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In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, three generations of the Crego family worked as wilderness guides in the Western Adirondacks. Along the way, they raised families, worked for prominent employers, adapted to new forms of transportation, and helped lay the groundwork for the conservation movement in New York State. » Continue Reading.
Posts Tagged ‘Adirondack League Club’
The Crego Family: Three Generations of Adirondack Guides
At Levi Lumber, Logging Runs In The Family
Approaching the “landing” at the Levi Lumber job site in the Adirondack League Club is akin to landing on another planet. The drive down narrow, snow-covered roads makes one think they’ve gotten close to the end of the earth…until a large logging truck is coming from the other direction. But there are plowed turnarounds and pull-offs; safety is considered every step of the way.
After twists and turns that seem to lead to nowhere, there is a clearing full of very large machinery and equipment, and a red school bus. On the school bus are the Levi brothers; John, Jr., Dan and Jerry, eating lunch together as they have done every day for most of their lives. Their father, John, Sr., is on the top of a large truck securing logs. » Continue Reading.
A Short History Of Holls Inn, Fourth Lake
On the south shore of Fourth Lake near the Herkimer – Hamilton County boundary is Holl’s Inn. According to a real estate ad in the Adirondack Express, the three story hotel on the six-acre parcel closed in 2006. However, Holl’s Inn continued to advertise rooms and meals as late as 2008 and housekeeping cottages until 2009 in the local summer guides. The hotel sold in 2013.
Operating as Holl’s Inn since 1935, the hotel and its property has had a long history beginning with the first travelers to the head of Fourth Lake. One of those travelers was Charles Pratt of Brooklyn, NY. » Continue Reading.
Town of Inlet Beginnings (Part II)
For many property owners in Inlet, the abstract of title invariably lists James and Jennie Galvin as early, if not the first, owners. But until I began researching this narrative, I believed, as have other Inlet landowners and early 20th century newspapers, that the Galvins were sole owners of the 6,000 acres surrounding the Head of Fourth Lake. I learned that Galvin was an agent for the Fulton Chain Club and it was through his efforts that the land was sold for hotels and camps, and ultimately to the first residents of Inlet.
James Galvin, the son of an Irish immigrant, was born in 1835 in Wilna, Jefferson County. His father Edward was a successful farmer and also managed a prosperous charcoal production trade. James was listed as a farmhand and a farmer on the 1850 and 1860 censuses, respectively, but from the age of fifteen, he dealt in horses and cattle and became successful in buying stock both in New York and Canada. He commanded large credit with banks in both regions. » Continue Reading.
Adirondack Landowners Meeting In Old Forge
The Adirondack Landowners Association (ALA) will host its annual Winter Membership Meeting on December 5th and 6th at the Adirondack League Club in Old Forge.
This year’s meeting will feature a special presentation of the ALA Stewardship Award to NYS Senator Betty Little. Friday night activities will include a social reception, dinner, additional tributes and a live and silent auction. On Saturday morning a member meeting will feature a presentation by NYS DEC Senior Wildlife Biologist Paul Jensen on the department’s Pine Marten program.
The ALA was founded to “encourage continued stewardship and sound resource management of the land; to promote public awareness of the valuable role played by private landowners in the Park; to advocate laws, regulations and governmental policies that promote and facilitate good stewardship by private landowners and recognize and preserve their rights in the land.” » Continue Reading.
Unsung Adirondack Heroes: Lydia Serrell
In thinking about Adirondack unsung heroes, singer-songwriter Peggy Lynn’s powerfully moving song Lydia about Lydia Smith (wife of Paul Smith) comes to mind. I write about another Lydia who related very strongly to that song, and who did so much for the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks (AFPA). Her name was Lydia Serrell. I worked with Lydia for 18 years, and can attest that she was an extraordinary Adirondacker in her own right, and instrumental to the success of the organization.
Lydia Serrell fell in love with the Adirondacks at an early age. The daughter of Hungarian immigrants and carriage makers working in Schenectady, she was “shipped out” after her mother’s death c. 1918 to live with her mother’s sister, her Aunt Anna and Uncle Chris Kohler, at their farm in Gravesville, Town of Ohio in the southwestern Adirondacks. Lydia’s great friend Linda Champagne writes: “Lydia attended a small north country school. Her uncle, a guide in the nearby Adirondack League Club (Uncle Chris), and his wife (Aunt Anna), who had been a cook at the club, created a comfortable life for the city girl. The modest home had only a spring for water. Entertainment meant skating on ponds and reading Zane Grey novels by kerosene lantern in the evenings. When her father remarried, and she returned to Schenectady, she continued a lifelong love of hiking, touring and reading the history of the Adirondacks.” » Continue Reading.
Latest News Headlines
- Exploring a quiet side of the park
- Bionique testing lab proposes to triple in size
- The Beekeepers Who Don’t Want You to Buy More Bees
- PHOTOS: The 50th annual Adirondack Balloon Festival
- Stefanik demands plan to keep Amtrak Adirondack Line operational
- The fishing looks good at Bass Lake
- Tanker truck crash results in tarry spill
- The Reach of Wildfire Smoke Is Going Global and Undoing Progress on Clean Air
- Easement bought to protect 294 Willsboro acres, 2 miles of Boquet River shoreline
- Tens of thousands march to kick off climate summit
Latest News Headlines
- Exploring a quiet side of the park
- Bionique testing lab proposes to triple in size
- The Beekeepers Who Don’t Want You to Buy More Bees
- PHOTOS: The 50th annual Adirondack Balloon Festival
- Stefanik demands plan to keep Amtrak Adirondack Line operational
- The fishing looks good at Bass Lake
- Tanker truck crash results in tarry spill
- The Reach of Wildfire Smoke Is Going Global and Undoing Progress on Clean Air
- Easement bought to protect 294 Willsboro acres, 2 miles of Boquet River shoreline
- Tens of thousands march to kick off climate summit
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General inquiries about the Adirondack Almanack should be directed to editor Melissa Hart.
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Old Forge Garden Club Picnic: Good food, great company, loon family sighting
We got several hit or miss showers last week, some with lightning and thunder. I went down to Sand Lake at the Adirondack League Club last week with Don Andrews to check on the Loon family there. The forecast called for a clear day and no rain. It was beautiful all morning (even at 50 degrees with a little fog) as we went across Woodhull Lake. We got down to Sand Lake and rowed around the many islands there looking for a used Loon nest, but we didn’t find one with egg chips in it.
The male Loon from the pair came up to the north end to see who was on his lake. We went out into the main lake and found the female with two chicks more than half grown with mostly gray feathers. They stuck to mom like glue. The male came by, said almost nothing and went on his way, leaving the female to defend her chicks. We took a few pictures using a long lens, as the sky to the north turned rather black with a few thunder rumbles.
» Continue Reading.