Ancient man in the 1000 Islands ... a talk by Ken Knapp

 Ken Knapp's 2012 library talk, "The First Boat People", can be viewed on YouTube. It is presented in two parts:


 

 

Stargazers Wanted!

 

Depauville Free Library is working with local, sidewalk astronomer, Tom Aiken, to organize looks into the night sky.

 

We are asking that interested stargazers send their email addresses to deplib@ncls.org so we can send out word when and where Tom will be setting up his telescope. Since good observations depend upon good weather conditions, emails are the best way to organize a star party at a moments notice.

 

2013 promises to be an action-packed year for stargazers, and, Depauville Free Library is hoping to give you a front row seat to some of its most promising night sky events.

 

Tom Aiken and his Dobsonian telescope that took him 20 years to build, have logged many hours introducing people to celestial wonders. The telescope uses a mirrored system as opposed to lenses and is designed to be portable and with a large aperture.

“The Changing Years A History of Depauville”

“The Changing Years A History of Depauville” was first researched, written, and printed in 1976 by members of the Depauville Bicentennial Committee wishing to celebrate the important milestone with a project that would be a legacy to future generations.

 

The material submitted far exceeded their expectations. In addition to strictly historical information, it included accounts of numerous heart-warming moments and human-interest incidents in the lives of Depauville residents, past and present.

 

The 1976 book was compiled from early records of churches and organizations, wills, deeds, obituaries, census records, and diaries. Old scrapbooks revealed a wealth of information and recollections of older Depauville residents provided tremendous help in regard to the history of local buildings.

 

In 2004, responding to continued interest and demand for the hamlet’s history and with copies of the 1976 book no longer available, “The Changing Years”, was reprinted.

Come make history at the library

After 110 years, a second signature quilt is in the making in Depauville. In 1903 a beautiful, hand pieced, eight-pointed star signature quilt was made by women of the hamlet. That quilt now hangs in the Depauville Free Library and will soon have company.

 

The library has a brand new colorful patchwork quilt top with similar eight pointed stars and buildings that remind us of our little red schoolhouse turned library that is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.

 

From now until the Depauville Jubilee festivities that will take place on Saturday, September 22, the quilt top will be available for local residents and past graduates of the red brick schoolhouse to sign, putting their names into Town of Clayton history.

 

For 70 years, since its construction in 1942, the building has been a hall dedicated to learning and reading, a combination as inseparable as the people of this community are from their history.

 

There is no age requirement to sign the quilt; young and old are welcome.

Personalized Computer Classes @ Depauville Library

Computer skills are very important in today’s world and Depauville Free Library is offering training sessions for anyone interested in operating a computer or exploring the Internet. Whether you are working on your resume or still trying to find the "on/off" switch, these training sessions can give you the help you need.

 

Instruction is free and will be one-on-one or one-on-two, (so you won’t have to go it alone!) and the sessions will be scheduled to accommodate your day as long as they fall within library hours.

 

Training will be tailored to what you want to learn: computer basics, Microsoft Word, introduction to using the Internet, searching the Internet, email, handling digital photos, writing a resume, online job searching, social network basics, as well as online library services like reference and ebooks.

 

Please call the Depauville Library at 686-3299 to find out more about the classes we are offering and to set up a time.

Trustees of the Depauville Free Library

Winnie Edwards, Jan Larrow, Nancy Gardner, Joan Blance, Melissa Vaillancourt,

Tresa Forkey, Jill Mason

Models of Depauville's Historic Buildings

                       

Beautiful and finely detailed models of Depauville landmarks have been donated to the Community Center and are now on display at the Library.

Jan Debevic (born Janice Exford) has graciously donated models of the Methodist Church, the Old Stone School, and the MacFarlane Building. Over the years her friend, George Frank, a Methodist minister and railroad buff, skillfully constructed these buildings, as well as a model of Jan’s home in the hamlet. After the recent fire that destroyed the MacFarlane Building, Jan thought the models would be better kept here in Depauville and we are grateful for her generosity.

Generosity has also brought us a model of the Old Stone Church. Made on a larger scale, the model not only captures the outside of the church but accurately shows the building's interior. Viva Fauteux (born Viva Ward) grew up on Grindstone but lived for a time in the hamlet and has donated her replica of the landmark to the community.

Preserving Depauville History

Click on the image to see a slide show of the restoration process that the theater curtain and signature quilt underwent

Click on this image to see a slide show of the restoration process undertaken for the theater curtain and the signature quilt. 

The large cotton canvas theater curtain, dating from the early 1900s, originally hung on the stage of the old Depauville Town Hall. Decorated with colorful advertising of area businesses, it is also referred to as an "advertising drape". The reverse side is inscribed and dated by many local performers who graced the Town Hall's stage. When the Town Hall was sold and the stage converted to cubby storage, the library inherited the curtain, where, for many years it lanquished, nailed to a wall, in a state of deterioration.  Placed in the storage shed for safe keeping when work to renovate the library began, the curtain luckily survived the library fire in 2007, and, through a grant from the Greater Hudson Heritage Network was restored by West Lake Conservators of Skaneateles, NY, the same group that repaired the 1903 Signature Quilt that now hangs in the library.

The quilt and theater curtain are cherished centerpieces of a collection of local history in the library that illustrate the rich and lively heritage of our community at the turn of the twentieth century.

1903 Signature Quilt on Display

This classic hand pieced and hand quilted signature quilt, made in Depauville in 1903, had been rolled and off display at the time of the September, 2007 fire that caused structural damage to the Depauville Free Library and destroyed all of the library's books.

 

Unfortunately the quilt did not escape the fire unscathed. It was burned and sustained smoke and water damage and mildew set in before the quilt received professional attention from West Lake Conservators, Ltd, of Skaneateles, NY.

 

The quilt now hangs in the Library, beautifully cleaned and the damage stabilized, but showing the scars it received in the fire. It consists of 25 full blocks, each approximately 13 inches square, and 5 half blocks. The pattern is an eight pointed star surrounded by 3 rows of sashing with a “nine patch” block at the intersections.

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