Sunday, November 1, 2015

Show An Old Man Older Things On His Birthday

Megan planned a whole special day for me on my birthday.  The main feature was going to the Genesee Country Village & Museum.  It's a 600 acre museum dedicated to preserving the architectural heritage of Upstate, New York.

The Grand Lawn as you enter the GCV&M.  

For the fans of Genny Light Beer 

 Toll House entering the historic village: Over the "Genesee Pike" traveled tens of thousands of settlers, some staying to take up land in the Genesee Country, others going on to Ohio and Michigan. More importantly, agricultural produce could now reach the Albany market, bringing cash and a greater promise of prosperity to the Genesee farmer.

The Land Office: The success of some Genesee Country land agents was not matched by other large-scale speculators in wild New York lands.

 Pioneer Farm: Early framed barn c. 1820, Ontario County Corncrib c. 1830, Livingston County Log smokehouse c. 1810 Monroe County On the lea of Flint Hill, just below the village, are eight structures serving the needs of the pioneer farm family.

Kieffer House: Martin Kieffer moved from a settled area of southern Pennsylvania to carve a farm out of the Genesee Country wilderness. And like Hetchler, he built his dwelling of logs, using the same dovetail-like joints favored by the Pennsylvania Germans. But Kieffer's Place is a house, not a cabin.
  
Grieve's Brewery: Beer was a welcome supplement to the Genesee Country pioneer's basic diet. Beer could be brewed on the farm or in the home, but by the middle of the 19th century, many villages in western New York included a brewery, a distillery or both.

Inside of Grieve's Brewery.  It really made me want to build my own 19th century style brewery in my backyard...

 



 Shaker Trustees' Building: In 1776, the Shakers founded their first community at Niskayuna (now Watervliet) near Albany, N.Y. There, rejecting the ideas of personal property and predestination, they followed Mother Ann's teaching: "Hands to work, hearts to God."

 Col. Nathaniel Rochester's House: In 1810, Col. Nathaniel Rochester left his comfortable circumstances in Hagerstown, Md., to move north to the 155 acres in Dansville, N.Y., which he had bought on his first trip to the Genesee Country in September 1800. The perilous 275-mile journey north through almost impassable mountains took three weeks. On horseback the Colonel led a procession of carriages bearing the women of the household and the younger children, three great Conestoga wagons with household goods and his 10 slaves, and some of his neighbors who came along to help. The Colonel moved north, he said, "to escape the influence of slavery, to set his slaves free, and to rear his family in a free state."

Original Witch Hazel Tonic seems appropriate after Halloween. 

Hyde House: In 1848, Orson Squire Fowler, a native of the Genesee Country village of Cohocton, published A Home for All, or a New, Cheap, Convenient, and Superior Mode of Building in which he announced that the octagon house, with its eight sides. Hyde House "Picturesque" Garden

 George Eastman's Boyhood Home: George Eastman (1854-1932), founder of Eastman Kodak Company, spent his early youth in and around this one-and-a-half story Greek Revival dwelling in Waterville, N.Y.


Dressmaker's Shop: The one-and-a-half story frame structure housing the Millinery and Dressmaking Shop was built in Roseboom New York about 1825. Like many small buildings in country villages, it was put to various uses over the years.

Tenant House: Spring Creek has a brief run — from the Big Springs in nearby Caledonia north for just over a mile, where it joins the Oatka Creek a short distance from Genesee Country Village. The creek may be short, but it has long been regarded as a premier trout stream. By the middle of the 19th century, its fame among sportsmen led to the establishment of several fishing clubs along its banks. 

 Drug Store: The drug store as a separate enterprise made a surprisingly early appearance in the Genesee Country. In the outlying areas, the only source of drugs would be the doctor, except for some herb concoctions or nostrums a wife or midwife might stir up. The doctor, for the most part, prepared his drugs in his own office and carried a supply of them in his saddlebag.

