NORTH COUNTRY LIVING MAGAZINE • VOL. 5 NO. 3
Vol. 5 No. 3
The Westport Chair A symbol of Adirondack charm
Legacy Rolls If only these bowling lanes in Ticonderoga could talk
FALL 2016
Gratitude
Ticonderoga cancer survivor now spends her time helping those who helped her.
Local alliance behind the surge of two-wheeled recreation in the Tri-Lakes
The wait is finally over Fall Photography Contest winners are announced inside
THIS TINY DEVICE COULD MAKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE.
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Published by Sun Community News and Printing 14 Hand Avenue, Elizabethtown, NY 12932 (518) 873-6368 Fax: 873-6360
Vol. 5 No. 3
Publisher Dan Alexander
General Manager DJ Alexander
Writer Pete DeMola
Writer Thom Randall
Writer Teah Dowling
Writer Mikaela Foster
Writer Shawn Ryan
Writer Laura Achouatte
Writer Keith Lobdell
Writer Karen Stites
Writer Sarah Sauter
Writer Kim Dedam
dan@suncommunitynews.com
Editor’s Note
dj@suncommunitynews.com
pete@suncommunitynews.com
thom@suncommunitynews.com
September/October/November 2016
I
t’s crazy to me how quickly time seems to evaporate like the early morning fog on a backcountry pond once the sun rises and blankets it with warmth. A glowing example is the fact that we are already nearing the end of our fifth year of publishing this magazine — meanwhile its popularity is soaring. It disappears from local vendors as quickly as we stock; we are showered with accolades following every edition and advertiser testimonials are not hard to find. Perhaps the most telling sign, however, of North Country Living’s acclaim is the overwhelming interaction we receive from readers, as was most recently evidenced by the incredible response we received to our inaugural fall photo contest. More than 300 spectacular entries flooded our emails, making choosing a champion no easy feat. Just take a look at the incredible pictorial on pages 68-85 of this edition and I think you’ll understand our quandary. The level of talent among North Country photographers is obviously unparalleled and the breathtaking landscape here presents the perfect canvas. In fact, it was such a difficult task narrowing down the field that we have decided to next year allow you, our readers, to decide the winners. In the meantime, enjoy our fall edition of North Country Living Magazine and be sure and patronize the local businesses that make it possible. See you in the winter. John Gereau, Managing Editor
4 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
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MARKETING SPECIALISTS Ashley Alexander Edward Coats Kathi Gereau
Thomas Hollingsworth Scarlette Merfeld Ciara Thompson
Beth Wells Susan Zacharenko
To advertise in our next edition contact Ashley at 518-873-6368 ext 105 or e-mail ashley@suncommunitynews.com
DESIGN TEAM DJ Alexander Kelly Bresett Wanda Cox
Greg Foster Laurie Goff Heather Lamb
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CONTENTS Vol. 5 No. 3
Features The North Country Trail
9
The longest footpath in the country ends here
Legacy Rolls
15
If only these bowling lanes could talk
Forts of Crown Point
25
The storied history of the Historic Site
The Adirondack Chair
28
How the comfortable recliner came to be
Meadowmount
54
The prestigious school of music in Lewis
Chazy Central School
63
Celebrating 100 years of learning
The Lever Action
89
This gun has a long history in the North Country
One-year-old Ellie explores the Sugar House Creamery in Jay, resting a bit on a rustic Westport-inspired Adirondack chair.
nclmagazine.com
Vol. 5 No. 3
The Westport Chair A symbol of Adirondack charm
Legacy Rolls If only these bowling lanes in Ticonderoga could talk
FALL 2016
Photo by Sarah Sauter
A1 NORTH COUNTRY LIVING MAGAZINE • VOL. 5 NO. 3
On The Cover
Gratitude
Ticonderoga cancer survivor now spends her time helping those who helped her.
Local alliance behind the surge of two-wheeled recreation in the Tri-Lakes
The wait is finally over Fall Photography Contest winners are announced inside
Vol. 5 No. 3 | North Country Living Magazine | 5
-
CONTENTS
September/October/November 2016
Features Barkeater Alliance
95
Local organization helping to spur mountain biking
Dust off the Lederhosen!
106
It’s time for Oktoberfests in Hague, Wilmington and Lake George
Just Run! The North Country is becoming a running destination
28
110
Social Scene Eye on Business
37
Pine’s Country Store: An iconic Indian Lake business
Giving Back
42
54
Ticonderoga cancer survivor now aiding others
Charles Evans Hughes
46
Remarkable reformer, statesman to be honored
Fall Photo Contest
68
And what a contest it was!
Tragedy at Santanoni
100
The disappearance of Douglas Legg
Community Calendar
122
95
The most inclusive events calendar in the region ... bar none
6 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
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8 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
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nclmagazine.com
Vol. 5 No. 3 | North Country Living Magazine | 9
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BUILDING THE TRAIL Coffin wrote the DEC, the Adirondack Park Agency The North Country Trail Association (NCTA), founded (APA) and Gov. Andrew Cuomo approved and officially in 1981 after the Congressional authorization of the released the final route plan for the NCNST across the NCNST in 1980, is the volunteer organization that partners Adirondack Park in mid-October 2015. Various routes with the National Park Service to bring the North Country have been proposed since 1982, and in 2007 the routes had Trail to local communities along the trail route. According “coalesced into a draft route across the central Adirondacks, to their website, the NCTA is a “not-for-profit membership from North Lake on the west to Crown Point State Historic organization of volunteers.” The association “unites Site and the Lake Champlain Bridge on the east. individuals, affiliated trail groups, local chapters, corporate “Following the release of the 2007 Draft Plan, ADK and sponsors and others linked in support of building and NCTA volunteers began to scout this route in the field, maintaining the North Country Scenic Trail, and telling its especially where there were no existing trails or maintained story.” trails,” she wrote. Bruce Matthews, the executive director of NCTA, said Volunteers bushwhacked, GPSed and evaluated the route the NCTA takes care of the fundraising, promotion, and reported their data to the DEC and NCTA, she said. and communication aspects, which enable “passionate” The DEC used a lot of the scouting data as well as public volunteers to do what they do in building the trail one step, comments from 2008 and 2014 to determine the 2015 Final one mile, one bridge at a time. Plan. Matthews said with Coffin wrote, “The only 11 folks working for final plan yields the NCTA, volunteers approximately 158 miles are their greatest asset. of foot trail, making it “We don’t exist the only long-distance without volunteers,” he west-east hiking trail said. in the Adirondacks, Volunteers work to complement the together to maintain Northville-Placid Trail, the trail, promote the the only north-south trail, and assist people long-distance hiking in using it. Matthews trail in the Forest said in 2015, there were Preserve. 1,200 volunteers who “The route is mostly reported their hours, on Forest Preserve and “but we know there are some easement lands,” way more than that who she continued. About West Canada Lakes Wilderness Trail Scouters. Photo courtesy of Mary Coffin. don’t report their hours81 miles of the NCNST it’s probably three to four times more than that.” He added utilizes existing trail, 39 miles needs to be built to connect being able to show data of how many people support the existing trails, and 27 miles are on temporary road walks. trail through volunteer hours is very valuable to the NCTA’s She said some of the remaining mileage may be on private efforts. land easements. Specific areas in the Adirondacks the NCNST will pass THE ADIRONDACK SECTION through include Black River Wild Forest, West Canada Mary Coffin, an active North Country Trail Association Lakes Wilderness Area, Moose River Plains Wild Forest, (NCTA) member who served on the NCTA board of Jessup River Wild Forest, Siamese Ponds Wilderness Area, directors for nine years and has been a trail maintainer Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest, Hoffman Notch since 1982, wrote regarding the Adirondack section of Wilderness Area, and Hammond Pond Wild Forest, Coffin the NCNST that she has been “active since 2008 scouting wrote. off trail, ground truthing, GPSing the route through the As of July 2015, Coffin said volunteers are still working Adirondacks and reporting back to the DEC and evaluating on the route with DEC Foresters and Planners “but only a proposed routes.” Coffin also serves on several committees short section has been actually flagged.” and is the local chair of the ADK-Onondaga Chapter North Coffin explained one reason the process is so time Country Trail Team. consuming is that in order to flag a 1.5 mile-section of trail, 10 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
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Photos of Shane Peltonen on the North Country National Scenic Trail. Photos courtesy of Carolyn Peltonen.
they actually have to hike 10 miles round-trip to access it. She added the route across the Adirondacks is “quite scenic and varied.” There are many streams, lakes, ponds, bogs, scenic vistas, historic sites, varied forest types, and “all the Adirondack ambiance a foot traveler might expect. It offers something for both backpacker and family out for a day hike to enjoy.” STORIES ALONG THE NCT Matthews said the landscapes throughout the trail from New York to North Dakota tell the story of the people that lived on the land and the ways they were shaped by their “harsh and unforgiving” environment. Matthews said stories abound through areas like farms, forests, and places that have been mined. Hikers can see landscapes with Native American influences and places that tell the story of the lumber man, canal builders, grape vineyardists, sea captains and even the underground railroad. “The footsteps you’re walking- you’re connected in a way that’s hard to explain unless you’re there,” Matthews said. “You come to understand what it’s like to come from the northern heartlands. It’s not a story that many people know.” Matthews said one of the coolest experiences he had was walking on the Finger Lake’s Trail (the NCNST overlays part of this) near the grape fields at harvest time. “The smells are just incredible,” he recalled. As for other hikers, Matthews said, “The coolest things our hikers report have to do with the people they meet on the trail. They stumble across somebody at a crossroads and then get invited home to a warm meal, a hot shower and a warm bed. Sometimes hikers find food tacked to nclmagazine.com
trees because someone knew they were coming.” “Hiking the trails restores your faith in humanity,” he added. THRU-HIKER ON THE TRAIL When this article was written, Shane Peltonen, 42, a resident of Ashland, Wisconsin, was hiking through the Manistee National Forest in Michigan along the NCT. Peltonen is considered a “thru-hiker,” which is someone who is hiking the trail from one end to the other. This is his first time hiking the entire trail. Peltonen began his trek April 10, 2016, in Killington, VT, hiking on the Appalachian Trail and the Long Trail before connecting to the NCT on April 12, at the Crown Point State Historic Site. His mom, Carolyn Peltonen, wrote, Shane loves the outdoors and has been a runner since he was a teen. He started racing bicycles professionally and then got into running marathons and ultra-runs (100 miles or more) “before deciding he really enjoyed trail running.” Carolyn said Shane’s life is always an adventure, with one of his “epic sagas” being a 2,500-mile bike ride from Tucson, Arizona to Ashland, Wisconsin. He has also thruran the Arizona Trail (another National Scenic Trail) and the Spear Hiking Trail, which is part of the NCT. She said Shane has been an avid hiker for the last five years and has always been an adventure seeker. She said hiking helps him focus and keeps him grounded, but he “is always looking for the challenge to push himself to the next level.” Calling from the trail, Shane said he’s had a lifetime of Continued on page 12 Vol. 5 No. 3 | North Country Living Magazine | 11
Photos of Shane Peltonen on the North Country National Scenic Trail. Photos courtesy of Carolyn Peltonen.
outdoor experiences with competitions and “going hard”— but he said hiking the NCT was different. He said he grew up near the NCT and it’s one of the National Scenic Trails that’s a little under the radar. He said he’s hiked sections of it, but has heard that only three or four people have thru-hiked the NCT. He could be the fifth. “I’m always up for a challenge,” he said. “It had my name written all over it.” “Hiking the NCT is a good way to get out there and see the whole trail,” he added. With his love for trail running, he is “mostly fast-packing” (a cross between backpacking and mountain running) on the NCT. Carolyn said she and her husband Bill have supported Shane from the start of the NCT, through the Adirondacks and Finger Lakes area for two and a half weeks before returning home. She said they supported him there when it was “freezing cold, snow and ice.” “My husband and I slept in the vehicle at night, and made coffee in the morning before Shane headed out on the trail,” she said. “We brought our cooking gear, so he could at least get a hot meal at the end of the day.” She said they sent supply boxes to several Post Offices 12 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
along his route and placed several drops along the trail with food and supplies to keep him going. Other than a few sections where he will have friends and his brother join him, Shane is hiking the trail alone… with no radio or ipod. Carolyn said he is carrying a 25-pound pack with his sleeping bag, mat, bivvy sack, multipurpose tool, headlamp, raingear, charger, phone, compass, maps, and a few other items… but no cooking gear. Shane said, “Some days are good, some days are bad… but it’s just dealing with stuff on a daily basis. Where to get water, where to get food, where to sleep…” He wants to remember “the challenge.” “The memory is how you dealt with what was put in front of you,” he said. “You basically break it down and break it into small steps, just forward progress day to day.” Shane Peltonen hopes to finish the trail in seven monthsor “however long it takes.” To see where he is now or if he’s finished the trail, visit trackleaders.com/nct. For more information about the North Country Trail or getting involved, see the North Country Trail Association website at northcountrytrail.org. Or if you’re passing through Crown Point, stop at the Crown Point State Historic Site or the Lake Champlain Visitors Center for a brochure. Interested in volunteering specifically in the Adirondacks? Contact Mary Coffin at maryccoffin@gmail.com. North Country National Scenic Trail Day is September 24, 2016. Check out northcountrytrail.org for how you can particiapate.
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14 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
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LEGACY ROLLS Three generations of the family-owned lanes in Ticonderoga.
Adirondack Lanes
in Ticonderoga delivers family sport and perfect bowling games for generations
By Kim Dedam
I
f the long, thin boards at Adirondack Lanes Bowling could talk, they would tell of days before television sets and traffic lights. They might echo ideas spoken even before women won the right to vote. The oldest six of the family-owned 10 lanes in Ticonderoga are made of Georgia pine, says James “Jake” Gijanto, now age 86, who nailed them down by hand in 1955. “They don’t make them anymore,” he said. nclmagazine.com
Lanes numbered 5 and 6 were crafted in 1906, he said, the same year the paddle-wheel steamship Ticonderoga was built at Shelburne Shipyard. Salvaged from a bowling alley in Wyckoff, New Jersey, Jake and his late brother Don “Duck” Gijanto Sr. hauled them back here with a tractor-trailer truck. Adirondack Lanes Bowling alleys 3 and 4, circa 1916, came from the same place. Lanes 1 and 3 were new in 1955, the elder Gijanto said. The long, straight lanes are tested and remain true today to professional bowling standards. The installation was perfunctory. “We punched a hole in the wall to get them out, they were closing the place in New Jersey,” said Jake, who recalled every detail. Wrangling piles of finely finished 2 7/8-by-1-inch slats was tricky. It took four days to nail those first six lanes into place, Continued on page 16
Vol. 5 No. 3 | North Country Living Magazine | 15
First lanes by hand, and perfectly patch and smooth the tiny holes left by finish nails. “They had B1-- Brunswick -- pinsetters at the place in Wyckoff, we took those, too,” Jake says. “They were all manual: operated by hand.” Who was the first pinspotter? The elder Gijanto grinned and turned a finger toward his chest. “Me,” he laughed. Human pinsetters were called pinspotters at the time. “The B1 had a foot pedal that raised spikes from the floor, that’s what you set the pins on. That first summer, we didn’t have a soul but us. If it was up to my brother, we would have had 10 lanes,” Jake mused. “But they are the oldest lanes in Essex County,” he said.
a large stripper machine to make the surface more tacky, Jake said. “When they used to put shellac on the boards, they used banana oil,” Jake recalled. “You had to buff the lanes every day or it would turn black.” The brothers’ efforts in the 1950s sustained a tradition their father, Angelo Michael Gijanto, started in Ticonderoga with two lanes at the Knights of Columbus Hall #333 in 1941. It was an expansion on the Gijanto’s pool hall, called the Idle Hour, built on the second floor of the KofC building on Montcalm Street, Jake said. “My mother (Mary Ann Pacca Gijanto) said he found some German who had a big pile of lumber,” the elder Gijanto chuckled. “He put two lanes in.” The family’s recreation legacy dates even further back, when Angelo founded the family’s first two bowling alleys around Englewood, New Jersey. As a newly married man, the Ticonderoga native moved to that area for a time to be near his wife’s family, Jake said. “You know how it goes, when you first start out.” The couple returned to Ticonderoga after a few years away. And the family’s industry has remained centered on recreation and perfect bowling marks built from the days of twocent pinspotters. Back in the early 1930s, it cost 12 to 15 cents to play a lane. “Even then they would pay 2 cents a game for a kid to set pins,” Jake recalls.
TICONDEROGA HERITAGE
They installed the wooden lanes at the bowling hall they built on the Hague Road, just a mile or so south of Liberty monument at the roundabout in Ticonderoga. A third generation of Gijanto bowling expertise owns the alley now, Don Jr. and his sister Donna Fleury. The foundation sits on a wide and open spot off Route 9, establishing what has become a fixture for generations of family and league bowling. The long, antique alleys have remained level even as the sport’s technology advanced and equipment here became more sophisticated. The wood oil used on the “heads” -- the bowler’s wind-up area in front of the foul line -- is mineral-based these days. And the last eight feet before the pins are groomed now with 16 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
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EVOLUTION
Updates over the years have kept a steady pace beside treasured mementos. Gijantos added four new lanes to the alley in 1964 to make 10 total. Bumpers for young players were installed in 1995. Modern camera and automated pinsetting equipment at Adirondack Lanes today feeds data to flat screens that announce every score and keep tally. The balls rumble quietly back to bowlers through an enclosed tunnel.
across a smooth, very slightly angled metal ramp under the machine. The bowling pins are toppled against what looks like a giant pin-wheel. “I used to lay up here as a child and watch the pins being picked up and reset,” she said, pointing to the steel frame above the pin landing zone. The mechanism operates via hydraulic flywheel, of sorts, drawing pins snugly against its padded, rubberized rim, which flips and resets them upright at the end of the lane. The whole machine works with dizzying precision. “You can see the floor marks where the pins go,” Donna said. The pins landed flawlessly dead center, every time. The clunk of hardwood pins collected against metal is rhythmic, almost musical back there. Sixty-plus years of care for this place are neatly evident behind the mechanical maws that sort toppled pins. Stacked on shelves behind the row of giant wheels are various unique tools for pinsetter and floor maintenance, operators manuals, stuff Don Gijanto Jr. uses routinely to keep these pieces of American-made ingenuity running smoothly. Parked and idle nearby is the machine that makes the last 8-feet of bowling alley lane boards “tacky.” It’s about the size of the industrial floor sweepers used in grocery stores.
PINSETTERS
Walking toward the back of the building is like entering the belly of the beast where solid wooden pins are juggled by giant steel wheels. Beyond the mellowed gold and gleaming lanes, Donna turned on one of the American Machine and Foundry (AMF) setters. They are aligned perfectly at the end of each lane. Where does the bowling ball go? “It’s there,” Donna said, pointing beneath the pinsetter. Behold: a round hole slightly bigger than a bowling ball forms a perfect escape hatch. Every ball is ushered to the right
nclmagazine.com
Continued on page 20
Vol. 5 No. 3 | North Country Living Magazine | 17
The pinsetter at Adirondack Lanes
PERFECT SCORES
Machines are only a part of the evolution of a sport invented by early Egyptians. Millenia aside, at least for the second half of the last century, the brothers Don Sr. and Jake built the core of professional bowling league action from their Adirondack Lanes. In 1964, Jake became the first person in Essex County, New York to bowl a perfect 300, Donna relayed. Don Sr. bowled a perfect score in 1970, according to wins catalogued on the wall. He also coached a bowling league for North Country Community College through the 1980s and 1990s. In 1974, Jake was a top qualifier for the Thunderbird Open. “I missed the open by 21 pins -- one strike,” the elder Gijanto says. “Yeah, one strike.” Both brothers went on to compete in the Professional Bowlers Association tournaments. Donna has continued in the 21st century to walk in her father’s coaching footsteps. For 14 of the last 15 years, her efforts at the Ticonderoga High School bowling teams have sent at least one student to the state championship games.
The walls are updated now with special fabric that absorbs the wooden thunder of balls rolling along the shining wooden floors. Vibrant back-lit panels above the rows of pins add a modern backdrop. The original, molded aqua bowler’s benches and seats sport an authentic AMF logo with its telltale red triangle. One late-summer day, Donna’s son, Darren Patnode, came to finish some bathroom renovations, representing the next generation of Gijanto to work inside Adirondack Lanes walls. He mentioned his mom’s 18 perfect 300-point games. “Her brother’s got three,” Darren laughed tossing an eyebrow toward his uncle. Leaning against the counter, Don Jr. rolled his eyes. The family took time that quiet summer afternoon to sit in the lounge and sort through stacks of old photographs. The first kitchen and dining room equipment was classic sock-hop generation. “We got all that equipment for $400,” Jake Gijanto said with a shake of his head.
LIVING HISTORY
The early Adirondack Lanes era is chronicled in rows of black-and-white photographs lining the walls throughout a bright-colored lounge, even to this day. James “Jake” Gijanto 20 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
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And pre-football game events are scheduled with favorite games going on the big screen sets in the lounge. Wintertime brings special school league bowling events, The business of bowling, however, remained front and cenusually run in 10-week cycles. ter. Information on Adirondack Lane programs is updated on Don Jr. points now to the alley’s custom bowling ball shop where he hand-drills grip holes fit specifically to a customer’s their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Adirondack-Lanes. For reservations, to find out about lessons or to book events, hands. The angle of each finger is drilled according to an individual call Adirondack Lanes at 518-585-6851. bowling stance, whether they wind up forward or backward. “When it fits you and is made for you, it’s the difference between night and day,” Don Jr. observed of his unique craft.
GENERATIONS
FAMILY EFFORT
Beyond accolades, athleticism and the craft of preserving the antique lanes, the Gijantos say the game is really a family sport. “Family recreation is good because it knits the family together,” Jake said. “It’s been a family effort,” Donna added. “It’s the sport you can play from age 3 to 93.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Adirondack Lanes opens full-time, seven days a week on the weekend after Labor Day. Mixed couples, men’s, women’s and national bowling leagues play at various times on different nights. Weekend nights feature music and special events, including the Glow Bowl, a favorite black light bowling night. The Haunted Glow Bowl is a local favorite for Halloween night.
