Darkest Hour

photo from architekturezt.com

So after learning about all the blood, sweat and tears the Arkells poured into Canojarharie  (see Can-0-what? post) and then discovering that Beech Nut had been moved to Florida and the factory left empty and rotting, 

I was feeling a little depressed.

What would James and Bartlett think if they pulled off on exit 29 and saw that both their great companies had gone to greener pastures?  What would they do?

Because they were both passionate about supporting Canojoharie and the citizens who lived there, my guess is that they’d be depressed too.  But as businessmen they might understand how the world, and certainly Upstate New York, has changed.
Since they were in town anyway, I bet they’d set off for the Arkell Library and Museum to enjoy their passion - American Art.

The library in Canojoharie dates back to 1880, where it was started in the drawing room of the Arkell home.  As it grew it moved to the school and then to rented space downtown.  In 1915, sponsored by Bartlett Arkell, the library was granted a state charter.  

After another decade, and great success at Beech Nut, Bartlett decided to build a library for the town in honor of his dad, the great James Arkell.  The stone used to construct the library came from the building that James Arkell had used to first print his paper sacks for Arkell & Smiths in 1859.   A few years later he added an art gallery wing with his own personal collection.  Bartlett had a passion for art and loved visiting museums in America and Europe.  His gallery in Canajoharie was inspired by trips to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Walker Art Museum in England and Rijkesmuseum in Amsterdam.  Pretty cosmopolitan for rural New York.  Bartlett began collecting art for his gallery in earnest and particularly loved buying paintings that portrayed landscapes he experienced as a child, student and European traveller.  The result is a collection of art that includes Winslow Homer, Georgia O’Keefe and American impressionists.

The museum and library partnership is unique, they bill themselves as the place where books and art meet and their  motto is “For the joy of it”.  The combo offers the community modern library services and a broad perspective on their past.  Even though the library is public, patrons are encouraged to become members of the museum and support both institutions (if your a member you don’t have to pay fines on overdue books!).

The Museum Collection includes the Beechnut Packing Company Archive and Mohawk Valley artifacts that bring you right back to a time when Canajoharie was booming and James and Bartlett Arkell ruled the valley with optimism for the future of their community and the people who lived there.    

This week current Mayor Leigh Fuller remembers when he first moved to the town in the 1950s and Arkell & Smith was leaving, he reminded citizens that, “Everything changes. Canajoharie will have to change, we'll have to find a way to live better than when Beech-Nut was here and we're working towards that.  I think the board and myself have started moving Canajoharie, at our darkest hours, forward."

I bet James and Bartlett have their fingers crossed.