On Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 7 pm, the Saratoga County History Center will host a presentation based on an extensive, local collection of World War II photos. Retired Associated Press reporter Chris Carola will tell the stories behind the collection of approximately 700 images taken by Charles Siciliano, Sr. currently housed at the Mechanicville District Public Library. Carola, a Mechanicville native, will highlight the wartime service of more than a dozen veterans whose photos are in the collection.
During World War II and again during the Korean War, Siciliano, an Italian American restaurant owner in Mechanicville, took photographs of local service members in uniform who stopped by his popular tavern, opened by his immigrant father Eugene in the early 1900s. Virtually all the photos were taken at the same corner of the bar in the restaurant, where the 3-inch-by-3-inch black and white portraits were on display for many years before eventually being moved to the library.
While hundreds of the men and the four women veterans in the collection were from Mechanicville, dozens of other uniformed servicemen from nearby Saratoga County communities had their photos taken at Siciliano’s tavern.
“This one-of-a-kind collection of local World War II and Korean War veterans is our region’s family photo album of its Greatest Generation” said Carola. “In these hundreds of images we see the faces of young Americans just before they headed off for war or soon after they returned from fulfilling their military duty to our nation.”
Carola will also discuss the library’s campaign to restore and remount the collection in museum-quality frames. “Our first priority is the physical integrity of these rare portraits,” said Michelle Duell, Library Director. “The original prints require professional restoration to prevent further deterioration.” Information on supporting the restoration effort will be available during the presentation.
Registration for this program is available HERE
