A Saint From Utica - St. Marianne of Molokai

The term "saints" originally referred to all those who believed in Jesus Christ but very early on became limited to those people who were recognized for their holiness either by universal acclamation (like St. Peter, St. Paul), or through canonization by the Catholic Church. The canonization process was a lengthy and tedious process. In 1983, Pope John Paul II streamlined the process, after which more saints became canonized.  Considering the number of Catholics worldwide, there are still not that many recognized saints and only 12 come from the United States (according to Wikipedia).

And one of them was a resident of Utica.


Mother Marianne was born Barbara Koob in Germany, January 23, 1838 and emigrated to the US with her family the year after her birth. The Koobs (later changed to Cope) settled in Utica in 1840 and became among the earliest parishioners of  St. Joseph's.  Barbara studied at St. Joseph's School until the 8th grade.  Although she experienced a call to religious life at an early age, she had to work in a factory in West Utica to help support her family when her father became an invalid.  After her younger siblings could care for themselves, and one month after her father's death in 1862, she joined the Third Order of St. Francis at St. Joseph's, adopting the name Sister Marianne, taking her vows in November 1863.

As Sister Marianne, she became superior of St. Clare's Convent at St. Joseph's Church (1868-69) and deputy to the Mother Superior in Syracuse (1864). She helped established two hospitals in Utica and Syracuse, and became adminstrator of St. Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse (1870). Between 1877 and 1883, she was the Superior General of the Franciscan Sisters in Syracuse.  It was her response to a letter from King Kalākaua begging her to send her Sisters to the hospitals and schools in Hawaii that led to her candidacy to sainthood.

In October 1883, Mother Marianne and 6 sisters left for Hawaii, where they worked with Fr. Damien caring for the lepers in the settlement.  She managed a hospital in O'ahu, established another in Maui and cared for orphans of women lepers as well as diseased clergy.  When nobody else would, she cared for the dying Fr. Damien. She, or any of the sisters that followed her, even until now, never succumbed to leprosy, considered itself a miracle. She never returned to the mainland and after devoting more than three decades in the care and education of the victims of this devastating disease, died in 1918. She was canonized by Pope Benedict  XVI on October 21, 2012.



The original church and school attended by St. Marianne in Utica are no longer there, the present church built before she went to the islands.  A later St. Joseph School also closed and the building is now used as the parish center.

This shrine and other places of pilgrimage are listed in the St. Marianne Cope's website.







The church was closed when we visited on a Monday afternoon so we checked at the parish office and a sister graciously came out and opened the church just for us. The church had beautiful stained glass windows although we failed to locate the two which supposedly depicted some scenes in St. Marianne's life.







 To the left of the altar, a section was devoted to St. Marianne.  The reliquary, we were told, contains a bone of the newly recognized saint. After saying a prayer and offering a petition, we left feeling privileged to have walked (sort of) in the footsteps of a saint.

Parker F. Scripure Botanical Garden

The  Parker F. Scripture Botanical Gardens  is a 15 acre site in Oriskany NY (about 28 miles from Kayuta Lake) surrounding the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County. Dedicated in 1985, it was rededicated in 1996 to honor a local nurseryman and former country legislator Parker F. Scripture. The gardens are maintained by approximately 50 Master Gardener Volunteers.  Last year, it was a third place winner in the category 1 (<10,000 visitors) All-America Selections first annual Landscape Design Contest.  

Among the different features the garden has, we were most interested in the herb garden and the perennial garden.

The butterfly house had a lot of flowering plants but we only saw two monarchs.



We went on the Nature Trail which was a little muddy in areas, thanks to the abundant rain we've had the
last few days. There were woodpeckers, a snake, and probably a hooting owl.  There were too many bugs though to truly enjoy the walk.

 

Fort Stanwix National Monument

Fort Stanwix (named after Gen. John Stanwix) was a British fort built in 1758 to protect the Oneida Carry from the French during the French and Indian War.  This 6-mile stretch of portage lying in the Oneida Indian Territory between the Mohawk River and Wood Creek was the only overland section of a vital trade route between the lower Hudson River (and Atlantic Ocean) and Lake Ontario. The fort was abandoned in 1774 after the war has ended and it no longer served an important role in the area.