The custom bowling ball drill at Adirondack Lanes. nclmagazine.com
Vol. 5 No. 3 | North Country Living Magazine | 21
Pointe à la Chevelure
The storied history of the Crown Point Historic Site By Allison Blaise
ca, General Edward Braddock, listed the capture of Fort St. Frédéric as one of his primary campaign objectives. GenThough they are often overlooked when historians de- eral William Johnson was given the task of taking the fort, scribe the various conflicts surrounding the Champlain and set out in August with his troops. The campaign against Fort St. Frédéric continued until Valley in the 18th century, the forts at Crown Point, New September 8, 1755, when Johnson won the Battle of Lake York played an active role in North American military stratGeorge against French forces marching south from Crown egy for upwards of 50 years. Point to protect the fort. After this, Johnson chose to rest on his laurels and constructed Fort William Henry to se-
The peninsula where the forts were located is at one of the narrowest points in Lake Champlain, and it was first recognized by the French as a strategic location on a key waterway linking New France and New England. They dubbed it “Pointe à la Chevelure” and commenced construction of fortifications there in 1734. Construction was completed in 1737, and the new Fort St. Frédéric consisted of a bakery, armory, powder magazine, chapel, guard house, and quarters for soldiers, officers, and the fort’s commander. High walls and deep entrenchments surrounded the fort to afford protection, and a drawbridge and gate system was in use to ensure the garrison’s security against potential threats. For the next 11 years, the fort remained in French possession and served as a base for minor strikes against British forts, mainly in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Seven relatively peaceful years followed until the outbreak of the French and Indian War in 1754. In April of the following year, the new British commander in chief in North Ameri-
24 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
cure the progress he had made. In response to this, the French began the construction of Fort Carillon in present day Ticonderoga to serve as an obstacle between the British and their goal of reaching Fort St. Frédéric. Johnson resigned his post in December and was subsequently replaced by Generals John Winslow, Daniel Webb, and James Abercromby in the Crown Point campaign, yet none of these men succeeded in obtaining their desired objective. Finally, in September 1758, General Jeffrey Amherst was appointed commander in chief of the British forces in North America, and took charge of the Crown Point campaign, personally. On July 26, 1759, Amherst captured Fort Carillon, which he renamed Fort Ticonderoga. Before fleeing to Fort St. Frédéric, the French troops of Ticonderoga set the fortifications on fire to prevent the British from benefitting from their use. Amherst spent several days at Ticonderoga, trying to ensure that the fire was controlled and
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Pictured above is the former officers’ barracks. Below is the solders’ barracks.
extinguished before moving on to Crown Point. At last, on August 4, 1759, four years after the initial campaign was begun, Amherst arrived at Fort St. Frédéric and captured it without resistance. Fort St. Frédéric was in little better condition than Fort Ticonderoga had been, also having been set ablaze by the retreating French. Nonetheless, Amherst noted the strategic benefits of the location and ordered the construction of a new fort to be called “His Majesty’s Fort of Crown Point.” The fort would be one of the largest built by the British in their North American colonies, enclosing over seven acres of land, and would include three smaller forts, or “redoubts,” nearby. On September 13, 1759, while construction of the new fort was underway, the French stronghold of Quebec fell to the forces of General James Wolfe. One month later, Amherst departed for winter quarters in New York City,
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leaving Colonel William Haviland to command Fort Crown Point in his absence. The following year, Haviland led troops from Crown Point to aid in the attack on Montreal, which would prove successful and essentially put an end to the conflicts in the Champlain Valley for the remainder of the war. Construction of the fort continued until the close of the war in 1763, when Britain, no longer in fear of French hostilities, relaxed its military presence in the region. Most of the fort had been completed, however, and only the new officers’ barracks were left unfinished. Between 1764 and 1774, the area remained relatively peaceful and the fort was allowed to fall into a state of disrepair. On April 21, 1773, what began as a chimney fire in the soldiers’ barracks Continued on page 26
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main fort had been so ruined by the fire, that it was to be abandoned in favor of an expansion of the Grenadier Redoubt. As fate would have it, however, this plan would never come to fruition. On May 11, 1775, fresh from their victory at Ticonderoga, a detachment of the Green Mountain Boys under the command of Seth Warner captured Fort Crown Point from the British. Once the forts at both Crown Point and Ticonderoga were sufficiently secured, Warner and his compatriot, the unforgettable Ethan Allen, left them in the hands of the then loyal patriot, Benedict Arnold. Arnold put an officer in charge of Ticonderoga while he took direct command of Crown Point for the subsequent two months. During this time, Arnold’s men worked diligently to salvage as much cannon as possible from the ruins of the main fort. Much of what was salvaged would be sent from Crown Point to aid in the Siege of Boston as Washington drove the British out of the city. On October 11, 1776, the fledgling American Navy, built by Arnold, met with the British fleet on Lake Champlain. The disastrous Battle of Valcour Island that followed, left Arnold beating a hasty retreat via Crown Point, which was quickly abandoned. From that point to the end of the war, the British would occupy Crown Point, though it would not play a role in any further battles of significance. Today, the ruins of Fort St. Frédéric and Fort Crown Point are a part of the Crown Point Historic Site which works to preserve them and their rich history. In line with this
The ruins of Fort St. Frédéric.
spread to the pine shingles and then to the log walls of the fort, causing an uncontrollable blaze that lasted three days. The soldiers deserted the main fort in favor of other structures, such as the nearby redoubts, and attempted to recover any useable shot, tools, or cannon once the fire extinguished itself. It was not until the following year that a military engineer was sent to assess the damages, and it was not until May 4, 1775 that a regiment was ordered to march from Montreal to begin the construction Amherst proposed. The 26 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
Sheep provide a natural alternative to mowing. ncliving@suncommunitynews.com
goal, site manager, Michael Roets said that some of the lawn mowing at the site has recently been replaced with a sheep grazing program as a more natural alternative. Visitors are free to roam the grounds from sunrise to sunset year round, and the site museum is open May 7 – October 17, Thursdays – Mondays, 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Every year during the second weekend of August, the site hosts an historic reenactment. Visitors will find an array of 18th century wares available for purchase in the “Sutler’s Camp,” and may watch the daily demonstration of 18th century battlefield tactics as performed by the reenactors. Truly, Crown Point is an historic gem nestled in the picturesque environs of the Champlain Valley.
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Vol. 5 No. 3 | North Country Living Magazine | 27
Adirondack icon
How the Westport Chair came to be By Sarah Sauter
“
You know how the Adirondack chair is really hard to sit in because it falls back?” My father-in-law popped this question during a recent visit to my family’s new house. I rolled my eyes and nodded. I had always been baffled by their popularity, but had recently found myself lost in a sea of sloping backs, from the cheap plastic knock-offs to those made from skis, all displayed shrine-like in practically every location not taken up by a house or a car. And on the walls (where chairs most certainly do not belong) are photographs of them — sans people — plopped on a waterfront or cozying up to a fire pit. “I found out why!” he exclaimed. “It was originally built to be put on a hill.” I swear, at that moment, time stopped and years of aesthetic bewilderment were reconciled. I had spent the better part of a month driving around my new home, admiring the mountains and sloping greenery, not once giving a thought as to how one might sit comfortably among such beauty. Intrigued, I had to learn more, which led me to the story of the Westport chair. Like all ingenious inventions (and superheroes), the Westport chair was born out of necessity. Thomas Lee, a Massa28 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
chusetts native and son of Colonel Francis Lee, a prominent investor, spent his summers in Essex County at his family’s Westport house. An avid naturalist, Thomas was very much at home in the Champlain Valley, where he spent many of his days hunting and exploring, not to mention relaxing. It was there that he was inspired to design a chair. Simply put, he needed outdoor furniture tough enough to make the mountainous landscapes of the Adirondacks comfortable. Anyone who has attempted to place an ordinary lawn chair on North Country soil, only to have it tip dangerously into rivets of sand and buried rocks, knows perfectly well that this was no ordinary Sunday hobby. He was on a mission. With carpenters at hand and plenty of family to act as testers, Lee patiently crafted his design. Using wide hemlock trees provided a durable, seamless surface, while the ingeniously constructed angles of seat and chair cradled its user into limb-melting relaxation. Sometime between 1900 and 1903, the chair was perfected, much to the satisfaction of vacationing relatives and visiting friends. That wasn’t the end of the chair’s glory, but also Continued on page 30
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wasn’t the beginning of a new family fortune. Many claim this loss due to a version of the chair’s design being patented in 1905 by Thomas’ friend, Harry Bunnell, who did make a profit for a time. Though Bunnell’s chair was a bit narrower throughout, it was almost identical to the design Lee had crafted. Fascinated by the controversial backstory, I searched for any living relatives of Lee’s, stumbling upon Bruce Ware, a realtor in Westport and Thomas’ great-great nephew. I drove out to speak with Ware, only to find that this was not a malicious tale of a back-stabbing hunting buddy. (My apologies to reality TV fans everywhere.) I knew I wasn’t the first to pop the question of Lee and his chair, so I was surprised when he told me that his “Uncle Tommy” had no interest whatsoever in business ventures and was simply helping out a friend. “It was a gesture, more than anything else,” mused Ware. Bunnell was a carpenter with a shop near the Westport Fairgrounds and Lee had come from a wealthy family. “He had no interest in manufacturing,” Ware explained. Thus, when Bunnell expressed his concern about a lack of resources for the upcoming winter, Lee happily handed over a copy of his design, encouraging him to sell the chairs for a profit. After reading Thomas Lee’s chronology, the thought of him giving away what may have been a valuable business venture didn’t strike me as odd in the least. Lee may have been a Harvard grad, but he was an easygoing mountain man at heart, more at home in nature than anywhere else. He worked for the Smithsonian for a time after dropping out of Law school, and was a resident naturalist aboard the Albatross for several expeditions. Ware informed me that his family sold artifacts gleaned from these trips back to the Smithsonian. Photographs of his are also among their inventory. Ware seemed eager to flesh out his uncle’s history, and
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as he spoke I clearly understood why. Though now famous for his chair, Lee’s contributions to the Westport area were numerous and by no means inconsequential. The Lee family owned the first local waterworks, delivering fresh water to the D&H Railroad and the Westport Inn, owned by Alice Lee, Thomas’ sister. They would eventually build a water main to supply spring water to the entire village of Westport, but it was Lee who was the first to share the family spring. In 1906, while Bunnell was selling chairs, Lee was busy constructing his bottling works, becoming the first to deliver the fresh mountain spring water. Legend even has it that Teddy Roosevelt, a fellow Harvard grad, only served Thomas Lee’s Mountain Spring Water in the White House. Lee held a strong interest in every community he belonged to. In South Carolina, where he spent his winters, he played a role in educating freed slaves. He helped to incorporate the Agricultural School for Freedmen in Beaufort, where he served as vice president and trustee, and brought his chair design to the Penn School so they could learn to build. To this day, Westport chairs can still be found in South Carolina. I asked Ware if there was any animosity in his family regarding the chair. He nodded and shrugged, saying that a “patent meant money,” and it had caused bitterness in some of the descendants. He pointed out with a wry smile that, though his Uncle Tommy may have been rich, he wouldn’t have minded a patent himself. Feelings aside, Ware has done a good job of preserving what history he has of Lee. Both an original Lee glass water bottle and original Bunnell chair are displayed in his realty office. Even more enticing was the perfect replica of his Uncle’s Westport chair design on the back porch of his home.
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Ware also explained that the smaller planks of the Adirondack chair were due to foresting of the wider Hemlocks in the 1920s. Beyond the planks, it seems to me that the Adirondack chair holds characteristics of the Westport and the Bunnell, but through its evolution has ultimately become a symbol of its own. While driving to Westport, I explained to my 6-year-old son why we were meeting Bruce. After a minute of serious contemplation, he turned away from his window-gazing ‘With so much sky to see, the open posture and and asked, “What’s so important about a chair?” Having grown up in Philadelphia, I am no more a native upward gaze provides what a stoop or lawn chair Upstate New Yorker than the Adirondack chair is a rustnever could.’ ed metal city-dweller. And though I’m sure the same has --The author been asked regarding the beloved cheesesteak, I must admit I agreed with him at the time. Growing up, my view was stunted to the row of houses across the street. I never even He escorted my son and I across the street to see it, offer- considered that relaxation might have been this thought out ing me a seat as I marveled at its rustic, yet flawless design. and so...well...cherished. Not to mention that a view might Perhaps it was the burdening weight of my pregnancy, but I stretch for miles, unbroken. accepted without hesitation. “You’re the first interviewer to actually sit in it,” he said with a smile as I made myself a little too at home. Ware explained that Lee’s Westport chair was built at a 100 degree angle, versus the 105 degrees of today’s Adirondack chair, making it more comfortable “especially for women.” I agreed. I didn’t feel thrown backwards, as I usually do in Adirondack chairs, and the seat lifted just enough to relieve all pressure from my knees and feet, leaving me to melt in a puddle of bliss. That is until my son perched himself on the arm of a Bunnell chair, tipping it over immediately and pinning himself beneath it. Apparently the wider angles of the Continued on page 32 Westport chair were meant to be more than just aesthetically pleasing. nclmagazine.com
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In fact, my only personal encounter with an Adirondack chair was a decidedly unpleasant one. It was 13 years ago when my mom received one for her birthday. She had proudly placed it on the concrete patch of her backyard. After one (unattractive) attempt, I couldn’t figure out why anyone would want to sacrifice themselves to that unforgiving slant, and ultimately relinquished the struggle, resorting to a folding chair. Years later, and a mom to two very energetic boys, I crave the absolute rest it gave her. What hadn’t occurred to me before was that the Adirondack chair wasn’t built for socialization. The image of two chairs facing a sunset is
a reminder that people can happily co-exist with others while inhabiting their own spaces. They represent a solid, peaceful structure of people and land.
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I now understand my mom’s fondness for the sloped back and sinking viewpoint. With so much sky to see, the open posture and upward gaze provides what a
stoop or lawn chair never could. Though the chair, I’m sure, may have been happier with a bit of grass.
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Vol. 5 No. 3 | North Country Living Magazine | 33
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Pine’s Country Store
Iconic Indian Lake business has been serving customers for 32 years By Pete DeMola, with photos by Christina Scanlon
T
he modest building with the log cabin facade and the vintage Gore Mountain ski gondola out front is an iconic destination in one of the Adirondack Park’s most popular getaways. Over the past three decades, Pine’s Country Store has grown. And grown. And grown, the modest building on East Main Street now bursting at the seams with all manner of stuff. There are rooms packed with athletic and camping gear to outfit visitors and seasonal residents. There’s Adirondack kitsch, a whirlwind of pine cone and balsam-scented items; sweatshirts and gear branded with Indian Lake iconography. nclmagazine.com
Summer is go-time at the iconic Adirondack destination, which opened in 1984.
Continued on page 38 Vol. 5 No. 3 | North Country Living Magazine | 37
Pine’s Country Store carries just about everything, from tourist souvenirs to hightech hiking gear.
thing a contractor or homeowner could ever want, Tim recalled. “Go to Pine’s, they’ll have it,” became a mantra around town. And if they didn’t have it, then, well they could order it. As the times changed, inventory began increasing. While Pine’s Country Store once only carried one brand of hightech hiking boots — one pair each for men, women and children — they now have a half-dozen. The second floor of the century-old building, once a youth hostel, is broken up into small rooms, which the Pine’s quickly repurposed for chambers dedicated to each item. There’s one for footwear; another for knick-knacks, touristy t-shirts, candles and gift items. There are rooms for boaters and beach supplies, sporting goods, camping supTim Pine said he is thankful for his father’s decision to relocate from New plies and bedding. A children’s room is packed with toys, Jersey, a decision that gave him the opportunity to raise his own family here. while another is dedicated exclusively to Christmas trees. And of course, there are hardware materials, the And that’s not to mention the fleet of lawn gear, literal nuts and bolts of the business. yard equipment and kayaks spilling out onto “True Value with a little bit of everything the porch, backyard, garage and tent. is our motto,” said Tim Pine, the owner. “The more we carry, the more we sell,” Like many others who have migrated Pine said. “Right now, we’re busting at to the North Country, the story of the the seams. If we got any bigger, we’d Pine’s started with a single step. have to build a new building.” Originally from southern New JeremployPine’s has three full-time employ sey, Tom’s father retired early in 1984 ees and seven part-time college stu stuat the age of 50. dents who work during the summer, For the next phase of his life, he when like any other Adirondack was looking for three things, Tim rebusiness, they go into warp-speed. called: The pick-up may be even more pro proHe wanted to own a small business nounced in this remote community with a house on a lake with a ski area of 1,300 year-round residents where 70 nearby. percent of the homes in the community are Indian Lake, located in northeastern Hamilowned by second homeowners. ton County, had all three. Despite the growth, hardware remains their base, Pine Their parents relocated. And one by one, after graduating said, and the touristy stuff is incidental. from college, so did their children. “We’re a hardware store,” Pine said. “Everyone’s gotta fix In those early days, the shop was primarily a hardware up their home.” store. It quickly developed a reputation for carrying everyAnd, always humble, he still considers the destination to 38 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
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be a small local store. Pine’s Country Store: 1 East Main Street, Indian It’s been 23 years since he joined his parents in the idyllic Lake, NY. Open daily. Find them on Facebook or community. call 518-648-521 Has there been change over the years? The days of the old-fashioned Adirondack hotels, where families would stay for a week, are over, he said. “There’s a couple around, but not like it used to be,” Pine said. And then there’s the advent of smartphones and the culture of constant connectivity. People used to come to get away from everything, he mused, and stay at these big camps. Folks would eat, swim, fish… and just enjoy the summertime. Now the fabric has shifted to one of second homeowners, all of whom want to stay connected. Radios have given way From bug spray to kid’s toys, Pines has got you covered. to iPod cords and phone chargers. It’s inevitable that the Adirondack Park would catch up, Pine said. Pine says he looks forward to customers returning each year. With the passage of time, the new generation of visitors now include the children and grandchildren of those his pops served all those years ago. The businessman reflected on his dad’s decision, one that gave him the opportunity to live and raise his own children here. “I’m proud to be here.” nclmagazine.com
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G
k c a B iving
Returning the Favor Ticonderoga cancer survivor now aids others with the same diagnosis
Deb Mackey and Wendy Shaw stand together with a piece of art from a Paint ‘N Sip event. Shaw said Mackey has been instrumental by donating her time and talents to the events, which help raise funds for the purchasing of gas cards.
42 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
By Keith Lobdell
W
endy Shaw never felt alone after she was diagnosed with cancer in 2009. Between then and 2011, Shaw received a gracious amount of community support as she traveled to and from cancer treatments, sitting in the care center as chemotherapy was injected into her veins, going through remissions and return visits until she was able to say she had defeated her foe. Ever since, Shaw has worked to give back to the community which gave so much inspiration and help to her through her Friends Comforting Friends organization. “I was helped by so many people and this was my way to give back,” Shaw said. “It started as a way to give gas cards to cancer patients so they would be able to travel to and from their treatments.” Shaw was also able to give patients comfort and care baskets, which would hold items she knew were needed by people going through cancer treatments. “There are several kinds of lotions that are good for people, fleece socks, magazines, crossword puzzles, hard candy and more things people would use while they were going through chemotherapy,” she said. “It gives patients the feeling of comfort.” As Shaw saw more need in the community, she also saw more willingness to help from others. “I have a group now who makes fleece blankets for the bags,” she said. “We have a Facebook page (search Friends Comforting Friends) and if I need anything, I will put a noncliving@suncommunitynews.com
tice onto the Facebook site and I will receive help in full force. I once asked for a certain brand of lotion, and within days I had 80 bottles of it.” She has also seen community members step up to help with donations and even fundraisers, and a Paint N’ Sip event has been created with proceeds benefitting the program. “Deb Mackey has been instrumental for us in providing her time and talents to do this event for us,” said Shaw, who said proceeds from the Paint N’ Sip go to help purchase the gas cards. Mackey has also been able to devote more time to the program since last January, when she retired from the Ticonderoga Central School District. “My main goal is basically to copy everything people did for me and give that back to others,” she said. Friends Comforting Friends has also added to its charity giving, as the first post on a recent visit to the Facebook Page was not about a cancer patient, but someone who had broken their ankle. Our friend, Portia, broke her ankle and could use our help. She will be having surgery on her ankle this Friday and will be immobile for several weeks. If you would like to help out re: dinners, cleaning, laundry, etc., please leave a message below or send me a private message. Thank you so much! “We will be delivering dinner to her tonight,” Shaw said excitingly on the day of the interview. “While our main focus is cancer patients, we really want to help whoever is in need of help.”
Students stand with fleece blankets which were made for the Friends Comforting Friends care baskets.
Portia, who later commented on the above post, mentioned how appreciative she was. “Thank you Wendy for all your help. It’s been appreciated more than I could ever say. Surgery is tomorrow and strict bedrest for two weeks following. And partial after that. I love you and thank you for helping me and my family.”
For more information, visit the Friends Comforting Friends Facebook Page.
Wendy Shaw started to create care baskets like these to help those facing cancer treatments. The Friends Comforting Friends program has since expanded to help others who are in need of care and a pick-me-up.
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Charles Evans Hughes Remarkable reformer, statesman - to be honored on 100th anniversary of his presidential campaign
Charles Evans Hughes 46 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
By Thom Randall
In an election year punctuated with radicalism and extreme rhetoric, an historic anniversary is to be held honoring a man regarded as one of the most analytical, wise and influential public officials in American history. Considered a brilliant architect of modern American democracy over his two tenures on the U.S. Supreme Court, Charles Evans Hughes is to be recognized this fall, 100 years after his campaign for the U.S. presidency fell just a relatively few votes short of winning against Woodrow Wilson. Hughes — who also served as U.S. Secretary of State and two terms as New York State Governor — is to be honored in several commemorative events during September and October in the acclaimed statesman’s birthplace: Glens Falls, NY. Also, an exhibit detailing his life and accomplishments is to be on display from Sept. 8 to Dec. 31 at the Folklife Center at Crandall Library in Glens Falls. The city is celebrating Charles Evans Hughes Day on Saturday Oct. 15, with festivities based at the famed Hyde Collection. Walking tours of Glens Falls highlighting Hughes’ haunts are to be held at both 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., and a 1 p.m. ceremony features a Hughes re-enactor being interviewed by a local journalist as well as readings of proclamations by area politicians. Other events honoring Hughes and exploring his formidable influence on society and the role of government are to be held in mid-October. Details accompany this article. Volume 1 of “The Encyclopedia of American Lawyers” notes that Hughes is regarded as one of the most outstanding Americans of the 20th Century, noting his role as a reformer, progressive jurist and diplomat — as well as being the bestknown lawyer of his day. Renowned as a champion of social justice during formative years in U.S. history, Hughes was born in Glens Falls on April 11, 1862, the son of a minister and his devout wife. The only child of a middle-class family, Hughes was a voracious reader beginning at age three. Primarily home-schooled, he studied French, German, Greek, science and Shakespeare between the ages of five and eight. At age six, he drafted his own course of study. He graduated from high school at the young age of 13 — as one of the two top students. At age 14, he enrolled at Colgate University, transferring
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Honoring Charles Evans Hughes
Hughes as a young college student
two years later to Brown University. Hughes attained his undergraduate degree at age 19. After a year of teaching to raise money for grad school, he enrolled at Columbia University Law School, graduating in 1884 as the top scholar of his class. Hughes subsequently passed the New York State Bar exam with a score of 99.5, the highest score ever attained until then. Soon after, he worked at a New York City Law firm, advancing to a principal attorney — and he taught Law at Cornell University. It was in 1905 that Hughes first delved into public service, when the New York State legislature drafted Hughes to investigate the gas industry’s influence over New York City politicians. In this new role, he uncovered widespread corruption and massive price gouging. Due to his success in this task, he was soon afterward assigned to scrutinize the insurance industry, where he unearthed similar malfeasance.
