Posts Tagged ‘labor’

Monday, September 23, 2019

Adirondack Paper Makers Innovated Industry

Innovative Adirondackers are responsible for countless innovations in the paper industry, according to paper historian Dr. Stephen Cernek.

Cernek is working to convert the former International Paper building in Corinth into a museum with local, regional and international support. He will be be in Luzerene to discuss Adirondack paper making pioneers and their influence on the international history of paper making. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Jay Task Force Formed To Boost Economic Vibrancy

jay covered bridgeAn effort is underway to spur economic growth in the town of Jay by growing its tourism sector and increasing the housing inventory.  Members of a newly formed Jay Task Force have been meeting since March to investigate and identify initiatives. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, June 11, 2019

40 Years of Self-Employment Trends in the Adirondacks and Rural America

The fifth major economic indicator examined in The Adirondack Park and Rural America: Economic and Population Trends 1970-2010 was changes in the self-employment rate. In 2010, the self-employment rate of the population 16 years and older in New York State stood at 5.6%, which was the same as the rate in the U.S. The U.S. Census tracks self-employment rates of the population that are incorporated and those that are non-incorporated. This study focused on the non-incorporated because the data was available going back to 1970.

In this report we aggregated the data of the 61 Adirondack Park Towns that are 100% within the Blue Line in order to compare Adirondack communities with other areas in the U.S. The purpose was to see if Adirondack communities stood out in any way from other places by studying trends of leading economic and population indicators from 1970 to 2010. In 2010, the 61 Park Towns had just over 100,000 residents, 77.4% of the Park’s estimated population of 130,000.

» Continue Reading.


Sunday, June 9, 2019

40 Years of Employment Trends in the Adirondacks

The fourth major economic indicator that was examined in The Adirondack Park and Rural America: Economic and Population Trends 1970-2010 was changes in the employment rate. In 2010, the employment rate of the population 16 years and older in New York State stood at 57.7% and in the U.S. it was 57.6%.

The U.S. Census data used does not separate full-time and part-time jobs, nor does it provide information on the quality of these jobs, benefits or health insurance, among other things. The data is for people in a given geography 16 years and older who are employed at the time of the decennial census.

» Continue Reading.


Friday, April 26, 2019

North Country at Work Event, Exhibit In Plattsburgh

The Clinton County Historical Association has announced an opening reception for the new photo and audio exhibit “Clinton County at Work” will take place Thursday, May 2, from 6 to 8 pm, at the Clinton County Historical Museum, 98 Ohio Avenue, Old Base Museum Campus in Plattsburgh. » Continue Reading.


Monday, October 22, 2018

Hudson River History: The 1903 Spier Falls Disaster (Conclusion)

In spring 1903, more than a thousand men were at work on the final stages of the Spier Falls hydropower project. A large number of skilled Italian masons and stoneworkers were housed in a shantytown on the Warren County (north) side of the river.

Most of the remaining work was on the Saratoga County (south) side, which they accessed by a temporary bridge. But the company feared that the high waters of springtime had made the bridge unsafe. To avert a potential catastrophe, they destroyed it with dynamite. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, August 23, 2018

NYCO Mine Expansion Into Wilderness Falters

NYCO mineRemember when New Yorkers approved an Adirondack land swap to keep a mine in business and its employees on the job?

It hasn’t exactly worked out as planned so far.

Five years ago voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing NYCO Minerals to pursue a mine expansion onto the Adirondack Forest Preserve on the east side of the Jay Mountain Wilderness. Local politicians backed it for its potential economic boost, while some environmentalists got on board because of a proposed land swap that could grow the preserve.

Others feared the precedent of permitting resource development in a wilderness.

As it turns out, none of it has happened. The company’s new owners never pursued the swap and have laid off workers. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Adirondack High Peaks Trail Crew Is Hiring

Adirondack Mountain Club maintains trailsDEC is looking to hire a Trail Crew Labor Supervisor and four Trail Crew Laborers to work on projects in the High Peaks Wilderness from June to October 2018.

The work is expected to focus on primitive campsite construction and restoration, trail work including drainage and blowdown removal and some bridge and ladder construction in Avalanche Pass.

What follows are the job descriptions from DEC: » Continue Reading.


Monday, October 9, 2017

Mohawk Iron Workers ‘Skydancer’ Film Screening Planned

skydancerTAUNY, Traditional Arts in Upstate New York, has invited the public to a presentation of Skydancer, a film about the Mohawk iron-workers who regularly commute from Akwesasne to New York City to work on the “high steel,” building the skyscrapers of Manhattan.

