HAPPY NEW YEAR

From the Bullis Collection

GREETINGS FROM THE PAST

A Christmas postcard from the collection,

bearing an early 1900 postmark.

A Merry Christmas To You and Yours

from

The Bullis Room Volunteers

GIFT BOOKS

Need some last-minute holiday gifts to put under your tree? Have you thought about completing your shopping list with books?

We've found several books in the Bullis Collection that were presented as holiday gifts. Here they are for your consideration. And we've included the inscriptions that were written inside, in graceful longhand.

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.

"Christmas 1904 from Louisa Fisher"

Old Kaskia Days by Elizabeth Holbrook.

"From Mrs. E. G. Matlock to Mr. Wm. Don Maus, Christmas, 1898"

Historic Towns of New England by Lyman Powell.

"To Helen from Mother Henry, Christmas 1901"

The Poems Sacred, Passionate and Humorous by N. P. Willis

"To my dear brother William from Emma, Christmas 1871"

Farm Legends by Will Carleton

"A Christmas present to Asher Freeman at the age of 61 years by his granddaughter,

Florance Freeman, dau. of Linus and Myra Freeman at the age of 2 1/2 years.

At Middleport, Niagara Co. NY, December 25, 1875

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

"A. R. Bullis

Mr. S. Ni from M. E. Cooley

Xmas 1898"

A Soldier's Memories in Peace and War by G. J. Younghusband

"Frederick T. Teet

Auburn NY

Xmas 1917"

The Wolf Boy of China by Wm. Dalton

"Francis Granger

No. 250 w. 57th St. N Y City

Xmas 1886"

May we also suggest that you jot a little note to the recipient inside the book? And be sure to date it, too, for the benefit of readers a hundred years from now.

THE GIFT OF DIVERSITY

This week, volunteers put together a new display in the case outside the Bullis Room., display celebrating diversity and suggesting that viewers resolve to read a variety of new topics and discover new authors in the coming new year. Some of our suggestions are:

Rupert, by the Grace of God

the Story of an Unrecorded plot set forth by Will Fortesque

Edited and revised by Dora Greenwell McChesney, published in 1899

Two Little Savages

Being the adventures of two boys who lived as Indians and what they learned

Written by Ernest Thompson Seton, published in 1917.

Thomas Hart Benton--American Statesman

Written by Theodore Roosevelt, published in 1886.

Hugh Wynne--Free Quaker

Sometime Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel on the Staff of His Excellency General Washington

Written by S. Weir Mitchell, M.D.L.L.D.

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby

Written by Charles Dickens

Birds Every Child Should Know

Written by Hamilton Wright Mabie, published in 1917

Over the Teacups

Written by Oliver Wendell Holmes, published in 1891

Missionary Explorers Among the American Indians

Edited by M. G. Humphreys, published 1913

The Religions of the Ancient World

Written by George Rawlinson, M.A., published 1883

ANOTHER LITTLE BLUE BOOK

We found another little blue book this week here in the Bullis Room. This one caught our eye, not only because of the blue marble cover, but also because of its title: A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases: with a copious index of principal words. Between the covers are 127 pages of thought-provoking quotes and references.

The intro says that "the late Earl Russell very aptly describes a proverb as the wisdom of many and the wit of one." If you're a fan of wit and wisdom, you may want to add this book to your reading list.

There is no editor or year of publication listed, but a handwritten note on the flyleaf reads: "July 23, 1938 Powers Auction," which reminds us that Charlie Bullis's frugality included buying books at auctions and garage sales. This notation also brings to mind the Bullis family's adage: "Use it up; wear it out; make do; or do without." A good proverb for back then and certainly a good one for now.

DR. CHASE'S RECIPES

Photo caption: A volunteer reads Dr. Chase's recipe for bee-bread honey.

This little blue-covered book, which measures about 4 by 7 inches, is almost hidden by the thicker, taller medical tomes on the shelf. But it contains what must have been useful information in its day, proving that good things really do come in small packages.

Published in 1872 by R.A. Beal, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Dr. Chase's Recipes; or, Information for Everybody; An Invaluable Collection of About Eight Hundred Practical Recipes instructs merchants, grocers, saloon keepers, housekeepers, physicians, druggists, barbers, bakers, and farmers how to make apple pie, an ague cure, deer skin tanning solution, a chronic rheumatism cure, washing fluid (saving half the wash-board labor), a Good Samaritan liniment, and 794 more concoctions. (Whew!)

Our copy is the 73rd edition and states that 730,000 copies (at $1.25 each) had been sold at that time, leading the author to the conclude that a good many folk recognized the value of so much handy information packed into one volume. Today, we may find many of these recipes outdated, but they still make entertaining reading. We recommend you spend some time with Dr. Chase's little blue book.

THE WELCOME MAT IS STILL OUT...

...and this is a friendly reminder that you're invited to stop by and browse the shelves in the Bullis Room.

Just call the main desk (986-5932, Op. 3), leave your contact information, and we'll arrange a time to meet you. Or, if you see a volunteer in the Bullis Room on your next library visit, simply open the door and say hello.

Usually, someone is in the room at these times:

Mondays, 1 PM to 4 PM Tuesdays, 12:30 PM to 2 PM

1st Thursday of the month, 10 AM to Noon

Fridays, 2 PM to 4:30 PM

Hope to see you soon. We'll leave the light on.

HONORING VETERANS

Again, we remember Bullis family members who have served their country through military service.

Philip Bullis, born circa 1630 in England. Philip was a mariner who immigrated to Boston, Massachusetts. He served in Major Savage's Company under Lieut. Gillam from 1675 to 1676 on the Connecticut River during King Philip's War.

Son of John Bullis, born circa 1695 in Dutchess County, New York. John married and had eight sons who grew up on the Bullis Homestead in Dutchess County. One of these sons was a general in the French and Indian War.

Charles Bullis, born 1723 in Greenwich, Connecticut. He later moved to Manchester, Vermont. He served in the Revolutionary War in Captain Gideon Brownson's Company, Warner Regiment, Vermont Militia.

John Lapham Bullis, born 1841 in Macedon, New York. In 1862, he enlisted in the Volunteer Army and was commissioned in 1864, seeing extensive service during the Civil War. He continued his military service in Texas and Mexico with the Buffalo Soldiers, served in the Phillipines and Cuba during the Spanish-American War, and ended his career after President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him Brigadier General in 1904.

Charles R. Bullis, born 1891 in Macedon, New York. He enlisted in the Army on September 26, 1917 and was discharged on December 11, 1918. He served as a Private in the 20^th Company, 157 Depot Brigade during World War I. He was stationed at Camp McClellan, Alabama, for part of that time.

To these Bullis men and to all the men and women who have served and are serving in our Armed Forces, we say as sincere "Thank You."

HONORING VETERANS

Again, we remember Bullis family members who have served their country through military service.

Philip Bullis, born circa 1630 in England. Philip was a mariner who immigrated to Boston, Massachusetts. He served in Major Savage's Company under Lieut. Gillam from 1675 to 1676 on the Connecticut River during King Philip's War.

Son of John Bullis, born circa 1695 in Dutchess County, New York. John married and had eight sons who grew up on the Bullis Homestead in Dutchess County. One of these sons was a general in the French and Indian War.

Charles Bullis, born 1723 in Greenwich, Connecticut. He later moved to Manchester, Vermont. He served in the Revolutionary War in Captain Gideon Brownson's Company, Warner Regiment, Vermont Militia.

John Lapham Bullis, born 1841 in Macedon, New York. In 1862, he enlisted in the Volunteer Army and was commissioned in 1864, seeing extensive service during the Civil War. He continued his military service in Texas and Mexico with the Buffalo Soldiers, served in the Phillipines and Cuba during the Spanish-American War, and ended his career after President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him Brigadier General in 1904.

Charles R. Bullis, born 1891 in Macedon, New York. He enlisted in the Army on September 26, 1917 and was discharged on December 11, 1918. He served as a Private in the 20^th Company, 157 Depot Brigade during World War I. He was stationed at Camp McClellan, Alabama, for part of that time.

