we would say, "You know what? He was right." My husband was saying he got an F- and the comment was, Sheldon wrote, "You should try harder to fail." And then another one was, "You got a D for dog shit." And he's like, "You know what? But he was right." Because he wasn’t up to the quality and it's like... back then we were like, "How dare he give us this grade and say all these comments!" And then we look back and he's like, "You know what, those were great advice." [Laugh]. EV: We reminisce about... We were also part of Raíces. I don’t know if it has the same name, but it was the Latino Hispanic student club and we would do performances. So obviously we were always part of the dancing crew. There was always a group of us that for every Latino celebration we made sure we did some sort of dance performance to a meringue, salsa... {...] and we were always involved with that. And sometimes we'd get upset like, "You're not following me, what are you thinking, pay attention, you don't know how to dance." Cause we would practice a lot, we thought we were professionals on stage because we wanted to put on a good show. It was a cultural show, we wanted to show that off like this is our culture and we're proud of it. So we took time and pride in what we were building to put out for the Skidmore community. EV: Just a couple of things that we reminisce and talk about. ER: That's amazing. I want to ask questions about all those things, but I want to start from the beginning... can you talk about your experience with HEOP? EV: Mind you, this was 20 years ago, so HEOP was the Higher Education Opportunity Program. I think it has evolved a little bit through the years. So back when I started it was mostly for domestic students. I think now we've expanded to serve international students. The perspective to give domestic students, usually from inner-city, who obviously have shown �4 potential through their high school career to have access to outstanding college education. So it came with not only a support system, but it also came with financial aid support as well. Because obviously a lot of kids that came to that program had also financial... required some financial support as well. EV: But what I remember most is all the support the program provided. So, I guess a lot of us came from inner cities where a lot of us didn't receive the best education growing up but we definitely had the potential to develop and obviously be in a classroom with kids that have had a world class education all through their lives. And they had what they call the higher education opportunity program summer, the HEOP Summer, and there you would get tutored in all the foundations to give you a good start for college. So it was the summer before your freshman year. You come in you get an intensive writing course, you get your basic math course, then we also took some sort of psychology... that liberal arts perspective as well. So it was really a program that supported you more than just financially, it was emotionally. I know a lot of us went to the HEOP office for emotional support, people that you can talk to when you're having a hard time. EV: For many of us coming to Skidmore was a culture shock. People talk, "Oh it's the real world." But I look back and I'm like, well I was living in the real world before coming to Skidmore except that everybody looked like me, talked like me...I grew up in a neighborhood in Washington Heights that was predominantly Dominicans, Latinos, so everybody spoke Spanish. I went to high school where 99.9 of the people were people of color. You obviously got exposed out of your real world but pretty much my real world was people like me, that sound like me, that ate like me, that dressed like me, that had curly hair like me right. And then you come into Skidmore and for me it was a culture shock and I'm pretty sure for other students that perhaps never even dealt with somebody of color, it was also a culture shock. So it was sort of the first time that I looked around and I'm like oh I'm the darkest person. That never happened to me. �5 EV: Oh, wait I'm the only one with curly hair. Oh shoot I'm the only one with an accent and you do feel a little bit like an outsider and to be honest that was really hard for me and it took some time for me to understand my environment and try to be successful in it. Not because I couldn't but because everything was... how can I say it? Because other things that should have been okay, became top of mind for me, like my skin color, everything else, my accent. I remember, reading whatever assignment, whatever we had, like 20,000 times because I was like oh my god I have a question, but I want to make sure that it’s not answered in the book because I was like I don't want to speak up. If the answer is in the book then I can figure it out myself but if it’s not, oh I have to raise my hand and speak up and my accent... You sort of feel so much conscious about what is I guess your natural being. EV: So the HEOP was there to support a lot of us through that and make sure that we not only survived in an environment that was not our everyday environment, an environment that we weren't used to, but really strive in it and do well. I mean I think I did great from an academic perspective at Skidmore. I was a double major, I was part of the honors society. So I think if the HEOP office wasn't there I would have most likely gotten lost and a little bit drowned by all these things that became top of mind rather than my focus on my studies. So I look back and I think the HEOP program was really the foundation for me to do well here. EV: And I think back and look back at Skidmore as this great place that opened the world to me in a way. So as you go through it you may not be appreciate but then after you've gone you're like you know what? I'm glad it took me out of my comfortable Washington heights because that was my world, but the world is so much bigger than that. And it's an appreciation for different worlds out there and that are accessible to me. I was reading somewhere; a great college is not one that prepares you for the four years that you're there it's really the one that prepares you for life. And I think that's what Skidmore has done to me; sort of prepare me, not for the four years that I was here because they go by so quickly but what comes after that for the rest of my life and how do I handle myself, how do I carry myself, how do I take advantage of those opportunities that I see and really open the world and a new perspective. �6 ER. Wow thank you so much for sharing, I really appreciate it. EV: No problem, no problem. ER: It's really nice to hear. Thank you. EV: Not a problem. ER: I mean I'm so glad that it exists, the OP program. EV: And I hope that it still does that, I know that Skidmore is doing great strides for diversity and I hope that the Equal Opportunity Program is the backbone to that because it does provide so much more to the students that come in who for some reason may feel different or otherwise that perhaps would not do well without the program. It's a great program. ER: I think Skidmore needs to keep going with it, keep getting better and better, because it's still predominantly white. Most of the teachers are white and teachers, this is something I've been thinking a lot about lately, a lot of the teachers are really just not... are stuck in their comfort zone and not willing to talk about what it means to be white and what white supremacy is and how whiteness affects how they teach and how they should, how race and social issues and the world should be part of the classroom. We're not really talking about that. I'm looking forward to that happening more. EV: Yeah and a lot of the issues that you mention, white supremacy, a lot of people do not, it's so engrained into our society that it happens subconsciously without people thinking about it. I think we do need to take a pause, say what's going on here, because we can put numbers around it. But going back to what I was saying, how do we know when we're successful? And I think that's when somebody like me can come in and not look around and say oh my god I'm �7 the darkest person. Oh my god I'm the only one with curly hair, oh my god I’m the only one with an accent. Instead of numbers its really like when you can have this diverse group of people be part of the community and not feel like they are the only one and they are the one that looks like an outsider. So when we have that, like when people like me don’t have to look and say oh I’m the darkest one, brown skin, I’m the one that sounds kind of weird, looks different. And it's not only a Skidmore problem. It goes beyond that. But yeah what is the school doing, is it doing enough? Or is what it's doing being efficient? Because I'm pretty sure a lot is being done and it's top of mind for the school, but I think we need to take a step back and say okay what are the actions we are taking and is this working? Is this creating the value that we want to be created? And it's something that me as an alumni take seriously. We try to shape that by volunteering, by our time, by giving a different perspective as well. Because I just cannot come back every reunion year and expect things to change if I don't give back and be part of the process and be part of the solution and be part of how can we make Skidmore better? So it works both ways as well. But yeah, I definitely agree there is much work to be done and I know it's top priority for Skidmore. Whether it is where we want it to be, I’m not sure. ER: Well thank you so much for your work, your devotion to this place. What ideas do you have? I mean are you seeing some things that Skidmore is doing and saying this isn't efficient and what do you think Skidmore should be doing? I feel like you will have a perspective as an alum... You're saying that you're aware that this is top priority right but maybe it's not efficient. What do you think they can do to be better or what's something new they can do? EV: That's a good question and I don't think I have the answer. [Laugh]. I definitely have some ideas. This is the thing with diversity because you need to have a balance... an easy one is you need to increase your diversity numbers, which I think Skidmore is doing. But I think it's once the student gets here, what support are they being provided. What can the college do more from that social engagement? Which I think was something that I didn't have. And again, it could have changed. To give an example, some of it could be my fault but also... some of it like I �8 said could be self-inflicted, but also some of it could have probably been a little bit relieved by the college. So one of the... I don’t want to say one of the biggest regrets but if I could do something over in college its expose myself socially more. Because I was so concerned about oh my god I represent not just me but my race, my ethnicity, that you don’t want to be the dumbest person in the class. I think... and again I'm talking personally, I created this bubble around me where I didn't socialize as much with people outside of my HEOP classmates. I always look back and I’m like how know what I could have socialized a bit more I could have engaged more with people. And again, some of it is self-inflicted but I think if there was some sort of way to increase that social engagement it would be a win win for the college and for the student because going back the HEOP provided great support great emotional and academic support but I think for that social engagement with everybody else within the college and within your classmate was a little bit failing. Again I don’t know if there exists something that can create these environments and for that socialization to happen, but I think it’s important. Because then what you're going to have is people still staying in their own little groups you know, and you’ll only have a few that might be branching out and creating friendships outside and sort of creating that social dynamic, which I believe then would impact everything else. at least that’s... that would be some of the things that I would improve. looking at what kind of social opportunities are there for that engagement to happen. because the other thing with diversity is, anything that’s like you call it diversity only certain people will show up, which are the people that identify themselves as diverse for a reason or other. and so what happens then, even that group it’s the "diverse" group only, when it should actually be imbedded within the total community. I was actually for one of my last employers, I was one of the diversity recruitment. And we had a bunch of activities. And I’m like you know what it’s great that we're talking about diversity but the only people that are coming to this diversity talk are the African Americans or Latinos or women and I’m like where’s everybody else? were like preaching to the choir. So it’s like how do we make diversity so that at it becomes a natural to the backbone of the Skidmore experience, rather than just these pockets of activities that are happening. where then only people that are affected by some diversity issue attend, its like I said, it’s like you’re �9 preaching to the choir, amen hallelujah. you’re not doing it to the entire congregation. so I think it’s that. its embedding it through the whole Skidmore experience. EV: How do you do that? I mean that's a great question. [Laugh]. ER: That's another story. Okay I want to ask, what was your favorite class here? Do you remember? EV: Oh my god, so you know what? I remember what was my favorite class and I don't know if they do this but BU107... Let me go back. So I was a double major in business and government. And the first class that I had was BU107. I don't know if it's still the same curriculum, but you study... you select a group of people, you study a company, and then at the end of the semester you present a big presentation about that company’s sort of financials, marketing strategy, operation strategy and you present it in front of a panel. oh my god that presentation, I remember my legs were shaking like crazy because I wasn’t used to public speaking. and it stuck. I was so nervous I mean I can still feel... every time I think about it I can still feel my hands getting sweaty, my team... we [were] standing outside the room with our corporate attire and my legs are shaking oh my god I think I had the financial piece of it. oh man. so it was one of those classes, at least for me, coming from where I was coming from, where it’s like you either swim or drown kind of deal. so I don’t know if it’s my favorite but it’s definitely the one that I remember the most and I think about it and I’m like oh I can totally take back all these emotions that I was feeling at that moment. I remember that into today, my hands were sweaty my legs were shaking. it was in itself an experience to have. I think it was a good experience. it puts you out there in front of people that are evaluating you, and then I remember dreading oh my god they're going to have questions they're going to ask questions, what questions do they have? So I remember that class. ER: So is it one of those things that you appreciate more now... �10 EV: Yeah you definitely appreciate it more because I was like I’ve never spoken in front of anyone. and I definitely have brought out ideas or anything that I’ve studied out to the open and saying this is what I think and challenge it and never had the opportunity to be in that opportunity. It’s great it’s what you do in your everyday... I don’t want to say life but definitely in your job. you present your ideas and people want to challenge it and then you come back and say that’s great but let’s look at it this way. so I think it was a great stepping stone. I look at it with a lot of.... not reminiscing.... with a positive mindset. ER: That class is a big deal still. EV: It's still a big deal? Okay. ER: Oh, I know... I always see the groups together, they’re dressed up. It's one of the classes that I wished I experienced because it seems like such an experience, you learn so much. EV: It is, and you do. You're preparing for it. Every semester. it’s not like the last three days before the presentation. you’re studying the company, you’re looking things up. I remember my business case was Robert Mondavi wine, winery. Which back then was starting. Now I think it’s big but that was our study case, the Robert Mondavi company. And I remember that [laugh] and it was 24 years ago. So it was nice. It was nice. Let's see what other class I took... I took some government courses which was interesting. I took dance. I actually wanted to minor in dance, I took modern dance one and two, I took ballet one and two. And then I took an improvisational course, dance improvisation or something like that and we did a performance and my friend came out of that saying, "Yeah stick to business." [laugh]. They were good friends [laughs]. So I didn't take a dance class after that [laugh]. And I was like well that’s kind of mean and they were like yeah you know [laugh] stick to business and government for now, leave the dance. but it was great. I got to experience that. so yeah, I mean it was fun. it was fun doing the dance classes. �11 ER: That's so Skidmore, to take a random dance class. EV: Yeah [laugh]. I never took ceramics oh my god, that’s the one that I always wanted to take, and it just never quite made it into my schedule. My junior year I actually was not at Skidmore. That was a year that I spent away from Skidmore. Because first the fall of my junior year I went to American University and I did the semester there and I got an internship with senator Moynihan back then. That was awesome. that was an awesome experience. You probably don't know Senator Moynihan, but he was the Senator that we can refer back as coining the phrase, "You're entitled to your own opinions, but not your own facts." Which is so true for today. He coined it so many years ago. He passed away, he was the senior senator for New York. And my job was simple as an intern there. I needed to open the letters that we get from his constituents and say okay this is related to education, this one is related to the environment, the highways, so sort of organize them in the buckets they belong. But it was just a great experience being on capitol hill and doing that and seeing him walking down the hall and you’re just like, “Wahh that’s Senator Moynihan.” ER: That's so cool. That was through Skidmore? EV: That was through Skidmore yeah. Skidmore participated in that American University program. It's mostly government courses and part of that program was to get an internship so that was my internship that I got there so it was great. Then my Spring semester I went to Spain through Skidmore study abroad program in Spain. And that was wonderful. When I'm telling you, it was an eye opener, it was amazing. I mean just the flight getting there, it’s like, wait we have to be more than four hours in the air plane? How is that possible? I remember we needed to get research... And I’m like it’s this many hours in the airplane it’s like a whole day! Yeah just it’s all that, it’s just great and the Skidmore program was so great because you not only took that culture immersion through the Skidmore program there but perhaps unlike other study abroad programs you got to take courses at the university. which was awesome. so you actually go to socialize with Spanish students there. so it wasn’t just you and your own little Skidmore �12 friends in the Skidmore center you actually went out there with the other students. you went to university classes like you would here. Your professors were Spanish professors. It was an amazing experience. That was great. That definitely opened my world. Definitely a defining moment of my Skidmore experience. It's an opportunity that a lot of perhaps college kids do not get through their campus and here it’s there pretty much for anyone who’s interested. I believe there’s GPA requirements but other than that the program (needs stability). That was great for anybody who wanted to participate in such things. For me it was definitely an eye opener. I don't think I... coming to Skidmore I didn't even know that existed, study abroad programs, I didn't know about that. Just coming here... If I tell you the reason why I chose Skidmore [laugh], it's actually a pretty funny one. It had nothing to do with rankings. Yu know a lot of people, I guess it's about the experience and peoples' backgrounds but... and I’m pretty sure my kids would do this... but... people put time and research in schools and visiting schools and what is their ranks and what career they're going to have and what are their majors, I wasn’t thinking like that. all my mom said was you need to go to college. I was like okay. that was the expectation in my family. and I remember I went to a college fair with my cousin, we were the same age, and there was a Skidmore table there and they said... so we went we were visiting tables and we ended up in the Skidmore table, and there where was people from the admissions office, there was this lady from the HEOP office, Michelle Dupree, I don’t think she’s... She’s no longer with Skidmore but she was definitely into getting me here. so, they were putting out a flyer of a one weekend program at Skidmore. they would pick you up at 42nd street, bring you up from New York City for the weekend. you get to get mini classes, they give you housing and food while you were here. So, I looked at my cousin and was like oh let’s go there. and they mentioned a party and I’m like, "Oh a party? are boys going to be there? yeah okay fine great sign me up. and its free and you come pick me up and you bring me back?" so me and my cousin signed up, thinking it’s a party there’s going to be boys, we were 17 years old right, so I come here... First of all, the drive was beautiful because it was in the fall. And you get one of the current students to host you, so you get to go to their dormitory and stay with them, we had sleeping bags. But guess what? Those rooms are huge for two people. So I remember asking my host, the current student, I’m like " Wait this entire room is for two people? With this �13 big closet? I mean we're five in my family and we all were sharing one room. And it's like, sign me up, where do I come here? I get my own closet [laugh]. Not the rankings, not the major, I was just like what I get my own room my own closet! It's all about the people coming in and what are their backgrounds and experiences. But now I know better and for my kids they’re going to be looking at rankings and what the school has to offer... how many of the students get jobs after graduation. that’s one of the important metrics. but for me it wasn’t like that. all I knew was that I needed to go to college and all I knew was I lived in a crammed apartment with five of us sharing a tiny room and one closet and it was amazing when I came here, and I was like wow just one closet for me I don’t have to share with nobody? This bedroom just me with one other person? So yeah it was definitely an experience. There you go that's how I chose Skidmore. Skidmore chose me too. Because I think it was luck of the draw me going to that table. It was definitely... probably one of the luckiest days of my life when I ended up saying, "okay fine, sign me up." They had a nice party and I'm like "Oh it’s going to be like this all the time." Nah. [Laugh]. I wouldn’t call Skidmore a party school. I don’t think so. Not at least in my experience. But maybe for other people it was that. My 4 years here, I think they were that. They definitely took me out of my comfort zone, which at the time that you're going through it you don’t see all the good things. But definitely after I graduated it was like "Oh my god that was the best thing that happened." All the opportunities that I got, all the experiences that I was able to take advantage of and pursue, definitely makes me a better person today and a more worldly person with a more worldly view of what I think, what my opinions are and what I think does matter, and how can you sort of have an impact to improve things and others. ER: Thank you so much this has been really really great. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History Description An account of the resource Many people who have worked or studied at Skidmore College or lived in Saratoga Springs or the surrounding area carry the memories that help us tell the stories of our communities. This collection offers a glimpse into our past in the voices of those who have shared their stories. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Rizzo, Emily, '18 Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Vasquez, Evelyn Yesenia Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with Evelyn Yesenia Vaszquez, '98 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1 June 2018 Language A language of the resource eng Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Emily Rizzo, '18 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/6f601da325c53c4807cfa75b5ead75e5.jpg 653268a7c4eca6bc7088db2d16fbaaec https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/d9649161ded7395b963578a5047412ef.m4a 92a3ecfebe2e75423552e3fc8d0175af https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/9a6b78c72f22d934d5346ed9d85b0b23.pdf 26758711ce848bfa6279c6da13abad1d PDF Text Text 1 Hess Interview with Gregory Hess by Harry Sultan, Skidmore College Saratoga Memory Project, Skidmore College, NY June 1st, 2018 Harry Sultan: So we're all set to get started. If I could just have you introduce yourself. Gregory Hess: Sure. My name's Gregory Hess, or Greg, and I'm from the class of '78. HS: And uh what did you major in when you were at Skidmore? GH: I had a double major in biology and in chemistry and then a minor in business. HS: What is it like to come back to this campus that you graduated from all those years ago. GH: It's a little odd in that it reminds you of how old you are. I can't believe I graduated forty years ago from Skidmore and I think most people my age all say the same thing that when we look in the mirror, we imagine someone in their twenties or in their thirties but can't imagine someone in their sixties. That usually strikes me when I come back to campus. And the other part is that it's grown tremendously and it's still very vibrant which is great. HS: Is this your first time back? GH: No, I've been back several times. HS: And is it different every time you come back? GH: I would say so, you know it continues to grow. I mean literally there are new buildings, things are being renovated. I was back just giving a small lecture to one of the classes about a month ago and I'd been back for a number of occasions, so I always see change which is part of Skidmore's motto HS: And walking around on campus, is there any spot that you see that brings you immediately back to when you were a student? GH: Um, you know probably the dining hall. It's much nicer now in terms of when we were here physically. Although I have to say at the time, Skidmore food was still pretty renowned in the northeast as one of the better places to go to college and have a good meal. But it's much more upscale now. HS: What does it feel to see the dining hall as it is now and remember what it was like back then? GH: You know, very positive. Great experiences there, shoot the breeze about what had happened during the day and what was coming up. So it's just a great place to socialize. And the food, again, was pretty good so you can't complain. But now you look around and they have all the food stations and �2 Hess HS: GH: HS: GH: HS: GH: a lot of different options and variety and you realize the school has changed but I think for the better. And outside of chemistry and biology and science classes, what other types of classes did you take at Skidmore. Probably the most odd one in a way was, I took ballet when I was here. That's the type of thing that I of course didn't anticipate when I first came to Skidmore What was it like to take a ballet class? It was very funny at first. You may know the history, but when I was here, Melissa Hayden was a prima ballerina for the New York City Ballet and was very very well known. And it was shortly after she left that position that Skidmore was able to recruit her which was considered quite a coup at the time and I had no familiarity with ballet at all - I'm not even sure if I had ever seen a ballet. So we were starting the Skidmore Hockey Club and after one of our later night practices had ended, we all sort of barged into one of the faculty get togethers that was going on to see if we could scarf down the last appetizers and things that were still there. So uh - they were fine about it - you know it had dwindled down to a small crowd and I started talking to this one woman, you know, more interested in the hors d’oeuvres than chatting, but I was trying just to be social. And so as I started asking her questions, things along the lines of "oh are you a faculty member here, or are you the wives of one of the faculty?". She said "no I teach here" and started telling me more - someone later said, you know thats Melissa Hayden, the prima ballerina of New York City - and part of our conversation when I said I was teaching skiing up the road at West Mountain and Gore and on the hockey team, she was explaining to me how athletic it is to be a ballet dancer and so I was really more just kidding I said, 'yea that'd be great to take ballet, yea.' So next thing you know I got in those days we didn't really have email - I think I got a note in the mail from the registrar saying 'you're failing phys-ed something-or-other' and I'm not sure how it happened, but apparently she signed me up for ballet. So she wouldn't let me out without trying at least a couple of classes, so that's how I got into ballet. And do you think it helped you in skiing and hockey? It really did, I was amazing at how much strength it took to do that. You know, I was a horrible dancer, but it was a great activity for me. And I must say, it helped me get into medical school eventually which is one of my primary professions. She wrote me a great recommendation, and when I was being interviewed in fact, they remarked on it. That they were �3 Hess HS: GH: HS: GH: HS: GH: HS: interested in diversity and were pleased to see that I took something out of just science and biology. And so you took a lot of science, biology, dance; outside of academics what sort of things did you do? I was fortunate that Skidmore gave me a great deal of financial aid to come here but at the same time when I came - so I'll put it in context, I was a bit overwhelmed by the ratio of men to women so I think as part of that and also though still having a lot of financial need, I ended up getting a job bartending downtown, that was when the drinking age was still eighteen in New York - and I was actually seventeen when I first came here but they didn't think to ask for an ID, my birthday is late October. So I ended up bartending at a number of places in town and waiting tables and that gave me another dimension. A lot of the Skidmore students would come there but a lot of friends who were quote townies as we referred to them at the time, but you know, great people. And then I had a lot of friends that I developed, again, from teaching skiing, so that was a great experience to have sort of a foot in the Skidmore Saratoga Springs environment and also at the ski centers. So what was it like, maybe not having two separate lives, but two separate social scenes, one on campus with Skidmore students and one downtown with the locals. It really was the best of both worlds. Because I bartended downtown and Skidmore was about 2,000 students at the time - fairly similar to today you get to at least know by recognition, if not name, most of the students. And the bars I was a bartender in were extremely popular at the time, so you know a ton of students would come up and I'd know them, and we'd chit-chat briefly. So it was a great way to see the students and at the same time I did a number of things with the folks from town. In fact there was one group of guys that were recent grads from other colleges who had just migrated here to have jobs and they were in their early 20s and were quite a cast of characters. So they actually got written up in the New York Times as an example called the TI's which stood for 'terminally