An unexpected connection back to Dr. Henning’s days at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

This past summer, I was on the hunt for bargains at garage sales on a Saturday morning in Olean, New York.  As my companions and I drove down a road just off the main thoroughfare a crooked historical marker caught my eye that said “Vin Fiz” and I shocked the other occupants of the car by loudly blurting out something to the effect of “Vin Fiz!  No way, I know what that is! What are the odds that it landed here, we need to turn around and investigate!” 

Back in 2010-2011, when I was a Guggenheim Fellow at the Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, I frequently attended the “Ask the Expert” presentations on Wednesdays at noon.  I remember being particularly interested in the talk given by Peter Jakab of the Aeronautics Division on Cal Rodgers and the Vin Fiz.  Jakab discussed Rodgers and his experimental Wright biplane that made the first transcontinental flight in 1911.  There are several things that made this brief presentation in the Pioneers of Flight gallery so memorable.  First, the unique name of the plane has stuck with me, the Vin Fiz, which was named after the flight’s sponsor’s grape soda.  More seriously, Jakab posed questions that day that have stayed with me.  While describing this first successful transcontinental flight across the United States, Jakab noted that Rodgers’s trip involved a lot of accidents that required extensive repairs and a lot of spare parts.   Jakab asked those in attendance if the Vin Fiz really made that first crossing of the United States or was it several planes with the same name and some parts in common?  Can a single airplane get credit for this flight when many pieces of the plane that took off from Sheepshead Bay New York on September 17, 1911 did not land 49 days later in Long Beach California?  What percentage of the original plane actually made it the whole way there?  If only 49% of the aircraft made it from coast to coast, should a Vin Fiz get the credit for completing this flight?

While I still do not have definitive answers to Jakab’s questions, I am excited to share my discovery of the Vin Fiz’s stop in Olean with my students at St. Bonaventure this Fall.  Although I didn’t find the types of treasure I thought I would when I left the house to go to garage sales, I was awarded with the knowledge that the Vin Fiz Flyer did land in Olean on September 24, 1911 when it ended leg four of the trip and began leg five of the 40 leg trip to California. 

 

Note: The historical marker states that Rodgers began his flight on September 11, but the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and other sources have the date as September 17, 1911.

 

Members of the History Club spend Saturday April 15 exploring Old Fort Niagara.  Students saw demonstrations by reenactors on bluing fabric and musket firing as well as presentations on espionage in the textile industry and the history of the fort.

Chris Dalton Presented at Cuba Circulating Library

Professor Chris Dalton presented "Early Rail Travel: How National Events Affect Local Life" at the Cuba Circulating Library on March 30. A crowd of 38 attended to hear about the work his students did on the local connection to a national disaster. Professor Dalton and his students enrolled in History 300: Historical Methods and Historiography worked with the Cuba Circulating Library and local historians. According to the Cuba Circulating Library web page: "Over the past few months, the St. Bonaventure University History Department and its students, in coordination with the Cuba Circulating Library and some of the community’s local historians, have pursued a project to understand how historic events on a national scale are able to reflect the life and times of people at more localized level."

The project originated with a tour of the Cuba Cemetery. Again, from the Cuba Circulating Library web page: "In the Cuba Cemetery stands an obelisk which memorializes the life and tragic death of Hiram Chamberlain, who perished in the Ashtabula Railway Disaster on a blizzardy evening on Dec. 29th, 1876. This calamity, now a distant memory of the hazards of early train travel, once occupied the attention of our entire nation. Even now, the collapse of the Ashtabula Bridge and the plummeting of the Lake Shore & Michigan passenger train to the bottom of the gulch remains one of the deadliest train accidents in American history."

The project made use of local historical newspapers that have been digitized, examining the impact of a distant tragedy on the nation but also on Cuba residents. Students could see the increased interconnection created by newspapers and railroads.

The project was funded by a Connections grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

Phillip Payne on The American Tapestry Podcast

 Phillip Payne appeared on Andrew Roth's American Tapestry Podcast, the November 13, 2022 episode. The main topic was on becoming an historian, but the conversation was a wide ranging covering what it means to do history and the role of history in our society.

Chris Dalton to present project at Cuba Circulating Library

Professor Chris Dalton is presenting work done by students enrolled in History 300 at the Cuba Circulating Library on March 30th at 6 p.m. Details can be found here.

The work is part of a collaboration funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

 

Old Fort Niagara Hiring

 This is cross posted from Facebook

Fort Niagara is looking for exciting, energetic people to fill our summer staff. The desire to be a part of a team presenting our incredible story is a must!

Hours: Part-time seasonal positions that will run June through Labor Day from approximately 9:00 am - 5:00 pm (20-40 hours/ week). Applicants will be expected to work weekend and holidays as a requirement with some evening hours.

Pay Range: $14.20/ hour

Overview of position: Old Fort Niagara is seeking applicants to join our historical interpretation staff for the 2023 summer season. Our interpreters are costumed and public facing employees who bring the history of Fort Niagara to life for our daily guests. Military staff will be drilling and firing historic weaponry and demonstrating activities from the 18th century. Civilian interpreters will be expected to lead and participate in historical activities and present programming. Other duties as assigned.

The employee will be required to wear historic costume at all times while working indoors and outdoors in all types of weather. This position will be exposed to heat, cold and windy conditions as well as working near an open hearth within historic buildings and outdoors around the site. Please contact Interpretive Program Manager Scott Elliott at selliott@oldfortniagara.org for more information and an application.

Women in Academia

 The History Department's Dr. Henning will be participating in the Women in Academia Panel today.

History Club Meeting and Game Night

 If you are interested, the first meeting of the History Club will be Thursday February 9th at 5pm in the library lower seminar room. The Club is also doing a collaborative game night with the math club on Friday February 10th at 7pm in the Damietta Center. 

You do not have to be a history major to participate in either event.