To these Bullis men and to all the men and women who have served and are serving in our Armed Forces, we once again say a sincere “Thank You

WOME'S SUFFRAGE

The election this week focused our attention on a Bullis Collection book about a local women who played a significant role in attaining voting rights for women: The life and work of Susan B. Anthony: Including public addresses, her own letters and many from her contemporaries during fifty years, by Ida Husted Harper (Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill, 1899). The title describes the contents, and it is a good read for anyone who wants to learn more about the struggle for suffrage in this country.

We wonder if Nettie Bullis read Ida Harper's book and how she might have been influenced by its message. The latter, we'll focus on in another posting.

Until then, please stop by the Bullis Room when you're in the library. If no one is on duty in the room when you're there, you can still look at the Bullis books displayed in the glassed case to the left of the window.

P.S. We also noticed that on this day in 1872, Susan B. Anthony defied the law by attempting to vote for President Ulysses S. Grant. (She was convicted but never paid the $100 fine give her by the judge.)

MONEY MANAGEMENT AND THE BULLIS FAMILY

We've referred to the Bullis family's New England frugality in several of our posts on this site. Nettie and Charlie Bullis both accumulated impressive estates through this frugality and by investing their money wisely. There is an anecdotal record that Charlie Bullis lost all his investments in the October, 1929 stock market crash. However, it's also noted that he got back into the market and recovered his losses.

To recoup his investments, perhaps Mr. Bullis consulted several investment books that are on the shelves here in the Bullis Room. These titles include:

1. How to Invest for Income and Profit During 1930-1931 by Edgar T. Brainerd (New York: Ticker Publishing Co., 1930). This volume has the signature "Charles R. Bullis, Jan. 2, 1931."

2. The New Technique of Uncovering Security Bargains by John Du Rand (New York: Ticker Publishing Co., 1928). The inside front cover bears the initial "C" in what appears to be Charlie Bullis's handwriting.

3. The Evaluation of Common Stocks by Arnold Bernhard (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1959)

4. Investments: Principles and Practices by Douglas Hamilton Bellemore (New York: B.C. Forbes and Sons Pub. Co., 1953)

Perhaps you might find some useful information in one of these books. We would be glad to get them off the shelf so you could browse through them, just as Nettie and Charlie may have once done. Hope to see you in the Bullis Room soon.

HOW TO MAKE A BOW AND ARROW

Bow hunting season is now in full force here in western New York, and when we recently read the following essay by "Charles R. Bullis, Second yr. English, September 25, 1906," we thought it an appropriate time to share with you the fifteen-year-old's idea of "How to make a Bow and Arrow."

"I am now about to describe the manufacture of the bow and arrow the weapon upon which the Indians and many other nations depend to procure the food supply and which played such an important part in the history of the English our ancestors, or rather to tell how they may bee constructed from local material and used as a pleasant out door sport.

"Yew and Lancewood are undoubtebly the best wood for bow but osage orange, white ash, hickory, apple tree and cedar all of which grow in this locality will make very good bows. The wood should be winter cut and well seasoned and the bow should be made from that part of the tree where the heart wood joins the sap wood. There were many kinds of bows used by different tribes some of horn, some of bone some of wood backed with sinew and some compound but I will tell how an effective bow might be made with a moderate expenditure of labor.

"The bow should be made of straight grained wood with a straight part in the middle while the ends should be shaved down evenly untill they are of the proper strength. The Indians used sinew for the bow string but braided linen will do just as well. The indians oiled their bows to protect them from moisture as well as to render them more elastic, a fact which may be used to advantage by people owning bows.

"The arrows may be made of well seasoned white pine, cedar, ash or hickory split out of straight grained pieces and planed round and smooth. The Indians used bone or siliceous stone to make the arrow heads but hoop iron is better or the arrows ends may be hardened in a fire. The arrows should have half of three wing feathers (all left or all right) fastened lengthwise at the back end of the arrow to make them go straight unless the head is extry heavy which would answer the same purpose. The notch in the back end of the arrow is called the nock and it may be easily made with a saw.

"When the glue dries that has been used in fastening the feathers there will be a good outfit from which much ammusement may be had shooting at sparrows and targets."

We don't know whether Charlie Bullis ever made his own bow and arrow, but his directions earned a "good" comment from his teacher (along with numerous spelling corrections). As readers, we also give him a "good" because we gained a greater appreciation for our ancestors skills and abilities to produce useful tools with native materials.

BULLIS CATS

Recently, we pulled from the shelf Walter Chandoha's Book of Kittens and Cats (New York: Bramhill, 1963). As we admired this visual account of feline friends, we remembered Charlie Bullis's written account of the cats in his family's life.

Mr. Bullis's essay is titled "A Biography of Snipy." Although it is undated, we conclude that he wrote it as a student since the first six pages each bear a list of words in the margins that appear to be spelling words. Here is the beginning of that essay:

"About as far back as I can remember we had no cat untill Papa brought a kitten from Uncle Steves. Nettie and I called her Papa Cat.

"After a while Papa Cat had three kittens. Nettie called one of them hers and I called one mine and mama claimed the other and named her Babins. Mama also called Nettie's cat Tomy. Tomy disappeared in about a year and my cat was kill by Cristy our cow. Papa Nettie and I went walking over the cow pasture to get strawberries and my pussy went with us. When we came to the well Papa watered the cows and my kittie rooled up against Cristys hind leg and Cristy stomped on my cat and hurt her so she died and that gave her the name of Cowkill but Babins lived a long, hard, useful life and did not die till about Sept. first 1903. Cowkill was the first cat I can remember."

Later on, Mr. Bullis wrote:

"...(Snipy) was Netties cat. One morning Snipy came in lame in the left hip we thought that Reeds dog had hurt him and that evening mama sat by the stand sewing and holding lame Snipy in her lap and Netty made a little paper book and made a picture of mama holding Snipy and sewing by the stand. Nettie keeps that little book choice now."

Cats have been a part of the human experience for ages. Mr. Chandoha's photos and text emphasize the importance of that relationship. Charlie Bullis's visual description of his mother holding an ailing Snipy while his sister sketched a picture of the two illustrates the degree to which that relationship can develop.

Please plan to stop by the Bullis Room and let us show you Kittens and Cats and "A Biography of Snipy." We're confident that you'll enjoy both.

...AND A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL

This popular catchphrase of the last century sums up the Bullis Room Open House on Sunday afternoon. Close to 50 people came to look through the rare books, taste the simple refreshments, and talk with our special guest.

One of our volunteers convincingly played the role of Nettie Bullis. In her flat straw hat, low-heeled shoes, open-weave gloves, and simple dress, she primly greeted guests, talked about the Bullis collection, and shared stories of her past. Her portrayal prompted guests to share their own memories of the Bullis family and the 1900s.

The refreshments also triggered thoughts of bygone days: bologna salad sandwiches (Miss Bullis sometimes ate bologna sandwiches her for supper), plain cookies, apple juice, water, and those dainty pastel-colored after-dinner mints that regularly showed up on reception tables in the last century.

Guests had two learning opportunities during the evening: first, a demonstration of how we repair some of the books in the collection; second, an exhibit presented by a representation of the Buffalo Soldiers of Rochester, showing photos and video of General John Lapham Bullis's experiences with the Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts.

Volunteers spent four months planning and preparing for this event. We put a great deal of effort into keeping it simple, leaving us to conclude that simplicity is not always easy. We selected stationary with a small-lined black and maroon border for the invitations, used regular stamps for the mailing, and hand-delivered as many as possible. We chose a milk glass vase reminiscent of Miss Bullis's own collection to hold a small bouquet of flowers as a centerpiece on the reception table. And in the spirit of simplicity as well as the "waste not, want not" philosophy of the Bullis family, we did not cut the crusts off the bologna salad sandwiches. In fact, we even used the two heels of the loaf.

We like to think that Nettie Bullis would have approved of all this. And that she, too, would have had a good time.

BULLIS ROOM OPEN HOUSE

Nettie Bullis, 1917

Today is the 30th anniversary of Nettie Bullis's death in 1979. She was born on March 23, 1893, and lived a full life for 86 years.

