Coalition seeks Dryden Underground Railroad information

A local anti-racism coalition is requesting any information on the history of the Underground Railroad in the Dryden area.

The Dryden Groton Plus Human Dignity Coalition is a group started by Anne Rhodes and Mike Bishop eight years ago. The group aims to be “action-oriented in dismantling racism in all of its forms,” according to a description.

Noted in the description, “[The coalition members] are community residents who promote human dignity for all people. We seek to change the reality that the world, as it is, does not value white people and people of color equally. We are working to build rural communities where all people can feel that they belong and are respected.”

The coalition recently sponsored an Underground Railroad presentation by Professor Gerard Aching at the Southworth Library in the village. Aching is a professor of Africana and Romance studies at Cornell University.

Rhodes said that Aching has maps of Underground Railroad routes that people took, along with the locations of houses that aided enslaved African Americans in their escape to so-called free states and Canada. Aching’s collection also included diary entries from abolitionists who helped out and research about grave sites where abolitionists were buried.

Aching has a website called “Voices on the Underground Railroad.” It highlights Underground Railroad sites in central New York.

“[Aching has] got a lot of information,” Rhodes said. “He tries to bring it to life and show what these people were like — what they were doing and why they were doing it.”

Aside from Aching’s extensive research, the coalition is looking for more information.

Rhodes, who mentioned that about 70 people attended the presentation, said that some of the individuals noted they had additional information about the Underground Railroad in the area.

This prompted the coalition to put out a survey in the hopes of gathering further historical information. The coalition provided information on two historical markers in the Dryden area where abolitionists used to live. The homes, both located in Etna on Lower Creek Road, belonged to married couples William Hanford/Altha C. Todd and Hananiah Wilcox/Nancy Ann Price.

“A lot of people have information and interest in the Underground Railroad. We decided to see what we could find,” Rhodes said. “We’re just putting the word out to help us solve the mystery.”

The coalition’s mission is to tell the story of the Underground Railroad in Dryden.

“The abolitionists who helped the ex-slaves, it was dangerous and kind of secretive. We want to know who led the way to take that risk and [had] the motivation to do so,” Rhodes said. “The abolitionists provide a model. If we can talk about why they cared enough or . . . why they started to get involved, it provides a model for today on what kinds of risk we can take and put ourselves out there for people’s lives.”

Once the coalition gathers more information and research, the group plans to share it with Aching and conduct another presentation. The information will then be preserved by the Dryden Town Historical Society.

Rhodes said that there is currently no submission deadline for the survey, adding that the collection of research could take a year or more.

“It’s about gradually raising awareness of racism in the past and currently in our community,” Rhodes said.

The survey is available on a public Google Docs sheet.

For more information, contact Bishop at drydengrotonplus-humandignity@googlegroups.com.

Dryden Dispatch appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.

In brief:

Rotary Club of Dryden to host annual Mystery Dinner Theater on April 6

The Rotary Club of Dryden, in partnership with the Acme Mystery Co., is holding its annual Mystery Dinner Theater event on April 6.

The event, which is called “A Dangerous Variety,” will be held at the Dryden Veterans Memorial Home   at 2272 Dryden Rd. Doors will open at 5 p.m. The show starts at 6 p.m., and dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets for the event are $50. Proceeds will help support local and community-based organizations, youth exchange, international projects and more.

For more information, go to rotaryclubofdryden.org.

Dryden Senior Citizens to meet March 25

The Dryden Senior Citizens are scheduled to meet March 25 at 11:45 a.m. at the Veterans of Foreign Wars building on Route 13 in the town of Dryden.

Announcements will be followed by a lunch that starts at 12:15 p.m. The meal costs $8 for members and $9 for nonmembers.

Egg hunt in Dryden is March 30

The Town of Dryden Recreation Department has announced that the annual egg hunt is scheduled for March 30 in the village of Dryden.

The event will begin at 10 a.m. and will take place at Montgomery Park on Elm Street. The Dryden Fire Department will bring the Easter Bunny to the egg hunt as a special guest.

More Easter-based programming will be held at Southworth Library in the village at 10:30 a.m.

Village of Dryden announces planning board vacancies

The village of Dryden has three spots open on its planning board.

The village’s planning board members serve five-year terms and receive an annual stipend of $360. Board members are required by New York state to enroll every year in four hours of board training.

Members of the village planning board are appointed by Mayor Mike Murphy and approved by the board of trustees. Anyone interested in joining the planning board can send a letter of interest to villageclerk@Dryden-ny.org or mail it to Mayor Mike Murphy, Village of Dryden, 16 South St., P.O. Box 820, Dryden, NY 13053.