After a hold-your-breath harrowing restoration experience, we are back in the saddle and moving forward with plans for our Grand Opening Weekend. Here are highlights of the schedule so you can start your planning. More details to come!
Grand Opening of the Matilda Joslyn Gage Center: Schedule of Events
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8
A Day of Wine & Women’s Rights
Bus tour to the newly restored Susan B. Anthony House in Rochester, N.Y.
Entertainment enroute. Lunch with program “From Friendship to Fighting to Friendship,” a dialogue between Deborah Hughes, Executive Director of the Susan B. Anthony House, and Sally Roesch Wagner, Executive Director of the Matilda Joslyn Gage Center, about the conflict between the two famous suffragists that tore apart their friendship
and collaboration.
Deborah and Sally like each other, and through their friendship they are healing history. Out of that healing comes energy to transform the world through honest, sometimes painful dialogue, which is at the heart of the Gage interpretive plan.
Today, the Gage and Anthony homes are the eastern and western anchors on the Votes for Women Trail in upstate New York, and their directors are working, through dialogue, to create a coherent story to tell of the split in the women’s movement that changed the course of our history.
Followed by tour and wine tasting reception at Casa Larga Vineyards in Fairport, N.Y.
Dinner & Evening Program in Fayetteville
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9
10-4 Programs Include:
Rosemary Rickard Hill -Taught the traditional Mohawk and Tuscarora beadwork by her grandmothers, Rosemary will demonstrate and discuss the “whimsy” pieces she has created for the Grand Opening exhibit, a folkart sold as souveniers at Niagara Falls during Gage’s time. Michael Patrick Hearn - The foremost authority on L. Frank Baum will speak about the influence of Gage on the peace and justice world of Oz. Judy Wellman - The definitive authority on Underground Railroad and Women’s Rights in upstate New York will explain the importance of the Gage Home in the U.S. history of reform. Martha Burk -Money editor for Ms. magazine and co-founder of the Center for Advancement of Public Policy. Vanessa Johnson -A griot (storyteller in the West African tradition), Vanessa will explore Gage’s role in the history of the abolition movement in Onondaga County and share her primary research on the connection between the Underground Railroad and members of the Onondaga Nation community.
Dinner & Evening Program
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10
10-1 Brunch & Auction
At the elegant Wellington House in Fayetteville, N.Y.
1:30-4 Official Grand Opening
Ceremony at the Gage Home in Fayetteville.
Guests of Honor - Gage descendants, Haudenosaunee guests, International Wizard of Oz Club members, Underground Railroad experts, dignitaries, others who helped make the Gage Center dream a reality
EXHIBITS INCLUDE:
Tuscarora Beadwork & Cultural Identity - 10 original pieces of traditional Tuscarora beadwork (whimsies) created for our Grand Opening by internationally noted beadwork artist Rosemary Rickard Hill. A 19th-Century Whimsy - On loan from the Iroquois Museum. The Creation of the Ruth Putter Welcome Center & Matilda Joslyn Gage Center -Photographic documentation of the construction project by artist Ruth Putter. Yellow Brick Road Quilt Display - Two dozen handmade quilts featuring Oz themes and characters created by the Towpath Quilters Guild and Calico Gals especially for the Gage Foundation
ENTERTAINMENT:
The Eagle Hill Middle School Girl’s Chorus under the direction of Catherine A. Koch performing suffrage and abolition songs that were sung by Gage and her contemporaries.
Local musician/activist Colleen Kattau performing her original composition, a tribute to Gage, with the Eagle Hill Middle School Girl’s Chorus.
A chamber music performance of two original compositions by Diane Jones and Nikolas Jeleniauskas commissioned by The Society for New Musicabout the life and philosophies of Gage for the Grand Opening weekend.
The Matie Masie Ensemble will perform “Words Sweeter than Mother, Home or Heaven,” a musical tribute to the life of Matilda Joslyn Gage composed by Kofi Kari Kari, a Master Drummer, musician and composer from Ghana, West Africa. Under the direction of griot (storyteller) and singer Vanessa Johnson.
Dancers.
APPROACHED, NOT CONFIRMED:
Jake Swamp to plant the Tree of Peace.
Reception to celebrate the meeting of Gage descendents and Mohawk relatives.
Formal reception for Haudenosaunee Women.
The Akwesasne Women Singers.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Contact the hotel of your choice and tell the operator you are reserving your space as part of the Gage Center Group in order to get the reduced rate.
Craftsman Inn -(315) 637-8000
Block of 10 rms available - each room $99 plus tax
Hotel contact person: Ashley Havrilla
7300 East Genesee Street
Fayetteville, NY 13066
Holiday Inn Express - (315) 373-0123
Block of 15 rooms available - each room $115.00 plus tax, includes breakfast
Hotel contact person: Bethany Engle
5908 Widewaters Parkway
East Syracuse, NY 13057
All aboard for the third annual Gage railway excursion to Seneca Falls! Embark in Camillus and enjoy live entertainment on the train. As you ride, listen to songs written in the 1800s for the movement to win women’s right to vote—and join in the singing if you like! Hear stories told by historical re-enactors in period dress. Then stroll the streets of Seneca Falls during the Convention Days celebration that commemorates the 1848 gathering for women’s rights. Visit the Women’s Rights National Historical Park, art galleries, shops, & more!
