Historian still learning, being surprised

WHO: Trent A. Trulock has been St. Lawrence County historian and executive director of the county Historical Association since 1997. He manages the county's collection of historic documents and artifacts at the Silas Wright House, 3 E. Main St., Canton.

Silas Wright Jr. (1795-1847) served as a state senator, comptroller and governor, and U.S. senator and representative. His former residence houses the Historical Association Museum and archives, and features Wright family possessions and 19th-century furniture, some of which was made in the county.

Museum and archive hours are Tuesday through Thursday, noon to 4 p.m., Fridays, noon to 8 p.m., and Saturdays, noon to 4 p.m. More information can be found online at www.slcha.org, by phone at 386-8133, or via e-mail to slcha@northnet.org.

WHAT IS THE MOST INTERESTING ITEM IN THE COUNTY'S COLLECTION? "I'd have to say it's the hair wreaths. That was a 19th century pastime where you would take clippings from relatives, close friends, and sometimes even pets and fashion it on wire to make wreaths that look floral.

"The hair would normally be taken after the person passed on. It might sound a little macabre, but it was a popular way to remember people and a means for home decoration."

WHAT'S THE OLDEST PIECE IN THE COLLECTION? "The oldest piece was fashioned by people who lived in the north country about 5,000 years before the Europeans arrived. They are hammer stones used to fashion other stone tools, and scrapers, which were kind of a stone knife. They were used mostly to scrape animal hides and wood."

HOW DO YOU ACQUIRE ARTIFACTS AND DOCUMENTS? "Most of them were acquired through donations. We're fortunate that people think of us as a place to donate documents, which include correspondence, sales receipts and photographs, and artifacts. We've been lucky to have some people willing to purchase things they see on eBay or at auctions that they think are a good fit for the collection and donate them."

DO YOU KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT ITEMS AND WORK TO ACQUIRE THEM? "We do that. Actually, the story that comes to mind most is the Wright family bible. A volunteer named Mary Ruth Judd was in contact with the family who had the bible and she kept up a dialogue with them for well over 20 years.

"When the oldest of the generation passed away in recent years, the bible came here. During their lifetimes, they didn't want to part with a big piece of their family history, but they didn't want it to disappear, either.

"A lot of times we don't know what's out there, but this is a great example of our volunteer staff's dedication."

WHAT'S THE MOST INTERESTING COUNTY FACT YOU'VE FOUND? "A fact that really struck me when I first learned about it concerns Macomb's Great Purchase, which was really two purchases made in the 1780s and 1790s.

"Alexander Macomb was a fur trader from Detroit who bought over 4 million acres of Northern New York, which was about 12 percent of the state. His idea, and that of his financial backers, was to sell the land off in large chunks to wealthy people, who would then live up here on huge estates.

"His plan didn't quite work out for him, and he ended up in debtors prison. In light of today's mortgage crisis, it seems the more things change the more they stay the same."

HAS RESEARCH OR AN ITEM EVER COME TO LIGHT THAT SURPRISED YOU? "I have been surprised almost daily with facts about county history that I didn't know.

"For instance, I was surprised to find out that St. Lawrence County played a key role in the U.S. Army military maneuvers in 1940 in Northern New York. The maneuvers stretched from Watertown to Plattsburgh, but the terrain in St. Lawrence County was considered perfect for the Army's needs.

"People who were children then still remember the troops marching, camping and pretending to go to war. Kids collected used brass shell casings from farmers' fields as souvenirs.

"The Army didn't have enough tanks for the maneuvers, so they wrote the word 'tank' on some trucks, and the troops had to pretend they were tanks. This was all prior to the U.S. entry in World War II."

DO YOU THINK AWARENESS OF LOCAL HISTORY SHOULD BE BETTER PROMOTED? "There is an interest and awareness on some people's part, but it needs to be promoted, especially in hard economic times when people are choosing between food and paying for heat and keeping local history alive. We always still need to know where we came from. We certainly can't save everything, but we can't save nothing."

DO YOU THINK THE COUNTY'S SIGNIFICANCE IN OUR COUNTRY'S EARLY YEARS HAS A PLACE IN OUR SCHOOLS? "We don't do as good of a job as we could, but I don't think that's the teachers' faults.

"The school day is so full of mandatory things that need to be covered because the students are going to be tested on them. It leaves very little room for extra things. It depends on what the priorities are and who is going to pay for them.

"Schools have had to cut down on bus trips, so that cuts out a vast number of students who could come here.

"But one of the important things about our mission is to be an educational resource. It's been a great privilege to work with teachers who want to work with us to give them materials to use in the classroom."

If you have a suggestion for a Times Q&A, contact Times staff writer Elizabeth Graham at egraham@wdt.net.