Crisp nights and changing leaves means the beginning of the fall antique show circuit. Treasures are waiting to be discovered and no better place than the annual Adirondack Mountains Antique Show in Indian Lake. Always held the third weekend in September, this year’s rustic Adirondack antique show is scheduled for September 18-22.
Originally started by the Adirondack Museum the show altered locations between Blue Mountain Lake and Indian Lake. Now in its fourth year and constantly growing, this antique show is here to stay. » Continue Reading.
The second Warren County Rural Heritage Festival & Youth Fair, cosponsored by the Warren County Historical Society and Cornell Cooperative Extension, will take place this Saturday, August 10th, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at the Warren County Fairgrounds on Schroon River Road in Warrensburg.
This event explores and celebrates our rural traditions in work and play from the early days of Warren County through the mid-20th century. This year the Festival will be celebrating Warren County’s Bicentennial with displays and programs by local historical societies, museums, and military re-enactors.
The festival will also feature displays and programs by area not-for-profits and clubs, including farm to table Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, the Adirondack Museum and the Adirondack Folk School. An auction with Martin Seelye will be held and proceeds will benefit the Warren County Historical Society. » Continue Reading.
Warrensburgh Riverfront Farmers’ Market will open for its 15th season on Friday, May 24 (Memorial Day Weekend) from 3-6 p.m. Gardening information, recipes using local products, music, samplings, refreshments, locally grown and prepared foods and handmade crafts will be part of the festivities.
The market is held Friday afternoons from 3-6 p.m., June thru October, on the banks of the Schroon River in the Warrensburgh Mills Historic District, on River Street (Route 418) near Curtis Lumber. It’s a “producer-only” market, limiting sales to locally grown produce, wine, baked goods, preserves, maple syrup, honey, dairy, poultry, meats, plants, soaps and lotions, and more. All prepared foods are made “from scratch”, utilizing locally grown ingredients whenever possible.
Each year the market hosts rhubarb, “Bountiful Harvest” and garlic festivals. This year there will also be a celebration of the town and county’s bicentennial. The Adirondack Riverfront Arts Festival will be held on Friday, August 23, from noon – 6 pm. The festival is expected to showcase artisans throughout the region demonstrating and selling, local chefs preparing dishes sourcing fresh ingredients from our market vendors and live music along with regular farmers’ market vendors. » Continue Reading.
Paul Schaefer took this photo in the Pack Forest in Warrensburg sometime in the 1940s or 50s when he was fighting elsewhere in the Adirondacks to save ancient groves from dam builders.
At Pack Forest Paul told us he took one of his best and luckiest shots. Wanting to capture the public’s imagination with something as ancient and compelling as a 500 year old stand of white pine, Paul was at a loss with the scale and the difficult angle and the lighting until the clouds parted for an instant and sun suddenly shot through the forest canopy.
Paul clicked, the shutter opened. Opportunity and preparedness aligned.
Paul told us that his photo was in demand all over the Adirondacks and the country, including in Washington, DC, where a representative of the USDA Forest Service put it on the wall. By the 1960s, the photo came to represent the urgent need to expand the Forest Preserve, protect the Adirondack Park’s remaining old-growth forests, and plan and care for the entire Park, public and private. It has been used in many publications since then, including Defending the Wilderness: The Adirondack Writings of Paul Schaefer (Syracuse University Press, 1989). » Continue Reading.
Cornell Cooperative Extension is hosting two workshops in the Adirondack Region in April, designed to bring accommodations together with farmers with products for sale. The project’s goal is to give innkeepers and farmers a chance to meet, get acquainted, encourage transactions, and, finally, to promote these opportunities in the future in a systematic way.
Each Innkeeper will take home a gift basket that could include jams and jellies, processed meat and grain products, flowers and produce in-season, or any kind of product or information on agritourism or services from New York farms. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Cooperative Economy (ACE), an organization with a mission to build local economies by encouraging trade with and between individuals and local businesses has begun circulating Adirondack Bucks, a currency similar to Ithaca Hours. Established last September, the Adirondack Bucks project has grown to include 19 local businesses and organizations.
