ARE WE THERE YET??!!
Spring is almost here, and as we approach the two year mark of the Covid pandemic, I think we are all more than ready to get back to normalcy and enjoy time with family and friends in our close-knit community. One of the positives that came out of the past two years is the increased use of our outdoor space. From a lively book discussion with New York Times best-selling author Nathaniel Philbrick on the Square House side lawn, to our highly successful Whiskey Tasting and Dinner under the stars at the Knapp House, we found creative ways to bring our beloved community together despite the ever-present Covid cloud hanging over our heads.
As we look to the future, we hope you will join us in celebrating our love of Rye and its vibrant history, both past and present. We have so many ways for you to connect with us, whether it be attending one of our events, becoming a member, or joining us as a volunteer. We look forward to forging new connections and nurturing the old ones as we move onward and upward in 2022.
RYE HISTORY. We’re all a part of it!
NEWS & EVENTS
Knapp House Stabilization Project
As you might expect, the oldest house in all of Westchester County needs repairs from time to time. After significant efforts by the Knapp House Advisory Committee, the shoring up of the Knapp House began in late February. This is Phase I of a much larger project – to create a new vision for the currently underutilized Knapp House property, more specifically:
The Rye Historical Society intends to revitalize the Knapp House as a living venue to celebrate and preserve the history of Rye and Westchester in a financially self-sustaining manner. The Knapp House will engage our community, maintain the Society’s archival collection, and create an indoor-outdoor space of historic significance and compelling beauty. The Knapp House should be a distinct venue, complementing the Square House, which elevates the Knapp House’s unique assets: priceless archives, peerless age and history, generous outdoor space, and accessibility.
After getting approval from the Landmarks Committee in December 2021, and permission to proceed from the Board of Architectural Review in January, we received three bids and selected Ed Napoleon of Abbott and Price to do the work. Ed's experience working with very old wooden structures, including his work on the Odell House in Greenburgh, along with his competitive bid made him the obvious choice to complete Phase I. Be sure and drive by the Knapp House to check out this first step in an exciting revitalization project which will benefit our entire community for years to come.
Rye Poetry Path
The Rye Poetry Path is a collaborative public art installation that will open this Spring, offering opportunities for reflection and conversation on themes of community, conservation and social justice. The Rye Historical Society is thrilled to be a part of this project, and we have installed a poem entitled Prints by Joseph Bruchac outside at the back of the Knapp House. This poem was selected to recognize the Native American History of Milton Point and to illustrate the living history of the Algonkian people, in our region and beyond. Rye Historical Society, Friends of Rye Town Park, Rye Nature Center, Edith Read Wildlife Sanctuary, Rye Arts Center, and ArtsWestchester are all part of this exciting permanent installation.
Community Gardens
In 2019, the Rye Historical Society built a garden at the Knapp House to bridge community and education, offering a space for neighborhood families to grow vegetables while learning about the crops that Native Americans and early settlers would have grown on the property. We have had several planting events with local children, and others have taken part in gardening activities through our Hands-On-History Summer Camp. We look forward to expanding our community garden programming this spring and summer.
Square House Property Makeover
We are thrilled to partner with the Rye Garden Club and the City of Rye to reinvigorate what is an ideal outdoor public space right next to the Square House. After hosting a book discussion outdoors last fall due to Covid restrictions, we seized on the opportunity to make this space more user friendly going forward. This Spring, the Rye Garden Club and the City will be sprucing up this property by removing any dead plants and trees, planting new ones, and installing benches to convert this underutilized space into a quiet, tranquil place for all to enjoy.
Women's History Month Intern Project
Rye High School Interns Fiona Degnan and Lili Waters have been working on a pop-up exhibit for Women's History Month. Their exhibit tells the history of the 19th Amendment and the formation of the League of Women Voters, highlighting local connections to both significant events. This exhibit will be on display at the Square House Museum - Opening Night is March 9th from 6:30-8pm. Please stop by!
Hands-on-History Summer Camp
Are you looking for a unique twist on the traditional summer camp experience? Try our Annual Hands-on-History Summer Camp, where children ages 7-13 can spend two fun-filled weeks learning about everyday life in Rye history. Located at the Square House Museum, the 2022 camp schedule runs Monday through Friday, 10:00 am – 2:30 pm from July 11th to July 22nd.
WEEK 1: (JULY 11-15) - NATIVE AMERICAN/COLONIAL LIFE CAMP
Campers will start by exploring Rye through the lens of the native communities who lived in the area. We will learn about their culture and everyday life with a field trip to explore natural resources and how Native Americans used them. Campers will then travel into the colonial days of Rye. Through performances, art projects, artifact explorations and inquiry-based projects, children will learn about everyday life in the 1700's.
WEEK 2: (JULY 18-22) – Passport to the Past, Uncovering Rye’s Living History
Campers will learn about existing historic buildings and parks that are still part of our living history today. This will be a very active week as we visit many of our Walk Rye History signs and explore our historic town from downtown to Playland. Campers will get a chance to create their own Walk Rye History Sign of their home and build a model of their neighborhood. At the end of the week, campers will present their projects.
