Bulletin Board

RW250 Partners with Westchester Library System

Published 3 years ago3y ago • Bookmarks: 35

September 1, 2021

RW250 is excited to partner with the Westchester Library System to distribute a full color rack card promoting our series of YouTube videos about five local sites with rich Revolutionary War history, plus information about the upcoming living-history encampment at St. Paul’s Church National Historic Site in Mount Vernon.

When you visit your local library, I hope you will ask for the rack card and suggest that the library plan programing that expands the interest in the sites and their important history. Librarians have ideas and resources to distribute book lists, set up displays and videos showings, and organize book discussions and other programs. You will have served as a quiet but effective community organizer for historic awareness!

I have additional copies of the rack card if you have a group or location to display or distribute them. RW250 has always depended on people like you to help with our mission.

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Living History Encampment at St. Paul’s National Historic Site
Save the date! On Saturday, October 16 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. enjoy a free outdoor family day with music, military drills, period craft demonstrations and more. See special performances by the Hearts of Oak Militia Company and Fife & Drum Musicians. Chat with Revolutionary War generals and learn about local history events. Indoors from 2 to 3 p.m. I will give a video presentation and lead a discussion exploring Westchester County’s Revolutionary War sites. Cosponsored by RW250 and St. Paul’s National Historic Site.

Last minute Covid-related changes or restrictions are possible.
St. Paul’s is located at 897 South Columbus Avenue in Mount Vernon, New York.
For information on the site, program details or unexpected health restrictions call St. Paul’s at 914-667-4116.

RW250 Roundtable Book Group
We’re starting a group to discuss books relating to the Revolutionary War. Our first selection is Gordon S. Wood’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Radicalism of the American Revolution, published in 1991 and still considered a classic. When historian Pauline Maier reviewed the book in the New York Times she called it “the most important study of the Revolution to appear in over 20 years.” The review’s headline was, “It was Never the Same After Them.” Our discussion, 30 years after the publication of the book, will examine the question, “What changed and what didn’t change in American society because of the 1776 Revolution?” Participants will be sent some focus questions, discussion ground rules, and a few titles to consider for future book group meetings.

The discussion will take place on Zoom.
Registration is required, with a limit of 30 households.
Sunday, September 26, 2021 at 4 p.m.
RSVP 1776RW250@gmail.com with subject “Roundtable Book Group” to receive further information and the Zoom link.

More Fall Events
ODELL HOUSE COLONIAL DAY
Come see what life was like in Greenburgh during Colonial times at this family-friendly celebration of our colonial history! Meet George Washington, Le Comte de Rochambeau, and Ben Franklin. See military marching and drills by re-enactors of the 5th New York Regiment and the 1st Rhode Island Regiment. Watch demonstrations of Colonial cooking, wool spinning, blacksmithing, children’s toys and more! Learn about the role the house played in the encampment and its restoration progress

September 18th, 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. There are two sessions beginning at noon and 2:30 p.m.
Ridge Road Park, 287 Ridge Road, Hartsdale.
Advance registration is required due to Covid. The event is free, though a donation is greatly appreciated. Register through Eventbrite here.

BATTLE OF EDGAR’S LANE WALK DEDICATION & RIBBON CUTTING
Revolutionary Hastings, a committee of the Hastings Historical Society, welcomes the community and our local and State officials to the dedication of the Battle of Edgar’s Lane Walk, where six illustrated panels set in a newly landscaped pedestrian walkway will be unveiled to share this important event in Hastings’ history.

Thursday, September 30 at 11:30 a.m.
Wagner Plaza at the corner of Warburton Avenue & Broadway/Route 9 in Hastings.
This event is free.

LANTERN TOURS OF BATTLE OF EDGAR’S LANE WALK
As part of Hastings’ Welcome Back Friday, Revolutionary Hastings docents will guide visitors to the newly dedicated historic Walk.

Friday, October 1, 6 to 8. p.m.
Tours at 6 p.m., 7 p.m., 7:30 p.m., and 8 p.m.
Location information will be posted on revhoh.org closer to the event date.
This event is free. No advance sign-up necessary.

