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.

Citius, Altius, Fortius

Photo from Wikipedia

In honor of the Superbowl I decided to research sports libraries (more fun than spilled beer and congealed chicken wings).  Every subject under the sun has books, photos, interviews and magazines and they have to live somewhere - right?  Right.  The easy winner was The Paul Ziffren Sports Resource Center, located at 2141 W. Adams Blvd - the largest sports research library in North America.  It was created and is now operated by LA84 Foundation (formerly the Amateur Athletic Association), an organization established in 1984 with surplus funds from the 1984 Olympic Games in L.A. - how cool is that?  I could barely get my head around the idea of ‘surplus funds’ let alone comprehend that they would be put to such wonderful use.  By previous agreement 60% of excess revenues went back the U.S. Olympic Committee and 40%, a cool $93 million, stayed in Southern California.  Maybe it’s time for another Olympics?

The foundation’s mission is to “serve youth through sport and to increase knowledge of sport and its impact on people’s lives”. They support a variety of youth sports in Southern California and run their own sports education program that’s modeled around the country.  The library’s collection is extensive:  40,000 printed volumes, 90,000 photos and 400 magazine titles and it is also becoming digitized.  The digital collection contains more than 300,000 pages of books, journals and photographs and can be downloaded free of charge.  I immediately thought of the boys in my classroom who love to write about their favorite teams and sports heroes - what a great way to hook reluctant readers and give them the chance to do some real research.  The boys would really like to get into the museum and get their hands on some treasures: track shoes worn by Jesse Owens, Olympic Medals from as early as 1896, a collection of Olympic relay torches and Babe Ruth’s uniform.

The current home of the foundation, the Eugene W. Britt House, was slated for demolition in the early 80s when Peter and Ginny Ueberroth stepped in to not only rescue the house but also find a home for Paul Helm’s collection of rare sports memorabilia.   After a $2 million renovation the house was opened as a sports museum in time for the Olympic Games and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  The 10,000 square foot Ziffren Library was built on the grounds of the Britt House in 1988.  In case you’re wondering...Paul Ziffren was not an famous athlete, he was a lawyer and the Chair of the 1984 Olympic Games.  Ueberroth and Ziffren were the Penn & Teller of the LA Games - Ueberroth out in front, making things happen, while Ziffren worked behind the scenes to secure corporate sponsorship and keep the money rolling in.  Their partnership led to the $250 million surplus that continues to support young athletes and a library haven for sports fans.  I’d call that Higher, Faster, Stronger, Smarter.