Adirondack Bucks, available in 1, 5, 10, and 20 ADK Buck amounts, can be used to exchange goods and services with participating friends, neighbors, and local businesses. The currency is backed by the goods and services of its members. ACE is hoping to create an online trading system in the near future. » Continue Reading.
This past spring I was making the rounds of some local garage sales when I stumbled on a great find- a barrel meat smoker in pristine condition for only 20 bucks. This particular smoker is a really basic, just a metal barrel with three racks, a pan for water to keep the meat tender, and an electric element at the bottom on top of which you place the wood chips.
Serious barbeque enthusiasts out there would probably scoff at my little smoker, but given the the dirt cheap price and the fact that I had never smoked anything in my life, I figured it was a good way to get started. I followed this purchase by buying a copy of The Joy of Smoking and Salt Curing by Monte Burch. If you have any interest in tackling the art of smoking meat and fish, I highly recommend this little book. The instructions are very clear and concise, and it covers all the most basic points of the science of meat preservation. » Continue Reading.
“The movie theater and the church often existed side by side in a small town,” the late novelist John Updike once remarked in an interview. “The old Hollywood movies were very pious. Sins were punished in exact proportion to their seriousness. In many ways, the movies carried religious weight.”
Updike grew up in the 1940s, and by the 1960s, when I was growing up in Warrensburg, the movies may have played a smaller role in shaping moral habits, but they did help fire one’s own imagination, and, for that matter, the collective imagination. » Continue Reading.
Fourteen volunteers bravely responded to the first drink tasting at Pammy’s Pub, official drink lab of Happy Hour in the High Peaks. Representing a broad age range, from 21 to 70, equal numbers of male and female participants* were asked to rate five different samples of beverages for possible inclusion in our book.
More primate than lab rat, these subjects, when let out of their cages, exhibited animated enthusiasm rather than fear and complacency. Male respondents were observed to be less inclined to consume fruity or complicated beverages, while females participated in all trials. We’re not quite willing to share the formulas for each trial, but will try to convey the overall theme with a description of our intended impression. » Continue Reading.
Warrensburg hosts the 33rd annual “World’s Largest Garage Sale” this weekend where over 100,000 people will find treasures from toys to antiques. Held the last weekend before Columbus Day weekend, this year’s “World’s Largest Garage Sale” will be September 29-30, 2012.
Last year when my family attended the garage sale we were not prepared for the magnitude of the event. I’ve taken my kids to tag sales before where I’ve given them their own money, allowing each to search for treasures. Never in my mind did I imagine so many tents in one location. The tents start at the edge of town and continue along Route 9, crossing the Schroon River. The event is very well organized and the streets are monitored making it easy to cross the Main Street (Route 9). » Continue Reading.
For the past few weeks I just simply have not been in the mood for cooking. It has been hot and sunny, and sitting in the kitchen and standing over a stove – much less turning on the oven – holds about zero appeal. A lot of salads have been hitting the table, as we’ve had a bumper crop of lettuce this year. Herbs have also been plentiful, which makes for fun experimentation with different types of dressings.
Mostly I have been spending a lot of time outdoors with friends and family, bringing along a variety of Oscar’s ready-made salads, smoked meats and cheeses for picnicking. Ready-made has held a lot more appeal than actually whipping up my own potato salad or barbeque after a long hard day of relaxing. » Continue Reading.
It was less than two weeks after bartender Valene began her new job at Ashe’s Pub and Grill that she started to wonder what she’d gotten herself into. It was the end of her shift and she got right to the business of closing the bar. The doors were locked, the bar lights off, and everything stocked for opening in the morning. She took the day’s receipts through the dining room, past the pool table, into the office. As she began counting, there came a loud pounding at the back entrance to the bar, accompanied by a man’s voice shouting, “Open the bar!” Annoyed that some drunk had the audacity to expect that the bar would be opened for him, Valene got her husband on the phone for reassurance and went to the door. No one was there. Poking her head out the front door, she looked up and down the street, but no one was in sight. Dismissing the incident and turning to go back to her work, keeping her husband on the line in case the man came back, she could hear heavy footsteps and the sound of creaky floorboards coming from the area around the pool table. Banging sounds came from different areas of the bar; chairs in the dining room squeaked as though occupants were fidgeting in their seats. By now the young woman was truly frightened. Her husband, too, could hear the racket over the phone. Unable to come there himself, he sent Valene’s cousin to the bar to stay with her as she finished for the night while the noises continued around them. Not easily bullied by mere spirits, Valene has gotten used to the experiences and is still tending bar there. She makes it known to would-be spooks that she’s in charge!