SPOTLIGHT ON: Trustee Lori Hutson
Lori Hutson joined our Board in June 2021 and we are very lucky to have her energy and expertise in the development field. She has been with Planned Parenthood in Development Philanthropy for 20 years. Her experience includes all direct marketing channels, special events, database management and analytics. Formerly at the Planned Parenthood Arizona (PPAZ) affiliate, Lori led the direct marketing program and managed the information database management systems. She was a consultant on database operations with leading Phoenix-area nonprofits, including the Phoenix Art Museum and the Arizona Science Center.
Currently, Lori is at the National office, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), managing the mid-level direct marketing program in the role as the Senior Director of the President’s Circle, the annual giving society for donors giving between $1K - $25K. During her tenure with PPFA’s direct marketing program, Lori has expanded the revenue and donors by nearly 75% over the past ten years. Today PPFA’s mid-level program is recognized nationally as a best in class for this niche fundraising practice.
When asked why she joined the Board, Lori responded: "I was thrilled to be asked to join the RHS Board of Trustees. I've always been passionate about historical places and preservation of architecture. I grew up in Rochester, NY, an area rich in history, including the women's rights and suffrage and abolitionist movements. And while living in Arizona and spending time in Nantucket, I would often tour ancient and historical sites that connect places to the past."
During Lori's term as a Trustee, she hopes to raise more awareness and passion for Rye's valuable historic structures and artifacts. One of her goals will be to help establish a plan for fundraising success that will elevate RHS as a philanthropic priority that offers a deep connection to our community.
TRUSTEE NEWS
Trustee Catherine Guszack
Catherine was recently appointed to serve on the Landmarks Advisory Committee. The Landmarks Advisory Committee is empowered to investigate, document, and make recommendations to the City Council for the designation and preservation of historic districts and Protected Sites and Structures.
Catherine grew up in Virginia, which sparked her love of history and restoration. She is a residential Interior Designer who has designed and renovated homes in the greater New York City area, the Hamptons and Virginia. She recently restored two period homes on historic Division Street in Sag Harbor, NY and is currently working on a third one there.
Prior to her design life, Catherine worked for Bristol Myers Squibb in the Infectious Disease division where she sold HIV medication to hospitals and clinics in Manhattan. Here she worked with customers and scientific teams to plan and implement medical education programs. She began her medical sales career and training at Merck where she also mentored new representatives.
She holds an undergraduate degree in Business and Marketing from the University of Richmond and certificates in Interior Decorating from the University of Richmond and Interactive Multimedia and Web Development from George Washington University. Catherine has lived in Rye since 2010 with her husband and two children. She also lived in Richmond, Virginia for two years where she served on the Junior Board of the Virginia Home, a residential care facility for adults with irreversible physical disabilities.
Trustee Teresa Vega
Teresa will be a guest editor on our Facebook and Instagram pages throughout Black History Month (February) and Women’s History Month (March). Visit us on Facebook (Rye Historical Society) and Instagram (@ryehistory).
Teresa holds a Bachelors Degrees in Anthropology and Asian Studies from Bowdoin College and previously worked as an adjunct professor in Cultural Anthropology while attending CUNY Graduate School and University Center’s doctoral program in Anthropology. Her background in cultural anthropology has helped her research her ancestral roots.
Teresa started a blog, www.radiantrootsboricuabranches.com, to share her genealogy research on both her maternal mixed race African-American side as well as her Puerto Rican paternal side. Teresa is a member of both the NJ and NY Chapters of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAGHS) and a BlackProGenLIVE panelist. She is also the co-administrator of FamilyTree DNA’s Malagasy Roots Project along with CeCe Moore of PBS’s Finding Your Roots and DNA Detectives since 2014. For the past several years, she has given talks at public libraries in the Greater NY/NJ/CT area as well as local genealogy groups.
STAFF NEWS
Past Perfect Goes Digital
Early this year, the Rye Historical Society’s collection management system (CMS) is moving to the cloud! A CMS is a cataloging database where museums and archives track and describe the materials they hold. It supports all the ways we care for and use our museum objects, archival materials, photographs, and library books. We are moving from desktop-based PastPerfect 5 to browser/cloud-based PastPerfect Web Edition. PastPerfect is commonly used by smaller museums in the United States. Instead of being intended for a single user on a single desktop, our CMS will be available to many staff and volunteers with a variety of access levels to contribute their time and skills to collections management. We will be able to work faster, easier, and from anywhere on describing our collection for internal and public access. This is the first step in the long process of building the necessary infrastructure to increase our online presence, make our archives, library, and museum collections publicly searchable and accessible online, and digitize our archives and photograph collections.
SUPPORT US
We are forever grateful to this wonderful community and hope you will continue to support us going forward! Donating is so easy – you can give on our website, donate by Venmo (@ryehistory1660) or PayPal (ryehistory), or send your donation to Rye Historical Society, 1 Purchase Street, Rye, NY 10580.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
We have numerous volunteer opportunities for both children and adults. Examples include school year student internships (short-term or long-term), summer camp volunteers and adult tour guides. Students can also earn community service hours for their schools while expanding their knowledge and perspective on local history. To inquire about volunteer work, please email Alison Relyea (alison.relyea@ryehistory.org).