2024 - 2025 Speaker Series
Presented in Partnership with the Bethlehem Public Library
BHA is collaborating with the Bethlehem Public Library to sponsor our Speaker Series Program. All take place on from 7:00 to 8:45 p.m. in the library’s large Community Room. Registration is recommended as there is a capacity limit.
Call the library at 518-439-9314 or register using this website Bethlehem.LibraryCalendar.com
The programs will also be announced in the library's Footnotes newsletter every 2 months.
The programs are open to the public.
Click here for pictures of previous programs
Upcoming Programs
Fun on Two Wheels: A Short History of the Bicycle
Wednesday, April 16 - 7 PM
Bethlehem Public Library, 451 Delaware Avenue, Delmar
Free and open to the public. Registration is needed for seating purposes. Call 518-439-9314
David Chinery speaks about the history of the bicycle in his presentation Fun On Two Wheels.
The bicycle is an incredibly simple machine by today’s standards, but it took a long time to develop. Chinery will trace the history of bicycles from 1815 to 1900, including the draisine, the velocipede, the boneshaker, the high wheel and the safety bicycle, and we’ll discuss the social changes bicycles brought about for both men and women. On display will be a Columbia bicycle, the most modern of the year 1898, which lacks one of today’s most crucial bicycle elements. David H. Chinery is a professional horticulturist and history enthusiast, and lives near Castleton, NY.
Al Mallory, his son and Marjorie Terrell take a rest with their bikes. Marjorie’s brother Allen Terrell took this picture on June 4, 1944 on a country road in Bethlehem.
2024-2025 Schedule
FALL
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
David Levine
The Hudson Valley: the First 250 Million Years
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Jill Knapp
The Albany and Susquehanna Railroad and the War for its Control
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Jonathan Palmer
History of the Hay Press
SPRING
Wednesday February 19, 2025
Jeffrey Urbin
Victory Gardens
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Anthony Opalka
History of the Fire Department
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
David H. Chinery
Fun on Two Wheels: A Short History of the Bicycle
Previous Programs
Albany County Plans for America’s 250th Anniversary
Monday, March 24 - 7 PM
Bethlehem Public Library, 451 Delaware Avenue, Delmar
Free and open to the public. Registration is needed for seating purposes. Call 518-439-9314
Jeff Perlee, chair of the Albany County Rev250 Commission, discusses plans for the upcoming anniversary of the American Revolution
The Bethlehem Historical Association, in partnership with the Bethlehem Town Historian’s Office, is pleased to present a talk by Jeff Perlee on Albany County’s plans for celebrating American’s 250th birthday on Monday March 24, 7 p.m. at the Bethlehem Public Library.
July 4, 2026, marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of the USA. To prepare for this historical milestone, Albany County created a commission to plan the county’s celebration. At his March 24 talk, Commission Chairman Jeff Perlee will discuss the work of putting together the Albany County Rev250 Commission and Albany County’s efforts to begin the commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution.
He will also share how interested citizens, and local historical associations can get involved and stay informed during the early planning stages.
Jeff Perlee represents the 31st Legislative District, which includes Altamont, Guilderland Center, Knox, and East Berne. He and his family have lived in the Altamont area for many generations.
Albany Fire Department History
Wednesday, March 19 - 7 PM
Bethlehem Public Library, 451 Delaware Avenue, Delmar
Free and open to the public. Registration is needed for seating purposes. Call 518-439-9314
City historian, author and Albany Firefighters Museum Director Tony Opalka discusses the history of fire fighting in Albany and his new book The Firehouses of Albany.
Join City historian, author and Albany Firefighters Museum Director Tony Opalka as he discusses the long history of fire fighting in Albany and his new book The Firehouses of Albany, Wednesday March 19 at 7 p.m. at the Bethlehem Public Library.
Tony Opalka grew up in the small mostly Ukrainian hamlet of Maplewood, just north of Watervliet in the town of Colonie where his father grew up. He always had an interest in Albany history because his mother grew up in the Italian South End and there were weekly trips to her extended family, accompanied by her stories of Albany from the 1920s onward.
He received a BA in Art/Architectural History from what was then known as Albany State and worked for the city of Albany researching its history for two years before attending graduate school at Cornell University in historic preservation and urban planning.
In the 45 years since then, he has worked for the city of Albany, neighborhood not-for-profit organizations, and for two years on a renovation project that involved 82 historic rowhouses in Arbor Hill.
Since 1988, he has been employed by the New York State Historic Preservation Office in various capacities. One of his duties involved writing nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, including the Slingerlands Historic District with former Bethlehem Town Historian Susan Leath.
He was appointed Albany City Historian in 2008 and has written numerous articles about Albany history. He was a contributor to the architectural guidebook to the city titled Albany Architecture and contributed to the films The Neighborhood That Disappeared and Echoes from the Neighborhood That Disappeared.
The Firehouses of Albany was a project six years in the making, stemming from his position as director of the Albany Firefighters Museum.
Victory Gardens - by Jeffrey Urbin
DATE: February 19th, 2025
TIME: Presentation begins at 7 pm.
PLACE: Bethlehem Public Library, 451 Delaware Avenue, Delmar
It has been said that an army travels on its stomach, never was this more true than during the dark days of WWII. This session examines the unprecedented contributions made by millions of ordinary Americans who fought the war literally in their own backyards growing food for themselves, the army and our allies in small plots known as "Victory Gardens". Where did this idea come from? Did the "Victory Gardens" actually help the war effort? These topics and more will be discussed.
Jeffrey Urbin is the Education Specialist and Director of the Pare Lorentz Film Center at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York. He is responsible for developing all of the Library’s education programs and materials for students ranging from second grade to college and including adult learning and public programs across the country and around the world.
Pressing Matter: The History of the Hay Press
DATE: Wednesday, November 20, 2024
TIME: Presentation begins at 7 pm.
PLACE: Bethlehem Public Library, 451 Delaware Avenue, Delmar
Free and open to the public. Registration is needed for seating purposes. Call 518-439-9314
Greene County Historian Jon Palmer explores the surprisingly riveting history of the humble Hay Press. The hay press, an important piece of farm equipment, and the regional industry that developed it illustrate the rich agricultural history of the upper Hudson Valley during the 19th century.
Jonathan Palmer has served as the Greene County Historian since 2020 and is currently employed as the Archivist for the County of Ulster. Originally from Athens, NY, he holds an MSIS from the University at Albany and is a 2014 graduate of Siena College.
The Albany and Susquehanna Railroad and the War for its Control
DATE: Wednesday, October 16, 2024
TIME: Presentation begins at 7 pm.
PLACE: Bethlehem Public Library, 451 Delaware Avenue, Delmar
Free and open to the public. Registration is needed for seating purposes. Call 518-439-9314
Jill Knapp speaks about The Albany and Susquehanna Railroad and the War for its Control. This is the exciting story of the railroad (later the D&H, now part of the Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail) and the 1869 struggle between conflicting boards of directors which soon spread to violence on the railroad line itself
Author and historian Jill Knapp Ph.D. investigates many topics in Hudson Valley history. Her book The Time for Redemption explores the Van Rensselaer patroonship and the Anti-Rent movement.
The Hudson Valley: The First 250 Million Years
DATE: Tuesday September 24, 2024
TIME: Presentation begins at 7 pm.
PLACE: Bethlehem Public Library, 451 Delaware Avenue, Delmar
Free and open to the public. Registration is needed for seating purposes. Call 518-439-9314
David Levine is the author of The Hudson Valley: the First 250 Million Years: A Mostly Chronological and Occasionally Personal History. Levine, a resident of Albany, will share his work highlighting entertaining stories from his book. Copies of the book will be available for sale.
From the dinosaurs and the glaciers to the first native peoples and the first European settlers, from Dutch and English Colonial rule to American Revolution, from slave society to the Civil War, from the robber barons and bootleggers to the war heroes and the happy rise of craft beer pubs, the Hudson Valley has quite a story to tell. The Hudson Valley: The First 250 Million Years chronicles the Valley’s rich and fascinating history and charms. Often funny, sometimes personal, always entertaining, this collection of essays offers a unique look at the Hudson Valley’s most important and interesting people, places, and events.
David Levine is a freelance writer and editor. “The Hudson Valley” is his seventh book; he is also the author, co-author or ghostwriter of six sports books, including Life on the Rim (Macmillan) and In the Land of Giants (Little, Brown). He is a regular contributor to the Albany Times Union; his articles have appeared in the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, American Heritage, US News & World Report, Smithsonian and dozens of other publications; and his work has been selected for two editions of Best Sports Stories. He lives in Albany, NY.