immature'. And you know, they had their pros and cons but they were largely hysterical guys in many aspects, and it was great had a great group of guy friends that gave me, again, another dimension. But had a lot of great guy friends on campus too. So you said you were part of the hockey club? I was. I was one of the founding members, yep. And is that the same hockey club that's around today. �Hess 4 GH: It is. I think it's morphed into, if I understand right, into division three hockey here. So yea, at the time ya know, it was a great experience. I grew up in the time when we were still influenced by John Kennedy in the sixties and even in the Vietnam days in the seventies when people said, 'ya know, we can make things happen'. So I think at Skidmore at the time, part of the reason they made it clear that they were - if you would - sort of recruiting me, and they were great in the admissions process, made it clear that they would value me coming here, and made it possible for me to come here was they were looking for men to help really create the co-educational environment and that included things like starting sports. Cause when I came here there was soccer and that was the only sport. So they encouraged us to start clubs so we did with the hockey team. You know, we went to the phys-ed head and said, 'ya know, we wanna do this' and one of the Kennedy sayings I liked at the time was, 'if not us, then who. And if not now, then when?". So we started a lot of things like that. We also started the baseball team and it was just a bunch of guys that got together and it was great. And we actually had women on our hockey team by the way, that time we had so few guys we had two women who had come from some of the New England prep schools and we were actually quite good which I think surprised some of the clubs that showed up to play us from Union and Hamilton and other groups. HS: Did you play hockey and baseball in high school or did you start just for the sake of starting a team. GH: Almost really for the sake of starting the team. Mostly I played a lot of hockey, pond hockey as we would call it, so it was pretty familiar to me that way. I didn't play baseball in school, I did play soccer and tennis and periodically I played one year on the tennis team here, and played on the soccer team three or maybe four years here. HS: Are there any special memories from starting the club, I mean what was it like being the founder of something that is now something so big in Skidmore culture? GH: You know it was just a ton of fun. I was just, to be clear, I was one of a number of guys that got together and founded it but I would say one of the things I think about is because ice time is cheapest late at night or early in the morning, we were last on the peg. We played on a rink down on East Avenue or just off it if I remember, and really it was an outdoor rink that they just had enclosed it in wood. It was pretty rustic. So we would get really hot and sweaty playing through the periods and when we were sitting on the benches because it wasn't a fancy arena and pretty cold it was very common that many times after sitting out for the period you'd get up and �5 Hess HS: GH: HS: GH: HS: GH: HS: GH: you'd realize there were icicles hanging off your hair literally. And we'd be breaking them off. And there was no locker room, we'd change up here and go down. And it was just a lot of fun, a lot of great contact. I ended up playing goalie, was one of the funnier things that happened at one point because our goalie, if I remember right, got his wrist broken or sprained in a slap-shot and no one else wanted to be goalie and it was something like I stepped out for a second and came back and they said, 'great, we just elected you our new goalie'. And I was horrible. And no surprise I think my nickname was a sieve which was very appropriate. And so did this all happen during your freshman year that you started the club? Ya know, I really don't remember. I think it was probably more my sophomore year or junior maybe. And do you remember your first night at Skidmore? I don't remember my first night, I do remember my first day. Vividly. Could you talk about that? Sure. The first class I walked into was an english seminar class in Case Center at the time, so those were relatively small rooms. And it was an oval, or oblong table, sat maybe twelve-to-fourteen people. And when I walked in I realized, and we sat down, we were waiting for the teacher who was a bit late, and we're all sitting there in silence, no one really knew each other and everybody was feeling a little awkward. I realized there were two guys and there were twelve women. And I was like, 'oh my god, what have I got myself into'. I don't think I'd even had thought to ask really what's the ratio before I came here, so at first that was really overwhelming. The other thing I remember though is my roommate who was very very quiet. We had nothing to do, we were just sitting in our room so I said 'come on, let's just go out and take a walk around'. So we were walking around, and most people as well I think were feeling pretty awkward so you know, you'd walk towards someone, and they'd look up and we just started saying hello, and most people would say hello back, and that was great, we were getting the reaction you'd anticipate and hope for. And then we came upon one person and, it was a woman, and I remember we both said, ya know, 'hi, how are you' and we got no response and we were a little puzzled and put off and they walked another ten feet past us and we both looked at each other and he turned around and said 'what's your problem?' So we got still no response, but I still remember that cause my roommate just cracked me up. Did you ever find out who she was? I didn't. I didn't. Mystery, yea that's right. �Hess 6 HS: And what was the adjustment like being that there was so few men at the time going into this recently co-ed school. GH: You know, at first for me it really was overwhelming. I was I think relatively shy at that time and hadn't had a serious girlfriend in high school et cetera, so I'm not sure but I think all that combined and the lack of sports, there wasn't even a locker room for men there wasn't a male dorm on campus, there was a floor on the 7th story of the tall dorm here. And in fact we used to call it heaven on the seventh floor. Ya know it was overwhelming. So I actually transferred, or actually applied to transfer out but by the time I was accepted and then gotten the acceptance in the spring, I had made enough good friends and kind of adjusted to the amount of women that were here, and a lot became good friends of mine. You know I love the place and decided to stay. HS: Was there one thing in particular that made you flip that switch to loving Skidmore? GH: I don't think there was one thing. I think there was that combination. I mean among other things, I guess a specific example I was accepted at Cornell for transfer, and they had two electron microscopes. And in Skidmore we still have - I think it might even be the same one, it's probably a newer one than when I was here. But that was pretty amazing that a school of 2,000 people had an electron microscope worth at that time hundreds of thousands if not more than that dollars. And yet I could go in and use it almost virtually any time so that was great and it really was a great learning experience. But I went to Cornell and they had two and I thought 'oh that's great' and I mention it to one of the people almost as a question of how to get access to it. And they said, 'well undergrads really don't get access to that, you know once you're a grad student you might get access to it but you have to be on a waiting list and there's only so much time'. So I started to realize things like the professors here were primarily dedicated to teaching and not so much research and Cornell as I started to really look at it, you were taught more often by grad students who were really teachers assistants and the professors were really more interested in publishing, in research, in grants, in really not teaching. So things like that really made a difference for me. Here, the students, the night life downtown was just hysterical, it was great. HS: Were there any teachers that stick out in your mind as really helping you move on throughout college and what you ended up doing afterward? GH: Ya know, there were a lot. I still remember Bob Mahoney was head of I think biology, and head of the department. And then Roy Myers at the time was here. And they were great, fully accessible. At the time I was not your �7 Hess HS: GH: HS: GH: HS: GH: HS: GH: typical student by any stretch and they put up with me and were encouraging and they were great. Why weren't you the typical student? Well I think probably one of the examples was I worked two-to-three jobs when I was here because I had to make ends meet. As part of that, when I graduated from Skidmore I had a pretty high GPA fortunately and had a pretty rigorous schedule with the double major and a minor and so on. So the logical thing to do was to apply to medical school. And at the time it was pretty competitive at the time to get in, I think it was roughly twelve applicants for every one acceptance so they had said, 'ya know where are you applying' and I said 'I'm not applying, I've always wanted to see how good a skier I could be, so I'm going to go out in Colorado and teach skiing and race full time and see what I can do'. And ya know so I think most of the people would shake their head and in fact one of the faculty members said 'you'll never get into medical school'. And ya know Roy and Bob Mahoney said, 'look, totally get it and ya know it's a bit of a risk, but you need to do what you think's best and ya know, go for it' Were your friends at Skidmore also naysaying? Oh no I think they were all, they said 'great, go for it' and were they all also in the same, bio-chem sphere or from sports, or ballet? Ya know, it was such a small campus of 2,000-or-so and only I think about 200-or-so guy, actually when I left it was maybe like 300. I think I had friends across the different environments. There were only I think twelve biology/chemistry majors at the time on campus and I think almost all of them were women, probably statistically. So I had friends who were taking english studies and all sorts of other things, so it was a pretty diverse group. For example, my roommate who only stayed a semester was in fine arts and became a fine arts painter, ya know still makes his living today in Connecticut and has had a lot of very high priced paintings that he's done that've been accepted, but he decided after six months he really just wanted to paint, but still we've stayed in touch and he's a great guy. So what was your average week like between classes and skiing and hockey and two jobs? One of the things I learned was I actually do better on almost all measure for me, including happiness and certainly academics, when I was scheduled. So I'd say during the busiest parts of the year which was winter for me, I would typically have a pretty full day of class because science classes start early in the morning with labs and things and when I finished up with them, a typical, I'd play a sport so say, we'll say late in the season �8 Hess HS: GH: HS: GH: HS: GH: HS: GH: HS: GH: HS: GH: HS: maybe before winter, we'd still have soccer that'd be four to five-thirty. By the time we got up to the dining room it was about ready to close, we'd all pile in and eat dinner quickly and then I'd go to the library from six to ten I think was my routine and just really study and then, again the drinking age was eighteen, to reward ourselves, we'd hop in the car and zip downtown for a beer at Tin and Lint or Harold J which was a big bar then. Barclays was pretty big later on. So we'd have a beer, back in bed by 11, go to sleep around 11:30 or so, wake up and do it all over again. And what was your typical nightlife on the weekend? The weekends for me was pretty much when I bartended and waited tables so for me the busiest weekend would be - and some weekends I just played, but mostly I was working - when I was working at the restaurant after class, I'd be there at 4 to set up. I'd wait tables from 4 to 10 and then I'd get out of there and I'd go to one of the bars and then I'd bartend at Harold J's from about 10:30, 11, till about 4 A.M. when they closed and then I'd get back, maybe take a quick nap, shower then I'd go up to West Mountain, teach skiing Saturday and then I'd come back, usually wasn't waiting tables and I'd go back and bar tend again from 11 till 4AM. And then Sunday I'd sleep in. That's a schedule. It was, it was, but when you're young you know, you can do it. Did you do that all four years? Pretty much, you know it changed a little here and there over the years but I pretty much had two or sometimes three jobs, part time, just piecing them together. And do you feel like you were able to learn in your jobs to help academically or things academically to help your jobs at all? Ya know I think so in a bit because it taught you the basics like show up on time, ya know, be responsible, fundamentally do the right thing. So I think so, ya know Skidmore really I thought was a highly ethical place, for a better term, people were trying to do the right thing. Did you study abroad? I didn't. What made you choose to stay on campus? I don't think they had many abroad programs at the time. And my academic schedule was so packed that I don't think, if I remember right, it would have really worked for me to go abroad to get the biology/chemistry requirements and the business requirements that I had I didn't have many electives open. And did you have one go-to best friend? �Hess 9 GH: Ya know, it probably changed, well it did change a bit over time. The first was my head resident a guy named Allan Braunstein, so one of the earliest guys. And he was a great guy and he was classic open door policy so his apartment, the head resident apartment of course was pretty big and it was like Grand Central Station, so he was a great guy and later his brother actually transferred in from BU or BC, I can't recall, and he became a good friend too, Ron Braunstein. HS: What made you so close to these guys? GH: Ron and I played hockey together, just in general they were involved and organizers. Allan Braunstein being a head resident organized everything; we had a water festival at the time, I'm not sure if it still goes on. He was a big skier. We actually had a ski rope tow when I came in fact. So we would take a few quick runs down there, it was pretty small but we would ski over there. And we were just involved in all the antics like going downtown was again a big part of campus life here. Thursday night was one of the more interesting nights, you would go down to a bar that, if I understand right was the one portrayed in Animal House where they showed the guys in the road trip and go into this bar with a couple of girls from a college. Well the guys are coming supposedly from Dartmouth in real life and it's Skidmore girls that they meet up with and the bar that they go into used to be called the Golden Grill and it was a predominately blacks or African Americans during the week if you would. And Thursday night for some reason at midnight - I think the cover became free or they had some beer special that at midnight it would all change, so all the Skidmore people would pour in, which at that time was predominately pretty homogenous white, Caucasian class. And it got to be the point that the bartenders that the Golden Grill - we used to call it the Golden Griddle - would call it white night. And looking back it was probably politically incorrect but it was literally as much as you saw in Animal House. You saw lots of town people who were not Skidmore people dancing with Skidmore girls there were African American guys with white upper middle class Skidmore girls, and it was hysterical, everyone was relaxed and had a lot of fun. HS: And this was an every Thursday night thing? GH: Pretty much. I might have the night wrong at this point but I think so. Tuesday night was Tin and Lint, ten cent or nickel beers; hard to look back on that. Wednesday night, I can't remember what that was. But Thursday night I'm pretty sure was Golden Grill white night and it would just go on from there. HS: And so as you went through the years was there anything you wished you did differently? �Hess 10 GH: I wish I'd spent more time getting to know other people better. You know we were all busy and as I mentioned my schedule kept me pretty busy but I remember feeling a little uneasy about coming back to reunion and thinking 'what was it going to be like' and 'how many old friends will show up'. And some friends show up and that's great, but what I've found out at one of the early reunions was that I actually met people from my class that I barely knew. And I might have known their face but almost didn't know their name or might have known their name, and when I had a chance to finally sit down and talk with them, no surprise they're great people; really smart, really kind, great people. And I thought, 'man I wish I got to know them when I was in college'. HS: And as you were approaching graduation, did you and your friends feel optimistic about post graduation, post college world? GH: I think there was probably both, but I think in a way, for me, I was pretty optimistic. I think we were so dumb we didn't know what we don't know. So I think we felt pretty much like, 'look, we got a great education behind us, we're healthy, we've got the ability and the tools to go out and really do something'. I wasn't quite sure what it was going to be, I didn't know at the time that I would apply to medical school, I didn't do that until years after I came back and worked in admissions so I really didn't know how things were going to turn out but I think I felt optimistic overall. HS: What was it like being on the other side of Skidmore, going from a student to an employee? GH: It was great, it really was great. It was like working at a country club in a way I realized one day, in that I was just a few years older, I came back after I had ski'd for a few years and had one other job. It was still the same dean who had accepted me and she said, 'look, you really know Skidmore, you'll be a great asset et cetera' and I remember the time, because I was so naive that I probably shouldn’t have said this but at the time there were rumors that Skidmore was lowering its standards for men because they wanted to get co-educational more quickly. So I think it was probably inappropriate in the interview me saying, 'I want to be clear though, I'm not gonna accept students if I read their folders, or recommend acceptance, for students who are sub par'. And I was so refreshed, she said, 'no, we are holding men to the exact same standard as women, and we're in this for the long haul and we want to build a thriving long term campus'. So being on the other side of the coin was refreshing in kind of the same sort of ethical environment from professors in doing the right thing and students as well and the same thing I saw in the administration. And you know they weren't �11 Hess HS: GH: HS: GH: HS: GH: perfect, none of us are perfect, but they really had their hearts in the right place. So what is it like now seeing that there are 2500 kids up from 2000, it's a 60/40 split, how does that feel looking back from where you're coming from? It does feel great in many ways. I mean we had some special experiences that can't be repeated because it was the time, someone, sometimes it was the ratio that made certain things, I don't think would happen anymore in a positive way. But I think looking now, change is right the only constant in life, and Skidmore has changed for the better. It's academically stronger than when I was here - even though it was a strong school. It's got many many more sports, it's hopefully better endowed, its got tremendous facilities, I think it's got a great vision. SO I'm proud, it's a great college, and I'm very glad I came here and it gave me the tools to be a constant student so thats probably the best tools that it gave me, to be a constant student. That's what I see when I come here, is that students are learning how to learn and be a lifelong student. And if you meet someone today that is thinking about going to Skidmore, what would you tell them? Yea I would certainly recommend it. In fact I've got a daughter in high school, I don't know where she'll go, it'll be her decision, but yea I used to be an interviewer, an alumni interviewer. I think for the right person it's a great school. I think the question a number of people get is, 'what can you do with a liberal arts education?', and my view is the reciprocal, almost what can't you do with a liberal arts education? When you think about, I think it's not so important what you come out of Skidmore with in terms of your degree, but I think if it teaches you to be that constant constructive, inquisitive person to realize that learning doesn't end when you leave your undergrad or even your grad degree, goes on forever. I'm not sure if that was a hyperbole for that example, but I think Skidmore really instilled in me, I have three degrees, two masters and a doctorate and that's partly how I'm hardwired but Skidmore really encouraged me to keep learning. I think I did three or four, four fellowships after that and ya know I think I'll continue to go on learning until they put me in the ground. What are those degrees in? I'm a physician so I have an M.D., and then I have a masters in Health Care Services Research which is kind of a combination of how health care systems work; epidemiology, statistics. And then I have an MBA from Wharton in Health Economics. �Hess 12 HS: And when you were a freshmen did you ever imagine yourself where you are now? GH: Not at all. In fact I really thought seriously about being a full time bartender forever. It seemed liked a great lifestyle and in fact one of the guys from town I worked with who was ancient at the time - he was in his thirties basically said, 'do this for life, it's great. When I go home, I go home' There were a lot of plusses, so I had no idea where I was going to head. HS: Do you have any anecdotes about a time that the liberal arts mentality directly affected how you thought about something that came up while you were getting your masters degree or in your career that had you not had the liberal arts education you would not have been able to approach the same way? GH: Ya know I'm not sure if this is directly on point with kind of your question but ya know maybe. And maybe it's a bit in the way I'm hardwired, but I think Skidmore encouraged or allowed that. So maybe a good example is when I left Skidmore, although I wasn't happy 100% of the time with everything that happened here I really thought my money was well spent, their money was well spent, they gave me a great education, faculty were dedicated to us and teaching was the primary role of the instructors and professors. And when I went to medical school years later which was a lot more expensive and presumably a lot more competitive I really had high expectations that this is going to be the best experience I've ever had. And I would say that I was almost aghast at how poorly I thought the educational system was in medical school. So I guess my point is, it lead me to do two things that were pretty unusual even for my medical school classmates at the time. One was I got a grant from the American Medical Association that allowed me to do almost any constructive project over the summer between my first and second year and I wrote a literature-based review on teaching principles and teaching techniques and I even talked to some of the teachers here, but I wrote a pretty constructive but scathing review of how the medical school educational system was set up and why it was so dysfunctional and why it was a poor set up for teaching our future physicians and the school did not like it to say the least. They literally stuck it in a drawer.When I went to the office to see, and I asked the dean if he had read it and he said, 'yes i did', he pulled out a drawer, showed me the paper and said, 'and this is where it's going to stay'. So I think in part it in encouraged me to constructively question things and not just to complain but to propose constructive solutions and in fact thats what I did, I think, in that review. I think the other thing it did to do was to be a little non conventional, so in medical school I felt the school was so poor in terms of �13 Hess HS: GH: HS: GH: HS: GH: HS: GH: HS: GH: its instruction it was mostly just memorization that I actually got a job full time again, but I got a job as a financial planner and I would pretty much not attend class at medical school for the first two years because it was just memorization and I would go off and do my job, go home at night and memorize the text and come back and take my tests and progress on. Really until your third year when you're seeing patients, yea you could be taking it anywhere. So I think if it wasn't for Skidmore, I'm not sure where I would have really had the confidence to do that. And if you could go back and tell yourself as a freshmen one word of advice, what would it be? Enjoy And did you have any regrets? Other than not meeting more people? Other than that, really not, I think I was one of those really fortunate kids in college that at the time there were some college colleagues who really weren't happy they were just marking their time ya know handing in their homework, their parents sent them here, they felt like they needed to get a degree and ya know they really were just marking time. But now I think I was one of those fortunate, probably the majority who said, 'you kidding? this is incredibly great, I've got a place to sleep every night, I've got great food, I've got a job, I've got lots of friends, I mean what could be better.' It was a great environment I would say 95% of the time. It felt like we were living the dream. And looking back is there anything you're happy has remained the same at Skidmore from then all the way until now? Since I'm not here day-to-day it's a little hard to say yes, for sure, but I get the same spirit of the college is really dedicated to the students and I think that's the primary way it should be. I'm a senior fellow at Penn, I'm the faculty there, I'm a faculty at Drexel College of Medicine and I've been to many institutions for the degrees as I've mentioned, so I've seen other colleges first hand and they don't all operate that way. So I'm really impressed that Skidmore, again, I think is really focused on the students and I think that it's primary mission and how it should be. What about the opposite, is there anything that you wish was not still around? No I don't think there's much I could add? So maybe to wrap up if there's just any last stories that you want to share about something that happened at Skidmore or something that happened downtown? Well you know, there were a lot of fun times that we put it in context because most of the students here were studying hard and doing �Hess 14 academically well but there's no question that we had a social life, um so I guess one of the funnier times I do remember was that when spring vacation would roll around, it was a big deal everybody wanted to take off and either go to Florida or go someplace else to get some sun, it's a pretty cold winter up here, lots of snow. So given that whole feverish environment you'd see on probably a barely 50 degree day with the sun out there would be girls in their bathing suits and guys in their bathing suits behind the dorm, I can't remember the name of the dorm, but trying to lay down on the ground so the wind wouldn't freeze them to death trying to get some base tan before they went to Florida. And then it was usually right before the spring break but it was also for the kids who couldn't afford to go on spring break or just couldn't logistically, we would have these unbelievable beach parties downtown. So the one I remember probably the best was at a bar that's not there anymore called Barclays, it was an old bank that's not a store downtown. And myself and some of the other employees there went out to the dump - the illustrious dump - and we got a bathtub and we found a plug at the hardware store, put it in the bathtub. And a lot of the places had a cover charge at the time and that night cover charge was you brought in liquor and we put in sour mix and some liquor but everybody who came into the door would poor their liquor into the bathtub and of course the concoction got more and more odd and more and more potent as the night wore on. So - and you had to come in beach attire - at the end of the night, it had a very high bar because it was the teller spots, and on top of that bar just spontaneously people put on of the bar stools and people eventually began climbing on top of the bar stool, standing on top of that so you were a good 15 to 20 feet and fortunately with the right crowd, and the right music, the DJ, the people were doing Acapulco bar diving where they would dive off the bar stool into the crowd - people knew you were coming - and people would hopefully catch you before you hit the ground. So it was just a hysterical, between the bathtub concoction and the Acapulco bar diving, it was just one of those parties you just shook your head at and said, you know this will just never be recreated. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History Description An account of the resource Many people who have worked or studied at Skidmore College or lived in Saratoga Springs or the surrounding area carry the memories that help us tell the stories of our communities. This collection offers a glimpse into our past in the voices of those who have shared their stories. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sultan, Harry Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Hess, Greg, '78 Location The location of the interview Lucy Scribner Library, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Jordana Dym Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 6/27/18 Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data audio recording Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with Greg Hess, '78 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1-Jun-18 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sultan, Harry, 17 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Skidmore Saratoga Memory Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Audio, Photo Language A language of the resource English (eng,) Description An account of the resource Hess, a double major in chemistry and biology, and minor in business, describes how he came to take ballet classes and starting the Skidmore Hockey Club. He also worked as a ski instructor at West Mountain and Gore. Hess recalls that the letter of recommendation from his ballet instructor, former New York City Ballet prima ballerina Melissa Hayden, helped him get into medical school. Working in downtown Saratoga Springs as a bartender gave him a different perspective on his education. As one of the college's early male students, he understood his role was to help "create the co-educational environment and that included starting things like sports." For Hess, this was part of growing up in the 60s and 70s, with the influence of John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War and 'making a difference.' Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio recording alumni ballet hockey team Melissa Hayden oral history sciences Skidmore College https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/3aff948070e5ec89a96f823efb4a0bec.jpg dc5224e6215ae7a0cccf896c560e38ee https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/c4cf925ee4b65fdec31f5dd5439dd4f6.m4a 217f5d3ac941f72d96b6ff1e87e70336 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Bill Ladd Interview https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/1a9bb39223da7c413d7200ee47dee61d.pdf d23b0809cfbedf3ce7a4650ec81f5ae3 PDF Text Text Ladd 1 Interview with Bill Ladd by Harry Sultan, Skidmore College Saratoga Memory Project, Skidmore College, NY June 1st, 2018 Harry Sultan: Who are you? Bill Ladd: Better question. Like, why don't we try... you know, I have so many stories, just you need to be more direct. HS: Okay, let's just start, if you could introduce yourself. BL: Sure, my name is BIll Ladd, I'm class of '83 and I am a trustee on Skidmore's Board of Trustees. HS: Where are you from? BL: I'm originally from Wayne, Maine, 04284. And I live in, currently, Framingham Massachusetts. HS: What does it feel like to be back at Skidmore? BL: I'm here a lot. I love it, um I was just here two weeks ago for the trustees meeting and commencement but this is nice because I'm with my classmates. And it's a great, we've just have always had a great class. So I love seeing not only my classmates but also the people I encountered my six years on the alumni board as chair of reunions so I would come every year and meet - oh, and I also called every single alum who had a reunion, and that's 29,000 people and I started with my 8th grade teacher Mrs. Jane Chilcott. HS: Even if you come back so often, is there one thing you look forward particularly for coming back to Skidmore? BL: Well first of all, the campus is georgious; but it's always the people, because the people make the college. And from every spectrum of groundskeeping, - they call it campus safety now, but for me it'll always be campus security - to everybody, it's just a great place to be. I mean literally, it changed my life, and I owe Skidmore my life. It's always great. HS: Was there one specific moment at Skidmore that you felt like was really pivotal in changing your life? �Ladd 2 BL: There are so many. Skidmore; I just had breakfast with a couple of my professors and they always raised the bar just a little bit higher than I ever could touch. And they brooked none of my charms which - I can be pretty charming - but um, and I owe them that, because they always taught me to do my very best and in fact, the late and great Phyllis Roth used to say, "is this your very best work?" and I'd have to roll my eyes and just "ugggggh no". And she'd say, "okay, you have until 5 o'clock to make it better", and I'm like 'okay'. And that has lasted me all my life. HS: What kind of classes were you taking with these great professors? BL: Um English, Psychology, History - Tudor History. I just saw my professor, Pat Lee, and literally she's just phenomenal. Susan Cress, um Joanna San Grando, of course I was a theater major so I would say Caroline Anderson, you know instilled in me, real pre-professional standards and yea, I will always be in debt to them. HS: So what was your average week like? BL: (laughs) Psychotic. As a theater major we were just happy to see the sun, cause we were always - if you weren't in class, you were in rehearsal, or getting ready for rehearsal or in performance and it was just non stop, so. There's a story of my senior year, I was just running like a gerbil on a treadmill and I get this letter from Academic Advising and I though 'oh noooo'. And I'm standing there in Case Center staring at Ladd Hall which was named for my grandparents and I'm thinking, 'how do I tell my grandparents I'm getting kicked out my senior year?'. So I sucked it up and I opened it and it said, 'congratulations, you've made dean's list' and I'm like 'get out of here, that can't happen'. And I went up to Academic Advising, and they said 'no, here're your grades' and I'm like, 'how did that happen? I don't know'. So that was a good moment too. HS: So is there any feeling, explain what it must feel like to go back into that place where you spent so much time as a student and know that after all those years you made Dean's List. �Ladd 3 BL: Yea, you know I never thought of myself as a good student. But it was just, every corridor has a memory and I think about how I grew as a person, my classmates, both who are here and not here anymore and just like, I never saw myself as a trustee, and here I am a third generation trustee which is kind of weird; it's kind of like getting kicked up to the grownups table at thanksgiving. You're there and you're like, 'am I really supposed to be here?' but the answer is yes, I am. But it's a really humbling feeling because I served the college and the students and I have the kids, I meet as many kids as I can and I ask them to call me either Bill or Uncle Bill but if you call me Mr. Ladd, I'll slap the taste out of your mouth. C'mon, let's get away from that because when you have your name on a couple of buildings people can get kind of freaked, so I'm like, 'everybody breathe. And unclench. All is well'. I'm just paying it forward. HS: And when you walk around campus all these times you've come back, is there one place that really evokes-- BL: There're so many. Kimball, my freshman dorm and the pantheon of champions, is always wonderful. It's, I just take the time, you know when I drive up onto campus, especially as a trustee they don't allow you to have a whole lot of free time so I just look and take it all in, the green, the quad, it's definitely georgious. I think about, we used to always have to perform in the field house, course now you have a theater - not that I'm bitter - but I spend so much time in Colton House where Alumni Affairs is, and in North Hall where Advancement is and it's just, you know, I'm really honored to be able to come back in the capacity that I am and be the leader that I am, which is something I'm always trying to work with. HS: Do you remember your first night in Kimbal? BL: I do. When I pulled up in my orange Volkswagon Rabbit diesel. The first two people I saw were Jim van Law and Mark Venter and I remember going and meeting my roommate for the very first time who, spoiler alert, teaches here now - Peter McCarthy. Country mouse, city mouse, it was kind of like that. And it was just, yea, we all just kind of gathered and went to the dining hall, which is �Ladd 4 lightyears in difference from the palace that you have now. I don't want to hear nobody complain about no food cause it was not like that back in the day. And we just all coalesced. HS: And did you ever for a second think, as a freshmen back then that this is where you'd be now. BL: (laughs) Oh sure! Not hardly, are you kidding? I was just happy to graduate and then it was like, you know, it was just not even on my radar. Just wasn't. HS: And so other than some theater classes and some english classes, what other activities did you take part in? BL: Do you know anything about being a theater major? Hello? It's um, I remember all the movies on campus, you know they had a lot of horror pictures back in the day like when a stranger calls and the tag line is - the original, not the horrible remake - it's, 'have you checked the children' and so what we would do is, after the movie, we would wait about an hour and then we had extension phones in each of the suites around campus and we would call ya know, Penfield which is an all female dorm and somebody would pick up the phone and we'd say, 'have you checked the children', and you'd hear screaming, and we were like "yes, yes! Good stuff!", we'd get really immature stuff like that which I'm very - I wear with a badge of pride. Dressing up as Frankenfurter for Rocky Horror Picture Show, um it was just a lot of work in theater and going downtown, I wasn't really a bar guy because we didn't have time. You know? But we did go to the Exec which had amazing steak fries, that's where the theater crowd hung out. We went to the rafters - disco, woot woot - good stuff. Yea, but it was wonderful, and we get to talk about these situations with our classmates who are here at reunion which is nice. HS: Did you study abroad? BL: No I did not. I couldn't figure that out in my head; how I could do that and then come back in and get plugged in for the spring shows, if you had left in fall. My son did, he figured that out, but I did not. So, but I lived abroad, it was okay. �Ladd 5 HS: So what was your senior year like, wrapping things up did you have a senior project or senior performance? BL: It was a play, it was you know, coming to grips with, well what're we going to do after graduation and during my - in 1980, I did my first movie while I was still a student here. And back in the day, in the theater department movies were looked down upon - it's all about the theater - well I like movies, I like TV, so just trying to figure out what my next steps were but also, when I graduated I was there with like my dad who was a trustee, my grandmother who was the very first alum to be a trustee and I'm thinking, 'okay'. And of course my amazing class, and it was just trying to be able to put those pieces together and, but I'll tell ya that senior year went by in a snap. When you tell the kids, 'look, just stop, look around, try to be present, remember this moment right now because it'll be gone' and all of a sudden, they're in May and they're walking up in front of you. HS: So if you could talk to your freshmen year self right now, what would you tell him? BL: That's a great question. Um, I don't know, just be you. And thankfully I was, but just relax cause, well I am the first openly gay trustee at Skidmore, and I didn't come out until I was 25. But at that point it wasn't really, there wasn't really the atmosphere to be okay with that. So I would just say, just you know, as my grandmother used to say, 'you don't always have to tell all you know'. Which is one of my, I have a collection of sayings from her. I would just say, you know, 'continue to be you' and, 'you are enough'. That's what I tell my son all the time. Sometimes he listens, sometimes he doesn't. HS: Did you have a core group of friends? BL: I was very blessed to have a lot of friends in varying degrees, I mean different majors and it was just a good group of, I mean I'm still here, one of my sophomore roommates, we were in the only sophomore triple on campus, um two art history majors and a theater major - hilarity ensues - you know, some of the things we did. You know we just collected friends. And um, we were never in the �Ladd 6 popular crowd, and I still couldn't figure out how that happened, but um these many years later we're making new friends, ya know we're not the same people as we were when we were students, thank god. Some of us have grown up and gone very different ways, I mean, I was a theater major, so naturally after 35 years in motion pictures I'm a pastor. Yes. Gods got a sense of humor. But no, that was the great thing, I didn't have time for sports, though I should have played tennis but I couldn't figure out a way to get another couple of hours in the day. Just wasn't gonna work. HS: Could you bring it back to that sophomore year triple for a little bit? BL: Oh god it was great. Well we had a really sucky number, and we were like, okay what do we do? Well there's one way to keep on campus, we should become a triple, we kind of looked at each-other. We all lived in Kimbal, and we said, okay let's do this. And then we had, we got our number, we got our room, and I chose the modular unit, it was my little perch. And it was really terrific. We had such a great time. There's a famous comedy album called, When You're in Love the Whole World is Jewish and we would play that nightly and we would just laugh ourselves to sleep. It was just so much fun. We did have some, there were some romantic exploits of my roommates that were interesting, but you know it was just terrific, and our other roommate who cannot be here, he lives in the next town over from me in Massachusetts and so that's really great. Yea we were just in, they were like "they put you three in a triple?". Well that's what triple means, three. Um, and it's just the stuff of legend, we would terrorize parents during parents weekend by opening up a window and going, 'Mommy? Mom, I'm lost' and watching the, ah so good. So naturally the ministry called. It's one of those things, why did they put them together. And 35 years later, we are still very close so that's terrific. HS: So what was a normal Friday night for you? BL: No such thing, they all kind of blended. Are you in rehearsal, okay you go through classes and then literally you had like maybe five or ten minutes to gobble down �Ladd 7 your meal and then run back to rehearsal and then, and that's, I do have a bad eating habit because of Skidmore. I can eat a meal in five minutes which is not always good. But, yea it's like 'what's going on this weekend? What're the movies? Anything good?". Or sometimes we'd drive out and, you know, to the old Pyramid Mall and see horror pictures like the Fog - that was really great - and the original Friday the 13th, you know, always fun. American Warewolf and yea, it was just, kind of one of those moments. Back in the day, McDonalds used to have the shamrock shakes and we would go downtown cause thats where McDonalds was, and get a shamrock shake and would say, "look! it's the exorcist" and go "bleaah". Again, not the high mark of taste in humor, but we were young and stupid. Um, that would be, we would make our own fun but it was, we spent a lot of time on campus ya know, the whole bars and drinking thing just wasn't mine. HS: So did you ever interact with the locals and the local businesses? BL: Always, cause you know, when you did go downtown that's just who you were with and coming from a very small town you really don't want to show yourself off not to be a good neighbor, let's just put it that way. And in fact, Steve Sullivan who's class of '78, he'd graduated before but he was always very connected to Skidmore and owns Old Bryan Inn, and Longfellows and connected me to the folks in town and so I just always looked at Saratoga as an extension of Skidmore and really great relationships. And I still do, I really love coming back, I think Saratoga is just an amazing place. HS: Are there any establishments that you went to in college that you look forward to coming back to now BL: Well a lot of them are closed. Theres The Parting Glass, always was great. Of course Old Bryan Inn, hello, nat'(urally). But a lot of the, Mrs. Londons, a lot of the places have since gone by the wayside because that's what happens as time passes. And oh, sorry OBI still has the best french onion soup. Old Bryan Inn. It's in a little crock and it's got that molten cheese over the top, forget it that's just, �Ladd 8 forget it. That's all I have to say to my classmates, they're like "oh my god, so good". HS: Is there anything, outside of academics that really stuck with you as a life lesson that stuck with you from being at Skidmore? BL: I have to go back to 'Is this your very best work'. Because, in the industry, motion picture industry, no one is going to ask you that. It is that personal kind of standards and scholarship that you always carry. And you know if something is your very best. You know if you've kind of shined something on and it's just not right. And of course I would pair that with what my grandfather said, 'there's two ways of doing something, the easy way and the right way' and in this world you have your word and your name. No one will ever ask you that, but you know. And so all those cobbled together and that has lasted me all these years because it's just, you are yourself and if you don't hold yourself to higher standards, no one else will. HS: Is there one thing from back during Skidmore that you wish you could change? BL: Yea. I wish I hadn't contemplated suicide my freshmen year. It was a very dark place you know, being in the closet, in fact this is the last thing - I don't have many more closets to come out of - but I just talked about this in the latest board of trustees meeting, and I did. And Skidmore saved my life, I mean literally my house counselor, my RAs got me into counseling and that actually started the process of me coming out. But I wish I hadn't had done that, um I wish I hadn't pretended but that's, that's where I was, and that's where the country was at the time so now, thankfully that served me to be first of all, me, and like I said, the first to be openly gay trustee which I don't really think much about and it's like, "oh, that's right, I guess I am" but like, well you know, they look like me, and I'm like "well you know, looks can be deceiving" and it allows other people to tell their stories. So in a roundabout way, I hope I've answered your question. Something like that. �Ladd 9 HS: Do you think Skidmore today is more of a safe place for young men and women to be themselves? BL: I think it is. You know, that's a journey, it's not like a destination, once we're there, we're there, because as the world changes you know, this environment has to change in being reflective of that change and having a place where people can be themselves authentically 100% and that's a goal and it's a continuing process that the trustees are very aware of - excuse me - and the college is very aware of. Yea, it's remarkable. HS: And is there anything you hope does change with Skidmore? BL: I hope we get more endowment money? Sorry, just you know. I want to see - I'm not a big fan of the word diversity, because I think it's kind of limiting, or like the word multicultural, I like the word reflective - the reflective of the world, because I want to be in that world, I don't want to be in just a very anglo-centric environment, cause frankly it bores the teeth out of me and that's not where I've lived. I've lived in the world, and I like the world being reflected. In fact Lynda Jackson Chalmers and I were sitting next to each-other at commencement and said, 'ya know' she's class of, oh golly, nineteen seventy-, I want to say nineteen seventy-one or seventy-three, and she said, 'I remember when, you know I first came on the board, there were maybe twelve students of color and as we sit there and as we sat in this commencement - which was cold, and rainy, and wet - we had lots of time to just huddle together and there was just wave after wave of children - sorry, they're children - they're grownups, in quotes. But kids from Asia and African countries and it was just so enlightening and heartening that it's like, imagine, and then she goes "I don't even count anymore because there are so many kids" and I just said, 'ya know, imagine the courage it takes to not just go to a different state, go to a different country or continent. And these kids from China and the Asian countries, as well, and that's very in-strata of me, the Asian countries as well as the African countries'. All I had to do was come from Arizona and look what they've done and look who they are, and we were just sitting there �Ladd 10 welling up with pride. And also humility and gratitude that these kids felt safe enough to come to Skidmore and just rock the place, so it was a very big moment - still we were freezing to death, but there we go. HS: And when you were going up on that stage to graduate, what was the world like that you were going into BL: Let's see, '83? Ronald Reagan. It was the early 80s and it was a surreal moment. You know materialism, at least in my life, it was all about stuff and achievement rather than being the person and it took me a while to figure that out so I just, ya know, right after I graduated I started getting work on All My Children, which was a soap opera back then. But it wasn't about doing good acting work, and I didn't get that until later and I went, 'Oh, okay', I was ill-prepared but that was because of my own development. Yea, it was a different time but I'm glad I did it. HS: Was there, amongst your friends, was there general optimism about the prospect of post college? BL: I don't really, I think we all just though, sure we can do anything cause you know when you're young and arrogant, 'hey, you know, I can do that'. And that's what we did. We were just talking about that actually last night, there were two classmates of mine who were making $11,000 out of college and they're one dream was to make their age in thousands and you know, we just thought well we can do that and it was, you know, I guess that's kind of the Skidmore motto, 'hell, I went to Skidmore, I can do anything' or that's always been my motto. But you figure it out, and I think that's um, there was the optimism. There certainly wasn't the divisiveness that is, well back in the old days you know Russia was a communist country, not colluders anyway. Just, things have changed and its a different environment now. HS: So if you meet someone today who's thinking about going to Skidmore BL: Well yea I'll interview them. Yea. HS: What are some of the things, if they ask you "should I go", what's your boiler plate �Ladd 11 BL: I don't really have a boilerplate. I grill them pretty hard because I love this college, look ya know, if you're someone who wants to be a member of this world, a conscious member and who's willing to take risks in their education to really stretch themselves, then this is the place to go. If you're looking for a backup school, bye bye, no no. You know just go somewhere else. But if you really want to be a stuck in citizen, then this is where you want to be, cause it will change you in ways you cannot foresee and you can't study for it. You can't take a test for it. And just get ready, cause you think 'yup, this is what I'm going to do, I'm going to business school, business school, business school', and then ding, you're over here doing something else, 'yes, I'm in environmental science, how did that happen?' This is being prepared to being a conscious member of this planet and I think it'll help to be, to have that liberal arts education because people change careers, not jobs, at least nine times and baby you gotta be able to pivot cause if you ain't got pivot you got diddly and that's the nicest thing I can say. And that's been the hallmark of my life because of all the different careers that I've had and here, ya know, when I think I can't be surprised anymore (laughs) I called the ministry, 'are you fricking out of your mind', but you have to have, like all those skills? Trust me I use my education a lot. HS: Can you give me an anecdote about how Skidmore has affected not just your life in theater but your life as part of the ministry? BL: Oh absolutely, you have to be able to write. In fact I just finished my ordination paper after a year and I defend it on June 21st so, you know - include prayers here - but you have to be able to write and tell a story and that goes into crafting a sermon, and mine are not only crafted pretty well but are under 15 minutes. You go in, you make your point, you get the hell out, but also it looks at fundraising, stewardship. Again, it's all about storytelling, how you tell that story. I also used my filmmaking tools for not only for Skidmore, but also for the church. Because it's about, not only reaching out to the church community but also to the wider community. Again, it's story, it's communication, it's also being conscious of your �Ladd 12 environment and in the world environment, psychology, sociology, economics, publicity, vision, you know, and empathy, all those, it's just like, I use my education every day. HS: I'm trying to be mindful of the time, but do you have any last just profound great, unbelievably best stories from Skidmore? BL: I think that'll have to be in our volume 2, because I have a lot of stories. Some I can share, and some I cannot. HS: Can you share one? BL: It's like, 'be funny!' oh thanks, thanks for that. Um well, first day I walked on thet set of Ghost Story, I was an extra with some lines that eventually got cut, I was scared ridiculous. And then, cause it was January, it was twenty-below, yea, and I'm like 'okay', just trying not to throw up and there is this famous actor, producer, director, John Houseman standing outside and I have my first scene with him. And I'm like, I wanted to die. And I just said, 'um Mr. Houseman, my name is Bill Ladd, and I'm going to be working with you today, and it's a true honor' and he kind of gave me a side look and I went 'oh crap, I'm done' and I said, 'I'm a theater student here' and I said 'I'm a very devout member of your history and what you have done.' He says, 'Like?' I said, 'well you produced The Bad and the Beautiful with Lonna Turner and Kirk Douglas' and he said, 'Really?' and I said, 'yea I'm a huge fan' but also 'Mercury Theater, it's I really admire you' and so it put a big smile on his face, the ice was broken, cause you know frost was forming on our limbs, and we sat down for the next couple of hours until they set up the shot and started to work. And that's how I didn't have a heart attack on my first day in motion pictures. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History Description An account of the resource Many people who have worked or studied at Skidmore College or lived in Saratoga Springs or the surrounding area carry the memories that help us tell the stories of our communities. This collection offers a glimpse into our past in the voices of those who have shared their stories. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sultan, Harry Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Ladd, Bill, '83 Location The location of the interview Lucy Scribner Library, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Jordana Dym Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 6/27/18 Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data audio recording Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with Bill Ladd, '83 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1-Jun-18 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sultan, Harry, 17 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Skidmore Saratoga Memory Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Audio, Photo Language A language of the resource English (eng,) Description An account of the resource Ladd, '83, was a theater major who studied with Carolyn Anderson. He hails from Wayne, Maine, and currently lives in Framingham, Massachusetts. He recalls faculty including Phyllis Roth and Pat Lee pushing him to excel, acting in a movie while still in college, and being the third generation in the Ladd family to serve as a Skidmore College trustee. He notes that he is the first openly gay trustee at the College. His social life included friends, movies at the old Pyramid Wall, and alum Steve Sullivan, '78, who owns the Old Bryan Inn and Longfellows. Ladd also opens up about the one thing he would change about his time at Skidmore, was contemplating suicide during his first year of College. He also describes how Skidmore helped him accept himself and has become a safer place for "young men and women to be themselves." Now finishing a transition to a career in ministry, Ladd talks about how the writing and storytelling skills honed at Skidmore have served his work in theater and now for the church. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio recording alumni Helen Ladd Joanna Zangrando oral history; Pat Lee Peter McCarthy Phyllis Roth Skidmore College Susan Kress; Kimball Dormitory https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/745f0730cd37fb8cb837fcdfdee36694.jpg 121f376bf3035819e8d876a6da25f8b5 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/929d62ce27166cad1c83b8565713c1e0.m4a 8c5c0771aa9aca275334946c61ba3731 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/72884b2f97d7e29e264c8bee0b1140d4.jpg 6996ce0101f9959b285b20315192948a https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/86ac753ae12344d373f4f886fba59b22.pdf 3982fb6ceeb301292b73e94aca4f657f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History Description An account of the resource Many people who have worked or studied at Skidmore College or lived in Saratoga Springs or the surrounding area carry the memories that help us tell the stories of our communities. This collection offers a glimpse into our past in the voices of those who have shared their stories. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Rizzo, Emily Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Blodget-Holberton, Anne Location The location of the interview Lucy Scribner Library, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Jordana Dym Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 6/27/18 Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data audio recording Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1-Jun-18 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rizzo, Emily, 18 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Skidmore Saratoga Memory Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Audio, Photo Language A language of the resource English (eng.