Newsletter - Summer 2021
Welcome to our Summer 2021 Newsletter! Since our last newsletter, we have selected a new executive director, moved ahead with plans for our October Gala honoring Tom and Nan Carroll, and continued to work on getting an old steam engine and dynamo moved to the grounds of the Burden Iron Works Museum.
Gateway Hires New Executive Director
Dr. Susan Ouellette, next executive director of the Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Susan Ouellette has been selected as the Gateway’s new executive director. She will be starting in October.
Susan is a professor emeritus of American history at St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont. She earned her B.A. from SUNY Plattsburgh, and her M.A and Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts. Her research and writing have focused on American colonial and 19th century history, including the development of the textile, iron, and mining industries.
Susan brings extensive experience as a board member, volunteer, and docent at history museums in New York and Vermont, including the Ethan Allen Homestead, Champlain Mill Museum, Vermont State Museum, and Rokeby Museum.
Say hello to Susan at our October Gala!
Gala Honoring Tom and Nan Carroll to be Held October 20
Our postponed 2020 Gala honoring P. Thomas Carroll, Ph.D., and his wife Nan Carroll will be held Wednesday, October 20, at Franklin Terrace in Troy.
P. Thomas Carroll, Ph.D.
Nan Carroll
As we mentioned in a previous newsletter, Tom Carroll served as our Executive director from 1997 through mid-2013. These years included some very difficult times, and we wouldn’t have survived without his efforts. He was the main force behind securing $800,000 in funding from multiple sources for the major stabilization and restoration of the Burden Iron Works Museum in 2008. His wife Nan assisted in many ways, while pursuing her own career at the Rockefeller Institute of Government in Albany, N.Y.
The Gala will feature good food, great conversation, jazz standards by the Peg Delaney Trio, and our usual eclectic and affordable silent auction. Honorary Committee letters have already gone out. If you are not on our mailing list and wish to be on the Honorary Committee or receive an invitation to the Gala, please contact us at info@hudsonmohawkgateway.org.
Virtual Lecture Series to Resume in Fall
Gateway Executive Director Michael Barrett presented several virtual industrial history and local history lectures this summer. We have decided to pause this program and resume it in the fall. Michael has agreed to continue the lecture series after his tenure as executive director concludes at the end of October. The lectures will be offered through Zoom. The Gateway uses Eventbrite for reservations and payments. The fee is $5 for Gateway members and $10 for nonmembers – another reason to become a member! The program and sign-up instructions will be posted on our web site and sent out via e-mail to our distribution list. If you would like to be added to this list, please email info@hudsonmohawkgateway.org.
Also, depending on developments, we may be able to schedule some in-person, outdoor tours as we did last year, including our annual November visit to the Burden waterwheel site. However, it looks unlikely that we will be able to offer our Tiffany windows tour this year.
Executive Director Michael Barrett and board member Allen Cluett at the Ludlow site
Ludlow Steam Engine Project Moving Ahead
After the Troy City Council approved the transaction last May, the Gateway purchased for $1 the remains of a steam engine, flywheel, and electric generator located at the now City-owned site of the former Ludlow Valve Manufacturing Co. and the earlier Rensselaer Iron Works on the Hudson River near the Poestenkill. We continue to work on the steps required to move these artifacts to the grounds of the Burden Iron Works Museum for display. We have issued a request for proposals to move the artifacts from their current location to the museum, and we are reviewing the initial responses. We wish to thank again retired local businessman Peter A. Grimm, who has offered to finance this project, and Albany Engineering, which pro bono prepared plans for the installation of the artifacts at the museum.
Burden Iron Works Museum Interior Renovations on Hold
The project to strip the interior plaster walls of lead paint has been completed. The next stage of the interior renovation project is to repair the plaster walls. We are currently seeking bids from qualified historic plasterers, and we anticipate choosing one of those bids shortly. We also continue to wait for the State Historic Preservation Office to consent to our beginning to spend our funding that will be repaid through our 2017 Regional Economic Development Council grant award. Once that approval is granted, we can begin a number of additional restoration projects.
Burden Iron Works Museum Open, but Reservations Required
We have re-opened the Burden Iron Works Museum to visitors, but all visitors must make reservations first, and any COVID restrictions in effect at the time of the visit must be followed. To reserve a tour slot, please email info@hudsonmohawkgateway.org or call 518-274-0846. Also, visitors should be aware that due to the ongoing interior renovation projects mentioned above, not all our exhibits are currently accessible. There is no cost for the tours, but donations are strongly encouraged.
Don’t forget that there is a Donate button on our website!