Art project revives Cairo's history with bears
By Colin DeVries
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
CAIRO — There are still traces of the grandeur brought by the age of the railroad, but it’s seemingly few and far-between these days.
This year’s third annual Bear and Butterflies public art project hopes to revive that history in the Cairo community, presenting it in a way both creative and interactive.
Claudia Zucker, co-chair of the Bear and Butterflies committee, said this year’s theme highlights the time period between 1865 and 1910.
“Every year we’re doing another period in Cairo’s history,” she said during the Bears and Butterflies Artist and Sponsor Reception 2011. This year’s theme is titled America’s First Vacation Land.
In the lobby of the National Bank of Coxsackie on Sunday, bear designers and the area businesses sponsoring them came together to discuss themes and explore the significance of that historic period.
Thirty-two bears were sponsored Sunday, said Bill Domack, co-chair of the Bears and Butterflies committee, and 10 more were planned as part of an educational youth project with Cairo-Durham Central School District.
A glimpse inside the history featured in this year’s theme and “quest” — a bear scavenger hunt designed to encourage travel around the Cairo community — was provided by town historian Robert Uzzilia.
Trivia for this year’s scavenger hunt will relate to local history, with hidden symbols painted into each fiberglass bear unlocking the answers.
To promote understanding of the theme, Uzzilia presented photographs and a collection of rare postcards that provided a colorful vision into Cairo’s past.
In 1885, Uzzilia said, the Catskill Mountain Railroad extended service to Cairo and for decades drew in vacationers by the trainload.
Tourists had visited Cairo’s many hotels and boarding houses while enjoying sites like the old Greene County Fairgrounds — now vacant land along Old Route 23 — which featured harness and thoroughbred horse racing.
But in the years prior to the rail’s expansion into the community and before the explosion of a tourism-based economy in Cairo, Uzzilia said private ranches and estates had started drawing people in.
Uzzilia said the legendary hotels of old — the Columbian (now Bavarian Manor), Winter Clove, Glen Falls House — came from humble roots: the old farmsteads and manors throughout Cairo had begun taking on boarders in the latter half of the 19th century, many of whom were spillover from the nearby Catskill Mountain House.
Those bucolic boarding houses soon evolved into grandiose luxury in some cases, eventually inspiring the railroad to steam into Cairo Junction, trumping area stagecoach companies.
In capturing the essence of the period, artist Cyndi Kropp designed a train engineer bear, complete with denim overalls, bandana, mustache, Catskill Mountain Railroad timetable and engineer’s cap.
The Bank of Greene County chose to sponsor the bear. A fitting match as the bank’s Main Street branch was designed after the original Cairo train station.
“It will be just perfect,” said Kathy Proper, of the Bank of Greene County, as she met with Kropp for the first time Sunday.
Many of the bears popped with color and imagination. Some even adopting recent changes in our cultural makeup.
Take, for example, the Zodiac bear designed by young artist Mark Anthony Baynard.
His bear, representing the 12 signs of astrology’s zodiac amidst a dark field of stars with a colorful Earth globe in its center, features a new development in astrology: the recent announcement of a 13th zodiac sign made earlier this month by a Minnesota astronomer. Ophiuchus, the sign of the serpent holder, has been centered on the bear’s chest — intentionally separated from the original 12 signs.
“I’m a big fan of the zodiac and the story behind it,” Baynard said. “It’s the mystery of space. There’s always something new.”
Whether or not you believe in the value of astrology, the rich history of Cairo and the creativity being presented in this year’s Bear and Butterflies public art project cannot be denied.
This year’s raffle bear will be designed by local artist Don Boutin and focus on the history of the Greene County Fairgrounds’ horse racing track. Modeled after a 1908 gambler, the bear, “Off to the Races,” will wear a suit and bowler cap, grip some greenbacks and stand amidst the torn tickets of a once hopeful bettor.
A second round of bears will be presented in February.
The Butterfly Ball will be held on May 14, and the bears will be installed May 23 through 27.
Each Thursday through June and September a Meet the Artist Night will be featured in Cairo.
