The
June 26, 2013
Countryy Editor
Volume 1 Number 11
Just good reading
Virginia site of
gardens
Bear with head stuck in jar is rescued
~ Page 13
~ Page 4
Backyard
Pocahontas
wildflower
rescue will be preserved ~ Page 18
Team Hoyt by Kelly Gates They have completed 252 triathlons, including six Ironmen distance races and seven Half Ironmans. They finished 71 marathons -31 of them Boston marathons. And that is nothing compared to the more than 1,650 half marathons, 10 mile races, 5Ks, duathlons, 20Ks and other events Dick and Rick Hoyt have done together. While these numbers might seem impressive for any duo, the fact that Dick Hoyt does all of this while pushing, pulling and carrying Rick is nothing short of amazing. Rick is Dick’s son who was born a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy as a result of oxygen deprivation to his brain at the time of birth. “All of the doctors and experts told us to put him in an institution because he would never be anything but a veg-
etable,” said Dick. “But we brought him up just like any other child, just like his two brothers. Every time we looked into Rick’s eyes, we could tell he could understand us, that he was smart.” Dick and his wife tried to convince local schools in Massachusetts that their son knew his numbers and letters and should be admitted. But he was denied repeatedly until the family found a team of engineers at Boston’s Tufts University who helped give the child a voice. According to Dick, the Tufts group designed a one-of-akind, voice-activated computer system that literally spoke for little Rick. “They told us that if we raised $5,000, which was a lot of money 45 years ago, they would make him a laptop computer with a head switch that would allow him to type words
using a stick and his mouth, one letter at a time,” explained Dick. “We argued whether he would type ‘hi mom’ or ‘hi dad’ first. But the Bruin’s were going for the Stanley Cup at the time and his first words were
PRSRT STD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID EDDM RETAIL
Takee a hike Tahawus *****************ECRWSSEDDM**** PRESORTED FIRST CLASS MAIL Local POSTAGE PAID US Postal Customer UTICA, NY PERMIT NO 55
by Joan Kark-Wren I’ve always wanted to visit a ghost town but had written it off as an ‘out west’ trip, so you can imagine my excitement when my husband told me about a local ghost town, Tahawus — also called Adirondac (with various spellings). During the 19th century it was the site of a major iron ore mining and smelting operation. Consisting of 16 homes and a larger building used as a school, church and general assembly area, it was a company town of the Adirondack Iron Works. In 1857, Adirondack Iron Works left the area, leaving behind what became known as the ‘deserted village.’ In 1940 a new mine opened. National Lead Industries mined titanium dioxide, an impurity in the iron ore. This impurity was part of the reason for the Adirondack Iron Works failing, as their equipment had trouble processing the iron ore with the impurities in it. In 1943 a new community called Tahawus was established for the workers, using some of the buildings from Adirondac. By 1945 the town had 84 buildings.
Dick and Rick Hoyt at a half marathon in Virginia Beach. Photos courtesy of Dick Hoyt ‘go Bruins!,’ which proved to us and the principal at a local something we already knew, school, Rick was finally allowed just how much he loved to attend class. He instantly bonded with the gym teacher sports.” After using the unique com- there, who shared his passion puterized system to answer for sports. questions asked by teachers Team Hoyt page 4
Still standing are several dwellings alongside the road and deeper in the woods is a larger building and several smaller homes. On the road into the town is the blast furnace and remnants of the water-powered air system for the blast furnace. Armed with all this knowledge and following directions from a book, my husband Dan and I found ourselves driving slowly down the road, keeping a watchful eye out for any signs of the town. A few miles down the road we saw a large sign on the left. We stopped the car and peered up at the bank, not really impressed with the sight. We were starting to think there really wasn’t much to see. Suddenly Dan laughs and says, “Look out your window.” To our right was the blast furnace, literally 20 feet from the road, towering 50-60 feet high. We got out the explore it, and closer to the river saw the remnants of a water-powered air system. Driving down the road about a mile, we came upon the ‘village’ itself. Several houses by the road were falling in on themselves, one home (Macnaughton cottage) was in the process of being restored. This is where Vice President Theodore Roosevelt stayed while hiking Mt. Marcy. It was on
Hiking page 3
This blast furnace was built circa 1854 at an estimated cost of $43,000. Photos by Joan Kark-Wren