New York Field Trip

2004
NEW YORK FIELD TRIP

October 29-30, 2004

The New York Folklore Society’s programs are made possible in part with public funds from the Folk Arts Program of the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

ABOUT THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Mark Howell, Ph.D. is currently Academic Chair of the Communications Area at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City, Michigan. He received his Ph.D. in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University with a focus on twentieth century American history and popular culture. His book, From Moonship to Madison Avenue: A Cultural History of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series was published in 1997 by the Popular Press (U. of Wisconsin) and won the Ray and Pat Browne National Book Award of the Popular Culture Association in 1998. This book was the first scholarly study of stock car racing and NASCAR’s growth and evolution into a mainstream professional sport. Currently he is working on a book for Syracuse University Press entitled A Family Tradition: The Racing Bodine Brothers from Chemung, New York.

New York Folklore Society
P.O. Box 764
Schenectady, NY 12301
518/346-7008
Fax 518/346-6617
nyfs@nyfolklore.org

2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Friday, October 29

2:00 p.m.	Registration begins at the Seneca Lodge, Watkins Glen
3:00 p.m.	Depart from the Seneca Lodge by car, up the east side of Seneca Lake
3:30 p.m. (approx.)	Lamoreaux Vineyards
4:00 p.m. (approx.)	Wagner Vineyards
4:30 p.m.	Brief annual meeting for the New York Folklore Society Ginny Lee Restaurant at Wagner Vineyards
5:15 p.m.	Dinner at the Ginny Lee Restaurant at Wagner’s Vineyard

Saturday, October 30

	Breakfast on your own
9:30 a.m.	Registration at the Watkins Glen International Speedway The first post-World War II road race in the United States got its start on October 2, 1948 in Watkins Glen. The original 6.6 mile circuit is on the National Register of Historic Places, and it ran through village streets, starting and ending in front of the Schuyler County Courthouse. To close the public roads for the event, permits were required from six government entities: the state, the county, the village, the towns of Reading and Dix, and the New York State Parks Commission. A permit from the New York Central Railroad also was needed because the trains were stopped during the race, as the course crossed the tracks. This circuit was used for races from 1948-1952.
10:00 a.m.	Introductions and Keynote Speaker — Dr. Mark Howell, "From Moonshine to Madison Avenue" "No sport is more deeply entrenched in the folklore and popular consciousness of the American people. Not even baseball can come close to the narratives we share about daredevil drivers, savvy "shadetree" mechanics, thrilling moves on the speedway, and devious twists of technology practiced behind the closed doors of garages. It is a complex tapestry of history, corporate money, media coverage, and mythology...all at better than 180 mph!" Keynote supported by a grant from the New York Council for the Humanities.
	Keynote followed by presentations by Bill Green, racing historian, and others
Noon	Lunch on your own
2:00 p.m.	Reconvene at the Watkins Glen State Park, South Pavillion Karen Park Canning, "Salt Mining in the Finger Lakes" Presentation by Rosemary Kleinspehn of Seneca Trails and Travel, with a walk in the Watkins Glen State Park (weather permitting)
	Dinner on your own
7:00 p.m	Performance by Philip Shapiro, folk music host on public radio station WBVR-Ithaca, joined by Binghamton fiddler, Carrie Shore in the Bar at Seneca Lodge