Onondaga Historical Association Museum is currently exhibiting Salt City Comes of Age: Syracuse During the Impressionist Era in America 1880-1915 & Toys From Your Childhood: The Psychedelic Sixties. For details, call 428-1864 or go to www.CNYHistory.org.
November 1, 2009 through May 2, 2010: Toys from your Childhood: The Psychedelic Sixties! Do you remember playing with Clue, Twister, Creepy Crawlers, Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots, GI Joe, Battleship, Hotwheels, Easy Bake Oven, Barbie & Ken – all toys and games from the 1960s? Would you like to see them again all in one convenient location? If your answer is yes , then come to the Onondaga Historical Association Museum, 321 Montgomery St. in downtown Syracuse!

Museum staff and several toy and game lenders have created another wonderful and popular vintage toy exhibit that will bring back fond memories in 2009-2010! Come see Batman & Robin, Man From U.N.C.L.E., James Bond 007, Mary Poppins, The Flying Nun, Johnny & Jane West, the Beatles, and many other 1960s toys and games. Over 100 toys and games, as well as vintage photographs of Christmas and downtown Syracuse are included in this exhibit. We even have a Batmobile kiddie ride! It is sure to please all who wish to reminisce about their childhood in the ‘60s! The exhibit is scheduled to run from November 1, 2009 – May 2, 2010. The museum is open Wednesday – Friday, 10-4 and Saturday & Sunday, 11-4.

Onondaga Historical Association Museum presents Salt City Comes of Age: Syracuse During the Impressionist Era in America 1880-1915 continuing through June of 2010. For details, call 428-1864 or go to www.CNYHistory.org.

History in the Making!

Since the notion to create a Finger Lakes Museum was first publicized last April, we have made some tremendous progress–more than I ever imagined we would–especially in such a short period of time. We are looking forward to a continuation of that momentum in 2009, despite the economic difficulties our nation, state, and even we as individuals are facing.

The Board of Trustees has decided not to hold an organizational meeting this month. The next meeting will be scheduled for Tuesday, February 24th, when we will present our Strategic Plan and updates on the progress of our four functioning committees. Notification will be emailed to everyone several weeks in advance.

On Monday, I received notification from Albany that our application for a Provisional Museum Charter has cleared the scrutiny of the State Education Department’s legal staff and has been forwarded to the Office of Cultural Education for its consideration. From there it goes to the Board of Regents for a final decision based on the recommendation of the Cultural Office.

Initial fundraising began in December and I’m pleased to say that contributions have started to come in. Many thanks to those of you who have donated for your generosity. If you wish to make a tax-deductible contribution to the project, please make your check payable to Finger Lakes Museum Fund, and mail it to the following address:

Cynthia Kimble, Treasurer
Finger Lakes Museum Fund
309 Lake Street
Penn Yan, NY  14527

Soon there will be a mechanism added to our website, www.fingerlakesmuseum.org, which will enable contributors to make credit and debit card donations.

Best wishes for a prosperous 2009. And thanks for your interest and enthusiasm. Pass it on!

John Adamski

PS: The attached photo, Waiting for Spring, was taken at Canadice Lake–the smallest Finger Lake at only three miles long.

Hello Everyone,

John Adamski, President
Board of Trustees
Finger Lakes Cultural & Natural History Museum Project

Photo: “Waiting for Spring” at Canadice Lake, Ontario County, NY.

As the traditional season for giving draws to a close and the New Year approaches, I find myself searching for the right words to express my gratitude to all of you who have taken an interest or are playing a part in helping to make a dream become a reality.

Since last March, when my Life in the Finger Lakes magazine article first introduced the notion of creating a museum to showcase the Finger Lakes Region, I have heard from hundreds of people in the 14-county area. The overwhelming majority favor the proposal. So far, only two have expressed doubts to me.

In the nine months that have elapsed since then, a lot has happened. The Finger Lakes Cultural & Natural History Museum Project has held six monthly organizational meetings, elected a Board of Trustees, appointed several committees, developed a Strategic Plan, retained excellent legal counsel, and applied for a Provisional Museum Charter from the New York State Board of Regents, which will grant us corporate status.

And I have made dozens of new friends. More than fifty individuals have attended our monthly meetings, many of whom now generously contribute their energy, time, and talents to moving the project ahead. We have entered alliances and partnerships with regional academic institutions and organizations, and we are looking forward to more.

As we look forward to 2009 we see a number of challenges, not the least of which is the potential for fundraising. Federal, state, and corporate grants will be harder to come by due to economic belt-tightening, as will private contributions. Our Strategic Plan calls for a shovel-in-the-ground date of 2013, which will hopefully be preceded by a healthy economic turnaround.

So as we step into the uncertainty of the New Year, I want to thank each and every one of you who share our vision, are helping to make it happen, or plan to do so in the near future. I also want to thank our friends at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake and The Wild Center in Tupper Lake for cheering us on and sharing their experience and insight. And lest I forget Kelly Jo Martin at Buttercups Bakery in Naples, thank you for all of the special treats that you have contributed to each of our organizational meetings.

Happy New Year to all! And thanks for the enthusiasm. Pass it on.

John Adamski, President
Board of Trustees
Finger Lakes Cultural & Natural History Museum Project

Photo: “Waiting for Spring” at Canadice Lake, Ontario County, NY.

Welcome to the Finger Lakes Cultural and Natural History Museum Project, a proposal to create a new museum that will showcase the 9,000-square-mile Finger Lakes Region of New York State.

Contact:                     John Adamski
Contact Info:             Phone: 585-746-6247
                                  Email: mail@fingerlakesmuseum.org

Exhibits are planned to include Native American culture, early colonization, and the histories of agriculture, viniculture, and commerce. Artifacts will range from antique boats and farm equipment to an immense freshwater aquarium containing the fish species that are native to the Finger Lakes. Outdoor exhibits will feature live specimens of native wildlife in natural settings like beavers, otters and the Seneca White Deer. Special focus will be given to invasive species such as lamprey eels, purple loosestrife and zebra mussels.

Each of the eleven Finger Lakes will be individually featured with geographical, geological, glacial and topographic details that depict the effects of the receding glaciers on the region 12,000 years ago.

Included in the concept is an art and photo gallery, an auditorium, a bookstore and a research library as well as flex-space for any other regional museums and historical societies within the fourteen Finger Lakes counties to present their own exhibits on a rotating basis.

How far along are we and where do we go from here?

Although the project is still in an embryonic stage, it has received the support and endorsements of the Finger Lakes Future Alliance, Finger Lakes Sierra Club, Life in the Finger Lakes magazine, Seneca White Deer, Inc., and The Nature Conservancy. Soon we will be forming an exploratory committee to study feasibility, select a site, prepare a business plan, and search for members of the Board of Trustees. Fundraising will begin as soon as a not-for-profit corporation is formed and the board is seated.

We are planning for a new facility of about 40,000 square-feet, which will feature state-of-the-art interactive indoor and outdoor exhibits.

How can you help?

Soon this website will be equipped to accept membership applications and other offers of support and announce upcoming fundraising events. Please feel free to offer your ideas and suggestions by contacting us. Thank you.

John Adamski, Project Director