May 15, 2008 12:52 pm
—
By MICHELLE MILLER
Staff Writer
This year marks the centennial
of the birth of Louis
C. Jones, so it seemed quite
fitting for the Cooperstown
graduate students to create
an exhibit in his honor, said
Wayne Wright, associate director
of the New York State
Historical Association Research
Library.
The semester-long project
``Three Eyes on the Past: The
Legacy of Dr. Louis C. Jones
(1908-1990)’’ is on display at
the research library’s exhibit
room. It commemorates
Jones’s work as a historian,
author, folklorist, director of
the New York Historical Association
(NYSHA) and the
Farmers’ Museum, and as
founder of the Cooperstown
Graduate Program.
The exhibit may be viewed
during library hours, Monday
through Friday, from 10
a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday,
from 1 to 5 p.m.
Lori White, one of the five
graduate students who
worked on the exhibit, said
she had a fantastic time
working on the project.
She said she and the other
students— Brian Richards,
Ashley Hopkins, Kimberly
Springle and John Hart —
worked with Jones’s family
and current and former staff
of NYSHA, and learned
many intriguing facts about
Jones and his work.
White said Jones was a
very interesting man, and it
would be very hard to narrow
down what she found
most remarkable about him.
``He was quite the character,’’
said White. ``He really
had an interest in folk art
and ghost stories.’’
Jones was very interested
in murder trials because he
believed people would have
to tell the truth during them,
and the trials were a place to
hear about everyday life that
people would not read about
in text books, said White.
White said she found it
fascinating that so much
happened, such as the establishment
of the graduate
program in 1964, in such a
small village — Cooperstown.
The exhibit features folk
art, historical artifacts, and
ephemera culled from the
collections of the research library,
NYSHA, the Fenimore
Art Museum, The Farmers’
Museum and the Cooperstown
Graduate Program.
Some of the objects on
view include a mallet from
the 20th century, which belonged
to the infamous murderess
Eva Coo who allegedly
used the device to kill her
handyman to collect his life
insurance; ``The American
Songbook’’ by poet Carl
Sandburg, and the books
``Murder at Cherry Hill’’ and
``Things That Go Bump in
the Night,’’ both authored by
Louis C. Jones.
Along with NYSHA’s
Chairman and founder Stephen
C. Clark, Sr., Jones selected
many of the museum’s
most cherished pieces, and
acquired much of the Fenimore
Art Museum’s renowned
collection of folk art,
according to NYSHA public
relations manager Christine
Liggio. On exhibit are a barley
fork, an angel weathervane,
and a peacock dating
from the 19th century.
Also on view are Jones’s
papers, which include the illustrations
from his publication
``Things That Go Bump
in the Night’’; his notebook
from his early days at NYSHA;
brochures from The
Farmers’ Museum’s Seminars
on American Culture;
and an 1950 issue of ``Art in
America,’’ which was devoted
to the Fenimore Art Museum’s
growing folk art collection.
Jones was renowned for
several initiatives as director
of NYSHA and The Farmers’
Museum in Cooperstown
from 1947 until 1972.
Among his major accomplishments
were the establishment
of the Seminars on
American Culture, the Cooperstown
Graduate Program,
the folk art collection at the
Fenimore Art Museum and
the Thompson-Jones folklore
archives, the New York Folklore
Society, and the expansion
of The Farmers’
Museum, as well as educational
programming, publication
programs and outreach
to local historical
societies.
He was also a popular
writer and accomplished editor
on folklore, art and history.
Other notable achievements
include being an original
member of the New York
State Council on the Arts in
1960 (serving on the council
until 1972) and chairman of
the New York State Historic
Trust. Jones received the
Award of Distinction given
by the Association of State
and Local History in 1968,
and honorary degrees from
Hamilton College and the
State University of New York
in 1987.
Jones was born June 28,
1908 in Albany, N.Y., and
died Nov. 25, 1990 after suffering
a stroke in Haverford,
Penn. He graduated from
Hamilton College in 1930
and received his master’s degree
in English from Columbia
University in 1941. Jones
also taught English at the
university level and held
teaching positions at several
universities.
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.