SUNY Plattsburgh Lecturer to Walk "Corridor of Amity" in Honor of Quadricentennial

PLATTSBURGH, NY (02/04/2009)(readMedia)-- This May, Kevin Dann, a lecturer in the history department at SUNY Plattsburgh, will embark on a quest to gather a history of peace, friendship and courage as he walks what he has dubbed the "Corridor of Amity."

His 45-day trek from Montreal to Manhattan will take him through the Richelieu, Champlain and Hudson Valleys in honor of the Champlain Quadricentennial. These areas are well-known for historic battles, but Dann is setting out to capture an alternative history as he travels.

Dann points to an often untold history, one of peace and friendship.

"Amity was the dream of Samuel de Champlain and his backer Henry IV when Champlain set out to explore North America, hopeful that in this new land, there might unfold a community of peace and concord, unlike their own war-torn nation," Dann said. He added that Henry Hudson also had thoughts of Amity as he sailed past the island that later became known as Manhattan.

To gather these stories, Dann will stop at schools, libraries and civic organizations and work with area residents to add at least one historic site or individual to the map he is creating.

This historic map will serve as an alternative to those indicating battle locations. It will mark where courageous and creative acts of dissent against economic, racial, social and political violence took place. It will highlight individuals like Cyrus Pringle, a Charlotte, Vt., farmer who refused service during the Civil War and who, as a result, was tortured in a prison camp until President Abraham Lincoln intervened to have him released. It will also indicate locations like the Dannemora prison, where, in the 1930s, a Catholic priest triumphed over all odds to build the St. Dismas church as a work program for the prisoners.

"One of my biggest hopes is to mark sites like Crown Point and Ticonderoga not as the site of forts and battles, but for some perhaps small but significant story of peacemaking - crazy, idiosyncratic tales of overcoming old animosities," said Dann.

"By joyfully, mindfully walking the length of these valleys, I hope to knit them together in my heart and also knit together the residents of these regions who have in their heart a desire for new stories, new maps, new dreams. Instead of astrolabe and arquebus, I will be packing stories of amity," Dann said.

Dann's route will include the following stops:

• Saturday, May 16, Notre Dame de Bonsecours, Montreal.

• Sunday, May 17, St. Lambert and Longeuil, Quebec.

• Monday, May 18, Chambly, Quebec.

• Tuesday, May 19, St. Jean, Quebec.

• Wednesday, May 20, Ile aux Noix, Quebec.

• Thursday, May 21, Lacolle, Quebec.

• Friday, May 22, Champlain, N.Y.

• Saturday, May 23, Point au Roche, N.Y.

• Sunday, May 24, Plattsburgh, N.Y.

• Monday, May 25, Port Kent, N.Y.

• Tuesday, May 26, Winooski and Burlington, Vt.

• Wednesday, May 27, Charlotte, Vt.

• Thursday, May 28, Vergennes, Vt.

• Friday, May 29, Chimney Point Historic Site, Vt.

• Saturday, May 30, Crown Point Historic Site, N.Y.

• Sunday, May 31, Fort Ticonderoga, N.Y.

• Monday, June 1, Orwell and Benson, Vt.

• Tuesday, June 2, Fair Haven, Vt.

• Wednesday, June 3, Poultney, Vt.

• Thursday, June 4, Whitehall, N.Y.

• Friday, June 5, Fort Ann, N.Y.

• Saturday, June 6, Hudson Falls, N.Y.

• Sunday, June 7, Schuylerville, N.Y.

• Monday, June 8, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

• Tuesday, June 9, Mechanicville, N.Y.

• Wednesday, June 10, Cohoes, N.Y.

• Thursday, June 11, Albany, N.Y.

• Friday, June 12, Albany and Rensellaer, N.Y.

• Saturday, June 13, Castleton-on-Hudson, N.Y.

• Sunday, June 14, New Baltimore, N.Y.

• Monday, June 15, Coxsackie, N.Y.

• Tuesday, June 16, Catskill, N.Y.

• Wednesday, June 17, Hudson, N.Y.

• Thursday, June 18, Germantown, N.Y.

• Friday, June 19, Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.

• Saturday, June 20, Rhinebeck, N.Y.

• Sunday, June 21, Hyde Park, N.Y.

• Monday, June 22, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

• Tuesday, June 23, Wappingers Falls, N.Y.

• Wednesday, June 24, Beacon, N.Y.

• Thursday, June 25, Newburgh, N.Y.

• Friday, June 26, Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y.

• Saturday, June 27, Highland Falls, N.Y.

• Sunday, June 28, Stony Point, N.Y.

• Monday, June 20, South Nyack, N.Y.

• Tuesday, June 30, Fort Lee, N.J.

• Wednesday July 1, Manhattan, N.Y.

• Thursday July 2, Burlington, Vt. to give talk at Champlain College.