I would have to say the Gateway Museum is firing on all cylinders.  On May 25th we opened our doors to start the 2019 season.  Featured this year on the first floor is a new exhibit about Dr. Morse’s Indian Root Pills.  At the turn of the century the Comstock family making their Indian Root pills was the largest employer in Morristown and sold the pills worldwide. The exhibit captures the enticing advertising from the era and displays images that are designed to get you to buy this elixir. 

Over at the Red Barn Preserve the Morristown Highway Department arrived the week of May 19th to install a 300 foot long board walk along pond #2.  A week later students and faculty members from BOCE’s arrived to spend a day building a number of trail improvements along our new Trail #2.  The trail opened May 25th.   At about the same time as the trail construction was completed Dr. Jessica Rogers SUNY Potsdam showed up with three summer interns to start her project to study and eradicate invasive plant species at the Preserve.  The team has already identified over 180 plant species at the site and will soon focus on the invasive plants including purple loosestrife and methods to eradicate them.

The real excitement at the Red Barn Preserve is the blue heron rookery and all the activity going on in this nesting site.  The blue heron eggs have all hatched and the birds are busy feeding their young.  We have over 60 active nests in the Rookery.  To our surprise a very talented photographer from North Carolina showed up last week and decided to photograph the birds.  His sensational picture of an adult blue heron standing over 3 young birds sent our Facebook page soaring with over 1650 views.  His pictures by far and away are the best we have ever have seen taken at the Rookery.  A big thank you goes out to Greg Perry for sharing these pictures with the Museum (you can see other wildlife pictures taken by Greg at his website http://browncreek.smugmug.com/.)
 
 
Our garden has gotten off to a slow start.  The wet and cold weather has slowed things down.  We prepared 6 mounds of dirt and planted over 25 Atlantic Giant Pumpkin seeds on May 19th.  On June 10th our first plant emerged and since then we have gotten 2 more to grow.  If you are optimistic you say- what the heck – I only need one plant to create my 500# pumpkin !

We are looking for support for our museum activities this summer.  There certainly is plenty of work to do.  We welcome anyone that wants to help staff the museum for a couple of hours a week (we will provide training) or perhaps there is interest in working out at the Red Barn Preserve.  There is a volunteer day scheduled for Saturday June 22nd at the Preserve to help us with trail maintenance.  Activities include trimming the trails, working on some demolition in the Red Barn and painting around the farm house.  It’s a good chance to get out and reacquaint yourself with your neighbors.  This event is from 9am to 1pm.

The museum is trying to increase our advertising in the community. We have been on Facebook for some time but really did not consistently post pictures and news items on a regular basis.  That has changed and we are now posting almost daily to let the community know what we are doing.  I think we are making some good progress.   I have observed that we usually reach at least 100 people with our posts and occasionally more.  Out latest post of Greg Perry’s pictures of Blue herons has reached over 1,650 people!  If you consider that the village of Morristown has a total population of 325 people- reaching 1,650 people is a big deal !

Our concert series kicks off on Saturday June 29th with Northbound.  (Some of our earlier advertising had this as a Shoes concert- but that has changed) You can see this concert and all of our summer concerts at the Morristown Fire Department Pavilion. Check this website for a complete up-to-date schedule.  As a general rule- our concerts are usually on Monday evenings. Concerts start at 6:30pm. 

There are great guest speakers lined up for this summer.  Jake Tibbles- Executive Director of the Thousand Island Land Trust will talk at the Gateway Museum’s Main Street location on July 17th at 6:30pm. Rich Henderson – President of the Black Lake Association in lined up to talk on August 8th at the Museum.

Many of our supporters have received our patron letter this month requesting donations to the museum that will enable us to continue to provide services to the community.  Most people understand that it requires funds to build museum exhibits or hiking trails.  And I think most people think that the Gateway Museum does a good job providing these services.  If you have not received a patron letter and would like to make a donation please send your donation to the Gateway Museum, Box 231, Morristown, NY 13664 or go to our website at www.morristowngatewaymuseum.org and make a PayPal donation.
 
Dean Shelato
June 14, 2019

Actually there is nothing calm about the month of May as far as the Gateway Museum is concerned.   Our volunteers have worked hard cleaning the Main Street building from top to bottom.  With the opening day planned for May 25th- there are too few days left to get everything done.  The Dr. Morse’s Indian Root Pills Exhibit is nearly complete, planning for the June 15th Garage sale is underway, and once again Clara Warren has created yet another beautiful window display.  We are determined to be ready to open the doors for Memorial Day weekend!

Over at the Red Barn Preserve the team is also going crazy.  The Town of Morristown highway department is preparing to install a 300 foot long boardwalk over marshy areas along trail #2.  The rainy weather does not seem to be cooperating and it will be a challenge to complete this work in time to open the trail for Memorial Day weekend.  We are also hoping to get the garden planted in the next two weeks.  It takes 120 days to grow a giant pumpkin which means those seeds need to be planted now.  The farm house renovation project is scheduled to kickoff June 1st.  We hope to complete this work by Fall and have a new kitchen, bathrooms, hardwood floors, new ceilings and decorated walls throughout the house.

