The Westchester County Board of Legislators recently honored Cortlandt Manor resident James Taylor for Black History Month. Some may know Mr. Taylor as a member of Historic Hudson Valley's African American Advisory Board. Others will recognize him from his work telling the story of slavery in the colonial Hudson Valley at Philipsburg Manor, where he demonstrates coopering (barrel making), as shown in the image above. 

A retired teacher and captain of the New York Guard, Mr. Taylor continues his devotion to teaching, now through the hands-on education offered at Philipsburg Manor. The County Board honored Mr. Taylor at its Feb. 1 meeting.

Congrats, Jim!  You deserve it.

For a story about the growing trend of historic house museums emphasizing the stories of slaves and servants, Marketplace reporter Ashley Milne-Tyte recently visited Philipsburg Manor and Van Cortlandt and spoke with our interpreters and our curator, Kate Johnson.

The story aired nationally during the Aug. 7 edition of Marketplace. You can read the transcript or take a listen to this compelling piece online.

You wouldn't know it from the rain today and yesterday, but the weather @ Sheep-to-Shawl on Saturday and Sunday was pretty stellar. Big crowds and big sunshine. Here's a couple of photographic examples of the festivities, courtesy of image guru Bryan Haeffele.

If you took some shots and they exist on the Web, leave a comment and a link below.

Do you really need 20 reasons to come to Sheep-to-Shawl at Philipsburg Manor this weekend? Well, we've got them. Specifically, 19 newborn lambs - including a set of rare triplets! - and a baby calf named Marigold.

The triplets and Marigold (and mother cow Maebell) are on display in these wonderful images taken by Maeve Montalvo, a farmer at Philipsburg Manor.

I'm pretty sure the triplets don't yet have names. Any suggestions?

Sheep-to-Shawl takes place Saturday and Sunday from 10-6. Click here for a schedule of events.

Oh, and shhhhh, don't tell anyone, BUT, if you use the promo code BAA when you buy tickets online, you'll get $3 off kids' tickets. That's a 50% savings. That's a recession buster, buster.

Thom Thacker, site director at Philipsburg Manor, is participating in Sunday's Hudson River Swim for Life, helping to raise money to fight blood cancers.

The three-mile Hudson River Swim For Life begins in Nyack and ends at Kingsland Park in Sleepy Hollow.

Besides raising awareness of the Hudson River and promoting swimming as a (literally) cool way to exercise, the Swim for Life most importantly raises dough for the ongoing work of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The Society focuses its efforts on finding cures for leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, and Hodgkin's disease and to improve the quality of life for patients and their families.

A round of applause for Thom's efforts!