Originally a Dutch celebration of the renewal of life after a long winter, the first day of

Pinkster corresponded with the Episcopal Whitsunday, the 50th day after Easter which fell in

early May. By the nineteenth century in America, Pinkster was known as an African American

Holiday. It reached its zenith between 1790 and 1810. From its Dutch roots came the spiritual as-

pects of giving thanks, preparations to greet the spring through building of elaborate arbors and tempo-

rary shelters, the cooking of special foods, serving of beer and wines, playing games, telling stories and

singing songs.

Whites along with free and enslaved Blacks gathered to witness the parade of the court and arrival of King

Charles, an elder elected to preside over the festival. The name of the character was taken from an Angolan

born captive given the name of Charles who was highly regarded, gifted in speech, dance and athletics and

claimed by an early mayor of Albany. A market was held during Pinkster for people with produce, crafts, and

handmade goods to sell. As the Pinkster King walked through the market stalls and vendor tents, he would de-

mand tribute. If anyone failed to pay, their tent or stall was removed and they were asked to leave. There were

exhibitions of skills and athletic contests along with storytelling and dance that were judged and rewarded.

For the Dutch, Pinkster was a religious holiday; a time to reflect, take a break from work and visit family and

friends. For the enslaved Africans it was a temporary respite where they got to revisit the songs and dances they

were forbidden to do elsewhere and pass on cultural expressions. They reunited with family and friends, ex-

changed information as well as goods and turned the tables on those who denied them power over their lives.

The festival lasted three to four days.

In Albany the Pinkster Festival took place on the hill overlooking the Hudson River, where the State Capi-

tol sits today. In 1811, an Albany city ordinance banned Pinkster. - © FIGAH, 2006. All rights reserved.

Two centuries later, in an effort to revive a tradition from Albany’s past, members of the University

Club petitioned the Common Council to repeal the prohibition. The Pinkster ban was lifted on

May 16, 2011.

Since then the University Club has been honoring the traditions of Pinkster at an annual

celebration. This year, Scott Christianson, PhD. will join us on Friday June 3rd to share

some of New York’s history of slavery and abolitionism through the life of a man known

only as “Caesar.”

Christianson is a journalist, criminologist, historian, filmmaker,

human rights activist and teacher and an award-winning author of

several distinguished non-fiction books.

In addition to the presentation on Caesar, he will sign copies of

two of his books, Freeing Charles: The Struggle to Free a Slave on

the Eve of the Civil War (University of Illinois Press; January 22,

2010), and 100 Documents That Changed the World: From the

Magna Carta to Wikileaks (Universe; November 10, 2015).

Continued on page two...

Caesar

2

Pinkster continued from page one

Caesar lived his entire life on a colo-

nial estate in Albany County, and was

the last living slave north of the Ma-

son-Dixon Line. The daguerreotype

on page one, courtesy of the New-

York Historical Society, shows him at

the age of 114.

He was born into slavery in Bethle-

hem, NY in 1737 and died at the age

of 115 in 1852 having served the

Nicoll-Sill family for six generations.

He was the last person in NY to die in

bondage, though slavery ended in

New York on July 4, 1827. He is bur-

ied in the gravesite of the family he

served so long and faithfully.

In 1808, under the law, all slaves un-

der the age of 65 years in New York

State were freed. Those over that age

remained slaves and their masters had

to provide for them. Caesar, being

over the age limit, remained a slave.

His children and grandchildren were

freed but chose to remain as servants

in the Bethlehem House.

Join us for cocktails (cash/sign) and

light fare from 6-7 p.m., followed by

Christianson’s presentation. Tickets-

$40. Reservations required. Call the

University Club Foundation at 518-

414-3555 or make your reservations

at www.universityclubalbany.com.

Proceeds benefit the University Club

Foundation. Support for educational

programming presented by the Foun-

dation is provided by AT&T.

JOIN US AFTERWARD

DINNER AND MUSIC

The Greater Love Combo, known for

their classic, up-tempo jazz, will per-

form from 8-10 p.m. in the Gr ille

room after the Pinkster presentation.

The performance is free. Ala carte

dinner will be available until 9 p.m.

Reservations required. Call the

club at 463-1151 if you’ll join us.

BOOK SIGNING & RECEPTION

A Mid-Summer Night’s “Eve”

Monday, June 20

6 – 8 p.m.

What if Shakespeare had been in-

volved with the Gunpowder Plot in

1605 – while writing MacBeth?

That’s the premise of the new novel

License to Quill, by Albany author

Jacopo della Quercia (Giacomo Ca-

labria ).

“License to Quill is a page-turning

James Bond-esque spy thriller star-

ring William Shakespeare and

Christopher Marlowe during histo-

ry's real life Gunpowder Plot. The

story follows the fascinating golden

age of English espionage, the tumul-

tuous cold war gripping post-

Reformation Europe, the cloak-and-

dagger politics of Shakespeare's

England, and lastly, the mysterious

origins of the Bard's most haunting

play: Macbeth. You won't want to

miss this fast-paced historical retell-

ing!” - MacMillan Publishing

Join us for a Meet the Author Re-

ception with cocktails (cash/sign)

and light hors d’oeuvres at 6 p.m.,

followed Mr. della Quercia’s presen-

tation at 7:00 p.m. Books will be

available for purchase and signing.

The event is co-sponsored by the

University Club Foundation and the

English Speaking Union. There is no

charge, however, reservations are

required. Call the UC Foundation at

518-414-3555 and let us know if

you plan to stay for dinner.

AUTHOR PRESENTATION

DINNER & RECEPTION

A letter penned in 1944 uncovers the

powerful and heartfelt story of Helen

Gregg, one of eight children of Irish

immigrant parents, raised in the mis-

eries of Hell’s Kitchen during the

Great Depression, and Clarence Ray-

mond Stephenson, a young aspiring

B-17 pilot from the small, struggling

city of Ironton, Ohio. Fate brings

them together in New York’s Central

Park during the summer of 1942.

This captivating and poignant story

of their struggles and romance, his

exploits as a highly decorated B-17

pilot during World War II, and the

tragedy that tears them apart, will

inspire you, while tugging at your

heart.

With sensitivity and grace, Ray

O’Conor reveals a secret about the

dashing and brave young aviator who

stole Helen’s heart, and he divulges a

promise that Helen made to Ray-

mond in the summer of 1942 that she

had to keep, no matter how long or

how hard it might be to fulfill.

Join us Friday, June 24th for a spe-

cial evening with Ray O’Conor, the

author of She Called Him Raymond.

Light hors d’oeuvres and cash/sign

bar at 6:00 p.m. Dinner buffet at 6:30

p.m. followed by dessert and book

discussion/signing at 7:15 p.m. $35

per person.

Books will be available; hardcover

$25; softcover $20. Reservations are

required. Please call the University

Club Foundation at 518-414-3555.

3

Yes! I/We would like to help The University Club of Albany Foundation

Name ............................................................................................................................. .............................................................................

Address, City, State ZIP ............................................................................................................................. ..............................................

□ $250 □ $200 □ $150 □ $100 □ $50 □ $25 □ other _________

□ My/Our check is enclosed, payable to the University Club Foundation

□ Please charge my MasterCard ● Visa ● American Express (circle one) in the amount of $_______________

Name as it appears on card: .............................................................................................................................................................

Account #: ............................................................................................ Expiration Date: ................................CVV: .....................

Signature: .........................................................................................................................................................................................

Please return to: The University Club Foundation, 141 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12210

The Club is still “digging out” from under a mountain of bills from the Big Dig

of 2016. So far we have received invoices totaling

almost $25,000.00. Those costs include clean up

after the Grille Room was flooded by 300 gallons

of water, installation of a sump pit and pump,

plumbing and electrical work and, the biggest ex-

pense, excavation of Dove street outside the club’s

main entrance and installation of a 10 foot long lat-

eral pipe from the city’s line to the clubhouse.

University Club Foundation to the rescue…

Those huge, unexpected, expenses are only part of the picture. Though loving-

ly maintained, the 100+ year old clubhouse is very needy. There’s always

something that has to be taken care of. Fortunately, part of the mission of the

University Club Foundation is to assist in the maintenance and upkeep of the

club’s building and property. The Foundation’s most recent effort on behalf of

the club, was the ‘Big Dig’ campaign, which began late last month. “We are

humbled by the response,” notes Vito Grasso the University Club Foundation’s

President, “and truly grateful to those who responded by contributing. Many

donors are members of the University Club, others are friends of the Founda-

tion. Every donation, big or small, allows us to continue to help the club meet

its obligations to maintain its nationally recognized historic building, ensuring

that its doors are open and welcoming for generations to come. Thank you for

your support.”

We would also like to extend a special thank you to Off The Record. They

put a tip bucket out during their performance at the Club on Friday, May 6th

and collected more than $200...and donated it to the Foundation for the Big

Dig! Many thanks for that gesture of kindness and to all the people in at-

tendance that evening who dropped money in the bucket to help.

The current list of Big Dig donors is at right. There’s still time to make your

donation (the Foundation is a 501c3, so it’s tax deductible). It’s easy! All you

have to do is fill out the form below and return it to the club, call Ellen at 518-

463-1151 to make a credit card donation over the phone or donate online at

https://www.youcaring.com/university-club-foundation-561770.

THANK YOU!

Allen, Joseph*

Ambrecht, Michael* Barnard, Sylvia* Berkley, Richard* Boettner, Doug & Debbie* Brogna, Mark* Burns, Elizabeth Bush, Brian* City Club of Albany Davies, James* Eberle, Donald

Esposito, Anthony* Flood, Keith* Grasso, Vito and Susan* Gretter, Worth Hochfelder, David* Katz, Holly Kinsch, Noelle & Shahinfar, Darius* Krupka, Lew MacAffer, Kenneth & Ursula* Mackin & Casey

McCauley, Ken & Genevieve* McCauley, Peter and Jean Meserve, Donald* NYS Academy of Family Physicians Palladino, Joanna Polomaine, Casey Praus, Paul Rosen, Elliott* Ross, James Ryan, Colleen*

Ryba, Christina* Selzam, Paul Sheppard, James M.* Stewart, Damon & Nicole* Stone, James Sullivan, Mary* Torch Club of Albany Van De Loo, Kathy* Webber, Cheryle Wilson, Lois*

Wutzer, Edmund* Wyld, John S.*

*University Club Members

Officers: Nate Maloney, President

Amy Hines-Kramer, Vice President

Tim Varney, Treasurer

Secretary, Robert Crudden

Colleen Ryan, Past President

Directors: Mark Brogna

Teresa Casey

Jim Davies

Jeffrey Hill

David Hochfelder

Geoffrey Hoderath

Ken McCauley

Frank Nemeth

Chuck Seifert

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1 Lunch 2 Lunch 3 Lunch & Dinner

PINKSTER 6-8 pm The Greater Love Combo 8-10 pm

4 Club Closed

5 Club Closed

6 Lunch & Dinner Torch Club 6 p.m.

Yoga @ noon

7 Lunch & Dinner Yoga @ 4 pm

8 Lunch 9 Lunch 10 Lunch & Dinner 11 Club Closed

12 Club Closed

13 Lunch & Dinner Yoga @ noon

14 Lunch & Dinner Yoga @ 4 pm

15 Lunch 16 Lunch 17 Lunch & Dinner 18 Club Closed

19 Club Closed

20 Lunch & Dinner

License to Quill Author Jacopo

della Quercia 6pm

21 Lunch & Dinner Yoga @ 4 pm

22 Lunch 23 Lunch 24 Lunch & Dinner Author Ray O’Connor

6 pm

25 Club Closed

26 Club Closed

27 Lunch & Dinner Yoga @ 10 am

28 Lunch & Dinner 29 Lunch 30 Lunch JULY 1 Lunch & Dinner

2 Club Closed through Monday, July 4th