An August 2020 open house that was planned was sidelined due to the pandemic, but two years later on Aug. 6, we welcomed around 700 people to the Institute! The day was hot and humid, but otherwise picture perfect. Visitors were able to tour our facilities; learn about William and Alice Miner and Heart's Delight Farm history; take a wagon ride around the property; enjoy a variety of dairy products including maple ice cream, Cabot cheese, and local milk from Hidden Acres Dairy; interact with our Morgan horses and watch an equine demonstration; learn about our dairy and research programs at various interactive stations around the farm; and our youngest visitors were able to take a short ride around the farm on a cow train! An event of this magnitude takes a lot of planning and organizing ahead of time and loads of volunteers day of to carry out. The Miner team excelled in every way! On Open house day, we had dozens of staff and students all in matching red shirts who were demonstrating, driving, interacting, and educating in some way. The back of the t-shirts had William Miner's quote from 1915, "No other occupation is so vitally important to the human race, nor requires such a wide range of practical and technical knowledge, as farming." We are so grateful for everyone who came out to visit, and grateful to the local businesses who helped us to carry out such a tremendous event -- Harvest Maple; UDDER DELIGHT DAIRY SHOP; Samples Lawn & Garden LLC; Taylor Rental Plattsburgh; United Ag & Turf; Dragoon's Farm Equipment; Cabot Creamery Co-operative; and Hidden Acres Dairy LLC. Tammy's Lunch Box and The DogFather food trucks were on site and cooking up delicious food for purchase. We will look forward to another event of this magnitude in a couple years, but stay tuned for plenty of great smaller events in the meantime!
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For the second year in a row, we enjoyed the music of the Strawhatters Concert Band on the lawn behind the Farm Office on a gorgeous summer evening. The Strawhatters are a community band that was started in the 1940s. Members are from all across Clinton County and some from just across the border in Canada as well. There are currently about 50 members of the group, though we had just over 40 members at the July 27 performance at Miner Institute. The youngest members of the group are heading into ninth grade in high school and the oldest members are nearing 80! We had more than 85 people who came out to enjoy the music and the ambiance was wonderful! We sure hope that we can continue this fun event in future years. A beautiful summer night at the farm. We welcomed about 150 people for an evening of comedy with local group Completely Stranded on Friday, July 15 for an outdoor show on the lawn behind the Farm Office in the shadow of where Heart's Delight Cottage was located 100 years ago. We partnered with The United Way of the Adirondack Region and raised money to support youth mental health and wellness programs in our region. "Mental health and wellness is an urgent need for the youth in our region. We owe it to the children to help ensure that resources are available in times of crisis or in times of need. Miner Institute and Completely Stranded have collaborated with us to provide an opportunity to support the most vulnerable young people in our region. This example of partnering is what sets our region apart and substantiates the fact that we have incredibly generous and empathetic neighbors among us," said John Bernardi, President and CEO of United Way of the Adirondack Region. We are so pleased to have raised more than $1500 at this fun event. It marks the fourth time we have hosted Completely Stranded in an effort to raise money to support the United Way. Historically our Comedy for a Cause events have been held indoors during the winter, and although we aren't ruling out hosting winter shows, the outdoor summer show was well-received and will likely happen again next year. We are so grateful for all the great work the United Way of the Adirondack Region does and for the laughs that Completely Stranded provided during their incredible show, but most importantly we are so humbled by the generosity of the folks here in the North Country. After a two-year-long hiatus, Miner Institute was once again able to host one of its most popular events – Farm Day for 5th Graders. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Farm Days for 5th Graders is a field trip where students from all across Clinton County learn how Miner Institute takes care of its animals, crops and equipment. Students rotated between eight stations, spending 25 minutes at each station which was led by summer intern presenters. The interns first explained the details of their stations, then they showed the students their station’s interactive features, and finally, they answered any questions the students, teachers, or parent chaperones had. I was an embedded reporter shadowing a group from Mooers Elementary School during this event and the following is what I gathered from the experience. Nearly half of the stations were dedicated to Miner Institute’s cows. One of the stations featured two calves that were less than a week old. After the interns explained how the calves are fed, tagged and taken care of, students were allowed to pet the calves in groups of two; the small groups prevented the calves from getting scared and allowed each student to have a more personal experience with them. The next station focused on how the cows are milked. Students were shown how cows move to specialized milking machines, how their udders and the machines were sanitized, and where the cows go when they’re done being milked. The cows are milked three times per day after they have their first calf (around the age of one). The last station that focused on cows showed students what fistulated cows were. These cows have a hole in their sides with a removable plug; this allows researchers to analyze the contents of their stomach without hurting the animals. Students were provided with a plastic glove that extended up to their shoulder and were allowed to feel the contents of the cows’ stomachs one by one. The cows weren’t the