This month’s Presidents Message is a poem that appeared in the August Equinunk Historical Society Newsletter. I felt we should run it too.Richard S. Axtell , President

I’ll Show You a VolunteerShow me a person who spends endless hours in training without pay, And, I’ll show you a volunteer.Show me a person where a cry for help brings split-second dispatch And, I’ll show you a volunteer.Show me a person who is devastated when lives are lost or maimed, And, I’ll show you a volunteer.Show me a person who is graciously welcomed as a next-door neighbor, And, I’ll show you a volunteer.Show me a person whose car is garaged with the grille facing out, And, I’ll show you a volunteer.Show me a person who sacrifices home life, TV...even tender moments, And, I’ll show you a volunteer.Show me a person visibly moved at the strains of our National Anthem, And, I’ll show you a volunteer.Show me a person who may be asked to give more than just dedication, And, I’ll show you a volunteer.Show me a person who is asked to give more...and more...and more, And, I’ll show you a volunteer.

Poem by Foley

DHS NewsThe Official Newsletter

of the Deposit Historical Society

October 2009:Vol VI, Issue ivThe Deposit Historical Society

145 Second StreetDeposit, New York 13754

(607) 467-4422Website: www.deposithistoricalsociety.org

Note: You can view our newsletters with color pictures in pdf format on our website!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!Thank you to those who baked bread or beans, and/or made a donation for our annual Brown Bread and Baked Bean sale. Thanks also to our volunteers who generously give of their time to sit at the Museum on Sundays and Thursdays. Thanks also to those who help provide the delicious refreshments at our public meetings. Ans a special thank you to the dedicated workers who set up and take down our booth for the Brown Bread and Baked Bean sale and the Harvest Pie sale, and to those who spend hours manning the booth for us. Thank you all very much!!

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Photography Program

On Wednesday, August 26th, Mr. Michael Musante presented an extremely informative program on the history of cameras and photography. Mike graduated from Pratt Institute and worked 25 years in the New York City and New Jersey area as a photographer. For many years he did AT&T’s packaging

photos. He stated that he photographed every telephone imaginable! He also did watches, perfumes, and pens. In 2002, he and his wife moved to Deposit. Currently he specializes in photo restoration and portraits.

Musante explained that the basis of photography is four silver salts. These have been the core materials for the last 100 years. Of course, much of that is changing now with the invention of digital cameras. He feels that the pictures we all take with our digital cameras should be referred to as images

because to a purist, it is not photography in the old sense.

Photography actually got its start in France around 1826. It was during that summer that Joseph Niépce set up a camera obscura in an upstairs window. Within it, he placed a polished pewter plate that he had coated with bitumen of Judea (an asphalt derivative of petroleum), and uncapped the lens. After an exposure of eight hours, the plate was removed and the image of the view from the

window was made visible by washing it with a mixture of oil of lavender and white petroleum. This process dissolved away the parts of the bitumen that had not been hardened by exposure to light. The result was the permanent positive picture. You can see that photo and learn more about the process at http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/permanent/wfp/

Niépce gave his notes French artist and chemist Louis J.M. Daguerre who ultimately invented a process that used copper plates that have been silver mirrored. A daguerreotype is actually a negative image. However, the mirrored surface of the metal plate reflects the image. In the proper light, it appears to be positive. A daguerreotype is a direct photographic process and lacks the ability for duplication.

It was in England that Henry Fox Talbot developed a repeatable system. He is cred-ited with inventing the negative/positive photographic process.

The images were fuzzy. Daguerreotypes on the other hand showed much detail.

Portrait painter Samuel Morris brought the daguerreotype to the United States. He was a student of Daguerre. By the time of the Civil War, daguerreotypes were on the way out.

George Eastman is credited with the next major step in

An early camera obscura made as a wooden box with a lens and mirror inside. The image was focused by sliding the inner box forward or back. The image was then reflected from the mirror to a specially prepared glass plate upon which the image was recorded.

