The Fonda Blog

New sign to be installed in the spring:

Colonie Historic Resource Marker constructed by the Catskill Casting Company of N.Y.

Update after restoration completed:

Fonda Cemetery after restoration - Graves from 1814 to 1863

Franklin, Kevin wrote: (Oct 25, 2009)
Latham Scout Troop 279 has finished (with exception of seeding) the restoration of the Fonda-Lansing Cemetery on Rt. 9 in Colonie.  This was an extensive project taking up every weekend with the exception of one beginning in the last week of August and finishing up on October 18th.   The information I received is that this cemetery was originally located a short distance north of this spot in what is now the curb lane of Rt. 9 north across from Crescent Terrace Road.  When the State of New York widened Rt. 9 back in the 1930’s (probably as a W.P.A. project) the cemetery was moved to its present location and was originally surrounded by triangular shaped concrete posts reinforced with steel rod, commonly seen along the nation’s highways prior to 1950 when they were gradually replaced with wire, and later steel guiderails.
At some point in time during the early 1980’s a wooden ranch type fence replaced the deteriorated concrete posts.  This old wooden fence, along with several unwanted trees and brush were removed and a high spot consisting of plowed stones and dirt from snow removal of an adjacent property was cut down by the State D.O.T.   Some of the largest and oldest gravestones from this site were found to be broken into three pieces when excavated from the ground with the total gravestone measuring in excess of six feet long.  These were repaired to the best of our ability and re-set into their original positions as found.

Fonda Cemetery in Colonie - Rt. 9 at Crescent Terrace Rd

We located pieces of two gravestones broken into many pieces with still many more missing (possibly from the first cemetery move of the 1930’s) and we were not able to put these together.
The new fence is constructed of pressure treated lumber and stained white.   A large piece of blue stone found on the property was used as a threshold at the entrance to the cemetery itself.  I am in the process of ordering a historic marker sign for this site.  The Town of Colonie Historical Society, and Colonie Youth Court will do what we can with our limited finances and time to keep this site presentable.  I appreciate your interest and placing the photos on the Fonda family blog site.  I’ll send you additional photos in another e-mail minus text.
Kindest Regards, Kevin Franklin – Historian, Town of Colonie

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Kevin, Thanks very much for the update.  From the latest photos and from what I saw a couple months ago, the cemetery restoration looks wonderful.  The Latham Scout Troup is to be commended for a great job on this restoration project.  I also appreciate your personal involvement in organizing and communicating on the project execution.
On behalf of the extended Fonda Family, the effort is truly appreciated and I’m sure the souls of those interred at the site are eternally grateful.  I also commend The Town of Colonie Historical Society and Colonie Youth Court for organizing an on-going upkeep effort.  The historical marker will be a nice finishing touch.
I will also keep track of the site from my standpoint as the Fonda Family historian and genealogist.  I’ll update the posting on the Fonda Blog which will include the latest photos and these notes.
Let me know if any further information comes to light regarding the inscriptions.  You mentioned some of the stones were broken into too many pieces to be repaired… I assume these were placed within the graveyard somewhere?  Best Regards, Mark

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Mark: Yes, the broken stones will not be discarded, but placed in a corner of the cemetery.  Thanks for putting the photos and info on the Fonda Family Blog.  I intend to do a newsletter in the near future covering the Fonda family history here in Colonie and the restoration of the cemetery site.  Please look me up the next time you visit from the west coast.
Thanks, Kevin Franklin Cc: Paula Mahan, Supervisor, Town Board, Bebe Morehead, President Colonie Historical Soceity, Violet Colydas, Colonie Youth Court, Brian Burkhard, Latham Scout Troop 279

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Kevin – I was back east last month and actually had a chance to stop by this cemetery.  There was much work still to be done, but I was pleased with the progress.  Maybe by now, work is nearly complete?
In the meantime, I have tried to assemble a list of the gravestones and match them to the genealogy information I have.  I put up a listing on Find-A-Grave.com for the cemetery here.  I show 11 interments, although I know there are a few more which haven’t yet been identified.  I attached the headstone and footstone images which appear to match to each memorial listing… you may want to cross-check with your records.
This is a list of the names and links, matched up to the numbering provided on the listing by R. Arthur Johnson:

The VSV initials are probably for Van Santvoord, whom several of the Fonda’s married in the later generations.  More research is needed to sort out who CEB and IFVSV are.  I will look into my sources as time permits.

