New York Almanack

The Dutch & Flemish Roots of Yankee Doodle Dandy

Jaap Harskamp — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 19:00:13 +0000

Yankee Doodle went to town
A-riding on a pony,
Stuck a feather in his cap
And called it macaroni.

Macaroni Craze

During the third quarter of the eighteenth century, Londoners saw the bizarre spectacle of the so-called “macaroni craze.” Young aristocratic men who had returned home from their educational Grand Tour through Continental Europe to Italy, displayed a liking for pasta.

They were named macaroni-eaters or simply “macaronies.” Horace Walpole (1717-1797) made the earliest known reference to a “Macaroni Club” in a letter dated February 6, 1764.

Watchable Wildlife: Cayuga Shores Wildlife Management Area

Editorial Staff — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 18:00:42 +0000

Visit Cayuga Shores Wildlife Management Area (WMA) for a peaceful, crowd-free escape with direct, undeveloped access to Cayuga Lake, on of the Finger Lakes. This WMA consists of 287 acres along the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake in Lansing, in Tompkins County, New York.

It features a mature hardwood forest, open grassland fields, cascading streams and waterfalls, and more than 3,400 feet of undeveloped shoreline, making it an excellent spot for birding and hiking.

State Museum Open Major ‘Revolutionary New York’ Exhibit

Editorial Staff — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 17:00:34 +0000

The New York State Museum has opened “Revolutionary New York,” a major new exhibition commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and exploring New York’s central role in shaping American democracy.

Remaining on display for several years, the nearly 7,000-square-foot exhibition brings together more than 200 artifacts, rare documents, immersive displays, interactive elements, and stories that connect the American Revolution’s founding ideals to the continuing pursuit of freedom, equality, justice, and civic responsibility across generations.

Emerald Ash Borer: A Threat to Trees, Mohawk Traditions

Anthony F. Hall — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 15:40:37 +0000

Within the past several years, at least three terrestrial pests have invaded the forests of the Lake George watershed. Among them: emerald ash borer, which was first detected in Warren County in 2020, along the Schroon River near Chestertown.

That discovery was the first indication that the invasive species might have established itself in the southern Adirondacks.

According to the Keene Valley-based Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP), the emerald ash borer is an insect whose larvae feed on bark tissue, girdling and eventually killing the tree.

Three Saratoga ‘Bad Kids’ & 60 Years of SPAC Memories

Guest Contributor — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 13:00:33 +0000

In 2026, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) marks its sixtieth anniversary of presenting classical and popular entertainment. For six decades it has served as the summer home of the New York City Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Its stage has welcomed everything from touring Broadway musicals, opera, jazz and reggae festivals to the Grateful Dead.

That curtain was raised for that first time in June 1966 for Governor Nelson Rockefeller’s dedication of the new Arts Center by three young college students, Andy (Yo-Yo), Pat, and Mike from Saratoga Springs.

The Fate of Loyalists After the Revolution

Kieran O’Keefe — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 20:07:07 +0000

By 1783, the Revolutionary War was winding down. It had been a year and a half since the Franco-American victory at Yorktown. Since then, peace negotiations had taken place, with preliminary terms agreed to between Great Britain and the United States in November 1782.

With the British still occupying the city of New York, Washington moved much of the Continental Army to the Hudson Valley.

He made his own headquarters on the west bank of the Hudson River in Newburgh, about sixty miles from New York.

Boggy Beauty: White-Fringed Bog-Orchids

Guest Contributor — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:00:30 +0000

Along the edge of a remote pond, among a spongy carpet of interlaced vegetation, an orchid of graceful and gossamer beauty rises.

Its mass of exquisite white flowers, perched atop a slender stalk, resembles at one glance a medieval mace, at another a bog-wandering spirit in its torn, ghostly shawl.

Despite their common name, Platanthera species occur across a variety of habitats, from moist forest openings to the aquatic digs where I came across this white-fringed bog-orchid.

Former Scout Camp Purchase Protects Seneca Lake Shoreline

Editorial Staff — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 17:30:03 +0000

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently announced the acquisition of 284 acres at the former Babcock-Hovey Scout Camp in the Town of Ovid in Seneca County.

Located between Willard Wildlife Management Area and Bonavista State Park, the acquisition will provide protection for 2,800 feet of Seneca Lake shoreline.

The parcel includes cabins, lodges, a mess hall, a shooting range, a swimming pool, a fully stocked pond, and a dock on Seneca Lake.

DC National Mall & Memorial Parks Damage Virtual Event

Editorial Staff — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 17:00:14 +0000

Each year, roughly 32 million people visit the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington, DC – “America’s Front Yard,” which belongs to the American people. Yet this place that commemorates so much of our history is currently under threat by the Trump regime.

Without appropriate preservation approvals, they have demolished a wing of the White House, inappropriately painted and sealed the granite Reflecting Pool, damaged the Eclipse and South Lawn, and have other plans underway to change the area’s historic structures and landscapes.

Dog Rescued After Fall Over Falls; Ill and Injured Hikers Rescued

Editorial Staff — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 15:57:13 +0000

New York State Forest Rangers had another busy week with dangerous rescue operations in the Adirondacks, Catskills, and elsewhere. Including a dog that went over the edge at Fawn’s Leap Falls; an unconscious hiker at Kaaterskill Falls; several hikers with lower leg injuries; and more.

Mount Marcy, Adirondack High Peaks

Wilderness Rescue: On July 7 at 1 p.m., Ray Brook Dispatch received a call about a hiker who suffered a broken arm on Mount Marcy in the Town of Keene, Essex County.