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the evolution of photography. He applied industrial methods to creating a dry photographic plate method. It allowed for a more uniform product. In 1879 he founded the Eastman-Kodak Company. He is also credited with inventing roll film. The first camera his company produced was a Kodak. It came loaded with film. When you had taken all of the pictures, you sent the entire camera in for processing. For $25.00, they would send you another fully loaded camera. This was

approximately equal to a month’s salary. Since Eastman was primarily in the business of film and processing, he had to come up with a less expensive model. That led to the Brownie Camera. It cost $1.00 and used celluloid film that was less labor intensive to develop. Eastman was a shrewd businessman. When the Boston Camera Company patented a little viewing window on the back of the camera so that you could see numbers on the film when it was advanced, he bought the company so that he could use the little window viewer.

Mr. Musante brought many, many cameras for everyone to see. He described the unique features and some of the history for a number of his favorites. Everyone enjoyed viewing his Kodak Vest Pocket cameras. He explained that they were first produced in 1914 and that most in his collection still work. He also has a large collection of Brownie Cameras that he showed us. His collection consists mostly of Kodak and Ansco cameras. Ansco cameras were made in Binghamton.

A member of the audience asked Mike why there are so many sizes of early cameras. They range from tiny to very large. Mike explained that pre-WW II, you got back prints that were the size of the film you shot. Enlarging photos was a problem.

Deardorff and Sons in Chicago produced about 600 beautiful wooden cameras per year. He offered old Chicago bars money for their mahogany bars since they had been shut down due to Prohibition. Mike shared that he really enjoys stories such as these. His main reason for collecting is to learn more about the profession and its history. Thank you Mike for a very informative evening!

A Deardorff camera with mahogany wood front

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Erie Railroad SpeakerOn September 23, DHS President Smitty Axtell introduced guest speaker John Goodnough, a railroad enthusiast, President of the Susquehanna Valley Histori-cal Society, and a member of the Erie Lackawanna Historical Society. Mr. Good-nough’s grandfather was a railroader and sparked John’s interest in the subject. Goodnough presented a very informative talk with many slides to a large crowd of 50+ members and guests. Some of the points are summarized here.In 1800 most people walked, used horses for transportation, or stayed home. Due to winter conditions roads and toll roads were seasonal, as were some of the canals built in NY such as the Delaware and Hudson and Chenango.Western Europe and England led in the production of the first steam locomo-tives. American Horatio Allen was sent there to obtain copies of the engines they used. The first engine to see service in America was the Stourbridge Lion, built in 1828. The Ithaca Owego line was in operation in 1834. This was followed by the Mohawk and Hudson. The first long distance line was the New York and Erie.In November 1837, ground was broken on the Hulse farm on the East side of the Delaware River. A right-of-way was cleared to Calicoon. Due to various delays and setbacks, it took 16 years for the route to Dunkirk to be completed.

Early engines like the “440”, were wood burners and left the engineer and the fireman in the open. Later, a cap was added on the back. In the 1870s, coal-fired locomotives were used on the Erie. Six foot gauge tracks were used. Standard tracks were 4 feet 8 inches wide. Eventually, all the railroads converted trains to use the standard gauge.An obstacle to easy travel to Lanesboro near Cascade Creek led to the construction of a large wooden bridge built in 1847-48. This bridge was 250 feet long and 200 feet high. The bridge was one of the early railroad wonders of the world. Since wooden bridges are subject to

damage from rot and fire, it was dismantled in the 1850s. Large viaducts were built to move trains over obstructions such as rivers, and roadways. One of the largest of these is the Starrucca Viaduct in Lanesboro, PA. It was completed in 1848 and is the old-est stone railroad bridge in Pennsylvania. Mules, horses, pulleys, and manpower were used in its construction. The 19th century painter, Jasper Cropsey, painted the viaduct and its picturesque val-ley in 1865. The painting is currently in the Toledo Museum of Art. The Library of Congress calls the Starucca Viaduct the most daring feat of stone vault engineering in this country. Its graceful arches of native bluestone still capture the eye of photographers and artists.