Mark

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Early stages of restoration project by the Historical Society of Colonie.  Cemetery Plot in outskirts of Colonie (near Albany). View Map

[Show as slideshow]

Dear Mark: Thanks for the information. The Fonda family spirits must be watching us, or prompted you to contact me. I will be restoring the old Fonda Family Cemetery located here in Colonie on Rt. 9 beginning in early August. This cemetery site was documented back in 1977 by the late R. Arthur Johnson, whose photos of some of the oldest gravestones in this cemetery I’ve attached here for you. They were probably made and crudely chiseled using local stones. The site was cleared of brush and restored by local boy scouts many years ago, but it’s in need of another refurbishment.
Do you live near the Colonie area? Have you seen this cemetery site? I would be happy to send you other information that Mr. Johnson gathered about early Fonda life here in Colonie. I have several other photos of the site taken in the 1970’s plus research from Johnson you could post on your web page. Currently; the site has an old split rail fence that kids from Colonie Youth Court (Nationally recognized program, see link) paint and they pull weeds, etc. from the site. But the fence is all rotted and in need of replacement and the area has become overgrown and the stones tilted and some broken.
It is my goal to repair gravestones, replace the fence, do landscaping, including removal of unwanted trees & brush, and to place a historic marker sign at this site which is highly visible along Rt. 9. This will be a collaborative effort between State D.O.T., a local neighbor, the Historical Society of Colonie, this office, and the Latham Boy Scout troop as an Eagle Scout project for one of their Scouts. It will look nice when finished.
Would you be interested in making some kind of a small donation toward restoration of this cemetery? Every dollar would help. If you can’t, that’s understandable too.
Kevin Franklin, Historian – Town of Colonie, N.Y. – 518-782-2593

written by admin \\ tags: Albany Co., Cemeteries, Fonda Family, Landmarks

Exhibits — Lorenzo Fonda: A Retrospective

Embassy of Italy - Washington DC - June 2007

(a past event… for the archives) The Embassy of Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute are cosponsoring an exhibition of artwork entitled “Lorenzo Fonda. A Retrospective.” The exhibit will be on display at the Italian Embassy until July 6, 2007. Maestro Fonda was born in Piran, Istria, in the former Yugoslavia in 1947. His family later moved to Trieste. He received a doctoral degree in medicine and surgery in 1976. His first personal show took place at the gallery “La Luna” in Perugia in 1969.

In 1984 Fonda had his first show in the United States at Andreas Galleries, in Washington D.C. His large canvas work “Trittico per la Pace” (1985) was presented to the town of Assisi, and is now permanently exhibited in the Sala della Conciliazione in Assisi’s Town Hall. In 1989, on the occasion of the USA / USSR Summit “Green Glasnost,” organized by actor Robert Redford, in Sundance, Utah, a large work of his became the symbol of that historical encounter. The work is now on display at the Institute for Resource Management. One of Fonda’s works is part of the permanent collection of the Michetti Museum in Francavilla al Mare, Italy. He has worked as set designer for Shakespeare in Jazz, with the direction of Giorgio Albertazzi, and, most recently, for the Teatro dell’Opera of Rome’s production of Richard Strauss Salomé.

written by admin \\ tags: Achievements, Art, Events

Raiders’ return never was assumed

East Peoria, IL – There was Julie Fonda on Thursday morning, driving the Glenbard South team bus on a familiar path to East Peoria.

Glenbard South's Danielle Chitkowski (left) gets some instructions from coach Julie Fonda in the bottom of the 7th inning during the Class 3A semifinal against Chatham at East Peoria Thursday.

Boy, has it been an interesting ride back.

Glenbard South, the lone team returning to the state softball tournament in either Class 3A or 4A, will play Chatham Glenwood today in a noon 3A semifinal at EastsideCentre.

The Raiders (24-12) lost five starters, including ace pitcher and 2008 Daily Herald All-Area captain Jill Trzaska, off last year’s third-place team. They started the season 1-8 but have been a different team since a 5-4 extra-inning win over Naperville Central on April 11.

Keying the Raiders’ resurgence are sophomore shortstop Jenny Wittenberg, senior center fielder Lauren Podgorski and freshman second baseman Brianna Meath. Sophomore pitcher Jess Wilkes has shut out two of the Raiders’ last three playoff opponents.

