Archive: Opinions

A year ago last July I bought some books at the Lansing Historical Association's tent at the Lions Club 4th of July Barbecue.  I was excited to read them, but life happened, and they were consigned to a pile in the corner of my office.  Now, the good news is that they were never far from the top of the pile.  But I didn't get around to reading them.

Until this week, when I dug into "Remember When - Ludlowville."  The concept was simple:  Jeanne Bishop sent letters to 100 people who had grown up in Ludlowville and asked them to write down their reminiscences and send pictures.  36 people responded, and the result is a priceless glimpse into Lansing history.  Today Ludlowville is a sleepy hamlet that tends to attract artists to live there, but in the early to mid 20th century it was a comparative metropolis with a general store, a theater space upstairs that was used for plays and to show movies, a post office, a mill, a brick yard, at least two churches, a school, a hardware store, and a hotel.

Because the articles are remembrances you quickly feel like you grew up there yourself.  You get to know the village characters like Mayor Basil Gosbee, a leisurely man who considered questions carefully before answering them, and sucked on his pipe as he floated around the local swimming hole in an inflated tube.  Or one-armed Ed King, who named each of his belongings and was frequently heard talking to his dishes, referring to each by name.

The Historical Association has done a remarkable job of preserving the town's history, which spans back to the Revolutionary War.  The Town has recently built a historical records building where many documents, letters, maps and records are now kept, and where the current Town Historian Loise Bement has an office.  Soon the oldest log cabin in Tompkins and Cayuga Counties will come home to Lansing, where the North family first built it in 1749 somewhere near Conlon Road.

How many times have you wished that you had tape recorded a parent or grandparent to preserve your own family history?  The many books the Historical Association offers for sale does that for the Town, and it is a fascinating journey through time that gives you a sense of history and pride in our community.  I'm looking forward to reading "More Bits and Pieces of Lansingville History," and "Privy Revelations," which chronicles the Town's outhouses.  I am only sorry it took me so long to get around to that pile!

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