I’ve been fascinated by Albany’s Civil War coinage – the scrip and exonumia produced by Albany’s merchants in 1863, when U.S. currency proved scarce. In the past, I’ve blogged about these coins and transactional storefronts – merchants like D.L. Wing and Straight’s Elephantine Shoes and Benjamin & Herrick Fruits, Here’s a blog post from February…
Read MoreAll articles filed in history
A return to the “Ladies Entrance” sign
Last year, my model friend Muse posed in front of a distressed sign on North Lake Avenue in Albany. The picture, Ladies Make Their Own Entrances, later found its way to the Historic Albany Foundation’s BUILT charitable auction. The other day, as I’m testing out some redscale film in my Leica M3 camera (“Leica Green”),…
Read MoreThe dollhouse
I want to tell you a story. It’s a good one from my childhood. Trust me on this. If you’ve read my blog over any extended period of time, you know that I will get involved in arts and crafts projects. Turning soda crates into tables and chests. Taking old burlap sacks and embroidering them. …
Read MoreThe #blackhistorymonthchallenge
If you follow my Facebook feed, you might have seen some recent videos and clips on my page that honor the celebration of Black History Month. For this year, I am posting – once a day – a video or a photo or a remembrance of those leaders and innovators and creators and legends who…
Read MoreA sonic and historic achievement for Solid Rock
Background. In the winter of 1982-83, I received a cassette tape filled with Australian rock and pop songs, songs by artist I had never heard before – groups like InXs and Midnight Oil and Rose Tattoo and Dragon. Yeah, got hooked on that stuff pretty quickly. One track on that home-recorded cassette tape, however, stood…
Read MoreThe Life Saver at the 1968 Reunion
You can prepare and prepare and prepare all day and night for an event. And the last thing you expect – the one thing that could derail your entire event – could happen right then and there. It happened yesterday morning. And it threatened to screw up an event I was scheduled for that night.…
Read MoreThe Evolution of Frontier Town, 2018
Regular readers of this blog will know that I have an affinity for the legacy of the long-shuttered amusement park Frontier Town. The Wild West-themed park, off Exit 29 on the Northway, was a waycool location for fun and adventure. But in recent years, Frontier Town has gone from treasure to eyesore. The long-shuttered park…
Read MorePlease don’t go, Silver Fox Salvage…
Although I understand why this must happen … I wish it wouldn’t. Although I understand the reasons for this notice … I wish there was another option. But unfortunately, Silver Fox Salvage – the parts and supply emporium in Albany’s Warehouse District is now on its final weeks. This Facebook post from last Wednesday sums…
Read More
April 2, 1970: When It Played in Albany
Last night, I was doing some research on Albany history for an upcoming project. And as I whirred through miles and miles of old newspaper microfilm, something reminded me of an old blog post channel of mine. It’s called “When It Played in Albany.” This was a recap of various movies that played in Capital…
Read More
The Cleaned Coin of the Rebellion
I’ve written in the past about Albany’s Civil War store coinage, where merchants made their own currency when the national coinage was limited. In sort – Albany (and many Union cities) ran short of common currency, which forced store owners and businesses to offer customized tokens and scrip for consumers. This coinage lasted from 1863…
Read More