Paul Szmal: And welcome back to FLX Morning on Finger Lakes News Radio, it's 8.15. Joined this morning by Keri Lippincott from Historic Geneva. Keri, good morning. How are you?
Carrie Lippincott: Good morning. I'm good. Thank you.
Paul Szmal: And, uh, man, you know, as we get into the months of April and May, business definitely picks up and it starts with the Historic Geneva On the Go exhibit that is out and about.
Carrie Lippincott: Yeah, so we have a selection of our artwork at the Dove Block Project and that's going to be on display through April 27th. So it's our mission to tell Geneva stories, but not every story is told in words. So artists have captured local scenes and people since about the 1790s and they've been self-taught, academically trained, paid for painting, or have just done it for enjoyment. So the exhibit showcases a variety of artists and subjects from our collection. And as I said, it's going to be up through April 27th and the Dove Block is open Wednesdays through Sundays from noon until four. So please go and check it out.
Paul Szmal: And if memory serves me correctly, you'll also find Lake Drum Brewing near that area. And that is where the History Happy Hour is taking place.
Carrie Lippincott: Yes, it is just around the corner from the Dove Block. So you are right. Yes. So this Thursday from 430 to 630, our curator John Marks is going to share a caption slideshow of, big surprise, art from our collection. And he's going to highlight some pieces that are in the exhibit at the Dove Block and some pieces that are still in our collection. So if you want to learn some more about artists who called Geneva home, whose work are in our collection, please stop by. And again, he does the slideshow on a continuous loop between 430 and 630. So you can come at any time and you can stay as long as you'd like. And in a couple of weeks, he'll convert that into a video. So in case you're not able to make the program, you can catch it on our website.
Paul Szmal: And also coming up is the opening of the season for Rose Hill Mansion. There are a couple of activities that are going to be planned there for the opener and just a couple of days afterward.
Carrie Lippincott: Yes. So Rose Hill will open for the season on May 1st. And as usual, we're going to be open for regular guided tours, Tuesday through Saturday from 10 to four, and then on Sundays from 12 to four. And we do have two exhibits in our East Tenant Cottage. The first one is what we'd like to call a long-term exhibit. And that's called One House, Many People, The Workers of Rose Hill. And that just chronicles the nature of the work and the people who have done it over the past 200 years. So we're looking at enslaved, paid, and volunteer workers from Rose Hill.
And then this year, we have a brand new exhibit. We've tried to do a joint exhibit the past couple of years between Rose Hill and the Geneva History Museum. We've done Black History, last season it was Death and Mourning. And this year it's art. So we're going to have, without asking permission, the art of Agnes Swan Hutchins and Margaret Hutchins. So Agnes was born and raised at Rose Hill. And she and her daughter, because of their wealth, they could pursue their own interests. And they actually developed their own artistic talent. So inspired by the Finger Lakes and their travels, they expressed themselves through paintings and sketches. So while they're alone or with groups of fellow artists, Agnes preferred watercolors and Margaret worked in oil. So we'll have a selection of their artwork on display through the end of October.
And our specialty tours are back. Behind the scenes tours will be offered the first Saturday and third Saturday of the month. And if you want to see all of our nooks and crannies, that's the perfect tour for you because you'll start in our basement and you'll get to go all the way up to the attic. And then because of the art exhibit, we'll be offering a special art themed tour on Saturdays and Thursdays through October. And that's going to highlight art of and by women in our collection out at Rose Hill. And of course, we'll have other activities as we get through the season. Our summer concert series will be back. We'll have family day and other activities as we get on with the season.
Paul Szmal: We're talking with Kerri Lippincott from Historic Geneva here on Finger Lakes News Radio on FLX Morning. Kerri, what's the decision making process for the exhibits before you open places like Rose Hill or you start to set up some of the specialty exhibits that will be at the Geneva Museum?
Carrie Lippincott: Oh my goodness, that's an excellent question. So for the most part, the staff and I, we like to brainstorm and we like to plan at least two or three years ahead. So we look to see if there's any, are there any local anniversaries? Are there any topics that we haven't covered in a while? And that kind of guides what we do. For example, we're hard at work for next year in 2026. That's the 250th anniversary of our country. So we're hard at work doing a variety of exhibits like that. But we do like to plan at least two to three years out. And I think we haven't done art in a while. So we're very excited to have these various opportunities to get some of our artwork out of collection storage.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, it's great to be able to exhibit some of that artwork and to highlight some of the artists that made that artwork.
