The Massena, New York Museum - Part 2

I was touring the Massena, NY Museum (see also Part 1, posted yesterday) and stopped at this old writing desk for a closer look:

 Victorian Era wicker wheelchair and crutches. I thought the uniforms were from World War I but wasn't sure, and I saw no signs to tell me:

There was kitchen furniture and furnishings from a variety of eras:

An old still, probably the only real one I've ever seen:

And this mysterious object. I'll bet you don't know what it is. It's a bottle capper from Massena Springs (see also next photo):

 

I knew nothing of Massena Springs, so I checked the town website and learned this:

During the 1800’s, Massena grew in prominence as a health retreat as people flocked to the area to enjoy the medicinal benefits of bathing in the sulfur mineral springs found along the Racquette River. Known to the Indians as Kanaswastakeras, meaning "the place where the mud smells bad," the Iroquois had been visiting the springs and using the waters for their "curative" powers for generations before settlers from New England and Europe came to this area. The Indians described the springs as a place where many moose, deer and their sick brothers would come to drink the healing waters.

The sulfur springs provided a booming economy for the place known as Massena Springs, N.Y. Many grand homes and hotels opened and grew to accommodate the many people who would come to "use The Massena Waters." For those who couldn't travel here, the curative waters were locally bottled and shipped far and wide:

I kept having the feeling that I was being watched, and this exhibit was the reason why. This woman tended an old fashioned general store, comprised of artifacts from former Massena merchants:


This Dayton scale (early 1900s) was once used in Tarpenian's Grocery Store. The store counter was once used in "Honest John" Serabian's store:

Lots of old grocery items, but it was calendar which caught my eye. It was from September, 1946,  before I was even born. I've reached the age when I see lots of things in museums which are younger than me, and it was a pleasure to see this calendar which was older than I:

An old cash register from Podgurski's store:

Uniform and switchboard from the Massena Police Station in the 1950s:

And a phone book from 1953-54 to authenticate it. Massena was called "The Aluminum City" because of the aluminum production plants which once ruled the city. Only Alcoa is left, and that has a much reduced workforce now. Massena was a boom town in the heyday of aluminum production and again during the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway. I have been told that Massena's population is now only half of what it once was:

This was my last stop for the day, a collection of items saved by local residents and donated to the museum. I'll have to return when they other half of the museum opens:

Eisenhower Lock, St. Lawrence Seaway

I had just left the Nature Center (see previous two posts) and was headed south toward home. The area between the Grasse River and the St. Lawrence River (and Seaway) was rife with ponds, streams and marshes (see the Google map, below):

I hadn't expected to take any more pictures, but I couldn't resist. And this was what stopped me and caused me to pull to the side of the road - two displaying male turkeys. They were intent on what they were doing and not much concerned with me:

I got back on the road but was again distracted, this time by the Eisenhower Lock on the St. Lawrence Seaway. I had to drive uphill to get a view of it:

Looking to the west, a large ship appeared to be coming through:

And looking to the east, where two seagulls were squawking at me:

There was a lot of construction going on. It was a busy place, though tourists couldn't get to the active areas:

I was just leaving the Eisenhower Lock when I stopped to photograph this pair of Canada Geese:

Remember I said that I had to drive uphill to get a view of the Eisenhower Lock? The road goes beneath it, though the tunnel seems so short that I had to look it up on a map when I got home:

What I learned when I checked Google Maps was that the Seaway narrows dramatically at the point where they built the Eisenhower Lock. Rather than build a bridge for the road, they built a tunnel:

I thought I was finished with photos when I noticed a small body of water with a blacktopped drive going down to it. There were a number of birds in the water, so I drove down for a better look. As you can see, there were two Canada Geese, two Mallards and a Loon. I was surprised by all the interesting things I saw while driving home from the nature center, but that's all the more reason to return soon:

New Nature Center in Massena, New York - Part 2

I was touring the brand new Robert Moses State Park Nature Center near Massena, NY (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). I entered another large room and was immediately drawn to a glass fronted display of taxidermy forest animals,:

A Mallard, a Beaver and a pair of Wood Ducks:

A pair of Ringneck Pheasants:


A Porcupine and a Turkey. There were many more specimens, including a pied deer, but you get the idea:


Tree rings, and their meaning. See the bear on the left? The naturalist took my picture with the bear, but there were none on the camera when I got home. He must have pushed the wrong buttons:

The bee colony had not yet arrived, but one was on the way and they were ready for it, with a transparent indoor display which will allow people to watch the bees' activities:

A huge, old hollow log (made of concrete, I think - I forgot to check). Children were drawn to it as if it were a magnet:

And inside the log, at the very ceiling, were realistic looking, fake bats which began squeaking suddenly and loudly as soon as someone entered. As you might guess, there were a lot of sudden reactions from the people (the adults more than the kids):

Beavers, the species which shaped our landscape and drew settlers westward when our nation was young:

A Wood Turtle, named for the wood grain type pattern on its carapace (top shell). I know they live around here because last year I rescued two of them from roads:

A Blandings Turtle. I didn't know they lived around here but I know they lived in Ohio, where I grew up, because I kept one once as a boy. The poor turtle had had his feet chewed off but it lived quite awhile in our washtub:

They had two baby Snapping Turtles who were not yet eating well, though they were tempting them by jiggling fish parts. This was an exceptional nature center and the two naturalists on duty were terrific. One of them I recognized from church, along with several of the visitors. I plan to return soon:

New Nature Center in Massena, New York - Part 1

I heard that a brand new nature center had opened over the weekend in the Robert Moses State Park, just northeast of Massena, NY on the St. Lawrence Seaway. I drove to it on Monday morning to have a look. The exterior was impressive, and crews were still working on the landscaping:

The interior was even more impressive, with a large aquarium front and center. If I remember correctly, I was told that it holds 2000 gallons of water:

There was a display at the top of the aquarium which showed how a muskrat lodge would look:

And down below, several Eastern Painted Turtles were swimming:

A few Green Frogs watched me from the weeds. I was told that they had gotten rather tame because the staff threw food to them. A friendly naturalist took me around, explaining things as we went:

Behind the big aquarium were a stuffed bear and beaver:

And lots of native fish swam in the waters below:

These were Yellow Perch:

Who needs wetlands? Every living thing on earth. This was, after all, right between the St. Lawrence and Grasse Rivers, with marshes and ponds and rivulets everywhere:

I was familiar with fresh water clams, but had no idea there were five species. I also learned that we have freshwater jellyfish (non-stinging), common to Adirondack lakes. They are clear, and about the size of a penny. They are a non-native species, introduced accidentally from China:

This aquarium had fish, turtles and crayfish:

 And most of the fish in it were Creek Chub. But I was just getting started and had much more to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Wilson Hill Wildlife Management Area

I was driving on Route 37 towards Massena when I saw a sign for the Wilson Hill Wildlife Management Area. I had spare time, so turned left toward the St. Lawrence Seaway. All along the left side of the road were incredibly beautiful wetlands:

I saw this observation deck so I parked and walked over for a look:

The sign told me all about the area:

I climbed up the observation tower and took pictures of the views:

The St. Lawrence is often called America's Fourth Coast and this scenery made it clear why:

I continued on until I saw this sign. Of course I turned down the road to take a look:

I passed the boat launch and continued onto the Wilson Hill Causeway, with scenes like this on both the left and the right. It was a warm day, but overcast and with cool breezes. It felt very much like being on Cape Cod - but without the salty, fishy smell:

There was a manicured nature trail, which you can see on the left of this photo as it meanders off into the woods:

And there was more scenery by the nature trail. The causeway took me to Wilson Hill, a very nice settlement on an island. It would make an interesting and scenic blog post. Well, maybe the next time I'm in the area:

The road to Wilson Hill was a dead end, so I turned around and began crossing the causeway back the way I'd come. I stopped at this fisherman and asked if I could snap his photo. He said OK but I think he was relieved that I wasn't going to hassle him about having caught his line in the rocks. He was trying to free it, but I pretended not to notice:

And just after I snapped a picture of the fisherman, a couple more fisherman came by in a boat, headed for the public boat launch. They were farther out in the water and I had to use the zoom lens, but you can use your imagination to enhance this photo:

And then I returned the way I'd come, passing by more wetlands and snapped one last photo along the way. I was headed into Massena after that, so I put my camera away and focused my attention on not getting lost: