NCL Magazine Spring 2016

NORTH COUNTRY LIVING MAGAZINE • VOL. 5 NO. 1

Vol. 5 No. 1

Ticonderoga’s Hancock House hits a milestone birthday this year

Fortifying the north end of Lake Champlain: Long live Fort Blunder The Glens Falls Shirt Factory has been reinvented into an artist’s haven

SPRING 2016

Built Legacy

This Long Lake family has a rich history in building Adirondack guideboats

Sculpting Perfection Meet the man behind Vermont’s most stunning sculptures

North Country Living Staff General Manager DJ Alexander

Writer Thom Randall

dj@suncommunitynews.com

thom@suncommunitynews.com

Vol. 5 No.1

Published by Sun Community News and Printing 14 Hand Avenue, Elizabethtown, NY 12932 (518) 873-6368, Fax: 873-6360 New Market Press, Inc. 16 Creek Road, Suite 5, Middlebury, VT 05753 (802) 388-6397, Fax: (802) 388-6399

Editor’s Note

April/May/June 2016

The past few months the North Country endured the oddest cold weather pattern I’ve ever experi experienced in my years on this great big orb we call home.

If you had tried to tell me four months ago that I would not have to drop a plow once in my driveway this winter I would have brought you to your senses by whacking you between the lookers like one of those old V8 commercials.

Pop. But that was, indeed the case. I even drove into my hunting camp in Newcomb this February without so much as moving a snowflake. Crazy.

And, while the warm weather has been a God send to things like the deer herd, fuel bills and municipal overtime it also has chopped many cold-weather-dependent businesses off at the knees.

Now, however, it is time to turn that page and welcome this early spring with open arms.

For the first time in recent memory open water should be the norm when anglers take to the waterways for the start of the April 1 trout season.

Spring sports is in full swing, golf courses are bustling and barren downtowns are giving way to early summer-like activity.

Spring is indeed the season of revival — perhaps even more so this year, so please shop local, it benefits us all and is the reason we are able to produce this high quality publication that is free for our readers to enjoy.

Thank you and I’ll see you in the summer.

John Gereau, Managing Editor

Writer Pete DeMola

Writer Mikaela Foster

pete@suncommunitynews.com

mikaela@suncommunitynews.com

Writer Teah Dowling

Writer Megan Harrington

teah@suncommunitynews.com

megan.kretz@gmail.com

Writer Shawn Ryan

Writer Lou Varricchio

news@suncommunitynews.com

lou@addison-eagle.com

Writer Keith Lobdell

NY Publisher Dan Alexander

dan@suncommunitynews.com

keith@suncommunitynews.com

VT Publisher Ed Coats

Writer Christina Scanlon

ed@suncommunitynews.com

christina@suncommunitynews.com

Sales Team Ashley Alexander David Allaire Cyndi Armell Tom Bahre Becky Barnes Ashley Charron Kathi Gereau Thomas Hollingsworth

Jaimee Kuhl Heidi Littelfield Scarlette Merfeld Amy Schryer Leslie teRiele 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

Graphics Team Kelly Bresett Wanda Cox Greg Foster

Laurie Goff Heather Lamb Kerry O’Neill

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You may also mail a check or money order to: Sun Community News and Printing Attn: NCL Subscriptions P.O. Box 338, Elizabethtown, NY 12932 Be sure to include your full name, mailing address, phone number and email address.

4 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 1

ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

CONTENTS Vol. 5 No. 1

Features Wiawaka

9

The history of this Lake George women’s retreat

McKernon Group

19

A log home in grand Adirondack style

Happy Birthday

24

Ticonderoga’s Hancock House turns 90

Noah John Rondeau

32

The story of the Cold River hermit

Buck Mansion

46

Prominent family once called Crown Point home

Shirt Factory

50

Reinventing a historic Glens Falls business

Adk Guideboats

56

The legacy of a family of boat builders

Giving Back

60

A group of selfless United Way volunteers

Vol. 5 No. 1

Ticonderoga’s Hancock House hits a milestone birthday this year

Fortifying the north end of Lake Champlain: Long live Fort Blunder The Glens Falls Shirt Factory has been reinvented into an artist’s haven

SPRING 2016

Perhaps nothing says spring in the Adirondacks more than the iconic female loon guarding her nest from predators. This photo of a loon nesting on Brant Lake, NY was taken by Adirondack photographer Carl Heilman II.

A1 NORTH COUNTRY LIVING MAGAZINE • VOL. 5 NO. 1

On The Cover

Built Legacy

This Long Lake family has a rich history in building Adirondack guideboats

6 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 1

CEDAR KNOLL LOG HOMES

S c u l p t i n g P e r f e c t i o n Meet the man behind Vermont’s most stunning sculptures

ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

CONTENTS April/May/June 2016

Features Grand Slam

70

The start of Ed Noonan’s seventh grand slam

32

Eye on the Arts

76

A Vermont artist with an eye for sculptures

CCC Sports 50 years of collegiate athletics at Clinton Community College

82

Social Scene The Abolitionist

60

92

How Stephen Keese Smith helped rewrite local history

Paul Vachon

102

When wrestling was real

Have a Crappie Spring!

108

These panfish are tasty panfare and plentiful

Gentlemen, start your ...

114

Racing is in the blood in this Vermont community

120

Mile High Try this favorite recipe for frozen pie

108

Community Calendar

122

The most inclusive events calendar in the region ... bar none

nclmagazine.com

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 7

the History of the

Wiawaka Holiday House

By Megan Harrington

The oldest operating retreat in the country exists on the shores of beautiful Lake George

~

F

rom its founding as a retreat for immigrant women to the many workshops it offers today, the Wiawaka Holiday House has been providing recreational opportunities for well over a century. The name Wiawaka means “the great spirit of women” in its Native American language and the retreat was founded as a respite for the overworked women employed in the textile industry in the Troy and Cohoes area.

Founded in 1903 by Mary Witse Fuller, Wiawaka is the oldest and longest continuously operating retreat for women in the United States. continued on page 10 nclmagazine.com

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 9

tory and inspiring setting today — it was completely refurbished in 2013 and is open to Wiawaka guests.

And throughout summer 2016, 10 individuals will be invited as artists in residence at the lodge. The conclusion of the program will feature an exhibit to showcase and sell the artists’ finished work.

The estate was added to the National Register of Historic places in 1998 and is just as important to women today as it was 100 years ago. Mary was the daughter of a wealthy Troy business owner and dedicated her life to bettering the lives of countless female textile workers.

At the turn of the century, Troy employed so many female garment workers that it was nicknamed “The City of Women.” And while there were organizations within the Troy area that provided educational workshops and housing opportunities, Mary provided something many of these women had never dreamed of – a vacation. In its first summer of operation, nearly 200 women enjoyed a retreat from their backbreaking work. And best of all, the $3.50 fee for room and board made a stay at Wiawaka an affordable luxury.

But before her retreat became a reality, Mary was tasked with finding a suitable location. Luckily, Mary had friends in high places and she soon brought famous Saratoga philanthropists, Spencer and Katrina Trask, on board. The Trasks purchased a property then known as the Crosbyside Hotel, previously the United States Hotel, one of Lake George’s earliest resorts. In 1903, Spencer and Katrina sold the eight-acre estate to Mary Fuller for the sum of one dollar and a bouquet of wildflowers.

For the next 40 years, Mary worked to maintain funding for Wiawaka House and secure scholarships for thousands of working class women.

In addition to its unique artist residency program, Wiawaka offers numerous other activities, including arts and crafts workshops, fitness classes, writing workshops, lectures and special retreats. All guests reside in one of Wiawaka’s five buildings where they stay in either a single or double room. The bathrooms, dining room, common rooms and porches are all communal, allowing guests to mingle and meet new friends. But if a guest desires some solitude, there are plenty of spots for quiet reflection.

Accommodations are modest, but provide all of the essentials – linens, towels and fans for warm summer nights. The dining hall’s menu focuses on fresh, seasonal foods, with many vegetables and herbs coming from Wiawaka’s very own garden. From its origins, Wiawaka has been innovative when it comes to providing for the needs of its guests. In 1914, the retreat brought in its own milk cows to provide fresh milk and a few years later in 1917 a large vegetable garden was planted on the property. Guests gather in the welcoming dining room for all three meals.

Meaghan Wilkins, Wiawaka’s Executive Director, began her tenure in 2013 and says she felt an immediate connection to the place. She says, “I was fascinated by Wiawaka during my interview and saw a lot of great potential for the area.” With a background in non-profit marketing and communications, Wilkins has helped to greatly increase the occupancy rate over the past two years.

Katrina and Spencer Trask can be credited with providing Wiawaka a permanent home, but their contribution to the retreat lies beyond gifting the land. Before they founded Yaddo, the renowned artists’ colony in Saratoga Springs, the Trasks created a haven for artists on the Wiawaka House property. Their Adirondackstyle lodge, known as Wakonda, even hosted the great American painter Georgia O’Keefe in 1908. Aspiring artists can take advantage of Wakonda’s special his10 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 1

ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

The retreat’s motto is: “Honoring tradition, embracing the future” and in order to be more inclusive, it recently changed its name to Wiawaka Center for Women.

Wilkins explained that Wiawaka’s original goal was to provide leisure and recreation opportunities for factory women in Troy, but now they provide activities for all women, recognizing that women have needs, including in the financial, spiritual and emotional realms.

Wilkins says, “We’ve had some pretty neat groups come in. For example, this June, we have a group coming from Australia to facilitate a 70-person retreat. And last year, the New York Women Writers in Film and Television (NYWIFT) retreat, funded by Meryl Streep, brought in screenwriters and producers from NYC and LA.” Whether guests are coming from across the globe or from within Warren County, Wilkins says, “We pull women in from all over. We love where we are, the Adirondacks are just so beautiful.”

As far as cost, room and board used to be on a sliding scale, but now fees are set at a relatively low flat rate. Wilkins is quick to add, “When people make reservations, we always let them know about scholarships.

We’re very serious about giving scholarships to women who can’t afford to participate – we wouldn’t want anyone to miss out.”

like the dock, as Executive Director, Wilkins is in charge of all programming decisions and day-to-day operations. And she says the upcoming season promises to be better than ever. “I’m really excited about the workshops and programs we have scheduled for this year – our instructors all have such a high level of expertise.”

If you aren’t up for an overnight stay or workshop,

continued on page 12

For the 2016 season, Wiawaka is focusing on rebuilding the property’s dock. The space was damaged last year and subsequently closed down, but since the dock protects the boathouse from ice and bad weather, it was imperative to get it back in working condition. In addition to its protective purposes, Wilkins says, “The dock is a great place for guests to gather and partake in programming, it’s just a very iconic spot.” Thanks to mild weather, work was able to continue throughout the winter and an opening celebration for the dock is planned for June. As far as funding, Wilkins says that Wiawaka has received great support for the project, but they are still accepting donations.

While Wiawaka’s Board of Directors focuses mainly on fundraising, strategic planning, and capital projects

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Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 11

Wilkins recommends looking into season passes. With plenty of parking (a rarity in Lake George!), the Wiawaka property is the perfect spot for locals to while away a summer day. Whether you choose to relax on the dock, walk in the gardens, or explore the hiking trails, season (and day) pass holders are welcome on the property from mid-June through mid-October.

Over the past 113 years, Wiawaka has honored its name by serving as a place for women to come together, to learn, and relax. And with a strong sense of tradition and innovative offerings, Wiawaka will continue to be a beacon for women.

12 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 1

Wiawaka

Holiday House

The oldest operating retreat in the country exists on the shores of beautiful Lake George.

ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

Beyond the fabled Saratoga Race Course and the speakeasy-era downtown ambiance, the city of Saratoga Springs is also nationally known for an intimate coffeehouse that helped shape the course of American folk music.

Established in 1960 during the Beatnik era, Caffe Lena has nurtured the careers of hundreds of folk musicians some of them now famous — and the venue, virtually unchanged over the

Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, a coffeehouse that’s launched dozens of renowned folk musicians’ careers since it was founded in 1960, is considered an icon of American musical and cultural heritage. Despite its international fame, Caffe Lena is a family-friendly venue with modest prices.

years, is now considered an American cultural icon.

operating coffeehouse in the nation.

Bob Dylan, Dave Van Ronk, Arlo Guthrie, Don McLean, Ani DiFranco, Tom Paxton, Don McLean and Mississippi John Hurt are among the dozens of musicians, so influential in American folk music, who have performed in the intimate second-floor venue at 47 Phila St. in Saratoga Springs.

Today, people can still experience the magic of the 1960s coffeehouse scene at Caffe Lena. Today, like decades ago, those attending a show climb steep stairs in a narrow hallway its walls lined with concert posters, photographs and scrawled messages from as far back as 1960 that casually document Caffe Lena’s storied heritage.

Caffe Lena, which seats only about 80, is considered the oldest continuously

14 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 1

Sarah Craig, Executive

Director of the not-forprofit group that now operates the business, recently described what people experience when they enter the cafe.

“It’s impossible to walk up the stairs and not feel the spirits in the walls,” she said. “There’s a palpable sense of history in the room.”

Craig said that the cafe — which serves as a nexus for acoustic music ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

and alternative culture — also has created a community that has no geographic boundaries.

“When you sit down to take in a show, it comes over you that Caffe Lena is a place created to bring people together through music,” she said.

“Many times, you share a table with others, people you’ve never met before, and you end up making friends.” Such interaction is spontaneous, she said.

“Ten minutes before showtime, the room is alive with conversation,” Craig said. “Then after the show, you see hugs and exchanges of phone numbers on the way out — It’s a place to renew your faith in the world.”

Concerts at Caffe Lena are held year-round, and it’s not just folk singersongwriters on its tiny stage, but also musicians and groups representing blues, jazz, rural Americana, bluegrass and more.

Craig said the Caffe’s lineup of performers includes a mixture of the vintage folk luminaries, regional favorites and rising stars.

“The Capital District’s concert halls have been filled with singersongwriters who first played at Caffe Lena,” she said. “The cafe has been the launchpad of musicians that are now on the big stage — that’s our role in the region.

Artists from all around the U.S. and Canada come to Caffe Lena to get their foot in the music world.”

The

Caffe

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was

for

decades operated by Lena Spencer, who from its beginnings routinely housed and fed the performers — often launching their careers.

Following Spencer’s untimely death in 1989, the Caffe continued to operate, burdened by its traditional shaky finances.

A few years later, a notfor-profit organization was founded to assure Caffe Lena’s survival, and Sarah Craig has led the mission since 1995.

In 2013, a coffee-table book, “Caffè Lena: Inside America’s Legendary Folk Music Coffeehouse,” was published, and a companion CD set was issued. More recently, the U.S. Library of Congress garnered a vast collection of recordings from Caffe Lena for its American Folklife Center archives.

Caffe Lena Associate Director Dianne Winter said recently that while famed performers like Eric Anderson, Maria Muldaur, Lucy Kaplansky, Jonathan Edwards, Livingston Taylor and Louden Wainwright have played at Caffe Lena in recent years, the venue has also hosted the new generation of acoustic artists and groups like Suitcase Junket, Darlingside, Driftwood, The Stray Bird, The Steel Wheels, G. Love and The Kennedys.

You can see evidence of who has performed by examining the graffiti on the venue’s bathroom walls — where musicians and fans alike have scrawled greetings and messages.

While the Caffe’s headline shows are hosted primarily on weekends, weekday

programming is more participatory — with open mike events, acoustic blues jams, poetry r e a d i n g s and story telling. Also a songwriters’ workshop is held on one weekday once per month, Craig said.

when patrons make their re s e r v a t i o n s through the coffeehouse’s website: www. caffelena.org.

“We offer opportunities for anybody from the area to work on their own things and connect with a community of people that share their interests,” she said.

The venue is considered family-friendly, and the menu features light fare for under $10 as well as various coffee concoctions. Caffe Lena members receive newsletters, behind-thescenes information on artists, free tickets and complimentary food, as well as early notice of upcoming shows and priority in seating. Otherwise, seats are reserved according to

Tickets are routinely $15 to $18 per person, higher for national acts.

“Student rush” seating for concerts can often be obtained at the door immediately before a concert for $5.

Winter advised that people either become a member, link up to the Caffe’s Facebook page, or regularly check their website — as well as make their reservations early.

“The Caffe is definitely a destination for a lot of ‘musical tourists’ from across the U.S. and Canada,” she said. “With people in the know, it’s considered quite a meaningful place in musical history.”

In 1962, Bob Dylan and girlfriend Suze Rotolo share a conversation at Caffe Lena, with the coffeehouse’s proprietor, Lena Spencer, who housed, fed and nurtured the careers of various folk music luminaries.

Photo courtesy of Caffe Lena /Joe Alper Photo Archives LLC

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 15

18 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 1

ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

Vermont firm

helps reimagine a log house

in the grand Adirondack style

Award-winning Keene Valley, N.Y. architect Nils Luderowski also involved

By Lou Varricchio

W

hen it comes to a technical construction and renovation challenge that would run rings around the competition, the McKernon Group, a designbuild company based in Brandon, Vt., is more than up to the task.

Founded in 1987 by the late Jack McKernon, and business partner Kevin Birchmore, the McKernon Group has since evolved as a major leader in environmentally responsible design/build projects.

Its stunning portfolio of standing work encompasses a wide variety of construction jobs and styles.

After McKernon retired in 2011, Justus Cameron joined Birchmore

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continued on page 20 Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 19

as part-owner; under the current management team, the firm continues its founder’s bold mission: assuring every client a high level of professionalism, efficiency and craftsmanship.

Taking on the job All varieties of headaches, big or small, are a standard part of the playing fields of the design/build industry’s big leagues—a rarefied stade where the pros adhere to rules of strict budgets, exacting standards, deadlines and demanding customers. To this outsider, the McKernon Group’s staffers appear to relish jobs that other construction professionals would deem as giving severe agita, both technically and emotionally.

Take, for example, McKernon’s recent home renovation project, which in an ancient Greek drama would be a Herculean labor of Olympian proportions. McKernon President Kevin Birchmore describes it simply as a beautiful, upscale New York log home on 100 acres that had a moisture problem.

“The solution to this problem was to build a rain screen over the entire structure. While addressing this problem, the owners then decided to change the appearance of their house to a cedar-shingle Adirondack-style. And with our 45 employees and various subcontractors working in various capacities, we went to work—well beyond the typical bounds of a construction company.”

Job site For 10 months of 2015 in one of the coldest winters on record in the northeast, McKernon’s crew— under Birchmore’s watchful eyes and working closely with vision20 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 1

ary, award-winning Keene Valley, N.Y., architect Nils Luderowski— performed their technical magic, transforming the entire exterior of the house giving it an entirely different look.

The approximately 7,200-squarefeet house, commanding a breathtaking locale in upstate N.Y., stands atop an isolated knob with a drop-dead, 360-degree panoramic vista of the Hudson Valley countryside.

The site, while aesthetically unmatched in the region, is neverthe-less exposed to the varied, four-season weather of upstate New York; so, as a result of the elements, the structure eventually needed repair. Luderowski and McKernon stepped in and the idea of the envelope became a reality.

What had been a large log house was miraculously resurrected to a new, upscale life happily ever after.

Wood and weather Wood is a living breathing entity and it responds to its environment. Giving it a permanent seal in this case involved encasing it with the rain seal. So, the NY log house stood as a real test to all those involved who were tasked with redesigning it into a magnificent Adirondack-style log house (architects Nils Luderowski in collaboration with Adam Pelkey from McKernon) and then sealing and insulating to make it endure well into the next century (the McKernon Group).

“Within the 5 or 6 years of building this house,” says McKernon Vice President and Project Manager Justus Cameron, “the homeowner had spent a substantial amount replacing rotting logs, and realized this problem needed ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

a long-term solution.”

That’s when architect Luderowski got involved. Building his Adirondack vision in New York would demand the help of a design/build team with unique precision and skill. Hence, Lud-

erowski sought out the McKernon Group to devise a screen—more like an envelope—to go around the entire house.

“This is a highly detailed house with architectural timber accents, diagonal knee braces and exposed

copper,” Cameron says. “There were a lot of moving pieces, so to speak, and Nils wanted a firm that continued on page 22

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Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 21

could do in-the-field interpretations that drawings alone couldn’t do. We’ve done work with Nils before; so, he knew we were up to it.”

According to Cameron, the New York log home’s rooflines were reconstructed to control the flow of the local rainwater. And a 2×4 wall was added to all of the exterior walls.

“The resulting void between old and new walls was filled with urethane spray foam insulation,” Cameron adds. “The sealing work dramatically increased the R-value.”

The R-value is the measure of thermal resistance used in the building and construction industry.

Cameron points out that copper flashing on the house now gives it an upscale, distinctive look which makes it both whimsical and decorative at the same time.

If a picture speaks a thousand words, then the McKernon Group’s photographic record of the “before and after” process renovating the New York log house could fill volumes of those interested in such construction details.

America’s master architect Frank Lloyd Wright once wrote that only certain buildings would be become masterpieces over time.

“Organic buildings are the strength and lightness of the spiders’ spinning, buildings qualified by light, bred by native character to environment, married to the ground...,” Wright wrote. “Respect the masterpiece. It is true reverence to man. There is no quality so great, none so much needed now.”

By all parameters, then, Wright’s definition must be applied to the New York work of architect Nils Luderowski and the McKernon Group.

This reborn log house, now reworked in the grand Adirondack style, lives up to all the lofty ideals of “native character” and “environment”— indeed, it is a modern masterpiece of both architecture, construction, and re-imaging, a thing of beauty to be celebrated throughout our region and beyond.

Pictured are before, after and during photos of the Vermont-based McKernon Group’s renovation of an upstate New York, Adirondack-style log house reimagined by award-winning Keene Valley, Vt., architect Nils Ludrowski.

Photos provided

22 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 1

ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

Happy 90th Birthday, Hancock House

By Laura Achouatte

Situated directly adjacent to Moses Circle, or Liberty Circle — the only roundabout in Ticonderoga, New York — sits the replication of the historic stone mansion of John Hancock, now called the Hancock House, preserved by the New York State Historical Society and originally dedicated as the Headquarters House of the New York State Historical Association.