This coming Sunday, October 4, we will commemorate her life with an Open House in the Bullis Room, from 4 to 6 PM. We hope you will come to:

Meet our very special "surprise" hostess

View some of the wonderful illustrated treasures in the Bullis Collection

See a demonstration of Bullis book repair

Learn more about General John Lapham Bullis and the

amazing Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts he commanded

Sample refreshments which Miss Bullis might have served at home

Take home a special bookmark

Share your own memories of the Bullis Family or the Bullis House

THE APPLES OF NEW YORK

What's your favorite apple? McIntosh? Empire? Gala? Delicious? Paula Red? Cortland? Or perhaps you're a Granny Smith, Fuji, Honeycrisp or Jonagold person. Whatever your choice, now's the time to satisfy your apple appetite with choices freshly picked and sold at your favorite roadside stand or cider mill.

If your appetite is for reading and viewing illustrations of apples, however, just stop by the Bullis Room and ask one of our volunteers to show you this collection's two-volume The Apples of New York, by S. A. Beach, N. O. Booth, and O. M. Taylor. Both volumes were published in Albany in 1905 as part of a series of reports by the New York Agriculture Experiment Station. Between the covers are many pages of information about and illustrations of apples.

Who said you couldn't have your apples and eat them too?

(This collection also has volumes in this series on grapes, peaches, pears, and plums and volunteers would be happy to assist you with these, as well.)

MAY WE PRESENT...

...the Bullis Room's volunteer of the week. Please take note of his proper attire (white glove) for handling a rare book. Also please note his steady focus on the reading material.

When he comes to the end of that book, he can study Increase Lapham's family tree, which is under the table's glass covering, or chose another book from the shelves (with the help of another volunteer, of course).

We are enjoying this unusual volunteer's company as we go about our various duties. Sometimes, we find ourselves occasionally making a remark or directing a question to him.

We would also enjoy setting up a time for you to stop by and take a look at the collection. You may contact us through this blog or by calling 315-986-5932, Option 3.

NATIONAL DAY OF SERVICE AND REMEMBRANCE

Tomorrow we will pause to remember those who lost their lives in the attacks on September 11, 2001, and to give thanks for people like Nettie Bullis who reach out to their communities and individuals in need.

Miss Bullis quietly helped many people during her lifetime, and through her legacy she is continuing that service to others through various programs. Her response to such needs is an inspiration to the rest of us.

BACK TO SCHOOL

A list of 2009 school supplies may be longer than a list from the early 20th century, but it still includes some standard #2 pencils, which is what 15-year-old Charles R. Bullis probably used when he wrote this essay in 1906. And it also contains an element of that familiar assignment, “How I Spent My Summer Vacation.” We hope you enjoy it.

How I tried to make a Steam Engine

Last summer I was much interested in trying to make a little steam engine. I used a baking powder can cover fitted into a shoe blacking box which I intended to solder together for the boiler and a thirty two caliber cartridge in which I filed a hole near each end for the piston cylinder For the steam valve I found some solder which I melted and with much difficulty molde into the proper shape and filed smooth. I used a piece of a bicycle spoke with screwerheads on the end so that two pieces of metal could be screwed up together and hold packind to prevent steam leakage. The plug is the open end of the cartridge through which the piston rod passes I made of two pieces of lead one to screw into the other so as to hold packing. I molded the ballance wheel of lead and filed an exceentric on it but when I melted my remaining solder which I intended should hold the parts in place I fit it into the fire. I then tried babbit metal but it bubbled and was no good for so slender a casting and as I did not have any more time before school commenced I did not finish it. Sometime when I have time I will finish it and see if it will run. It is to have a safety valve but no governor.

Charles R. Bullis, A thursday lesson from page 14 in the rhetoric

Good

Save the date

On October 4, 2009, there will be an Open House at the Macedon Public Library celebrating the life of Miss Nettie Bullis, her historic family and her contributions to our community. So please save the date : October 4, 2009 4-6 PM. There will be more information to follow.

WOMEN'S EQUALITY

On August 26, 1920 the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed. Since that day, women have exercised their right to vote. Fifty-one years later August 26 was designated as Women's Equality Day to commemorate the passage of that Woman Suffrage Amendment.

Nettie Bullis was 27 years old in 1920. She began working for Gleason Works that same year, and held the position of Assistant Secretary of the Company at the time of her retirement in 1967. It was not common for a woman to advance to a high level of management in those days. This leads us to the conclusions that (1) Nettie Bullis was an extraordinary woman (which we already knew) and (2) the management at Gleason Works recognized early on the importance of equal opportunity, regardless of gender.

Nettie Bullis's father undoubtedly influenced his young daughter to think beyond traditional "women's work" when he allowed her to accompany him and take notes for his surveying projects. Both of her parents may also have encouraged her to read some of the books on great women from their collection. (Please see the list of books on the subject of women in our March 26, 2009 post entitled "Women's History Month.")

One other book in this collection that may have planted some seeds in Nettie Bullis's professional mind is THE LIFE AND WORK OF SUSAN B. ANTHONY F, by Ida Harper, published in 1899 by Bowen-Merrill in Indianapolis. And another document that Nettie Bullis may also have read with interest is ADDRESS TO LEGISLATURE OF NEW YORK, by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 1854. (Unfortunately, this document was destroyed in the library fire eight years ago so it can't be accessed here, but it is available from other sources and worth taking the time to read.)

The achievements of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton influenced our whole country. Nettie Bullis's achievements and generosity benefit the women, men, and children of this community and county. We are grateful for all three of these women and others like them who furthered women's equality.

PICTURESQUE AMERICA

Windmill, opposite Detroit (page 545)







Open Volume 1 or 2 of PICTURESQUE AMERICA and take a pictorial-text tour of our country through their more than 700 pages.

These volumes are subtitled The Land We Live In, A Delineation by Pen and Pencil of the mountains, rivers, lakes, forests, water-falls, shores, canons, valleys, cities, and other picturesque features of our country with illustrations on Steel and Wood, by Eminent American Artists. They were published in New York by D. Appleton & Co. in 1872 and were edited by William Cullen Bryant.

Mr. Bryant wrote in the Preface: “It is the design of this publication entitled “PICTURESQUE AMERICA” to present full descriptions and elaborate pictorial delineations of the scenery characteristic of all the different parts of our country.” Looking through both volumes here in the Bullis Room convinced us that the descriptions truly are full and the pictorial delineations, elaborate.

These volumes are a "must see." We're hoping you'll stop by the next time you're in the library and take their tour.

(If you have thoughts or questions about any of our postings, we'd love to hear from you. Just click "comment" below.)

ANOTHER ART OF COMMUNICATION

Last week we turned our thoughts to written communication; this week, to oral communication.

How often do we take or make time to converse with someone? To have an indepth conversation about a specific topic. Or a rambling talk about this and that. Something more than a “How’s it going? Good. Yeah, things are okay with me, too. See ya” kind of chat. People who lived a century ago would not have been satisfied with that kind of exchange, for conversation was not only a way to communicate; it was a source of entertainment in their world void of radio and television.

Abram Bullis, Nettie’s father, must have been an avid conversationalist. Once his wife Josephine sent Abram to town to buy kerosene. He started talking to people downtown and returned home empty handed. Josephine sent him back and he again returned without the kerosene. He had gotten involved a second time in talking to people and forgotten his task! Now that is true conversation; being so caught up in talking, listening, and thinking about what was said that you put all other thoughts completely out of your mind.

Where did Nettie’s father get this gift of gab? Perhaps it was an inherited trait. Or perhaps he was motivated by books he had read. We’ve found two books on the shelves here in the Bullis Room on that topic. First, there’s THE ART OF EXTEMPORE SPEAKING: hints for the pulpit, the senate and the bar by Louis Bautain. It was published in 1898 and Abram may have purchased and read it. The other book, author William Elder’s PERISCOPICS: or, Current subjects extemporaneously treated, was published in 1854 and has a sticker on the inside front cover that reads, “Library of Abram R. Bullis.” When he read this collection of articles, we surmise that he paid special attention to a section that describes Frederick Douglas’s great speaking skills and took note of Mr. Douglas’s methods.

We’re adding both of these books to our reading list. Perhaps they will motivate us to take time for a real conversation now and then. They are on shelves W-1 and G-3, respectively.