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio recording Title A name given to the resource Interview with Anne Blodget-Holberton, 73 alumni oral history Skidmore College https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/74b9baeccc5e0fd9426516fa3c5d44be.jpg c46c38cc106a037a6b33dfcffd42e8b8 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/96f76eaa5d4f1d8846cd96582ada1323.m4a 521c96a16d0d85f70c5cf6a8a2c84e2e https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/02fac18fad0022bf75f2c5cd7f205938.pdf eba65f8d0bd8f749c309fa1529ea60b7 PDF Text Text 1 Title Jacob DeLeon Navarrete Interview Date June 2nd, 2018 Language Eng Interviewer Emily Rizzo Location Lucy Scribner Library, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY Original Format Audio Recording Duration 39:13 Tags Alumni , Oral history , Skidmore College , Tour guide , Admissions �2 ER: So, you can you say your full name and your graduating year and your major or minors? JV: Sure, my name is Jacob DeLeon Navarrete. I graduated in 2008. I was a double major in psychology and history. I focused on existential psychology with Sheldon Solomon and I worked with Jennifer Delton in American History, mostly focusing on the civil rights era all the way back to colonial period. ER: Wow that's amazing. And where are you from? JV: Dallas, Texas. ER: Dallas, Texas. Wow I always wanted to take an existential psychology class with Sheldon and I never got to fit it in. JV: Yeah, he's... I got really lucky because he was my advisor when I first started as a student. So I took LS1 with him, I don't know if you guys still do LS1 or not, but he was my LS1 teacher and I really just connected with him. At the time I wasn't going to be a psychology major. I had come in interested in doing pre-med but quickly learned that other peoples' blood freaks me out so being a doctor was not necessarily the best path for me. And I had always been very interested in human behavior and what drives human choices and an intersection of psychology and philosophy seemed really cool and anyone who’s ever seen Sheldon Solomon knows that he’s a captivating person. So it was kind of hard to not have chosen that. When I think about the person that I was coming to college and then having the opportunity to engage with such interesting minds, I was very influenced by those elements more so than a real passion for the subject matter, that grew as I began to dig deeper into the actual academic component of it. ER: Wow that's really great. I guess since we already started talking about it... Can you talk about what it was like being head tour guide? �3 JV: Oh. So I... When I got to Skidmore I really didn't know what to do. Being from Texas, not knowing anyone here, I tried very hard to make sense of the community and that meant I did a lot of activities I tried to learn where buildings were, and I saw an opportunity to be a tour guide. They made the first option available to first year students in second semester. So I applied for it and I was really excited about it. I was hired as a tour guide and there was something about being able to share my passion for Skidmore that I really enjoyed. And so, I was a tour guide pretty much in the earliest moment possible. And because I was from far away I spent some summers on campus and I was a summer tour guide. And by the time I was a Junior I had been hired as one of the co-head tour guides. And I spent my junior and my senior year running the tour guide program. It was really interesting to see that element of higher education because it wasn't about me. It was about these other people. And I think a lot of students view tour guiding as a job. And it is, it's a great way to make some extra cash, have an opportunity to pick up a couple skills if you haven't already. But very few people I think approach it as community service. And that's kind of how I approached it. Don't get me wrong, enjoyed the pay check, very much appreciated the work. But I loved it because I was giving students the opportunity to see the institution the way that I did. And I knew it wasn't going to be right for every student, but the student who it was right for, they would fall in love. And it was also really cool to see students come in as first year students, during my third or fourth year, who I had given a tour to and who really responded to the way Skidmore was presented to them. So, it was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed being able to share my experience in the community with people who probably would have never thought to ask me about Skidmore because I don't think I represent the average Skidmore student, particularly not in 2000. ER: Wow I have so many questions. So, you loved Skidmore a lot? JV: Oh yeah, I was a student senator right out of the gate, they always have the three spots, at least my time it was three spots, available for freshman students. So I ran. The funny thing was only three of us ran and I had the lowest number of votes. It was really interesting. �4 ER: Yeah. JV: But I got really involved with student senate. I was the very last coordinator of diversity affairs before there was a vice president of diversity affairs, that was the person who followed me. But I eventually realized that student government was not what was right for me. And that's when I shifted from having my hands in a bunch of things to focusing on working in the admissions office and as I got older I just spent less time doing things that were for the sake of doing it and more time focused on the things I was really interested in. And student government was fun, but I think it's best done by the people who want to devote energy in ways that I don't think I have the patience for, in a certain sense. But tour guiding is... the patience that you have to have is a very different kind of patience. ER: What do you mean by that? JV: So the patience you have to have for student government I would say is the same for politics. ER: Yeah. JV: You have to suffer everyone. No one is wrong. Everyone's opinion and perspective is important because you're representing everyone. And so, student government being representative of government, you have to listen you have to take into consideration things that you don't believe, people that you don't agree with. And that's great that we have individuals that are willing to put themselves through that. I think the saying is, "People who are willing to suffer fools." As a tour guide, you suffer fools in a completely different way. Your goal is to help people see what you see. And for a lot of tour guides, they just lie. I'm not saying that happens at Skidmore per say, but just in general you go to a museum they're going to spin the best story possible. But you don't have to. A really good tour guide doesn't lie. They find ways to respond to your question in truth, but hopefully, if they're perceptive enough, they �5 know what you're really asking and can come around to address how the school handles that issue. When parents ask questions about drinking, what they're really asking about is safety. No parent thinks that kids don't drink in college. It happens. It's just what happens in the United States. So, the real question is, "Is my child going to be safe while they're participating in activities? Are they going to feel like they're forced to participate in activities? So a tour guide who isn't thinking that far ahead will say, "There's no parties." Or, "Nothing is under age." Or, "People get in trouble." But that's not true. A smart tour guide would respond that Skidmore is the type of place where students can make whatever choices that they feel comfortable making, that Skidmore provides a really safe environment to do so, there are tremendous amounts of opportunities for students who don't want drugs or alcohol, all sorts of programming... That's how you respond to that question. You don't say people don't party. You don't say everyone parties. Or whatever the easiest answer is. And that's just one example of why I think I was much more interested in being a tour guide than being in student government. ER: Yeah definitely. Yeah, I think tour guides sell Skidmore as more diverse than it actually is. Because Skidmore includes in its numbers, in its percentages, international students, everyone who's international is counted in the diversity percentage, which doesn't make sense because not everyone who's in the international percentage... some of them are white and they're thrown into that percentage to make it seem more inclusive than it is. So it's like, "Are you lying? Are you giving that percentage?" But I think some tour guides try to give that number and pretend... or try to tell this lie. JV: I think that's also a reflection of the difference between the institution internally and the institution externally. So, I ended up being an admissions officer here for three and a half years. So I was a tour guide and then got hired as an admissions officer. And I think when institutions utilize percentages to craft a certain narrative, it's usually a reflection of the industry more than an individual office. It's very common for schools to include international students in their diversity numbers because colleges try to have the most broad definition of diversity. And that �6 can be problematic sometimes when people are really asking, "How many white people are here?" Right? And I think it's fair to ask that question, versus how diverse are you? Because diversity is a cop out word. Right? You can have diversity with a bunch of white men. There can be a lot of diversity in the way you think, how you see the world, right? So including international students in the diversity number makes sense if what you're saying is, we have a lot of different people from different experiences and walks of life. But we also know that that's not what people are really asking when they say diversity. And so that's the internal versus external tension. It's the same thing that when we use graduation rates. We say it out of six years but it's really out of four. But four isn't as nice so everyone does it out of six. ER: What's the out of six? JV: So most four-year graduation rates are actually out of six years. ER: Oh oh. JV: Yeah. But they factor in taking breaks, going abroad, switching your major. ER: That's okay. JV: Right but people think it's the four-year rate. ER: Yeah. JV: And it's not the four-year rate it's the six-year rate. That's what the government does for a degree. So being an admission officer gave me the opportunity to learn a lot about how colleges function as institutions relative to how they function for students. And it gave me a really good view into how a class is made. And I think a lot of students have a completely misguided notion as to how they got into college. I think if you were to ask the average �7 Skidmore student, "How'd you get into college?" "Oh yeah I worked hard. I did well in school." It's like, "No that's not why you got into Skidmore. It isn't. You fit exactly what the institution was looking for at that year." And at a place now where they're taking 25% of the students who apply, it's even more so, "We need this particular subset of people to have the class that we're looking for." You didn't get in, it's more of a reflection, not of your ability or not of your strengths, it's, "You just didn't have what we were looking for this year. If you apply next year, you might get in. If you applied the year before, you might get in. It's just this year. There were a lot of girls with brown hair and blue eyes who played soccer and were violinists. Sorry." That's the flip side of access. Everybody's going to apply. That's what makes it much harder to get in. Admissions officers are humans. They're not machines. Some students are just going to stand out to them. So, it was an interesting experience to learn. It helped me better contextualize myself instead of thinking, "Oh I have this because..." I could step back and say, "Well, there are probably plenty of other people who were just as good or whatever the reason." I'm a college counselor now, among other things, and so having that knowledge in the back of my head really helps when I talk with students who don't get into their schools of choice. It's not a reflection of you, it's a reflection of the school. ER: Yeah so, I wanted to ask, that's actually a good leeway, what are you doing now? JV: So right now, I am the associate head of upper school at the Auckland School in Dallas Texas. It's a Montessori and international baccalaureate school, educating students from 18 months to 18 years. And we actually just had our first graduating seniors. So the schools been around for over 50 years but had stopped at 6th grade for a long time and stopped at 8th grade about 15 years ago. That's when they opened the middle school and so we opened the upper school four years ago. And so I handle all the college counseling, student life, and now as the associate head, pretty much everything. I'm just very deeply involved with what goes on. And I feel very happy to say that I had a student who was accepted to Skidmore. She didn't choose to attend but it was nice to have that be one of our first seniors apply and then be admitted to Skidmore. So that's what I do. �8 ER: Wow that's amazing. Yeah it feels like, from what you've said, everything that you've done at Skidmore helped you get to... JV: Where I am? ER: And then your admissions position at Skidmore and now you're really a... leadership role... JV: There's no doubt that my time at Skidmore was fundamental for who I am as a person. I just finished my masters degree at Stanford and the most interesting element of that was how often my undergraduate experience was really useful. And I think that my belief in creative thought mattering has really been an important perspective when dealing with problem solving, dealing with people. Just remembering that you have to be creative. And usually when you remember to be creative it reminds you to be patient. And that has been really valuable for me as a person. Skidmore has really been critical to the person that I am. I wouldn't say that it defines me, but I also can't think of myself without it. So I wouldn't be surprised if I find myself with a job here again as my last job or something. Like I really did love my time here and I love what they do for students. And that's why I do what I do, because I had a great college experience and I want that for every other person. I want every human to have the time of undergraduate experience that I did. Because if you had asked me at 17 if I'd be doing what I'm doing now... No, not at all. A 17-year-old Jacob would look at 32 year old Jacob and say, "What are you doing with yourself? Working at a high school? With teenagers?" But 32-year-old Jacob can look back at 17 year old Jacob and say "You just don't know enough about life. You don't know enough about you yet." And my time at Skidmore helped me learn so much about myself. Because there's something about the community and the campus that encourages you to explore internally and externally. ER: Something about the campus? �9 JV: I think that the combination of the campus layout, all the trees, the green spaces, the Northwoods, the general approach to student development and student learning, mixed with... at least this was my time, I can't speak for Skidmore today but... When I was a student there was some sort of open mindedness, of not necessarily non-judgmental, but much more flexible with what you chose to do. A certain unspoken encouragement to figure out what you wanted to do and to be okay with that. I will also admit that in 2004, the entering class, the standards shifted dramatically from the class of 2005. Just from an admissions stand point., the selectivity was dramatically different. So a lot of us that graduated in 2008, we feel like we're the last class of the old Skidmore, before Skidmore became a place where everybody wanted to go, and no one got in. I think my freshman year, our acceptance rate was something like 40% and now it's like 20%, in ten years, 15 years. That's a really big difference and that says a lot about the type of student that goes here. And I don’t think that that shift, I hope not, has not impacted that desire, that curiosity, that openness to explore yourself, to figure things out. The number of people I saw who came in Skidmore one way and left Skidmore a very different way, but so authentically... I don't know if that was just the common college growth that happens everywhere... I don't think so. I think what happens here is very special. And places like Skidmore... I don't think Skidmore is the only place on the planet that does it. I think there's something about a liberal arts college on a beautiful campus with faculty who really want to engage in the learning and development of students. That produces something special. But I think you add that to Skidmore's history as an all-women’s institution, Skidmore's history as an art school, Skidmore's history as an institution believing in creative thought. I think all of that together allows for that internal exploration, almost a permission to explore yourself. And then externally I think that marketing itself to students who are looking for something different it does produce more opportunity to dig. And maybe not be so afraid about it. Because I feel like a lot of students at giant universities, they kind of wake up and realize they’re not the person they want to be. I’m not saying that doesn't happen at Skidmore, but for the kids that that does happen here, there's more opportunity for you to be like “Oh okay I’m going to find some new people.” I just don’t know if that happens in schools that are more anonymous. �10 ER: I think it's been changing, a lot of people have been coming for the business department. JV: It's very famous. ER: Yeah and I don’t know if it was the same when you were here...? JV: It was just starting. Because I think also... I think a big factor was Fall 2008, the economy crashing, Leeman Brothers, all of that., changes the world. when I was a senior in college you didn’t have to have a job, you didn’t have to know what you were doing. I had a summer job. I fell into the admissions office. That was normal 10 years ago. Now, if you don’t have everything lined up in January you're completely screwed. So I also think the changes in the students coming to Skidmore is a reflection of both how strong the business department actually is but also because you can do business here and art and it’s not going to pull you one way or the other. A lot of other schools that have a business school or business program the other things are secondary, they just are, but here it’s not. And so I do think that that’s probably part of why that shift has been happening but hasn’t completely over thrown the college. Because I think in the world we live in today, it could be even more of a business orientation. But I think it’s the strength in music, the strength in visual art, the strength in dance, the strength in the social sciences, the strength in the foreign languages, the strength in English. There's so many quality nonprofessional programs here, and I mean that in relation to professional degrees like an MBA or a Doctor of Social Work or a doctor of exercise. that’s what I mean by professional as opposed to the more general term, allows for that dichotomy and the slowing down of the change, because you do see a lot of liberal arts colleges, there’s a big shift. you see a lot of liberal arts colleges just get eaten up bigger universities because people don’t see the value anymore because people don’t see the value anymore. ER: Yeah, I hope that it doesn't change, I'm worried. JV: It's fair to be worried I think. �11 ER: Is there any memory that has come up as you've been here? JV: I mean that was the crazy part. Myself and a friend who came up, when we first got to campus we just walked around. And that’s what happened for 45 minutes, just like "Oh my god this" and "Oh my god that." And I think a lot of stuff occurred, a lot of memories, a lot of crazy memories, but I think the one that probably shocked me the most was., or surprised me by how overwhelming it was, was actually something that I didn’t even remember until I was reliving the experience. So as a psychology and history major almost all my classes were in Tisch (Learning Center). I was a Tisch kid. I was always in Tisch. I called it the “ology building” when I was a tour guide, even though history isn’t an ology, and I would literally say that, "although history isn't an ology." There is the walkway out of Tisch leading to Palamountain (Hall) where the early childhood center is, right there’s that L covered walkway and all the honey suckle. The smell of the honey suckle got me. Because I forgot how much that smell was constant, how strong that smell is, and how often I smelled it. In context to walking from one building to the other. I was frozen when the smell hit my nostrils and all of these memories just washed over very quickly. Particularly I used to do observation in the early childhood center. I was a sophomore and I was taking a child development class. Because at the time I thought I was going to be more focused on childhood development but not at all, I ended up not doing that at all. But that was a really interesting semester for me because I had never engaged with children, and so the combination of the smells and just how much that time influenced me, one way or the other. So I think that was probably the biggest memory. It was also just to go walk around and see which professors were still here and which ones are not still here. It was also nice to see there was more diversity in the faculty, I can tell there’s not much now. but when I was here there was none. I didn't have a single male of color teach me at Skidmore. Maybe I had one female of color teach me. I knew there was a male psychology professor, Hassan Lopez, who I didn’t have until my final year. He was actually the first male of color that I had I’m pretty sure. I could be wrong about that, but it was so few that... but then looking around and seeing that there were a handful more teachers of color, said something. now, I’ll be honest, two percent of the population has a PhD. so were already looking at a very small section of �12 people. when you look at the cross section of education, there just aren’t that many PhDs that are black, or Mexican, or anything that isn’t white. so that’s not necessarily a reflection of Skidmore, but Skidmore could work harder at really finding diverse faculty if they wanted to. so, there’s always a tension one way or the other. But it was nice to see new faces, it was nice to see new scholarship from people who are not the standard professorial type. that was really cool to see. ER: Yeah Skidmore needs to work on its retention. JV: Yeah it does. ER: What else would you like to see improve at Skidmore? JV: I love this place. I just want to see Skidmore not be so slow about what it does. I loved seeing the signs on campus letting visitors know, this is renewable, or this is sustainable, or we have this goal. I saw the goal of 25% food sustainability by 2025. why isn’t it 50%? why isn’t it 75%? obviously that’s ambitious and it would require a lot of thoughtful changes, but Skidmore is the type of place in my opinion where there are so many creative people here that there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be pushing themselves harder. I would love to see the administration push back on some of the faculty who are not as tolerant as they think they are. that’s one thing that I do know is true. I have kept enough in touch that there have been some issues in town with students of color and I was very disappointed in how the administration responded to that. I was very disappointed to see that there was not a 100% defense of the students. Period. The students were students. Even if they were wrong which they weren’t. but even if they were wrong, I feel like if they were rich white students, it would have been a whole different response. and I don’t think that anyone made that decision deliberately, but that’s what bias is. you don’t see that you would treat someone else differently because of some immutable factor. If they were rich white kids, "Oh we have to be careful about the parents. the politics involved...". well why isn’t that same consideration given to a poor brown or black kid? �13 they have just as much value as a person right? and again I’m not saying that this is Skidmore only, this is the world we live in, but I think Skidmore could do a better job. particularly since they have a commitment at least in words, to bring in diversity, to bring in a variety of people. like I loved seeing that the opportunity program is now one big unit. Because when I was a student it was HEOP and AOP, no one really knew what AOP was, all the HEOP kids were clumped together because they were from New York City. And it was nice that they were on campus, but they were completely ostracized from everyone else. No one intended to do that but that’s what it was. And so as a student of color who was in neither program, it was weird. So now to see that all the opportunity programs are all together, there’s a whole place for them. That just made me feel like okay this is the kind of action that I want to see. Why did it take so long? I was sad to see that some of the administrators who have left, why they’ve left… That made me kind of sad. But I think it is important to remind the Skidmore community that you can’t rest on your laurels. That just because you are better in a lot of ways than other institutions that doesn’t mean that you get to slow down, that doesn’t mean you get to set targets that everyone else should set. That I’m disappointed by. But not disappointed enough to not care, but just be like, “Hey.” Like you know when you get disappointed in your friends who don’t live up to their potential? That's kind of how I feel sometimes. That we could be pushing ourselves more. We could be doing more. We could be having more courageous conversations with ourselves, with each other, around these sensitive issues. Like it was great to see a Black Lives Matter thing in Case Center. That’s great. But do the Black lives here actually feel like they matter? Because there was a time when I was a student where a lot of black lives didn't feel like they mattered as much. I never really felt that. But just because I don’t doesn’t mean it’s not true for other people. So that’s why I would say I would want to push Skidmore, particularly in a place like Saratoga Springs that's very different than the people who come to school here. We could be fostering more education, more awareness. I don’t mean tolerance in the sense of just accepting. But I really mean like, “You have wrong beliefs because you’re not educated in the right things so let’s provide you more education.” Let’s give you more opportunities to step outside your comfort zone. Because people believe things �14 because they don’t have anything else to counter that belief. They have no experience, no exposure. There is so much here that could make Saratoga better and they don’t do enough. ER: We really don’t engage in Saratoga. JV: And I will admit, I know enough to know that the town doesn’t really want them to. But that doesn’t mean you accept it. That doesn’t mean you say, "Okay you don't want us then fine." There are enough educated, thoughtful, powerful, rich people in this community, Skidmore's community. They could be on seats in the board in town. They could be actively engaged in changing Saratoga. But they don’t want to. So that’s what I mean by pushing more. ER: And it's even true for pushing faculty more. Faculty and staff showed up though... JV: That must mean they want to try. I feel like, the one thing that I want younger people like you to hear, because I was where you were at some point, I'm on my way to that other point, young people are impatient, you are. Because for you, you see the way... It’s like "This is how it should be! Why is it not?" And that's great, never lose that. But just remember that as you get older, you begin to understand why things are older, that doesn’t just defy it. But I guess try to find the wins. Because the story you just said, makes me think, "Okay, at least the staff want to engage." Maybe enough kids didn't come, but the fact that there were a lot of staff members who came, that says that there's a willingness to have the conversation and that’s huge. And my fear is that young people, the younger people, haven’t lived enough to recognize, haven't lived enough to recognize how much it is to get someone to come to the table. And that open mindedness is a lot more difficult than you think. I have found a lot of progressives and liberals are some of the most closeminded people I’ve ever met because they think they’re right. And I’ll admit I use to be like that when i was young, I was like, " I’m right. Why would I be openminded? I’m open-minded because I’m right!" Actually, if you think that you're right, you’re not open-minded. So let’s talk about... Do we really want open-minded-ness? Is it actually a good thing? Or do we want closemindedness that’s correct? I don’t know I’m just saying that it’s important that young people just recognize that experience does dictate how you see the �15 world. And even in my own job, I had seven things I wanted to do this year, I got three of them done and I learned, I was like, "You know what? I’m going to be proud of those three things because everybody else is super proud of them. I’m the only one that’s mad that I didn’t get to do all seven. And my boss was like, "Jacob, we only have room as people, for three things a year. You want to do more than 3 things? take away something," just, that’s something that I’ve had to learn and grow with. But don’t ever lose the passion. just, almost forgive yourself as you move through it. Because you’re going to get a point where you’re going to be 30 and you’re going to realize, "Oh there's so much more." And that’s not to excuse slowness, that’s not to excuse behavior, but I think it does help from becoming a state of despair. I feel like a lot of young people after the election were in a state of despair. And rightfully so it was a despairing moment for a lot of people. But it’s been almost two years now. were in the second year, right? were still here, were alive, people are fighting. it’s an awareness now and that’s valuable. That’s more valuable than if she had won and people didn’t know that they lived in the world they live in. And so being able to have this dialogue about Skidmore, if nothing else, the people who are interested in making change at Skidmore listen to all the different people have all these different opinions and stories and histories about Skidmore, if you really want to make it a better place, listen to what people have said. Don’t just take what they’re saying as truth, but listen to the whole thing. What’s the points that seem to be sticking out? And how does that relate to what the students right now are saying? What’s the parallel? What’s the dissonance? It’s hard to be a leader. It’s easy to want to lead. It’s very hard to actually lead. But I’m excited to see how Skidmore plays out over the next 10 years, see what kinds of students come here, what changes happen, what changes don’t happen. Because there’s some things what just shouldn’t change, but it shouldn’t not change simply because they don't want it to. There should be a reason that it stays the same. If you can’t come up with that reason, then it’s got to change. And I think any alum would be okay with it changing for the right reason. So I’m excited to see how it all plays out. ER: I’m excited to see what you do. �16 JV: Oh well thank you. That's very nice. ER: Thank you so much. JV: My pleasure. ER: This was really great. JV: Absolutely. I enjoyed it. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History Description An account of the resource Many people who have worked or studied at Skidmore College or lived in Saratoga Springs or the surrounding area carry the memories that help us tell the stories of our communities. This collection offers a glimpse into our past in the voices of those who have shared their stories. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Navarrete, Jacob Location The location of the interview Lucy Scribner Library, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Jordana Dym Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 6/27/18 Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data audio recording Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 39:13:00 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1-Jun-18 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rizzo, Emily, 18 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Skidmore Saratoga Memory Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Audio, Photo Language A language of the resource English (eng.) Description An account of the resource Navarrete, '08, from Dallas, Texas, graduated with a double major in psychology and history, focusing on existential psychology with Sheldon Solomon and American History with Jennifer Delton. He started working with Prof. Solomon in LS1 (Liberal Studies 1, an interdisciplinary course formerly required of all students), and soon began work as a tour guide. Eventually running the tour guide program, Navarrete both made connections on campus and was able to share his passion for the college. He joined SGA as a student senator in his first year, and was the last coordinator of diversity affairs, before the position became a Vice President of diversity affairs. After graduating from college, he worked in admissions and learned about how classes are shaped and chosen, and is current the associate head of upper school at the Auckland School, a Montessori school, in Dallas Texas. He recently finished a master's degree at Stanford University. He particularly values what he felt was a non-judgmental atmosphere with "unspoken encouragement" to experiment, have curiosity, 'explore yourself, to figure things out." He noted a shift in recruitment between 2004 and 2005, with Skidmore becoming increasingly selective, and wonders how classes following his fare that way. Back on campus, the smell of honeysuckle outside Tisch Learning Center, brought back memories of observation in the Early Childhood Center next door in Palamountain Hall. He welcomed increasing diversity on the faculty, as he had taken no classes from a male of color and only one female of color as professors. He would like to see more, faster, change on diversity, and welcomes the combination of the AOP and HEOP (opportunity programs) on campus. Title A name given to the resource Interview with Jacob Navarrete, '08 admissions alumni Diversity Latinx Opportunity Program oral history Skidmore College tour guide https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/5528b70c633f81e68abd6e0a52ed05d4.JPG 3e63dc4faa12de7b0ccc518b730e61ee Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Saratoga Springs History Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1706- Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Repository Name of the repository that holds the original item. Saratoga Room, Saratoga Springs Public Library Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Jillian Seigel Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 43270 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Saratoga URA Gives Go-Ahead to Survey for Senior Citizen Center Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1/26/76 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wildy, Red Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Daily Gazette Provenance A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource. Saratoga Springs Subject The topic of the resource Urban Renewal Description An account of the resource The Urban Renewal Agency last night authorized Director Donald Veitch to proceed with plan for a new survey and legal description of land near St. Peter High School playground for the construction of a new Senior Citizens Center. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text EnvironmentalJustice SaratogaSprings UrbanRenewal https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/59eed7cb9dad4603acc75fa3fa36276f.jpg e7fea281a6e510fac7660b6590d0e749 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Saratoga Springs History Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1706- Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Repository Name of the repository that holds the original item. Saratoga Room, Saratoga Springs Public Library Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Jillian Seigel Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 43270 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Bus route changes to take place in spring Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1/27/16 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Williams, Brady Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The The Daily Gazette Provenance A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource. Saratoga Springs Subject The topic of the resource Transportation Description An account of the resource The changes, the first major route restructuring in the Saratoga area since 2007, will increase service around areas of the city and out to the commercial corridor at Northway Exit 15, and bringing bus service for the first time to the neighborhoods west of West avenue. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text EnvironmentalJustice SaratogaSprings transportation https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/84e8f5cb8ce1d1659d50ef030b635ae3.jpg 0cd7ee1a486a7fd99d8e3d71aafa2ec3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Saratoga Springs History Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1706- Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Repository Name of the repository that holds the original item. Saratoga Room, Saratoga Springs Public Library Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Jillian Seigel Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 43270 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource More CDTA service planned in city Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 10/16/15 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Williams, Stephen Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Daily Gazette Provenance A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource. Saratoga Springs Subject The topic of the resource Transportation Description An account of the resource Plan shifts bus routes to 'touch' more people. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text EnvironmentalJustice SaratogaSprings transportation https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/7aa01875c544f9ab17ec969d5ea657cb.jpg 7b913f72b0e20e14a9e5539d01dfeb2f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Saratoga Springs History Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1706- Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Repository Name of the repository that holds the original item. Saratoga Room, Saratoga Springs Public Library Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Jillian Seigel Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 43270 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Stimulus going to new parking lots Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 10/2/09 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kerr, Drew Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Post Star Provenance A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource. Saratoga Springs Subject The topic of the resource Transportation Description An account of the resource A pair of parking lots will be made more eco-friendly thanks to nearly $600,000 in stimulus money. This will include installing porous pavement and a natural catch basin. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text EnvironmentalJustice SaratogaSprings transportation Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Cookbooks Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Official Guinness Cookbook Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 10/26/2021 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Insight Editions Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Raoul Goff Language A language of the resource English Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Caroline Hennesy Subject The topic of the resource Cooking with Guinness beer Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Insight Editions Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Hardcover, 143 pages Type The nature or genre of the resource Cookbook Abstract A summary of the resource. This cookbook includes over 70 recipes, including the iconic stouts, ales, and lagers of Guinness beer. Table Of Contents A list of subunits of the resource. Introduction All about Guinness Guinness and food The recipes Appetizers and shareables On the side Entrées Desserts and baking Cocktails Glossary Measurement conversion tables Index Acknowledgments About the author Date Available Date (often a range) that the resource became or will become available. 10/26/2021 Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 10/26/2021 Date Copyrighted Date of copyright. 2021 Bibliographic Citation A bibliographic reference for the resource. Recommended practice is to include sufficient bibliographic detail to identify the resource as unambiguously as possible. Hennessy, Caroline, and Evi Abeler. The official Guinness Cookbook: Over 70 recipes for cooking and baking from Ireland’s famous brewery. San Rafael, CA: Insight Editions, 2021. Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Insight Editions https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/85bebbc67976ed22f41e9b4dfd9d4d66.JPG d7846a8127b6d239ae1e93794ca1577c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Saratoga Springs History Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1706- Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Jillian Seigel Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 43270 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Big Families Hunt Decent Housing in Vain Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 10/27/68 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Susman, Ed Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Saratogian Provenance A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource. Saratoga Springs Subject The topic of the resource Urban Renewal Description An account of the resource Too many people are living in cramped conditions; post urban renewal, low-rent housing will be useful to meet relocation needs for low-income families. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text SaratogaSprings UrbanRenewal https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/8d4966c9fa9b1ce2fe574e76d20099c3.jpg 913bd48af88dc0d108ddb491a723d37a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Saratoga Springs History Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1706- Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Repository Name of the repository that holds the original item. Saratoga Room, Saratoga Springs Public Library Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Jillian Seigel Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 43270 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New bike lanes on North Broadway officially unveiled Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 11/10/16 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Clark, Travis Provenance A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource. Saratoga Springs Subject The topic of the resource Transportation Description An account of the resource In September. before the weather regularly became too cool and wet - like it was Wednesday - the Department of Public Safety painted new bike lanes on North Broadway. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Saratogian EnvironmentalJustice SaratogaSprings transportation https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/c004a67c4897ea7e5f606736558792b9.jpg 4340bf0391751c8c533e54d9c05e3d4e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Adult and Senior Center of Saratoga Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 5/12/17 Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Phoebe Radcliffe Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1964-60YearsYoung-CircularClosed Title A name given to the resource Circular Closed Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 11/12/1964 1964 Description An account of the resource A newspaper clipping about the center's lack of funding leading it to close Provenance A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource. Adult and Senior Center of Saratoga Language A language of the resource English Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Newspaper 162 circular Saratoga Springs Senior Center https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/b29be88a3a1501e62e56d59fa9203f19.jpg 2fd2862866a62fb3eec93fdaab2b2d9e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Saratoga Springs History Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1706- Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Repository Name of the repository that holds the original item. Saratoga Room, Saratoga Springs Public Library Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Jillian Seigel Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 43270 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spring Run Trail officially opened Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 11/18/10 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Coleman, Lee Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Daily Gazette Provenance A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource. Saratoga Springs Subject The topic of the resource Transportation Description An account of the resource New, mile-long walking, biking path; after almost two decades the Spring Run Trail is now open Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text EnvironmentalJustice SaratogaSprings transportation https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/d55c46083c690460fe895b1ba95cfb34.jpg 0c497e1675d16da12a0925339de5efc7 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Adult and Senior Center of Saratoga Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 5/12/17 Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Phoebe Radcliffe Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1964-60YearsYoung-CitizenCenterisActive Place Title A name given to the resource Citizen Center is Active Place Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 11/2/64 1964 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Saratogian Description An account of the resource A newspaper article reporting on the Center as an active place for seniors in the community Provenance A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource. Adult and Senior Center of Saratoga Language A language of the resource English Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Newspaper active Saratoga Springs Senior Center https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/e150858c98b0f40a223b9e00ebfd96ce.jpg 147f6d6adfc5496115d387ee098fa10b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Saratoga Springs History Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1706- Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Repository Name of the repository that holds the original item. Saratoga Room, Saratoga Springs Public Library Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Jillian Seigel Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 43270 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Greyhound buses moving to train station off West Ave. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 11/25/07 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kinney, Jim Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Saratogian Provenance A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource. Saratoga Springs Subject The topic of the resource Transportation Description An account of the resource The logic, Greyhound Lines Inc. said, is that the CDTA, which owns the train station, uses it as a hub for city buses. The new location will make transfers between Greyhound and CDTA buses easier. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text EnvironmentalJustice SaratogaSprings transportation https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/70d4a1ea2ce5136947cf48a96742618a.JPG 65fb650177a4ea4d64aec585451bda09 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/6c14b6ae56f4b6f13887ca910c14f44c.png be2c4dce617caa304e5d39b6842602b9 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/bb3879364805299b6401d7efa3c011b1.pdf 53619b4a2ef81f5dbb2771983aeccbd8 PDF Text Text Interviewees: Lisa Fludd-Smith and Victoria Jimpson-Fludd Interviewer: Shanleigh Corrallo Location of Interview: Kinderhook Memorial Library, Kinderhook, NY Date of Interview: 12 December 2025 Shanleigh Corrallo (SC) [00:00:02] Okay. So the first thing, I want to thank you genuinely for driving all the way up here, you know, gifting me with your time. As you know, the written transcript will be housed at Skidmore College to ensure that your stories are maintained and preserved for future generations. You can choose not to answer any question during this interview and you can opt out at any time. Today's date is December 12th, 2025. My name is Shanleigh Corrallo, and I am currently a Mellon Postdoctoral Humanities Fellow. Can you please state your names and verbally consent to the project? Lisa Fludd-Smith (LFS) [00:00:55] Sure. I am Lisa Smith and I consent. Victoria Jimpson-Fludd (VJF) [00:00:59] I am Victoria or Vicki Jimpson-Fludd and I consent. SC [00:01:05] I'm really excited to hear about your family history today and all of the nuggets that you have to share. Can we start briefly with you introducing yourself however you would like to and sharing where you're from? LFS [00:01:21] Okay, well I am Lisa Smith. Everyone calls me Leigh, so I go by Leigh also. I was born in Albany and I lived there ‘till about first grade and from then until college, I basically moved around every three years, give or take. So I have lived in Philly, in Connecticut, all over the place. And then I ended up in New York and I have stayed in New York, well, I was in New York City for a while and then moved to Westchester [Westchester County, NY] and I've been in Westchester ever since for like thirty five years. VJF [00:02:03] Well, I am Vicki Jimpson-Fludd and I was born August 23rd, 1946, and I am Leigh’s mother. I lived in Albany until I was, I don't know, in my twenties I guess. I went to college at Albany State and then left Albany. By the time I was married and had a child, we left Albany and moved to Westchester. Then I went to school in Boston at Harvard, and then after that we went to Connecticut and lived there, that's why we were moving around so much. I went to Connecticut and lived and worked there for a while, then I went to Philadelphia where I was at Wharton [The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania]. And then I lived in New York after that. And while I was in New York, I met a German man and I went to Germany and stayed there for 22 years. Then I came back and I've been in Westchester since then. SC [00:03:01] Wow. VJF [00:03:02] Yeah. LFS [00:03:03] It's a lot. That's a lot. We're all over the place. SC [00:03:12] Can I ask what you studied at Harvard and at Wharton? 1 �VJF [00:03:17] Harvard and Wharton were business. But in undergrad, I had a triple major in let's see, sociology, Afro American studies, and public administration. Hey, there was nothing in Albany other than the State, so I needed to find a job. And I wanted to know about African American history, because nobody had ever talked about it. And sociology wasn't all that interesting. But anyway. SC [00:04:00] Well that's really a unique background. Can you walk us through the details of your lineage and your family tree? LFS [00:04:08] Sure, so my family's a little bit different from mom's. My mom's side of the family is all from this area of New York. So all in the upper Hudson Valley, Columbia County, starting in Stuyvesant, Kinderhook, and then eventually moving to Albany and pretty much staying there until we left. On that side of our family, we have done research back to the oldest ancestor who was born in the 1780s, but we also know that his parents were both born in this country, so we're assuming that our family was here at least since the 1750s, maybe 1770s, something like that. So we haven't gotten any further back than that. I have both sides of the American slavery history, because my dad's family is all from North and South Carolina, and they came North in the [19]50s, 60s. And we know a lot of the ancestry there, maybe not quite as much, but going back definitely before the Civil War, like early 1800s, very late 1700s, we can go back on that side. VJF [00:05:36] Okay, well I was born in Albany. My grandmothers, both grandmothers, were from Kinderhook (New York), as was my father's father. My mother's father was from Virginia and he came up, I guess, in the early 1900s. Everybody else was from Kinderhook and Leigh has already told you that that background. My mother was born in Stuyvesant. Let me see. My grandfather on my mother's side was the only person that I ever knew from the South. You know, as I had mentioned earlier, there were people that came up from the South in the sixties when I lived in Albany, and it was interesting to meet them, but none of my family members were from the South and my mother's family never went South to visit it. You know, when my mother was growing up, she would say that every winter her father would go South to visit his family and stay there most of the winter. But the girls in the family never went with them. My grandfather had been a chauffeur and a caretaker on a summer estate for a rich family from New York and they were in Stuyvesant (New York), so he really only worked when he took care of the estate, during the month of August, which is when the family was there. So he was free to come and go and he did. So he went to spend the winter in the South. It was too cold for him up here probably, yes. LFS [00:07:23] He and his brother came up to work in the brickyards in the early part of the century, which was pretty popular— it had actually begun earlier. People had been bringing and leasing enslaved people to come up and work in the brickyards and then by about the early 1900s, a lot of Black people were just coming up and working in the brickyards and that was how some of them came North. So that's how they got here. SC [00:07:50] Were those [brickyards] around here? 2 �LFS [00:07:51] Yeah. We have brickyards all up and down the river, on our side [East Side] of the [Hudson] river. SC [00:07:59] Did they take the clay from the riverbanks? Where did they get the materials? Or was it powder and mixed with it? LFS [00:08:23] I guess they must have had clay right here after yeah. You guys had a clay bank in Albany. Exactly. Must have been clay here. VJF [00:08:27] Well I think so, yeah. It was like some of the other mills as well. It was like in Valatie they had a lot of mills and they had the clay, yeah they had the bricks, you know, so. SC [00:08:42] I feel like that mill history is so strong here. VJF [00:08:45] There's a lot of that. And then the ice in the winter, the ice houses. SC [00:08:51] That story is in Livingston, in Claremont [State Historic Site]. They have those little stops at the State park and then they talk about them. VJF [00:09:00] I didn't know about that. That's cool. Also, there is an ice house in Newton Hook off [Route] 9J. Yeah, you can still go out there. We went there. LFS [00:09:15] Yeah, I mean it's not functioning, but it's still there. I was actually reading recently about how they would hire people to go out and go into the river and cut the ice and bring it into the ice houses and then that would be how people had ice like all year long. VJF [00:09:36] I saw a video about that. But it was from Connecticut and they were showing people getting the ice out of the river and then covering it with straw and stuff like that and shipping 'cause apparently we used to ship a lot of our ice down to the city. VJF [00:09:51] New York City wouldn't have had ice if it hadn't been for Upstate. My grandfather also did farming and stuff like that, you know, 'cause he had a lot of land and nothing to do. So in the winter, when he wasn't in Virginia, he would go down and work in the ice house and get ice. I for the longest time thought he was going to get little blocks of ice and take it back to his house. I had no idea that it was a major industry here and it apparently hired everybody, Black, white, Indigenous, it didn't matter what they were, you know, which was interesting because a lot of the other industries didn't. SC [00:10:32] Was brick making like that too? It sounds like it was predominantly Black? LFS [00:10:37] No, I think it was everybody. LFS [00:10:43] There's a house right on the [route] 9J. It used to be yellow, I don't know if it still is, but it was the owner of the local brickyard and then the office of the brickyard was right there, it was part of the house. It was on the market like two years ago. So it's still there, it's still existing and has the history. I actually really love 9J. It's actually one of my favorite roads. It's good memories. 3 �SC [00:11:20] So you touched on this already, but can you tell us more about your family members and can you describe them just so the audience can get a better sense of how they were or are? LFS [00:11:33] So I'm an only child, much like my mother. I have very vivid memories of all of my grandparents. All of my grandparents lived until I was an adult. So I have really good, strong memories of all of them. My grandmother, my mom's mother, she had a very interesting way of pronouncing words sometimes. And I always just thought it was like, you know, her little idiosyncrasy, maybe it's an Upstate New York thing. And it was only a couple of years ago when I was talking to some other descendants who were telling me, “oh yeah, you know, my grandmother spoke like that and it was part Dutch, or it was like Dutch leftover,” and I was like, “oh,” they're pronouncing things because it's leftover from all the years of generations of their family speaking Dutch. It completely blew my mind. Anyway, she was lovely and kind and my grandfather worked there, so my grandmother was a stay-athome wife because that's what you did if you were proper. My grandfather worked, he had his own business. In the war [World War II], he had been in the group that was fixing vehicles in the motor pool. I think that's what you call it. So that's what business he formed when he came home from the war, and to this day I love, love, love the smell of automotive paint and those chemicals. I can so remember going into his garage and it was the coolest place. Love those smells. Yeah, so anyway, going forward, I have been married for thirty six years, give or take, and I have three adult children. SC [00:13:43] Wow. Congratulations. VJF [00:13:53] Okay, I've been married twice to her father. And both times no more than four years. That was about it. Yeah, I couldn't deal with that. Not a good match. He was a very nice man. Okay, but anyway. I'm an only child. My mother's mother and my father's mother both came from Kinderhook. They were best friends, and they grew up believing that when they got married, they would each have the same number of children and that their children would marry each other. And so they kept trying to pawn off one another, and only my mother and father were able to get together. And that was sort of the big romantic story. My family is very traditional and very conservative. And, you know, they would talk about these things. It was, you know, how my grandmother supposedly met my grandfather. Apparently he was here in Kinderhook at the gazebo, 'cause they used to have a strawberry festival at the gazebo. And apparently at the strawberry festival, this man, my grandfather, was supposedly half Indian, and this man came in riding a white horse and with a beautiful stature. And my grandmother took one look at him and as she said, you know, set her cap for him, and that's how she married my grandfather. There are always all of these stories about what people did in Kinderhook and what people did in Stuyvesant. My father's father also came from Kinderhook. I don't know much about him. In terms of my grandparents, I didn't really know them. When I was growing up, it wasn't the kind of relationship where you would sit down and talk with grandpa. More or less, grandpa would be talking with my mother or father, but he wasn't talking with me other than to offer me something. My grandparents always seemed to offer me stuff. Like my mother's father always had peanuts. But my father's mother always had Tootsie Rolls in her apron pocket and she would always give them to me, which I hated. They stick in your teeth. But they didn't really have much to say to me. So I can't really say that I had any kind of a relationship with them, 4 �because I didn't. And when we came to visit relatives, as I had mentioned to you before, I was ushered into the entry foyer, told to sit in a chair and not move. And we would come here, to Kinderhook, too. For some reason there were a lot of old ladies in my family who weren't married. And they would always be living together. So in Kinderhook there were two or three little aunts, and I believe they had a horsehair sofa. Now, the reason I say horsehair, because I remember being in first grade and reading about, you know, a wagon in the book Wagon Wheels. They described horsehair sofas and now it was stuffed and it was sort of on a mound. So once you got onto the sofa if you were little, if you didn't move, you were okay 'cause you could sort of sit back. But if you slid off and you tried to get back on it, it would stick you. It was horrible. So I would have to sit on the sofa and I couldn't move and the parents would be off talking with people and I would be there doing nothing. LFS [00:17:27] Remind me at some point I'll tell you the whole horse hair thing. 'Cause I actually work with horse [hair]. What I do in my other life when I'm not doing this, I restore furniture and I actually do horsehair. I'm doing a horsehair chair right now, in fact. SC [00:17:39] That is so cool. LFS [00:17:40] Yeah, yeah. It's great actually. Horsehair will last forever. When I'm restoring a chair, I will take it out, wash it, re-fluff it, put it back in because actually having it in maintains the historical value of the chair. But probably what they had was the tied coils and then the horse hair on top, because the coils would be higher in the middle and the horse hair would come down on the sides. VJF [00:18:16] So anyway, back to Kinderhook. My mother would tell us little tales about Kinderhook. Apparently she would tell us that if you went if you drove past certain houses, Martin Van Buren's house or the Vanderpoel house, you would hear the slaves’ chains rattling. But there was never really any talk about slavery, and you really just had the feeling that people were living their normal lives. You know, the Black people here were very, very social and they had any number of church socials that my parents would always talk about and that their grandparents had gone to or their parents. And so they had quite an interesting life and they also were members of the Dutch Reformed Church. My mother and my mother's family was Dutch Reformed, my father's family was Baptist. And my father's family was responsible for building the Black church here. LFS [00:19:53] They founded the AME Bethel Church that is on Sunnyside Avenue, our ancestors. And also the Chatham branch was also active in the AME church there. SC [00:20:13] And when was that? LFS [00:20:15] They founded the AME here in 1854 or 1855, something like that. SC [00:20:23] And in Albany it was around the same time or was it earlier? LFS [00:20:28] In Albany, I think it might have been a little bit earlier. It was all pretty early, because I think it was only like the 1840s that AME became a thing. You know, when you're the only Black people around here, all the stuff is done by you. 5 �SC [00:21:15] You both already provided such rich sensory details about your family, like about your grandmother's accent [Vicki], and the horse hair couch and the snacks. Is there anything you wanted to add about what a typical day was like growing up in your household [and] what that experience was like? VJF [00:21:36] I think that my background was very colorless and I mean it wasn't Black, it wasn't white, and I think that it’s very different than a lot of other Black people's backgrounds. You know, my life was just like everybody else in my neighborhood, as I had mentioned to you, it was very multiracial. You know, you'd get up in the morning, you'd get washed because nobody was taking showers. You know, you had a bath night on Saturday night and that was it, but you'd get up, get washed, you'd get ready to go to school, and then you went to school and then you came home in the afternoons and you would go outside and you would play with your friends, all the neighborhood kids, and they would be all the same age, you know, in your age group, but they would be Italian or Irish or whatever. You know, they're just your friends and no one ever talked about who they were or what they were or anything. And granted, in a lot of cases, we would talk about people in terms of where they came from. The Italian lady named Angie owned the store on the other corner, where Mrs. Ripp, who we all knew was Jewish because her store closed, you know, on certain days. We knew about their religions and people respected the religions and stuff, you know, and we only talked about them as an Italian American or Irish American, it was just a descriptive. No, it wasn't that anybody disliked anybody or anything like that. So our lives were all the same, you know. When I was in Junior High School, I’d come home in the afternoon [and] watch American Bandstand. And my mother had carpeting in the living room, so you never danced in the living room. So I learned to dance by not moving my feet but just the upper part of my body. Because my mother would have had a fit and I'm sure other mothers you know, their kids were doing the same thing, you know. VJF [00:23:42] There was never dust in my mother's house, but she wanted to make sure there was never going to be any. I think she just didn't want me dancing on her rugs, that's all. I don't know. My mother was very strict. But she was no different than anybody else. The other mothers in the neighborhood, nobody wore pants, nobody smoked. Hardly I don't think anybody swore. My mother would say darn, but that would be it, you know. It was just the way mothers were in the 1950s. They were all the same. They didn't differ, you know. So I just wanted to say that my life was pretty normal like everybody else. SC [00:24:19] And this was in Arbor Hill, right? VJF [00:24:20] This is in Arbor Hill in Albany, yeah. And it was interesting too because in Arbor Hill, Arbor Hill is a hill, okay. And we lived very close to the Ten Broeck Mansion. And we never went into the mansion. I think we went on a school trip there once, but we'd love the mansion because they had chestnut trees. So in the fall, we would all go over to Livingston Avenue with, and you could find all the chestnuts on the ground. And then in the winter, because when it would snow, they didn't plow or clean the sidewalk by the Mansion, because it was the back side of the mansion. But on the top of the hill, everybody, all the people that lived there would clean their sidewalk, so you couldn't sleigh ride. But if you went by the Mansion, it was a great sleigh ride, right straight down the hill. It was wonderful, absolutely wonderful. It was just a fun time. You know, it was good. And we had the clay banks where we would go and we would make our forts and stuff like that. And that was the same clay bank that my dad had gone to and had found the arrowheads years earlier. It was just a fun time. 6 �VJF [00:25:35] It had nothing to do with race or any of that animosity. SC [00:25:32] It does sound idyllic. LFS [00:25:35] Yeah, I feel like I missed out. So I don't know, a typical day in our household…It's kinda, you know, my parents went to work, I went to school, I came home, I called them, and then they didn't know what I was doing for the whole rest of the afternoon until they got home because that was growing up in the sixties and seventies. Like your parents