Because of the railroad, Calicoon thrived with summer vaca-tioners. The nearness of the Loomis Hotel on Front Street to the Deposit railroad station brought it a thriving business as well. The railroad also carried milk to markets in various cit-ies. Borden’s in Deposit was one company that made full use of the railroad to ship its products. Visitors to Oquaga Lake also used the railroad to get here from the N.Y. City area and back again. Deposit’s Erie Station was knocked down in the 1970s, a tragic loss of a community landmark.The village of Owego had a community theater. In 1852, a visiting trio of singers from the Six Nations of Indians per-formed there. The trio, consisting of two sisters and a brother Three trains in Deposit ready to return

Oquaga Lake visitors to NYC

The Starrucca Viaduct

John Goodnough

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were on a concert tour. On their way to their next show their train stopped in Deposit. A runaway train plowed into their stopped train near the Erie Depot. One sister, Sa-sa-na Loft was killed and her

sister injured. Sa-sa-na was taken to Owego for burial. The Erie Railroad donated $2000 for a monument at the grave site. The grave and monument are located at the highest point in Evergreen Cemetery, overlooking Owego and the surrounding valley. It can be seen from miles away.Gulf Summit was the highest point on the Erie Railroad. The settlement had a post office and a store. The railroad employed 75 to 80 of the local residents. Special en-gines, switches, and train switch operators were needed to deal with moving large trains up the steep grade. Such challenges led to the development of very large engines. The early Angus lo-comotive, built in 1907, took eight people to keep it running. The engine devoured water and coal and needed constant firing. It weighed 350 tons! It was phased out in 1930.

Matt Shay, a fireman from Watkins Glen, was hired by the Erie railroad in 1860. He became an en-gineer five years later. Shay received many honors for his hard work on the Erie including having its

famous triplex mallet engine, then the largest in the world, named after him. The Matt H. Shay with a centipede en-gine was used by the Erie to help trains up the heavy grade east of Susquehanna, PA. It weighed 845,050 pounds, was 102 feet long, had 24 drive wheels and could haul a train with 150 loaded cars or a train 4 miles long! The Erie retired their Shay engines in 1930.Susquehanna had a large station and areas to repair en-gines and passenger cars. The station was finished in 1865 and active until the 1960s. At that time it was converted to

a restaurant. The roundhouse and turntable in the repair area also included a blacksmith shop. Sev-eral thousand workers were employed in the Susquehanna facility. Railroad workers in these facili-ties often played musical instruments in their spare time and played at local concerts and weddings when not working for the railroad.At first the Lackawanna Railroad was in competition with the Erie. They used a woman named Phoe-be Snow to advertise the cleanliness of rail travel at a time when passengers were concerned with this issue. Phoebe wore white dresses and the advertisements included poems like: “A cosey seat, A dainty treat, Make Phoebe’s Happiness complete, With linen white, And silver bright, Upon the Road Of An-thracite.”The Phoebe Snow was the name given Lackawanna’s famous stream-liner train with service between NY City and Buffalo, and on to Cleve-land and Chicago. In October 1960, the Erie and Lackawanna rail-roads merged.Mr. Goodnough concluded the meeting with a Q & A session.We thank Peg Esteeves and Deb Stever for the refreshments and Edie Tyler for her excellent summary of the evening’s talk.

The monument to Sa-sa-na Loft

The Matt H. Shay Engine

Coming up the steep grade at Gulf Summit

Phoebe Snow posing for an advertisement

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Revolutionary War SpeakerFor our July 22, 2009 meeting, DHS President, Smitty Axtell introduced the guest speaker, George Cummings who is from Binghamton. George was in the manufacturing business.

Cummings was dressed in the military uniform of the day. He represented Delaware, comprised of the three lower counties of Pennsylvania. They fought in most battles from 1776 till 1781. Most men

came to war as farmers. The French became involved after Saratoga. The French influenced the style of the uniform and the kinds of guns that evolved. The American soldiers wore a sprig of green in their hats to help identify them. The brown uniforms that were originally worn would fade to a red and could be mistaken for a British uniform. The soldiers ranged in age from 16 to 60 years old.

Cummings talked about the style of hat worn and how the style changed because when soldiers picked up the gun to shoot, the gun would knock the hat sideways. He also talked about the embellishments on the hats.

