Lawmakers: It’s just common sense, Paine artifacts should stay
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- July
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Westchester County Legislator Jim Maisano wants all of the historical artifacts located at the Thomas Paine National Historical Association to remain in Westchester, New Rochelle if possible.
Maisano, a New Rochelle Republican, and county board members penned a letter to the state asking that the artifacts not be sent to museums outside the county — he recommended Westchester County Historical Society or Iona College as possible stewards.
“It is unthinkable that these historically significant Thomas Paine holdings could be relocated outside of Westchester,” Maisano said. “We requested that the artifacts remain in our county at or near the Thomas Paine Cottage, a historical treasure in New Rochelle.”
This possible relocation is due to a recent decision by the Charities Bureau of the New York State Attorney General’s office, which is causing the Paine holdings to be disbursed to other museums. For 80 years, many of these artifacts have been displayed at the Thomas Paine Cottage in New Rochelle, which is maintained by the Huguenot and New Rochelle Historical Association.
“We must remain vigilant to protect and promote New Rochelle’s great history, and I hope our letter convinces the decision-makers not to remove the artifacts from our area,” he said. “They belong where they will always by accessible to the Thomas Paine Cottage – our famous historic site right here in the Queen City of the Sound.”
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on Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 at 2:29 pm by Gerald McKinstry.
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The three people who visit per year will be ecstatic.
Are you kidding me?...virtually every school in Westchester sends kins on a trip to Thomas Paine Cottage. “No Pain, No Gain” has no idea what he or she is talking about. It is also common to see scouting trips there. The Cottage is an important historical site in Westchester and I am glad Maisano is trying to protect these items and keep them local. As we watch the joke of the State Senate play out, it is nice to see a legislator actually work in a bipartisan to get things done.
Sorry, my last post should have said “kids” go to the Cottage.
By the way, I believe it is very important that Westchester stay committed to remembering its great history.
“Virtually every school in Westchester sends kids to Tom Paine’s cottage…” Right. They come in chains and handcuffs, accompanied by hordes of $125,000 baby sitters who have never read a word of Paine’s, all of them piling out of hundreds of buses belching black smoke – and they bill it all to the punch-drunk, nearly bankrupt homeowners. These kids can’t read a menu, never mind Paine’s painful prose.
ED1: Your post is unclear and not sure what it has to do with the issue. Are you arguing that it is a bad thing to take kids to historic sites? Because that would be kind of dumb.
Would you rather have kids at home on computers and playing video games or visiting a site like Thomas Paine Cottage, so they can learn a little about life in 1800s New Rochelle. That sounds like an awfully positive and useful experience for kids!
I like Jim Maisano, if that’s any help. Sorry, but the rest stands.
No problem, as a New Rochelle resident, I do take some pride that the local historical group has maintained the Cottage and that people continue to visit it. There are some good programs held there. I think kids always benefit from learning about history and visiting historical sites is something that may make them pay attention (rather than classroom). Finally, I’m glad my county legislator got involved here and wonder as usual why our state legislators never do anything.
I’m a fifth-grade teacher in Colorado, and a crucial part of teaching civics is providing students with our primary sources: the founding documents. This is critical in understanding what “We the People” means. Today, like 230 years ago, those documents instill in students the belief that all voices are important. Every one of our citizens are needed to pursue liberty. Futures do not have to be inevitable and “Little voices” can make dramatic impacts on events. That is Paine’s greatest contribution to our country. His pamphlet, Common Sense, spoke to all the voices in the 13 colonies during a time of great indecision. He gave a vast number of citizens a vision of what each could do, 176 days before the Declaration. A belief that power should radiate from the citizens. That message is still foundational for all our students today.
Mark Wilensky,
author of “The Elementary Common Sense of Thomas Paine: An Interactive Adaptation for All Ages”
Perhaps a compromise is in order. Allow the documents out on “field trips” during the summer months, let’s say May-September so the other interested schools and individuals may have a chance to see/study them – then return them to their rightful home, New Rochelle. And Ed1, you really haven’t listened to the kids in Westchester, they do actually have brains like sponges and they pick up on what they are told-they just don’t repeat it in the same verbiage as was presented to them.