Other employees have had similar experiences. Becky, another of the bartenders, says that securely placed pots and pans often crash to the floor. Footsteps are heard coming from deserted floors above. Cash disappears…then returns. A second-floor apartment is home to the apparition of a tall, older gentleman who wears a top hat and has an arm in a sling. A woman who lived in a second-floor apartment claims the man climbed into bed with her. When a visiting vendor arrived to set up a demonstration, she was in immediate need of a restroom. Since there was a line at the one-seater in the bar, the employee who lived in the upstairs apartment took the woman upstairs to use her bathroom. Curious, the vendor asked about the man she had seen standing in the upstairs window when she arrived. She described him as very tall, wearing a top hat and a sling.
Standing just beyond Warrensburg’s historic district in a neighborhood of mostly modest residences, Ashe’s Hotel looks much as it did when it was built over 150 years ago. Originally named the Agricultural Hotel due to its proximity to the old Warren County Fairgrounds, the name was changed to Ashe’s Hotel when Maurice Ashe acquired it from his father, Henry, in the 1930’s. The fairgrounds was also the site of Ashland Park Speedway from 1954 to 1961. Somehow, the bar at Ashe’s has managed to stay in continuous operation since the early 1860’s.
The current owner, John Abbale, has owned Ashe’s for the past 25 years and has gradually made many improvements. Colorful linen table cloths liven the dining room and whitewashed walls brighten the interior. The recently installed wide pine slab bar seats about 15 people, and several tables are available in the same room in close proximity to the bar. A semi-partitioned room off the bar offers table seating for another 26 patrons. Off that room is the pool table and area for musical entertainment and dancing. The central location for music setup makes it accessible to all three rooms. If you’re looking for entertainment beyond music and bar banter, a pool table, electronic darts and bowling, or pinball can be played here as well.
Though food service at Ashe’s has been known to come and go over the years, Ashe’s currently serves lunch and features dinner specials on Tuesday (clams) and Thursday (wings). Standard pub fare is served until 9 p.m. Located on Hudson Street in Warrensburg and surrounded by residential neighbors, the pub has outdoor seating, but, in an obvious effort to keep peace with the neighbors, discourages its use by not allowing drinks outside. Complicated drink specialties are not their priority, but the basics are there and the beer selection is varied and reasonable. Kim particularly enjoyed the Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat in a cinnamon-and-sugar-rimmed glass, though it’s just as good without the embellishment.
The bar is open year-round, 7 days a week, but sometimes closes for Christmas. Their busiest days of the year are during Warrensburg’s World’s Largest Garage Sale weekend in early October, and Americade and Warrensburg Bike Week in June when the bar serves as social center for participants. Live music on Friday and karaoke on Saturday keep everyone entertained on the weekends. With reasonable drink prices, Happy Hour specials Monday through Friday from 4:30 to 7p.m., friendly bar staff in a neighborhood location, Ashe’s is a local pub and yet a regular spot for many out-of-towners. In a country-charm sort of way, the local patrons look forward to some diversity of conversation from strangers. Our inquiries about Ashe’s ghosts sparked interest and conversations, as well as dissent among the non-believers. If you’re looking to scare up some spirits this Hallows’ Eve, stop in on Saturday, October 29 for Ashe’s costume party and karaoke.
Kim and Pam Ladd’s book, Happy Hour in the High Peaks, is currently in the research stage. Together they visit pubs, bars and taverns with the goal of selecting the top 46 bars in the Adirondack Park. They regularly report their findings here at the Almanack and at their own blog, or follow them on Facebook, and ADK46barfly on Twitter.
If it’s friendly staff, loquacious patrons and reasonable prices you’re looking for, CB’s Spirits on River Street may be just the place when you’re in Warrensburg. The two-story frame building of unknown age sits unpretentiously on the edge of the Schroon River. It’s not all about the ambiance here, but basic comforts prevail and the clientele are welcoming.
