Cayuga Launching Hometown History Series at Fulton Campus

FULTON – Starting this fall, a new speaker series at Cayuga Community College will highlight the fascinating and unique chapters of Oswego County’s history, starting with the area’s legendary role in welcoming refugees fleeing the Holocaust during World War II.

Cayuga’s new Hometown History Series will feature presentations spotlighting significant events and characters from Oswego County, and the roles they played in shaping history. The presentations are free and open to the public, and will be held on Cayuga’s Fulton Campus.

“The story of Oswego County is filled with significant moments and notable figures, and our Hometown History Series is dedicated to recognizing our community’s extraordinary contributions,” said Cayuga Associate Vice President and Dean of the Fulton Campus Keiko Kimura. “We’re eager to remember and relive some of the greatest moments in Oswego County’s history, and we look forward to welcoming our community to these presentations.”

The series will open on Sept. 17 with an in-depth presentation by local historian Rev. George DeMass about the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter in Oswego, where 982 refugees were housed in 1944 after fleeing Nazi oppression in Europe. They were the only refugees accepted by the United States during World War II.

The story of the refugees’ flight from Europe, and the deep ties they formed in Oswego County, is commemorated in the Safe Haven Holocaust Refugee Shelter Museum. This summer the museum marked the 75th anniversary of the refugees’ arrival in Oswego.

DeMass is the Oswego Town Historian and a past president of the Safe Haven Holocaust Refugee Shelter Museum. His presentation is scheduled for 11 a.m. to noon on Sept. 17.

On Oct. 22, shipwreck enthusiast Jim Kennard will discuss his underwater explorations and some of his most historic discoveries in a presentation entitled “Shipwrecks of Lake Ontario.” The presentation is scheduled for 2-3 p.m.

Kennard has spent more than five decades researching and exploring shipwrecks in Lake Ontario, and discovered two of the most historically significant shipwrecks in the Great Lakes: the British warship HMS Ontario, which sank in 1780, and the sloop Washington, which was lost in 1803.

Kennard, an electrical engineer, uses a homemade side-scan sonar to scour the lake bottom for evidence of shipwrecks. His presentation will feature images and video of these ships to help tell the story of how the vessels sank, and how he and his team rediscovered them.

All presentations in the series are free, and no registration is required. Additional engagements will also be scheduled for the spring, with topics and dates still being determined.

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