Zadock Pratt Museum 2014 Schedule of Programs, Talks and Events
(All Talks and Lectures are scheduled for 45 mins. to 1 hour at the Prattsville Community Church, Main Street Prattsville at 1pm, except for events scheduled on Sept. 27 and afterwards)
June 21, 12 noon—Saturday: Jim Planck, historian: 19th Century Prattsville and the Literary World to be Talk Topic
Say the name Zadock Pratt in this area and many folks can tell you he was a major tanner back in the days when hemlocks covered the Greene County Catskills, and that Prattsville bears his name.
Others may also know that he was a two-term Congressman; or perhaps even that he was an honored dairyman in the state, with what was essentially a model herd developed by statistics; or that, as a banker, his Prattsville Bank was not only a success, but avoided the financial collapses of the times.
So as an industrialist, politician, farmer, and businessman, Pratt's character is not unknown. But what many may not realize about him is that as a community leader he recognized the importance of the arts, and had an ongoing interaction with those who moved in that circle.
To highlight the literary world's connections with 19th century Prattsville and the Pratt family, a talk on the subject will be presented by local history advocate and writer Jim Planck on Saturday, June 21, 1-2 p.m., at the Zadock Pratt Museum, Main Street (Rt. 23), Prattsville.
Planck has had a long-standing interest in the life of Zadock Pratt, researching its many varied avenues, and Saturday's talk will touch upon some of the ways in which the literary and print world interwove with Pratt, his family, and the community.
Among the then-prominent literary names of the 19th century that will be discussed are Herman Melville -- a name still known to all via his classic "Moby Dick, or The White Whale"; Anna Sophia Stephens -- author and magazine editor, whose 1839 Catskill area-based book "Malaeska: The Indian Wife of the White Hunter" later became the first Dime Novel; and poet William Ross Wallace, whose famous line, "The hand that rocks the cradle, rocks the world," from the poem of that same name, remains in use yet today.
So drop back into the time of Young America, and come hear how the Pratts and Prattsville drew the respect of those who knew them and wrote about them, and how they themselves were writers.
Planck is Vice-president of the Greene County Historical Society, a Board Director on the Zadock Pratt Museum, and a reporter for Columbia-Greene Media, and has written extensively over the years about aspects of local history.
For more information, call (518) 299-3258, or email prattmuseum@hotmail.com.
June 28, 1pm—Saturday: Terry Bradshaw Talk: “Excerpts from Notable Figures in the History of Stamford New York”. Writer Terry Bradshaw will guide us into a preview of her book in progress about the famous and interesting people that have figured into the history of the little town of Stamford NY. Besides D.F. Hasbrouck, whose artwork is being exhibited as this season’s feature presentation, Ms. Bradshaw will also cover anecdotes about other notable denizens of Stamford—colorful, likeable and interesting characters, all--including Ned Buntline, Dr. Churchill, Fred P. Murphy, Frank W. Cyr and others. Some of these names, although perhaps not familiar, have been pivotal in changing—and saving--our lives in America.
July 12, 1pm—Saturday: Michelle Delaney Lecture: Ms. Delaney is the Director of the Smithsonian’s Consortium for Understanding the American Experience and is the author of the observation that the Catskill Region is not only the Birthplace of American Art, but growing research shows us that it’s also the Cradle of American Art--as especially exemplified in the Pratt Museum’s retrospective of the artwork of D.F. Hasbrouck. Michelle will be giving the Keynote Address for the Pratt Museum’s 2014 Season which is titled: “Big History, Small Museums: Understanding the American Experience through Collaboration”. Delaney will lecture on the importance of museum collaborations to present important regional history and American biography. New partnerships between larger institutions and smaller state and local museums provide strong foundations for expanding public history projects.
July 19, 1pm—Saturday: The Chase Brothers--Noontime Porch Concert outdoors at Young’s Agway, Main St. Prattsville NY. Brothers Kevin and Chris will perform a mélange of Folk Songs and Americana mixed with the dramatic and high energy unique unto these seventh generational descendants of the original Pratt family.