Hailed as a formative statesman in American history, Charles Evans Hughes is to be commemorated in the following events this fall in Glens Falls: • Exhibit: “Charles Evans Hughes - A Native Son,” is launched with a reception, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday Sept. 8 in the Folklife Gallery of Crandall Library, Glen St. in Glens Falls. Music by “Magpie” to follow the reception. The exhibit, detailing Hughes’ life and accomplishments, continues through Dec. 31. • Informal talk and performance: “Spiritual Reflections from the Writings, Speeches & Decisions of Charles Evans Hughes” by Maury Thompson, set for Sunday Sept. 18 at Christ Church United Methodist, Bay and Washington streets, Glens Falls. Thompson, an area journalist and co-curator of the above exhibit, will lead singing of hymns from Hughes’ era. • Performance of the play “The Revolt,” an historical suffrage drama originally presented in May 1916 at the Glens Falls First Baptist Church, where Hughes’ father was pastor. Complete with costumes and songs of the period, the performance is set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday Oct. 12 in Crandall Library, Glen St., Glens Falls. • Celebration of “Charles Evans Hughes Day” on Saturday Oct. 15, with festivities based at the famed Hyde Collection art museum, Warren St., Glens Falls. Walking tours of the city highlighting Hughes-related locations to occur at both 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.. A ceremony at 1 p.m. in The Hyde features noted Hughes biographer Bill Loughrey portraying the renowned statesman being interviewed by a local journalist Paul Post, as well as readings of proclamations by area politicians and musical performances. • Lecture: “Charles Evans Hughes as Secretary of State - America and the World Between World Wars,” set for 7 p.m. Wednesday Oct. 19. at Crandall Library. Talk by Christopher Whann, Ph.D, of SUNY’s Empire State College. • Lecture: “Charles Evans Hughes & His Warren St. Connections,” at 2 p.m. Sunday Oct. 23 at The Hyde Collection, Warren St., Glens Falls. Observations by journalist Maury Thompson.
Continued on page 48
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A campaign advertisement in favor of Hughes for president
Reported widely in the press, his work brought him fame and considerable respect among New Yorkers, leading to his election as New York State Governor in 1906 and reelection in 1908. During this era, he was responsible for bringing about the state’s first regulations on lobbying and campaign donations. As a progressive Republican governor, Hughes successfully fought for strengthening child labor laws, wage and workplace legislation and he worked to establish the first worker’s compensation plan in the U.S. — as well as enacting regulations on the telephone and telegraph industry. At the conclusion of his internationally-acclaimed service as Governor in 1910 — Hughes was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, where he continued his advocacy for social justice and reform of industry, commerce and government. In 1916, Republicans drafted Hughes to run for U.S. President against incumbent Woodrow Wilson. Hughes had not campaigned for this Republican nomination nor did he want it. Hughes had turned down a similar draft effort four years earlier. But he reluctantly accepted the G.O.P. party nomination, and five months later, was narrowly defeated by Wilson in
one of the closest presidential elections in U.S. history. Hughes then returned to practicing law, but in 1920 was chosen by new president Warren G. Harding to serve on his cabinet as Secretary of State. In this role, he negotiated and drafted dozens of treaties and agreements — earning considerable respect internationally — until 1925 when he resigned from the post to resume his law practice. Hughes returned to public service in 1929, however, when he was named by President Herbert Hoover to the International Court of Justice. The following year, he was chosen again to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, this time as Chief Justice, a role he held until 1941. During this second tenure on the Supreme Court, Hughes was considered to hold the swing vote on a court split between conservatives and liberals. His centrist approach was rooted in a dedication to weigh cases objectively on their merit and impact on the nation’s citizens, rather than following political ideologies, historians have said. He wrote many of the court’s decisions, which struck a balance between the liberal New Deal initiatives and freedom from excessive government intervention, while observing his intent to rein in government bureaucracy. One of Hughes’ landmark achievements was opposing Franklin D. Roosevelt’s efforts to reorganize the Supreme Court and pack the panel with justices sympathetic to his ideologies. Bill Loughrey of Atlanta Ga., a former federal official and now an avid historian writing a Charles Evans Hughes biography, said recently that Hughes has yet to be fully credited for his efforts throughout his career on behalf of racial justice and equality. Continued on page 50
Hughes arrives to take office as New York State governor 48 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
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During his tenure on the Supreme Court, Hughes fought the legal underpinnings of slavery that endured long after the Civil War, arguing for fair pay and to end the practice of gang labor on plantations with pitifully low wages, Loughrey noted in a recent article in the Glens Falls Chronicle. Hughes also battled against the practice of lynching and for fair legal process for African-Americans, Loughrey said in a recent interview. “Hughes’ herculean effort to turn around the Supreme Court on issues of civil rights is one of the underestimated aspects of his career as a political titan,” Loughrey said, noting that during Hughes’ early career, he was the only prominent white politician of his time to campaign in African-American churches. “Hughes actively sought out cases in order to stop the barbaric and horrific practice of lynching — and disenfranchising of blacks,” Loughrey continued. Years before he was chief justice, Hughes co-founded in 1927 the National Conference on Christians and Jews, an organization which actively opposed the Ku Klux Klan and fought anti-Catholicism and anti-Semitism. The group is now known as the National Conference for Community and Justice. 50 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
Local journalist Maury Thompson reads a Hugh’s memorial plaque in Glens Falls City Park
Loughrey credits Hughes’ parents for his work to battle discrimination and racial and religious injustice. He said that Hughes was influenced by his father, an abolitionist preacher who was a leader in the anti-slavery movement of the Upper Hudson River Valley and his mother, who embraced a strong faith. Area journalist Maury Thompson, co-curator of the Folklife Center’s exhibit on Charles Evans Hughes, said that Hughes left a remarkable legacy and exerted an enduring impact on the future of the U.S. that will extend for generations. “For another person, running for president would be the high point in their life — but for Hughes, it was just a footnote,” Thompson said. “He did so much for the good of others, serving as governor, Associate Justice and Chief Justice of the U.S., and Secretary of State — He was a great humanitarian.” ncliving@suncommunitynews.com
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Vol. 5 No. 3 | North Country Living Magazine | 51
Judith Galamian
Strings
Tucked away on a hillside in Lewis lies one of the most prestigious schools of music of its kind
by Laura Achouatte
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at the Heart ncliving@suncommunitynews.com
...of the Adirondacks nclmagazine.com
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T
he Adirondacks.
A location many view as an adventure paradise. The typical adventure may entail hiking to the many mountains’ peaks, or swimming in natural waterfalls and deep gorges, or skiing on fresh powdered snow, camping rustically in nature’s abundance, or fishing the many lakes and streams. There are a few people, however, who seek a different type of adventure here - near the heart of the high peaks. These music lovers are not seeking the usual that this wilderness paradise is known for. These adventurers trickle here each summer from different corners of the globe. Some new, some returning. After patiently waiting for approval and careful selection, the Adirondacks offer these chosen prodigies a chance to polish their skills, to devote themselves without interference. This out of the ordinary adventure is offered each summer to students at the Meadowmount School of Music, nestled in the mountains in the small Adirondack community of Lewis, just outside of Elizabethtown in Essex County. Students flock here annually to attain mastery of their stringed instrument: violin, viola, cello, or piano. Simply achieving acceptance to Meadowmount is a commitment to pushing abilities, boundaries, and skill; those that attend sessions at this prestigious “strings school” are serious musicians, training for the next step in a career, whether that be auditioning, acceptance into the prestigious music schools of the world, or finalizing their master’s degree. All seek fame and to be one of the greats. The historic site where Meadowmount lies is known as the old Milholland Farm. In the late 1800s, the farm
First Class 1944, photo courtesy of Meadowmount.
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was built by John Milholland, a reporter from Brooklyn, most notably known as an inventor of the pneumatic tube — a tube that can be found used today at most bank drive-thrus, sending items between teller and bank, and transforming how banking was done and mail was sent interdepartmentally in office settings. Milholland made a fortune through his Pneumatic Tube Company out of Brooklyn and later constructed his home in Lewis. His daughter, Inez Milholland, also historically known as a suffragette, led the 1913 Parade in Washington, DC, and was highly involved in advancing the rights of women. The Milholland Farm was eventually put up for sale after Milholland lost his fortune in a business transaction that he had been banking on, related to an innovative use of the pneumatic tube. The farm sat vacant for many years until Ivan Galamian, a violin teacher, and his wife purchased the farm. A bust of John Milholland sits in Galamian’s studio, and Milholland family photos adorn the walls, as Mrs. Galamian felt would be appropriate to commemorate the family who built the estate, and in turn, the place where so many would come to learn from the master teacher, Galamian. Ivan Galamian had the dark intrigue and large eyes inherited from his Armenian ancestors. He, however, grew up in Russia from the age of three. Living in Russia, he practiced violin and attended the Moscow Philharmonic School, his skill at such a young age led him to a chair on Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra. With this great achievement as a teenager, Galamian still left Russia due to the tensions of the First World War, and the encircling communist regime that had taken over his home. He moved to France, where he worked with Lucien Capet, a seasoned violin teacher, and taught students Capet referred to him. Galamian had been a superb student, his precise style and command led him to teaching as a way of making a living, but he also found he was good at it. In France, he had accepted a faculty position at the Conservatoire Russe
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de Paris, where he worked alongside the great composer, and fast friend, Sergei Rachmaninoff. Ode to his teaching style; precise and strict, he quickly gained the nickname “Ivan the Terrible,” an ill-sounding moniker, yet he is known for impacting each student who has studied with him, unforgettably, for the better. Galamian later made his way to New York City in 1937. Rather than play on the stage professionally himself as he had done in France (and that disagreed with his nerves), Galamian taught. His students in Europe and America achieved such success that soon Galamian became one of the most sought after teachers of his time. Personally training and teaching students in the big city, Ivan Galamian found that his students would benefit if they could somehow escape the distractions of the city which led him to look toward
Meadowmount today, courtesy of Martin Toub.
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Upstate New York, and particularly the Adirondacks for the seclusion and escape it provided. Galamian’s friend, Gregor Piatigorsky, a renowned cellist, had bought a house near Elizabethtown, and he invited Galamian to come discover the area called “New Russia,” that he joked with Galamian was like home, their own Russia, sprinkled with the white birches reminiscent of where they had grown up. Galamian met his wife, Judith Johnson, in this area of Upstate New York and with their marriage and his ambition; the two came across the old Milholland Farm, vacant for some time, and a ghost of a shell of what it used to be. With borrowed funds and high hopes, the couple transformed the farm into the Meadowmount School of Music. The complex, building and grounds of the school remain much like they were 70 years ago when Galamian opened his doors for the first session in 1944 with 30 students. Meadowmount opened that year with a meager staff; Mr. Galamian and some friends as teachers, and Mrs. Galamian running the business side along with a few helpers to do upkeep and run the kitchen. Meadowmount has never been an advertised school; in fact, most of the aspiring musicians apply as a result of reputation and word of mouth. Throughout the classical music realm, Meadowmount is known as a place where the great musicians of the past and today learned from the famous violin teacher, Ivan Galamian.
Continued on page 58
Vol. 5 No. 3 | North Country Living Magazine | 57
Music Director, photo credit Martin Toub
Some of the most notables that walked the halls of Mead owmount include: Michael Rabin, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Veda Reynolds, Jaime Laredo, Joshua Bell, and James Ehnes to name a few of many. A wall of musicians’ headshots, some with their instruments, is framed on the cafeteria wall. “Most all the great violinists of today came through these halls, a lot of people have,” remarked Mary McGowan, Director of Admissions at Meadowmount. Today, Ivan Galamian is gone, having passed in 1981. Yet, still to this day, students who enter the school come to learn through his memory, through his legacy, through the students of Galamian, some now teachers at Meadowmount, or from those who are familiar with Galamian and his artistry. His legacy still provides the momentum he started with when he purchased Meadowmount nearly three quarters of a century ago. McGowan stated, “Everyone is familiar with Galamian, here, and his teaching. Students, teachers, everyone comes here because they have either worked with Galamian, or are familiar with his work, with his style of teaching.” After Ivan Galamian’s passing, his wife, Judith, inherited
Edward Lonergan and Mary McGowan, Assistant and Admissions Director. Photo by Laura Achouatte.
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the task of continuing the school’s purpose. Many changes had taken place over time and continued after Ivan Galamian was gone. The school had expanded over the years from its initial 30 students, to around 250 pupil capacity. Students from all over the world; China, Israel, Germany, all the 50 states, apply. From more than 400 applications, some with enhanced scholarships based on merit, nearly 250 students are reviewed and chosen to flock to the small town of Lewis each summer. This “summer camp” has a rigorous schedule that involves intense practice, waking at 7 am, breakfast at 7:30 am, and solo practice at 8 am until noon, lunch, and then afternoon lessons, and concerts each evening. “About 250 students, some are minors, all the way up to adults who are in college, working on a master’s, or need to isolate to only the music, to polish for auditions, are chosen to attend each year,” said McGowan. In 1991, Eric Larsen was recruited as Director of Music and with him came the addition of chamber music and piano. Lessons before had been more individually centered, but now students also play within a small group as well as receive training to be strong soloists. And then, upon Judith’s passing, Mary McGowan, her assistant, took over as Director of Admissions, and now leads the Meadowmount School into its future, along with the help of her assistant Edward Lonergan. About the addition of chamber group, McGowan said, “Eric started chamber music here over 20 years ago…We train all as soloists, but in a chamber group, each is a solo, collectively. It’s easy to hide in an orchestra- to solo in a chamber group together, each student has to be strong, they really need to work hard. They {students} are motivated by each other, are uplifting to each other, they give each other support and drive, and critique themselves.” Truly that drive and critiquing of self is something Galamian would be proud of. So much talent comes through Meadowmount that the most prestigious schools hold a “college fair” to inform and recruit eager students. “They love our kids because they know they are serious music students,” said McGowan, “college fair is when conservatories from San Francisco, Manhattan, and all over come, Mannes, Juilliard. All the big schools come to give information to apply to their school.” During the summer months, walking or bicycling down County Route 10 between Westport and Lewis, the sounds of music practice, the high pitch of a violin, the thrum of a cello, can be heard coming from windows and cottages dispersed across the Meadowmount campus, as cows graze in ncliving@suncommunitynews.com
open fields across the way. Arriving at Meadowmount feels as if one is arriving at a summer camp, and much like a summer camp (another tradition in the Adirondacks) the students build friendships, share in camaraderie, network, and build lasting relationships with students and teachers that will stay through their career and lifetime. Although no longer living, Galamian is held deep in the hearts and the strings of the lives he has touched, whether it was in the flesh and up close, as a pupil of the master teacher, or through someone who knew him, or in the sound and command of a piece of music. Galamian’s teaching, his school, his history, carries on in the smallest of towns, in the hearts of his students, in the heart of the Adirondacks, amidst the birch trees. An adventure only a few are able to accomplish. Locally, Meadowmount holds concerts throughout the summer months at 7:30 pm, nearly each night of the week. The students also generously share their talents at fundraisers, events and even the churches they attend. For nearly 14 years they have lent an air of elegance to the event held each year at Hand House in Elizabethtown to benefit Elizabethtown Community Hospital through their Auxiliary’s Dinner @ Eight fundraiser. Each year concert dates are updated on the school website. The school also features yearly guest artists and some students are highlighted on NPR each year. For further information on Meadowmount, its history, concert schedules, events and and to learn more about Ivan Galamian go to www.meadowmount.com. For an in depth look into Meadowmount and the man behind its fruition, the book, Miraculous Teacher: Ivan Galamian and The Meadowmount Experience by Elizabeth A.H. Green, is for sale on Meadowmount’s website store.
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Wall of Fame, photo by Laura Achouatte
Some of the most notables that walked the halls of Meadowmount include: Michael Rabin, YoYo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Veda Reynolds, Jaime Laredo, Joshua Bell, and James Ehnes to name a few of many.
Practice cottage photo by Laura Achouatte
Vol. 5 No. 3 | North Country Living Magazine | 59
Happy 100th birthday CCRS! School district celebrates a hundred years of teaching excellence By Teah Dowling
Chazy Superintendent John Fairchild remembers the good ol’ days as a Chazy Central Rural School student when knickers, collared shirts and ties were required. At the time, he attended the original Chazy Central School — a grand, stately structure with an imposing bell tower which stood 71 feet above the roof, greeting children as they entered. Inside, the hallways were filled with Italian marble and pieces of priceless artwork. Fairchild and his fellow classmates immersed themselves in the
44 classrooms to learn core subjects and other disciplines in agriculture, industrial arts, household arts, library, music and physical training. Each classroom contained a set of cleaning erasers and dust mops — some had their own unique themes. For example, the Cicero (language) room was paneled in white enameled wood, decorated with plaster statues of Hebe and Diane and contained a columned alter of a classic temple. The Shakespeare (English) classroom was paneled in mahogany veneer and had a working fireplace embellished with shields and gargoyles. Continued on page 64
The second Chazy Central Rural School was constructed in 1969 when the school board decided to demolish the former building filled with concrete walls three-feet thick, which cost a fortune to heat.
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The classes, in some cases, were separat separated by gender. The young ladies would learn how to sew, cook and do laundry, while young men learned carpetwoodworking, woodwork ing and mechanmechan ics. tradiOutside the tradi tional classroom, stuThe Appreciation Tablet was modeled by John Paulding in Chicago. The plaque dents had an array of extra honoring the community was located in the main entrance of the old building. It’s curriculars to participate now in the main entrance of the school. in, including theatre. The auditorium could seat up to 1,100 people and contained a stage fully equipped with lights, curtains and scenery. The stage was home to one of the largest pipe organs in the state, Philharmona Welte Philharmon ic, with 2,800 pipes and The Dedication 58 stops that would play Tablet was modeled by John Paulding in Chicago, The plaque honoring the stu- both manually and with dents was located in the main entrance rolls. of the old building. It’s now in the main Sports, Fairchild said, entrance of the school. weren’t big back then, but gym was a requirement. In fact, boys and girls had separate gyms and swimming pools. Each pool had a bronze, life-sized figure of a boy or a girl statue by sculptor John Rea of Beekmantown. When it was time to replenish their minds and bodies, the fifth floor contained two lunch rooms where students sat at marble-top tables and lunches were served on fine china with engraved silver utensils. Taking care of their bodies was not an issue since nurses and dentists were available with a ring of a bell since each had their own offices and lived on site. This was Fairchild’s first experience with education — at 64 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
least until the third grade, when the overhead of heating such a vast building — that contained concrete walls 3-feet-thick — motivated the school board to vote to tear it down and construct the modern-day facility that exists today. The original building was opened on Nov. 14, 1916 after the consolidation of 11 rural schools within a five mile radius of each other. With the help of a $2 million donation by William H. Miner and curriculum researched by Rev. George Mott, the children of the community received all the educational advantages of a city school system. The current building opened to students sometime in 1969. It holds approximately 500 students and contains class sizes of 30 to 40.
The Shakespeare (English) classroom was paneled in mahogany veneer and had a working fireplace embellished with shields and gargoyles. That fireplace is now located in Kathryn Brown’s English classroom.
ncliving@suncommunitynews.com
The mural called “A Page in History” is located in the school’s cafeteria. It was made by elementary art classes, who wanted to honor the former building, which was five stories high.
KEEPING TRADITION
Over the years, school officials worked hard to keep the artifacts and traditions of the old school. Fairchild said with the demolition came the disbursement of most of the artifacts. Throughout the years, several pieces of artwork found their way back home, including the dedication and appreciation bronze tablets made out to the students and the community, which sit in the main entrance. The Shakespeare Room was brought back by English teacher Kathryn Brown, who took the original window and fireplace and put it in her unique classroom already decorated with frogs and dragons. Traditions, like Class Day, never left the halls either. Class Day is an annual event that celebrates the seniors’ connection to one another, their school and their community through processions, songs and a tree dedication by formally dressed seniors. The event still happens each year. Lastly, the school’s main objective didn’t change: bringing out the best in their students. “We encourage our kids to be well rounded and what it means to be kind to people,” Brown said. “We had to work really hard as a school and a community to maintain that.” nclmagazine.com
100-YEAR CELEBRATION
To celebrate the school’s growth and history, CCRS will host a two-day event Oct. 21 and 22. The first day will feature a school-wide celebration for all its current students. Continued on page 66
Since the beginning in 1914, Chazy Central Rural School always took a special interest in theatre. Earlier this year, several seniors participated in the production called “Zeus on the Loose.”
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The second day will be a community-wide celebration with an open house from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., featuring many historical exhibits, raffle, silent auction, concessions and more. Artifacts, pictures and memorabilia will be on display throughout the school. For more information, contact John Fairchild at 846-7135 ext. 508 or jfairchild@chazy.org.
The original building was five stories high and had a bell tower that stood 71 feet higher than the roof.
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66 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
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North Country Living Magazine’s Fall 2016 Photography Contest
And what a contest it was!
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ncliving@suncommunitynews.com
W
e did not anticipate the extraordinary level of interest our inaugural fall photo contest would elicit in our readers. Nor did we anticipate the extraordinary level of talent that exists among budding North Country photographers. To say the competition was fierce would be an understatement.