The blue herons have settled down in the rookery and are busy warming those eggs.   Many visitors report seeing only one or two birds in the Rookery.  Those that have powerful binoculars notice that all 60 bird nests are occupied and the female birds are so low in the nests that you only see the tops of their heads.  Visiting the site in early morning and late evening improves your chances of seeing more herons.

We love, love, love the attention the Red Barn Preserve has been getting lately.  This morning a key member of the Laurentian Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club (190 members) showed up at the Red Barn to look at the trail system that we are developing.  The club is interested in doing a front page article on the Preserve in the near future.   We have also been approached by an educator from the Frederic Remington Art Museum in Ogdensburg about offering a nature sketching class in late June.   A BOCES teacher visited the Red Barn Preserve two weeks ago to explore a partnership with the museum that would enable students to work on projects at the Preserve.  These students are learning to identify trees and plants and can build trails as well as locate property boundary lines.  An agreement with BOCES would be very helpful to the museum and the students.   All of these things are just way too cool !

Many of our supporters have received our patron letter this month requesting donations to the museum that will enable us to continue to provide services to the community.  Most people understand that it requires funds to build museum exhibits or hiking trails.  And I think most people think that the Gateway Museum does a good job providing these services.  If you have not received a patron letter and would like to make a donation please send your donation to the Gateway Museum, Box 231, Morristown, NY 13664 or go to our website at www.morristowngatewaymuseum.org and make a PayPal donation.

Each month I end my Blog with a request for volunteers to step up and join the organization.  You can imagine my pleasant surprised when I received this email this morning “I will be in Morristown for 2 weeks starting May 19th.  Do you want any help with trails, the boardwalk or kiosks? I am handy and like getting my hands dirty to help a great cause.” Wow- you made my day !  If anyone else would like to volunteer- we have jobs at the Main Street location as well as the Red Barn Preserve that need to be filled.  Volunteer Day at the Red Barn Preserve is scheduled for Saturday June 22nd.  You can write an email to morristownmuseum@gmail.com or call me or text me on my cell phone at 614-205-8437

Dean Shelato
May 15, 2019

Everywhere I look I see signs that Spring is returning to the North Country.   Our first signs of this included the sightings of the blue herons in the Rookery.  As we have been reporting for the last Month- our Blue Heron Rookery has over 60 nests and these nests are fully occupied.  It has been almost comical to watch these large beautiful birds come together in a single nest.   We encourage hikers and bird watchers to come to the Red Barn Preserve to see these amazing birds.  It is a one quarter mile hike from the entrance of the Preserve back to the boardwalk viewing area.  Visitors should bring waterproof footwear, warm hiking clothes and binoculars.  The nests are about 500 feet from the trail and the end of a large pond.  

A second hiking trail has been planned for the Preserve and will be completed by Memorial Day this year.  With the help of the Town of Morristown Highway Department and Gateway Museum volunteers- a new 300 foot long boardwalk is scheduled to be constructed beginning May 13th.    When this trail has been completed there will be a viewing stand that will enable visitors to have excellent views of blue herons, beavers, ducks and other wildlife living in the ponds on the property.

Work continues on the Farm House renovation project at the Red Barn Preserve.  New windows have been installed, the kitchen floor area rebuilt, roof repairs completed, furnace ductwork replaced, and demolition of bathrooms completed.  It is expected that the bulk of the renovation project will be completed by Fall of this year.

This is also Grant season.  The museum depends on funding to complete the projects that keep the place interesting and appreciated by our patrons.  We recently submitted a grant to the Northern New York Youth Philanthropy Council to seek funding for the viewing stand at the Red Barn Preserve.  We are also applying to the St Lawrence River Redevelopment Authority to obtain funding to complete work at the Preserve including building another hiking trail and renovating the Red Barn and stone wall fence along River Road East.  The Redevelopment Agency are been an excellent partner and funded our projects in the past.  The third Grant in progress is a SAM grant (State Aid to Municipalities) from New York State to provide HVAC for our 309 Main Street location.  State senator Patti Ritchie has been a wonderful friend of the Museum and sponsor of this project.  It is expected that the project will be completed by the Fall.

We have not forgotten about our downtown Gateway Museum location.  Two board members have collaborated on a plan to prepare a new Dr Morse Indian Root Pills Exhibit this summer.  Details will be unveiled as we get closer to our Museum opening on May 25th

And lets not forget our summer concert series.  The museum sponsored 7 concerts last year.  This year we have booked 10 concerts including the Fort Drum Band.  Please join us at the Morristown Fire Department Pavilion when we kick off the series with The Shoes- Rock and Roll From the 50's, 60's, and 70's on Saturday June 29th at 6:30pm.

Thanks to go out to Clara Warren for her work on the Museum’s front windows.  Clara brings special talent to the museum and her windows are “works of art”.  The Spring and Easter look makes you smile !

If you know anyone that would like to volunteer some of their time working at the Museum or Red Barn Preserve- please reach out to us by commenting on this website or call me on my cell phone (614-205-8437)  Our volunteers have fun working on the many projects and events outlined above and would welcome new faces to the team.  

