Against the backdrop of the Champlain Valley, the fourth Grand Hike to the Essex Inn will be held on May 13. Hosted by Champlain Area Trails (CATS), the 12-mile “Town-to-Town” hike travels CATS hiking trails and scenic back roads from Wadhams to Essex.
After parking at the Essex Inn, hikers ride free shuttle buses to Wadhams to begin the full hike back to Essex. Shuttle buses start to run at 11 am, with check-in across from the Dogwood Bakery in Wadhams from 11 am to 12:15 pm. » Continue Reading.
This is the third year that my friends and I will be participating in the Champlain Area Trails Grand Hike (May 14th). Not only has it been a fun event, it has lead us through towns and trails in the Champlain Valley in a leisurely way. Our group is small, but we represent a variety of hiking expertise. The Grand Hike provides us an opportunity to walk together, converse and know that the end of the trail a cold beer and massage at the Essex Inn will be waiting for us. » Continue Reading.
Champlain Area Trails (CATS) is hosting it’s third annual inn-to-inn hike on Saturday, May 14, 2016. The 11-mile Grand Hike to the Essex Inn will take place on CATS hiking trails and scenic back roads from Wadhams to the Essex Inn, where there will be a block party celebration featuring live music, restorative yoga and chair massage provided by Lake Champlain Yoga & Wellness, kids crafts and a photo booth to commemorate the event.
Check-in is from 12:15 to 1:30 pm across from Dogwood Bakery in Wadhams. Participants are encouraged to park in Essex where, starting at 12:15 pm, free shuttles will take them from the Essex Inn to Wadhams.
This has been the first year that my family has participated in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project with Juniper Hill Farm in Wadhams. I’m hooked!
Though I’m not located near Wadhams, the choice to join was easy and every step along the way has been a delight. For my first year I chose a small customizable veggie share and a fruit share. Since I do a fair bit of traveling during the summer, that choice has provided my family as well as a neighbor or two, plenty of fresh produce in addition to our own garden. » Continue Reading.
There are many ways to spend the holidays, or those few frantic weeks just before, that truly ring in the year with quaint Adirondack charm. Schroon Lake’s Olde Tyme Christmas, Lake Placid’s Holiday Stroll and Christmas in Essex are just three celebrations that are prepared to make everyone’s countdown to Christmas just a little more merry.
Though Friday nights do hold a few scheduled happenings, the main events take place over the weekend for most locations. According to Christmas in Essex Co-Organizer Kenneth Hughes, this year’s festival on December 13th is a mixture of traditional activities and new events.
“Christmas in Essex has been happening for at least 20 years so we have the traditional activities people look forward to, like the Reindeer Run and Pancake Breakfast, but we added some things that are brand new. This is the first year that I’ve been an organizer,” says Hughes. “My other Co-Organizer is Susie Smith.” » Continue Reading.
Few tasks were more daunting than a national census, as William Merriam would soon discover. Counting citizens was just the beginning. Policy makers needed to know how many were insane, feeble-minded, deaf, dumb, blind, criminals, and paupers. They needed social statistics of cities, information on public indebtedness, and valuation of properties, both personal and industrial.
And from farmers, the heart of the nation, much would be asked. To determine a farm’s size and value—the number and value of all animals, the acres planted and unused, how many acres were used for each fruit, vegetable, or grain, and more—310 questions were asked.
And it wasn’t just the United States that would be assessed. Information was needed on the populations of all cities, towns, villages, and boroughs covering the District of Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii, non-state territories, Indian territories, reservations, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Philippines, and Guam. Wherever the census applied, agriculture and manufacturing would be addressed in detail. » Continue Reading.
When the president began handing out appointments, William Merriam was a strong candidate for many positions. In business, he had recently been touted as the right man to head the Northern Pacific Railroad, of which he was already a director. In politics, he was mentioned as the front-runner for many very important positions: Department of the Interior, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of War, ambassador to Germany, and ambassador to Russia. He was widely considered very capable of filling any of those positions, and had another thing going for him: no skeletons in the closet, and no scandals for the opposition to resurrect.
And it’s true: the rival party well knew of Merriam’s qualifications, his intelligence, and affability. His only problem came from within his own party’s ranks—yet it had nothing to do with politics, and little to do with Merriam himself. » Continue Reading.
From humble North Country beginnings in a pioneer settlement, a local man rose to play an important government role on a national level. Work performed at the height of his career still affects every facet of our government today. It is also highly valued by researchers, genealogists, and historians as a great repository of valuable historical records.
William Rush Merriam was born in 1849 in the small community of Wadham’s Mills in Essex County, just a few miles northwest of Westport. Many members of the Merriam families in that vicinity played important roles in regional history.
At the time of William’s birth, his father, John L. Merriam, was involved in iron making. While a number of Merriams remained in the Westport–Elizabethtown area, John pulled up stakes when William was 12 and moved the family to Minnesota, eventually settling in St. Paul.
With a partner, John became successful in the field of transportation prior to the arrival of the railroad. At that time, St. Paul was known informally as Pig’s Eye, and was the commerce center of the Minnesota Territory. The name St. Paul was formalized as the capital city when Minnesota became the 32nd state in 1858. » Continue Reading.
Acting on its vision of people hiking on trails between local communities, Champlain Area Trails (CATS) is hosting a hamlet-to-hamlet hike this Sunday, October 13 between Wadhams and Essex.
“CATS’ goal is to have hiking trails that link our communities so people can enjoy the Champlain Valley’s amazing landscape and patronize businesses in our hamlets,” said Chris Maron, CATS executive director in a statement sent to the press. “To recognize our progress and have a fun Columbus weekend activity, we’re hosting this hike that will start at Dogwood Bakery and end at Lake Champlain Yoga & Wellness on Main Street in Essex where refreshments will be available.” » Continue Reading.
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