Carrie Lippincott: Oh, it is. It is. I think it's an un, I think it's an un, I think if you're in art, you might know some of the local artists and there's some interesting stories behind some of our artists as well. For example, there's Francis Marion Tuttle, who was a deaf painter, and he was able to support himself and his family through his art. He specialized in portraits and landscapes. There was Norman Kent, who was a printmaker. He was here in the 1930s and 1940s. He was an art professor at HWS and head of their gallery. And he did prints not only of Geneva, but also of Western New York. And then Clyde Mathis, who I like his story. He was on a trip through Europe and got inspired to come back home. And he started taking art classes. And he painted a lot of local scenes and other subjects as well.
Paul Szmal: One of the other activities that is happening at Rose Hill as part of the first few days of operation is a bird walk that's going to happen on May 3rd.
Carrie Lippincott: Yes, this is something that we started last year. So if you're a birder, and I'm told that that's the official term for people interested in bird watching, we are hosting our spring bird walk on May 3rd from 9 to 10. So you can explore the landscape while keeping your eyes and ears open for local birds. You can see local bird species, habitats, and behaviors. And Jody Enick is going to be leading our bird walk this year. He's a conservation social scientist and founder of the Sister Bird Club Network. So we are charging for this. So tickets are $10 a person, and they're currently on sale on our website. Or you could give us a call at 315-789-5151 if you're interested. And I think we're planning one in the fall. I'm not a birder myself, but I'm told that you can see different species in the spring versus the fall.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, that makes sense. And it sounds like it would be a fun activity.
Carrie Lippincott: I think so, too. I know the people that went on the bird walk last year enjoyed themselves. Fingers crossed that we have good weather and it's a nice sunny day. And again, that is coming up on May 3rd. That runs from 9 to 10 in the morning. Great time to get a good look at a lot of the bird activity that is taking place at the Rose Hill Mansion grounds.
Paul Szmal: And then coming back to the Geneva Historical Museum, I'm intrigued by this one. It's called Debunking the Yule Log Myth, a Disturbing History of a Plantation Legend. It's a presentation coming up on May 8th.
Carrie Lippincott: Yes, this is the second program in our spring program series, and it's going to be this Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Geneva History Museum. And I'm going to be honest, I didn't know about this at all, so I'm excited to attend the talk. So apparently there is a folktale that before the Civil War, all the enslaved people in the American South enjoyed a lengthy vacation of a week or more during Christmas, depending on how long an oversized Yule log burned in their master's fireplace. So as long as the log held out, the enslaved escaped labor, and they enjoyed rare freedom of movement to go and do whatever they wished as long as that log burned. And reportedly, some might have soaked the logs to make them burn even longer, with no one the wiser. So very suspicious of this story, Professor Robert May decided to do some sleuthing and look into the surviving historical documents to kind of root out the truth. And so that's his book, Debunking the Yule Log Myth, and the program that he's going to be presenting at the museum. So I think we need to be prepared for some surprises, as he traces not only just when this folktale began, but also who began it and why they did. And of course, his book will be for sale. The program is open to the public. There is a $5 suggested donation and it is this Thursday at 7pm at the museum.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, definitely a program worth checking out at the museum. And also we want to remind people about the summertime trips that the Historical Society has planned.
Carrie Lippincott: Yes, we still have space available for our Niagara on the Lake trip on that is May 1st through the 22nd. We've got information on our website about that. We're going to be seeing a show at the Shaw Festival, and then getting a tour of Niagara on the Lake. And then in August, from August 26th to the 28th, we're going to be going to the Hudson Valley. We're going to be seeing a variety of historic homes, West Point and having dinner at the Culinary Institute of America. And again, we have all that information on our website, or of course, you can call us at 315-789-5151.
Paul Szmal: Of course. And the activities that are coming up, again, the website that people can check out, Keri?
Carrie Lippincott: Yes, you can. It is HistoricGeneva.org, and our calendar is right on the home page.
Paul Szmal: All right. Thank you very much, Keri. Pleasure as always.
Carrie Lippincott: Thank you very much. Thank you.
Paul Szmal: All right. It is 825 on FLX Morning.