This 2011 film by Academy Award-nominated director Katja Esson follows iron-workers Jerry McDonald Thundercloud and Sky Fox as they shuttle between the hard drinking Brooklyn lodging houses they call home during the week and their family lives, a grueling drive six hours north back home to Akwesasne, NY, on the weekends. Through archival documents and interviews, it also explores the broader history of the Mohawk skywalkers, presenting the nuanced and visually stunning stories of these renowned men who, over six generations, have been traveling to New York City to work on some of the biggest construction jobs in the world. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, July 27, 2017

Mohawk Ironworkers Documentary Preview in Au Sable Forks

mohawk ironworkersThe Tahawus Center in association with the Hollywood Theater, will present episodes from the new Mohawk Ironworkers documentary on Monday, August 7, 7 pm at the Hollywood Theater, 14232 Rt 9N, in Au Sable Forks.

This film celebrates the determination of the Mohawk ironworkers of Kahnawake, Akwesasne and Six Nations. Mohawk Ironworkers was produced by Paul M. Rickard, George Hargrave, and Au Sable Fork’s Margaret Horn, who interviewed many of the characters as researcher and associate producer. The series features a team of Indigenous directors including Jeff Dorn, Margaret Horn, Courtney Montour, Paul M. Rickard, and Michelle Smith.

During this event, four episodes will be introduced by Horn, one of the directors, and one whose family has been involved in the trade for several generations. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, July 19, 2017

NYS Forest Ranger Ranks Stagnant While Workload Rises

Forest Ranger Rob Praczkajlo covers the district just east of the High Peaks Wilderness, namely the towns of Jay, Elizabethtown, and part of North Hudson. Due to the high rate of search and rescue operations in the adjacent High Peaks, he is just as likely to be found there as he is patrolling his own district.

The High Peaks district had more than 100 emergency incidents in 2015 and they do not occur in a vacuum. They are not handled exclusively by the half dozen rangers stationed there. Rangers from all parts of the Adirondacks, and the Forest Preserve they protect, are affected by the drain from so many incidents. The following chronicles one week in July for Ranger Praczkajlo. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Adirondack Lifeguard Opportunities Offered

DEC has openings for lifeguards at campgrounds in the Adirondacks. Full and part time positions are available paying $13.27 an hour.

DEC is offering a free Waterfront Lifeguarding Course on April 17 through April 21 in Hudson Falls. Potential lifeguards must pre-register for the course by calling (518) 457-2500 Ext 1. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Professional Career Opportunities in NYS Government

The Department of Civil Service has announced the upcoming Professional Career Opportunities (PCO) exam, a State exam that provides individuals with access to a wide array of job opportunities in New York State government.

The PCO exam, scheduled to be held this year on April 8, 9, and 15, is one exam that is used by State agencies to fill more than 100 entry-level professional jobs across a range of disciplines, including health and human services, environmental conservation, human resources, administrative analysis, and transportation. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, February 2, 2017

Billy Richards, ‘the Armless Wonder’: Playing the Hand You’re Dealt

While researching a pair of books on North Country iron mining, I unexpectedly became privy to tragedies that many families faced. Mining accidents were frequent and involved excessive violence, often resulting in death. Victims were sometimes pancaked — literally — by rock falls, and their remains were recovered with scraping tools. Others were blown to pieces by dynamite explosions, usually as the result of, in mining parlance, “hitting a missed hole.”

The “missed hole” nomenclature refers to unexploded dynamite charges accidentally detonated later by another miner when his drill made contact with the material or caused a spark. The resulting blast was often fatal, but not always. Those who survived were usually blinded, burned badly, or maimed in some fashion.

In 1878, in Crown Point’s iron mines at Hammondville, near Lake Champlain, a young laborer, Billy Richards, was tasked with holding a star drill (basically a hand-held chisel with a star point) against the ore face while his partner — his step-father, Richard George — struck it with a sledge hammer. Through this commonly used teamwork method, a cadence developed whereby the star drill was struck and the holder then turned it slightly before it was struck again. » Continue Reading.


Monday, November 14, 2016

The Devil’s Kitchen: Warren County’s Nightmare for Drivers

devilskitchenThe colorful name Devil’s Kitchen has been used in numerous book titles, restaurant names, and for hiking destinations in at least seven states. Close to home in upstate New York, we have a Catskill version, described here as “quite possibly the most hellacious [bicycle] climb in New York State.” The same area, with cliffs, numerous waterfalls, and slippery slopes, has seen many hiker deaths as well.

But there’s another Devil’s Kitchen farther north, located about midway on Route 9 between Chestertown and Warrensburg. Despite lacking the cliffs and stunning landscapes featured at other identically named places, deaths have occurred at the Adirondack site—which today exists in name only. » Continue Reading.



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