Fame: Edmonia Lewis

I discovered Mary Edmonia Lewis while reading up on the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago (she was the only local artist who exhibited). Edmonia claimed she was born in Greenbush, NY on July 4th, 1844, but this may or may not be true. There's a discussion of her New York State connections in the Hudson River Bracketed blog: Inventing Edmonia Lewis and Inventing Edmonia Lewis II.

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library says of her:

Riding the crest of the neoclassical revival in the 1870's, sculptress Edmonia Lewis attracted wide notice in a field generally dominated by men. She was, in fact, the first African American sculptor to achieve international distinction.

See some of her sculptures in this Smithsonian online exhibition: Cleopatra Lost & Found. ("Cleopatra" currently is displayed on the second floor of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where we snuck this cell phone photo).

Cleopatra's story is told in Smithsonian magazine, September 1996: The Object at Hand:

The circuitous route of Edmonia Lewis' masterwork, a controversial portrayal of Cleopatra at the moment of death, included stints as decor in a Chicago saloon and as a grave marker for a racehorse

Another lost Lewis sculpture, "Veiled Bride of Spring", was found a few years ago in a public library in Kentucky (check your attic - you never know!).

UPDATE: See article "City of Rensselaer Awarded “Honor Roll of Abolitionists” on the last page of this PDF file of the Sept. 2007 The Informed Constituent.

Stimulus For Water Infrastructure

Times-Union: $432M for clean water

Federal stimulus cash to fund rebuilding of sewage systems polluting state rivers, lakes

Throughout the state, aging sewer systems can be overwhelmed during periods of heavy rain or snow melt, causing sewage to bypass sanitary sewer lines and spill directly into the Hudson River.

In the Capital Region, the cities of Albany, Troy, Rensselaer, Watervliet, Cohoes, and the village of Green Island are preparing repair plans through the Capital District Regional Planning Commission...
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Half the federal aid will be provided as a grant that will not have to be repaid, while the other half will be a low-interest loan that must be repaid to the state loan fund.

April 3, 1909 - Paving 2nd Street

(Almost) 100 Years Ago: There was no April 3, 1909 issue of the The Rensselaer Eagle in the microfiche [NY 41 Rensselaer 93-32173]. I'm using a story from April 10, 1909 instead, which is appropriate for pothole season.

SHOULD PAVE SECOND STREET FOR TWO BLOCKS

FROST IS COMING OUT OF THE GROUND AND DEFECTS ARE NOTICEABLE

Under the Lansing Bill Which Will Doubtless Become a Law Work Could be Done By City and Charged to Property

Every citizen of Rensselaer is interested in the new paving which is soon to be started in this city and which will mean the improvement of many of the streets that now have no paving whatever.
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The proposition to pave Second Street from Partition to John Street a distance of two blocks is one of the things that it is hoped may be accomplished this summer.
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As Harrison avenue is to be paved from Broadway to Third Street the improvement of Second street would mean that the driver with a heavy load could go up Partition street to Second and then over and up Harrison avenue and thus avoid the grade from Harrison avenue to Partition street on Third. It would also eliminate what is now a mud hole and would mean the improvement of property in that vicinity. ...

FujiFilm Processing Plant Closing

The Business Review: Fujifilm closing Rensselaer plant

Fujifilm USA is closing its Rensselaer plant and eliminating all 145 jobs. The film manufacturer said the plant, located at One Power Way, Rensselaer, will be closed by July 1.

Comment at The Buzz: Business news: Fuji closing East Greenbush film plan

"Fujifilm has for some time been consolidating wholesale photofinishing operations due to the shift from film processing to digital imaging...."

UPDATE - actually 193 jobs: Times-Union: Fujifilm revises layoff number upward