By JOSEPH MAHER
Gazette Reporter

JOHNSTOWN- Researchers at the University at Albany are constructing their first "virtual museum" on the World Wide Web, and the subject is "The Glovers of Fulton County."

Gerald Zahavi, associate professor of history, and graduate student Susan McCormick have worked on the project for months. They've interviewed people who work and still work in the glove industry and rounded up rare documents and photographs.

It will take more than a year to complete the Web site, but when Zahavi and McCormick are done, Web surfers will be able to tour the museum on their computers. Some 600 to 700 images will be available, as will audio and video interviews and the historical documents and graphics.

The start of the site is up now, accessible from https://www.albany.edu/history. The link is named U-Albany History Department's New Multimedia Initiative.

"Every aspect of the industry is going to be covered, from the purchase of leather to the early history of the industry in the late 18th century and early 19th century, to the marketing, distribution, advertising, social and cultural aspects," Zahavi said.

He and McCormick have tapped Fulton County's resources, including those of the Johnstown Historical Society and the Fulton County Museum.

They have scanned images from old photographs as well as material objects such as cutting tools. They are also reviewing microfilm and census material as they compile a profile of workers and manufacturers, an overview, a demographic portrait of these workers and the community," Zahavi said.

Zahavi and McCormick's project will also include a video documentary and a hard copy of their work if funding and a publisher can be found.

Future projects will detail other local historical institutions, including the General Electric Company in Schenectady, Zahavi said.

The leather industry has a long history in Fulton County. In recent years, many of the tanneries and glove makers there have gone out of business or moved out.

Fulton County glovers and tanners said they are impressed by the work, and view the project as an important and innovative means of preserving the past.

"It's amazing what they are doing," said Peter Kiernan, who owns Pique Glove Ltd. in Gloversville, a small shop where all products are still made by hand by skilled cutters and sewers.

"From what I see, there's just a tremendous amount of interest in the heritage of the glove business, and these people seem to be doing a very comprehensive study of not just the industry itself, but the people in the industry," he said.

Tanner Frank Perella of JBF Industries in Gloversville is also enthusiastic about the project. Perella offered to underwrite a documentary film on the leather industry a couple of years ago, but the project never got off the ground. So news of the university's virtual museum and documentary were most welcome.

"I think it is important to have a historical note about who brought it here, and why, and the heyday, and why it disappeared," Perella said.

Zahavi said the project will serve not only students of history, but fulfill the mission of the public university as well.

He said it's important that students "immerse themselves in the past, hear the voices, not just a historian's interpretation."

The virtual museum and others like it will allow them to do just that. And as historians, "we also feel that we should contribute, not just consume" information, he said.

Kiernan said the Web site will be convenient for people.

"Obviously, not many people are going to hop in the car and drive to the state museum to see something about gloves. But to be able to just dial it up and have that kind of exposure is just great," Kiernan said.

McCormick said for her master's thesis she was especially interested in exploring the lives of women who sewed gloves in their homes, and the scope of the project just kept growing.

On the face of it, those home glovers seem to have been underpaid and exploited, she said. But they were also afforded the opportunity to tend to their homes and children while working.

McCormick said local people with ties to the industry have been helpful, and she's enjoyed the interview process.

Unfortunately , she said, many of the women who worked in their homes are no longer alive, and she's relying on the accounts of their children and other relatives.

She and Zahavi have asked that others come forward with stories or artifacts.

People interested may reach McCormick and Zahavi by writing in care of the University at Albany, Ten Broeck 202-2, Albany, NY 12222. Zahavi's e-mail address is [email protected].