Sean Kirst: Fall leaves. Winter longs. On bridges, downtown messages rust away.
Contemplating the uncertain future of railroad bridge murals created 16 years ago in Syracuse by famed artist Steve Powers.
SEAN KIRST’S UPSTATE JOURNAL
Sean Kirst: There’s ‘no green like it’ as ‘Leaf Day’ arrives in many Syracuse neighborhoods
That astounding and beautiful moment, after a long winter, when the Norway maples seem to go to leaf at once.
Sean Kirst: At 1:56 p.m. today, with this moon flight, a reason to see the sky
Four astronauts, as of this afternoon, will have traveled farther than any human beings in global history.
Sean Kirst: For Saturday’s Tolkien Reading Day, celebrating Samwise Gamgee at the Betts Branch Library
In Syracuse, birthplace of the global event, the humble and selfless Sam seems exactly the hobbit for the moment.
FEATURED STORIES
Sean Kirst: At 95, Oren Lyons trusts SU and its skilled archivists with his treasury of papers
A lifetime of letters, documents and photos from a global Haudenosaunee diplomat will be made available to scholars, at SU.
Sean Kirst: A half-century after the Landmark Theatre was almost lost, Syracuse will see it again in its true colors
The detailed, high-profile restoration of much of the grand theater becomes an emotional symbol of a key preservation victory.
Sean Kirst: At a sacred place, ‘mindblowing’ tale of the nesting eagles of Onondaga Lake
An historic nest of bald eagles near Onondaga Lake attracts a loyal group of skilled photographers, who waited months to see the young eagles take flight.
More Culture
Sean Kirst: To celebrate rebirth of Lincoln Aud, STEAM school teens embrace the ghosts
An open invitation to an upcoming student-led performance on a stage once walked by George Gershwin and Duke Ellington.
Pulitzer-winning poet and Gazan refugee Mosab Abu Toha criticizes Le Moyne president for letter about his speech
An email issued by President Linda LeMura to the college’s community avoids mentioning Abu Toha by name but called attention to his use of the word ‘genocide’ in a speech at Le Moyne.
110 years after Ireland’s Easter Rising, Syracusans still gather to ‘read the names’
Since 2019, the city of Syracuse has commemorated the 1916 Irish rebellion with a flag-raising ceremony and reading of the proclamation of the Irish Republic.
Sean Kirst: On Jackie Robinson Day at NBT stadium, perfect choice for the first pitch
For Al Gunn, a Syracuse youth baseball coach who endured the same conditions Robinson took on and shattered, a moment that meant everything.
‘What I needed was here’: How Ruthnie Angrand became Onondaga County’s poet laureate
Angrand brings together a complex range of influences – from her Haitian-American identity to her background as a classically trained singer – in her spoken word poetry.
Sean Kirst: ‘Birthright citizenship’ was family ignition that helped create a Le Moyne College president
Linda LeMura, first female layperson to serve as president of a Jesuit college, says her mother’s American ideals meant everything.
Sean Kirst: To ‘stone thrower’ descendants, Tipp Hill’s green-on-top marker celebrates true story
With even the children of the boys who threw the stones now late in life, a marker will guarantee civic memory.
Sean Kirst: Natasha Alford comes home with gratitude, and a collective message for all of us
As part of the Friends of the Central Library’s celebrated authors series, Alford talked about a literary journey ignited by a Syracuse childhood.
Sean Kirst: On Tipp Hill, St. Patrick’s Day unveiling of marker will be ‘as unique as the light itself’
For centennial of the green-over-red traffic signal, a streetside marker that beautifully tiptoes the line between history and legend.
Sean Kirst: Eighty years after Jackie Robinson’s minor league heroics, a spotlight on his courage and pain in Syracuse
The Montreal Royals, Robinson’s old team, are now the Syracuse Mets — while community elders hope what he endured playing here is not forgotten.
Central New York folk artists hope to fuel resistance through benefit concert for immigration resource network
The May Memorial Unitarian Universalist Society on Wednesday will host the “Songs of Hope and Resistance Benefit Concert” from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Sean Kirst: For Arlene Abend, legendary Syracuse artist, a daughter’s quest to create a living memorial
The hope that Abend — whose welding helped shatter artistic barriers for women — will inspire similar courage and vision in ongoing generations.