We received more than 300 entries to this year’s contest, of which we painstakingly whittled down to 30 finalists. The finalists, along with credit to the photographer, are published in this edition of North Country Living. We hope you enjoy them. Continued on page 70
And the winner is ... After much consideration, the winner of this year’s contest and a two-night all inclusive weekend for two at the Stony Creek Ranch Resort was Jesse Quonce of Lake Placid with his photograph of ominous clouds rolling in over the High Peaks Region. The photo was taken just off Adirondac Loj Road in Lake Placid.
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Second place winner of a $200 gift certificate to North Country Golf Club was Dan Rock of Cadyville. Dan snapped his winning photo of the St Regis River in Santa Clara, just off Route 458. Honorable mention goes to the remainder of our finalists, who include: Antonia Asa-Thomas; Bill Millington; Bob McDermott; Claire Thayer; Cynthia Lemery; Felix Tam; Frank Barrera; James Neyenhouse; Jeffrey Kellogg; Jerzy Krysiuk; Jim Gabler; John Eldridge; Linda Benzon; Mary Jean Bland; Sharron Tyrrell; Tarra Judge; Tonya Whitford Condon and Wendy Greenhut. Congratulations all and good luck in next year’s fall photo contest! —The Editor
Antonia Asa-Thomas 70 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
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Third place winner was James Kaiser of Tupper Lake. Kaiser, who described himself as a hopelessly addicted shut-
terbug who has been photographing the Adirondacks for many, many years, grabbed this shot of Lake Eagle Crag about 10 miles west of Tupper Lake and just a few miles from the Mt. Arab trailhead in Piercefield NY. Bob McDermott
Wendy Greenhut
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Bill Millington
Antonia Asa-Thomas 72 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
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Claire Thayer
Cynthia Lemery
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Felix Tam
Frank Barrera
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James Neyenhouse
Jeffrey Kellogg 78 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
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Jerzy Krysiuk
Jessie Qounce
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Jim Gabler
John Eldridge
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Linda Benzon
Tarra Judge
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Dan Rock
James Kaiser
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Tonya Whitford Condon
Sharron Tyrrell
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Mary Jean Bland
Jeffery Kellogg
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Henry Long Ranger
THE LEVER ACTION T
he lever action gun may be the firearm that won the west, but it is better known here in the east for its fabled deer hunting history. From the original go-to Winchester to the Browning, Marlin, Savage and later the modern age Henry, the lever gun has been responsible for putting more venison on hunting camp tables here than any other rifle. The light weight of the lever action rifle together with its short length and maneuverability in dense brush and blow down made it a legendary favorite among those who relish chasing big deer and bear in the rugged Adirondack backcountry. Even today with so many firearm choices offered to whitetail hunting enthusiasts, many crews still chose to pull the trusty lever action from the gun cabinet over fancy, and often pricey, alternatives. Some even like the tradition of carrying these guns with no modern optics on top. One such group is the Iron Sight Gang.
THE GANG Longtime member of the Iron Sight Gang and avid Adirondack deer hunter Dan Ladd shared a bit of history with me about his crew and their tradition of hunting with only lever action guns. Dan, who is an author, outdoor writer and creator of the popular website adkhunter.com, said his uncle Duff Stevenson, an excellent Adirondack deer hunter, carried a Win88 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
by Ed Noonan
chester Model 1894 — a lever action repeating rifle that became one of the most popular hunting rifles in the North Country. Duff, Dan said, killed an 18 pointer in the 1960s with the gun. His son, Joe has since killed many bucks with the same gun. Dan’s uncle Jim Ladd also carried a 30-30 lever gun and later a .44 magnum. Dan’s dad bought a Model 94 in .44 magnum and killed his first Adirondack buck with it on Dan’s 4th birthday. The Gang are drive hunters which is one of the reasons a light handling gun and open sights are preferred for those quick shots at running deer at close range. It is a tradition they still follow today. Check out Dan’s website to see some classic photos of the Gang and the deer they’ve caught up to using lever action guns. As a kid I never missed the cowboy television shows. But
The Iron Sight Gang with a big Adirondack buck ncliving@suncommunitynews.com
A favored choice of the Adirondack deer hunter The new Henry Long Ranger lever action
it was the Rifleman western series and the saddle ring loop lever action used by actors Chuck Connors and Johnny Crawford that I liked best. And when the Nichols Model 94 Chuck Connors Rifleman cap gun was introduced I found one under the tree on Christmas. I would receive my first real lever gun during my early hunting days from an old man who told me: “Now you are a real Adirondack deer hunter.” I used that gun for about 3 or 4 years and shot several bucks with it. But it was not until 2009 when I saw an ad in a hunting magazine for Henry Repeating Arms that my interest in lever guns would really be peaked. Shortly thereafter, I visited my local gun shop and as soon as I shouldered the Henry I was hooked. I was particularly impressed with the smoothness of the action. Since that time I have been a Henry rifle owner and it has traveled with me not only to our Adirondack deer woods but also on big game hunts in other states and countries. And it has never let me down. My first Adirondack hunt was in Hamilton Country where we crossed Long Lake in the dark in a row boat, beached it on the shore and at daylight headed up Owl’s Head Mountain. Half way up I left the trail and my friend continued nclmagazine.com
on up. I sighted several doe early and around noon had a spike horn in my open sights but decided to wait. Later in the afternoon I headed down to the boat and sat just in the edge of the woods watching the trail. It was about a half hour before sunset that I saw something moving down the trail toward me and I assumed it was my friend. My “friend” turned out to have 6 points on its head and at 92 steps (I will never forget this one) I dropped my first Henry buck. This was the beginning of my Henry rifle hunting career. Since that time I have had a number of successful hunts with the Henry, not just for Adirondack and Catskill whitetail but also some other species hunts. One of my most memorable was a Sika deer in Delaware County at the Davenport Game Preserve which had been closed for a number of years. However the owner had several Sika bucks that remained there and he wanted them harvested before they got out of Continued on page 90
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the preserve. Having never hunted Sika, I was anxious and Henry and I accepted the invitation. It was a hunt that I thought would be quick and easy because we had four drivers, but I soon learned these were the most evasive deer that I ever have hunted. On this hunt I had added a Leupold scope to the Henry which turned out to be a great help in the dense woods. My friend, Jerry Wilson, who had set up the hunt, volunteered to be my cameraman and at sunup we entered the woods. At noon we had covered the entire area and only had one quick glimpse of the two Sika and after a short lunch we decided to reverse the drives hoping to get them within range. It was about 5:30 p.m. and time for only one more drive. Jerry and I set up in a thick woodlot and the light was getting dim. It is then that I was glad I had added a scope to my Henry.
Awhile back, I brought my Henry up to Dan’s house to show and let the youngest member of the Gang, 16-year-old Christian Chaney, shoot the gun. A week or so later, he had his own .45-70 Golden Boy. We saw movement off in the distance and shouldering the gun I could see the horns; two deer were coming toward us. They were very close together and seemed on edge and at about 80 yards they stopped and appeared as if they were going to bolt away from us. It was now or never. I placed the crosshairs on the lead deer and saw the puff of fur on the shoulder when I squeezed the trigger, ending the hunt. Since that time I have taken several wild boar, two Texas bucks, a boar at the Easton View Outfitters in Washington County, NY and also one in Florida, all with my Henry 30-30. 90 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
Come this fall, however, when the early bear season and the regular deer season opens, I will not be carrying a Henry 30-30. But I will be carrying their new .308 Long Ranger! Trust me, this is not your grandfather’s lever gun but instead one that will definitely give you longer distance. Here are just of few of the many features of this gun.
THE HENRY LONG RANGER This Long Ranger still retains the traditional lever action
operation with an exposed hammer and forged steel lever but it has been updated with a geared action that drives a machined and chromed steel bolt with a six-lug rotary head into a rear extension of the barrel for a stronger and consistent lock-up shot after shot. Other features include a lightweight aerospace alloy receiver with side ejection and it is drilled and taped for scoping. The detachable steel magazine fit flush and there is an easy to reach button mag release. The blued barrels measure 20 inches and are free-floated for accuracy. The stock is made of a very good-looking straight grip checkered American Walnut and comfortable butt pad. The safety is an in-hammer sliding transfer bar; it is 40.5 inches in length and weighs just 7 pounds. Henry offers the Long Ranger in .223, .243 and .308 calibers. And what I also like about all Henry firearms is they are MADE IN AMERICA. MSRP is $1,014.95. Visit www. henryrifles.com for more information. Now as you will notice in the photo of the Iron Sight Gang none of their rifles have scopes. However, due to my age, Dan has given me permission to use my Leupold VX-Hog 1-4x20mm Pig Plex on the Long Ranger. He also promised that he will find a spot for me to sit on watch that I can reach without having to climb up too many hills. In addition to my Adirondack hunts the Long Ranger will also be with me this year on a New Brunswick bear hunt and Florida boar hunt.
ncliving@suncommunitynews.com
Henry repeating arms has released the 2016 Henry Long ranger. The Long Ranger is a rifle that is configured for .223, .243, and.308 cartridges. The Lone Ranger is the rifle to give you the longer distance impacts that you may be seeking in a lever action rifle. The maximum length for the other Henry big boys, usually drop off at about 300 yards. This new rifle will extend to you the ballistics of .308 cartridges. The Long Ranger will definitely be accurate because you don’t have any moving parts that can cause you to have to adjust your followthrough technique. Most people use bolt action guns because they feel that both actions are more accurate at longer distances. For the most part this is true, however you don’t always have another cartridge readily available inside the chamber of a bolt action rifle. With the Long Ranger, you have a box magazine to assist in feeding fresh ammo. The Henry long ranger is a great hunting rifle because it incorporates your skills that you have mastered in the Henry lever action big boy series, and allows you to apply those same shooting techniques at what longer distances.
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The auhor, Ed Noonan, poses with his high racked Sika buck he took with his Henry rifle Vol. 5 No. 3 | North Country Living Magazine | 91
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Story | Andy Johnstone Photography | Josh Wilson
was 3 years old, maybe 4, when I put in my first turns as a tiny skier on Saranac Lake’s Mt. Pisgah. Snow and speed has been a constant in my life since, both on skis and board. It’s not a popular opinion in the Adirondacks, but summers have been tough on me. As soon as the student loans rolled in, out went that disposable income that funded days spent towed behind a boat. So it was fitting this spring when a buddy invited me to Pisgah to ride some mountain bike trails he’d heard about. I bought a Trek about 15 years ago, but when it came to the Adirondacks and mountain biking, the answer was often “not permitted.” My bike hardly covered anything but road up until that day. By the time I got to the top of the small ski area on the outskirts of town, I was gassed. First gear didn’t seem low enough. “That way,” said Ross, pointing toward the flow trail called The Cure. And off we went. Three minutes later, I was a different sort of exhausted. We’d banked head-high dirt berms. Gapped jumps over a dozen feet. Traversed a wooden A-frame ramp. It was fast, it was challenging, and it was a total thrill. “Let’s go back up.” By the time I put my bike back on my car’s rack, I had two questions on my mind. Could I spring for a new bike, and how was that free? Barkeater Trails Alliance—BETA, for short—is the organization to thank. Responsible for building and maintaining trails in Saranac Lake, Lake Placid and Wilmington, BETA is a largely volunteer-powered and nonprofit organization that’s behind the surge in two-wheeled recreation in this corner of the Park. Josh Wilson, executive director of BETA, explained that the group’s coming to being was a combination of local effort and opportunity. First, the state’s unit management plan for wild forest in Wilmington gave the green light to single track mountain biking. A few years later, around 2009, a group of area riders recognized the need for both organization and a legitimized trail system. Rather than start the project from scratch, they combined with the Adirondack Ski Touring Council, a 30-year-old organization that improved and promoted cross country skiing in the area. And so became BETA. “The partnership was obvious,” Wilson explained. “The purpose was to bring everyone together and to avoid creating another nonprofit doing the same thing.” nclmagazine.com
BETA built on the efforts of the Adirondack Mountain Bike Initiative, which sought to expand mountain biking Park-wide, and narrowed the focus to Wilmington. Soon, thanks to the efforts of local peddlers, volunteers and DEC trail crews, a trail network began to take shape. “People started to take notice,” Wilson said. “We got an offer from a landowner in Lake Placid to build some trails on his property ... combining Wilmington with that was what really pushed us over the edge. We immediately started building in Lake Placid and it really took off from there.” Now, BETA has some 55 miles of trails under its stewardship, 20 of which are brand new. Thanks to an uptick in use and community engagement, more is one the way. I’ve been back to Pisgah dozens of times since. One of those trips ended in a trip to urgent care, but newcomers, fear not: this sport isn’t just for the recreational masochists types. BETA has constructed and maintained a variety of trail types, from technical downhills to relatively leisurely ones. Even flow trails, with their characteristic jumps, berms and obstacles, can be taken slowly with no detriment to the fun factor. I’ve seen both novices and the clearly experienced drop in from ramp adjacent to the summit lift shack. Three-thousand Continued on page 96
Above: Tony Goodwin and volunteers installing culverts on the Connery Pond Ski Trail. Opposite page: BETA President Bill Frazer gets some air time on The Cure flow trail at Mt. Pisgah, Saranac Lake.
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Matt Schmidt and Nick Kulina ride All In Trail at Hardy Road, Wilmington.
-dollar, full-suspension bikes and hand-me-down hardtails. Twenty-something enthusiasts, parents and kids. Even the occasional dog taking chase. It’s a mountain biking scene entirely unlike that of the past. Years ago, explained Wilson, most riding was relegated to dirt roads and snowmobile trails. On top of that, any trail not designed for the sport has greater potential for damage. “There was also the perception that people are wanting to go out, tear up the trails, ride in mud and go crazy,” Wilson added. “That’s not what most people are doing. We have no interest in riding bikes on a hiking trail. They weren’t built that way.” Constructing and maintaining trails made to handle mountain bikes (and come winter, skis) takes a lot more than drawing a line through the woods. On forest preserve, attention goes to maintaining its wild character and keeping impact to a minimum. Denser trail systems and ones with obviously constructed features are reserved for private and municipal land. The approach keeps the BETA trail network consistent with appropriate land use while also providing a wide variety of terrain types for riders. Today, it’s becoming a clear case of “if you build it, they will come.” It’s especially evident at Poor Man’s Downhill, 96 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
a signature event that takes place every few weeks in the summer. There, the Town of Wilmington charges just $5 to shuttle riders to the top of a downhill trail that drops over 1,000 vertical feet as it weaves from near the Whiteface Memorial Highway back down to Route 86. At its mid-August running, I pulled up to the base and soon saw Mark Nassan blast out of the woods on a fullsuspension bike. The owner and operator of Leepoff Cycles, with shop locations in Keene Valley and at the base of Poor Man’s Downhill, was all smiles when asked about the sport’s surge. “From the beginning of when we started, the support has turned around 180 degrees,” Nassan said. “More and more people are coming up. People are loving it.” He said it’s a boom for locals, both riders and business owners, and that if the community can keep up with the pace, the area is on track to become a mountain biking mecca. And it wouldn’t have been possible, he added, without extraordinary support from the state and area towns, both in terms of land use and promotion. Nassan was encyclopedic in his description of the area, from World Cup-level terrain on Whiteface to single track trails, pump tracks, mellow runs and all else in between. One of the perks: no matter how technical, there’s always ncliving@suncommunitynews.com
an out, making it a great way to get kids out and on trail. He said that with a little bit of driving, someone can easily spend a week in the Adirondacks and ride something different each day, and with ultimate goal being more connector trails, the need to drive anywhere will begin to dwindle. “I’m excited,” he grinned. “After all these years, I’m excited.” As the Poor Man’s Downhill crowd grew, another person who helps make the event possible dropped by. Danielle Lavarnway owns Up a Creek Restaurant, located at the trail’s terminus and serving as the official parking spot and meet-up point. “I get a lot of feedback that (out-of-town bikers) are impressed with the quality of the trails and how they’re maintained,” she said. “Anybody can build something. Maintaining is huge.” She explained that Poor Man’s Downhill is more than biking. Once the shuttle stops running, out come the barbecues in the open area adjacent to and behind the restaurant, sometimes to the sounds of a live band. “It’s not about mountain biking a couple of times,” she added. “It’s a lot of camaraderie. People get together. It’s great.” Wilson said that BETA events, whether focused on volunteer work, fundraising or group rides, sometimes draw as many as 60 people. He’s also found that while some people volunteer because they bike, others have actually picked up the sport after first helping out with maintenance. Years ago, he continued, anyone a mountain biker would come across on the trails was recognizable, if not a friend. Now it’s new faces up and down. While it’s tough to gauge the sport’s tourist draw without ticket booths, BETA is selling upwards of 700 printed maps a year, and that doesn’t account for the free online versions other riders use. Then there’s social media and word of mouth. Lavarnway said that when Nassan announces a ride, the “word spreads like wildfire.” There’s little to no doubt that the area is transitioning from a place mountain bikers come from to a place they come to. And then there’s the often-forgotten beneficiary when talking regional draws: the people who live here. Wilson said that while BETA has helped build up a biking destination that attracts visitors, is also valuable to the communities that host the trails. “Families, kids, local folks,” he said. “More and more people are enjoying the trails. Not just on bikes, but also running, walking dogs.” Don’t forget about winter. The organization maintains about equal trail mileage for skiing. This season will mark Continued on page 98 nclmagazine.com
Top: Skiers on the Jackrabbit Trail during the annual Theresa Klauck Memorial Ski from Cascade XC Ski Center to Lake Placid. Middle: Jasper Weich and Evelyn Eller enjoying the single track on Twisted Pine trail at Hardy Road, Wilmington. Bottom: Dusty Grant and Bill Schneider of Lake Placid helping to build the new “IPW” trail at Mt. Pisgah.
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Loading the bike trailer and shuttle bus at the Poor Man’s Downhill in Wilmington.
the 30th anniversary of the Jackrabbit Trail (there will be a celebration Nov. 12 at the Cascade Cross Country Ski Center), stretching from Paul Smiths to Keene. Other trails have seen in uptick in lightweight cross country, AT and telemark skiing, as well as splitboarding, a ski/snowboard hybrid. Parts of the Mt. Marcy, Wright Peak, Mr. Van, Connery Pond and Hayes Brook trails are among the ski trails un-
der BETA’s stewardship and offer trips ranging from gentle to technical. As far as BETA has come over the past several years, the work continues. Mountain bike trail maintenance is more labor intensive than an ordinary hiking trail and Wilson said the next step is to hire seasonal trail crews, something that should help offset some of the heavy reliance on volunteers. Although keeping what’s built in riding condition is a major focus, mountain bikers will be getting some new terrain in the near future. An access trail up Scotts Cobble, an abandoned ski hill in Lake Placid, is underway, while another flow trail similar to that on Mt. Pisgah rounds out the second of two major projects. And finally, though its only a vision, Wilson has hopes for a single track trail near the railway between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake, a route that could connect the two towns and provide a riding experience some bikers may prefer over an old railbed. If it fits together, he added, “it’d be sort of a game changer.” But in the meantime, there’s plenty to keep the legs churning. Want to learn more, join BETA or volunteer? Check out www.barkeatertrails.org or find the group on Facebook.
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Not Forgotten
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He stood 4’6�, weighed 76 pounds, and sported white blond hair and blue eyes. On Saturday July 10, 1971, Dougie started on a hike around the property with his uncle in the afternoon. Noticing poison ivy on the trails, his uncle sent him back to the main lodge about half a mile away to change from shorts to long pants. He was upset about being sent back to change, his uncle later stated. He passed his older brother and cousin about 50-60 yards from the lodge. He was never seen again.
By Karen A. Stites
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Young Douglas Legg
More than 45 years ago, on July 10, 1971, 8-year-old Douglas Legg disappeared from one of the grandest of the Adirondack’s Great Camps. What happened to the little boy on that fateful day remains a mystery. The tragic story unfolded on the 13-acre private estate known as Santanoni in Newcomb, in remote Essex County, New York. Not far from the High Peaks Wilderness Area, Santanoni is surrounded by dense forests, swamps, and secluded lakes. In early July, Douglas and his extended family had gathered for one last vacation at their sprawling backcountry retreat before it went on the real estate market. Santanoni, with 40 buildings, a 24-room main lodge and a model farm, represented one of the most ambitious of the Great Camps. During the era of the Industrial Age following the end of the Civil War, handfuls of American entrepreneurs amassed unprecedented wealth. With familiar names such as J.P. Morgan, Vanderbilt, Whitney, Webb and Post, these railroad tycoons, banking magnates and captains of industry built magnificent retreats deep in the Adirondack forests.