In 1776, the fort was occupied and repaired by the American patriots and renamed after Gen. Philip Schuyler, then commander of the Northern Department of the Continental Army.  In Aug. 1777,  the fort successfully repelled a 21-day siege by a combined force of British, German, Canadian, Loyalists and Indian forces which helped lead to American victory in Saratoga and eventually to American alliances with France and Netherlands. Troops from the "fort that never surrendered" later participated in the 1779 Clinton-Sullivan Campaign that aimed to protect the northwest frontiers by destroying villages of the Six Nations Confederacy who were allied with the British and limit their ability to wage war on the Americans. In 1781, the fort was destroyed by flood and fire and was abandoned. In 1794, a blockhouse was built by NY state on the parade ground of the old fort to store military supplies but by 1815, it was already in disuse.

After the war, (not sure exactly when) the fort was again called Fort Stanwix, which our ranger guide later said was convenient since there were already two other Fort Schuylers in New York (Fort Schuyler in the Bronx, and Old Fort Schuyler in Utica).

Around 1796, a community started to develop near the ruins of the old fort, initially named Lynchville, then changed to Rome in when it became incorporated in 1819. In the 1830's, the city of Rome started to build over the remains of the fort.  Through the lobbying of city residents,  the Wagner-Sisson Bill was signed in 1935 by President F. D. Roosevelt establishing the Fort Stanwick National Monument.  Since it had a clause that stated that "property and/or money to purchase property had to be donated", development did not occur until early 1970's when the city donated the property to the National Park Service. The land was cleared and volunteers unearthed the remains of the fort. After the archeological investigation, construction of the new fort started in 1973.  Fort Stanwix National Monument opened in 1976, in time for the nation's bicentennial.

On our visit, we first stopped at the Marinus Willett Center where we were welcomed by Janet, the ranger on duty. We walked through the exhibits showing pictures or illustrations of historical events, notable figures during the revolutionary war and displays of artifacts which are only a fraction of the 485,000 articles and documents in their collection, watched movies about the Oneida Carry and the siege, and begun to understand the historical significance of this site.

 At 2pm, we joined the ranger lead tour where Janet further explained the significance of the Oneida Carry.  After a quick pass through the Willett Center, we walked towards the new fort.

 Above the southwest bastion,  the US flag flew as it's predecessor did during the siege of 1777, claimed by some to be the  "first time the stars and stripes flew in battle". It was, of course, an early version, earlier even than Betsy Ross'  and might not even have any stars on it.

The new fort is a faithful, albeit partial, reconstruction of the original fort of which only a hearth remained. We learned from Janet the multiple layers of defense the fort had to protect against attackers - parapet,  fraise, ditch (which was then also used as added living spaces), cannons on the embrasure.

Encasement

Soldiers' Quarters: Casement

We explored the living quarters of the residents of the fort, from the very simple straw bunks for soldiers housed in the encasement to more comfortable accommodations for the officers.

 

Artillerymen's Quarters

Commandant's Quarters

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What an enjoyable lesson in history it was. An must see for the locals and any history buff for that matter.

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References:

Fort Stanwix.  National Park Service

Fort Stanwix National Monument 1999.   National Park Service Cultural Landscapes Inventory.

Philip Schuyler.    The People of Colonial Albany

Fort Schuyler. Maritime College State University of New York.

Old Fort Schuyler . Utica NY. A Site on Revolutionary Day Road Trip

John Stanwix. Wikipedia.org

The Museum of Art at the Manson Williams Proctor Arts Institute

One of the notable attractions in Utica NY is the Munson Williams Proctor Art Institute. Named after three generations of a prominent Utica family, it was founded in 1919 as "an artistic, musical and social center." It had started as a museum and now also has several other divisions. The Performing Arts Division presents more than 100 events year-round showcasing world-famous performers as well as rising stars, recitals, cinema, concerts, etc. The School of Art offers courses in dance and art for kids and adults.  At PrattMWP, students spend the first two years of their bachelor of fine arts degree before completing their studies at Pratt's main campus in Brooklyn.

The Museum of Art started in Fountain Elms (the home of Helen Munson and her husband James Williams as a house museum showing the family's collection of paintings, prints and decorative furnishings. Helen Elizabeth Munson Williams (1824-94), a prominent philanthropist, left her extensive collection of fine and decorative arts to her two daughters Rachel and Maria, who, with their husbands, half-brothers Thomas and Frederick Proctor, continued their mother's flair for collecting art.  The institute opened to the public in May 1936 after the death of Maria, the last member of that family. In 1960, a new building was designed by renowned architect Philip Johnson to house the institute's expanding collection.  The restored Fountain Elms mansion now serves as a showcase of Victorian era decorative arts.