Sean Kirst: The dog who knew the way out of the room
A rescue dog named Bentley, start to finish, did his job.
Sean Kirst: In Syracuse, marathon pioneer Kathrine Switzer returns to heart of storm
In an extraordinary JMA Wireless Dome ceremony, Switzer’s Boston Marathon bib number will be raised to a high place in the dome.
Sean Kirst: As Sean McDermott leaves Bills, two families he helped amid great loss offer their thanks
“This was just a very kind human being,” says Veronica Borjon — a witness to how McDermott quietly showed up, at the hardest time, to offer comfort.
Sean Kirst: For Dr. King’s Day, a voice of witness and a reminder to ‘stand when you’ve got to stand’
Pastor Ester Daniels, mother of new Mayor Sharon Owens, offered a civic message that is preface to everything we remember today.
Sean Kirst: For fervent ‘Mama J,’ legendary Bills fan from Camillus, a victory hug with Josh Allen’s mom
Amid jubilation in Jacksonville — Joanie DeKoker’s 259th straight Bills game — an unexpected moment with parents of beloved QB.
Sean Kirst: Straight from Camillus, ‘Mama J’ earns her place among greatest Bills fans of them all
Joanie Podkowinski DeKoker will mark her 259th straight Bills game in Jacksonville — while sharing the playoff dream every Bills fan knows so well.
Sean Kirst: Through a ‘year in quotes,’ a columnist reflects on struggle, love and inspiration in 2025, from Syracuse and beyond
A courageous parks commissioner, after great loss. A new mayor inspired by the sheer resilience of her mother. The passing of a selfless humanitarian legend, in Buffalo: Words put to heart and soul, in 2025.
Sean Kirst: In fitting gesture for last game at Highmark, Bills provide tickets for America’s first ‘Boomer’
Buffalo’s Al Nachreiner, longtime Bills fan and first ‘Baby Boomer’ to reach 80, feeling strong to be there despite treatments for lung cancer.
Sean Kirst: A reflective ‘Mr. 1946,’ point man as ‘Baby Boomers’ reach their 80s, appreciates why Bills took all-or-nothing chance
Despite a cancer diagnosis that he tries to take in stride, Al Nachreiner looks back on his life and says: ‘I’m happy.’
Sean Kirst: A ‘Resolution Run’ with New Year’s chance to light candle for young readers
A fitting opportunity to honor Eric Carle, a Syracuse-born children’s literature legend.
Sean Kirst: On Christmas morning, a card with our wish for longtime readers
For a gray-haired columnist, a Yuletide reflection of gratitude about renewing bonds forged over many years.
Sean Kirst: In mist of snow, graveyard quests of “hearts and souls” lead to wreaths for veterans
At the Onondaga County Veterans Memorial Cemetery, family members used their hands to dig out tombstones, hidden by deep snow.
Sean Kirst: As ‘Freedom of Espresso’ turns 30, recalling a Chuckie Holstein truth to fit the milestone
The fight against a corporate giant is the famous story, but maybe the real lesson for Syracuse is what 30 years represents.
Sean Kirst: In shadow of state football playoffs, city dreams — old and new — at Roosevelt Field
Remembering a landmark game, 62 years ago, that marked changing eras on a South Side field the city school district hopes to restore.
Sean Kirst: At 25th Adoption Day gathering, a ‘founding father’ finds a roomful of children, love and meaning
For Kevin Harrigan, there since the beginning of this annual event, every few steps led to a mom, dad or grown child saying: Thanks.
Sean Kirst: Centuries later, original wampum still evokes living truth of Canandaigua
At an annual remembrance, generational witnesses to the flesh-and-blood commitments of a treaty.
Sean Kirst: Two centuries after Erie Canal transformed Syracuse, museums seek lost plaques that make the point
One of world’s leading experts on the Erie Canal recalls how an Erie Boulevard monument — now missing key plaques — ignited his childhood curiosity.
Sean Kirst: A moment for honoring Earl Lloyd, Syracuse legend who shattered NBA racial barrier 75 years ago
The late Earl Lloyd was a humble guy, but his contemporaries understood: His courage helped transform American basketball.
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