Dean Shelato
April 15, 2019
 
   

News Flash- The Blue Herons have returned to their nesting site at the Morristown Red Barn Preserve.  The Rookery has over 60 active nests and has been home to the birds for many years. Hikers and bird watchers can observe the birds along the blue heron hiking trail established last year at the Preserve.  The trail is located one quarter mile from the entrance to the farm to the boardwalk viewing area.  Visitors should bring warm hiking clothes and binoculars.  The nests are about 500 feet from the trail at the end of the large pond.

Last month’s article about the Red Barn Preserve written by Patty Mondore and published in the Thousand Islands Life Online magazine has generated a lot of “buzz” in the community.  The article outlines the history of the Preserve and the legacy of Alan and Loraine Bogardus.   If you did not get an opportunity to view this please paste the link below into your browser:

https://thousandislandslife.com/the-red-barn-preserve-just-the-beginning/

The Board of Directors of the Gateway Museum met recently to discuss some of the plans that are in the works for this summer.  Much of this discussion centered around the work at the Preserve.  Listed below is a partial list of plans for this year:

1.   Construct a second hiking trail.  The Town of Morristown has agreed to have the Highway Department help with the building of a new 300 foot long boardwalk across marshy areas along Pond #1.  We are also planning to build a viewing stand along Pond #3 that will enable visitors to have better views of the Blue Heron nesting site as well as wildlife in the ponds. The new trail will be at least ½ mile long and intersect the existing Blue Heron hiking trail that was built last year. The new trail will be opened by Memorial Day
2. Complete Renovation work for the Red Barn area of the Preserve.  We expect to repair the North foundation wall, paint the roof with aluminum paint, replace some worn out siding on the south side of the barn, and replace the stone wall fence along River Road East.  The success of these projects depends upon receiving grant money.
3. Complete major renovation work in the farm house.  We are extremely proud of this house that was built in 1835.  Generous donations have been collected to enable our team to replace windows, bathrooms, flooring, ceilings, water heater, and kitchen appliances.  We hope to have this renovation substantially complete by Labor Day.

For a complete list of the Gateway Museum’s 2019 activities please look at the home page of this website and the tab entitled “2019 Events”.

Our garden at the Preserve is going to look a lot different this year.  We have obtained seeds for growing Atlantic Giant pumpkins and will attempt to grow a 500 pound pumpkin.  Giant pumpkins are regularly grown to 2,000 pounds or more each year.  We thought we would be modest and strive to create a 500 pound beast.  The seed stock we obtained says the female pumpkin named “Sproule” was 1,650.8 pounds and the male pumpkin- “Kline” was 1303 pounds.  The secret to this project is chicken poop.  I intend to provide lots of updates to this project as we get into the growing season.

The museum would like to thank all of you that have made donations over the last year to the museum.  We have been very successful seeking donations through our patron letter and fund raising activities. What has surprised us a bit is that donations continue to flow to us in the off season.  We are grateful to have such dedicated donors.  Our long list of projects are easier to do when we have funding.

If you know anyone that would like to volunteer some of their time working at the Museum or Red Barn Preserve- please reach out to us by commenting on this website or call me on my cell phone (614-205-8437)  Our volunteers have fun working on the many projects and events outlined above and would welcome new faces to the team.  

Dean Shelato
Updated March 25, 2019
  
   

We are pleased to have the Red Barn Preserve featured in an article written by Patty Mondore entitled “The Red Barn Preserve- Just the Beginning”.  The article is published in the Thousand Island Life Online Magazine- February Edition.  It can be seen at the following link:
 
https://thousandislandslife.com/the-red-barn-preserve-just-the-beginning/. 

Patty has been a friend of the Gateway Museum and chose to write an article last Spring about the Red Barn Preserve and the opening of our first hiking trail on May 26, 2018.  The T.I. Life magazine is widely read by people interested in outdoor hiking and conservation. We have no doubt that readers will show up this summer to explore the Preserve and check out our new trail that will open this Memorial Day weekend.

Dr Jessica Rogers has notified us that she has received funding for her project- “Eradication of Purple Loosestrife in the Heron Trails Reserve, Morristown, NY”.  Dr Rogers and two interns will start work this Summer on a two year program to study methods of eradication for this invasive species of plant that works to strangle the cattails and native grasses associated with wetland areas.  The Red Barn Preserve is a good site to conduct a study because there are several wetlands in the 160 acre site and a significant presence of Purple Loosestrife plants.

The Gateway Museum has applied to the Northern New York Community Foundation for a $2,000 Grant to fund a viewing platform along the second Blue Heron hiking trail that is scheduled to open before Memorial Day this year.  The platform will provide an excellent view of the Blue Heron Rookery and its 60+ nests.  There will also be views of the large pond on the western end of the Preserve and its wildlife including the beavers and beaver dams.

Speaking of Blue Herons- we are anxiously waiting for the Blue Herons to return to the Blue Heron Rookery.   Each year the birds return in late February/early March to mate and raise another generation of birds.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate……………….

I have mentioned in previous Blogs that members of the Board of Directors of the Gateway Museum have been involved with a project to replace the “Welcome to Morristown” signs that are mounted along Route 37.  The three signs are important to Morristown because they create awareness to tourists about the Town and attractions in the area.  The project to replace the signs with new graphics was moving ahead nicely until the New York State Department of Transportation recently stepped in to challenge the location of the signs.  The project is now on hold until we can better understand the DOT concerns.

