The Hudson River Valley Review a Journal of Regional Studies
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The hudson RIVeR Valley ReVIew A Journal of Regional Studies The hudson River Valley Institute at Marist College is supported by a major grant from the national endowment for the humanities. Publisher Thomas s. wermuth, Vice President for academic affairs, Marist College Editors Christopher Pryslopski, Program director, hudson River Valley Institute, Marist College Reed sparling, writer, scenic hudson Editorial Board The Hudson River Valley Review Myra young armstead, Professor of history, (Issn 1546-3486) is published twice Bard College a year by the hudson River Valley Col lance Betros, Professor and head, Institute at Marist College. department of history, u.s. Military James M. Johnson, Executive Director academy at west Point Kim Bridgford, Professor of english, Research Assistants west Chester university Poetry Center Gail Goldsmith and Conference Brian Rees Christina Ritter Michael Groth, Professor of history, wells College susan Ingalls lewis, associate Professor of history, Hudson River Valley Institute state university of new york at new Paltz Advisory Board sarah olson, superintendent, Roosevelt- Peter Bienstock, Chair Vanderbilt national historic sites Barnabas Mchenry, Vice Chair Margaret R. Brinckerhoff Roger Panetta, Professor of history, dr. Frank Bumpus Fordham university Frank J. doherty h. daniel Peck, Professor of english, BG (Ret) Patrick J. Garvey Vassar College shirley M. handel Robyn l. Rosen, associate Professor of history, Maureen Kangas Marist College alex Reese Robert e. Tompkins sr. david schuyler, Professor of american studies, denise doring VanBuren Franklin & Marshall College Thomas s. wermuth, Vice President for academic Business Manager affairs, Marist College, Chair andrew Villani david woolner, associate Professor of history Art Director & Political science, Marist College; Richard deon senior Fellow, Roosevelt Institute, hyde Park Copyright ©2012 by the hudson River Valley Institute Tel: 845-575-3052 Post: The Hudson River Valley Review Fax: 845-575-3176 c/o hudson River Valley Institute e-mail: [email protected] Marist College, 3399 north Road, web: www.hudsonrivervalley.org Poughkeepsie, ny 12601-1387 subscription: The annual subscription rate is $20 a year (2 issues), $35 for two years (4 issues). a one-year institutional subscription is $30. subscribers are urged to inform us promptly of a change of address. The Hudson River Valley Review does not assume responsibility for statements of fact or opinion made by the authors. ii From the editors Though regrettably all but forgotten today, lowell Thomas was a titan of broadcasting, an intrepid reporter and adventurer blessed with a mellifluous Midwestern baritone that inspired trust from his millions of listeners. People of a certain age will remember his closing line: “so long until tomorrow.” The Marist College archives is honored to be the repository of the lowell Thomas Papers, an enormously rich collection of scripts, letters, newsreels, post- ers, mementoes—just about everything related to Thomas’s sixty-year career spanning radio, television, publishing, and the movies. Two articles in this issue mine this trove to shine a fresh light on Thomas and the important role he once played in the region and around the world. additional articles bring to life other hudson Valley heroes whose luster has diminished over the ages—from John Flack winslow, who financed and spearheaded creation of the union ironclad u.s.s. Monitor, to Joseph Gavit, who managed to rescue some of the most important treasures in the new york state library nearly lost in the 1911 state capitol fire. as always, the issue concludes with a rich array of book reviews highlighting both works of general interest and important new scholarship. On the Cover: “Columbia Broadcasting system, InC. 485 Madison avenue, new york 22, n.y., Plaza I-2345; 1949: a Visit to Tibet a memorable moment in journalism took place in 1949 when CBs news Correspondent lowell Thomas and his son penetrated the himalayas and reached lhasa, the forbid- den city of Tibet, for an exclusive interview with the dalai lama. In this photo Mr. Thomas is seen with the family of the dalai lama with the Potala, the dalai lama’s palace, rising in the background.” (1582.1.4) Inset: lowell Thomas and his home, at Pawling, n.y.; 10/18/68. (1518.6.3) iii This issue of The Hudson River Valley Review has been generously underwritten by the following: The Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel and Conference Center …centrally located in the historic hudson Valley midway between nyC and albany… www.pokgrand.com Brinckerhoff and Neuville, Inc. www.brinckerhoffinsurance.com iv The mission of the hudson River Valley national heritage area Program is to recognize, preserve, protect, and inter- pret the nationally significant cultural and natural resources of the hudson River Valley for the benefit of the nation. For more information visit www.hudsonrivervalley.com • Browse itineraries or build your own • Search 90 Heritage Sites • Upcoming events & celebrations To contact the hudson River Valley national heritage area: Mark Castiglione, acting director Capitol Building, Room 254 albany, ny 12224 Phone: 518-473-3835 v www.centralhudson.com vi Call for essays The Hudson River Valley Review will consider essays on all aspects of the hudson River Valley—its intellectual, political, economic, social, and cultural history, its prehistory, architecture, literature, art, and music—as well as essays on the ideas and ideologies of regionalism itself. all articles in The Hudson River Valley Review undergo peer analysis. s ubmission of essays and other Materials h RVR prefers that essays and other written materials be submitted as two dou- ble-spaced typescripts, generally no more than thirty pages long with endnotes, along with a Cd with a clear indication of the operating system, the name and version of the word-processing program, and the names of documents on the disk. Illustrations or photographs that are germane to the writing should accompany the hard copy. otherwise, the submission of visual materials should be cleared with the editors beforehand. Illustrations and photographs are the responsibility of the authors. scanned photos or digital art must be 300 pixels per inch (or greater) at 8 in. x 10 in. (between 7 and 20 mb). no responsibility is assumed for the loss of materials. an e-mail address should be included whenever possible. hRVR will accept materials submitted as an e-mail attachment (hrvi@marist. edu) once they have been announced and cleared beforehand. since hRVR is interdisciplinary in its approach to the region and to region- alism, it will honor the forms of citation appropriate to a particular discipline, provided these are applied consistently and supply full information. endnotes rather than footnotes are preferred. In matters of style and form, hRVR follows The Chicago Manual of Style. vii Contributors Kristin Bayer is an assistant professor at Marist College where she teaches asian history classes in the history department. she writes on nineteenth- century global capitalism and the opium trade in addition to foreign perceptions of China. her research has been published in the International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies and Merchants and Missionaries: Trade and Religion in World History (forthcoming). Benjamin Davison is a graduate student studying american history at the university of Virginia. his dissertation will explore the way public policy influenced the american diet during the twentieth century. he holds degrees from the university of Virginia, Marist College, and the Culinary Institute of america. Roger Hecht is an assistant professor at suny oneonta, where he teaches lit- erature and creative writing in the english department. he earned his doctorate in english from syracuse university, and his M.F.a. in poetry from university of arizona. his research interests focus on the intersection of politics and landscape representation in literature, and the literary products of the anti-Rent war in upstate new york. his poetry has been published in numerous literary journals, and his books include The Erie Canal Reader. Paul Mercer studied folklore in Canada at Memorial university of newfoundland, and received his Masters in Information science from the university at albany. he has worked at the new york state library since 1979, and has been a senior librarian in Manuscripts and special Collections since 1986. In addition to acquiring special collections and documents for the library, he is responsible for map collections and for the library’s extensive music holdings. he is co-chair of the library’s Research Residency Committee. a published author of books and papers in folklore and history, he is also a current member and past chairman of the Board of directors of the new york Folklore society. viii The hudson River Valley Review The hudson RIVeR Valley ReVIew Vol. 28, No. 2, Spring 2012 “Rouse, ye anti-Renters”: Poetry and Politics in the anti-Rent Press, Roger W. Hecht .......................................................................................................... 3 softball and hard Rhetoric: lowell Thomas and hudson Valley Political Culture, 1933-1945, Benjamin Davison .......................................................23 From Out of this World to the Cold war: lowell Thomas, Tibet, and the state department, Kristin Bayer ............................................................... 47 “we were There, Charlie!”: Joseph Gavit and the 1911 new york state library Fire, Paul Mercer ........................................................................................