This year is a special one for Ticonderoga’s historic Hancock House as it celebrates its 90th year in existence and as a local hidden gem of American history.

In response, the Ticonderoga Historical Society is offering a lineup of events and exhibits upon its reopening of the museum from the winter months, which also includes a special anniversary celebration of the dedication of the Hancock House, a 1920s themed lawn picnic entitled ‘Happy Birthday Hancock House.’

In 1926, the cornerstone of the granite building was first laid and the 24 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 1

ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

The Hancock House was built as a replica of John Hancock’s home on Beacon Street in Boston in an effort to preserve the history of the place.

building erected from the exact drawings done by architect John Sturgis. Sturgis recorded the buildings dimensions and features as a measure to preserve John Hancock’s historical home on Beacon Street in Boston.

Many years after the preservation of the original Hancock House through Sturgis’ drawings, a man from Ticonderoga, Horace A. Moses, who made a handsome living from the paper industry in Massachusetts, would later take that specimen of historical architecture and have it recreated to benefit his hometown as well as breathe life into an artifact of early American history.

community, the Hancock House among them. Moses believed that his “success was measured by the opportunities he was able to provide for others,” according to a history of the life of Horace A. Moses.

At the time, Moses wanted to make a gift to the NYSHA by providing a home for its headquarters and his stipulations were that it be erected in Ticonderoga and that it be a reproduction of the John Hancock Mansion. With its Georgian-style, an example of historical architecture, and the stone construction conducive to prevention of fires, as

“After Hancock’s passing and after his widow’s passing, the family could not afford to keep it up. The civil war was happening, and before it was destroyed, this was one of the first movements to preserve an historic building,” imparted Bill Dolback, historical society president.

Moses, among many titles, was a philanthropist and benefactor to the town of Ticonderoga and surrounding areas of the Champlain Valley. Born and raised in Ticonderoga, Moses worked on his father’s farm, attended the Troy Conference Academy in Poultney, Vermont, and then moved to Massachusetts, where he became successful as an industrialist and amassed a wealth in the paper industry. Although, he lived in Massachusetts, Moses remained a member of the New York State Historical Association (NYSHA) and was a benefactor to many institutions in his childhood Hancock House today

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well as the ties to one of the most famous Founding Fathers, the Hancock House was declared to be built as a “home” for the NYSHA and later, the New York State Histotechnological Society.

Moses’ gift of the “NewOld Hancock House” to Ticonderoga, as stated in The John Hancock Signature, was to be “a dispenser of historical hospitality, its purpose the harboring and disseminating of historical information and stimulating of historical interests.” The area also served as a landmark

Continued on page 26

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 25

The historical society did win their petition, in just enough time to open for the first exhibit in 1976 for the American Bicentennial, an exhibit of prints from Courier and Ives of Blue Mountain Lake.

Today, the Hancock House still stands to serve the community under its original mission. Its ongoing efforts provide a community resource as well as housing the many programs and exhibits that are always seeking to connect past and present to engage visitors and encourage community involvement.

Moving inside Portrait of Horace A. Moses that hangs in the entrance hall of the Hancock House

of historical importance with Fort Ticonderoga as its background, and the waterways of Lake Champlain connected to Lake George by the La Chute River also known as the Northern Gateway.

In the words of the dedication plaque that is embedded in the walk in front of the Hancock House: “This building, A Reproduction of the Colonial Mansion built in Boston-1737-1740 and occupied by John Hancock, President of the Second Continental Congress and Signer of the Declaration of Independence was Presented to the New York Historical Ass’n by Horace A. Moses, a son of Ticonderoga, to perpetuate American traditions in History and the Fine Arts.”

The original intent of the Hancock House was to perpetuate the importance of history and to be useful to the public, and it may well have been lost in 1975, when the NYSHA decided to move its headquarters entirely to Cooperstown, New York. That left the Hancock House in limbo, as it was unsure what the future held for the purpose of the majestic reproduction of the Hancock family home.

“There was talk about making it a jail or a police station. But, we [The Historical Society] made a petition. We only had a short time. We wanted to preserve it as a community asset, and make it our headquarters. If we didn’t win with the petition, the building would be lost for its original intent, and it was too important to lose,” Mr. Dolback reminisced.

26 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 1

Upon entering the 90-year-old, two-and-half story building, the grandeur of the entrance hall,

with its quarter-oaked flooring, and ornate staircase beckons the visitor to explore the history emblazoned in each artfully crafted room.

The building almost makes time stand still once inside and, if this can be imagined, the smell of history at hand lodges in the olfactory senses.

The Hancock House serves as a museum with evolving exhibits that strive to tie local histories to national events, a research library with genealogical resources of the region, an art gallery maintained by Ti Arts, an archive of unique documents and artifacts, as well as the meeting place for the NYSHS.

Entrance hall of the Hancock House with the grand staircase

ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

niture pieces from periods of history from the Metropolitan Museum.

Just to visit the building for the sake of the architecture and Old World style is fascinating to the architecture-lovers out there.

It also boasts an old post office-themed gift shop, which serves as a meager source of income for the organization aside from the generosity of volun-

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teers and donations, that are always welcomed.

Aside from the exhibits, the building itself is an historical wonder with its architecture and execution of

The dedication plaque imbedded in the walkway in front of the Hancock House on Moses Circle

each intricate detail to the presentation of the building features. The museum also houses historical fur-

Bill Dolback, Historical Society President, in the library/Historical Society meeting room

Continued on page 28

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 27

Schedule of Events

This year’s event schedule of exhibits and special programs are highlighted by two principle exhibits: “A Terrible Beauty” and “From the Adirondacks to the Arctic.”

“A Terrible Beauty,” which opens March 18 and features a program by Diane O’Connor, addresses how Irish-Americans in Ticonderoga, the Adirondacks and New York State provided support for Irish independence and the following creation of the Irish Free State. The exhibit will also showcase nearly 100 items relating to Irish Freedom. Following the exhibit’s theme, the Historical Society will also present four Irish-themed movies with discussion. These include “The Quiet Man” on April 15, “Michael Collins” on May 20, “The Wind that Shakes the Barley” on June 3 and “The Secret of the Roan Inish” on July 8.

“From the Adirondacks to the Arctic,” opening on May 6, is a program presented by Historical Society President Bill Dolback. “Adirondacks” examines the life and accomplishments of local aviator Floyd Bennett, including his controversial 1926 flight over the North Pole. The exhibit also includes a broader discussion of local connections of exploration and discovery, including the USS Ticonderoga’s role in spacecraft recovery. Also on May 6, Robert Lamb’s program titled, “WWII Battle of North Cape,” will be offered.

Herbalist Nancy Scarzello will present “Herbal History of the Adirondacks” on April 8, a look into Native American and early settlers’ use of native plants medicinally, and the continued application of those uses today.

Other programs include the “Summer O’Fair” on August 13, featuring a military encampment, Celtic music, dance, and spoken word.

And, on Saturday, July 16, as a special highlight for the Hancock House, given its 90th year celebration, the community is encouraged and invited to attend the much anticipated 1920s style picnic supper. The festivities will celebrate this milestone complete with bathtub gin, flapper dresses, a costume contest and jazz music presented by Hot Box Honey, among other activities. This community event will be one that you won’t want to miss! Come out and support the Historical Society on an evening that is sure to have a ton of fun in store.

Specific information and times regarding programs and events can be obtained by calling the Historical Society at 518-585-7868, by checking their Facebook page, or at the THS website at ticonderogahistoricalsociety.org

28 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 1

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Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 29

Of Mountain Men

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and Malcontents:

The Story of the Cold River hermit

By Karen A. Stites

O

n a frigid winter’s morning in 1947, a state helicopter touched down in a secluded Adirondack forest. The goal wasn’t to rescue a lost hiker or injured hunter, but rather to pick up a soon-to-be celebrity on his first visit to New York City. Remarkably, the passenger in question was the legendary hermit of the Adirondacks, Noah John Rondeau, who lived alone in the high peaks wilderness for nearly 40 years.

Rondeau was not a typical hermit. While he left civilization to live a life of solitude in the woods, he also enjoyed regular visits from dozens of hikers and hunters each season. He had very little formal education, yet effortlessly conversed on a broad range of subjects ranging from science to politics.

Rondeau rejected society for decades, but reveled in the attention he received as a hit “attraction” at sportsmen’s shows, as the guest on radio shows, and even a spot on a television show.

Born to a local French-Canadian family in 1883, Noah left home at a young age to escape both poverty and an abusive father. He lived in and around the Lake Placid area and worked at various jobs from barber to logger. However, greatly dissatisfied with his meager earnings, he decided to live off the land in 1917 and set out to create a hermitage along the Cold River in isolated Corey’s Mill – an 18 mile hike through the mountains to the nearest town.

He called himself “The Mayor of Cold River (Population 1)” and built two tiny cabins, one the town hall where he cooked and slept nclmagazine.com

under bearskins, and the other the Hall of Records where he kept his supplies. Over the years, Noah added a number of wigwams of tree branches set in tepee style. Ingeniously, he notched each branch into smaller sections so that one whack of his hatchet cut the firewood to size for the long, bitterly cold Adirondack winters. Short in stature, Rondeau sported a long woodman’s beard and dressed in buckskins with bear claws for buttons. He carried an 8-foot bow for small game and hunted deer and bear with his rifle, although with little regard to hunting and trapping out-of-season.

Like Thoreau at Walden’s Pond, he kept journals of his day-to-day experiences and thoughts on man and nature. But unlike Thoreau, it was not Rondeau’s intentions to share his journals with the outside world, for he often recorded his thoughts in a mysterious code. He referred to his retreat as an escape from “Big Fool American Big Business.” Nor did he have much use for government and what he called Higher Authority, especially game wardens. His opinion of politicians was not flattering either. He thought Franklin D. Roosevelt a tyrant, and referred to John F. Kennedy as the “spoiled kid of a rich millionaire.”

He was perpetually in trouble with the local game wardens, and spent some time in jail for pointing his gun at an officer. In 1920, one run-in caused him to write a 30-page complaint letter to the Conservation Commission. For all the trouble Noah caused them, the Commission refused to issue him a guide’s license for the next 17 years.

Despite the ongoing conflict, one of continued on page 34

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 33

the conservation department pilots befriended the hermit, and regularly air-dropped food, supplies and mail.

Over the decades, word of Noah Rondeau spread and the mountain man became something of an attraction in the deep woods, one year enjoying 200 or so visitors. Then the Conservation folks got the idea to use him to promote their efforts to urge the state to expand the protected land within the Adirondacks. So on Valentine’s Day in 1947, at the age of 63, Rondeau arrived in New York City for the National Sportsmen Show. Bewhiskered and dressed in his fringed deerskin jacket and leggings, with a fiddle in one hand

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ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

“He was perpetually in trouble with the local game wardens, and spent some time in jail for pointing his gun at an officer.”

~

and his long bow in the other, he became the hit of the show.

For the next month, Rondeau lived in a swanky Manhattan hotel, dined in the best restaurants and became something of a celebrity with 14 interviews for radio, a TV appearance on “We The People,” and was featured in three news reel shorts. Invitations came in from other sporting shows, and Rondeau accepted, enjoying immensely his time in the spotlight.

For four more years, he travelled to shows throughout the state and Boston.

But in 1950, the Cold River Hermitage was no more. A devastating storm blew through the upper Adirondacks, leveling acres of trees.

The area was shut down to visitors for three years to prevent wildfires.

Noah worked for a while as Santa at North Pole near Lake Placid. He never again lived in the old hermitage, but hiked in and out carrying load after load of his supplies. By 1956, he had packed up the last of his “artifacts” from his life in the woods. Rondeau was 73. He lived quietly in town for the next 11 years, dying in the Lake Placid hospital in 1967. nclmagazine.com

Gone but certainly not forgotten, today a state plaque marks the spot of the Cold River Hermitage, and the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake houses a permanent exhibit complete with one of the cabins and a life-size wood sculpture of the famous hermit. The museum received all his artifacts, journals, and photographs of Rondeau’s voice can be heard on a recording that accompanies the exhibit.

Two biography books and numerous articles, one in the New York Times, tell the story of Noah John

Rondeau. He lived his life alone but not lonely at Cold River, described by one writer as “a hole in a woodpile way the hell and gone back,” where the deer gathered around his camp at night when he played his beloved fiddle.

Sadly, his last wish to be buried at the hermitage was never realized.

Noah John Rondeau’s grave is in the nearby North Elba/Lake Placid cemetery, a short distance from the homestead and gravesite of another infamous malcontent, the notorious abolitionist John Brown.

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 35

David Greene: The man who translated

Rondeau’s code

By Christina Scanlon

I

t t ook a rainy weekend during black fly season in the mid-1990s for David Greene to decipher the “scratchings of an inebriated hen,” as the code written in Noah John Rondeau’s journals was called by a close friend of the Cold River Hermit.

Greene, then a recent Cornell graduate, recalled that weekend and the relatively quick breakthrough some 50 years after the journals were written and 30 years after Rondeau’s death.

“I was still in high school when I first tried,” said Greene. “My mother gave me some xeroxed copies of the 1946 journal.”

At the time, he was a student at Johnsburg Central School in North Creek and “had an interest in code breaking in general,” he said.

That first attempt was brief and fruitless.

“I guess I wasn’t very good at it. I tried for a little bit,” he said.

Some tricky elements to Rondeau’s code posed problems for Greene.

There were no spaces between words. Sometimes the code would be written backwards, sometimes upside down.

“It wasn’t very interesting to a high schooler,” he said.

Years later, a little older and wiser and with a college degree under his belt, Greene pulled the papers out again.

“You can deal with rain and you can deal with black flies, but not both at once,” he said of the weekend he holed himself up in his home at the foot of Crane Mountain.

“I decided to keep after it until I solved it,” he said.

This time, he tackled the papers with more knowledge about code.

“You can’t just memorize a code you write in,” said Greene, knowing there must have been a static source Rondeau used in which to base his writing.

That breakthrough for Greene, figuring out Rondeau used the compass rose to form the characters, didn’t come until he’d recognized two words frequently repeated.

36 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 1

“If you’re saying the same thing day after day, you’re going to repeat words,” said Greene.

Rondeau wrote daily about a handful of topics: weather, hunting, food, firewood and a limited number of pieces that surrounded his life as a hermit.

“I knew world-wide newsworthy things to write about were few and far between in Cold River in January 1946,” said Greene. “I got pretty much what I expected.”

‘Cold and cloudy’ were the repeated words Greene said he noticed, just a day into his deciphering.

“A couple days later he wrote ‘cloudy and cold,’”

“I knew world-wide newsworthy things to write about were few and far between in Cold River in January 1946. I got pretty much what I expected.”

~

said Greene. “Those words shared many of the same letters and the pattern started to develop.”

Greene was able to figure out the entire alphabet, he said. “Everything else was just a puzzle to be solved.”

Overall, the code wasn’t particularly tricky, said Greene, though others had failed at cracking it before.

Greene credited the particular pieces he had in his hands at helping him have everything solved within a week’s time, including journals Rondeau had written in other codes. ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

If someone was trying to decipher a piece from a shorter span of time, seeing patterns would have been difficult. Rondeau also spoke an archaic French dialect, but would have written the words with a phonetic English spelling, adding to the confusion.

Sometimes, a graphic description of Rondeau’s health issues or messages conveying his hatred of Adolf Hitler could be found in the midst of writing about his surroundings.

Other journals used different methods to disguise his writing. A journal written in 1934 used a code of 10 letters, substituted for other letters, with the addition of hieroglyphics.

A 1942 version used a series of hundreds of circles and a pattern that was difficult to write.

“If that was the first code you tried to break, it would have been quite difficult,” said Greene.

“Anybody competent with code and a month of his journals would get it in an hour or two,” he said, referring to the pieces he deciphered.

Beyond the code, what Greene finds more interesting about the journals is a documented peek into climate change.

“He would write when the first bird arrived in spring from each species. Later, he would write when the last snow melted or when the first kind of each flower appeared,” he said, suggesting those dates may be different now.

Today, Greene lives in Wisconsin where he deciphers code everyday as a software engineer.

“It’s just another kind of code,” he said.

Translated code

CLEAR Wed. JUNE 23 1943. HOT STN (Means “hot sun”, Rondeau wasn’t always very careful about similar letters) SHRINE OF THE HOLY PANCAKE (One of his teepee woodpiles, also known as “Mrs. Rondeau’s Kitchenette,” I believe) 12 to 4 PM AT SEWARD POND (WITH CLC) (Initials of a friend) YELLOW POND: LILIES, WOOD SORREL BLUE IRIS & JACK IN THE PULPIT BLOOM I ADD POLES TO WIGWAM (AT SEWARD POND) WARM DAY JUNE 24 HALL OF RECORDS (One of the two very small cabins, the other was the “Town Hall”) I SUPERINTEND COLD RIVER CITY I PLAY VIOLIN I WRITE LETTER

HOT SUN JUNE 25? 26? FEW CLOUDS (I don’t know why Rondeau crossed out the number -- maybe he skipped a day) OLD LADY’S WIGWAM (Might be a reference to Grace Hudowalski, I forget, but she wasn’t particularly old in 1943) I GO TO SEWARD POND WITH CLC H. H. FELLOWS FISH SEWARD BROOK (Another friend’s name, if I recall correctly) PARTRIDGE VINE 1ST BLOOM I COOK 32 CANARY BIRDS (PICNIC) 2 DRS, 46 FISH – HAIL HITLER

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(The “HAIL HITLER” code is to the right of the symbol that looks like an upended alpha (or a fish), above the word JUNE in the middle of the right-hand page.)

(The two doctors would be C.L.C. and H.H. Fellows, it looks like.)

CLOUDS LIGHENING (sic) JUNE THUNDER, RAIN TOWN HALL DRS & I PUT AWAY 1 BOAT 2 DRS GO AFTER 8 DAYS FISHING 8 AM: RANGER COLE EAT CROW

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 37

Pictured here (L to R): Owners Anne and Leonard Charboneau and Ainsley MacAlpine, Leonard’s second cousin and installing assistant.

Photo by Mikaela Foster

By Mikaela Foster

Ti Paint and Decorating

“Where you’re treated like family” Congratulations to Anne and Leonard Charboneau who are reaching a milestone of owning the Ticonderoga Paint and Decorating Center, located at 1172 NYS Rte. 9N in Ticonderoga — one decade.

~

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Yes that’s right folks: 10 years of ownership, but the Charboneau’s history with the local business does not end there. Anne said she and Leonard have both been with the company for so long, many people haven’t realized they are, in fact, the actual owners. She runs the store; he does the installation.

In 1958, the business, known throughout the years as “Ti Paint,” was one of the first businesses to move to the “four corners” com-

mercial district of Ticonderoga, where you can still find it today.

A Benjamin Moore store since the ‘70’s, they’re known for their paint, wallpaper and flooring, but they do offer a variety of tools, supplies and home décor items to help complete any project. Over the years Anne has also added a selection of gift items.

Along with the location and the brand of paint, Leonard has also been a constant. Born and raised in Ticonderoga, Anne said Leonncliving@suncommunitynews.com

ard has been the backbone of the company.

Having worked for the origi-nal owners; he’s been installing flooring since the early ‘70’s and has witnessed the ownership and floor-covering style changes that have occurred through the decades.

A humble, behind-the-scenes kind of guy, Leonard said with a laugh and a smile, “I’m just a worker.”

Anne’s family mixed into the paint in 1989 when Anne’s dad, Carl Van Hoesen, bought the business.

As the oldest of his three daughters, Anne, who started working for her dad in 1991, said she was the one who was always getting into stuff with her dad, all the while developing a strong bond with him.

When speaking of how she and her husband met, Anne smiled and recalled becoming aware of Leonard when her dad started talking about him… a lot.

“I thought, ‘who is this Leonard guy taking my spot?”

She continued to smile and said after they met things just fell into place for them. They were married in the ‘90’s and as a couple, took over ownership of the business in 2006, when her dad retired.

Over time, it’s truly become a family business. Anne noted everyone in the family has been involved in some way.

“All the kids have had their unique times with us,” she said.

During family gatherings, they reminisce of years past… stories nclmagazine.com

Redoing a room in your home? While picking out paint colors, hang out in this cozy nook and pick out new decor to match. You’ll find items from mugs, cookie jars and kitchen towels to candles, pillows and wall hangings.

Photo by Mikaela Foster

Unique local items ad da they even make great special touch to your home and gifts.

Photo by Mikaela

Simple home decor touches give your home project a little something extra.

Photo by Mikaela Foster

often regaled with peals of laughter and the phrase, “Oh, remember when…?”

Ainsley MacAlpine, Leonard’s second cousin, is the current young, family member helping out with the business. She’s been assisting him with installations. Apparently, they are two peas in a pod.

“The two of them have a great time together,” Anne said. “She’s been spoiling us the last two years.”

Spending some time around them, it seems very fitting that their slogan is “Where you’re treated like family.” Anne enjoys learning every customer’s story. Whether they’ve just moved into town, they’re remodeling, or just engaging in a fun project… she said they have a genu-

Foster

ine interest in each one of their customers and she hopes people know they’re sincere.

“Our customers are very loyal, very wonderful,” she said. “[Our relationship doesn’t stop at the door.] It sounds corny, but we care about you like family. When people have floods or anything we think, ‘how can we help?’”

The proof is in the paint. Genuine.

Friendly. Anne humbly remembers her customers and their projects.

She treats them like family… for real. Greeting her customers with a kind smile, a gentle curiosity and a genuine interest in their lives… she truly listens and gives sound advice.

She’s knowledgeable about her products and is acutely aware of her husband’s installation processes. continued on page 42

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 41

In 1958, “Ti Paint” was one of the first businesses to move to the “four corners” commercial district and has remained in the same location since then.

Photo by Mikaela Foster

Even though she doesn’t travel to customers’ homes, she speaks about them as if she has.

Their store is neat and tidy — everything has its place… and Anne makes sure of that. The paint is covered and aligned.

Paintbrushes sorted by type and size. Even the decorative items are organized, which helps to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Leonard has kept busy with carpet and linoleum making up the majority of

Choose from a selection of flooring options.

Pick out the perfect paint for your project.

Photo by Mikaela Foster

Photo by Mikaela Foster

You can easily find all your painting supply needs organized neatly throughout the store.

Photo by Mikaela Foster

42 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 1

ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

The Benjamin Moore paint selection includes a variety of colors and collections including these “trusted favorites.”

Photo by Mikaela Foster

and the time has flown by. She said their product line has remained reliably the same but there are often new items within each line, so it’s worth stopping by if you’re brainstorming for a project.

Check out their website at ticonderogapaint.benmoorepaints.com or follow them on Facebook or Pinterest.

STORE HOURS: residential installations over the years- mixed in with some laminate, hardwood and ceramic tile installations.

The Charboneaus have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Along with residential, they do commercial work as well- installing

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VCT tile in local schools and health facilities.

Some of the flooring manufacturers they represent are Mannington, Tarkett, Mohawk, Marazzi, Sphinx, and Host.

Anne said they have been “busy, busy, busy” over the last 10 years

Mon. - Fri. 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Sat. 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Sun. Closed

WinTER STORE HOURS: (nov. 15 - Mar. 15)

Mon. - Fri. 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Sat. 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Sun. Closed

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 43

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ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

84192

www.vtstoragecontainers.com

nclmagazine.com

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 45

The history of the old

Buck Mansion

A prominent local family once called Crown Point home

By Allison Blaise The majority of Crown Point residents are aware of the old Buck Mansion ruins on Amy Hill Road. Few, however, know the story behind them.

The Buck Mansion and the surrounding regions of Buck Mountain and Buck Hollow are named for the Buck family that owned large portions of land there for over a century. Brothers Hiram and Helon Buck moved to Crown Point in 1831

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from Bridport, Vermont to seek their fortunes at the ages of 27 and 22, respectively.

The Buck brothers came from a prosperous family and seemed to possess the same head for business as their father.

They bought large tracts

of land for timber and built the essentials of a settlement at Buck Hollow on Putt’s Creek.

Among other things, their projects included a sawmill, gristmill, and woolen mill; blacksmith, carpenter, and shoemaker shops; a hotel, store, and tannery; and houses, barns, and sheds.

According to Mildred Preston, a longtime friend of the family, Helon Buck was among the men who were responsible for building the original “Army Hill Road” using ox teams, plows, scrapers, carts, and so forth between the dates of May 28 and June 7, 1831. Presumably, this was to ease the transportation of cut timber to Lake Champlain.

Despite the images of “timber rafting” that the Adirondack logging industry calls to mind, Hiram and Helon mainly used canal boats to ship their timber to market in Troy and Albany.

Although others settled in the Buck Hollow and Buck Mountain regions, the Bucks remained the big name in the region and their lumbering business took off, becoming quite prosperous and filling the pockets of both Hiram and Helon.

In 1836, five years after their move to Crown Point, the brothers decided to start their families. Within 10 months ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

of each other, Hiram married Miss Almedia Rawson of Schroon Lake, and Helon married Miss Mercy Willmarth of Addison, Vermont. Both brothers would go on to have three children each, but Helon and Mercy sadly lost one of their sons to illness when he was only four years old.

veloping a lucrative droving business.

In 1851 and 1852, he built what would become known as the Buck Mansion which his son, Samuel, described as “a beautiful, stately, and commodious mansion in the Ionic order of architecture.”

Helon continued his droving business unThe Buck brothers til 1884, when the cattle enjoyed considerable business petered off on success with their log- the East Coast, finally ging business, but the retiring at the age of 75, supply of timber on and turning things over their land was not un- to his son, Samuel. It limited. The supply would be Samuel who was exhausted by 1842, would develop the manand Hiram and Helon sion into a summer tourclosed the business ist resort, continuing to and divided the land find new ways to profit between themselves as from the land as times they went their sepa- and industries changed rate ways. Hiram re- in the Adirondacks. tained land in the Buck By the time he took Hollow vicinity, but over the family estate, moved further down Samuel was a man in his Putt’s Creek to live at forties.

He and his wife, Crown Point Center.

Emma, had been married It was Helon and his for more than 20 years family who continued and had one son at colto be the “Buck” pres- lege and two teenagers ence on Buck Mountain at home. Nevertheless, in later years. Helon he had put a great deal of occupied the farmlands work into the property he and his brother had and the mansion while cleared and kept them it remained under his fawell-stocked with cat- ther’s authority. tle, sheep, and horses.

Samuel worked to exCrop farming was difpand the crop production ficult in the Adironon the farm, to add to the dacks, as many settlers furnishings of the mandiscovered the challenges posed by the sion, and to beautify the grounds. short growing season surrounding These efforts prepared and the abundant rocks that seemed to “grow the Buck Mansion to beback” into their fields come “Summervale,” as every year. Helon was it was known to many in able to profit from his its heyday, where guests farm, however, by de- would come from far and nclmagazine.com

wide to relax and explore the Adirondack “wilderness.”

While it was not the grandest of the old Adirondack resorts, nor in the most spectacular location, the quality accommodations and friendly hosts gained Summervale many loyal return guests. Under Samuel’s ownership, the estate flourished and the mansion became a popular tourist destination.

lar in those days, being featured attractions at many luxury resorts, and Summervale boasted its own golf course, as well as tennis courts and croquet lawns.

In addition to the aforementioned amenities, Summervale featured spectacular views of the surrounding Adirondack Mountains and of the Green Mountains of Vermont.

A gazebo known as “Sunset Lodge” was Toward the end of June built at the summit of each year, when the mud a hill on the property had finally dried enough to provide a leisurely to make the roads passplace for taking in the able, a fresh crop of guests rugged and remarkwould arrive to begin the able scenery. Dances season at the mansion. It were also held there, would be a relaxing sumon occasion, and hired mer, spent walking the help was permitted to extensive grounds, visattend along with the iting with the hosts and guests for an evening other guests, and enjoyof entertainment. ing all that Adirondack life had to offer. Golf courses were very popucontinued on page 48

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 47

from home, George had become a Congregationalist minister, and often filled the pulpit in Crown Point, as he was needed, and performed several local marriage ceremonies upon his return to the area.

Small game hunting, and fishing in the nearby creeks were also activities enjoyed by many guests, and the kitchen was supplied with meat and produce from the farm to treat the guests to delicious farm-fresh meals during their stay.

In late October, when the leaf-peeping season

had passed, the guests would pack up to return home and the Buck family would settle in for the off-season at the mansion.

In the year 1900, Samuel turned over control of the estate to his son, George, who had returned to his boyhood home with his wife, Bertha, due to ill health. In his years away

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George and Bertha continued to run the mansion with success into their sunset years, but never had any children to serve as heirs. George died in 1943, and Bertha in 1959 and the property was sold to Mr. and Mrs. James Gayton.

The Gayton family did not continue to run a business on the property, as the resort business had dwindled by that time and modern highways and supermarkets rendered the home farm

obsolete for most families.

Sadly, on July 25, 1968, a fire started in the kitchen of the mansion and within three hours, the beautiful and historic home had burned to the ground.

No one was harmed, and the efforts of local fire departments saved the surrounding outbuildings from the blaze, but a noteworthy local landmark was lost forever.

The Buck family contributed much to the Crown Point community as it grew and matured and it seems fitting that the land they once owned should still bear their name as an homage and a memorial to days gone by.

ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

Serving children and families since 1886! www.berkshirefarm.org

nclmagazine.com

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 49

Behind the bricks and mortar of the

Glens Falls Shirt Factory ‘So, I guess there’s a trailer in Hebron somewhere that the government owns worth a million dollars’ — Eric Unkauf

By Christina Scanlon There’s a lot going on in The Shirt Factory at the corner of Cooper and Lawrence streets in Glens Falls.

There’s fine artwork, clothing, salt lamps, tea, used books, food, knitting, pottery and acupuncture.

There’s creativity, but most importantly, there’s life.

It’s a life that grew organically, directed not by design or plan, but by word of mouth and need, and the desire of an unrelated collection of artists to find a place to call home.

When Eric Unkauf purchased the building, a 60,000-square-foot brick monster with a messy financial past, he had intentions of turning it into a machine shop.

“In 1996, Glens Falls was at the bottom, the down-

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town had cratered,” said Unkauf, noting real estate had tanked.

“It was not for free, but it was cheap,” he said.

Through a three-year arduous and confusing mass of red tape with the U.S. Small Business Administration, who owned the property at the time, Unkauf finally secured ownership for about $36,000, though legal fees and taxes bumped that up to about $250,000.

While attorneys and the federal government attempted to untangle the history that left the structure with a million dollars in debt, Unkauf was allowed to operate the building as if it was already his.

He did the necessary repairs to get the building operational, with fingers crossed he wasn’t sinking money into a property that he would never own.

Interestingly, said Unkauf, when the SBA refused to allow the property to be sold for under the mil-

ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

lion owed on it, another parcel of land, Unkauf believes is in Washington County, was luckily part of the package. The debt was transferred to that piece, separate of his sale.

“So, I guess there’s a trailer in Hebron somewhere that the government owns worth a million dollars,” he joked.

A successful business growing as a result of a devastating time in Glens Falls, and later, a yearslong battle for ownership, is a ‘history repeating itself’ moment, the first starting in 1902.

From the ashes

The Joseph Fowler Shirt and Collar Company, established in the 1890s by brothers Joseph and Charles Fowler, along with several other business along Glen Street were devastated by a fire April 23, 1902.

Newspaper reports from the time estimated losses to be in excess of $500,000 with at least 700 left unemployed from the Fowler Company alone.

Joseph had died three years prior, leaving Charles as company president, with James Robert “J.R.”

nclmagazine.com

McMullen as vice-president and Walter Leavens as secretary.

McMullen had been representing the company’s New York City division and met the adversity with optimism. He paired with Leavens, striking a deal with Charles to take the shirt side of the business, while Charles retained ownership of the collarmaking portion, and the McMullen Leavens Shirt Factory was born.

Both companies rebuilt with insurance money, reportedly one aspect that saved Glens Falls from utter collapse.

Growth of an industry In 1936, McMullen and Leavens seized an opportunity to expand into the dressmaking business.

Still using their trademark shamrock logo, inspired by one found when they scouted the Lawrence Street property before deciding to build there. They designed their own patterns and continued to use skilled workers and fine attention to detail.

Continued on page 52

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 51

They advertised just twice a year, in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, with their impeccable reputation speaking far louder.

They secured quality fabrics from England and Ireland and would buy an entire collection from a company, making certain other dressmakers could not duplicate their work.

In 1939, McMullen purchased the “Troy Shirt Makers Guild” label for $1, using the label to distinguish the shirt manufacturing from the dress manufacturing business. Both continued to operate out of the same location.

thy Cox came to be recognized for her craft. There was, however, a great deal of friction between Cox and McMullen’s heirs and in 1952 Dorothy left the company. By 1955, dress sales at McMullen had slumped to levels not seen before.

In 1956, the family was forced to sell the McMullen dress business. Significant changes were made by the new owner, Nathan Sheinman, including moving their New York City location and shifting the company offices to their new location in the city.

In 1976, the McMullen label was sold again, and dress production in Glens Falls came to a halt as it was sent overseas.

In 1992, the Troy Shirtmakers Guild was sold during bankruptcy proceedings. At that time there In 1946, McMullen died unexpectedly without a were 200 employees in Glens Falls. A year later, will, placing the company in a precarious situation. the label was purchased by the Tennessee-based Without McMullen at the helm and little direction Tom James Co. who, less than three years later, anleft for staff, paperwork and tasks such as ordering nounced that it would be closing the Glens Falls were handled without his expertise. Stockpiles of factory and laying off the remaining 110 employunnecessary materials were ordered. ees. The debt from that bankruptcy was the tangle McMullen had not paid himself wages, though it Unkauf encountered. was discovered he extended loans to himself from the company. The matter was messy and required the heirs to pay taxes on the estate, all while trying to keep the company running.

More than two years later the estate was settled, with one group of heirs taking over dressmaking, the other shirt making. Again, both companies operated from the same location.

Transition

Beginning of the end Though the estate had paperwork woes, the company continued to prosper as their designer, Doro-

New life

52 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 1

About a year into his ownership, Unkauf said, people started coming in and asking about space.

The building was originally built with electricity, but the set up was to allow work to be done by daylight. Those massive windows still allow for maximum natural light and are a dream for the artists.

The first year saw about 20 tenants. Today, the number is approaching 100 artists in-house.

Though the large spaces are frequently converted to smaller areas to meet the needs of those that rent the spaces, there’s evidence of what lived there for nearly 100 years.

An occasional pin will spring loose from the

ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

floorboard when sweeping. There’s worn foot prints in some spots, where workers likely stood for hours on end.

“It really was a time capsule when I bought it,” said Unkauf. “If it wasn’t a finished garment, it didn’t leave,” he said.

In the lower levels, old sewing machines were piled high. Unkauf found the original request for building plans in a file cabinet.

“Everything they ever had was in here. They never threw anything out,” he said.

Had he known the history and the community’s connection to it, he may have salvaged more items. Instead, most went to auction, he said.

In keeping the history alive, he’s placed panels from an exhibit completed by the Chapman Historical Museum. He’s also started collecting old McMullen dresses which are slowly being added to the collection lining the hallways of the building.

This summer marks 40 years since the dress making ceased. In conjunction with the Warren County Historical and Chapman Historical Museum, Unkauf said another effort is underway to retain as much history and memories of the com-

nclmagazine.com

pany’s existence.

Those who have personal memories to recall, or stories from friends or relatives that may have worked at the factory should contact the Warren County Historical Society at 743-0734 or Chapman Museum at 793-2826.

“They shouldn’t worry if they think it’s mundane,” said Unkauf of the stories. “There’s always things that people think weren’t worth writing down, but those things can be pretty interesting.

That’s the kind of stuff that’s going to get lost if we don’t make an effort to save it.”

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 53

k c a d on

r i d A Photo by Mikaela Foster

By Mikaela Foster

Bunny said once he was building guide boats, his wife Evie began caning his boat seats for him.

Authors note: While I’ve been honored to learn of these particular family members, I feel I must note the family legacy may extend within each generation, beyond just these mentioned. My sincerest apologies for those I’ve missed.

F

or Harold “Bunny” Austin of Long Lake, NY, building Adirondack guide boats has always been something personal — something he said he always preferred to do alone.

“I just enjoy working with wood,” he said as he puttered around his shop, kicking a little sawdust into the air.

But over the years, as the fifth of seven generations of Austin guide boat builders, he has been an

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G

E D I U

intricate part of the legacy that grew in his family.

Their heritage goes back to his great, great grandfather William J. Austin. William was a “large and very muscular man, quiet in his manners.” He was a boat builder.

William passed on his knowledge to his son Farrand (second generation), “who made fine boats of excellent design,” (quoted from Kenneth Durant’s The Adirondack Guide-Boat).

When asked for more details and historical information about the Austin’s, Bunny said, “it’s just history. It doesn’t matter much; what matters is where

B

TS A O

we’re goin’.”

Bunny did talk a little bit about his memories of working with his dad in his grandpa’s boat shop(Merlin or “Merlie”Austin3rd generation, who was a well-known guide boat builder.)

“When I was a kid I stuck tacks for him but that was long, long ago,” Bunny recalled.

It wasn’t until 1964 as a young Marine in North Carolina, that he built his first guide boat. His father, Harold Sr. (fourth generation) who was living in California at the time, instructed him. They communicated through letters and phone calls. His dad wrote instructions, drew diagrams and answered ncliving@denpubs.com

LEG

Y

Y C A

questions through his letters.

Having grown up in the Adirondacks, Bunny developed a deep love for the outdoors and the region. He regaled tales of winter adventures on the ice and tales of him and his wife and a guide boat, a month before they were married.

The two lovebirds took a guide boat trip down Long Lake. It began to rain… and then pour. They both got soaking wet so they pulled out of the water and put the boat up on a rock and climbed underneath for protection from the weather.

After the skies cleared up, they continued on. Arriving at the town beach, they stowed the boat and began to walk through town.

“Evie was wearing wool slacks,” Bunny recalled northcountrylivingmagazine.com

with a chuckle. “The rain had soaked the slacks up to her knees and she looked like a clown! She was so embarrassed walking through town with everyone looking at her… But we laughed together about it later.”

Bunny said she was a wonderful woman with whom he had 63 years of marriage. Bunny said once he was building guide boats, she began caning his boat seats for him.

“I had to pay her!” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “She only wanted $25 a seat but I think it was worth more. It was a lot of work for her.”

Bunny and Evie’s eldest son Bob, said as a child he became fascinated as he watched his dad build the first boat. He said there was a little historical aspect as well because he knew there was history in the family.

But he really became inter-

Photo by Mikaela Foster

A

IL M A F

Fifth generation Adirondack Guide Boat builder Harold “Bunny” Austin in his boat shop located in Long Lake, NY.

ested in guide boat building when he became interested in water as an Adirondack wilderness camp counselor.

He said whenever they

went on canoe trips, he would take one of his dad’s guide boats and enjoyed paddling them throughout continued on page 58

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 57

the Adirondacks.

Bunny and Evie’s youngest son, Kevin, had two levels of interest in guide boats. An avid athlete, Kevin raced guide boats as a teenager from 1972 until 1978. The year he married, he took Bunny’s first boat and decided to row 970 miles along the Ohio River.

Kevin said he and his buddy would row at night to stay cooler. Unfortunately, their trip was cut short by a log that hit them. Kevin was also getting married and needed to return home before the big day. But he said his racing days were a blast.

Kevin said once he came back from living in Europe as a missionary when he was older, his interest in the legacy of boat building within the Austin family was sparked.

“Guide boat building in its purest form was dissipating,” Kevin said. “At some times I think you could have said dad was the only one left—but there are a couple others.”

He said realizing how rare it is to find pure boat builders, “That’s what was inter-

esting to me.”

He admitted to never building a boat from scratch, but he helped out in the shop a lot and he did repair a boat that was right around 100 years old. He did 80 percent of the work while his dad supervised.

He sanded it down, put new ribs, planking, and gunnels in it. With the money he made selling the boat, he was able to go on a missions trip.

Kevin thought back with joy to a summer he was able to watch his son, Ben, work with Bunny to build a guide boat.

LEFT: Keith Austin (sixth generation) and Bunny (fifth). CENTER: Ben Austin (seventh generation) Bunny and Kevin Austin (sixth). Bunny is holding Ben’s daughter, one of the next possible generational guide boat builders in their family. Only time will tell. RIGHT: Bob Austin (sixth generation) and Bunny.

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who has been called “the next best-kept secret of Long Lake.”

“You have no idea how talented Keith is until you go in his basement,” Ben exclaimed. “He’s one of those guys, who in his spare time, he works on a guide boat.

He’s almost learning guide boat building on his own and only getting tidbits from grampa.”

“While we were working on a boat, Keith had a boat in his basement and he would plug away at it when he had time,” he continued.

“Keith is like grampa: calm, cool and collected. “One day he’ll be grampa in Long Lake.”

Ben said people have told him how lucky he is to be a part of such a legacy and to have experienced guide boat building.

“Everyone was beyond ecstatic that I got into it,” he said. “The boat we built, I think for grampa it was a cool project we could do together, but I really want to try to pass it to the next generation. I don’t want to be the last of the Austin’s to build a guide boat.”

s prov ided

A letter from Bunny’s dad in which he gives instructions on how to build a guide boat.

For Ben (7th generation), that summer holds some of his favorite memories.

“For me, my biggest tie to the Adirondacks is the summer I spent working with grampa,” Ben said. “Of all the people I know I probably look up to grampa the most. I lived with him for two to three summers… sitting in the boat shop getting to know him, learning about the old Long Lake… just a really cool old-timer kind of talk. Of the people I know, he’s the last of his kind.”

“It’s funny but my [guideboat] history lessons are from grampa’s stories,” he continued. When you’re in a boat shop, it’s a quiet tedious work. You put in hundreds and hundreds of tacks…there’s just a quiet tapping… then grampa would all of a sudden come out with a story. My best memories are from that time.”

Ben went on to talk about Bunny’s nephew, Keith Austin (sixth generation),

Photo

er ela Fost y Mika Photo b

ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

Volunteers make big contributions to a small community

D

By Lou Varricchio

o you love to build community and bring great people together to do amazing things? That’s not unlike the question Lizzy Reed, volunteer center coordinator for the United Way of Addison County, Vt., asks every potential volunteer for the non-profit service organization.

Community power: United Way of Addison County’s Lizzy Reed, Nancy Luke, and Kate McGowan help inspire the spirit of community volunteerism in our area.

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Reed, along with co-workers Kate McGowan, U.W. executive director, and Nancy Luke, U.W. development and marketing manager, are a troika of dedicated, civic-minded women making a big difference throughout the Vermont county. Their goal is to fulfill the mission of United Way locally and stimulate local residents to step out and get involved in the organization’s various volunteer outreach programs.

Reed, who coordinates RVSP and the United Way of Addison County’s Volunteer Center, says that the center is part of the a volunteer management service which spans the 50 states.

“We offer individuals of all ages the opportunity to share their experience, skills and time by volunteering for a variety of local non-profit organizations under the United Way umbrella,” she says.

From reading stories to local school children or helping cheer up a shut-in senior citizen, Addison County community volunteers range in age from youngsters to oldsters—and every age in between.

Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

Sas Stewart

Children’s Defense Fund, says it best when it comes to people power and the uplifting results generated by volunteerism: “Service is the rent we pay for living.” And it’s the United Way which provides this local community—throughout Vermont and the North Country region—with the services and programs that are needed to improve the quality of life for our most vulnerable neighbors.

As an ongoing salute to these Vermont volunteers, NCL spotlights six United Way volunteers. Our sidebar, following this story, also features volunteer ACTR bus drivers who serve the Addison County by providing public transportation for residents who are otherwise unable to access private transportation for a variety of reasons.

Dan Adamek, a student of Middlebury College (’18), is a board member of John Graham Housing and Services (formerly known as the John Graham nclmagazine.com

“Service is the rent we pay for living.”

~

Emergency Shelter).

Adamek’s responsibilities include planning the Sleep-out to End Homelessness which happens in December, helping families move to new homes, and coordinating services for chronically homeless individuals, but he happily helps wherever he is needed. Dan also volunteers with Middlebury College Alternative Break Trips, a group that sends students around the world to perform unique service opportunities during school breaks.

In 2015, he went on a trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico where he focused on

providing sexual education to women who were recently incarcerated and aided in HIV prevention efforts for transgender sex workers.

In February 2016, Adamek was a leader on a trip to Washington D.C., where students explored aspects of privilege and poverty and volunteered at organizations in the area that combat food insecurity. He enjoys volunteering because it makes him feel connected to the greater community in Addison County. continued on page 62

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 61

Jim and Margaret Eagan and friends

Dan Adamek

Paula Moore, of Panton, moved to Vermont only three years ago but has already found many ways to be involved in volunteering in Addison County. Paula is a Board Member for the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Vergennes.

Moore lends a hand anytime it is needed whether it be selling raffle tickets or working on the club’s re-

modeling project, but is most well known for her position as secretary and “president” of the Monday homework club. She has recently started volunteering with the Women Inspiring Girls’ Success (WINGS) program through the Boys and Girls Club, mentoring girls age 15-18 weekly.

Mike Reiderer of the Boys and Girls Club describes Moore’s enthusiasm

Renee Bolduc

Adamek says, “As a Middlebury student originally from Upstate New York, I’m an outsider. But, volunteering in the area gives me a sense of place and community beyond my academic coursework.”

Sas Stewart serves on the Board of Directors at the United Way of Addison County. She says, “I see my job as not only helping guide the United Way internally, but to also help make sure that our community knows about the layers of support that the United Way provides. It feels incredible to be a part of a team of folks that have such a holistic impact on the place we live.”

United Way’s Marketing Director Nancy Luke is especially appreciative of Stewart’s creativity and innovative ideas about marketing to a broad audience.

Stewart is also a founding business leader of Middlebury’s Exchange Street Business Improvement District, an executive team member for both the Better Middlebury Partnership Middlebury Summer Festival and Vermont Entrepreneurship Day, a founding rider of Fresh Tracks Road Pitch, and a board member of the Addison County Economic Development Corporation.

62 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 1

Paula Moore

ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

for contributing to the community as “tremendous.” According to Mike, Paula is “able to see potential in everyone and is willing to work to help them reach that potential.” Some of Paula’s other volunteer efforts include fundraising, gardening, and planning the Bixby ball for the Bixby Library, serving as a reading mentor for Everybody Wins!, and Extension Master Gardener projects.

Renee Bolduc, of New Haven, has been volunteering with Homeward Bound as a cat socializer for two and a half years.

Bolduc initially started volunteering because she didn’t have any cats at home and was looking for an opportunity to play with some. Now, she realizes how important her role is in ensuring that the cats are happy and healthy until they find their “forever homes”.

She has also volunteered as a Girl Scout Jump-in Camp coach for three years and at the Bristol food shelf around the holidays with the New Haven Dairy 4-H Club.

Jim and Margaret Eagan, of Salisbury, have been volunteering for Hospice Volunteer Services for five years. They provide companionship and support to patients and families dealing with end of life issues.

The Eagans say they enjoy the close interpersonal relationships they develop and the feeling of being able to provide relief for people who need it.

Zubin Mistri of Hospice Volunteer Services says, “We can tell Jim and Margaret genuinely care about our patients and families, and can count on them being flexible in responding to our requests for volunteer support.”

Jim and Margaret Eagan have been volunteering at Homeward Bound for the last nine years, help on various committees at the Middlebury Congregational Church, and have held various volunteer positions in the Salisbury town government. nclmagazine.com

Behind the wheel of Addison County’s volunteer bus drivers On the heels of National Volunteer Appreciation Week recently, ACTR—Addison County Transit Resources—recognized the contributions of 42 volunteer drivers who play a key role in the Dial-A-Ride program and ten Board Members who donate their time and experience to lead the organization.

“Volunteersarethebackboneofourorganization,”saysExecutiveDirectorJim Moulton. “Our volunteer drivers bring people to medical appointments, to buy food and to access other critical services. Our Board of Directors has guided us throughthechallengesassociatedwithyearlyrecord-breakingridershipgrowth and they are helping to shape a new Strategic Plan that will carry ACTR through the next 5 years.”

Vermont ACTR volunteer drivers Guy Hallock (left), volunteer driver since May 2008, and Ken Terrien (right), volunteer driver since January 2009.

ACTR’s volunteer roster includes Leon Aubin, Meril Badger, Monique Bedard, Debra Brace, Wayland Brace, David Breen, Cindy Burnett, Ricky Burnett, Juliet Burroughs, Bob Chatfield, Judith Clark, Caroline Delisle, Corie Dematties, Art Fleming, Lynn Finch, Hazel Grant, Clarence Hallock, Guy Hallock, Wilma Hallock, Bob Holmes, Maxine Kimball, Wally Kimball, Tom Larkin, Reggie Larose, Robin Lebeau-Little, Tad Manila, Barry Meader, Scott Myrick, Elizabeth Oettinger, Tom Pinsonneault, David Quesnel, Joe Rivers, Sheila Rheaume, Cindi Rose, Bert Sargent, David Snow, Mark Sotiriou, Rich Surprenant, Teja Tanner, Sandy Tebbetts, Ken Terrien and David Williams.

ACTR’svolunteergoverningboardhasundergonemuchtransformationin recentmonths.Long-servingChairmanDeanGeorge,andTreasurerSuePrager retired. Fifteen-year veteran Adam Lougee stepped up to fill George’s duties and Donna Donahue of Middlebury was recruited as the new treasurer.

Renny Perry of Vergennes joined the board in November and Gale Hurd of Weybridge will begin serving in April when Frank Mazza of Middlebury steps down from the vice chairman position.

Continuing members include: Secretary, Naomi Drummond of Bristol, State Rep. Diane Lanpher, State Rep. Ed McGuire, and at-large Reps.

Doug Adams of Middlebury College and Ann Jones-Weinstock of Middlebury.

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 63

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Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 65

By Shawn Ryan You might have some problems finding “comparables,” but a piece of American history is for sale in the farthest north point of New York State.

Fort Montgomery, referred by many incorrectly as Fort Blunder, is on the market. For a little under $3 million, it could be yours.

Both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 saw British navies invading the United States via Lake Champlain. The long lake forms a natural highway, and was a corridor for invading armies to traverse the infant nation all the way south to New York City. So in 1816, with the penultimate battle of the war, the Battle of Plattsburgh just two years distant, the decision was made in Washington to construct a fort at the northernmost point of the lake, just north of Rouses Point.

A fort covering threequarters of an acre was drawn up, and construction began on the New York side of the narrow section of the lake. After two years of nearly constant construction setbacks, it was discovered that the structure, slated to entail three million bricks, was built nearly a mile outside the United States in Canada.

Fort Blunder was born.

Construction of the fort was of course stopped, and over the intervening years locals “re-purposed” most of the fort’s

Long live...

building materials for local homes and farm houses.

Nothing remains today of the original fort.

By the 1830s, the idea of fortifying the Northern part of the lake was still alive, and two separate parcels, one on the New York side and one on the

66 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 1

Vermont side, both well inside the United States boundary, were purchased with plans beginning for two forts to be built. A treaty between the United States and Canada however, changed slightly the existing boundary lines, and a new Fort Montgomery

was drawn up very near where Fort Blunder had partially stood. Construction began in 1844 on this new fort, but picked up in earnest in 1848.

Shortly after the end of the Civil War, in 1870, work on the fort was ended, though it was nearly ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

Fort Blunder

completed and bristled with canon. An 1881 assessment of the condition of the fort, written by Secretary of War Robert T. Lincoln, assessed it as follows: “In its present condition, if armed with suitable guns, the fort would nclmagazine.com

doubtless be efficient in preventing the passage up the lake of hostile gunboats.

This, however, is not the sole function the fort may be called upon to perform.

For an invasion of Canada on this line of operations it would at once be a fortified base and storehouse for

the invading army. For the reasons above give this fort should be retained and be kept in a state of efficiency.”

But Lincoln’s bold assortment never came to fruition. The fort was never manned, and in the early twentieth century its guns were removed. In 1926 the

fort was sold, along with an adjoining 140 acres.

The auction price for the land was $45,000.

In the 1930s, part of the fort was dismantled to build the nearby Rouses Point to Alberg, VT bridge.

Over the years the fort and the adjoining land, occasionally referred to as “The Commons,” changed hands several times. In 1983, a Canadian invasion skirted the fort, when it was purchased by Canadian businessman Victor Podd, who utilized part of The Commons for his family business, Powertex Corporation. Podd would eventually offer the land containing Fort Montgomery to the State of New York for $1. In true New York State fashion, the state turned the offer down.

Podd’s heirs have abandoned the idea of giving the fort to the state, and have attempted at various times to sell it on eBay. A gate and numerous posted signs now adorn the entry-way to the fort through The Commons, with a real estate listing sign announcing the fort to be for sale for a mere $2,950,000.

United States history, no longer alive and well, but crumbling and for sale, welcomes Canadian boaters and travelers entering New York from Vermont.

Fort Blunder lives on.

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 67

Lake George A Year-Round Destination!

Lake George A Year-Round Destination!

HUNTING spring turkeys with

Chief Moore The beginning of my seventh grand slam

By Ed Noonan As an avid turkey hunter, I have chased and hunted wild turkeys in the US, the Canadian providences of Ontario and British Columbia, the famous Mexican Sierra Madre mountains and even spent a week in the humid and beautiful Yucatan jungle.

But it wasn’t until three years ago that I realized that just 106 miles from my door step lived one elusive turkey I had not yet hunted – our Adirondack Mountain Eastern turkey.

The evening of my awakening, I emailed Sue Cameron at the Lake Placid Office of Tourism for information on spring turkey hunting in their area. My request was quite simple, all I needed was permission to hunt lands where turkeys roamed and I could do the rest. Sue was very helpful and said she would check around and get back to me.

70 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 1

ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

Two days later, she called and said while she could not find a guide, she did find an avid turkey hunter who was willing to take me on opening day: Bill Moore, who just happened to be the Lake Placid Chief of Police. She also said that I could come up the day before and meet Bill and that she had made arrangements for me to stay at the Pines Inn of Lake Placid in the village. continued on page 72 nclmagazine.com

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 71

ball park, was the Olympic Ski Jump built for the 1980 Winter Olympics.

Not having met Bill, I stopped a lady and asked if she knew the sheriff and where he might be. She hesitated then asked who I was. When I told her, she laughed and said: “Come with me, he is my husband.”

I was quite excited not only about hunting with Bill, but also because should I be lucky and shoot a high peaks gobbler, it would be the beginning of my seventh National Wild Turkey Federation Grand Slam.

Early in the morning (5 a.m.) on April 30, I was headed for Lake Placid and as always, I enjoyed the scenic drive up Route 73 winding its way through Essex County’s Keene Valley. The evening before, I put a spinning rod and reel in my truck just in case I had an opportunity to wet a line in the famous Ausable River. I was surprised to see that there were still large chunks of ice on some of the high rock ledges overlooking the river.

It was still very early when I got to Lake Placid, so I stopped in the Breakfast Club etc. Restaurant and then headed for the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism to wait for Susan. I think she was surprised when she found me sleeping in my truck when she arrived. She gave me directions on how to get to the Pines Inn and told me that after I settled in, I should call Bill to arrange the opening day’s hunt.

My accommodations were in a beautiful turn-ofthe-century historic structured building; I could not have been more comfortable. So comfortable when I tested the bed around noon, I did not wake up until 3 p.m. Quickly I called the Sheriff’s office and they told me he had left for his son Sean’s baseball game and gave me the directions to the ball park. When I arrived, I was very impressed. In the background of the

After the game, we made our plans for a 5 a.m. meeting time and Bill said that Sean would be joining us.

He then told me of his recent scoutings and the birds he and Sean had “put to bed.” With his positive attitude, I was definitely looking forward to the next day.

THE HUNT One of my major problems when turkey hunting on opening day in the spring, especially if it is in a new area, I have trouble sleeping the night before.

Thus at 2:45 a.m. that morning, I was wide awake and climbing into my camo. I was dressed and sitting on the Inn’s porch at 4 a.m. eager to get going. I don’t remember ever being this anxious on any other opening day of the spring turkey season. When Bill and Sean arrived, I was sitting on the steps with my vest and Benelli across my legs.

Our first stop was on a friend of Bill’s property where he had heard birds roosting on the edge of a field in the hardwoods the night before. Quickly and quietly, Sean and I set up while Bill put out the decoys, sat down several yards behind us and began to do some soft yelps on his box call. After calling for 30 minutes without any answers, we picked up and headed to an area where he and Sean had recently roosted toms.

We didn’t go too far down the road when we saw two toms in full strut with two hens in a field. When we turned around to go back, we saw a small flock of turkeys on the other side about 200 yards in a field walking the edge of a wood line. Within that flock, were at least two good toms. ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

Quickly, we parked the truck, loaded our guns and began our sneak and peek utilizing bushes and small trees to cover our approach. Bill motioned us to go to a small brushy island which we estimated was about 75 yards from where we thought the turkeys were feeding. I nestled into the right side of the bushes, Sean went left and Bill stayed in some heavy brush about 30 yards behind us. He put out the decoys in a location where if the birds did come, they would see them and be within our shooting range.

These toms were “talkers.” Every call that Bill made was answered with thundering gobbles; I could feel the adrenaline rising and both Sean and I were smiling. A few more calls and I was sure they were coming and that chill running up and down my spine told me to get ready. Slowly, I pulled the butt of my shotgun tightly into my shoulder, anchored my cheek on the gun stock, rested my gun stock on my knee and slowly slid my trigger finger onto the safety. I don’t care how long you have turkey hunted, when you know that strutting tom is gobbling his way toward you, it is exciting. And when I heard the spitting and drumming I quickly released the safety.

All of a sudden I saw the big bright red head with its waddle swinging and in full strut. He looked like a little Volkswagen and was headed for Bill’s calls and the decoys. He was about 35 yards when I

placed that orange front sight on his bright red head and squeezed the trigger and happily watched my first high peaks gobbler fall. It was the beginning of my seventh grand slam.

Before I could move, two more gobblers announced their presence as a lone clucking hen walked past Sean. Both of us froze and we knew the other toms were following them. Unfortunately Sean never got a good shot. All this excitement and it was only a little after 7 a.m.

When I reached my tom, we estimated him to weigh in at 18-19 pounds and he carried a 9 1/4 inch beard. His spurs were worn down to nothing, which is not unusual for mountain birds. But it wasn’t until I headed for the truck that I noticed how picturesque this area really was. At the end of the field where I had shot my tom were Mount Marcy, Skylight, Colden, Wright, Algonquin and Iroquois mountains. I would like to thank all of those who made this High Peaks turkey hunt possible.

Note: That spinning rod and reel that I brought with me did get some use on my way home. I stopped in several Ausable River pulloffs and did a bit of fishing and caught and released a few browns.

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Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 75

Dennis Sparling Vermont artist creates giant

Da Vinci statue for tour of the USA

By Lou Varricchio It’s easy for those mythologically inclined to imagine how Vermont sculptor Dennis Sparling might have emerged in our universe, via a fiery furnace, from some other place in space and time— for all the molten, primordial elements comprising 10,000 years of human art, poetry, theater, science and engineering, which simmer just below the surface of the New Haven artist’s amazing corpus, have been sintered into a dazzling, clastic vision of the cosmos.

The artist’s Sparling Studio, located in rural New Haven, is perched near the lip of an abandoned, water-filled limestone quarry. He has incorporated the 1950s industrial remains of the Vermont Lime Company’s quarry mill into the heart of a modern studio.

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ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

Artist Dennis Sparling stands before his towering sculpture of Leonardo Da Vinci at his studio in New Haven, Vt. Photo by Lou Varricchio

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You can still see the former quarry operation’s kiln stacks where limestone was crushed into powder for use as fertilizer and flux.

The artist is best known locally for his whimsical “Leapfroggers” statue on Burlington’s Church Street and the eerily life-like University of Vermont catamount mascot statue which overlooks the UVM campus. He has also been widely recognized for his work in designing and creating “organic” lighting fixtures which grace many upscale homes in northern New England and New York. However, the Great Recession of 2008-09 largely put an end to the market which had reached dizzying heights for the artist.

“I arrived in Vermont in 1970, borrowed $60 from the new Vermont Craft Council run by Dyanne Fago—went dump diving for metals and arrived at the First Bennington Craft Show to sell nothing until two people came looking for me and helped me stay and get through the next

Dennis Sparling’s catamount mascot sculpture at the campus of the University of Vermont. Photo courtesy of the Good Neighborhood

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Dennis Sparling’s iconic Leap Froggers statute stands on Church Street in downtown Burlington, Vt. Photo courtesy Burlington City Arts

10 years in Vermont,” Sparling says. “Since then I have mainly sold my work out of state... until 2008 when my clientele disappeared.”

Now the 70-something, Seattle-born artist, a Vermont resident since the 1970s, has moved on—he is embarking on a unique and daring vision quest to tour the country with his new nine-feet, 900-pound statute of Leonardo Da Vinci and a visionary educational idea.

Sparling has a unique plan to create a Da Vinci school, a neo-renaissance educational approach for today’s young people to learn the creative processes and practical business of the arts; he’d like to find sponsors willing to help him realize the plan.

“Today’s youth are afraid,” Sparling said. “They are afraid of college debt and entering an economy with few career opportunities. I believe a new Da Vinci approach to learning will better prepare young people to think critically and earn a living in today’s competitive world.”

Sparling’s statue of Da Vinci took nearly a year and half to create.

The statue is composed of bronze, cooper, steel, gold leaf, and wood and the finished piece depicts the Italian master towering above elements of his visionary work including an intricate gear mechanism, the world’s first mitered canal and harbor lock, a lighthouse-tower design, the iconic Vitruvian Man model of human proportions, the mysterious “Mona Lisa” painting, and a secret compartment which holds the very heart Sparling’s fantastic work of art (we’re not about to reveal the secret which lies inside).

Viewers can walk around Sparling’s statue and discover all the little bits and pieces of Da Vinci’s puzzle cometo-life. The statue is really a launching pad for ideas and those who don’t know much about the bigger-than-life -and-times of the Italian prophet of art and science.

There’s one Da Vinci quote which we think may animate ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

Sparling’s entire venture of art and education: “‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death.”

Sparling credits his long-time friend Castleton University professor Harry Chaucer—founder of both the Da Vinci Curriculum and the former Gailer School in Middlebury—with inspiring a deep, personal interest in Da Vinci’s story.

Now, with a Chevrolet step van, Sparling is on the road with the statue and his school plans. He is in sunnier climes for the duration of this winter and spring. And along the way, he plans to encounter students, fellow artists, news reporters, educators, and maybe even a generous Bill Gates or two.

After putting thousands of miles on the truck’s odometer, Sparling will then return to Vermont in the spring of 2016, all the richer, we believe, at least for having affixed wings to his creative dreams to soar ever higher.

Now, after 40 years of creating sculpture and architectural arts throughout Vermont and the U.S., Sparling will also tackle his MARGA Project. MARGA is a sculptural story of the internal and external journey of human life, a hundred human and animal figures, 1,000 poems and soliloquies, a journey of 3,000 years to humankind’s current dilemma.

“New Hampshire-based Loud Canvas Media designed a website to feature my past sculpture work as well as to document my progress on the MARGA Project,” he says.

As the MARGA site continues to grow, it has evolved as a site for Sparling’s children to also feature their portfolios.

“It has been a great pleasure to work with such a talented family,” according to Loud Canvas Media.

Even as a mature artist, Sparling enjoys new possibilities, all fraught with risks younger artists take for granted.

“Before Vermont, I studied architecture at Arizona State and University of Washington—built a gallery in Pioneer Square, Seattle and collaborated with Tom Robins on the Vincent Van Gough Donut Festival —then fled here look-

Spring-fed quarry pond and studio interior: Artist Dennis Sparling’s studio in New Haven, Vt., stands at the edge of an abandoned limestone quarry. Photos by Don Shall courtesy Dennis Sparling

nclmagazine.com

Dennis Sparling, circa 1970.

ing for what life was all about,” the artist reflects. “Now I know a little more of what life is about, and it is time to sell my pots and pans to Act III of the American Dream.”

While always young at heart and still growing in wisdom and vision, Sparling is now willing to face the harsh reality of living the artistic life in the Green Mountain State: “Vermont is certainly not an easy place to make a living doing my kind of work,” he notes. “I eventually woke up and said, ‘I gotta keep on moving.’”

Dennis Sparling’s Catamount statue at UVM.

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Crown Point, New York

By Kyle Page The North Country has been treated to 50 years of collegiate athletics since Clinton Community College first opened back in 1966. The Athletic/Intramural Department has been in existence since the inception of the college. The college actually opened with an enrollment of 260 students in 1969. The athletic program has grown quite a bit since that start.

A soccer jersey signed by members of the 2010 Championship team is on display in the Alumni Cottage 82 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 1

1973 basketball uniform is on display in the Alumni Cottage

Clinton Community College has four intercollegiate sports to choose from, including men’s and women’s soccer, basketball, softball and baseball, and they are offered to all of its full-time students. Athletics meet the needs of men and women who excel in certain physical education activities and desire to represent the college in competition with other institutions.

Many of the student athletes choose to play more than one sport.

The athletes of Clinton Community College have earned numerous distinctions in the past half-century, including the Women’s Soccer National Championship in 2010, a Men’s Basketball run to the Regional Final in 2014 as well as 12 Northern Independent Conference Championships in four sports. The athletic department has also been the recipient of the NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) Region III Sportsmanship Award every year since the award’s inception and Coach Kevin Daughtery’s 400th win as a basketball coach occurred at Clinton Community College. ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

The NJCAA is made up of 24 regions. Clinton Community College is a member of Region III, the largest in the country with 24 participating schools.

As a NJCAA Division III member, no athletic financial aid may be given and there is no aid offered on athletic achievement. While Division I and II institutions may offer aid based on previous athletic achievement, Division III schools offer aid based on need or academic achievement only.

Another tremendous change for Clinton Community College athletics came 25 years ago when in 1991, the William Forrence Health, Physical Education and Recreation Building opened, allowing athletics, intramurals, credit and non-credit courses and community events to be held on campus, including the annual graduation ceremony. The 400,000 squarefoot building has two classrooms, indoor track, two racquetball courts, a weight room, cardio equipment, locker rooms, two tennis courts, faculty and coaches’ offices, a dance studio, six basketball courts and a 800-seat gymnasium.

Being a fairly small community college on top of a steep hill has created challenges for the athletic program. The program has grown in spite of a lack of outdoor facilities, limited funding to support teams and lack of enough and adequate transportation to transport more than one team at a time. Even with these challenges, the program has flourished and led to many victorious seasons as well as stellar athletes.

Among the notable athlete graduates of the college are Kim Dragoon, a member of the National Champion 2010 soccer team who was named MVP of the National Tournament. Dragoon graduated from the

CCC Gymnasium with championship pennants

CCC Nursing Program and is currently employed at CVPH in Plattsburgh, NY. Kim Kemp Duyst graduated in 1977 and is now the Associate Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator at Stanislaus State University. Duyst has been supporting her alma mater for years and directs her donations to the athletic department at the college. Philip Barnes from the Men’s Basketball program was the NJCAA AllAmerican and NJCAA Region III Male Athlete of the Year. Kyle Stark of the men’s basketball team is now a practicing attorney.

Dr. Todd Roenbeck, Director of Athletics reflected on 50 years of Clinton Community College Athletics, saying “More than anything, I would like it mentioned that in the 50 years, more than 1,500 local students have been able to continue their athletics by participating on an Intercollegiate Athletic Team here at Clinton Community College, and many of them still return and tell us, how much their experi-

CCC Basketball CCC Baseball nclmagazine.com

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CCC sports/CCC Soccer team

ence at Clinton Community College has shaped their lives. Not only that, we now have members of college teams who had a parent play here as well.�

Soccer ball signed by members of the 2010 Championship team on display in the Alumni Cottage

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ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

&A Q

A talk with

Fire Chief Brett LaRose of Bristol, Vt.

By Lou Varricchio Native Vermonter and Bristol Fire Chief Brett LaRose has served as a volunteer member of the Bristol Fire Department for 21 years. Chief LaRose, a third generation family member to serve with the all-volunteer company, is presiding over the construction of a spanking new $3.19 million fire station which includes 2.7 acres of a nine-acre site.

The Bristol community has a long, proud heritage of firefighting; it is among Addison County’s best allvolunteer squads.

The original fire department, founded as the N.H. Munsill Hose, Hook & Ladder Co. in 1894, operated on Main Street.

According to local fire historian Reg Dearborn, “In 1893, Fire District 1 was survey in the Town of Bristol... The area of the district was approximately the same as the area that later became the incorporated Village of Bristol in 1903.”

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In effect, Newcomb “N.H.” Muncill (1852-1900) was Bristol’s equivalent of Los Angeles’s mighty water magnate William Mulholland, but on a very much smaller scale. (Curiously, Mulholland, too, had an interest in developing the Los Angeles Fire Department.)

Munsill ran herd on developing of Bristol’s copious montane water supply during the late 1800s.

He was also responsible for building the current firehouse in 1897. The venerable firehouse, with its share of structural problems, is being replaced by a new multi-million dollar station currently under construction.

Before Muncill’s organizing influence, firefighting in Bristol was haphazard with the usual assembly of bucket brigades during times of conflagration.

An historic hand-drawn hose cart—dating back to the 1800s and the last of five used in the mountain town—is still part of the Bristol F.D.’s roster of firefighting hardware although it is used mostly ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

Bristol F.D. Brett LaRose

seen on July 4 and at special events throughout the year. Similar hand hose carts were also used by a private fire brigade of the coffin-maker Bristol Manufacturing Co., the town’s largest employer.

NCL met with Chief LaRose recently to discuss the new fire station under construction on West Street and the Bristol F.D.’s storied history in Vermont.

NCL: We’re sitting in the backroom of the historic, circa-1897 Bristol Fire Station here on North Street.

Your volunteers will be in a spanking new firehouse this summer. There must be a lot of history in this old building?

La Rose: “In 1897, Munsill’s fire company built this station. It wasn’t until the early 1900s when the town took over the company. The name “Bristol Fire Department” was only made official during the 1970s.

It has always been a volunteer force, but demands on volunteers keep increasing, and it’s mixed bag on what volunteers are expected to do.”

NCL: Fast forward to the 21st century—what were the factors that created a new firehouse? Clearly you have structural problems with the 1897 station.

La Rose: “In 2004, then Fire Chief Mark Bouvier started to look ahead. We had outgrown our current facilities—combined 6,500 square feet which includes the building we have on Fitch Avenue that houses fire trucks right now. They were in rough shape, without any upgrades. So Mark formed a committee, consisting of fire company and other comnclmagazine.com

munity members, with the support of the town. For several years, the committee looked around the village; where could we build a fire station if it can’t stay here? Then, during Town Meeting Day in 2007 or 2008, Taxpayers approved $15,000—I believe— to hire an architect specializing in the design of fire stations to put together a study. Pacheco Ross Architects of Voorheesville, N.Y., was hired to study the concerns and report to us.”

NCL: Bristol Town Hall had a radon issue at that time. Was that an impact on the fire station committee’s timeline?

La Rose: “Yes, town hall had a significant radon issue. They were squeezed, too.

“The police department was sharing the basement of Holley Hall with town offices. The fire station project had to take a back seat which was understood; the town hall problem had significant health issues. That’s when renovations were made and the police department moved out.

“Town Administrator Bill Bryant got us moving again. On Town Meeting Day 2014, we went before the taxpayers and asked $350,000 for architectural designs and purchase property. We wanted something we felt the taxpayers could afford.

“We considered dismantling the house next to the 1897 station. But we weren’t really building for the future and expanding at the North Street site would have been squeezing us. We would have been faced with no parking here.”

La Rose: “My two cents: At least Bristol voters were smarter and didn’t make the mistake Middlebury voters did in 2015 by shoehorning a new town hall downtown, right up against next to a beautiful library, and thus creating a long-term visitor and resident parking problem which it has essentially ignored in favor of short-term political gains.

La Rose: “The 2014 bond vote did not pass but we regrouped and more public meetings at the American Legion.

“Out of that a nine-person committee, known as the Bristol Fire Station Sites Selection Committee, was formed. I cochaired that committee. We looked at 33 sites around town.

“We dwindled it down to the top three —number one being the recreation field’s skateboard park.

Two was the 1897 station on North Street, which continued on page 88

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Bristol FIRE STATION B-2

required demolition work, and the number three site is where we ended up and are now building the new station.

“On Town Meeting Day 2016 in March, voters will decide what to do with the 1897 firehouse. The Select Board would like to sell it, as is, with no caveats, but keep its classic exterior appearance. Maybe for use as an office or an apartment.”

NCL: Maybe one of our local classic car collectors might like it as a storage garage—close to Bristol’s Better L8 Than Never award-winning annual car show?

La Rose: “Well, it would be nice—say, 50 years from now—to drive by and still see the classic exterior and say, ‘Now, there’s the old Bristol fire station.’”

NCL: When do you expect to have the new fire station completed?

LaRose: “Sometime in June 2016. Our 2016-17 FY budget which begins July 1 was designed for the new fire station. That was one of my biggest challenges this past year was putting together a budget, with the town administrator and Select Board, for a building that hadn’t been constructed yet. We did a lot of research—heating cost, mechanicals, sprinkler system. I still can’t believe this is happening. I have eight years invested in this project, serving on many committees. Getting to that successful bond vote on July 7, 2015, with 75 percent of the town’s support felt really, really good.”

NCL: Please give our readers an overview of the new station.

LaRose: “The site is located along West Street, across from Mt. Abraham Union High School and the rec field. A new town road will be built along the station. It was connect West Street, along the station, to a future business 88 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 1

park. That’s what helped sell the fire station project.

Yes, we were developing the land for the station, but it was also opening up land for a new business park. Like many small Vermont communities, the Town of Bristol can use a little bump with taxes and also create a little industry here.”

NCL: The town has incorporated many modern features in the new fire station.

LaRose: “Yes, for example, it’s a ‘drive-thru’ concept. Fire trucks drive through the building into a large bay. This is common in new fire stations, providing you have the land. It’s a safety feature; you don’t have to back-in vehicles. We’ll have three trucks parked side-by-side with one behind them.

We have a total of six trucks in the fleet. All are parked strategically for how they’ll roll out for responses. Front-line engines depart first.”

NCL: Bristol has a lot of pride in its firefighting heritage. I understand the new station will showcase vintage apparti?

LaRose: “Yes, we have what we’re calling an ‘antique bay’. It’s much smaller but we have a 1936 American LaFrance pumper (the first truck Bristol ever bought) and a hand hose truck I mentioned earlier. In 2000, we raised funds to completely restore the pumper. We use it for parades and funerals only; it has carried more caskets than I can count.”

NCL: You seem to be very concerned about how personnel and vehicles are used in the new station.

LaRose: “Yes, the building is designed around flow—that is, how well do we respond to an emergency? The personal vehicles of volunteer responders will come to the station via a one-way private drive. As we’re all coming in during an emergency, we won’t impede with emergency vehicles or future business park traffic. They park, come in the door, right into the gear locker room. They don personal protective gear, safely, away from the trucks—then get on the trucks and go do their jobs. We also have showers, something we never had before. Firefighters are exposed to carcinogens and it gets on our gear and on our skin and we bring it home. We also have a washing extractor where we can wash our gear regularly. We should be doing it, but we didn’t have the means until this new station.”

NCL: This is a big step forward for all the Bristol volunteers.

LaRose: “Let me say that volunteering is more than just getting together to flip some hamburgers or doing a good thing on a Saturday to help some local organization. This is ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

a commitment. When I joined 20 years ago, I was told my family comes first, my job comes second (because that pays the bills), and the fire department expects to be number three. Twenty years later, I’m now the guy sitting at this table giving the same spiel.

“It has to be that way because there’s so much expected from a volunteer. We are professionalvolunteer firefighters; that’s how we refer to us all the time.

“A volunteer is expected to perform, and train, the same way someone who is collecting a paycheck does—yes, full timers have more calls, and that’s why they are full time. I can only speak for the Bristol F.D., but we’re truly a professional-volunteer force.

“The demands and expectations are always there along with changing national standards, and we have to be there, too. It’s my job to make sure everyone stays current. That’s why continuing education is where it’s at.”

NCL: And you have the responsibility of saving lives and property, too.

LaRose: “Right. I’ll give you an example: this time of year we get many carbon monoxide alarm calls. Many people have them today; but many are false alarms because of expiration dates on the various devices. But we use a multi-gas detector for all these investigations. Eventually, if there isn’t a problem (or even if there is), I am telling that family that it is safe to go back in their homes; you’re going to wake up tomorrow morning. To me, that’s a huge responsibility. I don’t take this job lightly at all. I am not only responsible for the lives of my firefighters, but also all the people we’re here to protect.”

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The

abolitionist and the slaves: Underground Railroad at the SK Smith barn

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ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

A story about Stephen Keese Smith and his barn

By Teah Dowling

Imagine being a runaway slave with wornout clothes, limited water and food and no family besides a master.

A number of slaves rode out their time as servants, while others ventured on to parts unknown for freedom.

Stephen Keese Smith helped make that journey easier.

Smith first became acquainted with the Underground Railroad two decades before the Civil War in 1861.

Moved by his uncle Samuel Keese, head of the Underground Railroad Depot in Peru, Clinton County, Smith joined in the movement along with his cousin, John Keese, and colleague, Wendell Lansing, who were actors.

The Champlain line of the Underground Railroad encompassed the upper Hudson River, the Champlain Canal and Lake Champlain.

Runaway slaves who reached these waterways took steamboats, barges and canal boats as part of their northward journey.

Stagecoach and railroad lines from New York City and New England provided land routes into the region.

The exact way they went from Albany to Peru is unknown. The freedom seekers may have followed the Great State Road, known today as Route 9. They might have also taken Lake Champlain steamers and disembarked at Port Kent and then proceeded inland to Keeseville and Peru. nclmagazine.com

Underground Railroad/S.K. Smith Standing

Smith had large buildings and concealed the runaway slaves in them. “He never named the slaves in his recollections,� said Don Papson, founder and past president of the North Country Underground continued on page 94 Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 93

Underground Railroad entrance at the SK Smith barn

Railroad Historical Association. “He just helped them.”

Smith’s barn, which is now owned by Frank Perusse, contained a hidden stone room, which is still standing today on the old property located at Union Road.

The runaways came through the woods, exhausted and nearly famished, after having made their dangerous journey through Albany, Troy and Glens Falls.

He fed and kept them for one to two days and gave them new clothing and shoes for the journey ahead.

Once well-rested, Smith ran them along to Noadiah Moore’s in Champlain, where he took them to Canada, helped them find employment and turn them into Canadian citizens.

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SLAVE OWNER, JOHN HAFF

Before Smith’s property became a place of hope for slaves, it served as a residence of imprisonment, the homestead of slave owner, John Haff.

Haff owned a 20-year-old slave, who was only referred to as “boy.”

Boy ran away to the town of Essex, in Essex County, hoping he could make an escape.

When he got there, the people wouldn’t ferry him across Lake Champlain to Charlotte, Vt. because they knew he was a runaway. Instead, they detained him until Haff came.

Haff arrived by horseback, put a rope around the runaway’s wrists and made him walk back to his farm. If he lagged, Haff whipped him.

“He had been whipped a great deal,” Smith said in his recollections. “He tied the rope so tight around the negro’s wrist that the boy moaned and cried so piteously the old man could not sleep.” ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

Haff deeded a portion of his property to his son, Abram, who became an abolitionist, Methodist minister and a member of the Executive Committee of the Clinton County Anti-Slavery Society. In 1852, he sold the farm to Smith.

ALWAYS WATCHED

Not all houses in Peru welcomed slaves on their doorsteps. Methodists, in particular, were against the anti-slavery movement.

Chauncey Stoddard, who lived down the road, wouldn’t house or even feed a runaway. Instead he tried to sabotage the movement by attempting to catch Smith, and other homeowners who hid slaves, in action.

His plans failed.

“He used to come out onto the field and hold his cane over my head and say we were not law-abiding citizens, but he did not dare to strike me.”

RELIVING LOCAL HISTORY

Stephen Keese Smith home is Clinton County’s best documented Underground Railroad site.

The North Country Underground Railroad Historical Association strives to research, preserve, interpret and promote Underground Railroad historical sites like this one.

Bus tours and the North Star Underground Museum are only a few of the organization’s many offerings to tell the story of the Underground Railroad in the North Country.

“This history here is absolutely amazing,” said Linda Richardson, second vice president of NCUGRHA. “You can read it in a book and you can read it online, but to actually go and see these places and hear the stories is just exceptional.

To learn more about the bus tours, other upcoming events or the Underground Railroad itself, call 518-834-5180 or visit northcountryunergroundrailroad.com. nclmagazine.com

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e l p o e P s u o Fam

By Lou Varricchio

For a tiny state, Vermont has a long history of largerthan-life personalities — from artists to rabble rousers, the fourteenth state has produced dozens of authors, two U.S. presidents, various entertainers, and patriotic heroes — among many others.

Famous men and women have walked the landscape of the Green Mountain State since its founding in the 18th century.

In this issue of North Country Living, we present another installment of our ongoing series of mini biographies showcasing famous Vermonters from the past and present.

We have chosen to assign our spotlighted celebrities form all four compass quadrants of the state — northwest, northeast, southwest and southeast.

We thank the State of Vermont, the Vermont Historical Society, the Sheldon Museum of Vermont History, and the Vermont Welcome Center in Fair Haven for assistance in planning this series.

Alison Bechdel (1960 - ) Cartoonist Bolton, Vt. Cartoonist Alison Bechdel was born in Pennsylvania but she makes Bolton, Vt., her home today. She is a pioneer in both political and gender art. Her lesbian-themed comic strip “Dykes to Watch Out For” won her many fans and detractors, but her 2006 graphic memoir “Fun

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s people u o m a f ’s t n o m er A sampler of V

Home” caused the most furor. It was adapted as a musical which won a Tony Award for Best Musical in 2015. Bechdel’s book was banned from a public library in Missouri and its use in universities in Utah and South Carolina has been challenged by parents and students. She received the 2014 MacArthur Genius Award and created the Bechdel Test which rates gender bias in motion pictures.

The photo of Alison Bechdel is by Michael Rhode.

Elmer Bowman (1897-1985) Professional Athlete Proctor, Vt. Elmari Wilhelm Bowman, known to his Proctor, Vt., school pals as Elmer Bowman, was a mere shooting star in Major League Baseball’s firmament. His appearance—and disappearance— from the baseball world occurred all in the very same month way back in 1920. Little is known about this flash-in-the-pan player for the old Washington Senators when he started his brief career during late season play in 1920. When the 23-year-old rookie from Vermont made his professional debut, he made only two pinch-hitting appearances for the Senators yet never entered the field—thus his position on the team has never been officially recorded. Bowman’s appearances took place while the Senators played away games. His first pinch-hitting appearance was Aug. 3, 1920 in a game against the Cleveland Indians at League Park in Ohio. His second, and final, hitting for the Senators occurred Aug. 9 against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park. “Bowman was 0-for-1 with a walk in his two games, giving him an on-base percentage of .500. He also scored one run,” according to baseball’s Retrosheet. He died in Los Angeles at the age of 88. Elmer Bowman: Gone and almost forgotten.

ncliving@denpubs.com ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

Ted Bundy (19461989) Burlington, Vt. Theodore Bundy, born in Burlington, is Vermont’s most infamous native son. While he spent later years in other places, he never-theless casts a long, dark shadow on Vermont history.

Bundy was born in Burlington’s Elizabeth Lund Home For Unwed Mothers. It’s uncertain exactly who the boy’s father was, but Bundy’s birth certificate lists U.S. Air Force veteran Lloyd Marshall as the father. Bundy had a mesmerizing affect on women and most became his victims.

He is infamous in the annals of crime as a brutal “serial killer, kidnapper, rapist, and necrophile.” By all accounts, Bundy murdered more than 30 females during the 1970s (some of the murders may have occurred earlier). According to Florida records, the number of Bundy victims is unknown, and could be much higher. He was executed in Florida at the age of 42.

Ted Bundy’s photo is courtesy of the State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.

Rudolph Ruzicka (1883-1978) Illustrator, engraver Brattleboro, Vt. Settling in Vermont in his later years, Czechborn Rudolph Ruzicka was a respected artist, wood engraver, etcher, typeface designer, and book illustrator and designer.

Ruzicka is best known for designing new typefaces and wood-engraved illustrations for numerous publishers including Merrymount Press. For half a century, he was a designer for the Mergenthaler Linotype Company. His typefaces are still in nclmagazine.com nclmagazine.com

use in today’s fiction and non-fiction books. He designed the American Institute of Graphic Arts seal) and the Dartmouth Medal of the American Library Association. In 1916 Ruzicka built a house and a workshop in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. He liked the quiet of the Vermont countryside and traveled between New York City and Brattleboro.

Illustration by Rudolph Ruzicka of French aviator Georges Guynemer published by Yale University Press in 1918.

Pam Blair (1949- ) Actress Bennington, Vt. Vermonter Pam Blair is an award-winning, multi-talented actress, singer, and dancer best known for her pioneering part as the character Val in the smash 1976 Broadway musical “A Chorus Line”. She is familiar to television soap opera fans, most notably appearing in the series “Ryan’s Hope” during the 1980s. She has made many other appearances including plays, films and series—among them Woody Allen’s “Mighty Aphrodite” and TV’s “Law and Order”, “The Cosby Show” and “The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd”. Born in Bennington, she leads an active life having played sports as well as studied dance and theater. She moved to New York City as a teenager to attend the National Academy of Ballet and seek a career on the stage. Her Broadway breakthrough was appearing in “Promises, Promises” in 1968. She is fondly remembered as Curly’s wife in James Earl Jones’ acclaimed 1974 remake of “Of Mice and Men”. According to Blair, “Whenever I don’t seem to be getting anywhere in this business, I try to remember that I was once a chambermaid in a small motel in Vermont.”

Pam Blair photo courtesy of History for Sale.

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By Lou Varricchio Today, when you meet Paul Vachon, 77, he’ll more likely remind you of a FrenchCanadian pépé—grandfather—than a former

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Paul “Butcher” Vachon and Maurice “Mad Dog” Vachon pictured on tour during the 1960s.

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world-champion professional known as “The Butcher.”

wrestler,

But Vachon, who retired from the popular sport in 1984 and now calls Vermont home, is one facet of the story of Can-

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“As a boy growing up on a dairy farm, I was petrified that I would not be big enough to be a wrestler and travel the world like my brother Mad Dog. When you are age 10 or 12, you can’t imagine beig 6 feet tall and 240 pounds. Well, lo and behold, that’s what I grew up to be. At age 17, I was 6 feet tall and 240 pounds.”

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“As a wrestler, I was a professional,” he says. “As a writer now I am somewhat of an amateur. Sometimes when I am in the middle of telling a story another one comes to mind. In my writings, I will jump ahead a few years or jump back a few years to tell that story. I ask for the indulgence of fans. I have to

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Vachon’s attempt at writing autobiography was a new challenge. Writing was a little daunting, but it also stimulated a creative side of the retired wrestler that he hadn’t bothered to dabble in before living an active life of sport and travel.

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“My late friend Hans Herrmann said, ‘Life is but a collection of memories.’

Memories I have plenty of and as a matter of fact, I am still making them.”

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Vachon enjoys sharing his wonderful memories about growing up in the golden age of professional wrestling as well as co-starring, alongside his sister Vivian, in the 1970 motion picture “Wrestling Queen.” Yes, there was wrestling hype back then, but there were also a lot less theatrics compared to today’s spectacles. It truly was “real“ back in the days, just as Vachon’s autobiography describes.

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a mere one-half mile from the Vermont stateline, was insular, yet, it provided the young Vachon with lots of room to dream big. Add to that the fact that the future “Butcher” was in awe of his older brother Mad Dog’s rising career in the sport.

Life on a Quebec farm, located in the Canadian spur of the Green Mountains,

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“My father was Ferdinand Vachon, a Montreal Police officer,” Vachon says. “In 1957, I followed my brother Maurice into professional wrestling, adopting a vicious heel style and the moniker ‘Butcher Vachon.’ I wrestled in the American Wrestling Association, World Wrestling Federation—now WWE—the National Wrestling Alliance and Georgia Championship Wrestling, which later became the WCW.”

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According to Vachon—the so-called Butcher of Montreal—he grew up alongside 12 siblings of French heritage. Considering the odds, there must be something in Vachon’s genes that propelled him into the world of pro wrestling—he’s brother to wrestlers Maurice and Vivian Vachon and he is also the former father-in-law of wrestlers David “Gangrel” Heath and Tom Nash. Vachon has been married four times and is the father to six children.

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Vachon was the center of attention at his exhibit tent adjoining the midway during the 2015 Addison County Fair & Field Days.

The retired wrestler was accompanied

by Addison County resident and wrestler aficionado Roy Haynes. Haynes, featured in the Vermont Eagle newspaper in 2006, is best known as TV’s “Cheapest Man in America”; he has been featured on ABCTV’s “20/20” and is a “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” icon. Haynes is a friend and fan of Paul Vachon.

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In fact, Paul Vachon’s so proud of his life on the mat that he has written a rip-roaring, three-volume Englishlanguage autobiography about his life, titled “When Wrestling Was Real.” The paperback books, sporting lots of photographs of Vachon’s worldwide smack downs, are published by Quebec-based publisher Patric Laprade and printer Impression Prioritaire.

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ada’s popular Vachons, the pioneering first family of the pro-wrestling sport.

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For Butcher Vachon, there is plenty of life and fight left after wrestling— Vachon was a federal NDP Party candidate in Quebec 1988, 1993 and 1995.

He apparently liked to verbally wrestle with the opposition.

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According to a mini biography, written by family members, “In 1993, he was diagnosed with colon cancer and had half of his colon removed. Then, in 2003, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. He underwent 40 treatments, one on each week day for five straight weeks, to overcome the throat cancer. In addition, he had the disease burned out of his tonsils and his teeth removed. As a result of the radiation treatments, he underwent reconstructive jaw surgery in early June 2009.

Vachon also suffers from diabetes.”

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Retired pro wrestler Paul “Butcher” Vachon is the author of “When Wrestling Was Real”. He enjoyed his guest appearance at to the 2015 Addison County Fair & Field Days. Photo courtesy of Vachon Family

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my memories this way. If I don’t, I am afraid I will lose my train of thought.

It will seem at first like I am leaving you in a lurch. I promise—all the pieces will fit in this puzzle of my life.”

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Vachon said he often teamed alongside brother “Mad Dog” Vachon, with whom he won the AWA World Tag Team Championship.

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“In the early 1970s, I appeared alongside my sister Vivian Vachon in the motion picture ‘Wrestling Queen’,” he noted.

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Vachon may find it difficult to talk about the death of his adoptive daughter, wrestler Luna Vachon, however, he’s

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Considering all the physical challenges he faced in his later years, Vachon remains a fighter with an infectious “can do” spirit. Kids and teens at Addison County Fair & Field Days especially love him because he’s friendly and approachable, a wise and gentle role model who appears like a 21st-century template for a classical Greek hero—a latter day Jason or Hercules.

The retired wrestler, along with his wife Dee, make annual appearances at Field Days and enjoying meeting old and new fans.

As far as guest appearances go, Paul and Dee Vachon enjoy making the flea market and county fair circuit in the Northeast and Quebec to sell Paul’s “When Wrestling Was Real” as well as the couple’s therapeutic magnets, a business they began in 1995.

When the Vachon brothers were inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004, the organization enshrined them alongside other legends of the sport.

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“Blood brothers... are these dynamic Canadians, unlike so many other notable, so-called sibling tag teams,” Tony Vellano, PWHF president, says. “On the rare instances when they did find themselves together in a territory, the Vachon brothers inevitably gathered up all area tag-team title claims. For instance, they teamed at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens in the summer of 1959, but did not return there as a duo until 1971. So, it was as singles performers that most are likely to remember Mad Dog—always growling, ‘it’s a dog-eat-dog world!’—and Butcher Vachon.”

“Somebody once said, ‘The two things you should give your children are roots and wings.’ With my mom and dad, my 12 brothers and sisters sure got the roots we needed. My craving for wrestling and seeing the world gave me the wings,” Vachon says.

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According to Roy Haynes, “You can’t say enough about Paul Vachon. He continues to inspire young and old alike.” — Article

by Lou Varricchio

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Check It Out: To order an autographed copy of “When Wrestling was Real” by Paul “Butcher” Vachon, visit www.impressionprioritaire.com or e-mail: ffournier@impressionprioritaire.com

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Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 105

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Crappie spring!

Have a

My favorite locations to fish these tasty panfish

By Ed Noonan

One of the most popular and sought after freshwater fish after ice out is the spring crappie. And after this crazy winter that did not really allow us to “walk on water” like we wanted to, I am sure my fellow anglers are look-

ing forward to a “crappie spring!”

Here in New York State, especially in our North Country freshwater lakes and rivers, we have generous populations of crappie. One such lake is the great Lake Champlain. It is here that my uncle Tom would keep me

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out of school to join him in his row boat for a day in South Bay. Back then, we were mostly wormers, but now my crappie baits include a variety of small lures and small minnows.

Now before we fish, let’s take a look at the crappie’s springtime habits and what we need to find and catch them.

Once the ice starts to disappear, crappie will stage up near, but not in, their spawning areas. If you do not find them shallow, then move out to deeper water before leaving. Acncliving@suncommunitynews.com

tually, whenever I go out alone for crappie, I begin using two rods fishing one shallow and one deep. When I catch one, I anchor up and fish that depth. Remember, they school so don’t be too anxious to move off when the bite stops. Try lure and depth changes before leaving.

Fifty degrees is a magic water temperature for nclmagazine.com

the start of the spawn and the females will begin to drop the eggs and the males will guard them. It is believed that the length of daylight triggers the crappie spawn.

Structure is a definite key to where the males will be making their beds.

Places to look and fish include rocky shorelines wherever brush is present, sunken trees, brush

or underwater structure and in and around creek mouths.

Also as a reminder: the bass spawning and crappie spawning often occur during the same time and also sometimes in the same areas. If you hook up with a bass prior to the bass season opening, gently remove the hook and place (not toss) the

bass back into the water. Actually if possible unhook the bass while in the water. If it is a big one, CPR (catch-photorelease) is fine; but do it quickly and gently.

Having the right equipment is also very important to your crappie catching success.

Now you can use what continued on page 110

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 109

ever rod and reel combo you have but for the most success and fun ulI suggest an ul tra-light rod/reel combo; and there are a number of reasonably priced combos from which to choose. What I found to be the best is a 5 1/2 foot graphite ultra light rod and ball bearing-spinning reel spooled with no more than a four pound test monofilament line.

that live bait (small minnows) are more productive early in the season when the water is cooler; which is usually during pre-spawn and water temperatures up to 55 degrees. Once the crappie become aggressive, I’ve found that everything will work.

pie lure that I found last season that works very well both in the early and on into the spawn; it is the Bass Pro Shops twoinch watermelon 1/4 oz.

Crappie Maxx crank bait.

It has a

lain’s crappie size limit is eight inches and the daily limit is just 25.

Over the years, I have found that finding and determining the depth of the crappie is a lot quicker with the help of an electronic depth/ fish finder.

These units are My most producsomething that tive spring crappie every serious angler fishing days during should have on their the spawn have been boat. When you locate with the bright colt i g h t and see that school of ored tiny tube jigs and wobble and crappie beneath on the Ask a dozen anglers one-or-two inch plastic dives to depths up to four screen, you will be glad what is better - “live grubs which I will fish feet using four pound test you bought it. SUGbait or artificial” - and with or without a bobmonofilament. Work it GESTION: Father’s you will probably get a ber. Fish these jigs on the slower in pre-spawn and Day is coming. Post a number of different an- bottom or try them 12 to you can speed it up a bit photo of the unit you swers. When it comes 18 inches beneath a small when they are aggressive. want on the refrigerato crappie, my answer bobber.

REMINDER: NYS regu- tor. Years ago, it worked is to carry both. I found There is one more craplations for Lake Champ- for me.

Unlike other game fish, the crappie is known as a “paper mouth” fish. Catching it does not require those so-called “cross their eyes” hook sets.

Their mouths are very soft and a hard hook set and/or speedy retrieve will usually result in a lost fish. Just a quick snap of the wrist will set the hook firmly and allow you to retrieve your crappie.

is South Bay, located a few miles north of Whitehall where I launch my boat at the state launch just after the Route 22 bridge. The game plan is very simple: spend some time fishing around the bridge pillions and then work your way east along the northern shoreline of the bay all the way to the railroad bridge. On the north side of the bay. and then fish the grass areas heading east.

motor in and start fishing. Follow the south FLIPPING CRAPPIE On South Bay, and acshoreline all around the Several years ago, I tually throughout Lake point into the bay below fished in an early sea- Champlain, there are a the fort and continue all son nationally-spon- number of areas covered the way to the mouth of sored crappie tourna- with emergent vegetation the La Chute River. This ment on Saratoga Lake which attract schools of hold area is crappie counand watched a two- early/all season crappie. try. man team flipping into When you get to the railstanding cattails... and road bridge fish, the area When you finish here, they were catching fish. around/under it thor- go directly across the lake They finished second oughly. These heavy cov- from the Ticonderoga in a field of almost 100 er areas on both the north launch to the ferry dock. teams. Both of them and south side of the Start here and work the were using 12 foot rods bridge are an ideal place shoreline south into the which helped them pull to use that 12 foot rod. small bay. These two arcrappie out from the eas will take you at least From here, concentrate cattails and from under a full day of fishing. the docks. They would on the south side of the My final choice is just 10 fish both the outside bay and head back down the shoreline all the way miles north to Bulwagga edge and then reach back to the Route 22 Bay, the home of the leginto the openings in the bridge.

The vegetation on endary Champ, a 187cattails. this side has a number of foot long lake monster WHERE TO GO: MY areas where the deeper that a boat captain saw TOP 3 FAVORITES water comes quite close in 1819. There have been Although I live very to the shoreline. There a number of sightings close to Saratoga Lake, are six small backwater since then, but in my 50 which also has a gener- bays on this side of the plus years of fishing, this ous crappie population, bay and you should fish bay and Lake Champlain my favorite top three them all.

I have not met up with places are all on the him/her yet.

My number two crapgreat Lake Champlain; There are several placand all can fill your lim- pie hotspot is 26 miles north at the Ticonderoga es to launch to fish Bulit with some good size boat launch.

Once in the wagga Bay. One is at crappie fillets. My first water, I drop my trolling the Crown Point Camp-

nclmagazine.com

ground. The other is in the village of Port Henry, which has a larger parking area.

Bulwagga Bay is also the size of a small lake and also has all the structure and vegetation to attract spawning crappie. I usually start along the eastern shore along the railroad tracks and continue all around the entire shoreline. In the back of the bay, I have found it to be a good place to use the long rods to flip/ dip the weed openings.

This, too, is an all-day fishing area. One thing I recommend is that you obey the danger buoys when entering Bulwagga Bay from the main lake. Also it would be wise to purchase a map of Lake Champlain.

GOOD LUCK... have a

Crappie spring!

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 111

Racing is in the blood in RUTLAND — Vermont has a long tradition of auto racing.

From dirt tracks around the state in the 1950s to today’s modern paved tracks such as Thunder Road, Bear Ridge and Devil’s Bowl, the Green Mountain State loves its speed.

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hile there are more defunct tracks in the history books than current, operating ovals in the state, Vermont is among the most enthusiastic of New England states when it comes to motorsports. And of 14 Vermont counties, Rutland County is the crown jewel when it comes to auto racing heritage.

Case in point is the annual Devil’s Bowl award ceremony held in the City of Rutland. Devil’s Bowl Speedway, which opened in 1967 and is located on the west side of Rutland County, has evolved from a dirt to a paved track, now one of the state’s premiere racing destinations for NASCAR fans.

Earlier in this year, a sold-out crowd of more than 370 stock car drivers, team members, race officials, sponsors, fan clubs, and media put continued on page 117 ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

Rutland County,Vt. Vince Quenneville Jr. of Brandon, Vt., (second from left) accepts the Asphalt Modified division championship from Shawn Greb of Bond Auto Parts (second from right) and Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s Austin Bruno (left) and Alayne Bruno (right).

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Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 115

Steve Miller of Vergennes, Vt., accepts the Asphalt Late Model division’s Sportsmanship Award.

onship from Late Model division champi (center) accepts the Asphalt t). (righ o Brun ne Alay s ay’ edw Josh Masterson of Bristol, Vt., cles (left) and Devil’s Bowl Spe orcy Mot ont Verm tral Cen of Amy Hults

116 | North Country Living Magazine | Vol. 5 No. 1

ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

Scott FitzGerald of West Rutland, Vt., accepts the Asphalt Renegade division’s Most Improved Driver Award.

Brian Bishop of Bridport, Vt., (center) accepts the Dirt Mini Stock division cha from Mike Clark of Portlan mpionship d Glass (right) and Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s Austin Bruno (left).

Several special annual awards were also presented, including the track’s highest honor, the John Bruno Award.

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the cap on the 2015 Devil’s Bowl Speedway racing season at the track’s annual Banquet of Champions.

The event was hosted by the Holiday Inn Rutland-Killington in Rutland, and officially crowned the season champions in eight different divisions at the speedway located in West Haven on Route 22A. Several special annual awards were also presented, including the track’s highest honor, the John Bruno Award. The trophy was shared by Debbie Eddy of Fair Haven, Vt., and posthumously by her longtime partner, Ron White, in recognition of their significant lifetime contributions to racing while maintaining high standards of conduct and respect on and off the track.

Other asphalt track champions included Josh Masterson of Bristol, Vt., in the Central Vermont Motorcycles Late Models; Robert Gordon of Milton, Vt., in the Brileya’s Chrysler-Jeep Renegades; and Chris LaVair of Gabriels, N.Y., in the Portland Glass Mini Stocks. continued on page 118 nclmagazine.com

Vol. 5 No. 1 | North Country Living Magazine | 117

Masterson and LaVair were each their first-time champs in their respective divisions, while Gordon’s title was his third in four years. Rookie of the Year titles went to Bob Kilburn of Fair Haven, Vt., (Modified), Richard Lowrey III of Charlotte, Vt., (Late Model), Matt Monaghan of Colchester, Vt., (Renegade), and Bradley Bertrand of Ferrisburgh, Vt., (Mini Stock).

Darrell Older of Ballston Spa, N.Y., and Brian Bishop of Bridport, Vt., also won dirt championships. Older’s title was in the Renegade division, while Bishop topped the Mini Stocks. Brett Wood of Georgia, Vt., collected his first title in the MFT Sauce & Rub Co. Enduro Series, which holds races on both track surfaces at Devil’s Bowl.

The Award of Excellence was given to racing mainstay and Sunoco Race Fuels dealer John Holland of New England Racing Fuels, while the Dedication Award was presented to longtime Devil’s Bowl Speedway track official Nick Lussier, a veteran of 45 years at his hometown facility.

Sportsmanship Awards were given to drivers from each division on both the asphalt and dirt, as determined by a vote of their peers. On the asphalt side, awards went to Bob Kilburn (Modified), Steve Miller (Late Model), Robert Gordon (Renegade), and Chuck Bradford (Mini Stock), while dirt trophies went to Billy Lussier (Sportsman Modified), Matt Mosher (Renegade), and Chris Cardarelli (Mini Stock).

Most Improved Driver laurels, also voted on by drivers, were bestowed upon asphalt racers Billy Lussier (Modified), Seth Bridge (Late Model), Scott FitzGerald (Renegade), and Kyle Sorensen (Mini Stock).

Bonus and contingency awards were also presented on behalf of Bond Auto Parts, Central Vermont Motorcycles, Portland Glass, Five Star Race Car Bodies, Shiley Fabrication, Crazy Horse Racing, American Racer Tires, The University of Northwestern Ohio, and NASCAR. Check It Out: Devil’s Bowl Speedway is a nearly half-mile auto racing track in West Haven, Vt. It is the longest length of Vermont’s Big Three raceways. For a 2016 racing season schedule, call 802-265-3112 or visit the website at devilsbowlspeedwayvt.com.

Richard Lowrey III of Charlotte, Vt., (center) accepts the Asphalt Late Model division’s Rookie of the Year Award from Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s Austin Bruno (left) and Alayne Bruno (right).

Chuck Bradford of Addison, Vt., (center) accepts the Asphalt Mini Stock division’s Sportsmanship Award from Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s Austin Bruno (left) and Alayne Bruno (right).

Justin St. Louis and Lou Varricchio contributed to this story.

Bradley Bertrand of Ferrisburgh, Vt., (center) accepts the Asphalt Mini Stock division’s Rookie of the Year Award from Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s Austin Bruno (left) and Alayne Bruno (right).

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ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

MILE HIGH Fluffy Walnut Pie “Just a little bit of heaven on a plate” ~ Actual quote from someone eating the pie!

This pie will impress family and friends alike and only you will know how quick and easy it is to prepare!

The best part is you can make it as much as a month in advance.

Prep time 10 min • Freeze 2+ hours

Assemble Ingredients:

8 oz package Cream Cheese (room temperature) 14 oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk 1- 4 serving package Vanilla Instant Pudding (dry powder) 3/4 cup Ice Water 16 oz container Non-Dairy Whipped Topping (thawed) 1½ cups Walnuts (chopped, toasted, cooled & divided) Pre-made Graham Cracker Crust Caramel Topping for drizzle (optional)

In a large mixing bowl:

• Beat cream cheese until fluffy • Slowly beat in sweetened condensed milk until mixture is smooth.

• Mix in pudding powder and on low speed add the 3/4 cup water (ICE REMOVED).

• Continue to mix until free of lumps.

• Carefully fold in 1 to 1/4 cup cooled walnuts (reserving 1/4 to top finished pie) and all of the non dairy topping.

• Carefully spoon into the graham cracker crust piling it higher in the middle.

• Set uncovered in the freezer for 2 hours.

To serve:

Drizzle with caramel topping.

Yields 6 to 8 servings.

This pie freezes beautifully. After the pie has frozen for about two hours, cover securely with aluminum foil and store up to one month.

Allow to thaw for 20-30 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

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ncliving@suncommunitynews.com

WINTER EVENTS 2016

Arts & Entertainment

Adirondack Region Through Saturday, April 30

events

GLENS FALLS — The World Awareness Children’s Museum - Spectral Beauty exhibition features specially selected art from children living with an autism spectrum disorder. Interactive changes have been made to Count Me In and the World Music Gallery. There will be hands-on art featuring ishy, squishy and gooey supplies, and also there will be sensory sensitive days in the Museum. For more information call 518-793-2773 or visit worldchildrensmuseum.org. Museum hours are Thursday through Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m.

Through Thursday, June 2 SCHROON — Giant Mountain Studio presents Abstraction and Dimension. The Abstraction and Dimension invitational, group exhibition features art with elements of abstraction and three dimensional art including sculpture, pottery, assemblage, rustic furniture and more.

Robert James Hacunda is the featured artist for this exhibition. He is a career oil painter who maintains a studio and property in Ironville. Other artists include Barry Gregson, Sandra Hildreth, Merrell Leavitt, Jon Segan, Peter Shrope, Jonathan Swartwout and more. In total more than 25 local Adirondack and regional artists will have their work on display for this exhibition.

For more information visit giantmountainstudio.com, Facebook, or call 518-351-5043. Summer Hours from midJune to Labor Day weekend are Monday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 12:30 to 5 p.m., and by appointment.

Through Wednesday, Aug. 31 GLENS FALLS — El Sueno/The Dream of America will be on display at the Folkife Gallery at Crandall Public Library, 251 Glen Street. This photo exhibition of local North Country Latino immigrant workers residing in northern Saratoga, Washington and Warren counties showcasing the separation and sacrifice in their lives. For more information call 518-792-6508 ext. 237 or visit crandalllibrary.org. The hours are Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday Library hours.

Through Sunday, May 8 GLENS FALLS — The Hyde Collection presents the Other Rockwell: Douglass Crockwell a community exhibition organized by The Hyde Collection features twenty-five works received from community members and selected by the

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Hyde Director Erin Coe and Assistant Curator Susan Bishop.

Mr. Crockwell was a founding trustee of The Hyde Collection, and acted as its first director. He was famous for his illustrations created for such national publications as The Saturday Evening Post, Life, Look, and Esquire. Although not as famous as Norman Rockwell, they enjoyed a friendly rivalry and admired each other’s work. Mr. Crockwell lived and worked in Glens Falls from 1932 until his death in 1968.

As with Rockwell, he used family and friends, local residents and landmarks as models for his illustrations. For more information 518-792-1761 or visit hydecollection.org/exhibitions/The_Other_Rockwell_Douglass_Crockwell_575.htm.

The hours are Tuesday thru Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday noon to 5 p.m., and closed Monday and most national holidays.

Saturday, April 2 through Saturday, April 30 NORTH CREEK — Fiber Arts and Photography Exhibit held at Tannery Pond Community Center. For more information and times, please call 518-251-2505.

Saturday, April 9 through Sunday, May 1 GLENS FALLS — The 25th Annual Juried High School Show will be held at the Hyde Collection from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Each year, students from Warren, Washington, Saratoga, Hamilton, and Essex counties submit their work to be reviewed and selected by a jury composed of local art professionals. The exhibition presents 100 works chosen from more than 1,000 entries, showcasing the talent and creativity of our regional high school art students. For more information please call 518-792-1761.

Sunday, April 10 TICONDEROGA — “Building 18th Century Redoubts” a part of the Fort Fever Series will be held at Fort Ticonderoga at 2 p.m. Delve into the tools, materials, and mathematics employed in constructing a redoubt. Begin with a theoretical look at redoubt construction through 18thcentury treatises, then dive into a practical view by examining the original earthworks that still remain at Fort Ticonderoga. Admission is $10 per person and free for children 4 years old and younger. Details: 518-585-2821.

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SPRING EVENTS 2016

Arts & Entertainment

WADHAMS — Come to the Waffle Frittata Extravaganza being held at the Dogwood Bread Company from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Adults cost $12. This is a fundrasier for the Wadhams Free Library. For more information call 518-962-88717.

Tuesday, April 12 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 518572-3026.

Wednesday, April 13 TICONDEROGA — Sip and 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. This fun filled evening is free of charge. Join us for any one evening or for all. Space is limited. Sign up by calling 518-570-8055 or by emailing yourquiltshoppe@gmail. com. Spend some creative time with friends, drink some wine, relax, and let your creative juices flow.

children under 12, and $20 for a family. All proceeds from the production go to benefit the WCS Drama Club. For more information call 518-962-8909.

Friday, April 15 through Sunday, April 17 WILLSBORO — The Willsboro Drama Club presents “Proof,” A Drama by David Auburn in the Willsboro Central School Auditorium. The productions will be Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. The cast stars Max Longware as Robert, Taressa Lacey as Catherine, Connor Sheehan as Hal and Payton Gough as Claire. The play is directed by Derrick A. Hopkins, and assistant directed by Makayla Anson and Erinn Walker.

The drama takes place on the eve of her twenty-fifth birthday, Catherine, a troubled young woman, has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, a famous mathematician. Now, following his death, she must deal

Friday, April 15 TICONDEROGA — Herbal History of the Adirondacks presented by the Ticonderoga Historical Society will be held at the Hancock House. Renowned teacher and herbalist Nancy Scarzello talks about the Herbal History of the Adirondacks which looks at how Native Americans and early white settlers utilized native plants as medicinal preparations and how this has led to a contemporary herbal culture that continues to thrive today.

For more information and time, please call 518-585-7868.

Friday, April 15 and Saturday, April 16 WESTPORT — The Westport Central School Drama Club will present Annie, the musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie. The club’s spring production is directed by Diana Mcguigan-George and will be performed Friday at 7 p.m., and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Admission is $7 for an adult, $5 for seniors and

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The Westport Drama Club will present Annie, the musical on Friday, April 15 and Saturday, April 16.

Admission is $7 for an adult, $5 for seniors and children under 12 or $20 for a family.

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QUEENSBURY — The Rotary 5K and Corporate Challenge is being held at SUNY Adirondack beginning at 10 a.m. Calling on all runners and walkers! Hosted by the Glens Falls Rotary. The course is mostly flat and fast with just one small hill. This year the club has selected the Chapman Historical Museum and the Greater Glens Falls Senior Citizen Center to be the beneficiaries of the event. Details: 518-798-4856.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Peppertree Rescue’s ninth Annual Furry Fun Run will be held at the Warming Hut at Saratoga National Park starting at 8:15 a.m. The Furry Fun Run was the first 5k in the area to welcome dogs on a certified 5K course and it is a do not miss event! If you are not up for running walkers are always welcome too. Day-of-registration is $35 so do not forget to register online before April 14th - registration is just $25 until March 16th, then it is $30 online! Proceeds of this event go to benefit the dogs of Peppertree Rescue and support the work the rescue does.

For more information and online registration, please visit peppertree.org or call 518-435-7425.

CROWN POINT — The Crown Point Memorial Day Committee will be holding their annual dinner and silent auction at the Crown Point

Sunday, April 17 LAKE GEORGE — The Lake George Community Band Spring Concert will be held at Lake George High School from 3 to 4:30 p.m. For more information, please call 518207-6335.

JOHNSBURG — A Folk Art Workshop will be held at the Town of Johnsburg Library from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students will make a Folk Art Style Quilt. Material list will be supplied when attendees call to register. Free Event. Class limit is 10.

Beginners to Experienced. This event is made possible, in part, with public funds from the NYS Council on the Arts Decentralization Program and Warren County, administered by LARAC. Details and registration: 518-251-4343.

GLENS FALLS — The Neave Piano Trio will perform at The Hyde Collection. Members Anna Williams, violin; Mikhail Veselov, cello, and Toni James, piano. are performers who have enjoyed international success at recital and festival performances in the United States, Canada, South America, the United Kingdom, and Europe. As well as recent performances in Guatemala, Belgium and Russia, and a recital appearance at the British Embassy in Oslo, Norway. Nominated by the Boston Phoenix as the “Best of Boston”. For more information and time, please call 518-792-2383.

Arts & Entertainment

Saturday, April 16

Fire Hall. For more information visit their Facebook page; Crown Point Memorial Day Celebration.

SPRING EVENTS 2016

with her own volatile emotions; the arrival of her estranged sister, Claire; and the attentions of Hal, a former student of her father’s who hopes to find valuable work in the 103 notebooks that her father left behind. Over the long weekend that follows, a burgeoning romance and the discovery of a mysterious notebook draw Catherine into the most difficult problem of all: How much of her father’s madness—or genius—will she inherit?

The cost for the play is $6. For more information email Derrick Hopkins at dhopkins@willsborocsd.org.

Monday, April 18 RUTLAND, Vt — The Rutland Free Library will host their Book Sale from 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Thousands of gently used hard cover and paperback books, puzzles, CDs, DVDs for all ages! All proceeds go to support library collections and activities. Details: 802-773-1860.

The Neave Piano Trio will perform at the Hyde Collection on Saturday, April 16.

Photo by Mark Roemisch

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Tuesday, April 19 NORTH CREEK — The annual Pond Skimming Contest will be held at Gore Mountain beginning at 9 a.m. Get goofy, get wet and have fun! Three age categories with an awards ceremony following. Each participant gets one splash. There will be a Costume Judgethe most important of all!

DRESS UP! There will be a judge for Splash, a judge for Skim Distance, and a judge for Overall Performance.

Costume scores will break any ties,

A history lecture on the great forts of Lake George will be held at the Fort William Henry Conference Center on Friday, April 22.

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followed by Overall Performance, Splash, & then Skim Distance. Admission is $5. For more information, please call 518-251-2411.

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 518572-3026.

Thursday, April 21 LAKE PLACID — The Lake Placid Center for the Arts presents Some Like it Hot starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon as part of their Throwback Thursday Film Series at 7 p.m. Tickets are $2 and are available at the door.

For more information, and to purchase tickets, please call 518-523-2512 or visit lakeplacidarts.org.

WESTPORT — There will be a community dinner held at the Westport Federated Church from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Take outs will be available.

Friday, April 22 PLATTSBURGH — The Celtic Crafter will be at the CVPH Spring Craft Show from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Vendors are wanted. For more information, visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/events/961292090627461.

TICONDEROGA — A History Program hosted by the Ticonderoga Historical Society will be held at the Hancock House Museum. Robert Lamb offers a look at the WWII Battle of the North Cape, one of the last big battleship naval encounters between Great Britain and Germany. For more information, call 518-585-7868.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Not Too Far From Home Comedy Tour will be held at the Saratoga-Wilton Elks Lodge #161 at 7:30 p.m. Enjoy a night of great comedy and help raise money for the Saratoga Warhorse Foundation, which helps veterans adjust to post-military life! Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Details and tickets: 518584-2585.

LAKE GEORGE — The French and Indian War Society presents a history lecture “The Great Forts of Lake George” at the Fort William Henry Conference Center. The southern tip of Lake George is home to some of the greatest forts in the United States, dating chiefly to the French and Indian War, but with some sites reoccupied during the American Revolution. Fort William Henry, Fort George and Fort Gage were pivotal in the formation of our country, and both Fort William Henry and Fort Gage have seen major archaeological projects over the years that have aided greatly in their interpretation. Presented by Dr. David Starbuck, Associate Professor of Anthropology Plymouth State University, Plymouth, New Hampshire and SUNY Adirondack, Queensbury, New York Archaeology Field School. Dr. Starbuck specializes in the archaeology of America’s forts and battlefields.

He is the author of 14 books including The Legacy of Fort William Henry, The Great Warpath, Massacre at Fort William Henry and Excavating the Sutler’s House. For more information, please call 518-964-6626.

WESTPORT — There will be a Pasta and Praise casual family meeting at the Federated Church. The meal begins at 5:30 p.m. The singing and praise music begins at 6:15 p.m.

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Friday, April 22 through Sunday, April 24 ST. ALBANS, Vt — All the usual delights of the festival will happen at the 50th annual Vermont Maple Festival. There will be antiques, crafts and specialty foods along with fiddlers, comedy and youth talent shows.

The Exhibit Hall will be filled with maple syrup and maple cooking contests, maple cream frosted doughnuts, maple creemees and other maple treats. There will also be pancake breakfasts, a maple dinner and sugarhouse tours. The kids activities include face painting and the sap run foot race. There will be free entertainment on Main Street along with a colorful carnival, the St. Albans Historic Museum, maple cotton candy and more food treats from the Main Street vendors. There will be a maple beverage tasting, Vermont’s renowned sugar-onsnow, the grand old Taylor Park with a carousel, a newly rebuilt fountain and places to picnic. There will be intriguing shops downtown and the two hour parade with floats, bands and colorful costumed characters.

But that’s not all, there will be some 50th anniversary surprises! For a schedule of events and more information call 802-524-5800 or visit VTMapleFestival.org.

Saturday, April 23 PLATTSBURGH — The City of Plattsburgh is excited to announce the return of Most on the Coast, an Adirondack Coast Market Day, at the Crete Civic Center, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Most on the Coast is a diverse showcase of the best that our region has to offer, including handmade crafts, local artists, food vendors, beer and wine tasting, live music and a kids area.

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Booth space is available and can be reserved online at plattsburghrecreation.com. Vendors Interested in participating in this event can register at plattsburghrecreation.com.

For questions and more information contact Sandra Geddes at geddess@cityofplattsburgh-ny.gov or 518-536-7458. All exhibitors must check in at the registration area located in the lobby of the Crete Civic Center before setting up.

RUTLAND, Vt — Vermont Maturity Magazine is proud to present the fifth annual Central Vermont 50+ EXPO at the Holiday Inn from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The EXPO is a day of fun and learning designed for Vermonters age 50 and older, though all ages are welcome to attend. This free event includes more than 40 exhibitors offering useful information and giveaways, as well as workshops focusing on travel, health and wellness!

Plus a live art demonstration with renowned artist Peter Huntoon. For more information email vermontmaturity@aol.com, or call 802-872-9000 x18.

Saturday, April 23 to Sunday, April 24 SARATOGA SPRINGS — Chase Con Expo will be held at Saratoga City Center at 10 a.m. each day. This is Upstate NY’s Comic Con! There will be amazing talent in the form of celebrities and artists, as well as fun activities including panels, science fiction/fantasy, Cosplay and gaming contests. Tickets are $15 for one day pass or $25 for a weekend pass. Please call 518-593-4412 for tickets and additional information.

Sunday, April 24 QUEENSBURY — The 2016 Walk/Run for Kidneys will be held at SUNY Adirondack from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Registration begins at 9 a.m., Run/Walk begins at 10 a.m. Time to put on our walking shoes, and raise awareness for those with Kidney disease. This event comprises of a 5k run and walk. Participants and their families can come out to share in the fun, to increase awareness of Kidney disease. Patients and their families join hand in hand to walk the “extra” mile for their cause. All are welcome to come support this annual event.

Registration fee is $25. For more information, please call 518-533-7880.

LAKE GEORGE — The Lake George Half Marathon - 5K Fun Run will be held Fort William Henry Resort beginning at 9 a.m. The Lake George Half Marathon is a challenging course run out and back along the west coast of beautiful Lake George. The accompanying 5K will give family and friends of the half marathoners a chance to run their own race. All runners will be treated to a first class experience featuring Race|Result Chip Timing; technical shirts for all Half marathoners; t-shirts for all 5K runners; finisher medals for half marathoners; pint glasses to overall and age group winners; six water stops; post race refreshments including fresh fruit and pastries; a top notch make-your-own goodie bag; and much more. For more information, please call 603-429-8879.

JOHNSBURG — A Folk Art Workshop will be held at the Town of Johnsburg Library from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Students will make a Pennsylvania Dutch Tole Painting. Students will learn the history of this art as they practice brush strokes. Students will then be given a choice of breadboard or plaque to paint a design in this traditional style. When completed, boards will be sealed with a fast-drying polyurethane and then be taken home. This event is made possible, in part, with public funds from the NYS Council on the Arts Decentralization Program and Warren County, administered by LARAC. Details and registration: 518-251-4343.

Monday, April 25 and Tuesday, April 26

Chase Con Expo will be held at the Saratoga City Center on Saturday, April 23 and Sunday, April 24. This is upstate NY’s Comic Con!

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UPSTATE NEW YORK REGION — The Youth Hunt for Wild Turkey Weekend is open and available to youth ages 12-15 holding a hunting licenses and turkey permit. All youth hunters must be accompanied by an adult who holds a current hunting license and turkey permit. The youth turkey hunt is for spring turkey only. Shooting hours are from half hour before sunrise to noon.

For more information, please visit dec.ny.gov.

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Friday, April 29 LAKE GEORGE — The Annual Rachael Ray Benefit Cooking Show will be held at Lake George High School from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Pre-Show Pets & People Food Exchange, book sale, recipe handout, cooking show Q&A, book signing and photo op with Rachael Ray and more. Proceeds benefit 2015 Graduate Applicants and school projects. Tickets cost $25 per person and must be purchased in advance. For more information, please call 518-747-1251.

RUTLAND, Vt — The Rutland Free Library will host their Annual Tables of Content Dinner in the Fox Room from 5 to 8 p.m. An elegant dinner is served a distinguished group of authors from around the state. Authors move from table to table with each course and there’s a reception & book signing to start the evening. Tickets are $115 per person. For more information and reservations, please call 802-773.1860.

Saturday, April 30 QUEENSBURY — The fifth Annual Lake George Music Festival Dinner and Dance Benefit will be held at the Great Escape Lodge at 6 p.m. Cocktail reception, all-inclusive sit down dinner, silent auction and raffles, and live entertainment and dancing with Danny Lombardo. The proceeds of this event’s ticket sales and silent auction will benefit their 2016 activities including the 11-day festival in August and roster of over 70 talented young musicians. By attending the benefit, you get a fantastic evening of music, food and drink, plus the pleasure of knowing that you have helped support arts and culture in our community. Tickets are $45 per person.

Details and tickets are available by calling 518791-5089.

GLENS FALLS — The Glens Falls Wing Fest will be held at participating restaurants from noon to 3 p.m. Visit local restaurants, sample their wings, and vote for your favorite! For details and a list of participating restaurants, please call 518-232-1290.

LAKE GEORGE — The Prospect Mountain Road Race will begin at the Lake George Forum at 9 a.m. This is a 5.67 mile race UP 1,601 ft to summit of Prospect Mountain - it’s just one hill! This run benefits Michelle Lafontaine ACC Nursing Scholarship Fund and Under the Woods Foun-

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Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1 LAKE LUZERNE/HADLEY — The Maple in April Festival will take place on Rockwell and Stony Creek Roads in Hadley from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. This annual event celebrates the ADK maple season. There’s lots of maple goodies and just “sweet” fun for everyone at the 13th annual Maple in April Festival along Rockwell Street. The two day event is a great family activity in which the whole family will enjoy--car show for Dad, crafts for Mom and a variety of fun activities such as inflatables, face painting and pony rides for the kids! Food vendors keep the energy high through out the day. Free Admission.

For more information, please call 518-696-2711.

Lake George native Rachel Ray will host her annual benefit cooking show at Lake George High School on Friday, April 29.

Arts & Entertainment

WARRENSBURG — A “Turkey Hunting Tactics” Workshop will be held at the Warrensburg DEC Office at 7 p.m. Wildlife Biologists Melissa Neely and Mike Clark will provide information on the biology and status of the Wild Turkey in NY; how to scout birds and choose a hunting location; choosing hunting gear and clothing; and turkey calling. Details: 518-6231200.

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.

dation. Top 3 overall males and females; top 3 males and females in five year age groups. Please note: no dogs allowed on the course. For more information and registration, please visit adirondackrunners.com PLATTSBURGH — The Adirondack District Cub Scout Pinewood Derby will be racing at the Champlain Centre mall. Registration begins at 10 a.m. 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. All racers must use an official BSA official pinewood derby car kit with the offiical BSA wheels and nail type axels. This is open for boys ages 6-10 (first grade to Fifth grade) Advance registration is recommended but not mandatory at trcscouting.org/Adirondack/Events/2016ADKPinewood.

For more information contact Randy at 518-569-3421.

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Tuesday, April 26

SPRING EVENTS 2016

Arts & Entertainment

ESSEX, Vt — Come visit both the Spring Craft show and the Spring Antique Expo and Sale all day! Both shows give the shopper the opportunity of finding that unique gift or decorative item they have been looking for. The antique show brings established antique and vintage collectible dealers and individual sellers together. Saturday goes from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday goes from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission to both the Vermont Spring Antique Expo and Sale and the 20th Annual Spring Craft Show is $7, children under 12 are free. For more information visit vtcrafts.com.

Sunday, May 1 PLATTSBURGH — The H&H Fine Arts Studio will be holding a Pre-NYSSMA concert from 2 until 3:30 p.m. For more information visit goo.gl/tTXnd8.

PLATTSBURGH — Head to the 6th annual Plattsburgh Half Marathon at 8 a.m.! Registration is limited to 1000 runners so please make sure to register early! There will also be spots opened for relay teams this year, offering a two person relay at distances of 6.5 miles (approx) each. People can register now at goo.gl/MHwGT7.

INLET — Pizza Eating Contest sponsored by Screamen Eagle Pizza and Matt’s Draft House will be held at Screamen Eagle Pizza/Matt’s Draft House from 5 to 8 p.m. Singles and doubles competition. Prizes and trophies awarded. For more information, please call 315-357-6026.

JOHNSBURG — A folk Art Workshop will be held at the Town of Johnsburgh Library from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Students will make a Nature Inspired Candle Holder. Students will create flowers from corn husks, pine cones and other natural materials. Created flowers will then be used to ornament a small moss covered jar which will then be embellished with twigs and finished with a tealight candle.

Ages 12 to adult. This event is made possible, in part, with public funds from the NYS Council on the Arts Decentralization Program and Warren County, administered by LARAC. Details and registration: 518251-4343.

MIDDLEBURY, Vt — The Middlebury Maple Run - The Sweetest Half will be held at Porter Medical Center starting at 9 a.m.

This is a USATF-certified half marathon and two person relay.

Beautiful, scenic course of the Green Mountains and Adirondacks. 50/50 mix of paved and dirt roads. Well organized, great t-shirts, live music on course, post-race pancake breakfast with VT maple syrup. One of New England’s “must do” races. For more information and to register, please visit www.middleburymaplerun.com or call 802-388-7951.

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MIDDLEBURY, Vt — The Performing Arts Series collaborates with the Bach Festival again with a keyboard performance of Nathan Laube at 3 p.m. Laube will treat audiences to a Bach program that celebrates Mead Chapel’s 45-year-old Gress-Miles organ. He offers a pre-concert lecture at 2:15 p.m. Tickets are $20 Public, $15 Middlebury ID holders and $6 Middlebury students. For more information and tickets call 802-443-3168 or email cfa@middlebury.edu.

Tuesday, May 3 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 518572-3026.

Wednesday, May 4 INLET — Community Pride Day sponsored by local businesses will be held in Thendara, Old Forge, Eagle Bay, Big Moose, Inlet, Raquette Lake, Blue Mountain Lake, Long Lake, Indian Lake, Piseco, Lake Pleasant & Speculator. Members of the community get together to clean up the streets and get ready for a prosperous summer. All participants receive a shirt and lunch. For more information, please call 315-357-5501.

LAKE PLACID — The Lake Placid Center for the Arts presents the Olate Dogs at 7 p.m.

The Olate Dogs are a high-energy, fast-paced canine theatrical act filled with amazing dog tricks, human acrobat-

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ics and humor. Tickets are $25 for Adults and $15 for Students and Children. For more information and to purchase tickets, please call 518-523-2512 or visit lakeplacidarts.org.

RUTLAND, Vt — From farm fresh veggies and fruits to artisan cheeses, handcrafted breads, maple syrup, Vermont crafts, jars of every type, and more, the Downtown Farmers’ Market is a one-stop shop all summer long from 3 to 6 p.m. For more information call 802342-4727 or summermarketmanager@vtfarmersmarket.org.

Middlebury’s Bach Festival will bring organist Nathan Laube to town on Sunday, May 1.

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Wednesday, May 4 and Thursday, May 5 PLATTSBURGH — “Ringing Down the Curtain — Performance in Progress” are student performances from Introduction to Acting, Movement, and other classes. Selections vary each night in the Hartman Theatre, Myers Fine Arts Building, beginning at 7 p.m. The event is free.

If you would like more information about the theatre program at SUNY Plattsburgh, contact W. Kim Hartshorn at 518-564-2478 or email hartshwk@plattsburgh.edu.

Arts & Entertainment

Wednesday, May 4 through Sunday, May 29 NORTH CREEK — Wildernessscapes - Johnanthan Esper’s large format photography exhibit held at Tannery Pond Community Center. For more information and times, please call 518-251-2505.