THE ART OF COMMUNICATION

"I'll write a letter soon but now, as time is pressing hard, to let you know I think of you, I send this postal card."
(Owen Card Pub. Co., Elmira, New York)

Earlier this month, we featured a few vintage postcards from this collection. To use a familiar phrase, there are lots more where those came from. We began this week by poring over another stack of these cards, and smiled at messages written over 80 years ago, such as, "When are you coming to visit us, cousin?" or "I got new boots!"

How many of us today take time to write a note to a friend just to say hello? (No, those on-vacation, "Wish you were here," cards don't count!) Has letter writing become a lost art in our society of almost-instant communication? The cards in this collection are inspiring some of us to pick up our pens a bit more often.

FLYING MACHINES

When did our fascination with flight begin? Perhaps back when our species first walked upright and envied the birds soaring across the skies above. There was certainly an interest in this subject a hundred years ago when William James Jackson authored FLYING MACHINES, which he subtitled construction and operation; a practical book which shows, in illustrations, working plans and text, how to build and navigate the modern airship, and the book lives up to this declaration.

This week our country celebrated the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin's walk on the surface of the moon. In between Jackson's 1910 flying machines and the astronaut's 1969 lunar module, many dedicated people gave their time and talents to getting our feet off the ground in a better way. This effort continues and leaves us to wonder what progress we will see in another 40 years.

In the meantime, Jackson's book is on the shelf here in the Bullis Room and you're invited to pore over its fascinating pages and take an imaginary trip in an early-twentieth century "modern" airship.

DIGGING

No, we volunteers haven't been gardening here in the Bullis Room even though the many books on that subject inspire us to get dirt under our fingernails. Instead we've again been digging through the many papers, documents, and photos we have on the Bullis family and their extended family and friends. This includes the Knapp, Breese, Loomis, and Rodenberger families.

The Bullis Room Committee's goal is: "To present the contents and value of the Bullis Collection and the historical footprint of the Bullis family to the Macedon community." Accomplishing this goal means we need to be familiar with every book, pamphlet, letter, note, journal, and photo in this collection. Obviously, that takes lots of digging, sometimes until our heads are swimming with facts and details and we say "Enough for now." We always come back to the task, though, motivated by our respect for the Bullis family and inspired by our love of the Bullis Room and everything in it.

Last week we were also inspired and motivated by our visit with an extended-family member of the Bullises who shared photos and clippings as well as memories of Nettie, Charlie, their parents, and the Bullis house. This information enhances our understanding of Nettie Bullis and her family and motivates us to do--guess what--MORE DIGGING!

(We'd love to hear from you if you have any memories of or information about these families.)

I LOVE NEW YORK

The next time you're in Macedon Public Library, we suggest that you take a look at the current I LOVE NEW YORK display in the case on the east side of the Bullis Room window. Several Bullis books on our state's history are featured as well as these vintage postcards from the collection:

Camp Watokalo, Adirondack Mountains, New York

Geneva on Seneca Lake

Hotel Rochester in Rochester

The Locks in Lockport, New York

Methodist Church and Parsonage in Sodus

High School in Sodus

Main Street, looking west from Maple Avenue, in Sodus

Ravine and Iron Bridge, near Chautauqua

College Hall Auditorium in Lima

Aqueduct, Palmyra

And if you're familiar with some of the places or settings in these pictures and would like to share a special memory, we'd love to hear from you. You can contact us through this blog or leave a message for us (the Bullis Committee) at the main desk.

THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE

We all know that our perspective of a particular situation quite often changes over the years. That's one reason Bullis Room volunteers enjoy the books in this collection--they give us different perspectives on the past.

Author John Fiske's THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE (copyright, 1889) looks back on this war over a hundred years later and allows us to form our own perspective from his perspective. Neat,hunh?

Fiske states in his preface: "When I was as boy I should have been glad to get hold of a brief account of the War for Independence that would have suggested answers to some of the questions that used to vex me." Then he lists the questions, which he answers in his book.

1. Was the conduct of the British government, in driving the Americans into rebellion, merely wanton aggression, or was it not rather a bungling attempt to solve a political problem which really needed to be solved?

2. Why were New Jersey and the Hudson river so important?

3. Why did the British armies make South Carolina their chief objective point after New York?

4. How did Cornwallis happen to be at Yorktown when Washington made such a long leap and pounced upon him there?

Fiske states that old-fashioned textbooks not only did not try to answer these questons, they did not even recognize their existence. Therefore he offers to boys and girls "this little book, not as a rival but as an aid to the ordinary textbook."

Chapter titles include The Colonies in 1750, The Stamp Act, The French Alliance, Birth of a Nation.


Illustrations include Paul Revere's Ride, The Boston Tea Party, Invasion of Canada, Signing of the Declaration of Independence, Burgoyne's Campaign, and Washington Crossing the Delaware. You can find it on shelf V-4.

CATHEDRAL CITIES OF ENGLAND

George Gilbert authored this book in 1905 and its still a good way to travel to these great cathedrals while sitting in your armchair.

Accompanying Mr. Gilbert's descriptive narratives are 59 color illustrations of the cathedrals of Canterbury, Durham, Lichfield, Oxford, Peterborough, St. Albans, Wells, Worcester, Chicester, Chester, Rochester, Ripon, Ely, Gloucester, Hereford, Lincoln, Bath, Salisbury, Exeter, Norwich, St. Paul's and Ludgate Hill, York, Winchester, and Westminister Abbey.

This book is the next best thing to being there. And after having read it, you may decide to call your travel agent and make arrangements to see these beautiful cities in person.

In the meantime, you'll find this great book in the World History section, shelf O-3.

THE BULLIS FATHERS

This week we honor Nettie's father (Abraham Rogers Bullis III) and her Bullis grandfathers.

1. Philip Bullis, born circa 1630 in England. Philip was a mariner who immigrated to Boston, Massachusetts. He served in Major Savage's Company under Lieut. Gillam from 1675 to 1676 on the Connecticut River, during King Philip's War.

2. Thomas Bullis, born 1671. Thomas was granted parcels of land in Greenwich, Connecticut. He deeded this land to his sons.

3. John Bullis, born circa 1695. John married and had eight sons. Some of his sons went to Canada, some stayed on the Bullis Homestead in Dutchess County, New York, and one went to England. One of these sons was a general in the French and Indian War.

4. Charles Bullis, born 1723 in Greenwich, Connecticut. He later moved to Manchester, Vermont. Charles served in the Revolutionary War in Captain Gideon Brownson's Company, Warner Regiment, Vermont Militia. Charles and his son Henry helped organize the First Episcopal Church in Manchester.

5. Henry Bullis, born 1749 in Amenia, New York. Henry was an invalid, a condition caused by a dog bite. Henry and his wife Hannah Purdy Bullis had ten children.

6. Charles Henry Bullis, born 1786 in Manchester, Vermont. Charles, his wife Eleanor Carbone (Rogers), and their two children Abraham Rogers Bullis and Amy (aka Emma) Bullis moved to Macedon, New York in 1837.

6. Abraham Rogers Bullis, born 1815 in Greenwich, New York. Abraham attended Geneva Medical College, Geneva, New York and became one of Macedon's first medical doctors. He also maintained offices in Farmington, Ontario County. Abraham married Lydia Porter Lapham and they had seven children.

7. Abraham Rogers Bullis, III, born 1854 in Farmington, New York. His mother died when he was eight years old and he went to live with his Grandfather Bullis at the family homestead in Macedon. He attended Cornell University and graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering in 1881. He worked as a surveyor in Wayne County, New York and married Josephine Breese in 1884. They had two children, Charles Rogers Bullis (born 1891) and Jeannette Aurelia Bullis (1893), our Nettie.

THE PRESIDENT'S FLAG DAY ADDRESS

In honor of Flag Day, we share with you the first two and last paragraphs of The President's Flag Day Address With Evidence of Germany's Plans, delivered by President Woodrow Wilson on June 14, 1917, in Washington, D.C.