August 09, 12 noon—Saturday: Enrico Scull, Composer and Musician, along with his friends will perform a Noontime Porch Concert titled, “The Big Caboose and Friends” featuring washboard, guitar and the mandolin rendering instrumental interpretations of Blue Grass, Folk and Americana music. This event will be held at the Prattsville Village Green, Main St. Prattsville NY. Please note: if landscaping construction of the Village Green is incomplete by this date, this event will be performed on the porch of the Zadock Pratt Museum.
August 16, 9pm—Saturday Evening: SkyMan Bob Berman will present an evening of 19th century Star-Gazing in Prattsville New York titled, Exploring the Universe with Bob Berman
Bob is a dynamic and enthusiastic starry-teller and will make the heavens come alive as experienced during Zadock Pratt’s day. Bring your families, and spread your blankets on the Town Green across the street from Pratt’s house, and gaze up at the stars much as Pratt himself did This event will take place at 9pm in Prattsville on the Village Green. Please note: August 16 is scheduled to be a moonless night, but if it’s also cloudy, Bob will conduct a colorful indoor program at the Prattsville Community Church, entitled "Light and Color in the Universe."
Combining lore, legend, and science -- and how "today's universe" is so different from what was believed in the 19th century -- Bob's humorous, informal style will take us from an actual Black Hole to the direction our world is traveling in space, and all the little-known wonders of the summer sky. Held during the dark of the Moon, our region is a planetarium come-to-life! This unforgettable odyssey is perfect for all ages, and all levels of sky-knowledge.
Bob Berman is columnist and editor of Astronomy magazine for the past quarter century, and is also astronomy editor of the Old Farmers Almanac. He has authored more than a thousand published articles in periodicals ranging from Hudson Valley magazine to the New York Times, and been a guest on TV shows such as Late Night with David Letterman. Bob is also the author of eight popular books. Listeners hear his weekly program on Northeast Public Radio stations, during NPR's Weekend Edition. Berman ran the summer astronomy program at Yellowstone Park for the National Park Service for 14 years, and is a former adjunct professor of astronomy and physics at Marymount College.
14. August 23, 1pm—Saturday: Mudfest all day on Prattsville Village Green, Main St. Prattsville. Inside the Zadock Pratt Museum local resident Harvey Truesdell will present his slide collection of over 400 historical photographs of Prattsville’s past from 2 to 4pm. Outside on the grounds of the Museum a Children’s Free Art Activity will be available all day on the front lawn.
September 20, 1pm—Saturday: Betsy Jacks, Director of the Thomas Cole House will be lecturing on Heritage Tourism: The Key to the Future: The story of the Hudson River School of Painting, America's first native school of art, the new nation that forgot about them for over 150 years, and the County—Greene--that re-discovered and re-claimed them as their own through the restoration of the Thomas Cole House, are all stories worth telling. The artwork of Thomas Cole, Asher Durand and others has re-awakened a keen interest in Greene County's distinguished history and the belief that through heritage tourism, the past may truly hold the key to the future.
September 27, 1pm—Saturday: Joan Morales, Geneologist, Talk: New York State and Confederate Prisons. Joan will share with our Prattsville audience an adaptation of the speech she gave before the 2014 Family History Conference of the National Geneology Society held in Richmond Virginia earlier this year. Joan’s sought-after original research uncovers the little-known, and perhaps obscured, story of New York State and its involvement in the Civil War through the Confederate prisons set up in our locale.
September 27, 2:30pm—Saturday: Following Joan Morales talk, the public is invited back to the Pratt Museum to enjoy a visit with Harriet Tubman from the era Civil War as presented by actor Carolyn Evans. Ms. Evans is a professional re-enactor and gives a stirring glimpse into what it was like to be, not only a slave, but a woman, and a black woman during the era before and during the Civil War.
September 28, 1-4pm—Sunday: On the following day the public will have the opportunity to meet, talk with and listen to Sojourner Truth as interpreted also by actor Carolyn Evans.
October 11, 1pm—Saturday: Closing Day of the 2014 Museum Season. No event scheduled.
December 12, 6pm—Friday: Gilboa-Conesville Student Choir and Traveling Band’s Christmas Caroling Performance at the Zadock Pratt Museum, Main St. Prattsville. A time-honored opportunity for a down-home community evening of young people, region-wide residents and all-year-long supporters of the Zadock Pratt Museum to come together in gratitude to celebrate the Spirit of the Christmas Holidays in Prattsville.
