TAUNY, Traditional Arts in Upstate New York has invited the community to a Raquette River dams exhibit research talk with Camilla Ammirati and Mary Jane Watson on Thursday, September 7 from noon to 1 pm at the TAUNY Center in Canton.

The presentation will focus on the oral history project that inspired TAUNY’s current exhibit, “‘Look Down, You’ll See Our Tracks’: Raquette River Dam Stories.” Attendees will have the chance to see the images, hear the stories, and learn about how this part of our regional heritage came into focus over three years of research and exhibit development.

Project partner Mary Jane Watson of South Colton will discuss the concentration of dams and powerhouses Niagara Mohawk built around the Colton area in the 1950s and how they transformed the local environment and community life.

TAUNY Director of Research and Programs Camilla Ammirati will talk about what the research project entailed, themes and questions that emerged, and stories of fieldwork adventures tracking down project participants – from cold-calling unions to learning firsthand which old logging roads not to use as shortcuts.

This lunchtime presentation also includes an opportunity to purchase a meal by Big Spoon Kitchen, from Potsdam, inspired by the themes of the talk. The lunch will be a “Plowman’s Lunch” including selections of ham, egg, bread, and cheese, to reference the kind of streamlined but satisfying portable meal that would help get someone through a day of work out on a logging or construction site. There is a $5 suggested donation for this presentation and the cost for the lunch is $12 or $10 for TAUNY Friends. Guests can reserve their lunch by Tuesday, September 5th by calling TAUNY at (315) 386-4289 or at TAUNY’s online folkstore.

This program is part of both the “‘Look Down, You’ll See Our Tracks’: Raquette River Dam Stories” Program Series and the TAUNY Talk & Taste Series.

The TAUNY Center is located at 53 Main Street, Downtown Canton. For more information, visit their website.

Photo: The view upriver from Carry Dam during construction, c. 1950s, courtesy Colton Museum.