Summer in New England

July 18, 2021 Sunday

 

Arrived at Tin Box RV Park around noon after a 2 1/2 hour trip - no rain, no traffic jams - a smooth ride. We are almost directly across the street from the old Frontier Town which looks like someone is renovating it. Our campsite was supposed to be on the Schroon River, but with all of the rain that they have had, the ground is muddy and there is the threat of flooding. So we are on a lovely corner lot which is spacious and shaded with tall pines. Across the way are 3 yurts with individual decks and picnic set up. Beyond them are several cute log cabins with porches and tin roofs. 

The manager of this park is Kevin Gilday who is Rich’s cousin’s son. Last summer we visited them on Lake George and Kevin was between careers and wanted to pick Rich’s brain about RV parks. Well, it seems that he liked the idea and started working for this new owner/company out of Florida in March. He had experience with management, but not with RV parks - they said they would train him, but the woman trainer unfortunately died. So he has been winging it and has only had 4 days off since March!! Well, I guess he still likes Rich anyway as he has brought fire wood, kindling, and homemade salsa on three different visits to our site. 

The park was a Jelly Stone Park so is geared for families with kids featuring 2 pools (1 with a slide), mini golf, mini train rides, games, play areas, etc. Great family fun.

 

July 19, 2021 Monday 

Well, it rained quite a bit during the night, but we were blessed with a very comfortable day to drive up to Blue Mountain Lake Museum - about an hour north. There were hardly any other cars on the road. The ride was on a well-kept 2 lane road winding through the mountains past Schroon River, Harris Lake, Long Lake, and on to Blue Mountain Lake where the museum is located. The landscape is mostly a plush, dense forest of many shades of green interrupted occasionally by a lake view. When entering Newcomb, it leveled out and was wide open spaces of fields, parking lots, a large public picnic area, a brick school, etc. Then back to the forest until the town of Long Lake. More forest until we arrived at the museum. 

Entrance room to one of the buildings. 

Below is a chart showing the difference in the centuries. Scroll right to see 1900 and 2000. It’s pretty interesting…

1800	1900	2000
• The Adirondack Park does not exist • The Forest Preserve does not exist • The Adirondack Region does not yet have a name The name "Adirondack" is first applied to the region by New York State Geologist Ebenezer Emmons in 1837 • A minimum of 15 days to travel by sloop, keelboat, and horse, from New York City to John Brown's tract (Old Forge Area) • About 11,000 permanent residents • About 150 miles of public roads • 17 sawmills • 3 active iron mines	• 2.8 million acres in the Adirondack Park • 1.2 million acres of publicly owned (Forest Preserve) land • 6½ hours travel time by railroad, from New York City to Fulton Train Station (now Thendara / Old Forge) • About 100,000 permanent residents of the Park • 4,154 miles of public roads • About 500 miles of passenger railroad tracks • 15 iron mines • 92 saw mills • 11 pulp/paper mills	• 6 million acres in the Adirondack Park • 2.4 million acres of publicly owned (Forest Preserve) land • About 6 hours travel time, by automobile, from New York City to Old Forge • About 130,000 permanent residents of the Park • 6,970 miles of public roads • About 8 million tourists visit the Park each year  • 40 saw mills • 3 pulp/paper mills • 500 out of 3000 Adirondack lakes and ponds no longer support native plants and aquatic wildlife due to acid rain

THEODORE ROOSEVELT

 

• September 10, 1901 - Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was visiting the Adirondacks when President McKinley was shot. He left to be by his side as soon as he heard of it. After a few days, McKinley's condition stabilized, and a surgery to sew up the bullet holes appeared to be a success. It was thought that Roosevelt's presence in Buffalo would make the public worry about the President, so he was encouraged to leave. He returned to the Tahawus Club near Newcomb, NY in the Adirondacks.
• September 13, 1901 - Unbeknownst to Roosevelt, McKinley's condition took a sudden turn for the worse. Roosevelt was climbing Mount Marcy in the Adirondacks when a message was sent to the Tahawus Club to alert him of the news. 
• September 14, 1901 - Around midnight, Roosevelt grew restless from waiting and decided to begin the journey, even against the advice of others at the Club. His destination was North Creek Train Station; a 35 mile trip that would take at least 7 hours in daylight. 
  • Roosevelt set out with a driver in a buckboard wagon and traveled 10 miles to the Tahawus Post Office to change wagons and drivers. Nine miles later, he stopped at Aiden Lair Lodge to again change his surrey. Aiden Lair proprietor, Mike Cronin, took over the driving duties and accompanied Roosevelt the rest of the way to the train station. The duo made the journey in record time, arriving in North Creek at approximately 4:45 am.
  • It was at the train station that Roosevelt received word of President McKinley's passing earlier that morning. Upon hearing the news, Roosevelt proceeded immediately to Buffalo on the fastest train. Roosevelt stopped at the house of Ainsley Wilcox to freshen up. The Cabinet wanted his inauguration to take place at nearby Milburn House where President McKinley's body lay, but Roosevelt refused out of respect for the President. He traveled to Milburn House to pay his respects to McKinley and his widow, then returned to Wilcox Mansion for his inauguration.
  • Roosevelt was sworn in in the small library of Wilcox Mansion with approximately 40 people in attendance, but no actual photographs of the occasion exist. 

WORLD WAR II 

Victory Gardens - 1943

At this point in the war there was the real need for civilians to relieve the burden on commercial food sources, transportation, and preservation by growing all food that is practical at home and preserving, storing, and using it over as much of the year as possible.

Rationing and wartime labor shortages on farms made harvesting and delivery of commercial food crops difficult. To lessen shortages, Americans were urged to grow their own in a government initiative called Food for Freedom. Nearly 20 million American households grew victory gardens, converting lawns or growing what they could on rooftops or in window boxes.

In Tupper Lake the Oval Wood Dish company, which manufactured disposable wooden dish ware, plowed and fertilized plots of company-owned land for employees and their families to plant. Adirondack towns and villages hosted contests, offering prizes for gardening and canning. Local granges, garden clubs, farm bureaus, 4-H clubs, and county officials hosted informational meetings and distributed pamphlets about gardening and preserving fruits and vegetables for out-of-season use.

V-Mail - 1944
Handling the enormous volume of mail became a logistical issue for the armed forces. The space required to ship mail competed with space needed for shipping war supplies. Victory Mail, better known as V-Mail, was introduced in 1942. Mail was  microfilmed for transporting, then printed out for the recipient. 

WW II Posters

  

MODES OF TRANSPORTATION 

TAXIDERMY AND ADIRONDACK STYLE

"In the Adirondacks, the walls have eyes. Taxidermy is part of life and death, or at least part of décor.” - Mary Thill, "Adirondack Still Life," in Adirondack Life, 2012

Trophy animals and animal-related accessories have long been used as camp décor in the Adirondacks. Animal skin rugs, antler footstools, and deer hoof gun racks testified to the hunters' prowess, and proclaimed man's conquest of wild nature. Edward H. Litchfield added an exotic note to his collection of stuffed animals at Litchfield Park by including a pair of lions; Trophy Lodge at Brandreth Park featured mounted heads of an elephant, antelope, tiger, and a giraffe.

Camp, a place away from the workday world, was particularly suited to playful décor. Interiors were crammed with artwork, tapestries, furniture, and knick-knacks in an eclectic mix of styles. American Indian crafts, Japanese fans and lanterns, Turkish rugs, and Moorish statues mingled with taxidermy animals to lend an air of fantasy, make-believe, and wildness.

 

Monkey Riding a Goat, late 19th century

Walter Potter (1835-1918) | Courtesy of Christopher English

English taxidermist Walter Potter created this tableau based on Aesop's fable of "The Birds, the Beasts, and the Bat." In life, this vervet monkey was an escaped pet. It died of shock after stealing fruit from a Shoreham, England vendor who threw a bucket of cold water on it. The goat was reputed to be belligerent and a frequent raider of neighborhood gardens. His exasperated owner offered him to Potter after one too many unauthorized forays beyond the farm.

More of Potter’s work below…

Cat’s Wedding


Rabbit Village School

Adirondack 46ers is a club dedicated to hikers who have summited all 46 High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains. The 46ers are dedicated to preserving the wilderness, and the club works in cooperation with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

There are 20 buildings and 141 acres owned by the museum. We visited a fair amount of them and had lunch at the Cafe with a view before we exited through the Store. 

Rich bought himself a walking stick which he has been talking about for a while. So I said I would be sure to have him do more walking now. 

Rode home with the top down and blue skies above. 

Used the newly discovered app called Google Lens to determine what this lawn cover is - Moss Phlox

 

July 20, 2021 Tuesday

Took a ride into Schroon Lake and had a delicious lunch at Pitkins.

 

We took in the scenery - this is the view from the old folks section.

 

Such a nice convertible top-down kind of a day that we kept going north beyond our campground, all the way to Lake Placid. Last year, we stayed at a KOA in Wilmington, NY and visited the town during the pandemic. Things were still bustling then, but with masked precautions and distancing - we really just drove through. This year, there is soooo much building construction going on in the town, it is amazing. The roads were also undergoing much needed revitalization. Of course, we had to stop for an ice cream cone to make the trip complete. 

July 23, 2021 Friday

Back in Lee

Debbie and Ted Dutton tooted as they passed by the house and I called her up and said, “Turn around and stop for a visit.” Their granddaughter, Gabbie, was with them so she enjoyed playing in the pool with my grandsons who were already there. We had stopped over in Parrotville, TN last December for 4 nights in their driveway AND had gone to their mobile home at Klondike in Becket, MA so it was time for them to visit us. Love that impromptu stuff and we had a great visit. Sometimes that is the best way to get together since everyone is so busy now. 

 

July 25, 2021 Sunday 

I worked 11:30 to 3pm in the box office at Tanglewood and on the way home I saw a sandwich board sign - Jazz  4 to 7pm - outside of the Gateways Inn. It is a plush place that many visitors from NYC and about stay when they visit the Berkshires. So I thought - why not? I drove home and picked Rich up and we went for cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and great music by the Teresa Broadwell Trio all the way from the Albany area. They have been playing together since 1983!

 

Turns out they play often in Glens Falls at the Morgan House. Rich’s kids live in Glens Falls. Small world! It felt good to be in the Berkshire tourist role for a change. 

 

July 26, 2021 Tuesday

Had a great visit - cocktails on the deck and dinner on the screened porch - with Joyce DiGrigoli at her Lakeside House on Goose Pond. We had a lot of catching up to do. 

 

Next publication in August…