“That’s the goal, is to be playing your best at state tournament time,” Fonda said. “If you can play your best at the end, you have a chance of going somewhere.”

In an eerie parallel Chatham Glenwood (27-8) has not lost since an 8-0 defeat to Edwardsville, which will play Naperville Central today, on May 8. In supersectional Chatham Glenwood upset Mattoon, which beat Glenbard South in last year’s Class 3A semifinal and was ranked No. 1 in the latest Illinois Softball Coaches Association poll.

Leading the attack for Chatham Glenwood is senior catcher Kaitlyn England, hitting .416 with 17 extra-base hits and 39 RBI.

Fonda’s knowledge of her opponent is limited – but the same went for the Raiders’ supersectional opponent, Trinity.

“We’ll show up and play our game,” she said. “That’s the best we can do. We’ve been good at adjusting as the games go along.”

In the first semifinal Burlington Central (25-5) will play Oak Forest (29-4), which lost to Glenbard South in supersectionals last year.

Fonda is hopeful her group can draw on the experience of last year, both the highs and lows. Glenbard South lost a 5-0 lead in a semifinal loss to Mattoon, then rallied to beat Marengo in eight innings in a thrilling third-place game.

“That gives us an advantage,” Fonda said. “They know what the field looks like down here, and they know what it feels like to win and lose down here. I feel like that experience is definitely going to help us.”

written by admin \\ tags: News, Sports

The pre-club: Old Precinct finds a niche

Sometimes one-night stands turn into something more.

Youngstown, OH –  It certainly did for Old Precinct, a new downtown bar.  Manager T.J. Parker says the owner, Mike Fonda, 52, used to run a deli at the Phelps Street location but closed for about a year.

The Old Precinct in Youngstown, Ohio

Fast forward to February 2009, and Fonda asked Parker, 24, and his friends, Patrick Bokesch and Michael Howley, to open the bar up for one-night for the Kelly Pavlik fight. It went so well that Old Precinct is now open every Friday and Saturday night.

Fonda, a 17-year veteran of the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Department, says Old Precinct benefits from the increasing number of people coming to downtown Youngstown. “Downtown is becoming more of a destination itself,” he says. Parker says they’ve tried to keep Old Precinct “laid-back” and “chill.” He says it’s a place to “pre-game.” “We want it to be a place to go before you go out,” Parker says.

Parker, a teacher at Austintown Middle School, says Old Precinct’s crowd is generally made up of patrons in their 20s and younger 30s. The deli transitioned into Old Precinct with the addition of a bar, a renovated loft area and TVs. At first, it was only open Saturdays nights, but after about a month, Old Precinct was also open on Fridays. There’s a gentlemanly vibe to the building, erected in 1923, due in part to the Youngstown Police theme in the decór.

The music selections lend to the low-key atmosphere: While the sound of dance music echoes from Downtown 36 and the music of local bands emanates from Barleys, Old Precinct sticks to more mellow musicians like Dave Matthews Band, O.A.R. and Jack Johnson. In the future, Parker says Old Precinct will be open Sundays and Mondays for sporting events.

Fonda and Parker say that so far, they’ve relied heavily on word-of-moth advertising, although they plan on some marketing in the future. Additionally, they say oldprecinct.com is in the works. Parker says in addition to the wraps the bar currently serves, they plan on grilling out on the sidewalk more frequently this summer, including cooking on a spit. He says they also plan on a cornhole tournament.

written by admin \\ tags: Achievements, Business, News

Ten Things I Have Learned About The Sea

Ten Things I Have Learned About The Sea

Italy – I crossed the Atlantic one a ship a few years ago and after it I knew I wasn’t the same anymore. Director Lorenzo Fonda has also felt the powerful insights that only the ocean can reveal, and in his beautiful short film “Ten Things I Have Learned About The Sea” he details them.

The visuals are stunning – a sort of transcendent combo of nature and the ships man has built to traverse across it. The industrial symmetry and mechanical serenity in the work of photographer Edward Burtynsky.

I also have to give props to Fonda for saying under the film “it is 104 mb, there’s no low res version and it is 10 minutes long. let it load. if you don’t have patience or don’t know me personally, you might not want to watch this.” The confidence of that speaks for itself.

Click here to watch “Ten Things I Have Learned About The Sea.”

written by admin \\ tags: Art, News