“The rich are different.” --F. Scott Fitzgerald 102 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
Attracted by the cool and healthy mountain air, and the great natural beauty of the region, the “Great Camps” offered summer escapes for the very rich leisure class. During the year, they lived in high style in their 5th Avenue mansions, spent July in their Newport “cottages’ mingling with high society, and owned private railroad cars and luxurious yachts. These privileged few left the constraints of society (and their corsets) in late summer for the relative privacy of their country retreats. The Great Camps were built as August homes for those families who wanted to “rough it” in the woods, although in the same grand manner they enjoyed in Manhattan. There was certainly nothing primitive about these camps, and their unique architectural design became known as the Adirondack style. The heyday of the building boon of the Great Camps lasted between the 1880s and 1920s, yet the style remains popular today and has spread to vacation homes in the Rockies and Great Lakes. Constructed from native materials on the property and built with local labor and craftsmen skilled at log construction, the Great Camps embodied the popular “back to nature” movement at the end of the 19th century. The typical Great Camp were structures constructed from huge peeled logs, supported by whole tree trunks, and embellished with ornate designs of twigs and birch bark. The interiors featured tables and chairs with bases made from giant twisted roots, and chandeliers of interwoven antlers. Their great rooms featured 2-story stone fireplaces. The main lodges and accompanying cabins included bedrooms for dozens of guests. One of the most famous hostesses, Lee Meriweather Post, heiress to the Post cereal fortune, boasted a dining room for 40 guests. Furnishings were elaborate with velvet drapes, expensive Turkish carpets and polar bear skins, crystal and silver on the dining table. Families brought their butlers, maids and French chefs, and employed the locals as caretakers, guides, and cooks. Guests were entertained with boating, hunting on their private game preserves, hiking, and fly-fishing – and with their hosts’ bowling alleys and silent movie theatres on the premises. Santanoni, built by the wealthy Albany banker Robert Pruyn in 1892 at the height of the Gilded Age entertained such luminaries as Theodore Roosevelt and famed author James Fenimore Cooper in its 24-room villa. But the era of grand leisure and immense wealth of the few slowly eroded to anti-trust laws, the new national income tax, and rampant spending by the younger generation. It ended abruptly with the 1929 stock market crash and Great Depression. No longer able to support their country estates, many of the Great Camps fell into neglect and disrepair. Many were sold. ncliving@suncommunitynews.com
Without a Trace Little Douglas Legg’s grandfather, Myron Melvin Sr. of Syracuse and his brothers, bought Santanoni in 1953. For the next two decades, the extended family gathered there for long summer vacations. The third-grader Dougie, as he was known, was an avid hiker and “mini woodsman” despite his young age. He stood 4’6”, weighed 76 pounds, and sported white blond hair and blue eyes. On Saturday July 10, 1971, Dougie started on a hike around the property with his uncle in the afternoon. Noticing poison ivy on the trails, his uncle sent him back to the main lodge about half a mile away to change from shorts to long pants. He was upset about being sent back to change, his uncle later stated. He passed his older brother and cousin about 50-60 yards from the lodge. He was never seen again. When he failed to return by night fall, the family called the State Police. What happened next would profoundly change search and rescue efforts in the North Country wilderness. News of his disappearance quickly spread in Newcomb and 30 locals came that same night to search in the dark for the lost little boy. The temperature dropped to 40 degrees, and Dougie, dressed only in shorts and a light shirt, had no matches. Volunteers flocked to the scene by morning, and from dawn to nightfall covered miles of old logging roads and searched nearby Newcomb Lake by canoe. The State Police brought in bloodhounds. The New York State Department of Conservation joined the search by air with helicopters and forest rangers on the ground. The U.S. Air Force based in Plattsburgh sent planes equipped with heat detecting infrared technology. Airmen from the base arrived by the truckload. College students and camp
counselors from throughout the region came to help in the search. By the fourth day, hundreds (by some accounts over 1,000) volunteers gathered at the Newcomb Town Hall to search in shifts. However, there was no one entity officially in charge of the search. Hampered by the lack of a coordinated effort and the densely forested terrain, the search was made even more difficult by mucky bogs, swamps, fallen trees and fiercely biting bugs. Hope was renewed when a bloodhound found a scent, but then lost it at the edge of a swampy pond. Searchers drained the pond and searched the area by helicopter and on foot. They dragged the pond, but found nothing. That night, a summer downpour dumped nearly two inches of rain, and the temperature dropped below 40 degrees. Morning came with strong winds, fog, and flooded streams. Several searchers had to be rescued from sinkholes in the mucky bogs. Yet the fifth day came with exciting good news when a bloodhound found sneaker tracks about two miles away at Ward Pond. Sadly, again more rain washed away the scent. The State Police believed Dougie was “still alive, but we think he’s down.” Once the surrounding grounds were thoroughly searched, the police had focused on the nearby mountain trails. The investigating officer explained that “young children often travel upstream rather than down” when lost. After a week of fruitless searching, the Melvins hired a professional search team from the California Sierra Madre Mountains. The two dozen trained mountain rescuers believed Douglas could still be alive. Unfortunately, in such an inaccessible area with few roads, and with “underbrush at this time of the year so thick that it is impossible to see 4 or 5 feet ahead,” they never found little Dougie. A woman claiming psychic powers arrived on the scene. She “felt he was still alive” and had “turned right” where the searchers had looked left. Again, another extensive search was conducted in that direction, but yielded no leads. As the days turned into weeks, rumors spread of foul play or kidnapping. Some claimed that Dougie had been taken by a “roaming band of hippies.” Others suspected family members or even that it was a hoax by the family for publicity to drive up the sale of the estate. One of the search leaders, an experienced Adirondack guide, said his main concern was “getting the volunteers out safely” before dark each night. Downed trees covered the ground and he worried about the inexperienced searchers “wandering off and getting lost” or slipping between downed trees and “getting seriously hurt.” Continued on page 104
Search volunteers
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Today, Santanoni Preserve has been restored to its former condition. The main lodge and most of the outbuildings were renovated by the Adirondack Architectural Heritage under the administration of the NYDEC and its preservation officers, using the same hand-crafted workmanship that built the originals. The Preserve is designated a National Historic Landmark. There is limited public access, with no motorized vehicles allowed for the five-mile trek from the access road to the lodge. Yet one significant change resulted from the tragedy. It brought to light the need for well-coordinated searches under a single authority. From then on, wilderness searches in New York fall under the jurisdiction of the NY DepartSantanoni Lodge ment of Environmental Conservation, whose forest rangAnother guide later reported that he had gone out to a ers are trained for backcountry rescues. Searches are conbog with a State Trooper “against my advice and ended up ducted in systematic, arm-to-arm fashion, covering every foot of terrain. pulling him out of the bog he sunk up to his arm pits in.” After six weeks with no new leads, the State Police called off the search. The exhaustive search had covered 80 square Let there never again be another little boy lost. miles. The family sold the property to The Nature Conser- Dougie, you are not forgotten. vancy, which later transferred it to the Adirondack Forest Preserve for stewardship by the state. For a detailed acThe tragic story may have ended there, but for two strange count of Santanoni and events in 1993. First, a woman claimed that Dougie had the search for Douglass been kidnapped and killed by her relative, and his body Legg, readers may wish dumped into a lake in Lewis County. Officials searched the to consult Santanoni: dry lake bed, only to learn that the woman was a psychiatFrom Japanese Temple ric patient suffering from false memory syndrome. to Life at an AdironEven sadder, 20 years after Dougie’s disappearance, a dack Great Camp, by man came forward to report to officials that he had stumRobert Engel, Howard bled upon a small skull and partial skeleton in 1973, 20 Kirschenbaum and Paul years before. He and a friend were hunting on the posted Malo (Adirondack Archiproperty, and he spotted the skull while chasing a deer on tectural Heritage, 2000). a peninsula on Newcomb Lake. He didn’t report it in 1973, he said, because they did not know about the case at the time. He had been on leave from the Navy for four days, was not where he was supposed to be and didn’t want to get into trouble. He only learned about the case in 1993 when his friend Another good book heard the news reports about the renewed search based on with exciting tales of the woman’s false claim. The man travelled from his home lost persons and surin Montana to show officials the spot where he found the vival in the Adironremains, but 20 years after the fact, they found nothing. To this day, 45 years later, the disappearance of Doug- dacks is Peter Bronlass Legg remains one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in ski’s At the Mercy of the North Country. The case is still open, although police the Mountains, (Lyons do not suspect foul play. According to the State Police, the Press, 2008). investigation will “remain open and ongoing until his remains are found.” Their theory is that the boy got lost and fell into a sinkhole or the quicksand muck of a bog, which is why the body was never discovered. 104 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 3
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Hague
Oktoberfest 2016
Friday Sept. 16 - Sunday Sept. 18 2016 Bavarian traditions
Lake George
Oktoberfest 2016
Friday Oct. 7 - Sunday Oct. 9
Willmington
Oktoberfest 2016
Saturday Oct. 1 - Sunday Oct. 2
By Keith Lobdell
It’s time to party ...
German Style Break out the Lederhosen, get your stein and prepare for the annual brew and fun festivals throughout the region this autumn known as Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest, the annual German tradition which took root in Munich, Germany, which runs from mid-September through the first weekend in October, has spread around the globe, with hundreds of festivals happening throughout the United States annually, where many families trace their German ancestry back for centuries. Locally, three communities celebrate with events. The small northern Warren County community of Hague celebrates The town of Hague will celebrate Oktoberfest Weekend German heritage over three days in September, while Whiteface Mountain will celebrate Oktoberfest the first two days of starting Friday, Sept. 16, running through Sunday, Sept. 18. the tenth month and Lake George will host their celebration The festival won as honorable mention in the 2014 Adironthe following weekend. dack Park Excellence Contest in the category of best spring/
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fall events for its annual weekend of fun on the shores of Lake George, featuring beer, food, live music, and fun and games. Events take place in the Hague Town Park, located on the northern end of Lake George at the intersection of Route 9N and Route 8. Events start with the Friday Night Family Tent Dance, held from 6 until 11 p.m. Sept. 16. Popular band Calamity Rock will provide the tunes for the evening, while organizers are asking those in attendance to bring canned and packaged food items for donation to the Hague Food Bank. Along with music and dancing, there will be festival food and a beer tent. On Saturday, Sept. 17, events start at noon and run through 7 p.m. with the Big Beer and Wine tent, which will offer seasonal brews from the Adirondack Brewery. Music for the day will be performed by Fritz’s Polka Band, who annually make their way to the Lake George hamlet to provide traditional German music to help celebrate the day. YMCA of the Adirondacks will provide kid’s activities, while other events include the annual keg toss and the Miss Oktoberfest Relay. Also throughout the day, there will be German and festival foods to be found throughout the grounds. On Sunday, Sept. 18, events will conclude with the Sunday Sunrise Service and fellowship hour in the Hague Park at 9 a.m., with a nondenominational musical service led by Silver Bay Chaplain Bruce Tamlin.
For more information, check out visithague.com/Oktoberfest. nclmagazine.com
Once a year, the Olympic Mountain of Whiteface in Wilmington dusts off its lederhosen, fires up the oompah band and enjoys a tall mug of German beer. The 25th annual Oktoberfest will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2. Oktoberfest is a weekend-long celebration of Bavarian culture, with authentic music, dancing, food and beer. But it’s not just about eating and drinking. There will be complimentary rides for kids and adults, craft vendors and discounted trips on the Cloudsplitter Gondola to the summit of Little Whiteface.
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Entering its sixth year, the annual village of Lake George Okotberfest and Fall Festival celebration will take place
starting Friday, Oct. 7, and run through Sunday, Oct. 9, with age-old traditions, spirited Bavarian music, dancing, frivolity and chilled steins of German beer.
Live music is always part of the Whiteface Oktoberfest tradition, as are events for youth and adults alike, along with The Oktoberfest Lederhosen 5K Trail Run.
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This spirited, beloved fall festival annually attracts thousands of people from the Capital Region and beyond. For five years, Canada Street, its sidewalks and adjacent Shepard Park have filled up with area residents and visitors enjoying the ambiance of a European street fair. Participants in the festive public party enjoy locally brewed beer, socializing, savory Bavarian food and rousing German music, craft sales, strolling musicians, games and family activities. Locally produced craft beers are served up streetside in this free festival that had its full debut in 2012 and became an instant sensation. People attending Lake George Oktoberfest are likely to see the crowd joining in singing German songs and dancing — many of those attending in traditional German garb. Festival tents are set up, so the partying is assured, rain or shine. While dozens of vendors line the streets, merchants also offer an array of goods in sidewalk sales. Events go from 5 until 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7; noon until 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct.. 8, and from noon until 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9. Throughout the event, the block between Montcalm and Amherst Streets will be closed to vehicular traffic. Plan driving routes accordingly.
For more information, contact the Village of Lake George at (518) 668-5771.
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Just Run! By Shawn Ryan
2010 Race The Train Continued on page 112
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Adirondack Marathon in Schroon Lake
T
he big lake that separates New York from Vermont has long drawn boaters of all shapes and abilities to this region to both compete and just relax. More recently the winding roads slicing through the high peaks of the Adirondacks have made Lake Placid a well-known cycling destination. Quietly, nestled between the two, the quaint little city of Plattsburgh has recently found its way onto the fitness map as a sort of hub for running aficionados. Pick a weekend between early spring and late fall, and even in the dead of the North Country winter, and chances are good that you can find some sort of a running race stepping off in or around Plattsburgh. From the simple to the sublime, runners of all stripes can find a race befitting their desired level of challenge. “When we were kids, there were some fun, good races
Doc Lopez Run
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in the area, and some great people who organized them,” said Matt Drowne, co-owner of Kinetic Running, a fledgling running shoe and apparel store nestled in Plattsburgh’s historic downtown business district. “There was the Run for Jon, the Doc Lopez half marathon, the Montcalm Mile, the Lake Placid half and full marathons, the Turkey Trot as well as some others. Those are all still around, but now there have been many many more added to the calendar.” Recently, smaller usually charity-driven runs have popped up all up and down the Champlain Valley from Rouses Point to Glens Falls. Some in just their second or third year, like the Tour de Force run, are already drawing crowds into the 200s. “The ‘Five Ks’ are the easiest to put on. It’s a distance that’s not intimidating. It’s an easy way for a group to get organized and raise some money for a cause,” said Drowne, adding “Whatever it takes to get somebody outside and exercising, and happy…by all means that’s the way to go.” Though the city of Plattsburgh helps sponsor the wellknown and wildly popular half marathon in the spring which kicks off the running season, and the Rock-Eater adventure run at the city beach in the fall, they aren’t directly responsible for organizing the popular races. That task falls often-times to novice race directors who, in Drowne’s estimation; “Do a really great job.” Many of the races and runs also feature 1 mile run/walks for both kids and less seasoned runners. After a locally successful career as high school runners at Beekmantown High School, and later in college, Matt’s brother Jeremy decided in May of last year to realize a longtime dream, and open a running shoe store in Plattsburgh. He quickly brought his wife Shannon and Matt on board,
Race the Train
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and Kinetic Running was born. At the time, Matt was working in television in St. Petersburgh, Florida, but made the long trek north to open and help run Kinetic. He brought a handful of retail experience, along with a lifelong love of running, to the endeavor. But along with selling running gear to novice and experienced runners alike, Kinetic also serves as a hub for local runners; a sort of clearing-house for information on upcoming races. One thing the Plattsburgh area is lacking is a coherent web presence for people to learn about upcoming races. They also lack a dominant running club which could also serve that purpose. Drowne hopes to have Kinetic step in and fill that gap. “The longer established races, people come from all over for those; but the newer races, people need a place to go to find out about them.” As running evolves nationally, so too does the local running scene. Everything from the popular, non-timed “color runs,” to the globally exploding “adventure races,” can be found on the western shores of the big lake. The winter months even hold the opportunity for the growing sport of snowshoe racing. Saranac Lake will see winter runners from around the country and world come to town this winter, when they host the snowshoe “worlds” in February. But before someone jumps into their first race, Drowne Continued on page 117
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LOCAL RACES INCLUDE:
Montcalm Mile in Ticonderoga
Cock A Doodle Shoe 10k/5k Plattsburgh Half Marathon for Team Fox Run For Jon Tour de Force Half Marathon Octoberfest Half Marathon Underground Railroad Museum Chasm Rim Run Run to Remember 5k FWD Montcalm Mile 6.5 K Firecracker Run Keene Valley Library Fun Run Walk Run For Rosie Champlain Bridge Run Foundation of CBPH 5k Color Run Strides for James Run for Wine 5k Race for Stace Color Your Hyde Paws on Parade Peru Lions Club Turkey Trot Beekmantown CSD Turkey Trot Adirondack Marathon and Distance Festival Mountain Lake Service Foundation Triathlon Summer Sizzle 5k Run for Play 5k Doc Lopez Run for Health Half Marathon Cadyville Fun Series City Of Plattsburgh Fun Runs AuSable Fun Runs
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Drowne, are usually more than happy to have people volunteer for everything from handing out water at water stops, to directing runners through a tricky intersection. It’s a good way, too, to get over the nervousness of getting into a race for the first time, and to possibly feed off the positive energy of the rest of the runners as you set off toward a new fitness goal. Continued on page 118
Hospice Race
says they should take a few critical first steps. “If you see a flier or an advertisement for a race or a cause you want to get involved with, set a goal. Don’t necessarily jump into it too quickly. Be patient with yourself and your improvements. Have fun with it.” Along with building up a decent fitness foundation, proper equipment is of course essential, focusing on the feet. “Make sure your feet are happy, and the rest of you will be happy too. It’s not a ton of investment up front, but the long term rewards will certainly warrant the investment.” Non-runners can get into the game as well, especially in the cause-driven runs, as volunteers. Race directors, says nclmagazine.com
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Adirondack Marathon in Schroon Lake
Montcalm Mile in Ticonderoga
The Run for Jon in Peru
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Montcalm Mile in Ticonderoga
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One final piece of advice Drowne has for the novice: “Do it with a friend. It’s a lot easier to do with someone, and a lot harder to blow off a workout when you have someone counting on you.” So from novice to experienced runner, if you’re looking for a place to practice the sport you love, Plattsburgh and the greater Champlain Valley might just become your stomping ground. Whether it’s a relaxing 5K for a good cause, or an ultra-competitive longer distance event, do some digging and a race can likely be found that will suit your taste and talent. Just run!
The Plattsburgh Rockeater Run
The Plattsburgh Rockeater Run
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The Plattsburgh Rockeater Run
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FALL EVENTS 2016
Arts & Entertainment
Adirondack Region Thursday, Sept. 1
SARANAC LAKE — The Adirondack Lakes & Trails Outfitters will hold Thursday night kayak tours from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Looking for someone to get out on the water with? Look no further! Every week we explore some of our favorite places to paddle. Need a boat? $20/person. Have your own? $5/person. All trips meet at our shop. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 891-7450. LAKE GEORGE — The Wiawaka Center for Women will offer a class on Chinese Watercolor Painting with award-winning artist Patti Ferrara from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Learn the art of creating beautiful original greeting cards, bookmarkers, and more. For more information, call 668-9690 or visit wiawaka.wordpress.com.
Thursday, Sept. 1 through Sept. 3
PERU — The annual Elmore SPCA Garage Sale will take place at Pinewood Drive. All proceeds benefit animals living at the shelter. For more informa-
events
tion, call Carol at 534-3484.
Thursday, Sept. 1 through Sunday, Sept. 4
WESTPORT — Pendragon Theatre will present “The Glass Menagerie” at the Depot Theatre Thursday at 5 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m., and Sunday at 5 p.m. “The Glass Menagerie” is a special four night only engagement produced by the award-winning Pendragon Theatre. “The Glass Menagerie” was written by Tennessee Williams and is sponsored by Emmet Carter Green Design. The play that catapulted Williams to fame is as haunting and treasured as memory itself. Based on elements of his own life, the classic drama moves from shimmering moments of warmth and humor to scenes of shattering heartbreak. For more information, call 962-4449 or visit depottheatre.org/tickets.
Thursday, Sept. 1 through Monday, Sept. 5
SYRACUSE — The New York State Fairgrounds hosts hundreds of events Westport Marina will celebrate its 50th annual Lobsterfest over Labor Day Weekend Sept. 3-5. For information call 962-4356 or visit westportmarina.com. Photo: overtimephotobooth.com
throughout the year, drawing an estimated one million people to an incredible variety of non-fair attractions. Check the online events calendar regularly to make sure you don’t miss anything. And if you’re looking for a versatile, conveniently located venue to host an event, please contact us about leasing space at 315-487-7711 or 1-800475-FAIR.
Thursday, Sept. 1 through Friday, Sept. 30
ESSEX — The Adirondack Art Association is excited to announce its new exhibit featuring artist William Crosby and his abstract landscape paintings. The exhibit will be on display at the Yellow House on Lake Champlain. A retired Professor of Art, Crosby taught for over 35 years at the State University of New York in Plattsburgh. Many of his paintings are in private and public collections, including the New York State Museum in Albany, the Wyeth Laboratories, the UVM Health Network at CVPH, in various offices of Bank of America, and in the art collection of the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. The opening reception is Friday, Sept. 2, from 5 - 7 p.m. All programing including art exhibits, art classes, and special events can be found at adirondackartassociation. com. For more information, contact info@adirondackartassociation.com.
Friday, Sept. 2
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LAKE GEORGE — Fridays at the Lake will sponsor a performance by Skeeter Creek and Red Shift at Shepard Park from 4 - 8 p.m. This is a family and petfriendly night, featuring a bounce house, music, food, wine and beer. For more information, call 6685771 or visit f r i d ay s a t thelake.com. SARANAC LAKE — The Adirondack Artists Guild Gallery will hold an opening reception for Ursula Trudeau from 5 - 7
p.m. For more information, visit adirondackartistsguild.com or call 891-2615.
Friday, Sept. 2 to Monday, Sept. 5
KATTSKILL — Sept. 2-5 the Labor Day Family Camp will be open to campers. The Labor Day Family Camp is a weekend full of fun including ageappropriate camp activities, canoeing, hiking, archery, rock climbing, ropes course, arts and crafts, nature walks, games, campfires and more. For more information, call 656-9462 or visit lakegeorgecamp.org.
Friday, Sept. 2 to Wednesday, Sept. 28
NORTH CREEK — The Widlund Gallery will present the Teddy Roosevelt Celebration at the Tannery Pond Center, 228 Main St., Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Chip Perone will display railroad photography. Tom Ryan will display railroad watercolors. For more information, call 251-2505 or visit tpcca.org.
Saturday, Sept. 3
SARANAC LAKE — The Farm 2 Fork Festival will take place in Riverside Park at 11 a.m. There will be a $15 tasting ticket. Seeing the disconnect between what area farmers where bringing to the market and the consumers lack of knowledge about what and how to cook it, became the inspiration for the Farm 2 Fork Festival, now in its sixth year. For more information on the festival, visit farm2forkfestival.com CHESTERTOWN — The Community Methodist Church will hold a smorgasbord tasting event from 5 - 7 p.m. Taste the best recipes of the area! For more information, call 494-3374. SARANAC LAKE — Take a tour of the Historic Great Camp Tours of White Pine Camp beginning at 10 a.m. The Great Camps of the Adirondacks were built for our nation’s wealthiest families during the Gilded Age, and have been a fascination for many years. One of the most interesting and unique of these properties is White Pine Camp. This Camp served as the President Calvin Coolidge Summer White House. One of only a small hand full of these historic camps open to the public, White Pine Camp will conduct walking tours midJune through September. The property
ncliving@suncommunitynews.com
FALL EVENTS 2016
The 34th Annual Olympic Car Show & Parade will be held on Main Street in Lake Placid on Sunday, Sept. 4.