didn't know what you were doing. So I spent every summer and every school vacation here in Albany, basically going back and forth between my two sets of grandparents and summers of the things that I really have memories of is, you know, being a kid. My grandmother, my mother's mother would always take me to the library and we go on days they'd have like kids' movies, right? So I remember very clearly going and seeing the Red Balloon at the Bleecker Library. I don't think it was Pruyn then, I think it was the Bleecker Library. And cooking with her. She was a horrible cook, but she liked to do it. And so I remember cooking with her and, you know, the smells of her kitchen and her backyard. She and my grandfather both actually all of my grandparents being all from farm families, they all loved flowers and they all loved growing things. So I spent a lot of time learning how to use a, what do you call it? A sickle, a scythe, and the hedge trimmers and all that stuff from a young age, because my grandfather would have me out there, you know, doing the yard work with him. In the evenings when he came home, there used to be on the radio station WGN, they used to play Radio Mystery Theater with Edward G. Marshall, who was the host, and it was kinda like Twilight Zone-esque you know? Little half-hour long radio plays. And that would be like our thing in the summer. We'd sit out on the back patio and he'd have a cigarette and a beer and maybe some cheese and I have some cheese and crackers, my little ginger ale and we'd listen to Radio Mystery Theater. And that was like, still actually they play them on Spotify. I actually still listen to them. When I need that home feeling, I still will go and listen to Radio Mystery Theater. And then the other side of my family, my dad's family, was much bigger. I have an aunt and uncle who are close in age to myself, so we grew up together and they had a wooded area next to their house. So we were always out there like catching lightning bugs and butterflies and doing sparklers around Fourth of July. We had these things called snakes which were kinda like sparklers, but they're in a coil and you lit one end and then you step back and they would like jump around while they were burning. And that was yeah, that was like my whole childhood. It was fun. It was good. VJF [00:28:51] I'd like to say a few things about that too, 'cause I did some of those same things, but when you talked about the library, I had forgotten the library was a big deal in my life. I mean I spent all my— I was a little weird kid, so I spent all my time reading. We had lots of books in our house, and so first I read all of them or as many as I could, and then my mother every week would take me to the library, and I would go and I'd get an armful of books, and I'd bring them back and I'd read them all. By the time I was ten, I had read all the books in the children's library downtown [Albany]. The Pruyn Library was my favorite. It was built like a Dutch house. And I really thought it was, you know, from the Dutch time, but I learned later 7 �when they knocked it down that it wasn't. It was only from the 1900s or late 1800s. It was called the Pruyn, P-R-U-Y-N, Pruyn Library downtown. So anyway, it was right across from the first church, which was, you know, because the first church is the first church, and it really does have a long Dutch history, which led me to believe that the building was, the Pruyn Library was old too. I used to go down there and so I read all the books in the children's library and the Young Adult library and the librarian there then gave me a library card to the adult library when I was ten. And I was so proud. Yes. It was wonderful. I mean and then I absolutely never took my nose out of a book, you know. I used to like things that nobody else seemed to like, B52 Bombers and Horses. I never saw any of them, but I dreamt about them, and tennis. For some reason I had this fixation on tennis. And I've played tennis and I'm terrible at it. I mean I played it as an adult, but I'm terrible at it. But anyway, it was something that was, you know, it was interesting to me. So the world of books is just interesting and my mother, in the 1950s, they were just beginning to have supermarkets, and in the supermarkets they would have these green stamps and they would have offers. So you know, get a book of green stamps, S & H green stamps, you'd save the stamps, and then you could get stuff for free or you could buy and they had also on sale Funk and Wagnalls encyclopedia. And I don't know, twenty-seven volumes or something like that. My mother bought all of the volumes and then read everyone from cover to cover. I'd never heard of anybody reading the encyclopedia. I did not do the same. You know, but I was like, wow, okay, that was really interesting to see somebody do that, you know. VJF [00:31:55] But also you [Leigh] were talking about how she was a horrible cook. She was a horrible cook. But the reason she was a horrible cook was because she was the fourth in a family of five. And she was the youngest girl. And her mother had said, well, she didn't need to learn how to do any of the things around the house, because when she got married, that's what she would be doing for the rest of her life. So the woman never learned how to cook. As a matter of fact, my mother was such a pampered pet, really. She did not even comb her own hair until she was 16. Now who does that? I mean, that's ridiculous. But anyway, she never learned to cook. And when she moved, when she and my dad got married, the woman that lived in the apartment upstairs taught my mother how to cook. You know, she could bake cakes and make pies. She was also into nutrition, so even though she couldn't cook, she made sure you had a very nutritious meal. So we had meat or fish or fowl. Meat mostly, fish on Fridays and fowl on Sundays, okay. And then you would have two vegetables, you know, so you would have potatoes and you'd have something green, and it would be set up on the plate always the same. Like the position of a clock. The white vegetable was here, the green vegetable was here, the meat was there. And there was never any raw or rare meat. It was well cooked. Peas in the 1950s came from tins. And my mother had been eating fresh peas from the garden, you know, because my grandfather would always give her vegetables and stuff. We had tinned peas, and I had no idea that tinned peas were these mushy sort of yellow green things until I was in college. And then I realized that green peas are really quite nice when you get them fresh. But I had no idea. And butter, you know, they had just come out with margarine, where you had the white stuff and then you had the yellow coloring. And it was my job as a kid to mush the two together so that we would have yellow margarine. Yeah, I didn't know about butter. You know, and then when I got to Europe especially, oh my God, the butter was incredible. Yes. So that's what I had to say. 8 �VJF [00:34:26] I used to go fishing at Newton Hook. But you see, at that time, I thought that the Hudson River had nothing but eels. My father had bought me a new fishing rod and a line and everything, and I put it in and then I sat there and then I realized there was something on my reel and I reeled it in and it was a snake. And so I got upset and just let go of the whole rod and the line went into the river and that ended my fishing career. LFS [00:34:57] Oh okay. Well he [grandpa, Vicki’s dad] took me fishing a lot and that never happened. We did catch eels though. Did you? Yeah, we did the thing like, you know, you could cut it in half and like the two halves will still keep going. Yeah. Oh, but we only went to the river a couple times. We used to go to the Ann Lee Pond a lot and go and we'd catch sunnies [sunfish] and bring 'em home and grandma would cook 'em. Yeah, you can eat a sunny. There's not a lot to it, but you can eat it. VJF [00:35:26] You know, it was only that one fishing. Also, we used to go to picnics at Newton Hook. You know Newton Hook, right? SC [00:35:34] I don't think so. LFS: If you go right on the River Road (Route 9J), just a little past Stuyvesant, you'll hit it. VJF [00:35:42] Yeah, and you have to keep your eye out for the Newton Hook hotel. Yeah, that's a joke. There’s a building called the Newton Hook Hotel. It's really just sort of a house. It's a little brick house. But that's where you turn to go across the river across the railroad tracks to go to the Newton Hook where the point is, okay? And that is supposed to be the point where Henry Hudson moored his ship and that's where the kids saw the ship on Newton Hook. Now, okay, that's the tale that the children always went out to look at his boat. My feeling is that if I were a mother and I saw this strange thing in the woods, I would not let my child go there. But apparently there were these little Native American kids who went there to see Henry Hudson's boat. But anyway, that's where we used to have picnics and we used to go fishing. So, Newton Hook has this little hotel. Apparently, years ago, maybe in the 1930s or so, when there were a lot of workers there, the train actually stopped in Newton Hook. And so there was a need to have a hotel which basically had one room. When my parents would go to visit my mother's father and mother in Stuyvesant. And my father, realizing that I was bored, would say, “come with me,” and he would take me down to the Newton Hook Hotel, which also had a bar, and he would go in and bring me a bag of potato chips. And they were the ruffle cut potato chips. I loved it. I loved to go with my dad and I'd have these potato chips and I'd be sitting in the car because you know, kids do not go into bars. Like women did not go into bars either, you know. So it was really, it was a lot of fun. And I was not supposed to tell my mother what I had been doing, you know. SC [00:37:58] So, people ate the fish from the Hudson? LFS [00:38:00] Oh yeah, it was clean then, right? Well, I mean, people do now. It's better now than it was in the seventies, you could not eat a thing. But yeah, it's big. Even like, you know, way back in the 1700s people were fishing and eating the fish. There were oysters, there were 9 �clams, there were scallops, there was trout, all kinds of fish 'cause it's a tidal river, so you get a lot of stuff from the ocean, even up just about to Albany. After that you get more freshwater stuff. But you get yeah, you get all kinds of stuff in the river. SC [00:38:36] Oh that's so cool. VJF [00:38:37] Yeah, and we just learned recently that there were a lot of oysters there. You know, we knew there were a lot of fish, but not oysters. LFS [00:38:45] By me in Westchester, there are areas along the riverside where it's like a hill, but when you go up there it's actually just built of oyster and clamshells. It would be a spot where like the Native Americans and the Dutch and all the families would go and get their oysters and clams and they would just chuck the shells there. Yeah, well what were you telling me about Pearl Street and Albany [Leigh to Vicki]? Pearl Street in the City was so named because there were so many oyster shells there, they glistened like pearls because it was right on the edge and people just go get their oysters and eat them and leave the shells there. So that's what I heard. VJF [00:39:32] I wonder if that's the reason that clam bakes were so popular in our area. LFS [00:39:32] We did go to the Labor Day Clam Bake. VJF [00:39:41] Yes, and I always wondered why on earth would somebody have a clam bake, 'cause there are no clams in our area. But now thinking back, there were years and years before. Yeah. 'Cause clam bakes are big things. You know. Have you been to a clam bake? SC [00:39:55] I don't think so. VJF [00:40:00] Okay. No, you would know. They have these little wire baskets and in each basket there's a dozen clams. There is an ear or two of corn. Yeah, a few ears of corn and maybe some—was it chicken or was it just hot dogs? It was something else. I only ever had hot dogs. I don't know. Okay. Whatever it was, it was boiled. The whole thing was put into hot water and boiled. Okay, you could eat raw clams, you know, which a lot of people did. It was sort of nasty. Or you could have the clam bake. Although there were no baked clams, they were just boiled clams. And it was a big deal. It was a big picnic and you would have the meal and then afterwards there'd be music and stuff. Everybody had them, you know. And it was big fun. I only ever ate the hot dogs and the corn. I was not about to eat those clams. VJF [00:41:04] Yeah, I didn't do clams either. Yeah. They were nasty. LFS [00:41:11] Yeah, I actually didn't think about that, but yeah, that must be— VJF [00:41:14] Why their clam bakes are so big because there's no other reason. You know, I mean like when you go out to Wisconsin they have fish bakes, but they are on a lake and they have lots of fish. We're on a river, we had lots of clams. We had lots of clams, but no longer any clams, yeah. But it, clam bakes, are a big thing in Albany, yeah. SC [00:41:32] We do not have clam bakes in Western New York. 10 �LFS [00:41:26] It's 'cause you don't have clams in the canal. That's it. No clams there. SC [00:41:47] [Laughter]. Can you talk about what activities you most fondly remember growing up? LFS [00:41:53] Oof. Girl Scouts. Because we moved around so much, one of the first things we did every time we moved to a new place was to find a Girl Scout troop. So I was a Girl Scout my whole life. My mom was a Girl Scout. Her mom was a leader. I became a leader 'cause all my children are girls. So yeah, Girl Scouts growing up was a big thing. And yeah, other than that, I think I've pretty much already talked about a lot of, you know I guess singing. I always remember my grandfather singing and that would be like a fun thing during an evening he'd a couple beers in. He'd start singing and he had— there's this thing about a Black man's voice that is different. I don't really know how to explain it. It's almost like when you hear any other man it's like in mono and when you hear a Black man it's like in stereo, it's like a fuller sound. And so when I would hear him sing, it was just overwhelming. It was really great. And I still love Black men’s voices. And he would sing everything. Oh my God, the old war songs. Oh yeah, “My gals a Corker, She's a New Yorker.” VJF [00:43:14] Oh God, yeah. And all the Belafonte songs and the church hymns. Oh, he was incredible. And after I had left home, he and my mother used to, as we said, go up to the Dutch Reformed Church. They used to drive down every weekend to Stuyvesant and that church had a very small congregation and both my parents joined the choir, which was great because my father could sing, but my mother couldn't carry a tune. And I had no idea why she joined the choir. LFS [00:43:46] Why wouldn't she join the choir? I mean, because all the nice ladies were there. Mrs. Ham was in the choir and Mildred Gleason and she was like grandma's best friend. Yeah, but she couldn't sing. You know, singing is really optimistic. VJF [00:43:59] And she had always said to us, “well, I can't carry a tune.” Well, why are you in the choir? She said they didn't care. They loved her. Apparently well, they only had what, thirteen or fifteen people in the congregation? It was small. Maybe they had thirty, right? Yeah. Maybe. Maybe. You’ve seen the church in Stuyvesant, right? The Dutch Reformed Church? In Stuyvesant? There used to be a house that they called, what was it? The veterans house? There was a veterans hospital or something. It was just before LFS [00:45:06] Men's veteran. VJF [00:45:07] Yeah, it was men's in the title. Okay, just before you get to Stuyvesant Landing, you know, there's the crossroads. Okay, there's the hotel, this big men's place here. It's white. Do you know Stuyvesant Flats? Okay. When you come into Stuyvesant, before you get to the crossroads, there's a flat piece of land. And there are like several big houses there. When you get to the end of that on the right hand side, there's this white house that used to be another sort of brick color, and that used to be some veterans' home. Okay. And when you get just 11 �past the light, there used to be a white building. You could say it's a church. It's a tiny little church. Yes, exactly. That was the Dutch Reformed Church. SC [00:45:55] Oh, that was the church! What did they do with it? VJF [00:45:57] Some guy bought it and gutted it and turned it into a private house. LFS [00:46:01] Yes. Yeah. The congregation dwindled to nothing and I think about maybe five years ago they sold it. Yeah. VJF [00:46:09] It had dwindled to nothing. I mean it was probably really nothing because there couldn't have been more than thirty people in the congregation when we were going. LFS [00:46:15] (Shows a photo of her attending the Dutch Reformed Church with an exterior shot.) This is the whole congregation in 2019 and if you zoom in, that's me and my grandma there in the middle. The two little Black people, that's us. SC [00:46:26] So cute. That's the building? Oh my gosh. You are completely right. I did not know— LFS [00:46:35] Well you wouldn't know now because it’s hideous. But no, it was a really lovely church. VJF [00:46:40] And when my grandmother and my mother and her family were going to that church, my grandmother bought one of the church windows, the stained glass windows. And you know, I don't know about other churches, but in their churches, you always sat in the family pew. So our family pew was right under that window. So that was the only pew we ever sat in. LFS [00:47:03] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Did you go to that church a lot [to Vicki]? No. Oh, okay. Mmhmm. I didn't think you went to that church a lot. VJF [00:47:10] I went to that church with you [Leigh] when we went with them. Other than that, I don't think I went there as a child. No, my mother was still sending me out of the house to go to the Baptist church. Cause okay, my mother didn't like the Baptist churches because she's Dutch Reformed. They don't really have music. I mean they have music, but it's not gospel music. And she found that the spiritual music and gospel music was a bit too emotional and upsetting. So she didn't go to church. Those reformed are not emotional people. We're like this, you know. But my father liked gospel music and used to sing gospels. But on Sunday morning, my mother would get me up and get me dressed and then shove me out of the hallway and onto the door, the doorstep and I'd say, but I don't want to go. She’d say “I don't care. You know, you're not coming back in this house, and so you can do what you want to do, but you're not coming back into the house.” And so then I would just go to church because I had no place else to go, because you're not gonna stand on the doorstep for two hours, you know. So then I went and I didn't like it. So I grew up thinking that there were probably other things I could do. I had read all the notes that they give you as a kid when you're in Kindergarten in Sunday school. Then I started reading my friend Donna's Catechism and all that stuff. And I was like, 12 �oh, this is interesting. So as I got like maybe eight or nine, when Donna would go—she was Catholic—when she would go to confession, I would go with her. And sometimes I would go to Mass and I was like, wow, this is great. And they'd have all this stuff and some of it was in Latin, and I was like, oh wow, what is this? So Donna learned nothing, but I learned a lot. SC [00:49:05] How was it going to confession? VJF [00:49:09] Well, they wouldn't let me into confession. I could just sit there, you know. And she could confess and all this stuff, like what? It was nonsense. And then she had this, three second rule? If you drop your gum on the ground, if you pick it up and kiss it up to God, it'll make it sanitary. You can always kiss something, Yeah, I didn't. That was awful. You know, I was like, I don't think that works. I know, that's true. But I never did, you don't know. When I was in the Catholic church, I learned to love organ music. It was just incredible because we didn't have that. We had a piano, you know. But the organ was just so incredible. And I think that to this day that's why I really like classical music. I should, I am the President of a community orchestra which doesn't have a piano, but that's beside the point. SC [00:50:10] What community? VJF [00:50:11] The Yonkers’ Philharmonic. SC [00:50:13] Wow. That is so cool. VJF [00:50:58] To tell you a little bit more about my grandfather. As we said, he came up to work in the brickyard, and then he was the caretaker for this rich family from New York. He was very privileged because he was the caretaker, they gave him a house on their property, and they gave him a salary, and he had a car. And this was from, I don't know, like maybe 1920 on, you know. And so, during the depression, he had food, he had money. He was always helping other people. And he could garden, he had a bit of a farm, he had a cow and horses. He lived very differently than other people. My mother would also often tell us about Mrs. Potts, who lived down at the end of the lane, and she was a widow, and he would frequently bring her food and stuff like that. And during the war, I think it was probably World War One, I've forgotten which one. But when the men went off to war, he taught the women how to be farmers. And they were called the farmerettes, and so he was teaching them that. And then later on in the late 1940s and 1950s, he was providing information to Cornell Extension [for] their farming program, and he would give them information about farming and stuff. SC [00:52:37] What types of vegetables did he grow? VJF [00:52:41] I don't know, but I do know he had something called the Virginia Garden where he was trying to grow Virginia stuff. But he would also grow flowers, peas, because I remember getting those. And whatever else. Corn. He had corn, I do remember that too. Yeah. Other than that, I don't know. But my mother would always come home with armloads of veggies, which I didn't eat. So that's why I don't know. But I also do remember they used to grow up near the big house, they had blueberries that you could go and pick, which I did once, and I you know, I was five, and my mother didn't give 13 �me a basket and I was following along and I was picking the berries and shoving them into my pocket of my brand new corduroy pants. Ruined them. My mother was furious. My mother was not one to have any kind of mess, you know. So the fact that it messed up my pants was very disgusting. LFS [00:53:49] You know that. I mean, I was a perfect child. I never made a mess in her house, so I know, I know. VJF [00:53:57] Well, the only time I, one of the few times I could wear pants was when we went down on the farm where I was going out to play. Otherwise I had to wear dresses with the little crinoline. I was in Mrs. McNamara's third grade class. She hated me and my crinolines and would always say things about “you and those dresses.” And I was like— LFS [00:54:18] Why would she hate a little girl in dresses in the 1950s? Every little girl wore dresses. VJF [00:54:24] I don't know. I have no idea. She was a mean person. Kids used to tease her because she would wear snuggies. You know, snuggies are okay, they're these woolen underpants, but they're not on under, you know, and you'd wear them in the winter to keep warm. And she used to put them on the radiator and then kids would in, Oh dear God. I don't know. So anyway, it was dreadful. She had white hair. But she did not like me. And I would always sit– maybe because I used to sit on my feet too. You know how you tuck your feet up under you on the chair. Yes, okay, I've said enough about my grandfather now. Mm-hmm. Oh, and the fact that he did have those false teeth that clicked all the time. My mother adored her father. Absolutely. Her father could do no wrong, except the winter he came to live with us after his wife had died, and he was very lonely in the country, so she brought him to live with us. And he had false teeth and he couldn't really eat without them clicking. It drove my mother insane. It was horrible. So anyway, he had to go. He stayed with Aunt Margie for a while. And then he went to Uncle Bill's and then after that they found an old age home somewhere around here. And he goes there and he discovers that all the people he thought that had died were all living in the old age home. He loved it. You know, it was just great because everybody that he missed was there. So he was very happy there for several years until he died. SC [00:56:53] Do you have any specific celebrations that you wanted to talk about? LFS: I mean to me the only celebration that ever counted was Thanksgiving. Christmas is nice, gifts, whatever, but Thanksgiving was big. You know, being the only child of an only child on one side of my family, and the first daughter of a firstborn of a woman who had eleven siblings on the other side. Like we'd have quiet Thanksgiving with grandma and grandpa and mom and my dad, and then we'd go over to my dad's family and there would be like a gazillion people there and all the kids and we'd all be playing and after dinner all their age people would go back to the dining room and they'd be playing cards in the and the older women would be in the kitchen and then the kids would just be all over the place. So yeah, 14 �Thanksgiving's still my favorite holiday and yeah, the Easter bunny was great, Christmas was nice, but like Thanksgiving was the holiday. VJF [00:57:05] Yeah. And the thing she hasn't said is that to this day, she still has Thanksgiving dinner at her house and sometimes upwards of thirty people. LFS [00:58:24] More people have spread out too much. But yeah. Always trying to recreate the Thanksgivings of my youth. VJF [00:58:30] Thanksgiving really was fun. I mean, because in my family, as she said, you know, there was basically me and my husband and her and my parents. So it's five people. And it was nice. It was great. And we were in the dining room. We had a formal dining room and we had formal china and silver. And that was the only time you ate in the dining room. You know, it's amazing, absolutely amazing. I have to say that I loved Thanksgiving at my house, but going to her father's family, oh my God. You know, being an only child, I was like, what? It was amazing. Talking and laughing, it was just so much fun. It was loud, it was fun, it was great. And for me, Easter was always nice. I always believed in the Easter bunny. I always wanted an Easter bunny, never got one. But every year my mother, my mother was big on these holiday things, you know. So she would always give me an Easter basket. And then when Leigh was born, I would do the same thing for her. But I would also make a basket for my mother with a chocolate bunny and you know, perfume or something like that. And it was really nice. And Easter was great too because when I was growing up, it was a big deal. Everybody in the neighborhood got new clothes. You know, and so you'd have a hat and a coat and dress and shoes and everything. And everybody would want to be out in the street walking, you know. Depending on your religion, you went to church at different times. So you had nine o'clock mass for the Catholics or eleven o'clock mass, and the Protestants were sort of around ten. And so if you were standing in the window, you could see it's like a parade of people going down the street all dressed in Easter parade. It was just great. It was really a lot of fun just watching everybody, you know. Oh, look at that hat. Wow, you know. It was just amazing. It was a good time. And Christmas, we had a lot of snow, you know, and we had in our house we had twelve foot high, twelve foot ceilings, and so we had a tree, always had a tree that went right up to the ceiling. Not these little short stubby trees. And my mother would always, she would make cookies, she would leave cookies for Santa and a sandwich and a Coke. Okay. I have come to realize that she was really looking at the commercials. Oh, he's got a sandwich, he's got a Coke. Later on, she would leave carrots, and then she started leaving boxes of candy for Mrs. Clause. Okay, I really believed there was a Santa. Okay, there were times when I would go in the late afternoon or early evening, I would stand in the l in the window and look, and she would tell me, go look out the window and see if you can see Santa. When I realized that there was no Santa, I was really bitter. Because I thought the woman had just lied to me all those years. I had just been really taken in by it. You know, it was just awful. But the other thing too, during Christmas, she would bring when I was playing with my toys under the Christmas tree, because that you left the toys under the tree until, I don't know, maybe New Year's. And so I could play in the living room with the toys. And on Christmas morning, she would bring me a sandwich to eat in the living room. Well I played with my toys. 15 �The only time I could eat in the living room. Other than that, you know, you only ate in the kitchen. You know, that's special. LFS [01:02:56] I was wondering about that. She was not that strict with me. We had a midnight snack right in the living room. I mean it wasn't actually it was probably like ten o'clock. Maybe nine. I mean it wasn't actually midnight. We got to have cheese and crackers and ginger ale. VJF [01:03:19] I got ginger ale when I was sick. But what I was gonna say though, dinner was always great in my family because as I was telling you, she made these meals and everything, [but] there were no seconds. You were supposed to eat what was on your plate, everything. That was nutrition. She was into portion control. And there was no Italian food. There was no pasta. There was potatoes and rice. We ate what people in the Northeast ate. I had pasta at Donna's house, and I was like, wow, that's great. That's why you need to have an Italian friend. And tomatoes. I had tomato sauce at Donna's house. And that was like, oh my God. But then there was another Black family on the block, Vonda Cannon. And her family had five children. I think I mentioned that to you. And they invited me for dinner one time, and they had fish. I didn't like fish. They also had something that I thought was potatoes or rice. And so I filled up my plate and discovered it was grits, which I had never had before, and I wouldn't eat them. And so then Vonda’s mother was so mad about me wasting food. So I was never invited back to their house again for dinner. LFS [01:04:52] Traumatized. Still won't eat grits. VJF [01:04:55] Yeah, but I don't like grits. You know, the thing is when after [Leigh] was born, her father was introducing us to all this stuff from the South. Like I didn't know about sweet potato pie, 'cause we have pumpkin pie. Let's have sweet potato pie. Why would you have pumpkin when there is sweet potato pie? The food from the North is so different, for Black people anyway, from the South. You know, we didn't have any of these collards and kale and all these greens. To me, greens were like green peas. And so in the 1960s, when or maybe the late 1950s, when we had this mass influx of Black people from the South, they were all eating this southern food and they would make fun of me because I didn't know what they were talking about. And I didn't dance, and I didn't do anything that people who are from that culture do. And they just made my life really miserable 'cause I always had my nose in a book and I liked Algebra and Latin and they were like, “she's so weird.” LFS [01:06:24] So what she's saying is she got bullied for being a nerd from the North. That's what that comes down to. VJF [01:06:31] That is so true. They would look at me and they would laugh because I was dancing by myself without moving. I never danced with a person. And you know, when you got to go to the social at the community center and everybody was dancing, I was like, I don't do that. I was watching a whole bunch of white people on American Bandstand dancing, you know, so when I got out with Black people, I was like, oh, I don't know how to do that. I didn't play cards. Then your father's family always made fun of me because on Thanksgiving, Bid Whist is a big thing in the Black community. Everybody plays Bid Whist. My mother played it. 16 �LFS [01:07:30] When did she play it? VJF [01:07:34] Oh, this