We are pleased to announce that a new guest speaker has been added to the summer schedule.  Mr Rich Henderson- President of the Black Lake Association will join us at the Main Street museum location on August 8th at 6:30pm.  Rich is a retired scientist and familiar with the ecological issues at Black Lake.

If you know anyone that would like to volunteer some of their time working at the Museum or Red Barn Preserve- please reach out to us by commenting on this website or call me on my cell phone (614-205-8437)  Our volunteers have fun working on the many projects and events outlined above and would welcome new faces to the team.

Dean Shelato
2/15/19

We have published our preliminary schedule of Museum Activities on the home page of this website for the year 2019.  The museum will open its doors on Saturday May 25th – Memorial Day weekend.  On June 15th there will be the Annual Garage Sale.  Weekly Yoga classes will start June 25th at the Museum and continue through the end of August.  Our summer Concert Series features 10 groups as follows:

Saturday June 29th- the Shoes (Rock and Roll from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s)

Monday July 8th- Chipman Jazz All Stars (Popular song/ Jazz standards associated with Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong)

Monday July 15th- Atkinson Family Band (Powerhouse Blue Grass)

Monday July 22nd- The Mockingbirds:  Barb Heller, Don Woodcock, Carter Hock, George Dodds and Guests

Monday July 29th- Bob Sauter and the Non-Committals (Rock and Roll/ Rhythm and Blues 60’s -80’s)

Monday August 5th- Steelin Country (Country music with a dose of Western Swing)

Monday August 12th – Jack Kelley’s Little Big Band (The sound of classic Big Band music)

Monday August 19th- Northbound (Popular music from the 70’s and 80’s- bring your dancing shoes)

Friday August 23rd-  Fort Drum Band

Monday August 26th- Sweet Adelines (barbershop chorus and more)

We hope to have two guest speakers.  On July 17- Jake Tibbles- Executive Director for the Thousand Island Land Trust will provide an overview of his organization and on August 8th we hope to have a speaker on Fishing in Black lake. 

Our Annual Spaghetti Dinner will be held on August 16th at the Morristown Fire Hall and on August 24th Gary Alford will host a shore dinner fund raiser as his cottage on River Road East in Morristown.

There will be a number of activities related to the Red Barn Preserve added to this schedule as we get closer to summer.  Two volunteer work days have been scheduled- June 21st and September 28th.  We expect to open a new trail at the Preserve in early June.  A new observation platform will be added along one of the trails this summer.  More details will be provided as they become available.

Speaking of the Red Barn Preserve-  our attention is focused on the return of the Blue Herons to their nesting site at the western end of the Preserve.  Last year in early February we counted over 60 birds on their nests.  We are waiting for our first sighting!

Congratulations goes out to Evan Cosler for earning his Eagle Scout rating.  As many of you know Evan belongs to Troop 9 from Heuvelton and he completed his Eagle Scout project at the Red Barn Preserve last summer.  Way to go Evan !

A very special thank you to Jane Martinovitch for her help with the Red Barn Preserve Farm House project.  While many of our retired volunteers have left the North Country for the winter and forgotten about projects for the Museum- Jane has continued to organize and complete work at the House.  Trees have been removed and floor work continues to be done.

If you know anyone that would like to volunteer some of their time working at the museum or Red Barn Preserve- please reach out to us by commenting on this website or call me on my cell phone (614-205-8437).  Our volunteers have fun working on the many projects and events outlined above and would welcome new faces to the team.

Dean Shelato
1/12/19

I recently received an email from Patty Mondore who writes articles for the Thousand Island Sun newspaper as well as other outdoor magazines.  Patty had written an article about the Red Barn Preserve earlier this year and was wanting to obtain an update on what the Gateway Museum has done since the first hiking trail was opened on Memorial Day this year.  Her request caused me to think about all the interesting and exciting things the Gateway Museum has done to the Bogardus Farm property since it was bequeathed to the Museum in 2017.  I decided to share the story that I passed along to Patty with the readers of this Blog.  It is truly an interesting story of how a small museum in upstate New York took an undiscovered piece of property and converted it into a public use facility.  It is also a story about reaching out to the community and capturing their interest in this project.  And finally it’s a story about wildlife and environmental conservation – and a Rookery of Blue Herons.  Here is the information I gave Patty Mondore.  
 
When the Gateway Museum officially took possession of the Bogardus 160 acre farm (it was bequeathed to the museum from a founding member of the museum in 2017) there were concerns by the museum's Board of Trustees about this asset.  There were many questions to be answered.  What would the museum do with a farm property?  Would the cost of ownership drain the coffers of the museum?  Should the property be sold?  Do we have enough volunteers to do the maintenance work on the property?  Is there any way the museum could get a revenue stream from the property?
 
The property came with significant deed restrictions that basically said the site must remain forever wild.  There could be no commercial activities.  No logging operations were allowed.  The land could not be subdivided.
 
