Seeing Old Things Newly – Charleston’s Old Slave Mart Museum

Almost every day, I spend some time with a musical instrument in what I consider “casting a net”. What comes out depends on the instrument, the space, my mood, and a whole host of other factors known and unknown, but it’s nearly always worth it. Occasionally – rarely, it seems – I’ll hit upon something that forces me to hear the instrument differently, and it’s those moments that I’m after. They are, indeed, fleeting, but to be able to bring a new perspective to bear can have lasting effects that go beyond that initial moment.

Old Slave Mart Museum in Charleston, South Carolina

And so it is for me with museums, too. I visit museums as much as possible. On one hand, I go because “museums” is what I do for a living. I like to know what others are doing, and I’m absolutely ruthless when it comes to stealing the best ideas I can get my hands on. But I also go to museums because I enjoy spending time in them. I am, admittedly, not an astute label reader, and I don’t always follow the prescribed traffic flow. I like to wander, go back and forth, and assimilate what’s around me in a haphazard way. I love the sense of sensory immersion a museum can bring. More often than not, I leave a museum with the feeling of time well spent. Every now and again, though, I walk away with something more – a new way of looking at the past (or the present), a deeper understanding of others, and even a deeper understanding of myself. Like casting that net with an instrument, I go to museums because I’m after something I know I won’t always get.

I recently spent a few days in Charleston, South Carolina with my wife, who was attending a science conference. I had some time to myself, so I did what I always do and visited a few of Charleston’s museums and cultural sites. Charleston is a deeply historic city, and there is no shortage of museums, historic homes, walking tours, and the like to attend to, and I’m happy I was able to get to a handful of them. At one point late in the day, I turned onto one of the city’s last remaining cobblestone streets and found an unassuming pair of glass doors with a sign above marked “Old Slave Mart Museum”. Upon entering, I found what turned out to be one of the very best small museums I’ve ever visited. Located in the building that once housed slaves up for auction, the Old Slave Mart Museum tells the story of the slave trade and brings into focus the experience of those being sold, and those buying and selling, at auction. As you might imagine, it’s not an easy story to tell, but it was done with an impressive degree of attention to historical data and primary sources, all the while in a style subdued but engaging. After about 45 minutes, I left with a much more visceral understanding of the slave trade, and found myself revisiting that topic in my mind with a new sensitivity. Not to overstate it, but it was, in its own way, a transcendent experience.

Museums are unique institutions, and they come in all sizes and types. Finding that transcendent moment doesn’t always happen, and it doesn’t always need to. But when it does, you know it. For me, it always reaffirms why I do what I do, and how we can position The History Center to continue being a place relevant, engaging, and above all, helping all of us put our own perspective in new light.

Scott Callan is the Director at The History Center and has his own blog: http://open-storage.com 

Thanksgiving from a Non-American perspective

I arrived in Ithaca (and de facto in North America) last February.

Discovering North American customs, traditions and way of life is a continuous source of delight for me, for I’ve always been interested in foreign cultures and languages (and especially native civilizations).

Thanksgiving is certainly one terribly appealing event here.

I pondered for a wee while about the significance of this tradition, and being generously enlightened by friends and through reading, I now realize how important and significant this event is, even for me, and why I should celebrate it too.

Rather than a traditional swimming-in-gravy-turkey dinner (sorry, no judgment here, I just found the idea of a big swimming bird funny), it is all about remembering cultural encounters (and by encounters I mean meetings, but also confrontations) and the foundation of a new nation and country through these encounters.

I also cannot help thinking about language in the context of Thanksgiving, being confronted on a daily basis with another language than my own - even as close to French as English is.

The first European settlers, who probably never had been in contact with a foreign language and culture before, and a fortiori with such a degree of strangeness as Native American nations, have encountered a rather unprecedented challenge for their time - and so did Native American nations on their end! Some explorers brought Hebrew-Chaldean translators, thinking this would be the strangest “lingo” they would find in the Americas….Just imagine their disappointment!