"My Fellow Citizens:

We meet to celebrate Flag Day because this flag which we honor and under which we serve is the emblem of our unity, our power, our thought and purpose as a nation. It has no other character than that which we give it from generation to generation. The choices are ours. It floats in majestic silence above the hosts that execute those choices, whether in peace or in war. And yet, though silent, it speaks to us--speaks to us of the past, of the men and women who went before us and of the records they wrote upon it. We celebrate the day of its birth; and from its birth until now it has witnessed a great history, has floated on high the symbol of great events, of a great plan of life worked out by a great people. We are about to carry it into battle, to lift it where it will draw the fire of our enemies. We are about to bid thousands, hundreds of thousands, it may be millions, of our men, the young, the strong, the capable men of the Nation, to go forth and die beneath it on fields of blood far away--for what? For some unaccustomed thing? For something for which it has never sought the fire before? American armies were never before sent across the seas. Why are they sent now? For some new purpose, for which this great flag has never been carried before, or for some old, familiar, heroic purpose for which it has seen men, its own men, die on every battle field upon which Americans have borne arms since the Revolution?

... We are Americans. We in our turn serve America, and can serve her with no private purpose. We must use her flag as she has always used it. We are accountable at the bar of history and must plead in utter frankness what purpose it is we seek to serve."

If you would like to read the entire speech, ask a Bullis Room volunteer to access Document 2634 from our archives.

STRAWBERRY GEMS OF '93

The back cover of Lovetts Guide to Fruit Culture, Spring, 1894, features these gems of 1893 and reminds us that we will soon be loading our cars with baskets and heading for the nearest berry farm. Some of us make jams, jellies, pies and our favorite Strawberry Shortcake recipes while all of us enjoy eating them fresh off the vine.

Strawberries are the first fruits of summer here in Western New York, followed by raspberries, blueberries, and then apples, peaches and pears. Coffeetable-size books with colorful plates showing these luscious summer fruits are on the shelves here in the Bullis Room. So let's enjoy all of these fruits while they're in season. And come November, we can take these books off the shelf and spend the winter dreaming of next summer's bounty. That way we can have our fruit and eat it too.

VOLUNTEERING

Ever wonder what it takes to keep a collection of unique books organized, usable, and available? Lots of stuff.
Here's some of the things that happen during a typical week here in the Bullis Room:

dusting
organizing files and documents
shelf reading
cataloging materials
maintaining the database
repairing books and materials
planning outreach
maintaining display case
researching
interpreting materials
planning publicity
transcribing account books and diaries
evaluating materials
numbering documents
cross-referencing ephemera in books and on data base

AND (equally important)

sitting at the round table or in one of these soft chairs, enjoying a book or some of the fascinating maps, diaries, and other documents that make up this collection.

The Bullis Collection cannot be maintained without the dedicated volunteers who donate their time and talents to its well-being. Come to think of it, that's true for our community...and country...and this world in which we live. Thank you, Volunteers, everywhere, for all you do and for just being there.

IN MEMORY OF...

...THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR US.

In Flanders Fields
by Lt. Col. John McCrae (1872-1918)

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)



Local folks often recall the lush poppies Charlie Bullis grew in his garden. As he planted and tended these red symbols of sacrifice, could he have been remembering his comrades who died in World War I? We'll never know Charlie's reason for his choice of flowers, but it seems appropriate to us today.

When we make our traditional poppy purchases this weekend, let's remember Charlie Bullis, his WWI comrades and all those before and after who made that supreme sacrifice.

REMEMBERING ARMED FORCES DAY

Written by Nettie Bullis, November, 1944


HIS NEED FOR A GUN

He'd been playing war on the sitting-room floor,

He sprang to meet you, as you came in the door,

You told him that night as he sat on your knee

How the pirates of old had raided the sea.

And he told you that night how he'd make them run,

If you'd only buy him a little toy gun.


You went out to the store and bought him the toy,

For you realized then the need of your boy.

And now in a war far away from our shore,

In a danger far greater, his need is much more;

but the bonds you will buy on the way home tonight

Will help him tomorrow in winning the right.

THE RIVER

Follow the river as it winds and bends
thru hamlets and towns…

M
E
A
N
D
E
R
I
N
G
DOWN.

Follow the river thru shady green coves
Where in deep pools the bass lay low.

Follow the river thru cities bold
Where barges and boats ferry their load.

Follow the river as it rolls to the sea,
And calls to you, "follow me!"

For those of you interested in waterways, we suggest you stop by the display case outside this room and take a look at some Bullis books on rivers and canals.

These volumes cover local waterways, such as the 1901 STATE OF NEW YORK REPORT ON THE BARGE CANAL FROM THE HUDSON RIVER TO THE GREAT LAKES, and distant rivers, THE NATURALIST ON THE RIVER AMAZONS, an 1875 "record of adventures, habits of animals, sketches of Brazilian and Indian life, and aspects of the nature under the equator during eleven years of travel," written by Henry Walter Bates.

You'll also see a copy of THE RIVERS OF GREAT BRITAIN, (RIVERS OF THE EAST COAST), with illustrations and maps, published in London, 1889, as well as an 1896 copy of Mark Twain's THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN.

Also for you Mississippi River enthusiasts, a "must-read" is DOWN THE GREAT RIVER, published in Philadelphia, 1889, and written by William Glazier. This is a wonderful armchair trip "embracing an account of the discovery of the true source of the Mississippi together with descriptive views and pictorials of the cities, towns, villages, and scenery." Some of the towns and villages mentioned are St. Anthony, St. Paul, Davenport, Rock Island, Saint Louis, Vicksburg, and Fort Snelling.

This is the time of year to get out and enjoy our rivers and other waterways. We encourage you to begin the season in the Bullis Room.

GLIDING AND SAILFLYING

We wrote about the natural flying creatures in our last two postings. Now our attention turns to one of the many man-made flying objects--gliders. And how to build and operate one.

If you want a complete ground course on operation and construction of gliding and sailflying, then here's a book just for you: HENLEY'S ABC OF GLIDING AND SAILFLYING. It's edited by Victor W. Page, Major-U.S. Air Corps Reserve and has 72 illustrations with drawings and instructions for building a primary training type glider.

Henley Publishing Company published this book in 1930, and way back then for the price of $1.50 (bound in paper) or $2.00 (bound in cloth) you could have read a brief history of gliding and soaring "with motorless airplanes" as well as bird flight and its relation to sailflying. You could also have read about popular German and American gliders and soaring planes as well as how to form a glider club, select terrain for gliding, and train glider pilots. And you could have found more books on the subject from the dust jacket list "New Aviation Books Covering All Phases of Operation or Servicing of Modern Airplanes."

Almost 80 years later, this book sits on Shelf GG5 in the Bullis Room, a bit warped from the 2001 water damage but still offering an entertaining and informative look-through, even for those of us who prefer to keep our feet on the ground.

THE ROBIN

Today is sandwiched in between yesterday's Earth Day and tomorrow's Arbor Day. We celebrate these two occasions by sharing with you Charlie Bullis's poem "written and read Arbor Day, May 4, 1906," when he was 14 years old.

THE ROBIN, by C. R. Bullis

In the bright days of early spring
A robin from the south took wing
Thrilled by memories of the past
He flew to the north straight and fast
Through the pale ethereal blue
Unto his native land he flew
Through the bright day and starlit night
He proceeded in his long flight.
At last all wearied from his flight
As the first rays of the sun's light
Appeared over the eastern hill
At home on a pine he sat still.
For a few weeks he flew about
In every tree and bush and out
And in the balmy evening air
His song resounded clear and fair
And floated up to the pale moon
And died away very much to soon.
His singing soon brought him a mate
And they sang together in state
On a swaying evergreen bough
Never chriping his song enow
Until warmer the day did grow
Melting away the lingering snow
And birds became more numerous
The robins grew less humorous
They worked two or three bright days
And constructed a little maze
Of dry grass interlocked and round
With fine feathers all lined and downed
They constructed their little nest
On a brace high above their pest
The cat that goes prowling around
And catches young birds near the ground
Soon two little blue eggs were laid
In the warm nest all in the shade
In due time the blue eggs were hatched
The robins taking turns to scratch
And sit and search for grubs and slugs
And juicy angle worms and bugs
It was a busy time indeed
With two small gaping mouths to feed
But the robins tended them well
And their forms began to swell
When the sweet hay was being mown
I looked and the young birds had flown.

BIRDWATCHING

HOORAY for bird migration! Twice a year, thanks to this behavior, we get a glimpse of birds not usually seen at our backyard feeders or on area hiking trails.

The sight of these visitors may send us fumbling through our worn copies of Peterson's field guide. With only the basics, however, we may have difficulty deciding whether we've spotted a Northern Woodpecker or his black-back, three-toed cousin. Fortunately, there are more extensive sources of bird information right here in the Bullis Room that can help us identify these winged friends.

William T. Hornaday, author of THE AMERICAN NATURAL HISTORY (published by Charles Scribner in 1914) dedicated part of Volume II and all of Volume III to birds. Both these volumes (along with Volumes I and IV) are on the shelves, waiting for you to stop by and take a look. Besides a wealth of information on birds, these volumes are filled with illustrations which include some striking color plates of the Passenger Pigeon, Roseate Spoonbill, Emperor Penguin, White-Headed Eagle, and Bobolink. Also included is a full-page "Landscape Chart Of The Orders of North American Birds." There is detailed information on families, orders, and species of birds and also information about the cause of decreasing bird population, which was a concern to bird lovers in 1914 and continues to be today.

Those of us into literature as well as birds might want to spend some time with John Burrough's book, BIRDS AND POETS WITH OTHER PAPERS (Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1877). This volume includes poetry by Wordsworth praising the nightingale and the lark and Burroughs describing the wonder of a pine warbler along with some of the poetical bird references of Coleridge, Emerson, and Cowper.

On the other hand, those of us who are detail-oriented will get a full serving in Samuel Lockwood's ANIMAL MEMOIRS, PART II, BIRDS (published by Ivison, Blakeman and Company, 1888). We can learn about the anatomy of a feather, the mechanism of a wing, and lots of other fascinating facts about birds in general.

The book that has a little bit of "all of the above" is OUR BIRDS IN THEIR HAUNTS, A POPULAR TREATISE ON THE BIRDS OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICAN (published by S. E.
Cassino & Company, 1884). The Rev. J. Hibbert Langille chose this poem to grace his title page:

How pleasant the life of a bird must be,
Flitting about in each leafy tree;
In the leafy trees, so broad and tall,
Like a green and beautiful palace hall,
With its airy chambers, light and boon,
That open to sun and stars and moon,
That open into the bright blue sky,
And the frolicsome winds as they wander by.
Mary Howitt.

In his preface, Rev. Langille stated: "I have tried to meet a wide demand never yet met in this country--to have a book on birds for everybody. I write almost entirely from personal observation, incorporating in my work a full report for Western New York and the adjoining regions of the Great Lakes, and a pretty full report for Nova Scotia; also a good deal of direct information from Hudson's Bay, by means of an excellent correspondent." A cursory look at this book confirms that indeed it is a bird book for everyone, everywhere, anytime.

If one or more of these books interest you, we invite you to stop by the Bullis Room and take a look at them. And may we wish you an enjoyable birdwatching season.

NEW ENGLAND FRUGALITY

"USE IT UP, WEAR IT OUT, MAKE IT DO, OR DO WITHOUT.

Western New Yorkers who witnessed the Bullis Family's frugality assumed that it came from their Vermont roots. Whatever the primary source may have been, Nettie and Charlie learned this lifestyle at their father's knee because Abraham Bullis spent his money only on the very necessities of living.

Abraham's children received new clothing only when their old clothes were worn out. Toys were a rarity in the Bullis home, and Abraham never allowed his children to play games unless the games taught them something. He wanted them to think for themselves and be creative. Obviously, he accomplished his child-rearing goals because Nettie and Charlie were known for their independent, creative thinking. And they both followed their father's conservative lifestyle.

Nettie and Charlie both maintained simple diets during their lives. Charlie's favorite food was dry cereal and peanut butter/brown-sugar sandwiches while Nettie, it is recorded, routinely stopped by a grocery store on her evening trip home from work to buy two slices of bologna, sometimes bread, and a pint bottle of milk for her supper. Charlie also made the rounds of Rochester bakeries for stale breads, which he soaked in warm water to make edible.

Both dressed quite simply, making-do with the same clothing year after year. Nettie's style of dress was businesslike and always neat, but with few changes over the years.

Charlie was into recycling long before anyone else knew the word. He used dry cereal boxes to make filing cases for his business papers and made-do with only one light for his illumination in the nighttime hours. To conserve heat, he sat directly over the heat register in a chair fashioned out of a large cardboard box, with a light bulb for additional heat.

We may smile and roll our eyes at the idea of some of these frugal behaviors. However, today as we raise concerns about our carbon footprints and worsening global economy, perhaps we would be wise to take another look at some of Charlie's and Nettie's frugal ways.

CHARLES ROGERS BULLIS

In March we honored Nettie Bullis on her birthday. Now, as crocuses show their colorful faces and daffodil shoots poke through April's warming soil, our attention appropriately turns to her only sibling, Charlie, and his horticultural achievements.

He was Abraham and Josephine's eldest child, born October 13, 1891. After finishing high school at Macedon Union School, Charlie briefly taught at District #2 school in Walworth, New York. In 1913 he applied and passed the entrance exam to Cornell University but never attended the school. Following service in World War I, he devoted himself to projects conducted in and on the family's Canandaigua Road property.

His horticulture interest evidently stemmed from both genetic and environmental factors, according to Elizabeth Ferrari's 1984 account in THE BULLIS FAMILY OF MACEDON, NEW YORK:

Abraham's wife, Josephine, was a very fine lady. Her home was always
spotless and her yards filled with beautifully kept flower gardens of
tulips, daffodils, irises, and lilacs. These gardens were begun by
her husband.

Ferrari also notes that Charlie was a highly intelligent man who thought differently than others. He had a variety of interests and would start projects that he soon lost interest in, such as his flying glider invention that he abandoned "before he could put the feathers on it!" However, he never lost interest in breeding his flowers and plants.

Through years of experimenting, Charlie bred many of his own hybrid plants. He developed a hybrid corn that interested American Can Company, collected sweet corn from Indian tribes all over the world, and bred a corn kernel one inch in diameter. As a result, Cornell University asked him to help them with the breeding of corn. He pursued these horticultural projects over many years, but did not follow through on either American Can or Cornell's proposals.

Although Charlie did not earn a higher-level educational degree, he became a renowned botanist by extensive self-study (reading the vast choice of books and materials in the family library) and through experimentation. His expertise was greatly respected and other botanists throughout North America sought his advice. His urge to share knowledge with others is evident in his contributions to horticulture bulletins and journals. One of these papers was respectfully referred to by a Canadian forest-tree geneticist.

A favorite story of Charlie-admirers centers around a horticultural manuscript that he needed typed in order to submit it for publication. He found a neighbor who was willing to do the work and paid for that clerical work with some of his prized tulip bulbs. (He was a staunch believer in bartering.) Other examples of his New England thriftiness, as well as the high value others put on his horticulture achievements, regularly occurred in Charlie's lifetime.

Charlie's only apparent extravagance was in producing the beautiful, showy flowers that brought pleasure to everyone who saw them. Local residents today still speak of driving by the Bullis house when he was alive and admiring the sea of red poppies and yellow daffodils.

Charlie Bullis died in the springtime on May 13, 1974, when all his flowers were blooming.

WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

When we Bullis volunteers think of the words "women" and "history," our first thoughts are of our own Nettie Bullis. In the coming weeks, you will see more of her outstanding history related on this blog.

However, we cannot let the month of March go out (whether like a lion or lamb) without calling attention to Women's History Month and some of the books in the collection about women who changed the course of history in both small and large ways. Here is a partial list. We invite you to stop by and take a look at some or all of them.

WOMEN OF THE WAR, THEIR HEROISM AND SELF-SACRIFICE, by Frank Moore
(illustrated with steel engravings, Hartford, Conn., 1866

MOSLEM WOMEN, by A. E. and S. M. Zwemer, (illustrated)
Brattleboro, Vermont, 1926

FAMOUS AUTHORS (WOMEN), by E. F. Harkins, Boston, 1906

THE WOMEN OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, VOL. 2, by Elizabeth Ellet,
New York, 1849

WESTERN WOMEN AND EASTERN LANDS, by Helen Montgomery, (illustrated)
Norwood, Massachusetts, 1910

PORTRAITS OF CELEBRATED WOMEN, by C. A. Sainte-Beuve, Boston, 1868

NETTIE BULLIS

IN MEMORY OF JEANETTE AURELIA (NETTIE) BULLIS
March 23, 1893 - October 1, 1979

She titled her 1911 Macedon High School valedictory address, "Life Like Every Other Blessing Derives Its Value From Its Use." Nettie Bullis lived by the message she delivered that day.

