I believe there is good reason to have a "New Yorkers" hall of fame.  Native New Yorkers Hall of Fame has made a good start by hiring a qualified museum consultant.  As a list member, I believe it would be helpful if the group continues to reach out to the history community as it decides how to undertake its task of selection and induction, where it will be physically located or sited, and how it will raise funds so as not to compete with existing museums and historical societies.

Note, their first project is a traveling exhibit.  The "Hall of Fame" can be a virtual hall of fame, or a museum without walls.

The Board of Regents granted a provisional charter to Native New Yorkers Hall of Fame on 9/15/2000.  Here are their corporate purposes:

The full name of the proposed corporation is the Native New Yorkers Hall of Fame.  The purposes for which such corporation is to be formed are:

a. To honor persons born in New York State achieving fame, infamy or celebrity status in government, politics, sports, diplomacy, show business, science, jurisprudence, medicine, any of the cultural arts, exploration or any other area of accomplishment or notoriety.

b. To collect, keep maintain and/or exhibit records memorabilia, photographs, and similar materials of or pertaining to such native New Yorkers.

c. To establish, maintain and operate a museum for the above purposes.

The Regents also chartered the Trustees of the Hall of Fame for Great Americans.  I toured this grandfather of all halls of fame in 2000 and found that the most recent busts are those of individuals active in the period 1880 to 1920. There are New Yorkers among them but as Jim Corsaro correctly points out, the scope is national.  The organization has regrouped, has cleaned and repaired much of the facility, and hopes to bring the selection of prominent men and women up to date.  The organization is also well aware there are few women and almost no African Americans represented.

David



David W. Palmquist
Head, Chartering Program
NY State Museum
NY State Education Department
3097 Cultural Education Center
Albany NY 12230
518-473-3131
FAX 518-473-8496
e-mail:  [log in to unmask]
web site:  www.nysm.nysed.gov/charter/

>>> [log in to unmask] 12/09/02 06:45PM >>>
At the risk of seeming to be a crank and a spoilsport, I want to point out
that there is already a Hall of Fame for Great Americans in NYC (more than
just New Yorkers obviously). We can all think of many native New Yorkers to
add what is already a growing list. However, what exactly is this Hall of
Fame going to be and do? What educational function will it conduct that is
not already being done by other museums (e.g. Washington Irving was
mentioned and Sunnyside already exists to remember him). This may be a
worthwhile project, but why should any funding agency provide support when
there are so many historical societies and museums in the state that are in
desperate need of funding to carry out their programs? Many of these fine
institutions will duplicate and surpass the work of the Hall of Fame for
particular individuals; for instance, can the Hall really expect to surpass
the work of Sunnyside in honoring the memory of Irving or of the Adirondack
Museum in documenting the lives of native New York Adirondackers such as
Noah John Rondeau?Does the state really need another museum such as this
when so many others are already going hungry for support? What about support
for museums and historical societies that are struggling to document the
lives of and educate the public about the great masses of people who remain
anonymous, but are equally important to the big names of NYS history? It
seems to me that unless this Hall of Fame has an independent source of
wealth to support it, I, for one, would like to see the dwindling support
for museums and historical societies go for those already in existence.

Jim Corsaro



----- Original Message -----
From: "Linda Norris" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, December 01, 2002 9:18 AM
Subject: Born in New York


> The Native New Yorkers Hall of Fame, a newly chartered organization
located
> in Sullivan County, is beginning work on an initial traveling exhibit
> designed to engage visitors of all ages in discussion about the
> accomplishments of those individuals born in New York.   A long list is
> already underway, with those easy to think of (those four presidents) and
> those less often thought of as New Yorkers (Carl Yaztremski,  L. Frank
Baum,
> Joan Baez and Herman Melville, to name an eclectic few).
>
> We're interested in hearing about New Yorkers from your area that have
made
> significant accomplishments in areas such as literature, visual arts,
> journalism, popular culture, science, business and education and reform.
> Our goal is to develop a broad-based list that represents the diversity of
> New York State.
>
> At a later date, the Hall of Fame will be accepting formal nominations;
this
> information is for the preliminary exhibition, scheduled to open in May,
> 2003.
>
> If you have names and accomplishments to share, I look forward to hearing
> from you.  Thanks for any help you can provide!
>
> Linda Norris
> Riverhill
> History and Folklife for Museums and Communities
> Treadwell, NY  13846