was years ago. That's how my mother and father met each other too. Because my grandmothers, they used to have a lot of parties and so everybody would come down and since he was the one that was supposed to be marrying my Aunt Myrtis, everybody made sure that he was there, and my mother saw him. She was sitting on the staircase when he came in and she saw him and said, “Oh, that's the guy for me.” He was a little a couple of years older than her. That's why he was supposed to marry Myrtis, her older sister. But anyway, so he would play. I never knew that he played Whist either. I only knew he played poker because I guess men don't play Bid Whist, you know. But anyway, but yeah, she said she had played it. But I think she probably told me that when I said that I didn't know anything about it when I was being ridiculed by your father's family. It’s very difficult to be Black but not be Black enough. You know, so you go places and there they expect you to dance and they're like, “What's she doing?” You know. My granddaughters have said to me frequently, “don't do that.” LFS [01:09:16] Yeah. I guess you should know though also as we're talking about ancestral things. The Kinderhook, Stuyvesant and Chatham Black communities were very vibrant. I mean, she's talking about parties at her parents' house. If you go to like the old newspapers, it was always like so-and-so is visiting here and they had a party and then the church folks had a party over here. The families were so interconnected. Really vibrant. I didn't even know that 'til I started doing this research. They would have their weddings in the newspaper kind of thing. SC [01:10:01] And what newspapers are those? LFS [01:10:03] So in Kinderhook they had the Rough Notes and then I think the Chatham Courier and I think there was a Hudson paper, but I can't quite remember Hudson Register, maybe? VJF [01:10:15] Yeah, I think it's called Hudson Register-Star. They're online. LFS [01:10:25] And was it Fulton [History] something or other? VJF [01:11:27] Oh, I was, I wanted to talk about dinner. Dinner was the high point of the day in my family. That, you know, my dad came home from work and the table was set by the time he came home. And then after he had enough time to change his clothes and wash up, we had dinner. So that was like five thirty, six o'clock on the dot. LFS [01:11:45] Did you have dinner or did you have supper? VJF [01:11:48] Supper, I'm sorry, we had supper. We did not have dinner. You're right. Supper, yes. Okay, so supper was there. And after supper, we would sit at the table and we would talk. And you know, we would discuss what went on during the day, and we would talk about what was in the newspaper. So I always made sure that I had read at least the first section of the newspaper so that I could talk about it, because otherwise my father would look at me like I was crazy. You know, like she's not talking, what's wrong with her? I don't think my mother said that much, but my dad and I had great conversations about everything. You know, and 17 �my father too was well I'll talk about this later, but I was gonna say my father was very patriotic. Okay, but we'll talk about that later because you have a question about that. LFS [01:12:47] You could get a word in edgewise on mom's side 'cause there were fewer of us. But yeah, I can remember being like five or six and hearing about, you know, Vietnam and Nixon and there was always conversations about who was running for what and what Rocky was doing [New York State Governor Nelson Rockefeller]. “Rocky's ruining the state or Rocky's doing this.” Governor. They would always talk about politics, but you can't ask a person who they're voting for 'cause that's their own damn business. You don't go there. But we can have all the conversations about the politics. Don't ask me who I'm voting for. Which I always thought like that and that sticks to me now. I taught my kids to vote and I'm like, okay, but this is just you this is between you and behind that curtain. That's it, you know? VJF [01:13:40] Well, that's the thing. The whole thing about politics is that it was very private. You know, I mean, you know I didn't know that Black people couldn't vote because we're in Albany, you voted. Albany was a machine town, so you had to vote. Okay, so Daniel O'Connell ran the machine. If you wanted to get anything, you know, for your house or whatever, you needed to vote. But everybody voted. I would go down to the voting booth on election day with my parents. I never went in the booth because that was private, even though everybody voted Democrat. But my parents wouldn't tell me how they voted. It was very private, you know. It was amazing. But getting back to having these conversations, one of the things I always liked about going to her house for Thanksgiving is that after the meal, there would be a group of us sitting at the table just talking about politics, about everything. It was just great. And now we're down to like two or three people. And it's sad. It's not the same. Yeah. I miss that. SC [01:15:11] So this next part is really about the process of memory and preserving memory, which you both are so skilled at. It'll be great to hear your perspectives on this. As descendants of individuals who were enslaved in New York State, you and your family have successfully preserved hundreds of years of history that has been intentionally obscured and silenced. Can you talk to how your family passed on this history? And did you keep any materials like letters, photos, papers? LFS [01:15:57] No. Seriously. I have like two very different sides of my family. My father's side of the family all came up from the South. There's pictures, there's stories. I know the entire story down to the name of the family that owned my great-great-grandfather and how he was run out of town and they ended up in D.C. And my grandmother, not only did she tell us frequently, she wrote it down and handed each one of the children and grandchildren a copy of it. So, like, there's all of this knowledge out there, right? This side of the family [mother’s side, Columbia County], I knew nothing. I knew literally nothing. I remember asking my grandmother once, I don't know, I guess I had heard something in school or something about slavery, and I had asked her about slavery, and she's like, we were indentured servants. And that was it. That's all I knew. And to me, like being a school kid, all I knew of indentured servants was the people who came over from Ireland and worked for seven years and then they went on about their business and had lives and 18 �everything. So I kind of just assumed that at some point we came up from the South and we were indentured servants here. I really had no idea about the family history, except that my mom did have a few pictures of old Black ladies, who were the aunts. I didn't really know who they were. My grandmother would talk a little bit about her father, because she adored her father, a little bit about her mother, but like not detailed things, not things that like were history. So a lot of this stuff I found out while doing this work, and a lot of it is why I started doing this work, because I really wanted to know. I wanted to know what the story was. Like I knew that her mother grew up going to the Kinderhook Reformed Church, and that she and her family went to the Stuyvesant Reformed Church. And I knew that her mother was very proud of the House of History, because I guess she had been on a committee or given money or something— VJF [01:18:15] Her mother had given books to it. But she gave books to the children. She had something to do with the start of the House of History. And she gave money, she was very proud of that. Yeah, and I knew less than Leigh did. I did not know we were indentured servants. Nobody ever talked about it. I just thought we were like everybody else, you know. And so I knew where my parents came from, I knew how they lived and where they lived, and I knew, you know, their backgrounds, but I didn't know anything else. And there was one picture that my mother had of her mother, when her mother must have been about 19 or 20 years old, and there was a Black woman with her, a very dark woman, very African looking. And my mother said that this woman said something about slavery. I was like 8 or 9, so she either said she was a slave or she was born a slave or something. All my life I thought that this woman was born into slavery and came up [North] after emancipation. It wasn't until we started doing this research, like maybe last summer, that I was like, Oh wait a minute, she was probably a slave born into slavery here. She probably didn't come from the South. I had no idea. You know, so I didn't know any of those things, and it’s been amazing to me. LFS [01:19:45] An eye opener. And I don't know, I don't know whether it was a thing of shame or a thing of like we just don't talk about the past because we don't. I don't know what the reason is, but then again when I speak to my mom's cousins, their parents told them things because they've told me stories. Like her cousin on her mother's side, Allie, one day I was sitting we were sitting with her in her room and she's telling all these stories and she knew about her grandparents and her great grandparents and you know I was writing notes actually because I was like “I've never heard any of this,” you know, so I don't know if it was just the two of them or if there was like some reason that we didn't talk about it, but we never talked about family history. VJF [01:20:36] Yeah, and also too, even during the Civil Rights Movement, we didn't really talk about anything. My father talked about how when he was in World War II and came home from the army, if he would go he would be on the bus, people, even white women, would get up and offer him their seat. And I was like, okay, that's polite. You know, I thought it had to do with patriotism. I didn't understand what he really meant for a white woman to stand up and give a Black person her seat. Because he was a soldier. I mean, we sit everywhere on the bus. I didn't know that people in the South could only sit in the back of the bus. You know, my father's business partner was white. We used to go to parties with them, you know, but maybe there were clues. I mean, because that's one of the things I wrote here is that I 19 �remember we were at Heinz and Millie's house one time. They were my father's partners. And I told you, we lived in Arbor Hill, which is a working class neighborhood. Heinz and Millie had just gotten married and they lived in the nicest section. They were Polish. They lived in Loudonville. [During] their parties, you know, all the men would be in the kitchen talking and the women would be in the living room sitting down and chatting and stuff. Nat King Cole came on. That's when he had a program of fifteen minutes in the evening or something. He came on and everybody came out of the kitchen to look at Nat King Cole. The women had even called their husbands, oh come look at this. My mother was so embarrassed. And I didn't know why. Actually, I thought it was because he was so dark and strange looking. But anyway, that's all I could think of. I had no idea that, you know. I mean, now granted, I knew that we didn't see Black people (we were “colored” at that point, or “Negroes”). But anyway, you didn't see [us] on TV. But I didn't really understand anything else, you know. Yeah. It wasn't as if you couldn't go places. There was no really no place to go in Albany. As far as I knew, we never went out to dinner. That was just something we didn't do until maybe I guess the 1960s or 1970s. No one did that at all. When I was a kid, I went to day camp at the YWCA. My mother would never allow me to stay overnight anywhere. So day camp was about all I was gonna get. And at day camp, there were maybe, I don't know, maybe three Black kids, no, okay, maybe there was one Black kid, me, and two Puerto Rican kids. Okay, Nilsa and Bernie [Brunnie, Brunhilda] Cordero. But anyway, on Wednesdays, we would go to Mid-City, which was this big swimming place out in Menands. We never had any problem going in there. We would go there, we'd spend the day, we'd have a wonderful time. And when I was in high school in the 1960s, I think her name was Barbara Lawyer. Okay, there were some very high class Black people living in Albany. And this is during the Civil Rights Movement, they decided to sue Mid City because it was segregated. And I was like, what? I've been going there for years. I had no idea that it was segregated. You know, I couldn't understand that they weren't letting these Black people in, you know. SC [01:24:22] Do you think there was classism involved, too? VJF [01:24:25] I don't know. I think I was with the Y and I thought who cares. I wasn't bringing in fifteen people, you know. So maybe there were other things going on that I just wasn't aware of because, you know, if my father has a white partner and he's living in the best neighborhood in town, you know, why would I think that? But there was another thing too. My father's best friend was the only Black doctor in town. But he was very light, so he could have passed for white, but he didn't. And he and his wife bought a house in Loudonville, in must have been 1964/1965, late 1960s when I was getting ready to graduate. Before they could move into their house, somebody set their house on fire and burned it down. So then they didn't move into Loudonville, they moved into I think it was called Newtonville, which is like the next neighborhood up. And they moved there and they lived there forever. But I didn't understand that you know, I was like, Really? Is that happening? So I guess there were signs, but I was just totally oblivious, didn't know. You know. But that was the worst thing that had happened, you know, in Albany. They had attributed it to an electrical fire and my father said, “Yeah, I don't think so.” But also too, that was the reason that my father never tried to move us out to a different neighborhood where 20 �we might not have been accepted. I don't know. There was never any talk of that. You know. So I don't know. I loved going to Millie before Millie had children, I used to go up to her house every weekend. She wanted a baby. And so she took me. And so I would go to her house and we would do things. It was just great. And even when she had her first child, Karen Ann, you know, I was maybe, I don't know, maybe 7, 8 at that point. I would go up and I would spend the day with Karen Ann taking care of her. And it was wonderful. I would say to my dad, why can't we live at that house? It's a really big backyard. It was new, modern, what do they call it? Ranch style. You know, everything was on one level. It's like, Oh yeah, I really like this, you know. And Karen Ann had a bedroom door that would close. See this is the other thing. In my family, children did not have privacy. So even though I had a door on my bedroom, my mother had the door open and then she had the china cabinet, because my bedroom opened onto the dining room. So she put the door so it was behind the china cabinet. So there was never a way for me to close the door. So I had no privacy. LFS [01:27:54] When did you get those pictures of the aunts? I had them when I was growing up, so you used to have them. 'Cause those are the only like family pictures we ever had. VJF [01:28:14] I don't know, maybe when you were a baby she gave them to me. LFS [01:28:17] I mean we had them when we lived in Peekskill, I'm pretty sure. VJF [01:28:20] Yeah, yeah, we did. We did before 1969. Yeah, that's what I think it was probably when you were a baby. Interesting. Why? LFS [01:28:29] I was just curious because I remember, do you have those pictures? VJF [01:28:32] I do have 'em. I do have 'em. They're in the big thing. Again, but I never knew who those people were, except they were aunts. Well they didn't mean anything to me either, and I don't know why she gave me those pictures. It wasn't as she was dying or anything, 'cause I had them for years. There was a little album. LFS [01:28:48] I mean, for someone who never gave any information about her family, mmhmm and then she gives you these pictures and these women were like I mean, I know who they are now. Then they were alive in like the 1800s, you know. They're definitely relatives, but like for someone who never talked about her family or any of that and then just gave you random pictures of people. I don't know, it just now that I'm actually like thinking about that, it just seems odd to me. VJF [01:29:25] But, you know, the pictures of Cousin Fanny [in the chair]. I had visited Cousin Fanny's house. And Cousin May and them over here, you know. So I knew them. But I don't know if she also included the war pictures, the romance pictures of her and my dad when they were courting. Oh, I have those. Yeah, well she gave me all of those at the same time. I'm laughing. But I don't know why she gave them to me or when she gave them to me. Obviously it was during the period when we were speaking. 21 �LFS [01:31:03] I'll jump in with a question. So going to number eleven, because I don't know any Black history, so I couldn't answer number ten either. As we weren't taught any of that. I'd like to talk about that at some point. VJF [01:31:27] We wouldn't talk about Black history; it was more emotional or embarrassing not to know about our history. And for me, when I was in seventh or eighth grade, we were taking American history, and the teacher went around the class and asked everybody, you know, what their heritage was, and so we had Italian Americans and Irish Americans and German Americans. And then when each kid told her, she would tell what their relatives, their ancestors had contributed to the building of America. There was me and this other Black kid, “colored” kid at that point. And so I said, well, what did colored people do? You know, I raised my hand and she said “nothing, absolutely nothing.” I was floored; to this day that really bothers me. And that was one of the reasons that when I got to college I took African American history so that I could learn about those things because I grew up being ashamed that we had not contributed anything to America. And this ties into the other question because you asked about celebrating the 250th Commemoration. Black people, at least Black people in the North, the people I know, are very, very patriotic. I mean, we drank the Kool-Aid. You know, we really believed it. And it was amazing because obviously you knew that the story that they've told you really couldn't be true. But we believed it. We thought, oh yeah, “I can do that. I'm as equal as anybody else.” You know, for me, when I was growing up, when I thought I wasn't equal, it was because my mother was saying, no, women can't do that. It had nothing to do with color. I couldn't be president, I couldn't be a ballerina, I couldn't be a social worker. You know, social worker because of germs and being a ballerina because why would anybody want to do that? You know, that kind of thing. Although my cousin, her niece did become a prima ballerina for the Dance Theater of Harlem. So for us, it was really important to be American, to be proud of being an American. You know, that's why the Declaration of Independence, that's something you knew about, you believed in your bones. I didn't know anything about what was going on in the South, other than what I read in the textbooks and what I heard during the Civil Rights Movement. For me, the Civil Rights Movement almost came down to men versus women, because I was in college at that point 'cause I finished high school, worked, and then went to college. I was in college when Stokely Carmichael was saying, well, the only place in the movement for women is prone and I was like, well, F you, you know. For me, it was much more of a feminist issue than Civil Rights. LFS [01:34:35] Yeah, sorry, that's more than what I got. All I can say is that it bothers me that they're still not teaching the history. I mean my kids are in their twenties, early 30s, so it wasn't that long ago that they were in school and they didn't learn this stuff either. The number of people who walk up to me and say, “So there was slavery in New York?” But how would we know? You know, that history is never taught, and I feel like the educational system well, all right, I'll tell you a story. When my oldest child who's now 31 was in fourth or fifth grade, she had an assignment in social studies, and the class was supposed to write a report about and draw the flag of the country that their people were from. And you know, we don't live in like a super diverse place because we live in Westchester. And she came home and she's like, you know, what should I do? And I said, “Well, you know, we're American, 22 �we've been here for a while, and you draw the American flag, talk about that.” And she went back and she told her teacher, and her teacher said, “No.” She said, “My teacher said no, I can't do America because everybody comes from some place”. And I had to go down there and have a talk with that teacher and be like, listen, this is a really unrealistic assignment for a Black kid in this country. Because how are you ever supposed to know? And this was before ancestry DNA was a thing. How are you supposed to know how you got here, what country you're from? I mean, from Africa, that's a whole continent, you know. And this was not a young teacher who was just learning how to teach. This was a gentleman who was close to retirement, already been teaching 20, 30 years, and I just wanted to say to him, have you never ever taught a Black student? Like, how can you not form the assignment in a way that everyone can participate? There's nothing wrong with the assignment per se. It's the way it's presented that you can't say, you know, yeah, America, because we were here, you know. And I feel like there's not been that many changes from her not learning it to me not learning it to my kids not learning Black history. There's not that many changes. I mean, you go like slavery, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and now Obama. That's it. That's all you got. And that's a big pet peeve of mine, actually, that the educational system is not, and apparently it's not going to anytime in the near future because we don't teach that anymore, if we ever did. VJF [01:37:36] But I wanna say too, for me, I'm really thankful that you and Peter decided to start doing this project [founding the African American Archive of Columbia County] because I wanted to know about what happened in Kinderhook, but I never would have done the research to find out more. And I think it's really important what we're doing. I think that even though your girls are not really interested at the moment because they don't care. LFS [01:37:36] They literally say to me, “well, that's in the past, Mommy. That's not my business.” Eventually, one day they will care. One thing I wanted to mention too is it was an assignment that Kyra had where she had to be a slave or she chose to be a slave. During Fourth Grade colonial day, all the kids each got an assignment, like you're gonna be an apothecary, learn about apothecary and come in with costume and you know, have your little bits, or you're gonna be a farmer, right? So everybody had to do a thing, and Kyra and the one other Black kid, biracial kid in the class, were both assigned slaves. Kyra really wanted to be an apothecary. That’s what she wanted. I know I got little jars, I can make potions, you know. And that yeah, that was another time I had to go have a word with a teacher about the way those things were being assigned. VJF [01:39:05] I also remember being in Junior High School and taking Home Economics (Home Ec). All the girls had to take Home Ec. We were not allowed to take shop like you guys were. So as part of Home Ec, when we were making tuna noodle, tuna wiggle, that's what it was. Okay, tuna wiggle and making aprons, they started to ask us about our heritage. And so I said, you know, well I'm Black. I didn't say Black, “I'm Negro, I'm American Indian, and I'm Chinese.” The teachers were in the doorway and I was way over on the other side [of the room]. And then I realized that they were looking at me and pointing at me and laughing about what I had written down. And I was like, “why?” I mean, that's what I had been told that my father's father was called “Chink” because he looked like he was Chinese. I have been told that there was some Chinese there. My mother's father was supposedly half Native American, and I still believe that. My father's father supposedly was part Irish. I don't know how that 23 �came about, but there were a lot of Irish people around here. So it could have been true. But the fact that being a Black person when someone asks you what you are, you're just a Black person. You're not anything else. And I don't want anybody to define me. If I tell you that's what I am, that's what I am. You know, you don't say to me, well, “no, you're really not.” She [Leigh] knows that because her husband and I got into it, you know. Well, yeah, you know, we took the DNA thing from whatever. And the results came back and it didn't show that I have any Native American. And I was like, well, that's wrong. And we got into a battle. I was like, “no, no.” I take pride in that. And if you tell me that's not true, then you're telling me my family lied. And I don't think that's the case. You know, and I think that there are other Black people that probably feel that way too, that we're not seen as people. We're seen as, I don't know, a monolith: “you're only Black.” I guess I'm Black and probably from Africa, but I don't even know [from] where. LFS [01:41:51] We can do [that] now, because we've done the DNA. VJF [01:41:53] Yes, but I wouldn't – LFS [01:41:57] But we can give you a little chart now. VJF [01:41:58] But I wouldn't go there. I have and you know the whole idea of going back there and saying, Well, hi, I'm from here. I don't think I'd do that because I do know that during the 1960s when there were a whole bunch of Black people that went to Africa, the Africans were like, “yeah, no, this is not your homeland. You can come visit, but don't expect to stay.” And the whole thing of Kwanzaa. I can't celebrate Kwanzaa. I don't know anything about Kwanzaa. Why would I celebrate that? You know, it's not me. It's not my heritage. And I want to know my heritage and now I do, and that's what's important. Yeah. That's why I'm really so thankful to what we're doing, what you're doing. LFS [01:42:41] Anything else? Do you want to go to another question? SC [01:42:49] Yes. You discussed what the preservation work means to you, but if you can talk more about how you got the idea to create this archive and anything that you want to share about the project, how you envision it, because you're doing a lot. You're doing research, programming, doing grant work—a lot. LFS [01:43:08] I'll be brief. I mean I have to say that I don't do as much of the programming and I definitely don't do any of the grant work. Don't ask me anything about money. That's all her [Vicki]. But I do a lot of the research. The whole thing started because my husband had a hobby, which I think now we can call a profession because he's been doing it for 25 years, genealogy. And he just started looking into my family because, why not? He's doing genealogy. My husband got into genealogy because he was looking into his family. His family is Eastern European Jewish from Latvia, but he didn't know any other details like that about his family. And so when he hit a kind of brick wall in his research, he started looking into our family. Once he started getting our family back past my great grandparents, which is pretty much the level of what I had ever heard about, I started to be really fascinated by it. Once he got us 24 �back to like the early 1800s, I was like, “whoa, this is amazing.” And because I'm a big fat history nerd, I just really wanted to know. He’s really good at like the details and all the dates and the places and all of that stuff, but I wanna know and I've always wanted to know how people lived. How did they dress, what did they eat, what kind of houses they live in, all of that stuff. The more I found out and the more that I talked to people about it, I realized that no one else knew this, and I talked to my mom about it, and there was so much about it that she didn't know, and I was like, “Well, somebody's gotta be getting this stuff together and have it in a place where other people can find it.” Because, like I said, my kids aren't interested. This is not something that I'm doing for my kids. It is something that I'm doing because all the other groups have their base of knowledge. “I came from Italy and I came from here and you know Grandma Rose came over on the boat and through Ellis Island in 1910.” Everyone else has their story, but we don't have our story. And we should, because these are real people, right? They're real people. There's that saying that a person doesn't die as long as there's someone alive who says their name. And I say their names all the time because I think the fact of their existence needs to be recorded, needs to live on, needs to be in a place where people can find it. And I know that some people are not interested, but there are always gonna be those people who wanna find out their history, and it's really unique and it's really special here in this particular area in Columbia County. That's actually one of the reasons why Pete and I do free genealogy. Because it's yours, you should know it. You know, why should this just be in somebody's hidden records somewhere? It’s hard, hard work. I mean, how do you find the history of people who are not recorded? You know? How do you do that when the only record is a name and it's in somebody's will, but that will is in somebody's attic because no one ever thought to go through great-great-grandpa's papers, you know, all kinds of stuff like that that makes it really, really complicated. But then I find somebody and it's really, really amazing. It’s an unbelievable feeling to be able to put two and two together and say, Oh, this is this person. We made a connection between our family and Agrippa Hill and Mumbet [Elizabeth Freeman] in Massachusetts and my mind was blown, you know. Those kinds of things make it so special. And then we get to meet all these great people who are caring about the same thing that we're caring about. VJF [01:47:43] Also, it's important to point out that most African American history is told about the South or people coming from the South after emancipation. Nothing or very little has been written or researched about the people that have been here in Columbia County since the 1700s, so it is a unique situation. And if we don't do it, who else is gonna do it? It's very important. And as we're doing this stuff, we're finding, you know, who thought about the Revolutionary War? Did you ever think that Black people were in the Revolutionary War? No, this is just coming up now, and so there's so much to be done. You know, and because this is so unique, we want to make Columbia County, not us, but Columbia County, the place to go if you want to know about Black history in the Upper Hudson Valley, because it was so different. And because it's traceable in other places. Buffalo, when did the first Blacks come there? Probably on the Underground Railroad. That's the 1800s. You know, here they came right off the slave ships, and apparently they stayed, because they've been here for so long. That's why 25 �you have so many Black people here with Dutch last names. That's because they didn't go anywhere. They found that even after emancipation, there was something about this area that they said, “Might as well stay here. It's not too cold. I got a job. I've been waiting for my family to be free. So I've already got a house and everything.” So they stayed. And so we can trace their history. Granted, there are about three hundred souls that we don't know who they are in the Persons of Color Cemetery [historic site in Kinderhook]. But there are also fifteen headstones and we know those people because we're related to them. LFS [01:49:33] We didn’t know we were related to them until we did this. I never even heard those names. I didn't even know that cemetery was there. The names meant nothing until we did this. VJF [01:49:43] And it's funny too because there are three cemeteries. There's the Persons of Color Cemetery over in Rothermel [Park]. And then there's where Martin Van Buren was buried. And across the street, there's the new cemetery. So we knew that our people are in the new cemetery. Yeah, because her parents are there. So we found out that there are Black people, Civil War veterans, in the old Martin Van Buren cemetery. And then there are our relatives that are in the Persons of Color Cemetery. And we're like, what? How can that be? We just didn't know. And if we don't know, we know no one else knows. And we're probably the last generation that's gonna be able to do this, you know, because it'll be gone. Young people don't care. And our government is trying to effectively erase it. Someone has to hold it. And we've got people, we've got academics who are interested in the topic, and so we're gonna try to put an annual symposium together about Dutch—we're gonna be inclusive and call it colonial Dutch history— you know, but it’ll include Black people as well, but it'll also include the Dutch. But you know, there's just so much history here, you know, and let's do it. That's why I'm so thankful you and Pete did it. Thank you. LFS [01:51:17] It’s a big undertaking. VJF [01:51:19] It is, but it's fun. LFS [01:51:21] It's fun and it's also easier because we each have our thing. Pete loves to sit in front of the computer. Maybe go down to the city clerk's office, you know, look through old books. That's his thing. That would make me crazy, right? I can't deal with money, so she [Vicki] does like all of the programming. We each have our thing that we like to do and we do it and then we come together and put all our notes together and talk to each other, but it would be too much for one person to do. I will say, just going back to because you mentioned this before, and we really have to leave this room because they will throw us out. But I will say that you [Vicki] mentioned before about people being patriotic. And I think honestly, that Black people are the most patriotic people in this country. We came here against our will. We've never been wanted. We have tried in every age and every time period, tried harder than any other group to build our country to account to the values that it says it has on paper. Jefferson didn't want us to stay here. Lincoln didn't want us to stay here. We exalt these people, but I mean honestly, they don't want Black people here. But we stayed and we built it and we did all the work and we're still doing the work and we have just continuously fought to make America the country that it says it wants to be on paper. And I feel so much stronger about that now having done this work, having seen that yeah, we were here and yes, we did build this and this this is my country. 