After briefly attending Cornell University and teaching school in Marion, New York, Nettie found work as a bookkeeper at Gleason Works in Rochester. She held that position for about ten years and was seriously contemplating a change to work for the Buffalo, Rochester, and Pittsburgh Railroad Company, headquartered in Rochester. However, an opportunity for advancement within Gleason Works developed and she decided to remain there. She continued her diligent climb up the corporate ladder and at the time of her retirement was Assistant Secretary of Gleason Works.

She became a wealthy woman through careful planning, saving, and wise investments, and spent little of what she accumulated. Nettie generously shared this wealth during her lifetime with a long list of recipients. This sharing goes on after her death, with the number of individuals and organizations benefiting from her generosity growing annually.

Nettie practiced what she "preached" in her 1911 valedictory address. She added great value to her life by using it.

How do we express our appreciation for that life? By saying simply and sincerely, "Thank you, Nettie."

That is exactly what Palmyra-Macedon Central School District did on June 26, 2008 when they named Nettie a "Graduate of Distinction." The certificate is currently displayed here in the Bullis Room.

BULLIS FAMILY HISTORY--EARLY MACEDON YEARS

(As recorded in: THE BULLIS FAMILY OF MACEDON, NEW YORK, by Elizabeth Ferrari, April, 1984)

In the mid-1600s, when political and religious turmoil were driving many Englishmen from their homeland, Phillip Bullis left England to settle in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1663 Phillip married Judith Hart, thus beginning the many generations of Bullises to become part of America. The Bullis families settled throughout New England and New York. In 1837, the Charles H. Bullis family came to Macedon, Wayne County, New York to settle.

Charles H. Bullis was born in Manchester, Vermont on January 23, 1786. On January 1. 1812, Charles married Eleanor Carbone of Greenwich, New York. He had relatives living in Greenwich and it is likely that he met Eleanor while he was visiting there. He and his wife took up residence in Manchester, Vermont until 1837.

They left Vermont on November 13, 1837. Charles Bullis, great-grandson of Charles H. Bullis, said that his great-grandfather may have received a land grant in Ohio which prompted him to make this move. It is said that when they got to New York, they took a canal boat from the town of Troy, New York. During their trip they stopped in Macedon to visit some friends. Macedon was and still is a beautiful town with a rolling landscape of drumlins and acres and acres of productible land. This land would be encouraging to any man. After visiting for some time in Macedon, Charles decided to remain there.

Charles and Eleanor had two children: Abraham R. Bullis and Amy R. Bullis. Little is known about Amy. She was born on December 21, 1824, in Manchester, Vermont and died on January 2, 1905 in Palmyra, New York. Abraham was born July 8, 1815 in Manchester, Vermont. After arriving in Macedon he attended Geneva Medical College, Geneva, New York. Upon becoming a doctor, he began practices in Farmington, Ontario County, and in Macedon. He was one of Macedon's first physicians. Abraham married Lydia Porter Lapham and had seven children: John Lapham, Mary Jane, Charles Henry, Abraham Rogers Junior, Abraham Rogers III, Lydia Porter and Jeanette Eleanor. He also had a second wife, Olive Aldrich Bullis. No children were born of this marriage.

Abraham R. Bullis was the only one of Doctor Bullis' children to remain in Macedon. He was born on September 4, 1854 in Farmington, New York. At the age of eight, his mother died and he went to live with his grandfather at the old family homestead in Macedon. In later years, after attending Macedon Academy from 1868-1869, he taught for a few years in various district schools, including Macedon Union School. He left teaching to enter Cornell University. In 1881 he graduated with a degree in Mathematics and the following year received a degree in Civil Engineering. He was a very smart man and was offered many positions from various governments and colleges. Abe would not take the jobs, because it would take him away from Macedon. He worked as a surveyor in much of Wayne County and held many other important positions in the Macedon area.

In 1884 he married Josephine Breese, daughter of J. D. Breese, of Macedon. Abraham's only son, Charlie, was born October 13, 1891, in Macedon, and his only daughter, Jeanette (Nettie) Aurelia Bullis, was born on March 23, 1893.

(Nettie Bullis will be featured next week in our Bullis Family History entry.)

MIDWINTER WISH BOOKS

As the snow drifts grew higher in January and mid-February, visions of summer's blossoms danced in our heads. The colorful flower illustrations found in those wish books that arrived after the first of the year reassured us that warm days would come again, melt away the snow, and awaken dormant plants from their long winter's nap.

Nettie and her brother Charles, who saved some of their gardening catalogs, must have carefully poured over each page, looking at the new cultivars offered each year and then sending orders off to Burpee, Lovett or Vaughan. Dates on these catalogs in the collection indicate that this horticulture fascination went back to earlier members of the Bullis family as well, even before Nettie and Charlie were old enough to wield a hoe and shovel.

For example, from 1896 there are copies of DREER'S AUTUMN CATALOGUE and LOVETT'S GUIDE TO HORTICULTURE. Vaughan's colorful 1933 GARDENING ILLUSTRATED is preserved in our file along with copies of Peter Henderson & Company's 1896, 1916, and 1933 publications, which offered "seeds, bulbs, plants, roots, implements, sundries," all illustrated in black and white as well as color. Burpee's 1917 publication offered similar stock to the public and even enclosed in their catalog an "Application for Domestic Money Order" for the customer's convenience in remitting the amount due.

Those of you who enjoyed Charlie's garden on Canandaigua Road for many, many years were privileged to see the results of his catalog purchases as well as his expertise in producing his own cultivars. Today, it's our responsibility to carry on the local tradition, started by the Bullis family and other Macedon pioneering families, of leafing through garden catalogs (or scanning online versions) and placing orders (using credit cards instead of money orders). Then, like Charlie and Nettie, we sit back and wait for Memorial Day weekend to begin the process of turning our wishes into reality.

BOOK REPAIR

This week several Bullis Room volunteers met to repair books with missing or loose boards(aka "covers"). To accomplish this, here's what we did:

1. We arranged for an expert in book repair to instruct and guide us. This is essential, unless you are knowledgeable and experienced in this area.

2. Next, we assembled the supplies and materials needed: white glue, scissors, cork-backed rulers, pencils, sharp knife, wax paper, paper towels, binder's board, crash (a stiff cheesecloth material), craft paper, head bands, cloth or leather for covering the new boards, and paper for end sheets. These items can be purchased at art and discount stores or book binding supply houses.

3. Prior to our session, we measured the books to be repaired and cut the replacement parts out of the new materials.

4. With books and supplies organized on a large work table, we then carefully listened to and followed the expert's instructions, as she patiently guided us through the process. (Please take note of the word "patiently.")

The results were books with new endsheets and boards, securely bound together with the text block. Hurray! We hope to give this same TLC to other books in the collection that are showing signs of aging.


Note: if you're interested in repairing your own books, we suggest you contact your local book-repair expert or use your favorite search engine to locate illustrated instructions on the web. Good Luck.

IN HONOR OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH

THE HISTORY OF SLAVERY AND THE SLAVE TRADE, ANCIENT AND MODERN. THE FORMS OF SLAVERY THAT PREVAILED IN ANCIENT NATIONS, PARTICULARLY IN GREECE AND ROME. THE AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE AND THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF SLAVERY IN THE UNITED STATES. Compiled From Authentic Materials by W. O. Blake, published by J. H. Miller, Ohio, 1858.

A few weeks ago, a volunteer set aside this book and suggested the rest of us look it over and consider it for a Black History Month entry on this blog. We did and were equally impressed.

Anyone who needs information about the formation and continuance of the slavery system in this country will find invaluable information between the covers of this factual, well-documented 150-year-old book. On the first of 832 pages, the author states:

It is certainly a curious fact, that as far as we can trace back the
history of the human race, we discover the existence of Slavery.