Saturday, Sept. 3 and Sunday, Sept. 4
BOLTON LANDING — There will be an Arts and Crafts Festival at Rogers Park, 4928 Lake Shore Dr., from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Local and regional artists, artisans and crafters come together to benefit the Bolton Landing Emergency Squad. For more information, call 644-3831 or visit boltonchamber.com/bolton-landing-events. asp. LAKE GEORGE — The Lake George Triathlon Festival takes place at the Battlefield Park, Beach Road, at 7 a.m. This is a USAT sanctioned triathalon. There will also be a Kids Splash-nDash. For more information, call 7925999 or visit goo.gl/PbVJ1j. WESTPORT — The 50th annual Lobsterfest Weekend returns to the Westport Marina, 20 Washington Street! RSVP by phone only at 9624356 or visit westportmarina.com.
Saturday, Sept. 3
LAKE PLACID — Cruise Nite begins at 6 p.m. Look for the classic cars cruising around Main Street and Mirror Lake.
Saturday, Sept. 3 through Sunday, Oct. 9
TICONDEROGA — Visit the Fort Ticonderoga’s Heroic Maze: A Corn Maze Adventure! Can you conquer our corn maze? Share time with family and friends while exploring our unique corn maze designed in the
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shape of the Fort. Getting lost in this life-size puzzle is part of the fun as you look for history clues among towering stalks of corn! Winding paths will confuse and delight young and old alike. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last entry at 4:30 p.m.) Also open Labor Day and Columbus Day. Call 585-2821 visit fortticonderoga. org to ask about group tours.
Sunday, Sept. 4
BOLTON LANDING — Come to the Labor Day Celebration with music and fireworks at Roger Park, 4928 Lake Shore Dr., from 5 to 8:30 p.m. There will be fun and more fun! Music plays from 5 to 8 p.m. For more information, call 644-3831 or visit goo.gl/ OQy3MI. LAKE GEORGE — The BIG George Half Iron begins at Battlefield Park, Beach Road., and begins at 7 a.m. This is a USAT sanctioned, 1.2 mile swim; 56 mile bike; 13.1 mile run. For more information, call 792-5999 or visit goo.gl/BYi4uQ. LAKE PLACID — The 34th annual Olympic Car Show & Parade will be held on Main Street. The show is open to all years, makes & models. There are 49 Classes. There will be cash and trophy awards for best of show. Olympic style medals are awarded for the top three in classes and plaques for top 25. There will be plenty of family entertainment including a barbecue, DJ entertainment and snack cart. Win money in the cash cube, participate in scheduled events. All proceeds support the Lake Placid Ski Club’s youth ski programs. Visit lakeplacid.com/ events/34th-annual-olympic-carshow-parade for more information and to register online. LAKE PLACID — There will be a Car Show and Parade, rain or shine beginning at 11:45 a.m. The parade rides through Main Street followed by Car Show on speed skating oval (Main Street) from noon to 4 p.m. Car registration is needed. $20 Spectators $3 Adults $1 Child
Sunday, Sept. 4 and Monday, Sept. 5
PORT HENRY — The Moriah/Port
Henry Labor Day Celebration features the Port Henry Regatta Parade at 1 p.m. There will be a DJ at the village beach at 6:30 p.m., with fireworks at dusk.
Monday, Sept. 5
TICONDEROGA — The Sadie Hawkins Golf Tournament’s tee time is 1 p.m. This is an Open/Scotch twosome. The tournament will take place at Ticonderoga Country Club. For more information and tee times, call Ticondergoa Country Club 585-2801.
Tuesday, Sept. 6
WILLSBORO — Going into our 6th year, Toto’s at the Willsborough Bowling Center hosts Open Mic Tuesday, every Tuesday from 7 p.m. till closing. Come see the eclectic blend of talent and culture. For more information call 518-572-3026.
Tuesday, Sept. 6 through Friday, Sept. 30
GLENS FALLS — The 2nd Floor Gallery at City Hall presents a Pen and Ink exhibit by Pamela Stendardi. There will be an opening reception Friday, Sept. 9, from 5 to 7 p.m. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit goo.gl/wBLwwO.
Wednesday, Sept. 7
WILLSBORO — Take the Trudeau Sanatorium Tour for $5. Join Historic Saranac Lake for a walking tour of the grounds of the former Trudeau Sanatorium. Meet at 10:30 a.m. inside the Park Avenue gates of the American Management Association. $5/person, members of HSL and children free of charge. This tour will take place rain or shine.
Thursday, Sept. 8
SARANAC LAKE — The Adirondack Lakes & Trails Outfitters will hold Thursday Night Kayak Tours from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Are you looking for someone to get out on the water with? Look no further! Every week while we explore some of our favorite
place to paddle. Need a boat? $20/ person Have your own? $5/person All trips meet at our shop and reservations are required by calling 518891-7450. SARATOGA SPRINGS — Heart, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, and Cheap Trick will be performing at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Event will be held rain or shine. Visit livenation. com/pringles for details and to shop online. Remember to bring your Pringles Can to the show!
Arts & Entertainment
has a rich and colorful history having hosted many celebrities and dignitaries during its hay day of the early nineteen hundreds. Tours, which are approximately one hour and forty five minutes, start at the White Pine Camp gate at the end of White Pine Road off Route 86 in Paul Smith’s. The cost is $12, adults and $6, children 12 and under, cash. Reservations are not necessary. For more information visit whitepinecamp.com or call 327-3030. WEST CHAZY — Mike Brewster will be performing at the Vesco Ridge Vineyards from 4 to 6 p.m. Brewster is a singer, songwriter, musician.
Thursday, Sept. 8 through Sunday, Sept. 11
LAKE GEORGE — The Adirondack Nationals Car Show will be held at the Fort William Henry Hotel, 48 Canada St. The show will consist of classic, antique, muscle cars, custom and street rod car show, always a favorite! 2016 VIP Guest Steve Darnell. Don’t miss this huge show featuring all kinds of cars, family activities, a scavenger hunt, 50/50 raffle, vendors and more including the ever popular Night Car Cruisin’ on Friday and Saturday nights. The Winner Circle Show is held on Sunday from 9 a.m. to noon. The season hours are Thursday noon to 6 p.m. Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday 8 a.m. to noon. For more information, visit adirondacknationals.com. PLATTSBURGH — The City of Plattsburgh will host the 2016 Battle of Plattsburgh Commemoration. New reenactments, live music, kids activities, a new look to the popular Israel Green Tavern are just a few things we have in store for the region during this year’s Battle of Plattsburgh Commemoration. The City of Plattsburgh a great lineup of musicians that will be performing in the Tavern including, Roy Hurd, The Duo, Too Tall String Band, Towne Meeting, Paid Company, Doomstar, Country Living by Larry Ebere, Tom 24, The Connecticut Peddler and a bon-voyage performance by The Rogues. To view full schedule of events, visit cityofplattsburgh-ny.gov or on the Battle of Plattsburgh Commemoration Facebook Page.
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FALL EVENTS 2016
Arts & Entertainment
Friday, Sept. 9
CHESTERTOWN — Vintage autos will be on display at the Chestertown Car Hop followed by the twilight cruise through town and great music at Panther Mountain Inn, 6359 Main St., from 5 to 8 p.m. For more information, call 573-4386 or visit trilakesalliance.com. TICONDEROGA — Visit the Fort Ticonderoga’s Homeschool Day. Spend a day exclusively reserved for homeschool groups and take part in a series of programs while interacting with British soldiers. TICONDEROGA — The Ticonderoga Historical Society Wine & Cheese party in the President’s Garden from 6 to 9 p.m. OLMSTEDVILLE — It’s About Thyme Farm will be open for the
The Diderot String Quartet will perform at Hill and Hollow Music Hall at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11. For information call 293-7613 or visit hillandhollowmusic.org.
season seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. People are invited to come and pick their own pumpkins and gourds and enjoy the Halloween Store located in the back of the farm. There are over 1200 mums available for decorating your homes. Friday and Saturday will be free cider and for all visirs. There will also be free hay rides on Saturday and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This will continue till pumpkins are gone. For more information visit
Friday, Sept. 9 through Sunday, Sept. 11
QUEENSBURY — Celebrate Corvettes to benefit Operation Santa Claus and VetHelp at the Adirondack VetteFest being held at the Ramada Inn, 1 Abby Lane. This is a fun weekend for Corvette aficionados. There will be a Friday night cruise to City Park, Glens Falls. Corvettes will be on display on Maple Street. There will be a Saturday cruise through the Adirondacks. Sunday will be an all Corvette Car Show features America’s only Sports Car. Hours begin Friday at 6 p.m. Saturday at 9 a.m., and Sunday from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. For more information, call 527-3329 or visit adirondackcorvettes.com. TICONDEROGA — The first inaugural Adirondack Trail Rides Snowmobile Show will be held at the Bicentennial Park. The event features snowmobiles ranging from Vintage to New. ELIZABETHTOWN — The 2016 Otis Mountain Get Down returns to Lobdell Lane at noon. The concert is for all ages. The line up includes Lewis Del Mar, Whiskey Shivers, Khruangbin, Valley
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Queen, Kat Wright and The Indomitable Soul Band, City of the Sun, The Suitcase Junket, Ron Gallo, Lawrence, Madaila, Great Caesar, Arc Iris, Vundabar, How Sad, GYMSHORTS, Mal Devisa, Mail the Horse, Tipsy Oxcart, MOSAIC FOUNDATION, Francesca Blanchard, Upstate Rubdown, West End Blend, LuxDeluxe, Kepa, Jake Klar, Billy Dean and The Honor Roll, Smalltalker, Argonaut&wasp (DJ Set), Lula Wiles, Twisted Pine, Apartment 3, Squimley and the Woolens, Earl Grey Trio, Eric George, Crusty Cuts + Loupo, SnakeFoot and Four-D. Enjoy this weekend of music, experience and community. For tickets visit otismountain.com. Children under 12 are free.
Friday, Sept. 9 through Sunday, Oct. 30
LAKE GEORGE — Fort William Henry presents the Spirits of History Ghost Tours at 48 Canada St., Friday through Sunday 7:30 to 9 p.m. With this much history there are bound to be ghosts! Will you see a ghost? Learn about some of the spirits still calling the Fort and grounds home. Hear the stories handed down over the years, as well as the personal experiences of those leading the tour. Please call for reservations. This is a walking tour with stairs and not recommended for those with medical conditions. For more information, call 964-6647 or visit fwhmuseum.com/ghost-tours. html.
Wednesday, Sept. 10
ALBANY — The Insane Inflatable 5K is coming to Albany at 8:30 a.m. Get ready to experience the most fun, wild and insane obstacle run in the world. Get “pumped up” for a course filled with the world’s largest and most extreme inflatable obstacles ever produced. Here’s your chance to be a kid at heart, and insane by choice! For prices and registration visit insaneinflatable5k.com/easternnew-york/. LAKE LUZERNE — Double H Ranch will host the Camp Challenge Bicycle Ride and 5k Trail Run at 97 Hidden Valley Road, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Bring family friends and coworkers - form a team - make a difference in the life of a child. For the casual or experienced cyclist, walker or runner - all levels are welcome. Cycle the 30mile route through the Adirondacks or a 5k Trail Run/Walk - run/walk encouraged but not required. Benefits sending children living with a serious illness to the Double H Ranch, completely free of charge! The Double H Ranch is a seriousfun camp. For more information, call 6965921 ext. 269 or visit goo.gl/A3WmBj. TICONDEROGA — The Greenbush Bass Tournament sets off at Ticonderoga Boat Launch into Lake Champlain. WEST CHAZY — “Jr.” Josh Meyer
and Ryan Miller will be performing at the Vesco Ridge Vineyards from 4 to 6 p.m. “Jr” is Ryan Miller on guitar and vocals with Josh Meyer on bass. SARANAC LAKE — “Joe Dockery and Liz Whipps will perform songs of the 60’s and 70’s plus jazz and country favorites at the Saranac Village at Will Rogers, beginning at 7:30 p.m. There is a $5 suggested donation. For more information, call 891-7117 or visit saranacvillage.com.
Wednesday, Sept. 10 and Sunday, Sept. 11
ELIZABETHTOWN — Ithaca College Faculty Cellist Elizabeth Simkin and friends to perform 2 Sonatas and a Trio at the Historic Hand House Sunday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. For more information, email rchancler99@gmail.com.
Sunday, Sept. 11
WARRENSBURG — The Tour de Daggett Bicycle Ride begins at the Daggett Lake Campsites, 660 Glen Athol Road with the 65-mile ride at 8 a.m. and the 20-mile ride at 8:30 a.m. This fun ride benefits Rosie’s Love, and benefiting families of juvenile cancer patients. Ask family and friends to sponsor you by the ride or the lap. 65-mile, 20-mile rides and kids laps. Bonus prizes for children! Please call to pre-register. For more information, call 623-2198 or visit goo.gl/VyrhAn. PLATTSBURGH — The 22nd annual Stanley Hughes Memorial Golf Classic, put on by the Peru Lions Club, tees off at the Barracks Golf Course at noon. For team registration or more info, visit perulionsclubnewyork.org. SARANAC — NTHe Diderot String Quartet (historical instrument string quartet) will be performing at Hill and Hollow Music, at 4 p.m. They are named after the prominent 18th-century French philosopher, the Diderot Quartet formed in 2012 in New York. Having first met at Oberlin Conservatory and the Juilliard School, all four musicians share a background in historical performance and a passion for the string quartet genre, and quickly found the thrill of exploring this repertoire on period instruments to be irresistible. The quartet aims to bring the excitement of a fresh voice to both familiar and less-known works of the 18th- and 19th-centuries. They were recently featured in Chamber Music magazine in the article “New Voices in Old Music.” For more information, call 2937613 or visit hillandhollowmusic.org.
Tuesday, Sept. 13
WILLSBORO — Going into our 6th year, Toto’s at the Willsborough Bowling Center hosts Open Mic Tuesday, every Tuesday from 7 p.m. till closing. Come see the eclectic blend of talent and culture. For more information call 518-572-3026.
ncliving@suncommunitynews.com
Wednesday, Sept. 14
Thursday, Sept. 15
SARANAC LAKE — The Adirondack Lakes & Trails Outfitters will hold Thursday Night Kayak Tours from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Are you looking for someone to get out on the water with? Look no further! Every week while we explore some of our favorite place to paddle. Need a boat? $20/ person Have your own? $5/person All trips meet at our shop and reservations are required by calling 518891-7450. SARANAC LAKE — Saranac Lake’s Third Thursday Art Walks takes place. The village, downtown businesses, nonprofits and galleries will host the talents of regional and local artists and musicians of various genres from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Beginning a selfguided tour through downtown Saranac Lake, Art Walkers can go to any participating venue, pick up a map/ schedule and experience the work of established artists and emerging talents from all over the North Country. One can start the Walk at any of the 30+ venues, each marked with a festive balloon. For more information, contact Jill Wenner, Art Walk Coordinator, at 518-637-2745.
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Thursday, Sept. 15 through Saturday, Oct. 22
LAKE GEORGE — The Lake Theatre presents Southern Comforts, at the Holiday Inn Resort, 2223 Canada St., Wednesday through Saturday, dinner at 6:30 p.m., show at 8 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday luncheon matinee at 11:30 a.m., and show at 1 p.m. Southern Comforts is a delightful “December-December” romantic comedy finds a grumpy coot falling for a freespirited Southern widow. Their funny, awkward romance is filled with unpredictable surprises and when they decide to tie the knot, the fireworks that ensue are both hilarious and touching. Told with warmth and perceptive humor, this Off-Broadway success is an affecting, late-in-life journey of compromise and rejuvenation. Presented by a long time favorite in the North Country, The Lake Theatre, with a unique combination of dining and entertainment, holds the distinction of being the most intimate professional dinner theatre in the entire United States. Show only tickets are available subject to availability. For more information, call 66887620 ext. 411 or visit laketheatreproductions.com.
Friday, Sept. 16
PLATTSBURGH — 11th annual Frank Davio Memorial Golf Benefit will be held at the Bluff Point Golf Resort, beginning at 1 p.m. The entry fee for a Golf Course member is $60, non member $80. Cost includes Tshirt, dinner, greens fees, golf cart and giveaways. This is a benefit for the patients and families served by Hospice. For more information call 561-8465. WARRENSBURG — The Apple Festival being held at the Farmers’ Market - Warrensburgh Riverfront will have apples galore, from 3 to 6 p.m. Samplings, cooking/canning lessons, food contests, recipes; live music and gifts. Locally grown produce, maple products. For more information, call 466-5497.
Friday, Sept. 16 and Saturday, Sept. 17
POTTERSVILLE — Word of Life and The Lighthouse Events are proud to
present Worship in the Adirondacks, a Christian music event at the Word of Life Ranch. It will feature top Christian music artists such as Jeremy Camp, MercyMe, Paul Baloche, Cloverton, JJ Weeks Band, and more. They will be performing live on an outdoor stage near picturesque Schroon Lake. The festival will also feature a variety of speakers and workshops, food trucks and vendors. There will be plenty of activities for families and children including inflatables, climbing tower, archery tag, trail rides, and more. Word of Life and Lighthouse are hoping to draw many people from the surrounding area to enjoy the beautiful fall season in the Adirondacks while enjoying music from top artists in the industry. For more information about Worship in the Adirondacks, visit worshipintheadirondacks.com. To learn more about Word of Life visit wol.org. To learn more about Lighthouse events and find more great Christian events in the area, visit thelighthouseevents. com or contact Jason Headlee at jasonheadlee@wol.org or 494-6232. WESTPORT — The Adirondack Harvest Festival being held at the Essex County Fairgrounds, all day. There will be sausage and cheese making, wine crush and press and other demos. There will also be a Harvest Moon Hike and a Hamlet to Hamlet Hike sponsored by CATS. Enjoy a pig roast, food trucks, tastings, cider, breweries, farmers market and live music. For more information, visit adkharvestfest.com.
Friday, Sept. 16 through Sunday, Sept. 18
CHESTERTOWN — Rum Runner’s Weekend takes place at Panther Mountain Inn, 6359 State Rte 9, from 1 to 11 p.m. Take a trip back in time and celebrate the Roaring Twenties with a speak easy, Vaudeville act, and talent show. Wear your flapper dress and shine up your spats! For more information, call 494-2401 or visit goo. gl/X4f6iD. HAGUE — Hague Oktoberfest takes place at the Hague Town Park,
9060 Lake Shore Dr. This is a weekend of family fun! The best Oktoberfest in the North Country! There will be German food, seasonal brews from Adirondack Brewery and live music by Fritz’s Polka Band, Miss Oktoberfest relay, games, keg toss. There will be a nondenominational service on Sunday. For more information, call 543-6161 or visit visithague. com/oktoberfest.htm. The hours are Friday 6 to 11 p.m. Saturday noon to 7 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m.
Arts & Entertainment
SARANAC LAKE — Meet at the Riverside Park bandshell (located at River Street and Main Street, diagonally across from the Town Hall) for the Historic Downtown Walking Tour, beginning at 10:30 a.m. Walk historic Main Street and learn about the history of the district. This tour ends at the Saranac Laboratory Museum, where participants can take a self-guided tour of the museum. The cost is $5 per person, members of HSL and children free of charge. This tour will take place rain or shine. TICONDEROGA — Enjoy a Sip N Sew, at Your Quilt Shoppe, from 7 to 9 p.m. Bring a project you are working on and enjoy a fun time. Maletta Hourigan, owner of Your Quilt Shoppe, will be happy to answer questions and help you problem solve. For those who like games, Left Right Center, a dice game, will add suspense, laughs, and fun to the evening. LRC will be played with fat quarters available for purchase at Your Quilt Shoppe. This fun filled evening is free of charge. Join us for any one evening or for all. Space is limited. Sign up by calling 570-8055 or by emailing yourquiltshoppe@gmail.com. Spend some creative time with friends, drink some wine, relax, and let your creative juices flow.
FALL EVENTS 2016
Adirondack Lakes & Trails Outfitters holds Thursday night kayak tours from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in Saranac Lake. For additional information, call 891-7450.
Saturday, Sept. 17
LAKE PLACID — The Tri-Lakes Relay takes place at the Olympic Oval, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information visit relayforlife.org/ trilakesny. The theme is Carnival For A Cure! GLENS FALLS — Make America Rock Again - The Tour That Trumps Them All comes to the Glens Falls Civic Center, 1 Civic Center Plaza, at 6:30 p.m. It is a great day of entertainment for hard rock enthusiasts. Several bands include Trapt, Saliva, Alien Ant Farm, Crazytown, 12 Stones and Tantric. Music will include throwback favorites and new tunes from each artist. There are fun activities for all, including a Red, White and Blue bikini contest! In addition, pre and postshow VIP meet and greets and onsite barbecues will allow fans to meet and hang out with Make America Rock Again artists one-on-one. For more information, call 855432-2849 or visit makeamericarockagain.com. NORTH CREEK — See Nature Photography with Carl Heilman II at Gore Mountain, 793 Peaceful Valley Road, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Carl Heilman, an award-winning photographer, instructs you how to capture nature photographs with Gore as the backdrop, fall foliage, landscapes, wildflower photos, moving water, and more. Includes instruction, lunch, and scenic gondola skyride. Space is limited, please call to reserve. For more information, call 4943072 or visit goo.gl/KjdxvF.
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Arts & Entertainment
PERU — The Elmore annual Plattsburgh Street Drive takes place at Boyton Avenue, U.S. Avenue, and Cornelia Street. They are looking for volunteers, groups and individuals to collect coins to benefit the animals needs and cost for providing the shelter. For more information call carol at 534-3484. PERU — The Elmore annual Pet Smart Adoption Day is a great day for people to adopt new family members and to interact with the staff of Elmore SPCA. Share great stories of happy tales and find out more about how Elmore SPCA helps the community. For
more information visit elmorespca. org for an application to be preapproved. WHALLONSBURG — Calan bring together the remarkable talents of five young musicians giving a fresh and vibrant sound to traditional Welsh music to the Whallonsburg Grange Hall, at 7:30 p.m.. With a contemporary and lively approach they breathe new life into the old traditions through their sparkling melodies, foot tapping tunes and spirited and energetic performances of Welsh step dancing. They blast their way through some of the old favourite reels, jigs and hornpipes with fast paced and uplifting arrangements before melting into some of the most beautiful and haunting songs. For more information, call 9634170 or visit thegrangehall.info. WEST CHAZY — Cliff Reynolds will be performing at the Vesco Ridge Vineyards from 4 to 6 p.m. He is an acoustic guitarist musician.
