- By Dan Veaner
- Opinions
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Growing up in Boston I was used to being surrounded by history. And a lofty history at that. I didn't live that far from Lexington and Concord, and I loved visiting Faneuil Hall downtown, and a cemetery where historical figures I knew from grade school were buried. That was a lofty vision of history, and here was where it happened, all around me. Here in Lansing, and in Tompkins County as a whole, history is a more gritty, pioneer version. You can still see and touch houses that Revolutionary War veterans built. It's a tiny spec in the giant painting of how our country was built.
Going into these pioneer cabins you can begin to imagine what it was like. These folks were struggling just to survive, yet somehow managed to transcend survival in order to shape their communities and their new country. I'm a big fan of wifi and indoor plumbing myself, and looking around these cabins and imagining myself living in one is an exercise of extreme empathy for me. But I am drawn to the immediacy of it. In so many ways life has become so complex that we don't shape it as directly as our ancestors were able to. They lived in the ultimate do-it-yourself world.
Ludlowville Union School about a century ago and todayI've only been part of this community for a shade under a quarter of a century, yet I've seen a lot of Lansing's history disappear. Buildings have rotted or been cleared for new development. There is still a lot of Lansing's past that still stands, though much of it is in danger of decay. The county's historians, including our own Town historian Louise Bement are doing what they can to preserve the pieces, but with limited resources there is only so much they can do.
While researching the settler's cabin story for this week's issue I learned that the History Center downtown only has another couple of years left on its lease. After that they are not certain where they will be. My fantasy suggestion is that the Ludlowville Union Schoolhouse would make a perfect headquarters/museum. Not really perfect because it isn't that accessible, and at the moment there isn't parking, and while the current museum is in the middle of the county, the school isn't. But perfect because of the space it provides and the rich local history it has been a part of. And because it's beautiful. And because that would be a way of preserving it.
My other fantasy about that school is to move it to the new Lansing Town Center and turn it into a boutique mall (that could also have a doctor's office in it, or a small pharmacy). That would make it the cornerstone of what's old and new about Lansing, and a testament to a vibrant community that looks to both it's past and its future. It's not a new idea -- the Field schoolhouse was moved from its original location on Peruville Road to its current home next to the Lansing Town Hall. The Union School is much bigger and would present a huge challenge if it were to be moved. But wouldn't that be great? Heck, if that happened the impediments to my first fantasy would be removed and we could have both.
Whatever you think about my fantasy life, my point is that the community is what it is because of what it was. There is a lot of good to celebrate in Lansing and Tompkins County's past, and it should continue to be woven into our present so it can help shape our future. I think that's especially true in Lansing now because the idea of a real town center has gained tangible traction. That is our future. How much richer it will be if it enfolds our past.
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