Thursday, May 5 TICONDEROGA — The Ticonderoga Elementary School Spring Concert and Art Show will take place at the Ticonderoga Elementary School starting at 7 p.m. Come out to support the elementary students, enjoy a wonderful concert and view some amazing art! For more information, please call

Country music star Justin Moore will appear at the Glens Falls Civic Center on Friday, May 6.

518-585-6619.

LAKE PLACID — The Lake Placid Center for the Arts presents Concerto - A Beethoven Journey at 7 p.m. Filmed over the course of four years, this film followed leading concert pianist Leif Ove Andsnes’s attempt to understand and interpret one of the greatest sets of works for piano ever written: Beethoven’s five piano concertos. Tickets are $14 Adults and $10 Students. For more information and to purchase tickets, please call 518-523-2512 or visit lakeplacidarts.org.

Thursday, May 5 through Sunday, May 8 MIDDLEBURY, Vt — Middlebury College Theatrical Department presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare directed by Claudio Medeiros at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $12, $10, $6 and go on sale Monday, April 18. For more information and to purchase tickets, please call the Box Office at 802-443-6433.

Friday, May 6 TICONDEROGA — The Ticonderoga Historical Society presents “From the Adirondacks to the Arctic” at the Hancock House Museum. From the Adirondacks to the Arctic examines the life and accomplishments of pioneering local aviator, Floyd Bennett, who piloted Admiral Byrd on his historic -and controversial 1926 flight over the North Pole. Historical Society President Bill Dolback brings to life the valuable contributions of pioneering aviator Floyd Bennett. For more information, please call 518-585-7868.

TICONDEROGA — Shopping and Dining Night will be held at participating businesses and restaurants throughout Ticonderoga. A variety of specials, promotions and more will be offered. Fore more information and a list of participating businesses and restaurants, please call 518585-6619.

TICONDEROGA — Shopping and Dining Night will be held at participating businesses and restaurants throughout Ticonderoga. A variety of specials, promotions and more will be offered. Fore more information and a list of participating businesses and restaurants, please call 518585-6619.

GLENS FALLS — Justin Moore, American Country Music Star, will appear live at the Glens Falls Civic Center at 7:30 p.m. To purchase tickets or for more information, please call the Box Office at 1-855-432-2849.

BOLTON LANDING — The Double H Ranch Golf Pro-Am and Chef’s Dinner will be held at the Sagamore Resort beginning at 8:30 a.m. Will you choose to hit the links for a Pro-Am (four amateurs and a Pro) on a legendary Donald Ross course, OR enjoy an extravagant Chef’s Dinner later that evening? For more information, cost and registration, please call Robin DeMatteos at 518-696-5921, ext. 228.

SARANAC LAKE — Join us for the sixth annual Daffest Try Mine Pastry Contest, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sign up for the derby and have free pastries!

Friday, May 6 through Sunday, May 8 SARANAC LAKE — The annual Daffest celebrates the coming of spring with the bloom of thousands of daffodil bulbs all throughout the Saranac Lake area. Each year the number of bulbs increase as the celebration grows. In addition to

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PLATTSBURGH — Join in the Autism Awareness Walk at the Clinton County Fairgrounds, at 9:30 a.m. To volunteer please email volunteer@aaneny.org. For more information see our facebook page at facebook.com/events/780762325401132.

TICONDEROGA — Fort Ticonderoga opens for the 2016 Season! Every day is an event at Fort Ticonderoga and every year is a new experience. It is the only site in the world that tells a new story each year through dynamic historical interpretation and exhibitions, bringing to life its epic story as the key to the continent in the 18th cen- tury.

For more information, please call 518-5852821.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame presents the Derby Party! The event will be held at the museum from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. This year’s theme is all things Kentucky, featuring delicious samplings of local brews and spirits, as well as signature Kentucky inspired dishes and drinks from local restaurants, live music, and a live airing of the Kentucky Derby in the sport’s Official Hall of Fame. Guests are encouraged to dress to impress, as an award for the most fashionable Derby attire will be presented. Also, there’s always a chance to win with our race-day inspired raffle! For more information, please call 518584-0400, ext. 109.

MALONE — The Alice Hyde Medical Center Color Your Hyde 5K will start at the Franklin County Fairgrounds and travel around the hospital. For more information and registration, please call 518-483-3000.

WESTPORT — The Dan McCormick 5K Run/Walk will begin at the Westport Inn beginning at 10 a.m. This is an annual fund raiser which helps support the local track team from EKMW (Elizabethtown, Keene, Moriah and Westport). Registration free is $20. For more information and registration, please visit adirondackcoastevents.com.

BURLINGTON, Vt — Join the 31st annual Kids Day all day event! Come for the parade, stay for crafts, games, bucket truck rides, zumba lessons and sports demos. Kids of all ages can participate. See the art exhibits, performances, booths and other activities all celebrating our youngest citizens!

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Day of celebration of children and for children. For more information call 802-862-8869.

RUTLAND, Vt — From farm fresh veggies and fruits to artisan cheeses, handcrafted breads, maple syrup, Vermont crafts, jars of every type, and more, the Downtown Farmers’ Market is a one-stop shop all summer long from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. For more information call 802-342-4727 or summermarketmanager@vtfarmersmarket.org.

SARANAC LAKE — Come check out the Boxcar Derby for many ages! The four age ranges are children 5-8, children 9-12, children 13-15, adult 16 and up. This is a Daffest highlighted event! Race starts promptly on George LaPan Highway at 11 a.m.

SARANAC LAKE — There will be a Pie eating contest for kids ages 5-13 and adults 14 and up at the Riverside Park immediately following the derby. For more information call 518-891-3365.

SARANAC LAKE — Join us in Riverside Park for live music and delicious food at the Festival of Balloons! This event features fair food, Paul Smith’s College bakery sale, Blue Line Brewery root beer floats, barbecue pork and more! For more information call 518-891-3365.

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the endless flower display, there is the Daffest Derby, a soap box race on a great hill. There are wine and pastry festivals, garden tours, specialty arts and crafts, along with the Saranac Lake Chamber’s “Zoom in Bloom” 5K Run/Walk through the neighborhoods of Saranac Lake. Our historic downtown offers a central location that is easily walkable and has many dining and shopping venues. Explore the lodging possibilities and see if there’s a package or special that’s right for you. It’s also a great time to get in some spring hiking. For more information visit saranaclake.com.

Watch a live airing of the Kentucky Derby at the National Museum of Racing in Saratoga on Saturday, May 7.

Saturday, May 7 and Sunday May 8 TICONDEROGA — “Carry on the Works in the Northern Army - Living History Event” held at Fort Ticonderoga from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In this two-day living history event soldiers of the Northern Continental army muster together to train and dig-in, preparing for General Burgoyne’s British and Brunswick army expected at any time. Witness these New England regulars and militia encamp, cook and entrench themselves to keep the Ticonderoga camp in American hands. Admission is Adults $20, Seniors $18.50, Children 5-12 $9, Children 4 and Under are Free. Details: 518-585-2821.

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NORTH CREEK — The Hudson River Whitewater Derby will be held in North Creek. The longest running white water derby including novice slalom, giant slalom. A weekend of Adirondack Fun! Come out and get in the water or just be a spectator. For more information, please call 518-251-2005.

Sunday May 8 GLENS FALLS — The Glens Falls Symphony - Legends of Song will be presented at the Glens Falls High School at 4 p.m. The Glens Falls Symphony welcomes guest conductor Simon Carrington, founding member of the renowned King’s Singers, for an afternoon of choral majesty with the Adirondack Voices, Queensbury High School Madrigals, and Glens Falls Symphony Children’s Chorus. For more information, please call 518-793-1348.

SARANAC LAKE — The Daffest 5K Zoom in Bloom begins at 9 a.m. Join the 5k Zoom in Bloom Daffofil Fun Run! Enjoy a 5K run or walk through our beautiful Historic district which includes Park Ave, the AMA Campus, Old Military Rd., Baker ST, the Train Depot all rich in history and architecture then it’s back to the Adirondack Carousel. Registration opens at the Adirondack Carousel at 8 a.m., race begins at 9 a.m.

The cost for adults is $20, children 12 and under are $10.

For more information call 518-891-3365.

Monday, May 9 PERU — The Peru Jr. High School Choral and Instrumental Spring Concert takes place at 7 p.m. For more information contact Todd Pray at 518-643-6499 ext. 5184.

Tuesday, May 10 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, May 11 RUTLAND, Vt — From farm fresh veggies and fruits to artisan cheeses, handcrafted breads, maple syrup, Vermont crafts, jars of every type, and more, the Downtown Farmers’ Market is a onestop shop all summer long from 3 to 6 p.m. For more information call 802-3424727 or summermarketmanager@vtfarmersmarket.org.

tion contact Todd Pray at 518-643-6499 ext. 5184.

HAGUE — Adirondack Escapes will host a Meet and Greet at Hague Community Center from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Stop by and say hello and enjoy some tasty treats and check out what we have to offer. This event is FREE and come see home much we care our community. Details: 518-5436161.

TICONDEROGA — The Taste of Ti will be held at the Best Western Plus Inn and Suites beginning at 6:00 p.m. with appetizers and dinner served at 6:30 p.m. Proceeds from this event benefit the Ticonderoga Historical Society. For more information, please call 518-585-6619.

Friday, May 13 through Saturday, May 15 THURMAN — The Thurman Townwide Sale will take place at locations throughout town during this all weekend, all day event. Trinkets to Tractors. Always a great selection offering bargains galore and lots of fun too. Pink signs will guide you to old-fashioned private yard sales. Rain or Shine! For more information, please call 518-623-9305.

Friday, May 13 through Sunday, May 22 PERU — Eat ADK Restaurant Week take place at various Adirondack restaurants. There will be one price dining through two weekends; three courses; four price points ($15, $25, $35, $55).

LAKE PLACID — Celebrate Eat Adk Week! Lake Placid restaurants will offer discounted price fixe dining during this ten day celebration of culinary exploration. All participating restaurants will be offering three course menus at fixed prices during the EAT ADK Restaurant Week celebration.

For more information and a complete list of participating restaurants, please call 518-523-2445.

The sixth annual Raptor Fest will be held at the Washington County Fairgrounds from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 14

Thursday, May 12 PERU — The Peru High School Choral and Instrumental Spring Concert takes place at 7 p.m.

For more informa-

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The Saratoga Automobile Museum will host their Spring Auto Show at the museum from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 14.

GREENWICH — Sixth annual Winter Raptor Fest is being held at the Washington County Fairgrounds from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Experience the wonder of flight as free-flying hawks and falcons demonstrate the physics of flight, habitat adaptations, and more. Washington County Grasslands Important Bird Area, including some of our most endangered species! See exciting Live Bird of Prey programs and “free-flight” demos starring some of our most majestic raptors! See and learn about endangered Short-eared Owls, threatened Northern Harriers, Bald Eagles, Ospreys, Snowy Owls, American Kestrels and many other owls, hawks and falcons. Great kids’ activities like horse-drawn sleigh/ wagon rides, crafts & games, local food vendors and more round out this fun and exciting weekend where raptors rule! Admission is Adults $10, $5 Children 12 years and under. For more information, please call 518-692-9559.

GLENS FALLS — CYCLE CIRCUS LIVE will be held at the Glens Falls Civic Center from 7:30 to 10 p.m. CYCLE CIRCUS LIVE is the largest FMX freestyle entertainment show of it’s kind in the world today by combining the top action sports athletes in the world and the theatrics of cycle circus live this is not your average FMX freestyle show. your audience will be blown away by the combination of high tech pyrotechnics music and lighting that along with our world champions of freestyle your audience will be left sitting on the edge of their seat in disbelief with what they are witnessing for you truly have to see it to believe it. Details: 518-798-0366.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Automobile Museum will host their Annual Spring Auto Show and Family Fun Day at the museum from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, please call 518-587-1935.

WARRENSBURG — Spring Zing Fishing Clinic and Open House at the Warren County Fish Hatchery. Come learn the basics of trout fishing! Family fun for all ages. Tour the Hatchery, fishing and fly fishing techniques, fly tying, stream entomology and health; demonstrations and more including lunch - hotdogs, chips and drinks. Take a chance in the raffles for fishing gear every hour! Rain or shine! For more information, please call 518-623-2877.

LAKE PLACID — Rhythmic Circus presents Feet Don’t Fail Me Now at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts at 8 p.m. Home grown hoofers from Minneapolis hit the road with a trunk full

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o f tap shoes, funky costumes and a big brass band, ready to burst onto the stage!

Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. For more information and to purchase tickets, please call 518-523-2512 or visit lakeplacidarts.org.

CHAZY — The fourth annual Strides for James Walk/Run will be held at the Miner Institute. This event supports the James Dean Wilson Scholarship. For more information and to register, please visit stridesforjames.org or adirondackcoastevents.com.

RUTLAND, Vt — From farm fresh veggies and fruits to artisan cheeses, handcrafted breads, maple syrup, Vermont crafts, jars of every type, and more, the Downtown Farmers’ Market is a one-stop shop all summer long from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. For more information call 802-342-4727 or summermarketmanager@vtfarmersmarket.org.

Saturday, May 14 and Sunday, May 15 LAKE GEORGE — The Lake George Townwide Garage Sale will take place a various locations throughout town. This is a two day, all day event. For more information, please call 518-668-5755.

Saturday, May 14 through Sunday, June 26 GLENS FALLS — Christo & Jeanne-Claude: The Tom Golden Collection Exhibit at The Hyde Collection from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. This extraordinary exhibition of over 125 original drawings, sculptures, collages, and photographs traces the career of renowned artists Christo and JeanneClaude, capturing the versatility, longevity, and international scope of the duo’s extensive career. For more information, please call 518-792-1761.

Sunday, May 15 SARATOGA SPRINGS — The SPAC Rock and Run will be held at Saratoga Performing Arts Center beginning at 7 a.m. There will be a half marathon, 50 yard dash and 5k/10k. For additional information and registration, please visit spac.org.

GLENS FALLS — The Alturas Trio will perform at The Hyde Collection. Carlos Boltes, viola and charanga and Scott Hill, guitar form the Alturas Duo, whose name is Spanish for heights, and has been recognized as one of the most engaging ensembles performing in the chamber music. Their music brings South American and classical music together with the viola, charango, and the guitar. They have per-

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formed in Brazil, Canada, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, and throughout the United States including recitals at: Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, the Smithsonian Institute, the Music Mountain Chamber Music Series, La Guitarra California. For more information, please call 518-792-2383.

RUTLAND, Vt — A Motorcycle Blessing, Scenic Ride and barbecue hosted by The Red Knights (Firefighters) Motorcycle Club (Vermont Chapter 3) and All Saints’ Anglican Church will begin at the Ponderosa on Route 7S at 10 a.m.

Registration begins at 10 a.m. in the Ponderosa Parking Lot, and the Scenic Ride departs at 11 a.m. promptly. At noon the Motorcycle Blessing will be delivered by Father Andrew Carlson of All Saints’ Anglican Church followed by a delicious barbecue provided by church volunteers. There will be live music, cash and raffle prizes! The ride and blessing are only $10 per bike (passenger included). In addition Registered Riders are entitled to participate in the barbecue for only $5 more Per Person and seconds will even be available for an additional $5 pp; so no one will leave hungry. Don’t miss this great opportunity to start off your riding season blessed! For more information, please call 802773-2828.

Tuesday, May 17 PERU — The Peru Elementary School Spring Concert takes place at 7 p.m. For more information contact Todd Pray at 518-643-6499 ext. 5184.

TICONDEROGA — The Ticonderoga High School Spring Concert will be held at Ticonderoga High School Auditorium at 7 p.m. For more information, please call 518-5856619.

WILLSBORO — Going into our 6th year, Toto’s at the Willsborough Bowling Center hosts Open M i c 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.

time. Maletta Hourigan, owner of Your Quilt Shoppe, will be happy to answer questions and help you problem solve.

This fun filled evening is free of charge. Join us for any one evening or for all. Space is limited. Sign up by calling 518570-8055 or by emailing yourquiltshoppe@gmail.com.

Spend some creative time with friends, drink some wine, relax, and let your creative juices flow.

RUTLAND, Vt — From farm fresh veggies and fruits to artisan cheeses, handcrafted breads, maple syrup, Vermont crafts, jars of every type, and more, the Downtown Farmers’ Market is a one-stop shop all summer long from 3 to 6 p.m. For more information call 802-342-4727 or summermarketmanager@vtfarmersmarket.org.

Thursday, May 19 WESTPORT — The Westport Federated Church will be serving their annual Community Dinner with take outs available from 4:30 to 6 p.m.

Thursday, May 19 through Saturday, May 21 TICONDEROGA — The Festival Guild Players will present a hilarious melodrama (title to be announced) at the Community Building at 7 p.m. For more information and tickets, please call Judy Walker at 518-585-0088.

Friday, May 20 QUEENSBURY — The Lyman A. Beeman, Jr. Golf Tournament will be held at Hiland Park Country Club from noon to 6:30 p.m. A perfect spring outing includes golf with cart, lunch, dinner reception, tournament prizes, raffles and contests throughout the day. The Lyman A. Beeman, Jr. Golf Tournament raises money to support student success at SUNY Adirondack. For more information, please call 518-743-2243.

WESTPORT — The Pasta and praise casual family evening will be held at the Westport Federated Church. The pasta meal begins at 5:30 p.m. The sing praise music begins at 6:15 p.m.

Wednesday, May 18 TICONDEROGA — Sip and Sew at Your Quilt Shoppe from 7 to 9 p.m. Bring a project you are working on and enjoy a fun

The Red Knights Motorcycle Club will host a motorcycle blessing, scenic ride and barbecue on Sunday, May 15 at the Ponderosa in Rutland, Vt.

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Friday, May 20 through Sunday, May 22 INLET — The “Otter” Paddlesports Event will be held at The Woods Inn on Fourth Lake from noon to 4 p.m. A weekend of paddlesports demos and services and sales by Frisky Otter Tours. For more information, please call 518-315-3444.

Friday, May 20 through Saturday, May 28 LAKE PLACID — The Community Theater Players present their spring musical, The Little Mermaid, a hauntingly beautiful love story for the ages. Tickets are $20 for Adults, $16 for Students and Seniors and $10 Children. For more information and to purchase tickets, please call 518-523-2512 or visit lakeplacidarts.org.

Saturday, May 21 TICONDEROGA — The New York/Vermont Champlain Bridge 5K hosted by the Lachute Road Runners will be held at the Crown Point Historical Site. Packet pick up and day of event registration. For more details and registration, please visit lachute.us or call 518-597-4666.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Brewfest (pictured below) will be held at Saratoga Race Course from 2 until 5 p.m. This three hour premium event will showcase over 200 releases from some of America’s best craft breweries. Attendees will receive

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an unlimited sampling of beers, in an atmosphere filled with live music, delicious food available for purchase, and great vendors. Tickets range in price from $45 - $70. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit eventelf.com/ events/275/tickets/new/.

SARATOGA SPRINGS —The Saratoga Automobile Museum will host the Cadillac, Buick and LaSalle Car Show at the museum from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Come see the beautiful collector cars, join in the Dinosaur barbecue and enjoy a day full of family fun! For more information, please call 518-587-1935.

BRANT LAKE - The Barney Barnhart Memorial Fishing Derby for Kids will be held at Brant Lake Mill Pond from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. This event is for kids children 15 years and under.

The pond will be stocked with fish prior to the event. Lunch at noon. Prizes will be awarded in the afternoon. FREE to all children under 16 years of age. For more information, please call 518-494-2722.

CHAZY — Join Vesco Ridge Vineyard for their second annual “Run for Wine” 5K! The race starts at the vineyard at noon and ends at the vineyard with prizes, drinks, food, and music! Register now at: adirondackcoastevents.com. For more information please email Nancy at info@vescoridge.com or call 518-846-8544.

RUTLAND, Vt — From farm fresh veggies and fruits to artisan cheeses, handcrafted breads, maple syrup, Vermont crafts, jars of every type, and more, the Downtown Farmers’ Market is a one-stop shop all summer long from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. For more information call 802-342-4727 or summermarketmanager@vtfarmersmarket.org.

Arts & Entertainment

RUTLAND, Vt — The Rutland Free Library will host their Book Sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thousands of gently used hard cover and paperback books, puzzles, CDs, DVDs for all ages! All proceeds go to support library collections and activities. Details: 802-773-1860.

WILMINGTON — The 17th annual Ausable River Two-Fly Challenge will be held on the West Branch Au Sable River.

The Two-Fly Challenge begins on Friday morning with registration and a day of fishing. Then join us Friday evening with at “get together”, fly tying demos, drinks and snacks. On Saturday participants spend up to ten hours angling on the river using just two flies. It is strictly a catch-and-release experience. Saturday concludes with a nice dinner, guest speaker, award ceremony and silent raffle. For more information and registration, please visit whitefaceregion.com/recreation or call 518-946-2255.

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Friday, May 20 and Saturday, May 21

Saturday, May 21 and Sunday, May 22 GREENWICH — The Tour of the Battenkill Valley Cycling Race will be held throughout Washington County, NY. The 12th Annual Tour of the Battenkill is North America’s largest and toughest Pro/Am cycling event, with more than 3000 racers each year. Racers compete over 65+ miles of rolling terrain on both dirt and paved roads as they travel through the world famous Battenkill Valley. Set in early spring, the race courses includes covered bridges, family farms, and rural villages along the many challenging backcountry roads that traverse Southern Washington County, New York. Specatorship is free. For more information, please call 413-314-3478.

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We’ve collected some of the best restaurants in the area.

Online restaurant directory has additional information of the all local restaurants you’ll find in this magazine; including menus, directions and more!

More restaurants listings are added regularly, be sure to bookmark our website.

The best places to eat are just a tap away!

localflavor.nclmagazine.com Scan to open directory

North Country Living Magazine is published by Sun Community News & Printing. If you would like your restaurant on our Local Flavor directory, call us at (518) 873-6368 x105