26 �And now if people are coming and messing things up, it is an affront to me. It's an actual personal affront to me because this is my country. We've been here since before it was a country. VJF [01:53:37] That's so unbelievably important to me. And this is our town [Kinderhook]. To be able to walk on William Street where our family had houses—It's incredible. LFS [01:53:50] You know, this is ours. This is our place. We owned property, we built things, we did things, we had businesses, we laughed, we loved, we did all of the things. VJF [01:54:00] And we know now who we are. You know, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. There's no reason to be embarrassed that we were enslaved. We didn't volunteer for it. It just happened. You know, but we still persevered no matter what. And that's important. You can take a lot of pride in that. 27 � https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/e3c8c8b0d44b09de6cabd3bf99c4d63b.m4a c5c51449b3edc5156dee487f72721820 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with Lisa Fludd-Smith and Victoria Jimpson-Fludd Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 12 December 2025 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Skidmore Saratoga Memory Project Language A language of the resource English (en) Subject The topic of the resource Descendants Oral History Project Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Bibliographic Citation A bibliographic reference for the resource. Recommended practice is to include sufficient bibliographic detail to identify the resource as unambiguously as possible. "Interview with Lisa Fludd-Smith and Victoria Jimpson-Fludd," Skidmore Saratoga Memory Project, accessed (date), https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/collections/show/45. Description An account of the resource This is an interview with Victoria Jimpson-Fludd and her daughter Lisa Fludd-Smith, respsectively the Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director of the African American Archive of Columbia County. Vicki, a former professional management consultant, is responsible for overall project coordination, financial control/grants management and events management for the Archive. Inspired by the stories of her grandparents lives in Kinderhook and Stuyvesant, she brings a deep affinity for Afro-American heritage to the project. Lisa puts the stories and historical background to the names and dates compiled through her husband's research. She focuses on combining abstract data with social, historical and cultural observation to create compelling narratives. She is presently writing a book on the lives of her Columbia County ancestors and the history of slavery and freedom in the area. Lisa is a frequent speaker at events related to pre-20th century Black history.​ https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/90a510c707aebe80af8fd724e9c253ae.JPG eb80eda24068062ba36cf005b3e2d4c9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with Vonnie Estes Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 12/01/2016 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Clara-Sophia Daly https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/2da702f6bbad7209be00cc4cd0a0c6eb.mp3 32207a5305495d412280d86899595e9d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Flurry Festival Description An account of the resource The Flurry Festival is a three day music and dance Festival that takes place in Saratoga Springs in February. The festival holds workshops, performances, dances, and jam sessions in the city center and throughout the town. The Flurry first started as a dance festival for contra dancing but has expanded to musicians and spans all genres of music and dance as well as encompassing family friendly events such as storytelling. Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource The Flurry Festival Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jennifer Davies, Clara-Sophia Daly, Dustin Foote, Amanda Muir, Tess Olcott, Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Original recording wav file, 16 bit 44.1 khz Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Clara-Sophia Daly Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Vonnie Estes Location The location of the interview Lucy Scribner Library, Room 127, Skidmore College - Saratoga Springs NY Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Digital audio recording Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 53 minutes Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Clara-Sophia Daly Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 06/12/2016 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with Vonnie Estes Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 12/01/2016 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Skidmore-Saratoga Memory Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available DS113A: Storytelling Interviewing, Skidmore College Description An account of the resource Interview with Vonnie Estes, musician, dancer, and volunteer at The Flurry Festival, a three-day music and dance festival in Saratoga Springs, NY. Estes speaks about growing up, her evolution as a piano player, the history of The Flurry Festival, and her influence over many folk music events around the Northeast. Language A language of the resource English Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Clara-Sophia Daly Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Original recording wav file, 16 bit 44.1 khz Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 12/02/2016 Abstract A summary of the resource. 00:0:26 Header 00:0 20 Explanation of The Flurry Festival and types of music there. 00:1:30 Vonnie Estes. Born in Syracuse New York October 12 1953. Grew up in Fabias New York. Played Piano as a child and took private lessons in school. 00:5:22 Volunteered at Boston Spa Historical Society. Attended first contra dance in 1978. 00:10:17 Attended first Flurry Festival Dance in Gymnasium. 00:14:36 People come back to The Flurry Festival year after year for the community. Many relationships are formed from the music and dance community. 00:18:20 Describes why it is so fun to play for dancers as opposed to jamming with other musicians in a house concert setting. 00:20:40 Young Skidmore students attend jam sessions with other local musicians. 00:23:20 Describes music sessions as “welcoming” and inclusive. 00:25:40 Explains other music groups in NY area that Vonnie Estes and husband are members of. 00:29:10 Defines what a hammer dulcimer is 00:32:26 Prefers upright piano to a keyboard. Likes the acoustic sound and tonality of a real piano. 00:35:15 Describes her job at General Electric working with digital equipment and using a genographics machine to digitize images. 00:36:16 Describes the lack of communication today in comparison with when she was young. 00:38:50 Meets volunteers at The Flurry who are also community minded. 00:41:32 Explains a typical day at The Flurry and what she does. Goes from venue to venue around Saratoga to hear music, play music, dance and volunteer. 00:42:21 Added three extra hours to schedule for The Flurry Festival in 2016. 00:42:46 Describes husbands responsibilities in relation the The Flurry. 00:45:40 Calls her husband “tall, dark and handsome” and “a good dancer”. 00:46:36 Losing Saratoga Music Hall as a venue. Talks about new venue possibilities for The Flurry. 00:49:05 Describes contra dancing as easy. You only have to know “your right from your left hand and walk up and down” 00:49:38 Explains what a “figure” is in terms of square dancing. 00:50:04 Talks about how contra dances used to be segregated by gender, but now are not. Used to be called “proper” dances, now they are “improper” - meaning that it is mixed woman and men and not separate. Notable change in contra dance. 00:51:29 When asked about politics in this country as a whole: “We’re in trouble coming up” “I didn’t vote for him” 00:52:13 Invites all Skidmore students and dancers to The Flurry and to other local dances in the area. 00:52:56 Thank you from Interviewer to Interviewee. Subject The topic of the resource Saratoga Springs -- Flurry Festival -- History Contra Dance dance music oral history Piano Quebec The Flurry Festival https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/8bf985724d4cbdd8cabcfdc04440301f.jpg b1858738feacce97cbe9ef03da28c89c https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/927357b49e8def38608dad5e360999fc.mp3 af9a9d36a298344fefa7f1073ac0b79f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Flurry Festival Description An account of the resource The Flurry Festival is a three day music and dance Festival that takes place in Saratoga Springs in February. The festival holds workshops, performances, dances, and jam sessions in the city center and throughout the town. The Flurry first started as a dance festival for contra dancing but has expanded to musicians and spans all genres of music and dance as well as encompassing family friendly events such as storytelling. Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource The Flurry Festival Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jennifer Davies, Clara-Sophia Daly, Dustin Foote, Amanda Muir, Tess Olcott, Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Original recording wav file, 16 bit 44.1 khz Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Tess Olcott Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed John Kirk Location The location of the interview Arthur Zankel Music Building, Room 325 at Skidmore College Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Digital audio recording Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 58 minutes Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Tess Olcott Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 06/12/2016 Time Summary A summary of an interview given for different time stamps throughout the interview Interviewee: John Kirk Interviewer: Tess Olcott Location of Interview: Zankel Music Building, Room 325 Date of Interview: 12/2/2016 00:00:00 Header 00:00:18 Introduction – Born in New Finland, Canada, father in the Air force so grew up around the world. Moved to the states when he was 11. Grew up in turbulent times. 00:01:32 The 1960s were a time of great music, his sisters music collection got him started in music, and she taught him guitar. He got his own guitar at age 9. It was organic from there, self-taught. In college he got his first banjo for $40, led to listening to more banjo recordings which had mandolin and fiddle so he learned those also. 00:4:47 Came to Skidmore when wife started teaching banjo, still teaches in Vermont – music history and instrumental music, has been teaching for 9 years at Skidmore. Loves teaching college students because of their enthusiasm, likes to teach how to learn music. Being able to teach and having students show appreciation gives great joy. In the 1950's you could not study jazz because of its stigma, enjoys seeing the growth of music. 00:10:21Playing in a group near Albany and was asked to play in the Flurry Festival at a junior high school. Calls contra dancing while playing the fiddle. The festival was on a much smaller scale. It was 1987, the first year it started. 00:12:30 Calling dancing is very common in traditional music and many international dances. In America, it started with dancing masters. There was different organized dances for English, Irish, etc. that colonists brought here. Masters would travel around calling dances, still happens today. The tradition is held. There are several different formations and music types. There is a huge contra dancing society, one of the main reasons for the Flurry. Explains how contra dancing works. Recent Flurry now have gender free dances. 00:18:12 Changes to the Flurry after the move – More space, more variety, more performers, more people. All new dances, new workshops, new instruments. Talks about each new dance, especially international dances. Having it in the middle of winter brings people out and about. 00:22:21 Going to the flurry – overwhelming, sounds from everywhere in every move. Explains the process of looking at a program and deciding which events to go to because there are so many events, you have to plan ahead or else you may miss something amazing. Endless opportunities even for beginners. Always something to do throughout the whole weekend. Young people people now outnumber the people who have been going for years. 00:27:36 Being part of the community – people that go that he plays with that he has known for 40 years. Great to get to visit with old friends. It is always fun to go to the big sessions where a lot of things come together. 00:29:22 How the younger generation effects the feel of the festival – Higher energy level, great to see the change in music. There are always new ways of playing music. Seeing new innovative ways of playing music. 00:32:37 – Big changes to the festival – change happens gradually, but seeing all new forms of international music is exciting. Sometimes get so caught up in appreciating the music and don't notice all of the change until later. Contra dance is still the big social dance. At the very first flury, the danced the finish write off of the gym floor, including the logo. 00:35:34 Doing the festival with wife is priceless. They get to do all of the events together is always fun. 00:36:20 Favorite things to go to at the Festival – Loves the impromptu sessions in the hallway, the percussive dance, and several of the international dances. Went on a tour around the world and got used to hearing music in a new way. 00:38:56 The changing community – mostly in numbers. Incredible population. Diversity has also increased. Especially with gender. Also talks about Irish set dancing. People are coming from farther away, the social media presence is expanding. They have a house full every year which has turned into a tradition. 00:41:53 Affect on Saratoga – Had to battle for space every year. Main street and downtown businesses have been really supportive. Brings in a lot of people to the city. 00:43:20 Other traditions – At the end of the festival, the next conference is a Baptist gospel revival conference. People at flurry are all tired and a mess by the end and the Baptist group is all dressed very nicely. Its funny to compare the two. People make friends very quickly at the Festival. Political, social, plans and networking talked about. There are struggles too, but they all disappear post partum 00:46:37 Other challenges – Staying hydrated and nourished. Trying to get everywhere. Deciding where to go. Very few artistic problems 00:47:59 Favorite memory/story - Lots of favorite things, playing with legendary mandolin players and Peter Davis. Every percussive dance performance is worth seeing. To be a part of the final dance on stage in the big band. 00:52:18 What advice would you give – Print out a schedule and highlight what you want to do. Look forward to it and fear nothing. Fear not. Go to the dances and try to participate. Stay hydrated and dress in layers. 00:55:05 Favorite workshop – percussive dance festival, or funny songs and sing along. Maybe a yoga class! Come to the festival – it’s a great tradition. 00:58:12 End of interview Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with John Kirk Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 12/02/2016 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Skidmore-Saratoga Memory Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available DS 113A: Storytelling Interviewing, Skidmore College Description An account of the resource Oral History interview with John Kirk, musician and contra dance instructor for The Flurry Festival. Talks about the changes to the festival that have occurred over the years in terms of audience, music types and dance styles. Language A language of the resource English Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Tess Olcott Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Original recording 16 bit 44.1KHz Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 12/2/2016 Subject The topic of the resource Saratoga Springs -- Flurry Festival -- History John Kirk oral history The Flurry Festival https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/cbc82ce88c5b21d8e9a78f3950396b6b.jpg 33b1f7a7f02f95030ca6551d3bd8af82 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Photo: Trish at Arches National Park, Moab UT https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/af2d61a9aa474a3b66da98ca7292879c.mp3 59e8e837133886fd596a6c1eca6cb52f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with Trish Miller Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Flurry Festival Description An account of the resource The Flurry Festival is a three day music and dance Festival that takes place in Saratoga Springs in February. The festival holds workshops, performances, dances, and jam sessions in the city center and throughout the town. The Flurry first started as a dance festival for contra dancing but has expanded to musicians and spans all genres of music and dance as well as encompassing family friendly events such as storytelling. Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource The Flurry Festival Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jennifer Davies, Clara-Sophia Daly, Dustin Foote, Amanda Muir, Tess Olcott, Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Original recording wav file, 16 bit 44.1 khz Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Jennifer Davies Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Trish Miller Location The location of the interview Lucy Scribner Library, Room 128b, Skidmore College Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Digital Audio Recording Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 43 minutes Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Jennifer Davies Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 06/12/2016 Time Summary A summary of an interview given for different time stamps throughout the interview Log: Interview with Trish Miller 0:28 – Discusses her early background with music and dance, how she first became interested in dancing and folk music 2:55 – Becomes a member of touring dance troupe The Green Grass Cloggers, which is how she met her husband John Kirk because he was one of the troupe’s musicians 4:20 – Trish discusses what brought her to Saratoga Springs, and what the town was like when she first came here, Paul Davis 7:00 – how Saratoga Springs has affected The Flurry and vice versa 9:20 – how interest in folk music has evolved over the past few decades 12:00 – Trish’s first experience at the Flurry Festival, Paul Rosenburg 15:50 – Ways that the festival has changed, Hudson Mohawk Traditional Dancers 18:35 – sense of community from within and beyond the festival 21:55 – what a participant/visitor of the Flurry could expect to experience (both positive and negative), the energy/atmosphere of the festival’s environment 28:06 – discusses some various styles of folk music and dance at the festival, Jay Ungar, Pierre Chartrand 32:00 – discusses some of the international participants in the festival 34:20 – discusses Bosnian performers at festival and speaks a bit about the Bosnian culture present in nearby New York state 35:35 – discuses hip-hop stomp dance group from Albany and how the group expresses ideas of social justice and politics 37:55 – recollects on the year that Saratoga lost power due to snow right as the festival was starting and how the dedicated participants overcame this obstacle 41:20 – Trish’s hopes for Skidmore to become more involved in the Festival Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with Trish Miller Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 12/05/2016 Language A language of the resource English Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jennifer Davies Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 12/05/2016 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available DS 113A: Storytellling Interviewing, Skidmore College Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Original recording wav file, 16 bit 44.1 khz Description An account of the resource Trish Miller, dedicated Flurry participant and teacher of banjo at Skidmore College, describes her background in folk music and traditional dance and discusses her experiences with the annual Flurry Festival in Saratoga Springs. Subject The topic of the resource Saratoga Springs -- Flurry Festival -- History dance music oral history The Flurry Festival https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/20e95a3a929f69df109dada4f00fa508.gif 4b0afc180b2402dd8144aaadd55d2df0 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/f886ad1d2da3cd79705f6b7b7615befe.mp3 a7d0f138fd571604a1633869ae628e79 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Evolution of Beekman Street (20th century-2016) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 12/13/16 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Saratoga Memory Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Skidmore College Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available DS: 113A Storytelling Interviewing, Skidmore College Description An account of the resource History of Beekman street, evolution of Beeekman, artist identities/roles, the future. Language A language of the resource English Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Original recording wave file, 16 bit 44.1 khz Zotero Interviewee Amejo Amyot, M'elle Pirii-Lee, Cecilia Frittelli, Interviewer Jonah Brenner, Amanda Peckler, Yuelin He, Max Lowe, Dejon Bunn-Constant Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Yuelin He Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Cecilia Frittelli Location The location of the interview 143 Grand Ave. Beekman Street, Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Digital Recording Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 37 minutes Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 16 bit, 44.1khz Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Yuelin He Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 12/12/2016 Time Summary A summary of an interview given for different time stamps throughout the interview 00:00:05.28Header 00:00:23.03 Introduction. History of her business. Been around in textile industry for a long time. Born in Boston in 1958. Graduated in 1980 with a degree in theater design and in fiber arts. 00:04:23. Relationship with weaving. Father's influence. 00:05:39 Introduced to Beekman Street in 2001 by Amio. Did not find space until 2007. Involved with this street since the very inception. 00:08:36 Relationship with Amio. Nice vibe, history, and restaurant drew her to Beekman Street. Working and LIVING IN THE SAME AREA. Perfect and quiet place for artists to live and work. 00:10: 54 Artists on Beekman street. 00:15:14. The idea of showing the public the process of production. Lifestyle. Products with story. More excitement about products. 00:18:28. Adaptation to the art district community. 00:19:53 Economic crisis. Shop locally, shop meaningful. 00:21:14 Promotion of shop eco-friendly, local, small. 00: 22:44 Operation of the studio. 00:24:36 Add experience to business. Not just about selling the product. Lifestyle. The idea of making something beautiful and having some people appreciating it. 00:26:36 Customers composition and products. 00:27:27 Favorite moment with Beekman Street. Art Fair. Show case. Festive event. 00:29:36 Differences in working in big cities and working in small community 00:31:39 Challenges artists face. 00:34:22 The thriving history of Beekman Street and the current status. 00:35:36 Possibility to make Beekman Street thriving again. 00:36:17 Government needs to do more. 00:37: 24 End Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with Cecilia Frittelli Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 12/07/2016 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Yuelin He Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Skidmore Saratoga Memory Project Description An account of the resource History of street, evolution, artists identities/roles, the future Language A language of the resource English oral history https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/0760a3d4e07b864ec4806f63eed488a0.png ad92cf235aec9c15623bcb2d4c77c6c8 https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/a34a117f77a095db0c35022d9534cf90.mp3 523c3ff228a1ae1d88556d4d646f4673 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Flurry Festival Description An account of the resource The Flurry Festival is a three day music and dance Festival that takes place in Saratoga Springs in February. The festival holds workshops, performances, dances, and jam sessions in the city center and throughout the town. The Flurry first started as a dance festival for contra dancing but has expanded to musicians and spans all genres of music and dance as well as encompassing family friendly events such as storytelling. Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource The Flurry Festival Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jennifer Davies, Clara-Sophia Daly, Dustin Foote, Amanda Muir, Tess Olcott, Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Original recording wav file, 16 bit 44.1 khz Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Colin Liscord Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed John Guay Location The location of the interview Skidmore College Library room 128C Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Interviewee: John Guay Interviewer: Colin Liscord Location of Interview: Study Room 128C in Skidmore Library Date of Interview: 12/1/16 00:00:01- Header 00:00:31- Introduction, born September 21, 1944 in Biddeford Maine. Currently resides in Easton New York. 00:01:14- President one Flurry Dance Organization. Runs seventy dances a year. Flurry originated to help fund local dances. Been going for thirty years. 00:02:34- Started small, thirty local performers. Grown to 4700 performers from all around. 00:03:22- Mission statement, to inspire and connect people through traditional music and dance. 00:11:36- Contra dance evolved for the dancers. 00:12:06- Flurry has evolved, started techno contras. Draws youth in, happens at midnight. 00:19:47- Plays hammer dulcimer. 00:23:28- Important historic and community event. More than just music and dance, brings community together. 00:25:05- During the Flurry have different rooms in hotel have music lessons, historic lessons and dances. 00:27:05- Added more dances over the years. Jamming together in the halls. 00:28:04- Started to see high school kids come and play instruments and dance. 00:32:04- Revitalization of music. 00:35:20- would like to see more Skidmore students come play and dance. 00:36:31- Flurry more about dance. 00:37:27- Would never consider moving. Saratoga has a nice community feel for the Flurry. 00:38:34- Only dancing and music art forms. 00:41:01- Flurry unique, has beginning and experienced dancers. Organization needs to keep more experienced dancers around for this experience. 00:43:18- End. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Digital Audio Recording Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 43 minutes Record Contributor Individual who prepared the item and/or edited it. Colin Liscord Record Creation Date Day/Month/Year of record creation/edit 06/12/2016 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with John Guay Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 12/1/2016 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. The Flurry Festival Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available DS 113A: Storytelling Interviewing, Skidmore College Description An account of the resource Oral History interview with John Guay, president, musician and dancer of the Flurry Festival. Guay talks about how the Festival has changed over the years and the problems they have today. Language A language of the resource English Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Colin Liscord Subject The topic of the resource Saratoga Springs -- Flurry Festival -- History Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Original Recording wav file. 16 bit 44.1KHz Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 12/1/16 oral history https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/files/original/891899d3ea38b03435dedbc5c7a6df4d.jpg 413c973c03f0d2013a4ccae7304dc478 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Evolution of Beekman Street (20th century-2016) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 12/13/16 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Saratoga Memory Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Skidmore College Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available DS: 113A Storytelling Interviewing, Skidmore College Description An account of the resource History of Beekman street, evolution of Beeekman, artist identities/roles, the future. Language A language of the resource English Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Original recording wave file, 16 bit 44.1 khz Zotero Interviewee Amejo Amyot, M'elle Pirii-Lee, Cecilia Frittelli, Interviewer Jonah Brenner, Amanda Peckler, Yuelin He, Max Lowe, Dejon Bunn-Constant Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource [Beekman Street Flag] Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 12/1/2016 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Amanda Peckler Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Amanda Peckler Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Amanda Peckler Medium The material or physical carrier of the resource. photo