A busy week

So many puzzles, so many ways to get sidetracked in the Bullis Room. It has been a busy week. We have had an appraiser here two days re-evaluating our Science and Horticulture items. (We have the collection divided into different subjects.) So there has been shelf-reading and much manipulation of the Excel spreadsheet to get adequate lists. We sent a few books out for repair last Friday. A whole lot of hands on has been going on.
We have a wonderful young woman who volunteers on a weekly basis (when life doesn't interfere) writing cards for the books. These cards list the official item ID for OWWL, the title, the author, pub. date, subject, and shelf location. We keep them right in the books. The purpose of this is twofold. One, if the item is removed from the shelf and set on the cart, we can find its shelf location by just looking at the card. And two, the item ID number can be quickly punched into our system to show that the item has been used. We can then devolop statistics on how many items are being used, what seems to be the most used subjects, etc. That's a bit down the road in the future. Our volunteer has worked through one whole side of the room. Her big love is European history and that's the section she is in now. So we do anticipate that this section might move a bit slower than the fiction section. We like our volunteers to enjoy themselves. And perhaps we can get her to write a comment or two on the items she's working with. There's so much in this collection of books. Something for everyone!

Adirondack wilderness

A few weeks ago, we found a neat little book about the Adirondacks: Murray's Adventures in the Wilderness, subtitled Camp-life in the Adirondacks (Boston: Fields, Osgood, & Co. successors to Tuchman and Fields, 1869). William H. H. Murray, author of this book (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._H._Murray), "dedicated to O. H. Platt, of Meriden Connecticut...in memory of many a tramp and midnight bivouac."

Today, we took another look at this book, which begins with "Why I go to the Wilderness." Magnificent scenery is one of Murray's reasons and another is "to restore impaired health." In expounding on the second reason, Murray writes on page 12:

The spruce, hemlock, balsam, and pine, which largely compose this Wilderness,

yield upon the air, and especially at night, all their curative qualities.

Murray also lists the cost of the trip:

Guide - $2.50 per day

Board for self and guide while in the woods - $2.00 each per week

Miscellanies, "here is where the ten-dollar green-backs come in" $25.00

$50 pays one's traveling expenses both ways from Boston to Lower Saranac Lake

(from New York the expense is about the same)

"It's safe to say that $125 will pay all the expense of a trip of a month's duration in the Wilderness."

Murray adds, "I know of no other excursion in which such a small sum of money will return such percent of health, pleasure, and profit."

Ahhh, those good ole days. We can't bring them back but, thanks to authors like William H. H. Murray, we can still enjoy them through books.

Goodies from San Antonio

When you volunteer in the Bullis Room, you have great opportunity to research the family. This happens especially when you decide to vacation in a place where there are Bullis connections. One of our volunteers spent a few days in San Antonio a couple of weeks ago. She told me as she was leaving the library that she would be not be able to come the next week because she was going to San Antonio. Well, let me tell you my excitement level. Brig. Gen. John Lapham Bullis had a home built for him and his family there when he was the Paymaster at Fort Sam Houston. It is currently a bed and breakfast on Pierce Ave. across from the Fort. My wonderful volunteer and her husband went to the house, spoke with the owners, brought back pictures. What a wonderful experience! They also went to the Texas Institute of Culture and brought back more information.
Who was Brig. Gen. John Lapham Bullis? He was born here in Macedon. His father was a physician and had a practice in the hamlet of Pumpkin Hook for many years. After John's mother passed away, he joined the army and fought at Harper's Ferry and Gettysburg. He was captured there and spent time in Libby Prison and was paroled. He then became a leader of the black troops for the remainder of the war. He left the military for a year or so and then chose a military career. His best known accomplishment was that of leading the Seminole Negro Indian Scouts. While he was their Lieutenant, none perished and he was rescued from certain death at one point by two scouts. These two men received the Medal of Honor for their bravery. And there is so much more to tell about Brig. Gen. Bullis' life which we will share from time to time.

WAYNE COUNTY DIRECTORY, 1867-8

Want the low-down on Wayne County businesses 140 years ago? Stop by and take a look at this gazetteer loaded with interesting facts on all of the towns that made up Wayne County in 1867-68. Long lists detail shopkeepers, blacksmiths, farmers, and other business people in towns, villages, and hamlets in the county.

There are also stamp duties, postal rates and regulations, law maxims, interest rates, and a 20-year calendar. Information about "the states, their settlements, etc." is also included. You can even get some ideas on "How to Succeed in Business" in 1867-8.

The directory advertises Mrs. Bristol's Baby Soother, manufactured by Arbuckle & Co. "sole manufacturers" and sold for 25 cents. Newark businessman, D. C. Bristol, Dealer in Drugs, Medicines, Stationery, Fancy Goods and Dye Stuffs, offers a reassuring statement, "Physician Prescriptions carefully compounded." And if you were living in the area 140 years ago, you might have purchased blinds, sashes, or doors from A. C. Bartle on Palmyra Street.

This directory provides hours of pleasurable browsing for those interested in the "good ole days." You're invited to stop by and take a look at it some Thursday morning.

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This week in the Bullis Library

Monday we found a neat little book about the Adirondacks titled "Murray's Adventures in the Wilderness ". The subtitle is "Camp-life in the Adirondacks". We can't wait to explore more in this book. It has advertisements, etchings, photos, and a newspaper article pasted in the back entailing the"Other Side of the Story - The Horrors of the Adirondacks".

Tuesday our volunteers continued their work on Increase Lapham's semi-circular genealogy. It was a good idea in theory but is not quite practical for our reading.

Wednesday we had more volunteers making cards for books (maybe more about this later) and
choosing books to review. Another volunteer worked on transcribing Dr. Abram Bullis' notebook.

And Thursday here we are updating the blog.