Saturday, Sept. 17 and Sunday, Sept. 18
LAKE GEORGE — Residents of Warren, Washington, Essex and Saratoga County have free admission celebrate Community Days at Fort William Henry. People must present proper proof of residency. For more information, call 964-6647 or visit fwhmuseum. c o m / events. html.
QUEENSBURY — Celebrate the German culture with Bavarian cuisine and beverages at the annual Oktoberfest being held at The Great Escape, 1172 State Rte 9, from noon to 6 p.m. There will be live music, dancing, games, and crafts. For more information, call 792-3500 or visit sixflags. com/greatescape. LAKE GEORGE — Enjoy a weekend of great music with Jazz at the Lake, being held at Shepard Park, Canada St., from 1 to 6 p.m., with a special performance Saturday at 7:30 p.m. There will be contemporary jazz featuring nationally acclaimed performers, the Brubeck Brothers, Charenee Wade, Lao Tizer Wuintet with violinist Karen Briggs on Saturday afternoon; special Saturday evening performance by The Diva Jazz Orchestre. Edmar Castenda Trio, the Gary McFarland Legacy Ensemble with Sharel Cassity, and Amina Figarova Sextet on Sunday. For more information, call 6682616 or visit lakegeorgearts.org. TICONDEROGA — The annual Lake George Marathon Swim returns to the Snug Harbor Marina, 92 Black Point Road. Saturday swim begins at 5 p.m.; Sunday swim ends at 5:15 p.m. The 32-mile swim commemorates Diane Struble, the first person to swim the length, in 1958. Beginning at the north end of Lake George, at “Diane’s Rock” a memorial to Diane Struble about 100 yards from the Snug Harbor Marina in Ticonderoga, to the public docks on Beach Road, Lake George. Sanctioned by US Masters Swimming an organization with nearly 60,000 members; awards follow. The marathon benefits local charities, Darrin Fresh Water Institute, FUND for Lake George, Lake George Association, Lake George Historical Association, and Lake George Land Conservancy. For more information, visit lakegeorgeswim.com/marathon. TICONDEROGA — Visit the Living History Event “The Enemy Attacked us at Daybreak,” Brown’s Raid Weekend. Follow the American raid on Ticonderoga as it unfolded across the landscape. Explore the mechanics and weapons of this daring raid through living history demonstrations. Tour the actual ground used by Brown’s men during the attack in a special bus tour. Explore Brown’s Raid by water with special Carillon boat tours.
WHALLONSBURG — The Lyceum lecture series “In My Back Yard” takes place at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall, at 7:30 p.m. Learn about the history and development of the Champlain Valley landscape. $5 at the door. For more information, call 963-4170 or visit thegrangehall.info.
TICONDEROGA — The Albany Area Bass Masters Tournament begins at the Ticonderoga Boat Launch on Lake Champlain.
PLATTSBURGH — The Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York is hosting the 12th annual Women of Distinction event to recognize the achievements of local women at the West Side Ballroom, from 6 to 9 p.m. This year’s honorees are Ms. Deena Giltz McCullough, CIC, CRM, GPCC, Distinguished Community Leader, Northern Insuring Agency, Inc., Ms. MaryAnne Bukolt-Ryder, Distinguished Trailblazer, Attorney at Law, Ms. Kate Bulluck, Distinguished Per-
Sunday, Sept. 18
Tuesday, Sept. 20
Calan 5 will perform at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17. For information visit thegrngehall.info.
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WILLSBORO — Going into our 6th year, Toto’s at the Willsborough Bowling Center hosts Open Mic Tuesday, every Tuesday from 7 p.m. till closing. Come see the eclectic blend of talent and culture. For more information call 518-572-3026.
Wednesday, Sept. 21
QUEENSBURY — Come inside the world of Logging in the Adirondacks with Dick Nason at 195 Sunnyside Road, beginning at 7 p.m. The logging industry in the Adirondacks was big business which generated wealth for some while depleting the forests of hemlocks, spruce and fur trees and contributing to topsoil erosion. Mr. Nason is a retired forester of Finch Pruyn and timber historian will share his knowledge of the logging days in the Adirondacks. A Warren County Historical Society program. For more information, call 7430734 or visit warrencountyhistoricalsociety.org/programs. SARANAC LAKE — Come on the Cure Cottage Museum Tour! Meet on the porch of 103 Helen Street in Saranac Lake at 10:30 a.m. for a tour of this small private museum. Visit a model patient room and cure porch displaying artifacts of the cure era. The cost is $5 per person, members of HSL and children free of charge. This tour takes place rain or shine.
Wednesday, Sept. 21 through Friday, Sept. 23
PLATTSBURGH — The Adirondack Regional Theater and the Strand Theater will present “The Producers” at the Strand Theater. Ceck out ART on Facebook for more information.
Wednesday, Sept. 21 through Wednesday, Oct. 5
GLENS FALLS — Experience formal adult art class focusing on color theory and mixing for all experience levels at the Hyde Collection, from 7 to 9 p.m. By the end of the Three-sessions, students will have completed their own masterpiece. This classes will be held on Wednesdays. Register by contacting Colette at 792-1761 ext. 310 or adminassist@hydecollection.org. The cost is $120 Hyde Members/$140 Non-Members. RSVP required.
Thursday, Sept. 22
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QUEENSBURY — The Adirondack Balloon Festival lifts off at Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport, 443 Queensbury Ave, at 5 a.m. There will be special shaped balloons along with family activities and entertainment. Big Balloon Breakfast will be served. Remember NO DOGS ALLOWED. Balloon lift-off is wind and weather permitting. Pre-register to bring your fully contained RV to the festival at northeasthotairrvers.org. The festival will also include the Zonta Fall Craft Show Friday 4 to 8 p.m., Saturday 4:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday 4:30 a.m. until 10 a.m. There will be various items, including homemade crafts, artists and vendors. Call 736-1844 to reserve a spot. For more information, call 2224593 or visit adirondackballoonfest. org.
Friday, Sept. 23
ESSEX — Concert for a Cure Bluegrass Gospel Project Concert takes place at the Essex Community Church, at 7 p.m. The cost is $20 per adult and $10 per child under 13. 100 percent of the profit from this event will go to Sloan Kettering Cancer Research. Reservations are recommended to guarantee seating. For more information, email essexcure@gmail.com.
Friday, Sept. 23 and Saturday, Sept. 24
LAKE GEORGE — The Ragnar
nclmagazine.com
Friday, Sept. 23 through Sunday, Sept. 25
QUEENSBURY — See what you can find at the Antique Show being held at the Glenwood Manor Antiques and More, 60 Glenwood Avenue, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. There will be quality antiques, indoor and outdoor, rain or shine! For more information, call 7984747. CHESTERTOWN — Come to a weekend for the outdoor sports enthusiast-sportswomen and men with interests in hunting and fishing at Outdoors Alive, being held at the Town of Chester Municipal Center, 6307 State Rte 9, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be demonstrations, talks, and equipment vendors. Activities include a live wolf and presentation from the Adirondack Wildlife Refuge and Rehabilitation Center. Fly fishing at Brant Lake Mill Pond with Chris Styles and Lou Bruno. Presentations also take place at the Horicon Community Center in Brant Lake and Dynamite Hill Recreation Area. For more information call 8034034, 494-2722 or visit goo.gl/SvXbr6. TICONDEROGA — The third annual Adirondack Plein Air Festival comes to the Ti Arts Downtown Gallery. Registration, free paint and evening paint n sip dinner will be Friday, Sept. 23. Painting takes place Saturday, Sept. 24. Artists can drop off work Sunday, Sept. 25, at 9 a.m. Reception and art sale will be at 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
ELIZABETHTOWN — The Eliabethtown-Lewis Central School Yearbook Club will be hosting their Fall 2016 children’s consignment sale. They are moving to the gymnasium with two times the space! Join them for great finds for the little people in your life! Interested in consigning (clothing sizes newborn-14, toys, books, and more)? You earn 80 percent of the sale of your items! You drop off Wednesday through Friday and we sell it for you (you price items yourself using our printable tags). You (or your representative) pick up unsold items Saturday from 5 to 6 p.m., or we donate items locally for you. The majority of the money raised is now going to fund a new playground with a project start goal of Summer 2019. Consign or shop our sale and you support kids and education! Get more information about consigning at elcsd.org. There is no entrance fee! We are adding additional volunteer sales staff and security. WEST CHAZY — ”The Duo”will be performing at the Vesco
Ridge Vineyards from 4 to 6 p.m. Neil Wright and Johnny will be bringing all your favorite tunes, a little bit jazzcountry-rock something for everyone. WHALLONSBURG — The Champlain Valley Film Festival presents “Where to Invade Next” at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall, at 7:30 p.m. The cost is $6. For more information, call 963-4170 or visit thegrangehall.info.
Saturday, Sept. 24 and Sunday, Sept. 25
PERU — The sixth annual Kids Fair & Festival will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be old time games including hopscotch, sack races, corn box, bobbing for apples, pumpkin tic tac toe, egg races, bean bag toss; stagecoach, Thomas the Train rides and hayrides, and face painting by Face Designs by SAM. Visit the animals, climb the hay
Arts & Entertainment
Thursday, Sept. 22 through Sunday, Sept. 25
Relay Adirondacks begins at Beach Road. This is not your average 10k or half marathon, this is Ragnar! The course skirts the Hudson River, through the Lake George region ending in Lake Placid. For more information or to register, call 877-837-3529 or visit ragnarrelay.com/race/adirondacks.
FALL EVENTS 2016
sonal Achievement, Plattsburgh City School District Music Teacher and Adirondack Youth Orchestra, Ms. Katelyn Dufrane, Distinguished Leader of Tomorrow, Advocate and Ms. Edna Coonrod, Lifetime Achievement, Mountain Lakes Services Board. These women have demonstrated outstanding leadership abilities, exhibited an exceptional commitment to their communities, and possess the courage, confidence, and character to make the world a better place. Proceeds from this event provide relevant, outcome driven leadership development programs for girls, including providing direct financial assistance for girls in need to participate in Girl Scout programs. Tickets are $65 per person. The RSVP deadline is Monday, Sept. 12. To purchase tickets or find more information, visit gsneny.org/women-ofdistinction, or contact Nikki Hilchey at events@gsneny.org, 563-1560 ext. 307, or go to 107 Hammond Ln, Ste 1, Plattsburgh. WHALLONSBURG — There will be a cooking class held at the Whallonsburg Grange, at 6 p.m. The class will be Meat Processing 101. The cost is $15 which includes the lesson and food. Sign up in advance by calling 963-4170 or visit thegrangehall.info.
Saturday, Sept. 24
POTTERSVILLE — The area’s best cooks provide a delicious chicken and biscuit dinner and great desserts at the Pottersville United Methodist Church, from 5 to 7 p.m. Call 4943594 for more information. BRANT LAKE — The Harry Elkes Ride with Warren County Safe and Quality Bicycle Organization beings at The Hub, 27 Market Street, at 10:30 a.m. Several group rides are being offered for bicyclists of all levels of expertise along the scenic North Country lakes and roads. There will be lunch and fun at The Hub following. Harry Elkes of Glens Falls was a champion cyclist at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Warren County Safe and Quality Bicycling Organization that promotes safe and quality bicycling in Warren County. For more information or to register, call 796-2397 bikewarrenco.org.
The sixth annual Kids Fair & Festival will be held in Peru on Saturday, Sept. 24 and Sunday, Sept. 25.. For more information email babbieag309@ babbiemuesum.org.
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mound and watch the Blacksmith at work. Pony rides will be available. Purchase your lunch or bring your own and enjoy our picnic area. For more information, email babbieag309@babbiemuseum.org call 643-8052 or visit babbiemuseum.org. The museum’s regular hours in May, June and October, Friday thru Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; July, August and September, Thursday thru Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. LAKE GEORGE — The American Music Festival for the Lake takes place at the Festival Commons at Charles R Wood Park, 33 West Brook Road, from noon to 10 p.m. There will be family fun, music and more music. Blue Oyster Cult concert on Saturday. For more information, call 6685771 or visit festivalforthelake.com. QUEENSBURY — Celebrate the German culture with German food and beverages at Oktoberfest being held at the Great Escape Friday from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday noon to 9 p.m. Sunday noon to 6 p.m. There will be live music, dancing, games and crafts. For more information, call 792-3500 or visit sixflags.com/greatescape. TICONDEROGA — The Fall Classic Golf Tournament will be held at the Ticonderoga Country Club, beginning at 9 a.m. The tournament will be a shotgun start and be an open/best ball style. For tee times call 585-2801.
Sunday, Sept. 25
WHITEHALL — The Whatehall first inaugural Sasquatch-Calling Contest and Festival is famous for its numerous Bigfoot sightings and local ordinance protecting the cherished monster. The festival will be held Saturday afternoon in Skenesborough Park on the Champlain Canal. The festival will feature two free documentary Bigfoot film showings from the Small Town Monsters Producers: The Beast of Whitehall and The Minerva Monster. The Sasquatch-Calling Contest first prize for Best Hollerer will be $100. There will also be prizes for Best Bigfoot Costumes and presentations by local Sasquatch researcher and author Paul Bartholomew and Vermont
Bigfoot researcher Frank Siecienski. Varied Style live music will be provided by father/daughter duo Just the Two Of Us. They will also have a Bigfoot Barbecue and more special activities. For more information, call 499-0874.
Tuesday, Sept. 27
WILLSBORO — Going into our 6th year, Toto’s at the Willsborough Bowling Center hosts Open Mic Tuesday, every Tuesday from 7 p.m. till closing. Come see the eclectic blend of talent and culture. For more information call 518-572-3026. WHALLONSBURG — The Lyceum lecture series “In My Back Yard” takes place at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall, at 7:30 p.m. Learn about the history and development of the Champlain Valley landscape. $5 at the door. For more information, call 963-4170 or visit thegrangehall.info. SARANAC LAKE — Enjoy a scenic boat cruise up the Saranac River with guide Dan Sullivan at 10 a.m. The cost is $20 per person. Bring a bag lunch or join in our picnic for $7. Call 8917117 to RSVP.
Wednesday, Sept. 28
SARANAC LAKE — Meet at 10:30 a.m. for the Trudeau Institute, 154 Algonquin Ave. See the iconic early cure cottage, “Little Red,” and a statue of Dr. Trudeau, both relocated from their original locations at Trudeau Sanatorium. The cost is $5 per person, members of HSL and children free of charge. This tour takes place rain or shine.
Thursday, Sept. 29
ALBANY — Blake Shelton, presented by Gildan, will be performing at the Times Union Center, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets will be available at ticketmaster.com. GLENS FALLS — Travel on a day trip with fellow art lovers to Hyde Park and experience art, gourmet cuisine, and Roosevelt’s home in beautiful Hyde Park, New York. Visit hydecollection.org to learn more and register.. The cost is $135 Members/ $149 Non-Members.
Friday, Sept. 30
GLENS FALLS — Rock legends together at Still Badder than Ever Tour - George Thorogood and the Destroyers with Special Guest Edgar Winter Band! The Glens Falls Civic Center host legendary hits by Thorogood include Bad to the Bone, One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer, I Drink Alone, Who Do You Love, Move It on Over. Edgar Winter Band - Free Ride the ever-popular hit, Easy Street, Diamond Eyes and many others. Showtime begins at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call 4322849 or visit glensfallscc.com. MONTREAL, Qu — ADELE will be performing at the Centre Bell, 1909, avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal, at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at evenko.ca/fr/show/evenement/ adele-10920.
Friday, Sept. 30 and Saturday, Oct. 1
LAKE GEORGE — The Adirondack Independence Music Festival will be held at the Festival Commons Charles R Wood Park, 33 West Brook Road. There will be two days of music by the top national touring acts. For more information, visit adkmusicfest.com.
Friday, Sept. 30 through Sunday, Oct. 2
GLENS FALLS — The Friends of Crandall Public Library Book Sale will return to the Crandall Public Library, 251 Glen Street, Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 1 until 4 p.m. There is something for every age and interest; all subjects. Two large rooms are full of donated books, DVDs, CDs, and books on tape. For more information, call 7926508 ext. 3 or visit crandalllibrary.org. SCHAGHTICOKE — The Twin River’s Council Silver Jubilee Event will be the largest council event ever held at the Schaghticoke Fair Grounds, 69 Still Water Bridge Road. Join us for an epic celebration as we come together for the 25th Anniversary! We will have programs for Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Venturers and Explorers. We are providing a program
for well over 1500 youth and adults. Registration is now open. The program will revolve around the history of Twin Rivers and Scouting in Upstate New York. There will be programs for every level of programs for our youth and adult volunteers including Cub Scouting Adventures, Boy Scout Trails, Exploring and Venture Programs, Interactive STEM Programs, Midway Games and Activities, Farming demonstrations and exhibits, Shows and Entertainment, Council Talent Show, Saturday early morning 5K, Patch Trading, Scouting Heritage Building, Council Wide Service Project, Saturday night show and fireworks display. Cub Scout Packs will have the option to stay overnight on Saturday. The will registration Saturday morning, participate in the programs, and then camp with us! There will be a Saturday night barbecue with Giffy’s BBQ. For an additional $12 per person, you will be able to get a half chicken dinner that includes a baked potato, coleslaw, roll, butter, cookie and a drink. This dinner will be pre-sale only! Tickets must be purchased when the unit is registering. The cost is $25 for Boy Scouts, $20 for Cub Scouts (Day only and Saturday overnight participants), $15 for Adult Leaders and $12 Saturday Night.
Saturday, Oct. 1
WESTPORT — Come and fill the fall season at the Fall Festival being held at the Westport Heritage House. MALONE — The 12th annual 5K Run/Walk will begin at the Malone Adult Center, at 10 a.m. Registration is $20. The first 100 registered will receive a long sleeved T-shirt. For more information, call 483-3200. NORTH CREEK — The Gore Mountain Leaf Cruncher - 5k beings at Gore Mountain, 793 Peaceful Valley Road, with registration going from 8 to 9:30 a.m. This is a trail and base area run/ walk. The course is a combination of our rolling cross-country trails and flat base area, with a few steeper spots within the wooded areas. Walkers and all ages are welcome. There will
HUB Established 1848 OF THE ADIRONDACKS
Take Exit 29 off the Northway (I-87) from the South or Exit 30 from the North
What to see in North Hudson: • The Falls at Blue Ridge on the Branch • Balance Rock • Trails to Dix Range • Sharp Bridge State Campsite • Elk Lake Lodge • Courtney Pond • Town Recreation Facility on the Schroon River • Adirondack Buffalo Farm • Gokeys Trading Post & Auction Hall • Blue Ridge Falls Campsite • Yogi Bear Jellystone Campsite Exit 29 • North Hudson Multi-Use Trail System • Exit 29 Sunoco
For More Information (518) 532-9811 • northhudsonny.com
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ncliving@suncommunitynews.com
WARRENSBURG — Hundreds of vendors from across the nation offering something for everyone at the World’s Largest Garage Sale, being held townwide, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be antiques, memorabilia, clothing, furniture, electronics, children’s items and more! The community of garage sales will also sell food and fun! Visit warrrensburgchamber.com/
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Color Me Rad 5K comes back to New York. We’re the only 5K that will send you running through RAD color stations and leave you covered from head to toe in powders and gels of pink, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Not only will you be having healthy amounts of fun, but you’ll be getting your daily exercise in the process. To top it off, we’re making it rain with free t-shirts,
Saturday, Oct. 1 and Sunday, Oct. 2
Saturday, Oct. 1 and Sunday, Oct. 30
NORTH CREEK — The Widlund Gallery will exhibit the Upper Hudson Watercolor Society at the Tannery Pond Center, 228 Main Street, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. They will be showcasing works by members of the Upper Hudson Valley Watercolor Society. For more information, call 2512505 or visit tpcca.org/GallerySchedule.asp.
Sunday, Oct. 2
a RAD temporary tattoo, and a Goo Guard phone case for all regular participants. Packet pick-up information and location will be posted approximately 2 weeks before the race. Tickets are available at colormerad.com. GLENS FALLS — The FitFest - 5k Fun Run & Family Day begins at City Park, Glen Street, and goes from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The route travels Glen Street to Crandall Park, participants will complete a routine on the new fitness equipment installed by the Crandall Park Beautification Committee. Runners will take a different route back to City Park. Sample fitness classes, interactive demonstrations, healthy food, fun contests, music, giveaways, children’s activities, cooking demonstrations and more. For more information, call 6365442 or visit glensfallscollaborative. com/events/fitfest. QUEENSBURY — Hole in One for Hole in the Woods Mini-Golf Tournament and Barbecue takes place at Pirate’s Cove Adventure Golf, 1089 State Route 9. Join in for golf at 9 a.m. and barbecue at 11 a.m. There will be great fun and a great barbecue for families hosted by the Sciancalepore Family. The barbecue following tournament will be held at West Mountain, 59 West Mountain Road. There will be children’s activities, games and prizes. The profit supports the Double H Ranch and benefits Double H Ranch in memory of
Joseph Sciancalepore. For more information call 6965921 ext. 269 or visit doublehranch. org. GLENS FALLS — The FitFest - 5k Fun Run & Family Day takes place at the City Park, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The route travels Glen Street to Crandall Park, participants will complete a routine on the new fitness equipment installed by the Crandall Park Beautification Committee. Runners will take a different route back to City Park. Sample fitness classes, interactive demonstrations, healthy food, fun contests, music, giveaways, children’s activities, cooking demonstrations and more. For more information, call 636-5442 or visit glensfallscollaborative.com.
Tuesday, Oct. 4
WILLSBORO — Going into our 6th year, Toto’s at the Willsborough Bowling Center hosts Open Mic Tuesday, every Tuesday from 7 p.m. till closing. Come see the eclectic blend of talent and culture. For more information call 518-572-3026. WHALLONSBURG — The Lyceum lecture series “In My Back Yard” takes place at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall, at 7:30 p.m. Learn about the history and development of the Champlain Valley landscape. $5 at the door. For more information, call 963-4170 or visit thegrangehall.info.
Arts & Entertainment
garage-sale and worldslargestgaragesale.com or call 623-2161 for more information. PUTNAM STATION — Bring the family to Billy Bob’s Orchard Apple Fest for a fun filled weekend of apple picking, hay rides and pumpkin picking! Fresh cider and other refreshments available. Homemade jams,jellies, and local maple syrup and honey also available.