only animals the students learned about; two of the eight stations were dedicated to the behavior and care of horses. The first horse station focused on how the interns take care of the horses. The students were shown several different brushes to take care of a horse’s fur, tail and mane, some of the tools used to clean the horses’ hooves and even some of the snacks the horses enjoyed. At the end of this station, students were allowed to approach the horse and lightly bump its nose, mimicking one of the ways horses communicate with each other. The second horse station focused on horse behavior; students were shown how horses were exercised and trained. The trainer demonstrated that the tone of her voice, the commands she gave the horse and how she pulled on the reins were all important for getting the horse to move the way she wanted it to. The three remaining stations taught students about the farm equipment, the animal’s feed and Miner Institute’s history. Starting with the farm equipment, students learned which machines were used to prepare the soil for crops. They were shown each machine in the order they were used in the field; the students were even allowed to get up close and personal with the machines in order to see how they work. The next station focused on what is fed to Miner Institute’s cows. The students were presented with all of the individual ingredients in the feed and asked to guess what each ingredient was. Once correctly guessed, the interns would explain what the ingredient was and why it was important for the cows to eat. After this, the students were shown where and how the feed was stored. The final station taught students the history of Miner Institute, including the fact that it was originally called Heart’s Delight Farm and wasn’t renamed until the mid 1950s. Students were shown a model of the original Heart’s Delight Farm and the dam that powered it. After that, students were shown various other features of the original farm, including a birdhouse used to keep the mosquito population at bay and several horse-drawn vehicles used on the farm. By showing students what they do at an early age, Miner Institute encourages students to learn more about the farms that feed them and support their community. All in all, Farm Days for 5th Graders was an incredibly enjoyable and informative experience for the teachers, the parent chaperones, and especially the students. -- Elijah Crosbourne SUNY Plattsburgh intern A collaboration between Miner Institute and SUNY Plattsburgh brought together area middle and high schoolers interested in science with chairs from the biology, chemistry, and earth and environmental science departments on campus as well as President Dr. Rick Grant from Miner Institute and President Dr. Alex Enyedi from SUNY Plattsburgh on a recent Saturday to learn about opportunities for study and careers in science.
Science Saturday was held on April 2 at Miner Institute and provided students and their parents an opportunity to learn about science programs at SUNY Plattsburgh and speak directly with the department chairs. Dr. Grant was also on hand to talk about careers in animal science to interested students. Opening remarks were made by Dr. Grant and Dr. Enyedi and then time was given to Dr. Neil Buckley who chairs the biology department; Dr. Ewa Pater who chairs the chemistry department, and Dr. Ed Romanowicz who chairs the earth and environmental science department. Students were able to converse with the professors and ask questions. After a lunch break, interested participants were led on a tour of Miner Institute's Lake Alice research site and the dairy research barn and horse barn. We look forward to collaborating with SUNY Plattsburgh to make Science Saturday an annual event! After a pandemic hiatus, we were so pleased to bring back our Beat the Boredom program for elementary-aged kids during February break in collaboration with our friends at The Alice T. Miner Museum. The program offers activities at Miner Institute one day and at the Alice T. Miner Museum on another day during the week. On Thursday, Feb. 24, we hosted a group of enthusiastic kids for some 30-minute mozzarella making; building birdfeeders with the help of Point Au Roche State Park Naturalist Kristin Collins; and an educational tour around the Joseph C. Burke Education and Research Center. A snow storm dropped nearly 12 inches of snow on Chazy on Friday, Feb. 25, forcing us to cancel the afternoon event at The Alice, but plans are underway for a program during April break! We are so grateful that we were able to bring back this great program and for our team that pulled it together – Librarian Amy Bedard; Director of Lab Studies and “Mozzarella Man” Steve Kramer; R&D Project Leader with Lallemand Animal Nutrition Ricky Scuderi; Research Technician Mark Haney; and Research Technician Maggie Carter and her 15-year-old granddaughter Rylee. We look forward to more programs like Beat the Boredom which allow us to interact with the community in meaningful ways and to better inform the public about what we do. The Miner team truly is the best team and we had the opportunity to be reminded of this on the slopes and tubing hill at Titus Mountain on Feb. 19 for the first -- of what hopefully becomes an annual event -- Miner Skiing/Tubing Day! The Institute rented the maple room, which is adjacent to Titus Mountain's sugarhouse and offers a warm place to gear up and to warm up! Titus offers discounted rates for large groups, so everyone who participated was able to enjoy a day on the mountain at a discount! We had lots of snacks and drinks and most notably a fire pit that Dan Belrose built for the occasion. Mike Lemza and his wife Colleen transported the fire pit and plenty of firewood along with the fixings for s'mores to feed a small army!! It was so great to gather around the fire and enjoy the company of our great team and some highly-sugared children! The only drawback to this incredible day was the snow squalls and whiteout conditions that made travel to and from the mountain pretty treacherous. We are so grateful to be part of an organization that knows how to have fun and to show appreciation to the most valuable assets -- our team!