Armed with these restrictions- and a lack of understanding about what the carrying costs would be- the Board debated long and hard about our next steps.  A number of Board members decided that selling the property would be attractive and eliminate the financial risk. Others voiced optimism about possibilities for creating a "public use" facility with work funded by donations and Grants.  At the end of discussions - the President of the Board proposed that the property be held for 5 years while efforts be made to explore a long term plan for the site.  The motion was approved.
 
Within a month of the Board decision to keep the property one of the Board Members -Susan Shelato called the Thousand Island land Trust organization (TILT)and asked that they come to the farm.  Two representatives appeared and hiked the property with several board members.  The visitors were astonished at what they saw. At the rear of the farm was a nesting site for Blue Herons - known as a Rookery.  They advised that there are a very few blue heron rookeries in the North Country.  They also pointed out that there was an abundance of wildlife everywhere- deer, beaver, rabbits, and fox to name a few.  It was amazing to everyone how wild the 160 acres were-  one would have thought that a farm would be flat land devoid of trees and ponds.  In fact - the "farm" had not been farmed in over 50 years and the owner had used excavation equipment to create four large ponds that occupy over half the site.  At the end of the visit the Thousand Island Land Trust made it clear that they would be interested having an easement granted to them to create hiking trails.  They further suggested that the Museum try to develop the site and they would offer advise -as needed.  Better yet the TILT representatives provided the museum with a suggested hiking trial layout using GPS coordinates from their exploration of the site.
 
Susan Shelato made several other calls to wildlife experts and invited them to visit the farm.  Professor Glenn Johnson from SUNY Potsdam is a wetlands expert and arrived with a friend from the DEC.  Both were pleased with what they saw and confirmed to the Museum that the property is truly unique.  The next phone call went to Michael Parks.  Michael owns his own consulting firm specializing in wetlands and is a recognized expert on Blue Herons and Blue Heron Rookies.  While Michael's demeanor is soft spoken and quiet - his smile revealed his enthusiasm for what he saw.  He announced to Susan and the other board members-  you do indeed have a very special place.  He counted over 60 Blue Heron nests.  While this visit in the late summer of 2017 was not during the active nesting season- Michael said that the nests were in such great shape he had no doubt - they would be occupied in the Spring of 2018.
 
As the news spread of how special the Bogardus Farm property was- Museum Board members and volunteers decided to go ahead and brush hog a hiking trail along the route proposed by the Thousand Island Land Trust organization.  It was October 2017 and a perfect time to do this work.   300 feet of the proposed trail would require the construction of a boardwalk across a marshy area along a large pond.  This could be done in the Spring
 
In November of 2017 - the Museum went before the Town of Morristown and requested help from the Town Highway Department to build a boardwalk and to construct a parking lot along the access road to the property.  Hearing the stories about the Blue Heron Nesting site - the Town Board readily agreed to help.  The Town also agreed to allow the Museum to submit an application for a Grant to the St Lawrence County Redevelopment Authority to develop a hiking  trail at the site.  The Grant was submitted under the Town Of Morristown's  name.
 
On February 10, 2018 a Museum Board member hiked to the back of the Red Barn property and confirmed for the first time that Blue Herons were occupying the nests in the Rookery! The board member counted 40 birds.  This observation validated everything the experts had predicted.
 
In April/May 2018- the Town of Morristown Highway showed up as promised and built a parking lot off the frontage road to the property as well as a 300 foot boardwalk across the marsh land area.  On May 26th- the first hiking trail was opened to the public.  The trail was a bit rough that required hikers to climb over fallen logs and to negotiate soft spots in wet areas near the ponds.  Local hikers from the area were polite when asked about the trail - offering lots of support for the museum volunteers and occasionally some advice on improvements.
 
In June- a Boy Scout from the largest Boy Scout Troop in the area came forward and requested permission to use the trail and the opportunity to improve the trail as an Eagle Scout project.  Eagle Scout projects require a minimum of 100 hours labor and serves to provide the Eagle Scout a chance to show organization and leadership skills.  On June 16th -15 scouts, parents and volunteers converged on the Farm site to spend a day bringing the trail up to Boy Scout standards including widening the walking area to six foot wide.  The work also included constructing a small bridge made out of logs across a narrow stream and adding mulch to all the soft areas.  At the end of the day - the hiking trail was as nice as any trail in the area including the ones in nearby Jacques Cartier State Park.
 
Late in June the Museum was notified that the Grant was approved.  $12,250 was to be provided to improve the property.   These funds represented a gold mine to the museum and insured that significant improvements such as signage, kiosks, and improvements to the Red Barn would be paid for.  The Grant also funded a second hiking trail that would be built in early 2019.
 
Word of mouth spread the news about the hiking trail and hikers began to appear daily.  The Board approved a resolution to rename the Bogardus Farm- the Morristown Red Barn Preserve.  In early August professional designed signage was installed along River Road East in two locations- at the Red Barn entrance and at the parking area adjacent to the trail entrance off River Road East.
 
Traffic at the Red Barn Museum continued to grow over the summer months.  Newspaper articles about the site and friends telling friends brought in daily hikers who were curious about what was going on at this beautiful site.  An annual Artist event in Morristown in early August brought 30 artists to the property to paint landscape scenes.  The only complaint registered was - where is the port-o- potty ?  By the end of August volunteer worker bees proudly install a new outhouse near the boardwalk- complete with half moon door design.  
 