BATTLE OF EDGAR’S LANE FAMILY FUN DAY
Be transported to 1778 and the daily life of tenant farmer families who lived in this Neutral Ground—the site of the Battle of Edgar’s Lane, where 16 Hessian soldiers fell to the Continental forces on September 30th, 243 years ago. Master storyteller, Jonathan Kruk, will tell the tale at noon and 2:30 p.m. Enjoy period craftspeople, demonstrations, farm animals, colonial games, music and more. For grown-ups, sing tavern songs with Linda Russell in our pop-up Peter Post Tavern. Sponsored by Revolutionary Hastings.

Saturday, October 2, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission is free. Lunch available to purchase.
Zinsser Park at Broadway and Edgar’s Lane in Hastings.
Street parking. The park is also accessible via the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail for walkers and cyclists.

DOBBS FERRY HISTORICAL SOCIETY ROAD TO FREEDOM
The Road to Freedom Walk will be led by fife and drum and will follow the path the Continental Army took when it began its 400-mile march to Yorktown, Virginia, on August 19, 1781. Two months later, on October 19, 1781, American and French forces won a decisive victory over General Cornwallis and his British and Hessian army at the Battle of Yorktown. The victory led to uncontested independence for the United States. The walk starts at Gould Park, Dobbs Ferry, and ends at the Mead House, home of the Dobbs Ferry Historical Society, where refreshments will be available outdoors.

Sunday, October 17, 2:00 p.m.
Gould Park, Ashford Avenue and Beacon Hill Drive, Dobbs Ferry.
This event is free. Families are welcome!

Trails & Tours: Walking, Biking and More

In August Sal Lilienthal showed us what the future may hold for organized bike tours with a revolutionary flavor. He pedaled his bike across Westchester—having come from Rhode Island and Connecticut—and stopped in Hartsdale to peek at the Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters, then made it to Verplanck’s Point, crossed the Hudson and moved on to travel to Yorktown, VA, just as Washington and Rochambeau did in 1781. Have ideas for similar bike tours? Email us your ideas: subject line “Bike the Revolution.”
In Kentucky there is a Bourbon Trail. Would you join a Westchester Historic Tavern Trail? Mix local breweries and wineries, with authentic tavern sites and our historic reenactor friends and we’ve brewed up a weekend “passport” program (stamp your passport at each location) good for local business and fun for history-minded friends. Anyone good at writing history trivia games? Email us possible tavern sites, brew names, even a draft business plan: subject line “Tavern Trail.”
“Walk the Revolution!” My inspiration for this plan was the delightful walking tour experience in June well organized by the Kingsbridge Historical Society. I was able to conjure up the King’s Bridge, the Spuyten Duyvil Creek, James Delancey’s Westchester refugees, and British red coats despite the high-rise apartments nearby and the tour group’s gathering in a concrete playground. Email us suggestions for walking tour locations: subject line “Walk the Revolution.”
This Man’s a Spy! A British spy desperate to reach safety on horseback. A traitor. Patriot militiamen. This Man’s a Spy! is an ongoing RW250 initiative with a community-based task force, beginning to gather ideas about this often mistold slice of local history—the betrayal of General Benedict Arnold and the capture and execution of British Major John André. Imagine a driving trail in place by 2026, through multiple Westchester communities, creating a feet-on and hands-on experience. Now is the time to line up supporters to make this happen. Email uswith subject line “This Man’s a Spy.”

Finally…
My most satisfying experience over the summer was presenting the keynote remarks on July 4th at St. Paul’s Church National Historic Site in Mount Vernon, New York. I was honored to be asked and pleased to meet Mayor Paterson-Howard and the other special guests on the dais. Those who joined were reminded of the words and meaning of that critically important foundational document of our nation, the Declaration of Independence. I closed with a few words from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Don’t see your organization’s events? We’re happy to publicize other programs and events related to our mission. Forward information to us!

Thank you and regards,
Constance Messerly Kehoe
President and a Director, RW250, Inc.
Westchester County Special Liaison, 250th Anniversary Commemoration of the American Revolution and the Founding of the United States
Email 1776RW250@gmail.com

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