New York Almanack

Marlene Dietrich: Park Avenue’s Goddess of Smoke

Jaap Harskamp — Mon, 18 May 2026 19:22:12 +0000

Born in Berlin-Schöneberg in December 1901, Marie Magdalena (Marlene) Dietrich made an early career in her home city before achieving international stardom. Mentored by the legendary Max Reinhardt at his Deutsche Theaterschule (German drama school), she then joined his stage company.

Throughout the 1920s, she performed in Berlin and Vienna, including roles in Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew and Bernard Shaw’s Back to Methuselah.

She cultivated the persona of a “Berlin woman,” becoming a style icon whilst performing in musicals, revues, and silent films.

A Saratoga County Amusement Park History Tour

Editorial Staff — Mon, 18 May 2026 18:00:22 +0000

Forest Park began with when the owner of the trolleys running from Schenectady to Saratoga Springs, the Schenectady Railway Company, decided to create a place of amusement – a trolley park – to boost ridership, especially on weekends.

“A trolley ride from Schenectady to Ballston Lake cost about $1.40 or less in the early days of the twentieth century and only took about an hour. This was the fastest way for people to get to Ballston Lake and the people of Schenectady were anxious to get there,” says Ballston Town Historian Rick Reynolds.

Tussock Cottongrass: Champion of Bogs and Alpine Areas

Guest Contributor — Mon, 18 May 2026 15:00:16 +0000

A bog is a special natural community, characterized by deep, wet, and acidic soil below an open sky. Soft sphagnum mosses squish underfoot, dominating the surface of the bog and making up the mostly undecomposed organic soil below.

The ground springs up and down with each step – a sign that the entire surface of vegetation is saturated with water and even floating in some cases.

This enchanting little world selects an eclectic group of plants that, against all odds, can survive here in such wet, exposed, and nutrient-poor conditions – something not many species can tolerate.

Final Recreation Plans Announced for Hamilton County Easement Tracts

Editorial Staff — Mon, 18 May 2026 14:30:28 +0000

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the final Recreation Management Plan (RMP) for the Speculator Tree Farm, Perkins Clearing and Burnham Mountain Conservation Easement Tracts in the Adirondack Park.

The RMP was developed in partnership with Lyme Adirondack Forest Company, the landowner.

The conservation easement properties include multiple tracts totaling 38,233 acres in the Hamilton County towns of Lake Pleasant, Wells, and Arietta and the Village of Speculator.

Hunting, Poaching & The American Revolution

Anthony F. Hall — Mon, 18 May 2026 13:15:16 +0000

John Bird Burnham (1869-1939), Chief Game Protector for the state of New York in the early 1900s, once made an observation worthy of Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America.

“The union of monarchial game laws with an anti-monarchial sentiment make for an impossible marriage, and in America, drastic prohibitions on hunting can never be as effective as they are in England,” he wrote.

Burnham traced New York’s game laws to the democratic spirit.

Coffee History: Enlightenment, Industry, Slavery & War

Barbara Slonevsky — Sun, 17 May 2026 17:00:24 +0000

We brew it at home, we drink it at work, we socialize over a cup, or stop in at a café for its energy boost—never once reflecting on how the popularization of coffee literally changed the world.

It all began in Ethiopia, where coffee plants (Coffea) grew wild. It was discovered that the seeds of the coffee plant could be roasted and ground to yield a robust beverage with an unexpected effect.

Season Opening of the Copake Iron Works

Editorial Staff — Sun, 17 May 2026 16:00:13 +0000

The Pomeroy Family Railroad at the Copake Iron Works, operated by the Friends of Taconic State Park, opens for its third year of operation on Saturday, May 23, 2026 (Memorial Day Weekend). The Railroad runs on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 2 pm to 4 pm through mid-October.

The Pomeroy Family Railroad is part of the Copake Iron Works National Heritage Area in Taconic State Park, which also includes the remains of the iron works, a museum, visitor center and 25 point historic trail.

Rochester’s Memorial Art Gallery Will Begin Free Admission

Editorial Staff — Sun, 17 May 2026 15:00:21 +0000

Thanks to the generosity of its members and the community, the University of Rochester’s Memorial Art Gallery (MAG) will open its doors to all free of charge sometime in 2027, much sooner than anticipated.

“Making the museum free ensures that everyone can experience the inspiration, learning, and connection that it offers,” says University President Sarah Mangelsdorf. “We are deeply grateful to our donors, partners, and the broader community whose support makes this historic step possible.”

“By eliminating our admission fee for everyone in perpetuity, generations of community members will soon be able to enjoy MAG’s extraordinary collection and benefit from a rich cultural education without cost of entry ever standing in the way,” says Sarah Jesse, the Mary W.

LiDAR Archaeology Reveals Former Black Adirondack Farmsteads

North Country Public Radio — Sun, 17 May 2026 12:51:40 +0000

When most people think of archaeology, they might picture researchers digging in the dirt or trekking through a remote landscape searching for artifacts.

But on a recent morning outside of Lake Placid, a team of researchers traded shovels for handheld tablets as they watched a drone lift off from a bright orange landing pad, tilting forward and beginning its programmed flight over a dense stretch of Adirondack forest.

On the ground, Eileen Ernenwein and Steven Jones, geosciences professors from East Tennessee State University, monitored the drone’s flight path.

Mabel’s 1908 Diary: The Wedding Cake Ring

Phil Brown — Sat, 16 May 2026 18:00:05 +0000

Alice Mabel Allen (1886-1976) grew up in the village of Adams in Jefferson County. In 1908, while attending Syracuse University, Mabel, as she was known, kept a diary which New York Almanack is publishing each week.

Monday, May 18

Excused from math. Letter from Rosina asking Edith and me to dinner. Studied with Helen at Castle grounds.