 On our short visit to Utica on July 1, 2013, we only had time to visit the Johnson building   Although normally closed on Mondays, the museum was open probably because of the ongoing art festival (June28-July4) and an exhibition of Andy Warhol prints.



We headed directly to the museum's most prominent exhibit, The Voyage of Life by Thomas Cole, then considered America's foremost landscape artist and founder/father of the Hudson River School. In this allegorical series, Cole depicts 4 stages in a person' life (Childhood, Youth, Manhood and Old Age) as a voyage on a river. We had trouble tearing ourselves away from this beautiful and awe-inspiring series.

With no other visitors joining the museum tour, we had our own knowledgeable guide to show us the rest of the exhibits. Only a fraction of the museum's 25,000 "American  20th and 21th-century paintings, drawings, sculptures, 19th-century decorative arts, photographs, European paintings, and European and Asian works on paper",were on display at the time. Aside from The Voyage of Life, noteworthy were some works of  Picasso, Andy Warhol (Electric Chair) and surprisingly, Samuel Morse (who, unbeknowns to many, was a painter before he became the acknowledged inventor of the electric telegraph and Morse Code). Interesting also were works of  Utica sculptor Henry DiSpirito as well as the sophomore class of PrattMWP.

It was overall a very worthwhile and informative experience with enough material to satisfy an art aficionado on a short visit but not too much to overwhelm a less-than-enthusiastic viewer.

310 Genesee Street, Utica, NY 13502

315-797-0000

Thousand Islands

About 90 miles, or about 2 hours from Kayuta Lake lies Alexandria Bay,  gateway to the Thousand Islands.

The Thousand Islands region encompass communities along the St. Lawrence River, on both sides of the US and Canada border and the eastern shore of Lake Ontario. Discovered by vacationers in 1870, the wealthy had built their summer vacation places there. Others stayed in hotels.

A view of some of the islands

Actually composed of 1864 islands that extend for about 50 miles in the St.Lawrence River, the islands range in size from over 40 square miles to smaller islands which could be occupied by a single residence or even uninhabited except for some migratory waterfowl.  To be one of the thousand islands, it must be above water level year round, have an area greater than 1 square foot and support at least one living tree.




Each island has  its own individuality which can best be appreciated by taking the cruise around the islands. And so aboard the Uncle Sam we went.




A mandatory stop on the cruise is Heart Island, so named because of its shape and heart-breaking story.  In the 1890's millinonaire New York City hotel owner George Boldt and his wife Louise frequently cruised the islands on their yacht. Boldt later commisioned the construction of an impressive six-story stone structure with 120 rooms, a replica of a Rhineland Castle,  a dream summer home that was to be a gift to his beloved wife. Construction was however halted in 1904 following the unexpected death of Louise. Boldt never returned to the island.  Boldt Castle was never completed and remained vacant and subjected to more than 70 years of decay, weather damage and vandalism.

The Thousand Island Bridge Authority (TIBA) acquired Boldt Castle and the Boldt Yacht House in 1977.  Since then,  it has spent millions of dollars from the castle's net profit in rehabilitating and restoring the Heart Island structures.  When we first visited it in 2005, most of the rooms were still undergoing repairs and some were not even accessible.  The rooms were similar to the pictures "Before" renovation as seen on the castle's website.  A virtual tour of the castle interior gives one a glimpse of the magnificence of that era.

After learning from the cruise about how the famous thousand island dressing originated from this area, we just had to find a place that sells the dressing based on the original recipe.  Only later did I learn of the conflicting legends on the origins of this condiment.

While on the boat, we had seen the Thousand Island Bridge  system which covers a distance of 8.5 miles providing a direct connection between US Interstate Rt 81 and Canada's Highway 401.  It is actually a series of bridges spanning the St. Lawrence River crossing 4 islands (Wellesley, Hill, Constance and Georgina). Thinking how cool it would be to cross this bridge and see the islands from above, we crossed the border. We did not have time to explore any of the communities nor the look out tower on Hill Island.  Despite our US passports, the quick return trip roused some suspicion with the border patrol.  When we said that we did not have any local lodging (we did not consider Kayuta Lake local), the car was subjected to a thorough search.  Why, he must have thought, would  a car from New Jersey go all the way to this place just for a day trip?  The search was fruitless of course and off we went back to Kayuta with memories and a story to tell.