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ABOUT WHITE EAGLE PROPERTY

Event Table Setting

Creating Unforgettable Events

At White Eagle Property, we believe that every event is unique and special. Our team of experienced professionals works tirelessly to make sure that your event is everything you dreamed it could be. From weddings to corporate events and everything in between, we are here to ensure that your event is a success.

History of the Appley Center

The Appley Center at the White Eagle Conference Center is an exceptional venue designed to meet the specific needs of all groups, weddings, events and meetings. Its state-of-the-art facilities, sophisticated design, and exceptional service make it a popular choice for a wide range of events. Please reach out to discuss our facilities and packages.

 

The Founder - Lawrence A. Appley

 

Lawrence A. Appley was an American management specialist and organizational theorist. He was a very influential member of the Hamilton and Madison community. He started his career as a Colgate professor and was an alumnus of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Appley was nationally sought after as an expert on management. His leadership philosophy focused on human relationships and clear expectations. The following two quotes from Lawrence Appley truly define his leadership philosophy.

 

''To inspire a person to work with enthusiasm is to make a very important contribution to that person's life.''

 

''If you want somebody to perform a task for you, you must place into his mind a clear image of what you want him to do.''

 

The Life of Lawrence A. Appley

 

Lawrence A. Appley was born in Nyack, N.Y., on April 22, 1904. His father, Joseph Earl Appley, was a Methodist minister and his mother was Jessie (Moore) Appley. Due to his father’s occupation, the family moved every few years. He helped work his way through Mount Herman School for Boys in Massachusetts. He then attended Ohio Wesleyan University on a scholarship available to ministers' sons. He held various jobs, including a summer one as a New York streetcar conductor, to help pay for college. He dropped out in his sophomore year to earn money by teaching eight grades of a one-room, 35-student elementary school in Mahopac Mines, N.Y. He returned to Ohio Wesleyan and managed to finish a year early, graduating in 1927.

 

After graduating Ohio Wesleyan, Appley was appointed as a speech instructor and debate coach at Colgate University. He spent three years as an instructor at Colgate and fell in love with the area. In the summer of 1929, he took graduate classes in public administration at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. These courses shifted his interest to business administration.

 

In 1930, Appley left academia and entered the corporate world and held executive positions at Standard Oil Company, Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, Vick Chemical Company, and Montgomery Ward.

 

Appley began consulting work as an advisor for the United States Civil Service Commission in 1938. In 1941, in Washington D.C. he became full-time advisor on civilian and personnel training to the United States Secretary of War, and in 1942, during World War II, he assisted the War Manpower Commission as director of its placement bureau. During his placement he worked with General Dwight Eisenhower, future 34th President of the United States. Eisenhower was a man Appley highly regarded and considered a friend. In 1946, President Harry Truman awarded him the Presidential Medal of Merit.

 

After becoming disenfranchised with life and a career in Washington D.C., Lawrence Appley returned to Hamilton, N.Y., the place he loved and originally set down his roots. He served president of the American Management Association and held this position from 1948-1968.

 

In 1948, he asked the American Management Association for $1 million dollars to create the White Eagle, a facility that would serve as a meeting place, educational center, and recreational center for current and future business leaders.  Not only did Appley facilitate the development of the White Eagle Property with the Appley Center, the Americana Village, and beautiful grounds, with his leadership he led the development of the AMA airport in Hamilton, NY.  

 

On April 4, 1997, Appley passed away at his home on Saddleback Farm, in Hamilton, NY, located just down the road from White Eagle.

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The Americana Village

The Americana Village, located at the White Eagle Conference Center, where timeless charm and rustic beauty come together to create the perfect backdrop for your special event. Nestled amidst the quaint streets of our enchanting Americana village, we would welcome your event in our facilities, please reach out to discuss our facilities and packages.

 

Americana Village is a collection of restored and replicated buildings. Most of the buildings came from the surrounding area and were transported to their current location to collectively create a village in the 1800s. These buildings include homes, a one-room schoolhouse, a blacksmith shop, barns, a church, a general store, and a covered bridge.

 

Lawrence A. Appley, American management specialist and organizational theorist, is credited for the vision and creation of the Americana Village. Appley believed that early American villages were the roots of the nation's modern institutions and good management. He created Americana Village as a place to study the person in management-in the store, livery stable, blacksmith shop, hotel, sawmill, church, and home. Originally, the buildings he collected contained some 30 exhibits, with each showing some art or craft peculiar to the era from 1850 through 1914. Appley believed that “the more we come to understand those real values that make good people, the more we will understand the essentials of good management.”

 

For years, Americana Village was an active with tours being lead throughout the buildings. Its buildings gave visitors a unique and authentic look into what life was like in the 1800s.

 

Americana Village is comprised of the following buildings and structures: Gate House - Covered Bridge - Livery Stable - Loomis Gang Blacksmith Shop - Ketchum Church - Appleford Boarding House - The Black School - Sap House - Still House - Hop Kiln - Lucy’s House - Harness Shop - Cobbler’s Shop - Sawmill - Carriage House - McAllister House Gazebo Bandstand - Smoke House - General Store - Fredericks House - Town Meeting Hall - Rebeccah Cemetery.

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