Volunteers continued to make improvements.  Using the Grant money- a kiosk was installed near the Red Barn, a new water pump installed to provide water to the farm house, red barn and garden and weathered siding on the south side of the barn was replaced and painted.
 
By now the buzz about the Red Barn Preserve was getting louder and louder.  Donations to the Museum began to appear with specific notes directing monies to be spent at the Preserve.  A common request was to buy and install Park Benches.  In early September - eight concrete park benches were purchased.  Five were installed immediately along the trail and three were put in storage to be used on the second hiking trail.  The community was truly inspired by work going on at the Red Barn Preserve.  The museum also noticed little things like some of the neighbors across the street from the farm mowed not only their own lawns but they also would cross River Road East and mow the shoulder of the road along the Red Barn property.  Can it get any better than this?
 
The answer is yes it can.  In early September a resident of Morristown approached the Museum and asked if they could fund the renovation work on the farm house.   This stunning development caught the museum by surprise.  The farm house renovation work had been planned in the later years of the museums 5 year plan.  The Board of Trustees met shortly after the offer was made and approved this request.  Work started in the Fall and was shut down for the winter in late November.  It is expected that the renovation will be substantially completed by the Fall of 2019.
 
More good news was received when Dr Jessica Rogers From SUNY Potsdam attended one of our museum board meetings to ask permission from the museum to conduct a two year study of invasive plants at the Red Barn Preserve.  While we were not thrilled to learn that we had purple loosestrife plants invading our wetlands and strangling our cattails- we were inspired by Jessica's presentation on how there may be ways to slow this activity down and even stop it.   Dr Rogers further volunteered to have her interns help our volunteers to identify and label plant species along our trails.  The Board is committed to environmental  conservation and quickly approved the request to study purple loosestrife.
 
Looking ahead to 2019- the museum is planning  to build a second hiking trail by Memorial Day.  The trail will be level and cross through a second pond on the property.  A second 300 foot boardwalk will be built to cross the marsh land area.  The trail will also be constructed closer to the Blue Heron Rookery.  An observation deck will be constructed to provide better views of our majestic birds  as well as views of the beaver dams on the property.  The last leg of the trail will pass through a wooded area. It is expected that this new trail will be 3/4 of a mile long.
 
Another activity planned at the Preserve is the planting of a garden near the beginning of Hiking Trail #1-  not just any garden.  The Museum has obtained and will plant Atlantic Giant Pumpkin seeds and attempt to grow a 500 pound pumpkin ! One of the museum volunteers has grown 300 pound pumpkins in the past- so we are hoping it is not too big a stretch to grow a 500 pound monster.
 
Should the museum be successful securing another Grant- the Red Barn will be improved by painting the roof with aluminum paint and a new stone wall will be built to replace the stone wall that is falling apart along River Road East.
 
Its been a little more and 18 months since the Red Barn Preserve was acquired by the Gateway Museum.  No one could have predicted how well the development of this site and its hiking trails occurred.  The discovery of the Blue Heron Rookery was the driver for this project.  It drove the energy and enthusiasm for the Board and volunteers.  This in turn created excitement in the community.  The excitement of the community funded Grants and caused citizens to step up to support the plan.
 
The museum began with asking questions about what to do with a 160 acre farm.  18 months later we answered that question and look forward to continuing this journey   

Dean Shelato
December 10, 2018

Our beaver residents at the Red Barn preserve are working overtime to get ready for winter.  We have lost over a dozen trees in the last month to their aggressive attack on our poplar trees. One of the trees measured 12 inches in diameter!  It is fascinating that a single beaver can take out a tree in one days’ time.  Our tree stand of poplar trees is small and there is concern that we may be wiped out if the attack continues.

Three museum board members met with the Town of Morristown Highway Superintendent Dean Hoffman at the Red Barn Preserve to review the plans for our second hiking trail.  The Highway Department will once again construct a 275 foot boardwalk along the marshy area adjacent to our second pond.  Work will be done in the Spring – in time for a Memorial Day opening of the trail.  The museum is grateful for the support from the Town and Highway Department to make this happen.

Work continues on the Farm House.  We have ordered 15 windows to replace the old ones that are worn out.  A tree contractor has been hired to remove two large locust trees with branches hanging over the house.  The real danger with these locust trees in the splitting that occurs in the main trunk o the trees.  These badly damaged tree trunks are at risk to the high winds that we get from time to time. Most of the house has been gutted.  Ceilings were removed in the downstairs areas.  Floors and subfloors have been torned up.  Plumbing fixtures in the first floor bathroom have been removed.  The entire second floor bathroom and its fixtures have been removed as well.  The kitchen and washing machine room have been taken apart.  With winter approaching we will close down the project in the next couple of weeks and resume in the spring.   

We have an outhouse !  As our foot traffic has increased over the late summer and fall months on the hiking trail it became apparent that we needed some facilities to accommodate the needs of our guests.  Amazingly our Amish neighbors build commercial outhouses that are sold internationally.  (I was told the biggest customer is in Canada).  We proudly mounted the traditional crescent shape on the door to make sure people knew what was this building was doing out on the trail.

