Vale Cemetery - Events and Tours

TOURS

Vale Cemetery offers an annual tour schedule from May to October honoring Schenectady's history. Past topics have included Schenectady's colonial history, military history, industrial history, and the symbolism of cemetery icons. Tours utilize buses from Union College and Vale Cememtery's own bus. Watch for the new tour schedule on this website in January 2009. Tours will be held from May-October on the first Sunday of each month. Tours typically begin at 2pm at the caretaker's house at 907 State Street.

The Cemetery also offers special tours for youth and community groups. Please call 518-346-0423 for details and to schedule a tour.

ASSOCIATION FOR GRAVESTONE STUDIES ANNUAL CONFERENCE

The Association for Gravestone Studies will hold its 2009 annual conference on June 24-28 in Schenectady. The conference will be hosted by Union College. Vale Cemetery will host two days of workshios on gravestone restoration and foil impressions. National experts will unearth partially buried gravestones, and repair and rest them. Proper cleaning of monuments will also be demonstrated. The conference headquarters will be at Union College's College Park Hall. The Association last visited Vale Cemetery for its 1992 conference.

PAST 2008 EVENTS

Vale Cemetery hosted a successful series of events in 2008, including tours, road races,and fund raisers. Tours averaged 40 participants. Events included:

2008 TOURS:

May - Scott Haefner - 19th century rural cemetery movement

June - Frank Taorimina - Schenectady's military history from the French & Indian War to World War II

July - Paul Tracy - Colorful stories of Vale

August - Chris Hunter - Giants of industry: Schenectady's inventors and engineers

September - Sue McLane - Costumed tour highlighting the mourning customs of the Victorian Era

October - Don Rittner - Schenectady's history form the Dutch settlers through the 20th century

UNEXPECTED PLEASURES MOVEABLE FEAST:

Vale Cemetery hosted a special fundraiser, Unexpected Pleasures, in April 2008. After cocktails at the Parker Inn downtown, participants dined at homes of hosts in Schenectady's historic GE Realty Plot and Stockade neighborhoods and then gathered again for dessert. 75 people attended and over $5,000 was raised. Vale thanks all the participants and dinner hosts, and especially event organizers Peter Rumora, Bob and Sylvie Briber, and Sally Quinn.

RUN FOR DARFUR 5K

Vale Cemetery hosted over 200 runners in a a 5-kilometer race sponsored by Amnesty International and sanctioned by USA Track and Field on April 27, 2008. The race, organized by Lily Rowen, a Guilderland High School senior, was run on a bright sunny morning and resulted in many positive comments about the beauty of the park and cemetery. The race began at the Nott Terrace entrance to Vale Park and wound around the north side of the Vale lakes. It then proceeded along the northern border of the cemetery to the Brandywine Avenue entrance. The course then ran along the southern portion of the cemetery and ended back at the Nott Terrace entrance to the park.

STOCKADE - ATHON 15K

For the second consecutive year the Schenectady Stockade-athon used Vale Cemetery as part of its course. The record 1,325 runners entered the cemetery through the State Street entrance and passed through the cemetery, exiting at the Brandywine Avenue gate.