The August 5 Strawhatters Community Band performance on the lawn by the Farm Office truly felt like the type of event that William and Alice Miner might have hosted. The weather was absolutely beautiful as was the music and it felt so good to bring people back to the Institute.
The Alice T. Miner Museum co-hosted the event with the Institute and we attracted at least 70 attendees in addition to the 40 band members. It was truly heartwarming to see kids dancing and families and friends enjoying an evening of live music. The Strawhatters Community Band have been performing in the North Country for more than 60 years. Band members are from across the North Country on both sides of the border, although for this show our Canadian friends were not able to participate. The Strawhatters play an array of music including patriotic tunes, popular marches and ragtime. We are so grateful that Hometown Cable was here to record the show, so even if you weren't able to attend, you can watch the performance at the link below. We hope to bring The Strawhatters back again to the Institute and The Alice for more live music! Adelaide “Adie” Steinfeld is excited to be immersed in the Miner history for a couple days a week for the next two months. Adie is the inaugural Burke Scholarship recipient and will be spending one day a week working with Amy Bedard on projects related to the Miner Institute archives and one day per week at The Alice T. Miner Museum.
Adie grew up in Champlain. She graduated from Northeastern Clinton Central School in 2016 and graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in the History of Art and Design from Pratt Institute in 2020. Adie hopes to begin graduate school for art conservation in 2022. Adie said she was looking for an internship where she could work with archives this summer and she’s excited for the opportunity to get some archival experience while also receiving the Burke Scholarship. The scholarship provides the financial support for Adie’s stipend. Dr. Joseph C. Burke served as the chair of Miner Institute’s Board of Trustees for nearly 30 years. Dr. Burke also tirelessly researched and wrote the biography of William Miner, William H. Miner: The Man and the Myth. Dr. Burke’s wife, Joan T. Burke, served as the chair of The Alice T. Miner Museum for nearly 20 years. Both Dr. and Mrs. Burke were passionate about preserving the legacy of William and Alice Miner and carrying on their tradition of philanthropy in the North Country. Dr. Burke passed away in 2018 and his family established a scholarship fund to help honor both Dr. Burke and Mrs. Burke’s commitment to the Miner legacy and their service and dedication to Miner Institute and The Alice T. Miner Museum. “The history is so rich up here,” Adie said. Her first project at Miner Institute will be to organize and catalog the collection of approximately 200 Welte-Mignon and Welte Philharmonic Orchestration rolls. The mignon – which translates to “small and pleasing” – rolls were used in the Steinway Welte-Mignon reproducing piano that is now found in the library. The piano was made in 1907 and is considered rare. We hope to someday have it restored. The larger Welte Philharmonic Orchestration rolls are 15 3/16” wide and likely would have been used with the pipe organ that was located in the Harmony Hall auditorium. The Harmony Hall orchestrion was a Welte Brisgovia. It was salvaged by a local radio announcer in 1962 and sold to someone in Georgia. It was leased to the Smithsonian in 1976 for a Centennial Exhibition. It’s current location is unknown. The orchestrion from Heart’s Delight Cottage is installed in a private home in Wisconsin. The orchestrions in Harmony Hall and in Heart’s Delight Cottage were encased with removable walls on the first floor. The pipes and chest would have been located there, with the lower part of the chassis on the ground floor. Over at The Alice T. Miner Museum, Adie will be assisting Director Ellen Adams to rearrange and create finding aids for the museum’s archival collections. They will also locate all the material related to Frank Gunsaulus and come up with a plan for housing the collection. Adie will create a finding aid and a detailed description of all the items in the Gunsaulus collection. We are so excited to have Adie helping with projects both here at Miner Institute and at The Alice. We are also thrilled to be putting the Burke Scholarship fund to good use and look forward to many more recipients in the years to come. |
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