Our community continues to donate artifacts to the museum.  Gloria Johnson donated a portrait of her grandmother painted by Charles Chapman and a chair belonging to a Civil War veteran.   Gary Premo has donated a Muskie fishing pole that belonged to his father.  This pole comes with a wooden case with a leather handle and is excellent condition.  Thank you ! 

To prove we have a sense of humor- read this story.  A very nice lady called me up last month and said that her mother-in-law had just passed away and had a dining room table that “George Washington had sat at”.  She had no proof to support this claim. She did provide a credible story of how this furniture had been in the family for many generations.  While technically this donation does not meet our acceptance criteria where our artifacts must have a connection to Morristown - we decided it was such an interesting piece of furniture we accepted it and hope it fits into our Farm House after the renovation has been completed.   

The Board is putting the finishing touches on our schedule of Activities for 2019.  Most people do not realize how far in advance these activities have to be scheduled.  The music groups from the Summer Concert Series operate under contracts.  These contracts are done 9 to 12 months in advance of the event unless you are Fort Drum.  We have invited the Fort Drum band to appear and they will not commit until about 90 days ahead of our requested date.  We have also scheduled Jake Tibbles- Executive Director of the Thousand Island Land Trust to speak to us about TILT.  The Thousand Island Land Trust wears the big boy pants when it comes to conservation and hiking trails in the North Country.
 
I mentioned last month that the museum decided to get involved with the “Welcome to Morristown” sign project.  As everyone one knows- after 12 years the three signs installed  by the Chamber of Commerce are worn out and need to be replaced.  Four members of the Board of Trustees for the museum are working with a sign company to come up with an attractive replacement to what we have today.  A presentation will be made to the Town of Morristown board in their November meeting.
 
I have made it a point to end each of my Blogs seeking Volunteers to join us at the Gateway Museum.  We have way too much fun each summer with all of our activities.  We welcome anyone who would like to work a couple of hours for the museum.  It’s not too early to provide us your name and interests for next year.  I would be happy to add you to our list of volunteers.  Please call me on my cell phone at 614-205-8437.

Dean Shelato
November 11, 2018

As the leaves fall from the trees- its time to welcome the cool weather and prepare for winter.  We sadly closed our Main Street doors for the year on September 30th.   It’s been a wild year for us and a year we will remember for some time to come.  We held our annual garage sale, opened the Big Fish Exhibit, sang with 7 bands in the summer concert series, listened to two speakers talk about the Rail Road ferry between Morristown and Brockville and the Status of Sturgeon populations in New York, opened a hiking trail at the Red Barn Preserve, sponsored our annual Benefit spaghetti dinner, conducted weekly yoga classes, taught a small group of community friends how to paint a barn quilt, and worked on the Bogardus Farm house.  Some of museum team members have suggested it just might be time to slow things down and catch our breath!

While we catch our breath the Museum Board met twice earlier this month to attend planning meetings. The projects and activities for 2019 need to be planned in advance.  For example the summer concert series has been discussed and contracts issued to bring in 9 musical groups next summer.  A grant will be applied for to construct a second hiking trail and facility improvements at the Red Barn Preserve.   We have penciled in thoughts for two guest speakers, proposed two crafts classes , requested our Board member Gary Alford host a shore dinner, scheduled  two Volunteers days, and talked about maintenance projects that will need to be completed before the end of the summer.  Looks like 2019 is shaping up to be another busy year.

We may have closed the Main Street museum doors for the season but we have not closed the Red Barn Preserve.  Some of you may have noticed a lot of cars parked at the farm over the last couple of weeks.  Our volunteers are scrambling to finish a few projects.  George Coslar and Jeff Swift built a wonderful Kiosk next to the barn that will be used to display our hiking trail information.  Rich Bzura got a chance to test out his paint sprayer on the south side of the Red Barn.  The garden plot was harvested and plans are in place to grow at least one giant pumpkin next year.  Thanks to the donations from friends of the museum-5 new park benches have been placed around the Preserve.  A couple of board members have laid out the rough location of the proposed second hiking trail and a new outhouse has been installed . 

I mentioned last month that Dr Jessica Rogers (Assistant professor of Environmental studies, SUNY Potsdam) requested permission to conduct studies at the Red Barn Preserve to eliminate an invasive species know as purple loosestrife.  Jessica presented her project to the Gateway Museum Board of Trustees and it was approved.  During the summer of 2019 and 2020 Jessica and her summer interns will set up test quadrants to determine the most effective way to control this plant.  While we are sad to know that we have a lot of purple loosestrife around the Preserve- we are happy to have Jessica help to eliminate the species.

The most exciting news this month concerns the Farm House at the Red Barn Preserve.  The Farm house is a wonderful stone house build in 1835.  It needs a lot of work to make the place livable.  Money has been raised from the community to start the renovation of the house.  Work started last week and will continue until Spring.  The former owners of the property Allan and Loraine Bogardus would be proud to see the effort museum members are putting in to bring about all the changes.
 