We weren’t strangers to a few of the customers and were acquainted with Sue, bartender and sister of owner Chuck Bederian. Though the atmosphere in the tavern is no frills, no fuss, we were impressed by the upscale attire and professionalism of the bartender. Maybe you’ll catch Sue sporting our Happy Hour in the High Peaks hat on “casual” days. Warrensburg’s World’s Largest Garage Sale had just about reached its cold, rainy conclusion and we were ready for a drink. We joined the ten or twelve people already seated at the bar. No draft beer, but Kim ordered a Michelob Ultra from the modest selection of mostly domestic bottled beers while Pam tried to figure out what to have. Pear vodka was suggested and Sue and Pam brainstormed, settling finally on the pear vodka, cranberry juice, and 7-Up.
CB’s is a true local bar, though it didn’t take long before we felt like locals ourselves. Oh yeah, we are locals ourselves! Kim was soon immersed in conversation with Gordon, a regular who claims he’s here every day. His wife Cathy joined in as they tried to trace the history of CB’s. Known previously as the Wayside Inn (at least as far back as 1965), we learned very little but were encouraged to contact “Antique Bill”, a gentleman in town who apparently knows everything about every bar that’s ever been in the area. Armed with his phone number, references, and cautionary advice from Gordon and Cathy, we look forward to meeting him. Pam met and interviewed a man who is new in town, there temporarily on a construction job for a few months, who claims that the bartender is “the most fun ever” and that he has felt welcome at CB’s since day one. Partial to their hamburgers with bakery fresh rolls, he gets his lunch there daily and visits often after work. The tavern serves a simple menu of pizza, burgers and sandwiches at very reasonable prices. The special listed on the blackboard that day was the Chickentender Sandwich with lettuce, tomato and chips for $5. Not a bad deal.
As is her custom, Pam stepped out to survey the grounds. A bulletin board outside posted several upcoming local music and biker-related events. The handwritten list of October birthdays for CB’s regulars and staff was a nice personal touch. A picnic table offers seating outside by the Schroon River, with a nice view of the new Milton Avenue Bridge and the serenity of flowing water.
The bar seats up to 16 with two booths and a pub table in the main room. A smaller adjacent room has three regular size booths and two over-sized booths for additional seating when needed. Quick Draw is available at CB’s and a lottery ticket vending machine entices a little game of chance. Darts, a pool table, and Big Buck hunting games are also on hand for games of skill. Open 365 days a year with no black out dates, the hours are generally Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. until midnight or later, and opening on Sunday at noon. Happy Hour is offered Monday through Friday and during Sunday football games with several drink specials. CB’s occasionally features live music, but not on any fixed schedule. The sale of raffle tickets to benefit local cheerleaders is evidence of the establishment’s community involvement.
There’s something difficult about trying to review a bar in one’s own hometown. Preferences, prejudices and habits stand in the way of an unbiased viewpoint. Within minutes of our arrival we were able to shed our preconceptions and enjoy the good-natured surroundings in this somewhat cluttered but tidy bar. Like the temperatures registered on the collection of vintage thermometers displayed throughout the room, the readings varied from -6 to 110 degrees, with most at a comfortable 70 degrees. If you’re in the mood to meet some locals, it shouldn’t be hard to strike up a conversation that might last throughout your visit.
Kim and Pam Ladd’s book, Happy Hour in the High Peaks, is currently in the research stage. Together they visit pubs, bars and taverns with the goal of selecting the top 46 bars in the Adirondack Park. They regularly report their findings here at the Almanack and at their own blog, or follow them on Facebook, and ADK46barfly on Twitter.
It’s difficult to review an establishment this familiar. With no first impression with which to develop a theme, a last impression will have to do.
George Henry’s in Warrensburg has come a long way from its heyday as the Warren Inn, where we were occasionally allowed to sit at the bar and have a soda with our mom when we were kids. It’s as much a restaurant as a bar now and seems to invite tourists as well as locals. Originally called the Warren Inn after an actual inn that once occupied the corner of Schroon River Road and Main Street, it changed hands some time in the 1980s and was renamed the Brew & Stew (the Brew & Stew sign now hangs inside), and finally George Henry’s, named after the current owners’ father and grandfather, George Henry McFarland. The interior of George Henry’s dining room is spacious, with tables comfortably distanced from one another. Wide plank floors and pine walls in the dining area create a somewhat rustic, no-frills appearance. The restaurant area is sufficiently separate to drown out the noise and to protect your children from the barside banter.