Then follows the history of Mosaic institutional slavery, Sparta's Helots, Greek and Roman slaves, and slavery in Africa, England and in the New World. Two chapters, titled "Early Opponents of African Slavery in England and America" and "Movements in England to Abolish the Slave Trade," document the abolitionist efforts of Quakers and the historian Thomas Clarkson.

The book ends with sixteen pages of statistical information compiled from the 1850 census about free and slave states and a record of the United States Supreme Court's decision in the Case of Dred Scott vs. Sandford, in their December term, 1856.

Eleven images enhance the reader's understanding and interpretation of the facts reported in these 34 chapters. You can view these images at: http://people.uvawise.edu/runaways/images/blake.html

We invite you to stop by the Bullis Room and take a look at our copy.

BULLIS FAMILY HISTORY, PART II

JOHN LAPHAM BULLIS, From Corporal to Brigadier General

After the surrender of Lee, Corporal John Lapham Bullis's unit was ordered to Texas (along the Rio Grande River, near Brownsville) for Reconstruction duty. He was mustered out of the Volunteer Army on February 6, 1866 at White's Ranch, Texas, after serving almost three and a half years in the War of the Rebellion.

He attempted a personal business of providing logs for the steamboats on the Mississippi for about a year. It was said that civilian life just did not provide as much excitement as military life provided and he entered military service again. He was appointed 2nd Lieutenant in the 41st Infantry, September 3, 1867. This duty permitted little opportunity to advance, so in November, 1869, he requested transfer to the new Twenty-fourth Infantry, composed of white officers and black enlisted men.

With the Twenty-fourth Infantry, he participated in operations against Indian raiding parties and cattle rustlers. While stationed at Fort Clark (150 miles West of San Antonio along the Rio Grande) he received command of a special troop of Black Seminole Scouts. In 1873 and 1874, Bullis and his 20 scouts played a major support role to Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie as he battled against tribes from the Texas Panhandle and Mexico. He received brevet citations for his "gallant service" in the years of 1875 through 1881 and the title of "friend of the frontier" from the state of Texas. He left the Black Seminole Scouts in 1882 for other duties in Indian Territory.

In 1888 he served as agent for the Apaches at San Carlos Reservation. He was transferred to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1893, to act as agent for the Pueblos and Jicarillo Apaches. In 1897, he returned to Texas as Major Bullis and was appointed paymaster at Fort Sam Houston. He saw service in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War. After forty years military service, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him brigadier general in 1904 and the next day he retired.

We know less of his personal and civil life than his military career. He married Alice Rodriguez of San Antonio in 1872. She died in 1887 and he married Josephine Withers of San Antonio in 1891. In 1885, during his first marriage, he became one-third owner of Shafter Silver Mines of Presidio County, Texas.

John Lapham Bullis died in San Antonio, Texas on May 26, 1911.

Places named in his honor:
1) Bullis Gap Range, a ten-mile chain of peaks near the Rio Grande
2) Camp Bullis, a military training base near San Antonio, posthumously, in 1917
3) Bullis, Texas, a Southern Pacific Railroad station founded in 1882 as a siding and nonagency station and abandoned by the railroad after 1944


NOTE: Information contained in this article is from the STATEMENT AS TO THE MILITARY RECORD IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY OF BREVET MAJOR JOHN L. BULLIS, 24TH INFANTRY, U.S. ARMY and other family papers.

BULLIS FAMILY HISTORY, Part I

JOHN LAPHAM BULLIS:

Student, farm hand, sheep herder, trapper, business man, soldier, war hero--all of these terms describe Nettie and Charlie's Uncle John. Born in Macedon on April 17, 1841 to Dr. Abram R. and Lydia P.(Lapham) Bullis, he was the eldest of seven children.

Only limited information is available about his early years. We know he received the standard Quaker education at academies in Macedon and Lima. Notes taken during a conversation with Charlie Bullis about his Uncle John tell us:

"In his teens John Bullis went trapping in Canada to earn money.
Before going to Civil War had a horse and a flock of sheep. Always
trying to earn money and get ahead - plowing for his uncle, Stephen
Lapham, when he went to war (either at the first call or on 21st
birthday).

Went to school at Lima Seminary, at Lima, New York. At end of Civil
War, he was in civil life about a year and in business on the
Mississippi River where he bought timber and hired men to cut it up
and sold it for fuel in steamboats of Mississippi River...."

John Bullis's long and successful military career is well documented and tells of his loyal service that included many acts of bravery. He began as a corporal in the 126th New York Volunteer infantry on August 8, 1862. During the Civil War, at Harper's Ferry in September, 1862, he was wounded and captured, surrendered to Stonewall Jackson, then exchanged. At Gettysburg, on July 1-3, 1863, he was again wounded and captured at Pickett's Charge. This time he spent two or three months in Richmond, Virginia's Libby prison before again being exchanged. He was discharged from the service August 17, 1864, to accept an appointment as Captain in the 118th United States Infantry, Colored Troops, dating from August 18, 1864.

Captain Bullis and his regiment participated in a number of major combats with small forces of Confederates while being recruited near Owensboro, Kentucky as well as several combats near Fort Harrison, Virginia in the winter of 1864 and 1865. At Dutch Gap canal, in the spring of 1865, they were under fire almost continuously for about three months.

CONTINUED NEXT WEEK: More of John Lapham Bullis's military service and civil life.

NOTE: Information contained in this article is from the STATEMENT AS TO THE MILITARY RECORD IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY OF BREVET MAJOR JOHN L. BULLIS, 24TH INFANTRY, U.S. ARMY and other family papers.

If only these books could talk ...

...they could tell us where they’ve been and who opened their covers and turned their pages throughout the many years they’ve existed. Wouldn’t we love to know? Alas, the books remain mute, but they can still tell us a great deal if we are willing to look at their contents, handwritten notations, and signatures. And using that information, we can answer some of the frequent questions asked about this unique collection.

Question: Why does the collection have books on such a wide variety of subjects and genres? Answer: The Bullis family was composed of pioneers, farmers, physicians, a mathematical genius, botanist, corporate leader, educator, business leaders, a military leader and hero, and surveyor. There are books in the collection that cover all these areas as well as history (local, county, state, national, and world), politics, engineering, general science, classical literature, poetry and fiction.

Question: How did all of these books become a part of this collection?
Answer: Some were gifts to members of the Bullis family (evidenced by handwritten notes inside the front covers), a few were purchased new, and still others were acquired at auctions and other types of sales. Some of the latter are identified by previous owners’ signatures.

Question: How did the collection grow to over 5,000 items? Answer: The Bullis home on Canandaigua Road in Macedon was completed in 1839. It is reasonable to assume that this book-loving family began to accumulate reading material at that time. By the 1970s, when Nettie and her brother Charlie occupied the same house, books filled three of those rooms.

Question: Is there anything you’d like to know about the Bullis Books or the Bullis Family? We’re looking forward to your questions.

FROM THE FLOOR

How often do we look at the bottom shelf of books in a library? Speaking for myself, the answer is: "Not often enough." So last week I plopped myself down in front of the History section and began pulling books at random from the lower shelves. These books may be low, location-wise, but they are high in interest to those of us who love local history. Thus I was rewarded well for my time, effort and the occasional "twinge" from my lumbar region as I made the acquaintance of these books:

Tioga, Chemung, Tompkins, and Schuyler Counties, New York

Niagara and other Famous Cataracts of the World

Landmarks of Wayne County Landmarks of Monroe County

Warriors of the Genesee Political History of New York

Topographical Survey, Adirondack Region, New York

Hotchkins History of Western New York Annals and Recollections of Oneida County

Exhibit of State of New York at World's Columbia Exposition

All these books are over a hundred years old and they do show their age. A book evaluator would use words like "loose boards, warping, yellowing," or "brittle" to describe some of their conditions. In addition to natural aging, many of these books sustained additional damage from the heat and water of the 2001 library fire. Despite the toll taken by the storms of life, however, they keep on keeping on, their contents enhancing our knowledge and appreciation of the past as well as the present. Today, they sit in their assigned places, ready to serve yet another generation of readers. Let's not disappoint them.

(As the title states, this viewpoint comes from the floor...The Bullis Room floor. Hope to see you there one of these Thursdays.)