10:30am — Train leaves Finger Lakes Scenic Railway depot in Camillus. 10:30am - 12:45pm — Onboard presentations, including live music and stories by Mrs. Matilda Joslyn Gage and her daughter Maud. Eat boxed lunch on train (must order before day of trip; otherwise must supply own lunch). 12:45pm - 3:15pm — Visit your choice of museums, shops, and restaurants.
The trip is happening during Seneca Falls’ Convention Days, which commemorates the first national women’s rights convention in 1848. Several Convention Days events are scheduled during the rail passengers’ layover: 1:30pm — Sharon Harris, Ph.D., will discuss her new book, “Dr. Mary Walker: An American Radical, 1832-1919,” at the Women’s Rights National Historical Park Visitor Center Theater. 2pm — Endorsement of “The Declaration of Sentiments” at the First Presbyterian Church. 2:30pm — Panel discussion, “The 19th Amendment, 90 Years Later,” at the First Presbyterian Church.
In addition, the Gage Foundation has arranged some special events just for excursion participants during the layover:
12:45pm - 3:00pm — Open-house reception at Elizabeth Bloomer’s Gallery. Artist Katherine Pfeffer Pross will be present to discuss her portraits of famous women and her unusual three-dimensional artwork that uses a dollhouse to present themes from the women’s rights movement. Complimentary light refreshments and free postcards. 2:45pm — Display of “unmentionables,” with a talk on garments worn by women in the 19th century (at the boarding site).
3:30pm — Train leaves Seneca Falls. 6:00pm — Arrive back in Camillus.
The Camillus boarding location is at the corner of Hinsdale Ave. and Milton Ave., inside the Home Depot / Staples / Wide Waters complex. Parking is at the east end of the complex in front of the Staples and close to the tracks. Train boards on tracks along edge of parking lot. (Street address is 3736 Milton Ave., Camillus, N.Y.) Directions available on Finger Lakes Scenic Railway website.
National Advisory Committee member Michael Patrick Hearn has asked us to acknowledge the recent death of Oz pioneer Martin Gardner on May 22, 2010. He was 95.
MARTIN GARDNER
(1914 - 2010)
Martin Gardner was my literary godfather. He was the most generous man I have ever known. I owe him everything. When I was only 20, he convinced Clarkson N. Potter to contract my book The Annotated Wizard of Oz as a successor to his own superb and now classic The Annotated Alice. He was always recommending me to editors he knew even up to last year. We often exchanged articles before publication to get the other's thoughts on the subject. Mine benefited inestimably from his input. While he could so adroitly explain the most complex concepts to layman and expert alike, he retained the curiosity and the heart of a child. His integrity was impeccable, his prose lucid and profound. His influence was vast. Few realize that an article he wrote on L. Frank Baum and the Oz Books in The New York Times Book Review inspired the Broadway musicalThe Wiz. Who else was quoted by John Fowles in The French Lieutenant's Woman and named by Nabokov a character in Ada or Ardor? Of course it was his sister Judy, not Martin, who told me that. He was the gentlest and
most modest of men. A true gentleman. Like everyone who had the honor of knowing him, I feel blessed to have been his friend and he mine. I will miss him terribly.--Michael Patrick Hearn
Paul Schneible of East Syracuse-Minoa Central High School won first place for his entry in the 2010 Matilda Joslyn Gage Essay Contest. His essay appeared in The Post-Standard, and he also received as prizes a $50 bookstore gift card and $30 gift certificate for use at the Gage Foundation gift shop.
Please join us as the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation proudly presents a series of events and discussions on spirituality and religion. In the 19th century, anti-slavery and woman’s rights advocates, freethinkers, and spiritualists were arm in arm against orthodoxy. Talks in the Spiritual Journey Series will explore aspects of Gage’s spiritual journey from Baptist to Freethinker, her commitment to a separation of church and state, and ways her work has influenced women who are opening doors in churches today.
Please come write on our walls! What would you like to say about Gage’s ideas on indigenous rights? Engage in a respectful dialogue about how we interpret this important theme in Gage’s life.
Please come write on our walls! What would you like to say about Gage’s influence on Oz? Engage in a respectful dialogue about how we interpret this important theme in Gage’s life.
Please come write on our walls! What would you like to say about Gage’s ideas on abolition? Engage in a respectful dialogue about how we interpret this important theme in Gage’s life.
Please come write on our walls! What would you like to say about Gage’s ideas on religious freedom? Engage in a respectful dialogue about how we interpret this important theme in Gage’s life.
Please come write on our walls! What would you like to say about Gage’s ideas on women’s rights? Engage in a respectful dialogue about how the Gage Foundation interprets this important theme in Gage’s life.
Bus tour to the newly restored Susan B. Anthony House in Rochester, N.Y.
Today, the Gage and Anthony homes are the eastern and western anchors on the Votes for Women Trail in upstate New York, and their directors are working, through dialogue, to create a coherent story to tell of the split in the women’s movement that changed the course of our history.
Rosemary Rickard Hill - Taught the traditional Mohawk and Tuscarora beadwork by her grandmothers, Rosemary will demonstrate and discuss the “whimsy” pieces she has created for the Grand Opening exhibit, a folkart sold as souveniers at Niagara Falls during Gage’s time.
Martha Burk - Money editor for Ms. magazine and co-founder of the Center for Advancement of Public Policy.
1:30-4 Official Grand Opening
ENTERTAINMENT:
