Sundown on the Backstretch

Dusk on the Backstretch at Saratoga 

Race Course where 

thousands of track workers - many separated from their families for the summer season - gather to talk, play games of soccer, or just enjoy some down time.

A Day at The Races

 

Forty-one year old John Velazquez on the day he secured victory number 694 at Saratoga, to become the historic racecourse’s all-time leading rider.

John Velazquez secured the title as the track's all-time leading rider.

The 41-year-old jockey registered victory number 694 - See more at: http://www.saratogawire.com/article/1345/130727-saratoga-race-course-jim-dandy-stakes/#sthash.53ypiXFB.dpuf

John Velazquez secured the title as the track's all-time leading rider.

The 41-year-old jockey registered victory number 694 - See more at: http://www.saratogawire.com/article/1345/130727-saratoga-race-course-jim-dandy-stakes/#sthash.53ypiXFB.dpuf

Honoring Solomon Northup

He was 32 years old, with a wife and three children on the March morning in 1841 that he disappeared. Now, everyone will know his story.

“We read it and thought, my gosh this story is unbelievable,” said Dede Gardner , president of  Plan B Entertainment, producer of the film “12 Years A Slave,” which is based on the memoir by Solomon Northup. 

Lupita Nyong’o

Northup lived in Saratoga for seven years, drove a hack for hire up and down Broadway, and worked during the summer at the busy Saratoga hotels. He brought in some extra money playing his violin. His wife Anne, whom he wed on Christmas Day in 1829, worked as a cook.

“I was walking about the village of Saratoga Springs, thinking about where I might obtain some present employment,” writes Northup in his memoir, “on the corner of Congress Street and Broadway near the tavern ... still kept by Mr. (C.B.) Moon.”  Cary B. Moon would later open a lake house and hire as his head cook George Speck Crumb, who is credited as inventing the potato chip.

On that morning in March 1841, as Northup walked down Congress Street, two men approached and offered to take him to New York City, where they promised to pay him $1 for each day of service plus $3 per show playing his violin. Once lured from Saratoga, Northup – a free black man living in the north – was sold into slavery and taken south where he would spend the next 12 years.

“I passed the days and nights. I was heart sick and discouraged,” he wrote. “Thoughts of my family, of my wife and children, continually occupied my mind. When sleep overpowered me I dreamed of them – dreamed I was again in Saratoga – that I could see their faces, and hear their voices calling me.”

A marker commemorating Northup stands outside the Saratoga Visitors Center on the corner of Congress Street and Broadway. Solomon Northup Day was founded in 1999 by Renee Moore to honor and bring awareness to the life of the man. 

On July 13, more than 150 people came together to honor Northup, including 40 descendants of Northup and his wife Ann Hampton Northup, and members of the film crew of “12 Years A Slave” -   a movie slated for an October release which was based on the memoir of Solomon Northup, a free black man who was lured from Saratoga Springs and sold into slavery in the south. 

“We had this responsibility to bring these people back to life for the wider world to see,” said Lupita Nyong’o, who plays the role of a slave girl on a plantation and the fastest cotton-picker in the bayou in the film. “I think I speak for the entire cast when I say we felt that we were part of something huge, something meaningful, something powerful, and something so necessary.” 

“It is from his story I get my strength for whatever it is I’m going through,” said Vera Williams, a fifth generation descendant of Solomon Northup.Williams made the journey to Saratoga Springs from Maryland. On her way she stopped at the airport to pick up Northup descendant Eileen Jackson, who made the cross-country trip from California.

Members of the film’s crew made the cross-country trip as well, bringing with them a 2-1/2 minute-long trailer and an 8-minute “featurette” that included clips from the full-length movie and interviews with some members of the film community involved in the making of the movie.

“The book is a testament to Solomon Northup and also a testament to the history about what was going on with slavery at that time,” said the film’s director Steve McQueen, whose own ancestors were slaves from the Caribbean.  “Within film it was never given the platform it deserves as an important historical event – especially in the United States – (and) I wanted to make a movie about it.”

The program included family recollections presented by Northup’s descendants, period music, guest speakers and historians. Musicians Dan Hubbs, Frank Orsini, and Henrique Prince performed “Lonely River,” a song referenced in the book by Northup, who played the violin. Culinary historian Tonya Hopkins delivered a presentation on the life of Ann Hampton Northup, who was a cook, and historical timelines were provided regarding The Underground Railroad, black migration, and 19th century slavery in America.

“When I got the opportunity to play this part, it never occurred to me that I might be with the descendants of this great man,”  Nyong’o said. Northup’s story can provide important lessons, she added.  “We can remember that time and learn from it - that we can know how cruel man can be - and we can also recognize that the instinct for freedom is universal.” 

 “We feel an enormous debt to the material, and such a sense of gratitude that it exists,” said Gardner, adding that the company was devoted to producing a film about slavery in America that was unflinching and didn’t   pull any punches. “It’s not a movie made for comfort – nor should it be.”

The Hollywood-based film production company is owned by Brad Pitt, who is also cast in the movie about Northup. Pitt, Gardner said, is “enormously proud of the film.” 

-- Thomas Dimopoulos

He was 32 years old, with a wife and three children on the March morning in 1841 that he disappeared. Now, everyone will know his story.

“We read it and thought, my gosh this story is unbelievable,” said Dede Gardner , president of  Plan B Entertainment, producer of the film “12 Years A Slave,” which is based on the memoir by Solomon Northup.

Northup lived in Saratoga for seven years, drove a hack for hire up and down Broadway, and worked during the summer at the busy Saratoga hotels. He brought in some extra money playing his violin. His wife Anne, whom he wed on Christmas Day in 1829, worked as a cook.

“I was walking about the village of Saratoga Springs, thinking about where I might obtain some present employment,” writes Northup in his memoir, “on the corner of Congress Street and Broadway near the tavern ... still kept by Mr. (C.B.) Moon.”  Cary B. Moon would later open a lake house and hire as his head cook George Speck Crumb, who is credited as inventing the potato chip.

On that morning in March 1841, as Northup walked down Congress Street, two men approached and offered to take him to New York City, where they promised to pay him $1 for each day of service plus $3 per show playing his violin. Once lured from Saratoga, Northup – a free black man living in the north – was sold into slavery and taken south where he would spend the next 12 years.

“I passed the days and nights. I was heart sick and discouraged,” he wrote. “Thoughts of my family, of my wife and children, continually occupied my mind. When sleep overpowered me I dreamed of them – dreamed I was again in Saratoga – that I could see their faces, and hear their voices calling me.”

A marker commemorating Northup stands outside the Saratoga Visitors Center on the corner of Congress Street and Broadway. Solomon Northup Day was founded in 1999 by Renee Moore to honor and bring awareness to the life of the man.  This year’s gathering will be staged from noon to 4pm Saturday at Filene Hall, on the campus of Skidmore College, where more than 40 descendants of Northup and his wife Ann Hampton Northup, are expected to attend the ceremony.

The new full -length feature film, which will be released in October, does not include Northup’s time in Saratoga. Nonetheless, Saturday’s event will include brief “featurettes” related to the film.

“We feel an enormous debt to the material, and such a sense of gratitude that it exists,” said Gardner, adding that the company was devoted to producing a film about slavery in America that was unflinching and didn’t pull any punches. “It’s not a movie made for comfort – nor should it be.”

The Hollywood-based film production company is owned by Brad Pitt, who is also cast in the movie about Northup. Pitt, Gardner said, is “enormously proud of the film.” - See more at: http://www.saratogawire.com/article/1325/130719-solomon-northup-movie-featurette-skidmore/#sthash.J4CkzsBr.dpuf

One hundred and sixty years after Solomon Northup published his memoir, the darkest crevice of American history is being illuminated by the bright lights of Hollywood. On Saturday afternoon, Skidmore College was Ground Zero.

“We had this responsibility to bring these people back to life for the wider world to see,” said Lupita Nyong’o, who plays the role of a slave girl on a plantation and the fastest cotton-picker in the bayou in the film “12 Years A Slave.” The movie is based on the memoir of Solomon Northup, a free black man who was lured from Saratoga Springs and sold into slavery in the south.

“I think I speak for the entire cast when I say we felt that we were part of something huge, something meaningful, something powerful, and something so necessary,”  Nyong’o said during Saratoga’s 15th annual staging of Solomon Northup Day. The event was founded by Renee Moore. - See more at: http://www.saratogawire.com/article/1330/130721-solomon-northup-day-skidmore-college/#sthash.WXDp9xH3.dpuf

One hundred and sixty years after Solomon Northup published his memoir, the darkest crevice of American history is being illuminated by the bright lights of Hollywood. On Saturday afternoon, Skidmore College was Ground Zero.

“We had this responsibility to bring these people back to life for the wider world to see,” said Lupita Nyong’o, who plays the role of a slave girl on a plantation and the fastest cotton-picker in the bayou in the film “12 Years A Slave.” The movie is based on the memoir of Solomon Northup, a free black man who was lured from Saratoga Springs and sold into slavery in the south.

“I think I speak for the entire cast when I say we felt that we were part of something huge, something meaningful, something powerful, and something so necessary,”  Nyong’o said during Saratoga’s 15th annual staging of Solomon Northup Day. The event was founded by Renee Moore.
- See more at: http://www.saratogawire.com/article/1330/130721-solomon-northup-day-skidmore-college/#sthash.WXDp9xH3.dpuf

Monkeying around with Hendrix in the Summer of Love

Morning memories, summer of 1967.

Bobby Dick and his band The Sundowners performed at Forest Hills Stadium in July with Jimi Hendrix - who was not yet known across mainstream America - and The Monkees, who had the second top-selling album in the country, behind The Beatles' " Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," which was released a month earlier. 

 “The Monkees were being maligned at the time for being a bubble-gum group,” says  Dick, a resident of Saratoga County, and who can be found performing across the region.   "They thought they would get more credibility by having someone like Jimi Hendrix playing with them. But when Jimi came on stage and started playing the fans just wanted their Davey Jones. They started chanting , 'We Want the Monkees! We Want the Monkees!’

 "Well, Hendrix looked right at them and gave them the finger. Then he threw his Stratocaster into the audience,” Dick says. “Somebody must have caught it. It would be interesting to know what ever happened to that guitar.”