The bar seats about 20 people, with ample room for standing too, with a few bar height tables for overflow. Blackboards advertising food and drink specials hang in both the dining and bar areas, and several TV’s featured a variety of programming including Jeopardy, news, and a Yankees game. The tavern area was partially filled, maybe 15 people, when we visited on a Wednesday evening. We had expected more bikers because of Warrensburg Bike Week and Americade in Lake George, but a sudden storm, preceded by high winds and an ominous yellow glow in the sky sent them scattering.
Fortunately, we missed the “All-You-Can-Eat” Wings special and believe we were too late for Happy Hour (4:30 to 6:30). We donated some money to NY State by playing Quick Draw and shared the normal portion of their crispy “All-We-Can-Eat” wings. Open seven days a week, starting at 11 a.m., except on Sunday when they open at noon, George Henry’s serves food until 9 p.m. in the summer months. The kitchen closes earlier in other seasons, and are known to close the establishment for private parties on rare occasions, but are generally open year round. George Henry’s offers live music on Friday and Saturday nights and there is a small, designated area for the band or soloist, but don’t expect to do any dancing there.
The beer selection is pretty decent with domestics from the Coors, Budweiser, and Miller brands, and good old Genny as well. Import and premium bottled beers include Corona, Heineken, Labatt, Long Trail, Guinness and Twisted Tea. Six draft beers are available, including choices from Lake Placid Brewery, Adirondack Brewery and Davidson Brothers. Specialty drinks aren’t promoted, but George Henry’s is equipped to provide the basics and sometimes more elaborate drinks when staffing permits.
George Henry’s has been under current ownership for 25 years and seems to want to expand beyond the local pub. Improvements have been made, though nothing lavish or radical, more aptly living within their means while keeping costs down to appeal to the masses. A deck on the side, for example, has yet to be seen by us in all of its intended splendor.
George Henry’s is on Main Street which is sometimes heavily traveled, so the added seclusion of low fencing on the Main Street side of the deck offers privacy and noise reduction, but still allows a nice view of the Schroon River. The deck is accented with flower boxes and beds of hostas, pansies, and petunias, which Pam deadheaded for them that evening while reviewing the surroundings. Several tables, some with umbrellas, looked inviting, were it not for the rain.
Stop at George Henry’s for dinner on your way to points further north and expect a welcoming staff and patrons and good food. When looking for a good burger in the ‘Burg, George Henry’s is the place to go. Or go on a Friday or Saturday night for live music and an even livelier crowd.
Kim and Pam Ladd’s book, Happy Hour in the High Peaks, is currently in the research stage. Together they visit pubs, bars and taverns with the goal of selecting the top 46 bars in the Adirondack Park. They regularly report their findings here at the Almanack and at their own blog.
The Adirondack Center for Writing’s will host a monthly open mic series starting in June, in collaboration with several venues around the Adirondack Park. The series pairs readings from a featured author or poet, as well as an open forum to share your own writing.
The Willows Bistro in Warrensburg, NY hosts Open Mic Night on the second Thursday of every month. ACW will co-sponsor those events at the Willows every June, September, December, and March. For our first collaboration, June 9th, the featured author will be Paul Pines, (author of “Last Call at the Tin Palace” and “My Brother’s Madness”), Bibi Wein (“The Way Home”) in September, and in December, Mary Sanders Shartle (“Winterberry Pine: Three Poets on Adirondack Winter”). More information is available online. The Northwoods Inn at Lake Placid will hold readings on the second Thursday in July with reader Maggie Bartley, October with Charles Watt, and next January and April with readers TBA. The Old Forge Library will host on the second Wednesday in August with reader Paula Roy, and in November, February and May.
All events are free and open to the public. If you’re interested in sharing your work email info@adirondackcenterforwriting.org with the subject line “OPEN MIC” followed by the venue and date you’re interested in sharing.
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