Indeed, very little would have been common between these two types of civilizations separated by a vast ocean, so communications probably consisted of extremely basic signs (yes, no, pointing fingers, grumbling, smiling) related to very basic human needs to be somehow understandable by both parties. One can surely picture all the misunderstandings that must have resulted from two alien languages at that time of History, and which inevitably resulted in all sorts of "cultural exchanges"!

Thus, Thanksgiving reminds me of my own experience, although at a much smaller and gentler scale. I remember the first time I arrived in Scotland, when after studying English at school for years, I was suddenly unable to understand, speak, think, act and express myself in the same way than in my own language.

How frustrating, enraging - and sometimes discouraging - that was! And I do remember using signs and drawings to help communicate, smiling a lot, and feeling a lot like a baby babbling around, ending up saying “yes” most of the time even though I did not understand....and indeed some people would show empathy, whereas others would find it difficult to take you seriously according to their own cultural standards. Such is human nature!

Therefore, in my opinion, cultural encounters are rather a matter of individuals, and their capacity to open to strangeness (and have a great deal of humor) than anything else.

For all of this, Thanksgiving is a fantastic North American celebration, but also a more universal one: the one of culture shocks and its celebration for all the good that can result of it.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Laetitia de Freslon

PS: And pardon my English!

Looking Back: Early Ithaca Elections

David Barnes Stewart

Following an act of legislature, Ithaca’s first election was held on May 8, 1821 in Jesse Grant’s “Coffee House,” a tavern at 8-14 (now 106-112) East State Street. Chosen as trustees were Daniel Bates, Andrew DeWitt Bruyn, Julius Ackley, William R. Collins, and George Blythe. They elected Bates as president of the Board of Trustees, and of the village of Ithaca, for one year.

Sixty-seven years later, the 44^th and last president of Ithaca was chosen in a contentious election. David Barnes Stewart had grown up on a Newfield farm, and went into business in cigars, groceries, and commercial real estate. He defeated former president Collingwood Bruce Brown by 328 votes. At that time, political conflicts were rampant. With the new city charter, street paving and sewer system projects, and new government commissions with paid officials, the cost to the city was reportedly over one million dollars. Government spending, political maneuvering by party leaders, and disagreement over the appointment of the police justice were some of the issues at hand.

As last president, Stewart also became first mayor of Ithaca. The transition from village to city took place due to a charter which took effect June 1, 1888. The president became mayor, and the Board of Trustees became the Common Council. The event was celebrated by local officials and guests in a dignified ceremony presided over by Stewart. Common Council later changed Factory Street to Stewart Avenue in honor of the first mayor, known as a progressive leader who served the city without a salary.

Perry Ground tells Native American stories at The History Center - Nov. 16, 6pm

Perry Ground’s presentation will explain Native American perceptions of nature and human interaction with it. His talk is part of a year-long series on the History of Environmental Sustainability in Tompkins County, and is entitled “I Will Now Tell a Story”.

This 45-minute presentation will be filled with traditional Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) stories that have been told for hundreds of years. These stories teach about the beliefs, customs and history of the Haudenosaunee people.  Storyteller Perry Ground will bring the stories to life through vivid descriptions, his rhythmic voice and an active stage presence.  Discussion about the Haudenosaunee culture and the art of storytelling will be included in this program.  Students, young and old, will find this presentation captivating, highly entertaining yet very educational.

Perry Ground is a Turtle Clan member of the Onondaga Nation of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy.  He has been telling stories for over 15 years as a means of educating people about the culture, beliefs and history of the Haudenosaunee. Perry learned most of the stories he shares from the elders of various Native American communities and feels that practicing and perpetuating the oral traditions of Native people is an important responsibility. Professionally, Perry has worked in several museums including The Children’s Museum of Houston, Sainte Marie among the Iroquois and Ganondagan State Historic Site.  He has shared his stories in countless museums, libraries, classrooms, and festivals throughout the northeast and also has guest lectured at numerous colleges. Currently, Perry is the Project Director of the Native American Resource Center in Rochester, NY. 

For more information, please contact Paul Miller at The History Center, at education@historycenter.net or 607.273.8284 ext. 3. The History Center is located east of the Ithaca Commons at 401 East State Street. 

Funding for the series is provided by a generous grant from the New York Council for the Humanities.