Marianna Ferrara The Midwife of the West Side

Sorry I haven't posted since March, I've been a bit busy scrambling around like a octopus with one arm on a chicken with it's head cut off, climbing ladders and puttin' out fires left and right here, on the West Side. All due to the fact that my wife and I recently welcomed a new Saratoga Springs born resident named Mia Alice DeMers.

Born at Saratoga Hospital, she is a true blue West Sider! I would like to thank the staff of the maternity ward, namely Lisa, Cody, and Dr. Bock. With all this baby delivery madness going on, I see it fit that I post a tribute to this lady.

 During the early 1900's here on the West Side, Marianna Ferrara was the midwife of the West Side. She herself, was born in Italy, and moved to here in 1888 when she was 25. She was NYS licensed in 1915 for her trade. The Ferrara's have a legacy here on the West Side. The corner store of Ash and Beekman was owned by the Ferrara's for 30 + years, so was the little beauty shop behind it on Beeekman. Check it out, they moved to Florida, but you can still get the sausages made from the family recipes, here..... https://www.besthomemadesausage.com/

During WWI, times were hard for families on the West Side. Newborns were delivered, sometimes in trade for chickens, fruit and vegetables. Marianna would also provide the same from her and her husband's garden at 80 Ash St. for other expecting/newborn families in need. Here's my beautiful wife and 5 day old newborn standing outside 80 Ash street on the West Side.

 Marianna often was assisted to deliver babies, via Anthony "Spaghetti" Adinolfi's Model T Ford.
He also used this truck to deliver goods for Palmetto Fruit. It is currently owned by Wally Allerdice. On September 30th 1942, on her way to catch a baby, Marianna, perched in a rocking chair on the back bed of the truck, fell off and later died from the injuries sustained from the fall. 
 Recently, a play depicting her life was produced, written and seen through on the stage at the Homemade Theater in the Spa State Park. It's called Catching Babies, by Michelle Yergan Summerlan. I hope to catch it someday!
 In Congress Park, there is a bench you can sit on with your child (or not) and relax and enjoy the scenery. The bench was dedicated to the Midwife Of The West Side, Marianna Ferrara. 
http://www.saratogian.com/article/ST/20160823/NEWS/160829906 

The Sunday after Travers Day, I will be hosting a history tour of the West Side for the Saratoga Preservation Society, join me! 

SARATOGA SPRINGS SUMMER STROLL: The Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation presents “Saratoga’s Historic West Side.” George DeMers will lead guests through the restored Historic West Side, also known as Little Dublin, Learn about Saratoga’s Irish and Italian immigrants who helped shape the history of this unique district. This tour sponsored by NBT Bank meets at 10:30 a.m. at South Franklin Street, Gideon Putnam Cemetery Entrance. $5 for SSPF members and $8 for non-members. Guests may buy a ticket for four tours and receive the fifth free. Reservations are encouraged, but not necessary. For more information or to make a reservation, please call the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation at 587-5030, visit www.saratogapreservation.org or email Nicole Babie, Membership & Programs Coordinator, at nbabie@saratogapreservation.org.

 Large child friendly font for the whole family! 

Stellar Saratoga Springs Snow Stories

If you drive up the main drag (Broadway) in Saratoga Springs, NY, and keep going north onto North Broadway, you will end up on a dirt road in the woods. (Google street view goes down it, and that is hysterical)

That road becomes a downhill slope. This used to be a playground for the Saratoga Toboggan Club founded in 1885. 
 The club was spawned from the Saratoga Snow-Shoe Club of 1881. It was made of well-to-do upper crust society, that had learned of the sporting clubs from their winter excursions to Montreal. The only difference between the clubs here and there, (besides location), was, that the Canadian clubs were men's only. Here, it was a social event meant for both sexes. 

 The snow shoe club met every Thursday at 7:30, according to a short piece by Newell B. Woodworth from a 1885 book called "Outing; Sport, Adventure, Travel Vol.7 ." I noticed that back then, instead of saying "going outdoors," the expression was "going out-of-doors.''

The original site of the Snow-Shoe/Toboggan club was at Woodlawn Park, North Broadway,(now Skidmore College). Canadian club members came down to snow shoe, and a few of the guys made toboggans and a slide, at the park. Within the first year, the site became too small to hold the numbers of people interested in this club. Snow shoeing was becoming popular, and most notedly, they were interested in this slide. 

Here's and excerpt from a book awesomely called, Saratoga: winter and summer. An epitome of the early history, romance, legends and characteristics of the greatest of American resorts. Edited by Prentiss Ingraham.

     So, that following year, Glen Mitchell, (see http://briefingsfromaspacitymetalhead.blogspot.com/2016/01/suicide-at-city-hall-jan-29-1902.html) hotel proprietor just about 3000 feet down the hill, made a new site to get their slide on, and that's where the Saratoga Toboggan Club established it's home. The slide was reportedly 3000 feet long, 20 foot width, with 3 chutes. From the top platform, you could see the mountains of Vermont. The club only accepted wealthy, high society members, membership was $100 a year. The club didn't last much past the turn of the century.

               from the New York Times above, from Bolster Collection below

   I tell you all this, because, 100 years later, I grew up snow sledding down that hill, every winter. We used to have two gullies set up, and we used to race down the hill. The ride was literally almost 2 solid minutes I swear. We used to get going so fast, we built a huge jump at the bottom, I think I broke my tailbone every winter. It's cool to think that we unknowingly used that same area for the same purposes 100 years later. Boy would those uppity dudes be rolling in their graves if they knew a bunch of broke trailer park metalheads are tilling their old soil, ha! 

During this time period, mid March, 1888, Saratoga and New York experienced the worst blizzard to date. A reported 58 inches fell in Saratoga. The blizzard was dubbed "The Storm King". The storm even prompted a group of New York men that in 1929, formed the Society Of Blizzard Men. Here in Saratoga, and elsewhere in NY, walking down the sidewalk meant walking in tunnels of snow.

from the Bolster Collection

Another blizzard, Feb.15 1914, dropped 28 inches on day 3 of relentless snow storms, completely hammering our area. Here's a headline of famine due to the storm!

Mid March 1993, Saratoga gets hit again. I remember that day, I walked across the Woolworth parking lot, and saw a guy standing on top of his car, unearthing it from the snow (wind drift and plows had it completely buried). Here's a video from that day, and it starts off at Woolworth's!

I have the Saratogian from that day. 

       Now, flash forward to today, mid March, 2017, we had Stella breeze thru and leave us a mess!

my backyard on the West Side

    I will leave you with the spots to sled in Saratoga....

Congress Park- behind the Casino, High Rock Park, the alley hill off Circular behind Four Seasons, McGregor Hill and Skidmore Hill. Drunk people, Caroline Street doesn't have a good enough incline, so stop it. Or be a total radass and do this.....https://weather.com/storms/winter/video/snowboarding-the-streets-of-saratoga-springs

Check out my previous older posts! Thanks for checking me out!

Watercolors that I never posted.....

Wow, I just realized that I havent posted since 2016. I havent watercolored since 2016. I am seriously slacking, and I apologize.
I also realized that I did some watercolors that I never shared on this page, so here goes it.......

Orenda Spring

Hayes Spring aka the whippit post

Congress Spring