FALL EVENTS 2016
be live music and fun. There will be a scenic ride aboard the Northwoods Gondola to every runner. There will be prizes in numerous categories; treasure hunt for prizes on-course, as well as be “in the running” for great raffles. Early registration discount available. For more information, call 2512411 or visit goremountain.com/ events/gore-mountain-leaf-cruncher. TICONDEROGA — The Heritage Harvest and Horse Festival comes back to Ticonderoga. Bring the whole family to the Heritage, Harvest and Horse Festival for a full day of autumn fun! Experience the power and thunder of hooves through demonstrations of equestrian sports and working horses; take part in family-fun activities including sack races; and explore the splendor of the King’s Garden at the annual plant sale and harvest market.
For centuries, man has had an abiding passion for building with stone. It provides strength, elegance and enduring protection. It is resilient, and timeless. The Chippewa (or Ojibwa) are among the largest groups of Native Americans throughout North America and Canada. Their name stands for “the good humans” or “the good people”, meaning those who are on the right path given to them by the Creator. These words aptly describe the passion of the people who harvest the earth’s bounty with dignity and respect, to produce products of alluring beauty and eternal strength. They are the people of Chippewa Stone. NYS DOT certified DBE
3 Ryder Road | Whitehall, NY 12887 | 518.499.9090 | Fax: 518.499.9099 | info@chippewastone.com nclmagazine.com
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Arts & Entertainment
Wednesday, Oct. 5 and Thursday, Oct. 6
TICONDEROGA — The sixth annual Material Matters: It’s in the Details Seminar takes place at Fort Ticonderoga. It focuses on 18th-century material culture and is intended for collectors and people with an interest in learning more about objects of the 18th century and what they can tell us about history. Advanced reservations required. For more information, call 585-2821.
Thursday, Oct. 6.
ALBANY — The Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey presents Circus XTREME at the Times Union Center, at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com.
Friday, Oct. 7
GLENS FALLS — The 2nd Floor Gallery at City Hall will hold an opening reception to exhibit Cynthia Soroka-Dunn’s Nature Photography, Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The exhibit runs from Monday, Oct. 3 through Oct. 28. To view gallery visit northcountryartscenter.org/calendar.html. NORTH CREEK — The Emilio Solla Jazz Quintet will play a dynamic version of jazz and tango at the Tannery Pond Center, 228 Main Street, at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit tpcca.org/ EventSchedule.asp.
SARANAC LAKE — The Adirondack Artists Guild Gallery will be holding an opening reception for Lake Placid artist Jacqueline Altman. The Gallery will host a reception for an exhibit of new watercolor paintings from 5 to 7 p.m. For more information visit adirondackartistsguild.com or call 891-2615. The public is welcome.
Friday, Oct. 7 through Sunday, Oct. 9
LAKE GEORGE — The Oktoberfest and Fall Festival will be held at Shepard Park, Canada Street, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be fun for all ages including strolling musicians, food, children’s activities include horse and pony rides, bounce houses, and petting zoo. Also included will be a fine arts and crafts show and artisan demonstrations. For more information, call 668-9541.
Saturday, Oct. 8
LAKE GEORGE — Fort William Henry is being overrun by the enemy at the Fort by Firelight, from 6 to 10 p.m. Follow one of the fort’s soldiers as they guide you through the darkness, surrounded by musket and cannon fire and escape before it’s too late.
The 25th annual Oktoberfest will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2 at Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington. For information visit whiteface.com/events/oktoberfest.
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Reservations are required, call 9646647 or visit fwhmuseum.com/ events.html. QUEENSBURY — The Sokol’s Golf Tournament takes place at the Hiland Park Country Club, 195 Haviland Road, beginning at 11 a.m. Enjoy a round of golf and support Prospect Child and Family Center of Queensbury. The day includes greens fees, cart, lunch and dinner. Following the Tournament, there will be a live auction and raffle. For more information, call 8326124 or visit prospectcenter.com. LAKE GEORGE — Enjoy an authentic German foods and delicious homemade desserts, at the St. James Episcopal Church, 172 Ottawa St, from 5 to 7 p.m. For more information, call 6682001 or visit stjameslakegeorge.com. CHESTERTOWN — Come and enjoy a roast beef dinner being served at the Community Methodist Church, Church St, from 5 to 7 p.m. Enjoy the best recipes of the area! For more information, call 494-3374. THURMAN — The Thurman Fall Farm Tour showcases seven farms including maple producers, a goat farm, a tree farm and lumber mill promoting sustainable forestry. Quilt show, wooden wares, fall veggies, country crafts, children’s activities, trebuchet punkin chunkin’, and animal encounters! Vote for the winning Scarecrow contest entry. Follow the signs to find all this fun, all over Thurman. Pancakes will be served at Valley Road Maple Farm, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The fire company will serve a barbecue at Toad Hill Maple Farm from noon to 5 p.m. TICONDEROGA — The TBF Bass Tournament takes off from Ticonderoga Boat Launch on Lake Champlain. WHALLONSBURG — The Champlain Valley Film Festival presents “Love & Friendship” at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall, at 7:30 p.m. The cost is $6. For more information, call 963-4170 or visit thegrangehall.info.
information, call 251-2411 or visit goremountain.com.
N O R T H CREEK — The Gore Mountain Harvest Festival takes over Gore Mountain, 793 Peaceful Valley Road, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The family fun features local Adirondack artisans, and children’s activities and live entertainment all weekend. Hearty fall food will be available. For more
WHALLONSBURG — There will be a cooking class held at the Whallonsburg Grange, at 6 p.m. The class will be “Parents Night Out”. The cost is $15 which includes the lesson and food. Sign up in advance by calling 9634170 or visit thegrangehall.info.
Saturday, Oct. 8 and Sunday, Oct. 9
Sunday, Oct. 9
CROWN POINT — The Penfield AppleFolkFest takes over the Penfield Homestead Museum from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visitors will enjoy chili, hot dogs and Apple Desserts at the Pavilion and Snack Shack. There will also be a Craft Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The 77th New York Regimental Balladeers will perform from 1:30 until 2:30 p.m. The songs, tunes will show the history and spirit of the Civil War period in the Penfield Church. There will be live music, with antique cars and wagon rides. TICONDEROGA — The T.C.C Tournament Boys Basketball will be held at the Ticonderoga Country Club, with a shotgun start beginning at 1 p.m. This event is open/scramble. Tee Times available for non tournament play are AM tee times.
Monday, Oct. 10
TICONDEROGA — Explore our sixacre corn maze designed especially for Fort Ticonderoga. Visitors will find clues connected to our story as they find their way through the maze from 10 a.m. through 5 p.m. Last entry will be at 4:30 p.m. WARRENSBURG — Celebrate the Harvest at the Warrensburgh Local Harvest Dinner at the with Warrensburgh Riverfront Farmers’ Market. They will be showcasing locally grown, raised and prepared foods paired with regional wines. In partnership with Adirondack Harvest. Reservations required, call.
Tuesday, Oct. 11
WILLSBORO — Going into our 6th year, Toto’s at the Willsborough Bowling Center hosts Open Mic Tuesday, every Tuesday from 7 p.m. till closing. Come see the eclectic blend of talent and culture. For more information call 518-572-3026. WHALLONSBURG — The Lyceum lecture series “In My Back Yard” takes place at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall, at 7:30 p.m. Learn about the history and development of the Champlain Valley landscape. $5 at the door. For more information, call 963-4170 or visit thegrangehall.info.
Thursday, Oct. 13
Friday, Oct. 14 through Monday, Oct. 16
LAKE GEORGE — Enjoy games, prizes, raffles, and of course wine at the Drink Pink Wine Tasting held at
ncliving@suncommunitynews.com
Saturday, Oct. 15
Saturday, Oct. 15 and Sunday, Oct. 16
PERU — The Harvest Weekend will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Take $1 off admission if you bring a nonperishable item for the Interfaith Foodshelf. There will be demonstrations of corn harvest, granary, hit and miss engines and blacksmith shop. Let the kids make a corn husk doll, play pumpkin tic-tac-toe, paint a pumpkin, try their luck at a coin hunt, visit the animals, take a ride on the stagecoach, the hay wagon or Thomas the Train. Purchase your lunch or bring your own and enjoy our picnic area. The cost for adults (14 yrs. and up) is $7, children 3 to 13 $4, children under 3 is free. For more informa-
Saturday, Oct. 15 through Saturday, Dec. 31
GLENS FALLS — The Hyde Collection presents Transforming the Hyde: The Feibes and Schmitt Gift. This is an exhibition of 55 works of Modern art from the collection of Werner Feibes and the late James Schmitt. The gift represents a remarkable group of paintings, drawings, prints, mixed media, and sculpture by many of the world’s leading modern artists, including Josef Albers, Sol LeWitt, Grace Hartigan, Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Motherwell, Bridget Riley, and David Smith, among others. For more information, visit hydecollection.org. Season hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Closed Monday and most national holidays.
a.m. to 4 p.m. This unique Day Out for Pugs is a family affair held rain or shine. The day of fun includes the Pug Costume Contest and Awards and the Pug Sidewalk Stroll. Come eat at the Pug Cafe. For more information, call 696-7184 or visit townoflakeluzerne. com. SARANAC — Gloria Chien, Pianist, will be performing at the HIll and Hollow Music, at 3 p.m. Chien has been picked by the Boston Globe as one of the Superior Pianists of the year, “... who appears to excel in everything.” Richard Dyer praises her for “a wondrously rich palette of colors, which she mixes with dashing bravado and with an uncanny precision of calibration... Chien’s performance had it all, and it was fabulous.” Gloria made her orchestral debut at the age of 16 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and has subsequently appeared as a soloist with many top orchestras. She is a prize winner of the World Piano Competition, Harvard Musical Association Award, and the San Antonio International Piano Competition. She has presented concerts at the Alice Tully Hall, Library of Congress, Gardner Museum, Phillips Collection, Jordan Hall, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Savannah Musical Festival, Dresden Chamber Musical Festival, Kissinger Sommer, Salle Cortot in Paris, and the National Concert Hall in Taiwan. For more information, call 2937613 or visit hillandhollowmusic.org.
TICONDEROGA — There will be a basket raffle to benefit the CureJM Foundation at the Ticonderoga Elks Lodge #1494, from 1 to 5 p.m. Juvenile Myosits is a rare autoimmune disease that affects only two in a million children. JM attacks skin and muscles. It is potentially life threatening. It can attack heart and lungs. Children with JM need to avoid the sun for fear of relapse. We need to help raise awareness and funds to help find better treatment options and hopefully soon, a cure! The Elks will be selling hotdogs, hamburgers, Michigans, and fries.
Tuesday, Oct. 18
WILLSBORO — Going into our 6th year, Toto’s at the Willsborough Bowling Center hosts Open Mic Tuesday, every Tuesday from 7 p.m. till closing. Come see the eclectic blend of talent and culture. For more information call 518-572-3026. WHALLONSBURG — The Lyceum lecture series “In My Back Yard” takes place at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall, at 7:30 p.m. Learn about the history and development of the Champlain Valley landscape. $5 at the door. For more information, call 963-4170 or visit thegrangehall.info.
Arts & Entertainment
PLATTSBURGH — The Champlain Valley Morgan Horse Association Community Flea Market takes place at the Farmers’ Market Building, Durkee Street. All the proceeds from the rental tables will be donated to the Elmore SPCA. For more information, call Dee at 846-7121 ext. 120. TICONDEROGA — Fort Ticonderoga and Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York team up to host Girl Scout Day at Fort Ticonderoga. TICONDEROGA — The T.C.C Tournament Sno-Bird golf tournament will take place at the Ticonderoga Country Club, with a shotgun start at 12:30 p.m. This event is open/6-6-6. Tee Times available for non tournament play are morning tee times. Call 585-2801 for more information. WHALLONSBURG — ADK Shakespeare presents “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” at the Whallonsburg Grange, at 7 p.m. For more information, call 963-4170 or visit thegrangehall.info.
tion, email babbieag309@babbiemuseum.org call 643-8052 or visit babbiemuseum.org. The museum’s regular hours in May, June and October, Friday thru Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; July, August and September, Thursday thru Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. TICONDEROGA — The TBF Bass Tournament enters the water at the Ticonderoga Boat Launch on Lake Champlain. LAKE GEORGE — Residents of Warren, Washington, Essex and Saratoga County have free admission to Community Days at Fort William Henry. People need to present proper proof of residency. For more information, call 964-6647 or visit fwhmuseum.com/events.html.
FALL EVENTS 2016
the Adirondack Winery, at 11 a.m. The proceeds benefit the Warren County Chapter of Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. For more information, call 668-9463 or visit adirondackwinery.com.
Sunday, Oct. 16
LAKE LUZERNE — Lilly welcomes you to the Halloween Pug Parade, at the Pavilion Park, from 10
Pianist Gloria Chien will be performing at the Hill and Hollow Music Hall at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 16. Visit hillandhollowmusic.org for more information.
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FALL EVENTS 2016
Arts & Entertainment
Friday, Oct. 21 through Sunday, Oct. 23
LAKE GEORGE — Enjoy a weekend of family fun at the Lake George Harvest Festival being held at the Festival Commons at Charles R. Wood Park. Visitors will be celebrating the autumn season with farm stands, bakery selections, international foods, Harvest Craft Beer Garden, New York State Wineries, and Harvest Parade. The Kids Corner, pony rides, face painting, magic show, bounces, petting zoo, and rides. Live, local Jazz, Rock and Country music. Haunted hayride. Market Fair, crafts, antiques, and boutiques. There will be fireworks in the evening. For more information, visit lakegeorgeharvestfestival.com.
Saturday, Oct. 22
WHALLONSBURG — The Champlain Valley Film Festival presents ““Mustang” at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall, at 7:30 p.m. The cost is $6. For more information, call 9634170 or visit thegrangehall.info.
Saturday, Oct. 22 and Sunday, Oct. 23
QUEENSBURY — Fall Festival will be hold at the West Mountain, Satur-
day noon to 10 p.m.; and Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. There will be autumn family fun includes hayrides, costume bike race and best costume contest; Pumpkin Run and carving contest, salsa competition. Scenic chairlift rides, live music, bounce house, petting zoo and pony rides. Local and regional crafts, artists, farmers’ market, breweries, and food vendors. For more information, call 6363699 or visit westmtn.net. ELIZABETHTOWN — Chilean concert pianist Paulina Zamora performs piano works from the solo and duet repertoire at the Historic Hand House Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. For more information, emailr chancler99@gmail.com.
Tuesday, Oct. 25
WILLSBORO — Going into our 6th year, Toto’s at the Willsborough Bowling Center hosts Open Mic Tuesday, every Tuesday from 7 p.m. till closing. Come see the eclectic blend of talent and culture. For more information call 518-572-3026. WHALLONSBURG — The Lyceum lecture series “In My Back Yard” takes place at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall, at 7:30 p.m. Learn about the history and development of the Champlain Valley landscape. $5 at the door.
For more information, call 963-4170 or visit thegrangehall.info.
Thursday, Oct. 27
WHALLONSBURG — There will be a cooking class held at the Whallonsburg Grange, at 6 p.m. The class will be “Eat Like It’s 1799”. The cost is $15 which includes the lesson and food. Sign up in advance by calling 9634170 or visit thegrangehall.info.
Friday, Oct. 28 and Saturday, Oct. 29
TICONDEROGA — Explore our sixacre corn maze designed especially for Fort Ticonderoga! Use your flashlight to guide you to the Heroic Corn Maze where a multitude of twists and turns through acres of corn stalks await! Cost is $10 per person; tickets available at the door. Admissions booth/maze opens at 7 p.m. The last ticket will be sold at 9 p.m. The maze closes at 10 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 29
GLENS FALLS — The Boo 2 You! Downtown Trick or Treat Halloween Block Partygoes from 2 until 4 p.m. There will be family fun, petting zoo and music. Show off your costume and Trick or Treat all the way down Glen Street! For more information,
HalloweenFest 2016 will take over downtown Ticonderoga from 3-5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 31. Candy will be given out to children by downtown business owners.
call 743-9463 or visit glensfallscollaborative.com/events/boo-2-you KATTSKILL BAY — A fun-filled day is planned for families and community members at the Fall Festival being held at Camp Chingachgook, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Activities may include guided hikes, archery, arts and crafts, field games, and S’more making. Free optional lunch at camp or you are welcome to bring your own lunch and have a picnic here Please reserve for lunch. For more information, call 6569462 or visit lakegeorgecamp.org. GLENS FALLS — Take a chance at the Goblin Gallop & Halloween Hop Kids Fun Run beginning at Abraham Wing School, 120 Lawrence Street, at 9 a.m. This is a fairly flat, fast course. There will be wheelchair and walking divisions. The Halloween Hop Fun Run 3/4 mile will be for ages 12 and under. Come in costume! For more information, visit adirondackrunners. org.
Saturday, Oct. 29 through Saturday, Dec. 31
GLENS FALLS — The Hyde Collection will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the oldest regional show in the country “The Artists of the Mohawk-Hudson Region”. This special anniversary will be marked with a museum-wide exhibition juried by Michael Oatman, artist and associate professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy. Mr. Oatman has exhibited extensively in the United States and abroad. Artists of the Mohawk-Hudson region is hosted by three organizations, The Hyde, the Albany Institute of History and Art and the University Art Museum at the University at Albany on a rotating basis. As the oldest annual juried exhibitions in the country providing a leading benchmark for contemporary art in the Upper Hudson Valley and artists living within a 100-mile radius of Glens Falls and the Capital Region. For more information, call 7921761 or visit hydecollection.org. The hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday noon to 5 p.m.; closed Monday and most national holidays
Sunday, Oct. 30
TICONDEROGA — Fort Ticonderoga closes for daily visitation, but will still offer special programs, events and seminars all year.
Monday, Oct. 31
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TICONDEROGA — HalloweenFest 2016 takes over downtown Ticonderoga from 3 to 5 p.m. Enjoy trick or treating through downtown area businesses and organizations. Participate in this free event. Candy will be given out at the Ticonderoga Community Building and from participating businesses and organiza-
ncliving@suncommunitynews.com
GLENS FALLS — The 2nd Floor Gallery at City Hall presents Dennis Wilson and Penny Downs exhibition of Woodchip Carvings and Watercolor. For more information, visit northcountryartscenter.org/ calendar.html. Hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; excludes holidays.
Tuesday, Nov. 1
WILLSBORO — Going into our 6th year, Toto’s at the Willsborough Bowling Center hosts Open Mic Tuesday, every Tuesday from 7 p.m. till closing. Come see the eclectic blend of talent and culture. For more information call 518-572-3026. WHALLONSBURG — The Lyceum lecture series “In My Back Yard” takes place at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall, at 7:30 p.m. Learn about the history and development of the Champlain Valley landscape. $5 at
Wednesday, Nov. 2 through Tuesday, Nov. 29
NORTH CREEK — Widlund Gallery presents the Johnsburg Fine Arts Group with Dennis Wilson will display paintings by Johnsburg Fine Arts and wood chip carvings at the Tannery Pond Center. For more information, call 251-2505 or call tpcca.org/GallerySchedule.asp. Hours are Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 4
SARANAC LAKE — The Adirondack Artists Guild Gallery will host an opening reception for featured artist Marion Kratky, from Northville, the winner of the 2016 Annual Juried Show, from 5 to 7 p.m. For more information visit our adirondackartistsguild.com or call 8912615. The public is welcome.
Saturday, Nov. 5
WHALLONSBURG — The Champlain Valley Film Festival presents “Eye in the Sky” at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall, at 7:30 p.m. The cost is $6. For more information, call 9634170 or visit thegrangehall.info.
Saturday, Nov. 5 and Sunday, Nov. 6
TICONDEROGA — Fort Ticonderoga will hold its sixth annual “Material Matters: It’s in the Details”
Seminar. This two-day seminar focuses on 18th-century material culture and is intended for collectors and people with an interest in learning more about objects of the 18th century and what they can tell us about history. Advanced reservations required.
Monday, Nov. 7 through Monday, Nov. 14
LAKE GEORGE — Visit the Field of Flags-Remembering our Veterans takes place at Fort William Henry, 48 Canada Street. There will be a musket salute and wreath laying ceremony Friday, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m., to mark Veterans Day and honor all Veterans of all wars. A field of flags, each marked with a veteran’s name will be on the west lawn as part of Veterans appreciation week. For more information, call 964-6647 or visit fwhmuseum.com.
Tuesday, Nov. 8
WILLSBORO — Going into our 6th year, Toto’s at the Willsborough Bowling Center hosts Open Mic Tuesday, every Tuesday from 7 p.m. till closing. Come see the eclectic blend of talent and culture. For more information call 572-3026.
Friday, Nov. 11
ADIRONDACKS — Take the family fishing and don’t forget the grandparents! Anyone can fish New York State waters, and no fishing license is required. Verify all regulations for
fishing ponds, lakes, rivers, streams. For more information 897-1333 or visit dec.ny.gov. HAGUE — There will be a Veterans’ Memorial Service at Memorial Park, at 11 a.m. They will be honoring and remembering all Veterans. For more information, call 543-8830 or visit townofhague.org. LAKE GEORGE — There will be a musket salute and wreath laying ceremony to mark Veterans Day and honor all Veterans of all wars at 11 a.m. A field of flags, each marked with a veteran’s name will be on the west lawn from Monday, Nov. 7 through Nov. 14 as part of Veterans appreciation week.
Saturday, Nov. 12
TICONDEROGA — Fort Ticonderoga announces its “Now Left to their Own Defense,” German and British Soldiers Leave Ticonderoga – Living History Event. In November of 1777, cut off, short of food, and the weather getting colder the British-held posts of Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Independence made the hard decision to withdraw back to Canada following the surrender at Saratoga. At this special Living History event join the German soldiers, who formed the core of the Ticonderoga Garrison, and prepare to evacuate the "Gibraltar of the North." Royal Artillerymen aid these Brunswickers to determine what to take, and what to destroy to prevent falling into enemy hands.
Arts & Entertainment
Monday, Oct. 31 through Friday, Dec. 2
the door. For more information, call 963-4170 or visit thegrangehall.info.
FALL EVENTS 2016
tions that have a pumpkin displayed. Montcalm Street will be closed from Sunshine Laundry to the 1888 Building during the trick or treating part of the event to ensure the safety of all participants. The road will be closed from 2:45 until 5:15 p.m. Visit the Haunted Hallway at the North Country Community College Ticonderoga, from 4 until 6 p.m. Refreshments will be served. Children will be able to get their photo taken with the Great Pumpkin. This is also a free event.
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