Echoes of the PAST
This issue of the Pioneer America Society Transactions (PAST) contains six articles from papers presented at the 2013 conference in Utica, NY, as well as an On-the-Road section. The first of these articles is Courtney Allen’s “Catskill Mountain House: Social-Spatial Delineations in an Iconic American Landscape,” the first mountain resort in the United States. Courtney traces shifts in economic diversification of the resort’s clientele, and how these shifts are mirrored in the social space and physical landscape.
“Brookwood Point: The Evolution of an Estate from Private to Public,” by Michele Palmer, gives a detailed account of the changes played out in the estate’s physical landscape – most prominently the garden spaces – as ownership of the property changed hands. Of particular interest is the maintenance of a coherent site even as sections of the original property were sold. Ultimately, it was the desire to keep the Italianate style Brookwood Garden and associated buildings intact that helped to secure the estate’s future through the transfer of the property to Otsego Land Trust.
Wayne Brew and Scott Roper recount the 2013 field trip through New York’s Mohawk valley in “The Mohawk Valley: New England Extended – A Field Trip Through Landscapes of Economic and Cultural Change and Diversity.” Wayne and Scott’s field trip encompassed the Barneveld and Holland Patent area, and the towns of Oriskany, Rome, Clinton, German Flatts, Herkimer, Little Falls, and Utica, with stops that highlighted the region’s rather complex cultural mosaic.
Thomas L. and Margaret M. Gripshover’s article “Sterling Reputation? Representation and Commemoration in the 1893 World’s Fair Souvenir Spoons” delves into the commemorative souvenir spoon industry. Thomas and Margaret make the distinction between mementos (personal) and souvenirs (location), placing commemorative spoons associated with the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair firmly in the latter category. The spoons detailed in the article offer a view into the cultural aesthetic of the period, and cover a wide variety of subjects – from individuals to sites at the fair.
In the article “The Distribution and Forms of Rural Gasoline Stations in South-Central Pennsylvania,” Paul Marr and Claire Jantz examine rural gas stations from the 1950s-1960s in light of earlier work gas station form and distribution done by Keith Sculle and John Jakle. The authors found that the diffuse rural populations limited the size of the gas service areas. Because of this, multi-use gas station forms (e.g. gas stations that were also residences or post offices) were more common than purpose-built stations.
In his article, “Staple Anew: The Potential of an Adaptively Re-Used Gasoline Station in Powell, Wyoming,” Keith Sculle follows the fortunes of one gas station as it is adapted for reuse as a community center. Keith examines the hurdles – operational, political, and financial – that local entrepreneurs and planners faced when trying to repurpose a 1940s ENCO service station in downtown Powell, Wyoming.
In this issue we again have a section of PAST called Student Research, which highlights recent student research projects. Nathan Trombley’s article, “Main Street Canandaigua Adapts to the Automobile: 1900-1930” is an outstanding example of current student research that tracks the shift from horse-based to automobile transport along Main Street in Canandaigua, NY. By examining how individual properties changed functions along a single transect of five time periods, Nathan suggests that horse-related transport businesses could be replaced by or evolve into related auto-related businesses. For his study town he found that while evolution was adopted where practical, replacement was more common.
Rounding out the volume is Wayne Brew’s On The Road article, “The French Connection: Interstate Route 11 – A Biography of a Highway in Pictures.” Wayne has undertaken a project to examine and document the vernacular architectural landscape along the entire length of Route 11: New York to New Orleans. He’s broken the project into manageable pieces, and this is the first installment – from Rouses Point, New York on the Canadian border to Scranton, Pennsylvania.
And finally, this issue of PAST would not be possible without the help of Deborah Slater. Her web and image editing skills give the journal a truly professional look (check out the printable pdf version as well!) that allow for the incorporation of graphics in a way that cannot be accomplished with traditional print media. I hope you find this issue of PAST as enjoyable a I have.
– Paul Marr, Professor of Geography, Shippensburg University
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