Soldiers had to have two apposing teeth in order to be accepted to fight in the war because they needed a top and bottom tooth to assist them in loading the guns.

Cummings talked about the different size bullets that were made and how inaccurate the aim could be. The bullet would move around in the gun and might shoot high, low or left or right so often missed the target. Many injuries were to the limbs, there were not a large percentage of fatalities.

Many sayings that we know today were first used during this war. Examples would be, “flash in the pan” from making the bullets; “lock, stock and barrel”; and “pick and brush” from cleaning the guns.

Manhattan had a lot of Loyalist; the soldiers used eating utensils differently than the British so would use the position of the knife and fork to signal to others.

Cummings brought many guns and other items for display including pots and pans as well as knapsacks. The French influenced the design of the guns, swords and bayonets.

The talk was very interesting with many questions being an-swered at the end. There were 35 people in attendance.

Refreshments were furnished by the Esteves. Thanks to

Becky Dilello for writing this article and to Harry Dilello for providing the pictures.

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Brown Bread and Baked Bean Sale

Our Annual Baked Bean and Brown Bread Sale at the Lumberjack Fest. Stop by our booth between 9 and 3 on Saturday July 18th to buy some great

Homemade baked beans and/or fresh baked breads while you enjoy the other festivities.

Thanks to all who baked bread, made baked beans, and gave donations to make this event a success once again!

Mary and Elaine manning the booth. Perhaps next time you will volunteer to help us with this task!

Reminder to Renew Your Membership!!

January was dues month, but if you haven’t yet renewed, please take a moment right away to send us your annual membership check. We need to have many dues paying members if we are to continue providing quarterly newsletters, regular FREE events, and keep the Museum open and expanding to best serve the community. Lifetime members can ignore this reminder!!

If you aren’t a Lifetime member, please consider it. It is really a bargain and ends the hassle of joining each year. Dues currently are $10 regular membership, $5 for Seniors and Students, and $50 for a Lifetime membership. Send us your payment today! Below is a membership/donor form, or you may download one from our website. OR… you can just send us your name and address with a check for the correct amount made out to Deposit Historical Society, and we will do the paperwork for you!! Thanks for your support!

Deposit Historical Society—Membership/Donor FormYou are cordially invited to join The Deposit Historical Society, either as an Annual or Life Member.

Name(s) _______________________________________________

Street Address __________________________________________

City, State, Zip Code ______________________________________

E-mail ________________________________________________

Telephone _____________________________________________

Enclosed is $__________ for the following memberships:

____ Regular @ $10.00 each ____ Senior Citizen @ $5.00 each

____ Student @ $5.00 each ____ Lifetime—one-time payment of $50.00 per member I am enclosing a donation to the Historical Society for $ __________

Checks/Money Orders should be made payable to: Deposit Historical SocietyMail this form with your payment and/or donation to:

Pat O’Donnell, 415 Silver Lake Spur, Hancock, NY 13783

Upcoming Events (August through October) at the Deposit Historical Society…Be sure to check the DHS web site for the latest details and updates.

October 11, 2009 10 AM to 3 PM: Harvest Pie Sale at Octoberfest.

Come early for the best selection of delicious homemade pies.

October 11, 2009 (Columbus Day Sunday) The Museum closes for the season on this date at 4:00 PM.

October 21, 2009 7:30 PM: History with Humor.

Join us for an evening of fun as Alma Lynch shares Delaware County stories. Refreshments will be served following the meeting.

December 13, 2009 2 to 4 PM: Annual Christmas Open House.

Share an afternoon with family and friends for a fun-filled time as DHS celebrates the holidays with entertainment and refreshments.

Contact the DHS News editors for information, suggestions, or address changes... If you have information to share with us about our mysteries, historical events, or suggestions for new articles or projects at the Museum, or if you have moved, mail it to DHS Newsletter editors Mary Colvard and/or John Bartsch at 24 Bobolink Ct., Deposit, NY 13754, or email it to one of us at mcolvard@tds.net or jbartsch@tds.net. We will be delighted to hear from you! Thanks!!

The Deposit Historical Society Newsletter 24 Bobolink Ct. Deposit, NY 13754