FROM THE DIRECTOR
REGRET TABLY, THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS FORCED US TO SUSPEND OUR PUBLIC PROGRAMMING THIS SPRING. But that does not mean you cannot continue to enjoy the resources of the Kelly Adirondack Center and the Adirondack Research Library. Our website features ways to visit (or re-visit) past events that you may have missed, and opportunities to virtually explore some of the holdings of the library. Some highlights added by coordinator, Margie Amodeo, include information on the Reist Wildlife Sanctuary; a link to our recent presentation on Adirondack Architecture by Steven Englehart; and a digital version of our current art exhibition, What Came Home, by painter Walter Hatke and poet Jordan Smith.
UNION.EDU/ADIRONDACK
M AY 2 0 2 0
Spring 2020
WILDERNESS WATERWAYS&U
Volume 15
WILDERNESS WATERWAYS&U SOME OTHER GEMS INCLUDE:
THE ADIRONDACK CHRONOLOGY: This enormous catalog highlights an incredible range of events affecting the Adirondacks—geological, ecological, historical, political, and sociological. Arranged from the Big Bang (!) to the present, it is searchable. Just pick a topic and trace its Adirondack history. INDEX TO THE MINUTES OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE ADIRONDACKS: Like the Chronology, this index is downloadable and searchable. Enjoy browsing and please bring to our attention any items of particular interest to you. ADIRONDACK JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES (AJES): Back issues of this journal, co-published by the KAC and the Adirondack Research Consortium (ARC), are also available. AJES features academic research on Adirondack topics. You can order print copies; just email us at kellycenter@union.edu.
We welcome your input. If there is a topic you would like to explore yourself, or about which you would like more information, let us know. This will help us shape our future programming and further enable your use of our amazing collections.
Doug Klein FAC U LT Y D I R EC TO R , K E L LY A D I R O N DAC K C E N T E R
UNION.EDU/ADIRONDACK
Finally, we invite you to review finding aids to the primary source materials that we have in our archives. As a starting point, here is an introductory booklet to the collections. Our archivist, Matthew Golebiewski, also maintains a blog with stories about some of the collections.
WILDERNESS WATERWAYS&U
Volume 15
Spring 2020
1980 MAT T HE W GO L E B I EW S K I ADI RO N DAC K R ES EA RCH L IBR ARY PRO JECT ARCHIVIST
UNION.EDU/ADIRONDACK
WINTER OLYMPICS COLECTION AT THE ARL
WILDERNESS WATERWAYS&U
Volume 15
Spring 2020
“It took years of preparation and coordination—often with mixed results— at national, state and local levels to make the games a reality.”
FEBRUARY 2020 MARKED THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1980 WINTER OLYMPICS IN LAKE PLACID, NEW YORK.
While the games are most memorable for the U.S. victory over the U.S.S.R. in men’s hockey, visitors to the town can still see the ski jumps and Olympic Sports Complex. Planning for these structures started as early as 1974, when an act submitted in the state senate created a temporary commission to conduct the XIII Olympic Winter Games. It took years of preparation and coordination—often with mixed results—at national, state and local levels to make the games a reality.
Robert F. Flacke (1933-2018), a coordinator with the Governor’s Olympic Task Force, is often credited with saving the games and preventing disaster and international embarrassment. His professional papers on the subject are held by the Adirondack Research Library.
UNION.EDU/ADIRONDACK
UNION.EDU/ADIRONDACK
The State Olympic Task Force was charged with aligning responsibilities and lines of communication across a dizzying array of 14 state agencies, the United States government and three Olympic committees, including the Lake Placid Olympic Organizing Committee. The work involved complex logistical, administrative and financial decisions.
WILDERNESS WATERWAYS&U
Volume 15
Spring 2020
Flacke led both the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Adirondack Park Agency during a critical time in the 1970s. Also appointed to various positions in local town governments, he was especially qualified to manage and rectify the state’s responsibilities in planning and implementing the Olympics. The unique management of land use in the Adirondacks meant proposals for the necessary facilities needed to be presented to multiple agencies before approval could be granted. As DEC commissioner, he signed the permits that sanctioned construction of Olympic facilities (costing more than $43 million) around Lake Placid. The opening weeks of the games where characterized by poor weather, inadequate transportation and an avalanche of visitors. A shortage of bus drivers meant visitors missed games and journalists were unable to cover events. The disorder even caused hospitalizations from trampling and exposure. After Governor Hugh Cary declared an emergency, Flacke took command of the state response and “pulled the games from the brink of chaos.” The Robert F. Flacke Papers on the XIII Olympic Winter Games includes first-hand correspondence, planning records, legislative and agency reports, photographs, postcards and pamphlets. It also features newspaper clippings related to the approval process, planning and regional impacts of the Olympics. The collection is open to anyone interested in learning more. Once the Adirondack Research Library reopens this spring, please stop by. A finding aid to the collection is available online.
Faculty Director of the Kelly Adirondack Center
Kelly Adirondack Center Coordinator
Doug Klein
Margie Amodeo
897 Saint David’s Lane Niskayuna, NY 12309
Contact us at the Center by emailing: kellycenter@union.edu
UNION.EDU/ADIRONDACK
WILDERNESS WATERWAYS&U
THE KELLY ADIRONDACK CENTER AT UNION COLLEGE