Humphrey House: Amherst Humphrey's c.1797 house, though of a type common for well over a century in his native Massachusetts, was ahead of its time in the Genesee Country. His ten-roomed "framed" house would remain conspicuous among the log houses of other pioneers then settling the area. Amherst Humphrey Dye Garden

No place emits that warm, nostalgic feeling better than an old-fashioned confectionary with its colorful jars, bottles and trays of sweet delicacies.
Such a location is now found in the historic village at D.B. Munger & Co.
Part exhibit, part true confectionary with fancy treats for purchase, the historic village opened its confectionary in June, 2014, in the former Physician’s Office.  (Dr. Frederick Backus is now taking care of patients formerly handled by the Doctors John Sterriker Sr. & Jr.)
Visit on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays to purchase freshly baked authentic or historically inspired delights such as Chelsea buns, fruit tarts, elderberry or other seasonal fruit hand pies or the ever-popular rosewater currant cakes, sugar tea cakes and maple cakes (cookies).
A number of the bottles on exhibit are replicas of those found in several mid-1800s shipwrecks more than a century after the vessels went down. In some cases, the food was still edible.

Hasting's Law Office: As soon as settlement built up in the Genesee Country, there was work for the lawyer. While many agreements were of the handshake variety, the clearing and conveyance of land titles required the service of a lawyer if there were any complicated issues involved. 

Boot and Shoemaker's Shop: As often as other members of his family went barefoot, the pioneer farmer himself, for the rough work of chopping and clearing the forest and to keep his feet from freezing in the winter, needed a pair of boots. While his wife could make him new clothing she could not replace her husband's boots when they gave way, and to repair a leather boot properly required special tools and skills.

 Livingston-Backus House: One of the entrepreneurs who fashioned a fortune from milling, banking and speculative ventures in Rochester was James Livingston, a descendant of an old Hudson River family. In 1827, Livingston built one of the first grand mansions in Rochester's Third Ward, soon to be full of other columned monuments to their newly wealthy owners.

Hamilton House: John Hamilton arrived in the Southern Tier town of Campbell, N.Y., in 1843 as a shoemaker. But by 1870, Hamilton was the owner of tanneries, a leading figure in his community and proud possessor of a grand new house. 


The Genesee Country Village and Museum was a lot bigger and more fun that I expected or can even show in these pictures.  I'm so happy to see that there's a place in Rochester that respects and honors the areas historic and architectural legacy.  For more information, go to: https://www.gcv.org

Proof That Summer Did Exist (Even If Was Abbreviated...)

 This is the only evidence that I have that I saw my sister this summer.  I'm really getting lazy with taking pics...

THE TWINS!   Here's the questions: Are these really little chairs or really big babies?

The answer: really little babies.  But, they wear Megan and I out.  Too much fun.

Giants vs. the Bills.  This season started with so much promise..  And Eli Manning did not play well.  But, watching the highlights on TV, you would have thought he was a quarterbacking god 

BELL'S BLOOD SHED!  The best idea ever is to combine a family reunion with a Halloween haunted house.   

This was scary.  Scary good!

Mmmm...  Pig roast.

 My favorite moment of the family reunion:

Pig Roaster: (explains Pig meat.  Specifically bacon meat) Do you want to try some of the bacon meat?
Bell Kid: No, I want the heart!
Pig Roaster: (startled) What?  Uh...  Really!
Bell Kid: Oh yeah!

 Handsome Devil!

From the Rochester, Monroe County American Guide:

At Central Ave. and St. Paul St., unveiled in 1899, was dedicated by Theodore Roosevelt, then Governor of New York State. The statue, of bronze on a granite pedestal, designed by Sidney W. Edwards, is inscribed with quotations from speeches of Mr. Douglass.

Frederick Douglass (1807-1895) was born a slave in Easton, Md. Having run away from his master in 1838, he took up residence in New Bedford, Mass. In 1841 he began to lecture against slavery and became famous as an orator. In 1848 he published a newspaper, The North Star, in Rochester. At the outbreak of the Civil War he urged the employment of colored troops and helped organize them. He was an active agent of the Underground Railroad and his home, still standing on Alexander Street, was a refuge and way-station for runaway slaves seeking safety and freedom in Canada. During the administration of Benjamin Harrison, Mr. Douglass was appointed Minister to Haiti. After his death in 1895 his body was interred in Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester.

This monument to Frederick Douglass had been located near the train station in Rochester, but due to the fact that smoke and congestion became heavy in that area, city authorities moved the statue to Highland Park Bowl in 1941. This location is near the site of his home on South Avenue, which burned in 1872, arson was suspected.

