The Massena, New York Museum - Part 1

I drove into Massena one sunny day and visited the town museum, newly moved to a former bank building and looking elegant:

I'd been there before but didn't remember the two giant murals. I had to ask about the subject of the paintings. They depicted Jacques Cartier's exploration of the St. Lawrence River in the mid 1500s:

 

Cartier was a French explorer and named Canada by misusing the Iroquois word, "kanata," which meant village or settlement. He met a number of local tribes, and apparently they received him with friendship:

Only half the museum was open when I visited, as the other half was being rearranged for a new exhibit. But there was plenty to see in the open half, like this home spinning equipment:

There was no sign on these handmade dolls and I wish I'd asked about them. I will next time:

I headed down the hallway, which was filled to overflowing with local artifacts:

A Victorian dress, butter churn and milk can:

Victorian doll, baby carriage - an old desk and artifacts from an early church and synagogue:

Lots of hand tools, which I assumed were for kitchen use because those few which I recognized were kitchen tools:

Mohawk baskets, wagon wheels and lots of artifacts from Massena's history:

Farm and fireplace tools:

Tools for barn building and use around the farm:

A Civil War Uniform. There was a lot more to see, though, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Village Of Norwood New York Museum-Part 2

I was touring the village museum in Norwood, New York (see also Part 1, posted yesterday) and came to the kitchen, which was filled with old time implements:

A hand cranked washing machine and washboard:

I was told that this was the bedroom of the former home owner, a doctor and Civil War veteran, much as he had left it:

This bureau, which matched the bed, must have been expensive in its day, but something a doctor could afford:

There was a military room, filled with photos, flags, helmets and a wheelchair:

And uniforms from various eras:

A children's room with toys:

And children's clothing:

This gruesome and frightening contraption was a hair curler. Oh, the prices women paid to try to look beautiful!

Women's clothing and dolls:

More women's clothing, including a scout leader's uniform:

The Norwood Fire Department is well known for its marching band, the Brass Fireman. They were honored at the museum with artifacts, photos and trophies. But this was the end of my museum tour. I thanked the historian and made my way outside to begin the drive home:

The Parishville, New York Museum - Part 2

I was touring the Parishville, New York town museum (see also Part 1, posted yesterday) and entered the children's bedroom, which contained several cribs, doll carriages, toys and many dolls:

And there was a room filled with high school marching band memorabilia:

And old typewriters:

A sunroom upstairs had many handmade displays such as this one with miniature wooden tools. It had been there so long that the sun had bleached out the signs which explained the tools:

And this being a pioneer town, there were three model log cabins. This one, with a cutaway showing the interior, was my favorite:

Another model log cabin:


And a huge display of old tools:

Woodworking and other tools:

The master bedroom reminded me of my grandmother's bedroom:

This was small town life in the Victorian era:

Even the closet was filled with old clothing:

This old dress was interesting, but what was that tag hanging from it? I moved in for a closeup:

It turned out to not be for the dress, but instead it was directions for using the old dress form:

My final photo at the Parishville Museum was of this hat collection, a reminder of small town life many years ago. I love these town museums, and the Parishville Museum is certainly one of my favorites:

The Parishville, New York Museum - Part 1

Parishville, New York is an old pioneer town and one of the smallest, most scenic towns I've seen anywhere. It has a museum in an old house which is maintained by the Town Historian and open one afternoon per week, two months per year - July and August. I hadn't been there in several years, so I decided to return:

The formal parlor was filled with many things, including a piano. There were two old fashioned church organs elsewhere:

I headed for the door in the side corner of the parlor:

I knew that there was a display of hand carved circus wagons, carved by a former resident of the town (that's his photo on the left):

Teams of hand carved horses pulled the circus wagons. The display appeared to be being moved to another display case so that the room could hold more items:

My next stop was the old fashioned kitchen, a reminder of how life used to be:

A dry sink and numerous utensils:


A display on butter making. The kitchen didn't have much light, so many of the photos were unusable but that may have been a blessing because otherwise I'd have too many to post:


Then I returned to the parlor, where a lot of sorting and rearranging was in progress:

The parlor indicated that a wealthy family once lived here:

 

There was an entire room devoted to old photos. As you can see, more sorting and rearranging was in progress there also:

I went upstairs where this Victorian era doll and carriage caught my attention:

Fans, hats and handmade dolls. Every town museum seems to have a lot of dolls, and it reminds me of how much little girls loved their dolls. They often keep them all their lives, or at least until they donate them to the local museum:

A military room. There was still more to see, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: