JASNA Syracuse Fall Schedule and Other Events

Please mark your calendars now for this fall's Syracuse Region meetings and other events of interest to CNY Janeites:

    •    On Saturday, September 8, at the Colgate Bookstore (3 Utica St., Hamilton) at 2 pm, Heather Elia will lead the Jane Austen Book Club-CNY in a discussion of Persuasion.  Announcements of other fall JABC meetings will be listed in the "Events" column shortly.

    •    On Saturday, September 15, at the Pittsford Barnes and Noble (Rt. 31, Pittsford) at 1 pm, JASNA Rochester is kindly allowing your RC to "beta-test" her breakout presentation for the Brooklyn AGM,  "Sex, Power, and Other People's Money:  The Prince Regent and His Impact on JA's Life and Work."  Again, please see the "Events" column for announcements of other fall JASNA Rochester meetings.

    •    On Saturday, September 22, at the Liverpool Public Library (310 Tulip St., Liverpool) at 2 pm, JASNA Syracuse will welcome a JASNA Rochester friend as the speaker for our Michaelmas meeting.  Professor Emeritus Leo Rockas of the University of Hartford will discuss his recent paper in JASNA's Persuasions journal, "When Did Darcy Fall in Love?", and address other questions about Pride and Prejudice.  This is the first of several meetings we hope to have on P&P during this, its bicentennial season (it was published in January 1813).

    •    The Annual General Meeting itself--always the high point of the JASNA national year--will be held at the Brooklyn Marriott from Friday, October 5, to Sunday, October 7 (with several events both before and after).  In addition to Mary Pinkes's essay prize presentation (see the preceding post) and Marie's breakout session, our Co-RC Lisa Brown will be presenting her popular Regency fashion show for women, "Dressing the Miss Bennets."

    •    On Saturday, November 3, at RiverRead Books (5 Court St., Binghamton) at 2 pm, our All Hallows meeting will be devoted to parents and parent figures in JA's works.  Those attending the May Day discussion of villains and schemers picked this topic--and it's possible to argue that in JA's fiction, it may be only a short step from villains and schemers to parents!  Agree or disagree?

    •    And we'll be having a joint Christmas/JA's birthday meeting with the JABC in Hamilton on Saturday, December 8.  Time, venue (either the Colgate Inn or the Colgate Bookstore), and topic are TBA, but please do save the date!

Finally, a warm welcome to those who have joined JASNA since July 1--and warm encouragement to those of you who are not yet JASNA members to join (just go to this link). Remember, this is our only requirement for JASNA Syracuse Region membership; we charge no regional dues.

Our Local JASNA Essay Contest Winner!

We're very pleased indeed to announce that this year's winner of the annual JASNA Essay Contest at the undergraduate level is Mary E. Pinkes, a graduate of Jamesville-DeWitt High School near Syracuse, and currently a student at Mount Holyoke College.  Her winning essay, entitled "Abilities, Affections, and the Art of Pleasing:  The Ascent of Lucy Steele and Penelope Clay," can be read at this link. (How well this would have tied in with our discussion of "villains and schemers" in Binghamton in May!  We hope it may be possible to organize a future Syracuse Region meeting around Mary and the essay, whenever her Mount Holyoke schedule permits.)

Mary's mentor in writing the essay was one of her teachers at JD High School, Constance Myers-Kelly.  Both Mary and Constance have received one-year memberships in JASNA as part of their awards, and both have been invited to this year's JASNA Annual General Meeting in Brooklyn in October for the essay award ceremony at the Saturday evening banquet.  In addition, Mary will receive a scholarship check for $1000 and a set of JA's novels in the Norton Critical Editions.  Hearty congratulations and a warm welcome to the Syracuse Region to them both!

London-Bromley Post

Four gorgeous matched horses.

The highlight of the Janeiacs' trip to the Walnut Hill Driving Competition was seeing an 1860s London-Bromley Post Coach that actually traveled the route discussed by Elizabeth Bennet and Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Vol. 2, Chapter 14 of Pride and Prejudice. It even had the name of the coaching inn that Lady Catherine recommends painted on the side.

Notice the name of the coaching inn,
 "The Bell," painted under the seat.
Click on the photo for a larger version.

Bromley is painted above the front wheel.

A very impressive sight. The coach is huge. 

 If you would like to see more photos from Walnut Hill click here.

Vol. 2, Chapter 14 of Pride and Prejudice

"And if you will stay another month complete, it will be in my power to take one of you as far as London, for I am going there early in June for a week; and as Dawson does not object to the barouche-box, there will be very good room for one of you -- and indeed, if the weather should happen to be cool, I should not object to taking you both, as you are neither of you large."

"You are all kindness, madam; but I believe we must abide by our original plan."

Lady Catherine seemed resigned.

"Mrs. Collins, you must send a servant with them. You know I always speak my mind, and I cannot bear the idea of two young women travelling post by themselves. It is highly improper. You must contrive to send somebody. I have the greatest dislike in the world to that sort of thing. Young women should always be properly guarded and attended, according to their situation in life. When my niece Georgiana went to Ramsgate last summer, I made a point of her having two men-servants go with her. Miss Darcy, the daughter of Mr. Darcy, of Pemberley, and Lady Anne, could not have appeared with propriety in a different manner. I am excessively attentive to all those things. You must send John with the young ladies, Mrs. Collins. I am glad it occurred to me to mention it; for it would really be discreditable to you to let them go alone."

"My uncle is to send a servant for us."

"Oh! -- Your uncle! -- He keeps a man-servant, does he? I am very glad you have somebody who thinks of those things. Where shall you change horses? -- Oh! Bromley of course. If you mention my name at the Bell, you will be attended to."

Janeiacs' Trip to Walnut Hill Driving Competition

The Rochester "Janeiacs" (see our July 15 post) are off on another adventure:  this time to the Walnut Hill Driving Competition in Pittsford, NY, on Saturday, August 11.  This is the world's largest horse carriage competition; it recaptures the spirit of the 1890s with a 19th-century country fair setting.  More information about the competition is available at the Walnut Hill website. 

The admission cost is $10.00.  The Janeiacs will meet in the parking lot of Barnes & Noble in Pittsford at 9 am on Saturday the 11th (this B&N is JASNA Rochester's usual meeting place) and carpool to the event.  To reserve a spot on the trip or to ask any questions, please contact Lisa Brown (her contact info is under "Contact Us" in the right-hand column).

War of 1812 Reenactment at Sackets Harbor

Your Regional Coordinator writes:  

My Regency Beau and I braved the heat on August 4 to attend a War of 1812 reenactment at the Sackets Harbor Battlefield, and enjoyed ourselves very much indeed.

I must admit that this occasion brought out my inner Lydia Bennet more than once.  "She saw all the glories of the camp; its tents stretched forth in beauteous uniformity of lines..."

"Their eyes were immediately wandering up in the street in quest of the officers, and nothing less than a very smart bonnet indeed, or a really new muslin in a shop window, could recal them."  (As you can see, my eyes were recalled.  I did not purchase this gown, but I bought several smaller items from Helen's Haberdashery.)

An outdoor kitchen consisted of an open firepit and cast-iron utensils.  (Make a mental note:  This arrangement may prove useful during the next major power outage in the Northeast.)

This vegetable garden is actually a seasonal battlefield exhibit rather than part of the encampment.  Lake Ontario is in the background.

 Wood being split for another kitchen, with a sign at left welcoming the public.

And indeed members of the public--of all ages--were made very welcome.  

This member of a Kentucky regiment explained that he was fighting on the British/Canadian side for the day, owing to a shortage of Canadians.

Redcoats on parade, with the Kentuckians included.  A handsomely gowned officer's wife (at right) records the scene.

An American rifleman (regiment not noted, unfortunately) shows Regency Beau the advantage of a green uniform over a British red one:  camouflage!

Not all of the American troops were actually gentlemen:  These ladies donned uniforms.

 But other ladies assumed more traditional feminine roles and attire.

Although (in an effort to avoid the worst of the heat) we arrived too early for the actual reenactment of combat, we did see some rifle drill on both sides.  Here, the Americans prime and load--a rather time-consuming process by present-day standards.

The result was a very satisfactory volley, however.

A representative of the Senecas (the "People of the Hill") explains to Regency Beau and others why the Senecas and several other Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) nations fought with the British and against the Americans during the Revolutionary War and afterward. 

The Sackets Harbor Battlefield monument.

A closeup of the monument's inscription explains that the actual bicentennial of the Battle of Sackets Harbor will be in 2013.  (And a bigger reenactment is planned for next year.)

As the morning wore on toward noon, sensible ladies like this mother and daughter retired into the shade--and your RC and her RB soon sought both shade and lunch.  But we plan to return for next year's reenactment, and we encourage you to do likewise!