The home on Alexander Street, that served as an Underground Railroad site has been torn down.

The granite section of the monument was made by Smith Granite Co. of Westerly, R.I. The model for the bronze statue was Douglass' son, Charles R. Douglass.
It appears Douglass' birth year is either 1817 or 1818, not 1807 as the guide suggests. 

Personally, I think this monument should be moved back to downtown Rochester in a very prominent spot.  Perhaps Washington Square Park or a new river walk park just off of Main Street.

Remodeling Our Kitchen

Look at what Megan did this summer.  She remodeled our kitchen.  Here's some before and after shots of her hard work:

Before

 After
Before

After

Friday, October 30, 2015

Autumn In the Adirondacks

Autumn In the Adirondacks, 2015
Acrylic on canvas in a handcrafted Gianluca Moretti frame
8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm) in a 12" x 14" (30.5 cm x 35.6 cm) frame 
© copyright Mike Kraus
To purchase, please visit: https://www.etsy.com/listing/254038452/autumn-in-the-adirondacks-original

10% OFF with coupon code JOINTHEFUN

It was a steep and treacherous hike up the mountain in the Adirondacks.  A wild region full of deer, herons, and chipmunks.  You may even find a moose, coyote, or black bear on these trails.  The dense pine forest opens up to a meadow full of brisk autumn air.  There is a startling calmness.  And from this view, it's as if we can see all six million acres of this park.

It's framed by Gianluca Moretti using yellow poplar wood, and finished with acrylic semi glossy. Gianluca is a woodworker that I partner with on Etsy. You can see more of his frames and more of his pieces at his shop located at: www.etsy.com/shop/MorettisCreations.

FREE SHIPPING IN THE UNITED STATES!

This painting would look best in a space that is red, orange, purple, yellow, green, blue, beige, or wood.

For more information or custom order, please visit:

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Sunflowers and Lavender In Provence

Sunflowers and Lavender In Provence, 2015
acrylic on canvas board
5" x 7"  (12.7 cm x 17.8 cm) 
© copyright Mike Kraus

10% OFF with coupon code JOINTHEFUN

Our bikes race up and down the gentle hills of Provence.  Everything has a distinct texture, the colors are vibrant, and the perfume in the air is intoxicating.  And every twisting road we turn down has countless rows of purple lavender and yellow sunflowers.  The heat of the Mediterranean sun presses against our backs as we pedal back to the village of Sault.  I'll never forget the fields of France.

This painting would look best in a space that is yellow, orange, blue, white, or beige.  

For more information or custom order, please visit:

Monday, October 26, 2015

Night Birch

Night Birch, 2015
scratchboard in a handcrafted Gianluca Moretti frame
8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm) in a 12" x 14" (30.5 cm x 35.6 cm)frame 
© copyright Mike Kraus

10% OFF with coupon code JOINTHEFUN

Birch trees have always been a meditative source for me. Growing up, there was one outside my window that I would look at while daydreaming. And, when I needed to get away from the world I went to a grove of Birch trees to find refuge. I’ve always found the unique and nearly useless white tree interesting.

It's framed by Gianluca Moretti using yellow poplar wood, and finished with acrylic semi glossy. Gianluca is a woodworker that I partner with on Etsy. You can see more of his frames and more of his pieces at his shop located at: www.etsy.com/shop/MorettisCreations.

This piece would work in a space that is red, pink, burnt orange, yellow, dark green, ultramarine blue, lavender purple, wood, or a neutral beige

FREE SHIPPING IN THE UNITED STATES!

For more information or custom order, please visit:




Friday, October 23, 2015

Sunflowers and Lavender In Provence

Sunflowers and Lavender In Provence, 2015
acrylic on canvas board
5" x 7" (12.7 cm x 17.8 cm) 
© copyright Mike Kraus

10% OFF with coupon code JOINTHEFUN

Our bikes race up and down the gentle hills of Provence.  Everything has a distinct texture, the colors are vibrant, and the perfume in the air is intoxicating.  And every twisting road we turn down has countless rows of purple lavender and yellow sunflowers.  The heat of the Mediterranean sun presses against our backs as we pedal back to the village of Sault.  I'll never forget the fields of France.

This painting would look best in a space that is yellow, orange, blue, white, or beige.  

For more information or custom order, please visit:



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