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
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
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