The Bear A “Fair” Gala and Auction will be held on Oct. 1.
This year’s third annual Bear and Butterflies public art project hopes to revive that history in the Cairo community, presenting it in a way both creative and interactive.
Claudia Zucker, co-chair of the Bear and Butterflies committee, said this year’s theme highlights the time period between 1865 and 1910.
“Every year we’re doing another period in Cairo’s history,” she said during the Bears and Butterflies Artist and Sponsor Reception 2011. This year’s theme is titled America’s First Vacation Land.
In the lobby of the National Bank of Coxsackie on Sunday, bear designers and the area businesses sponsoring them came together to discuss themes and explore the significance of that historic period.
Thirty-two bears were sponsored Sunday, said Bill Domack, co-chair of the Bears and Butterflies committee, and 10 more were planned as part of an educational youth project with Cairo-Durham Central School District.
A glimpse inside the history featured in this year’s theme and “quest” — a bear scavenger hunt designed to encourage travel around the Cairo community — was provided by town historian Robert Uzzilia.
Trivia for this year’s scavenger hunt will relate to local history, with hidden symbols painted into each fiberglass bear unlocking the answers.
To promote understanding of the theme, Uzzilia presented photographs and a collection of rare postcards that provided a colorful vision into Cairo’s past.
In 1885, Uzzilia said, the Catskill Mountain Railroad extended service to Cairo and for decades drew in vacationers by the trainload.
Tourists had visited Cairo’s many hotels and boarding houses while enjoying sites like the old Greene County Fairgrounds — now vacant land along Old Route 23 — which featured harness and thoroughbred horse racing.
But in the years prior to the rail’s expansion into the community and before the explosion of a tourism-based economy in Cairo, Uzzilia said private ranches and estates had started drawing people in.
Uzzilia said the legendary hotels of old — the Columbian (now Bavarian Manor), Winter Clove, Glen Falls House — came from humble roots: the old farmsteads and manors throughout Cairo had begun taking on boarders in the latter half of the 19th century, many of whom were spillover from the nearby Catskill Mountain House.
Those bucolic boarding houses soon evolved into grandiose luxury in some cases, eventually inspiring the railroad to steam into Cairo Junction, trumping area stagecoach companies.
In capturing the essence of the period, artist Cyndi Kropp designed a train engineer bear, complete with denim overalls, bandana, mustache, Catskill Mountain Railroad timetable and engineer’s cap.
The Bank of Greene County chose to sponsor the bear. A fitting match as the bank’s Main Street branch was designed after the original Cairo train station.
“It will be just perfect,” said Kathy Proper, of the Bank of Greene County, as she met with Kropp for the first time Sunday.
Many of the bears popped with color and imagination. Some even adopting recent changes in our cultural makeup.
Take, for example, the Zodiac bear designed by young artist Mark Anthony Baynard.
His bear, representing the 12 signs of astrology’s zodiac amidst a dark field of stars with a colorful Earth globe in its center, features a new development in astrology: the recent announcement of a 13th zodiac sign made earlier this month by a Minnesota astronomer. Ophiuchus, the sign of the serpent holder, has been centered on the bear’s chest — intentionally separated from the original 12 signs.
“I’m a big fan of the zodiac and the story behind it,” Baynard said. “It’s the mystery of space. There’s always something new.”
Whether or not you believe in the value of astrology, the rich history of Cairo and the creativity being presented in this year’s Bear and Butterflies public art project cannot be denied.
This year’s raffle bear will be designed by local artist Don Boutin and focus on the history of the Greene County Fairgrounds’ horse racing track. Modeled after a 1908 gambler, the bear, “Off to the Races,” will wear a suit and bowler cap, grip some greenbacks and stand amidst the torn tickets of a once hopeful bettor.
A second round of bears will be presented in February.
The Butterfly Ball will be held on May 14, and the bears will be installed May 23 through 27.
Each Thursday through June and September a Meet the Artist Night will be featured in Cairo.
The Bear A “Fair” Gala and Auction will be held on Oct. 1.
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