The Gateway Museum and its volunteers work hard to bring positive changes to the community.  Most of the time the efforts are focused on developing new exhibits or creating recreational opportunities at the Red Barn Preserve.  Sometimes our members reach out beyond our normal boundaries to make a difference.  Recently several board members got together to talk about replacing the three “Welcome to Morristown” signs that have badly deteriorated over the last 12 years.  These signs were originally installed by the Morristown Chamber of Commerce.   New graphics have been prepared and a fund raising drive launched to pay for this work.  We hope to have the new signs up before the end of the year.

We welcome anyone who would like to work a couple of hours for the museum.  It’s not too early to provide us your name and interests for next year.  I would be happy to add you to our list of volunteers.  You can provide us your contact information through the website or call me on my cell phone at 614-205-8437.

Dean Shelato
October 16, 2108

With the passing of Red Grandy- the museum felt it was appropriate to dive into the archives and retrieve some of the famous photos Red had taken over the years.  Red had visited the Gateway Museum a few years back and given a talk.  The current display shows some of Red’s best work- including his famous photo of General Eisenhower at the moment he learned President Truman had fired General MacArthur. The display will be available until the museum closes for the season on September 30th.

The new Red Barn Preserve signs have been installed along River Road East and are attracting a lot of attention.  Up until now people driving by the Farm property seemed uncertain about the place being open to the public.  Neatly mowed lawns and an active garden made it seem like someone was living there.  The signs have changed all of that and this has resulted in an increase of visitors to the property.  Other improvements in the last month include new wood siding on the south face of the Red Barn, purchase and installation of a new outhouse, installation of concrete benches and construction of a service road along a portion of the hiking trail to facilitate getting wood chips to the forested trail area. 

Speaking of the hiking trail- our latest Grant funds a second trail across the property.  With fall approaching and the heavy brush subsiding- it is time to start planning a trail blazing project.  If this proceeds like last year’s event to plan trail number 1- it means getting out the knee high rubber boots and traipsing across marshy areas and some fairly heavy brush.   With pink trail marking tape in hand and a hand held GPS unit- we should be able to mark a new trail that somewhat parallels River Road East. 

I have often written in this Blog about the abundance of wild life all over the farm. Sometimes I write about the Blue Herons and the wonderful nesting site we have along the western end of the property.  Today I want to mention the beavers.  We have beavers that live in our ponds .  I admit I was concerned about these guys being frightened off by the hundreds of people that hike our trail along these ponds.  I no longer have this concern- last week one of these critters dropped a large 5 inch diameter tree across our boardwalk causing a temporary shutdown of the trail !  This happened in a short amount of time- perhaps one night.  I think these guys are sending us a message.   

The Red Barn Preserve is also excited to have caught the attention of Dr Jessica Rogers.  Dr Rogers is an assistant professor of Environmental Studies at SUNY Potsdam and has requested that the Preserve participate in a study to eliminate an invasive species known as purple loosestrife.  The purple flowering plant has established a strong foothold on the property and any solutions to eliminate this plant are welcomed.

Volunteer Day at the Red Barn Preserve will be held Saturday September 22 from 9am to 3pm.  The Gateway Museum is excited to be able to invite all the people that have signed up or expressed an interest in working at the Farm.  The day will be filled with projects such as cleaning out the Barn, painting the exteriors of the farm buildings, and performing hiking trail maintenance.  Volunteers will have a chance to work side by side with Museum Board Trustee members to participate in a day of fun

The Summer Concert Series ended in August and the team has already met to decide what to do next summer.  There were 7 concerts this year.  We expect to have 9 concerts next summer including the military band from Fort Drum.  The Morristown Fire Department pavilion has worked well this year to house the concerts and we are looking forward to doing the same next year.

I wrote last month about the planned Pat Ceresoli Benefit Spaghetti Dinner scheduled for August 17th-  - hoping that it would be a success.  This is our largest fund raising event of the year.  The dinner was a huge success and record breaker for attendance.  Well over 200 people turned out.  Thank you Don Ceresoli for the fantastic job you and your family have done to make this such a success.

The museum accepts donations of artifacts.  Our criteria for accepting items involves a couple of considerations.  First of all- does the item have a connection to Morristown?  Does it have historical value ?  Does the museum have room to store and/or display this item.   We were pleased this month to accept a Glenwood Base Heater No.6 pot belly stove dating back to the mid 1890’s from Carolyn Deeley.  This stove is in excellent shape, beautiful and ornate.  It may be used at our Red Barn Preserve site in the near future.  Thank you Carolyn

Our volunteer organization continues to grow and we welcome anyone who would like to work a couple of hours for the museum.  There are numerous things you can do for us to help the museum.  If you like working outdoors- we have endless projects out at the farm.  A new volunteer recently explained he was good at maintenance and before long he was wiring the new electrical service in the pump house.  Others have asked if they could work on our hiking trail project- and the answer was yes!  We are currently looking for someone who has knowledge of computers and web cameras. We need someone to help us catalog museum artifacts.  If you have experience in fundraising- we need you!  If you know how to apply for a grant- we need you (and if you do not know how to apply for a grant- we will teach you.   The bottom line is- we have a lot of fun and we think we provide a great service to our community.  If you want to help- please call me on my cell phone at 614-205-8437
 
Dean Shelato
September 15, 2018