Essex County

Olympic Bobsled Track Named to National Register

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The National Register of Historic Places has listed the 1932 and 1980 Olympic bobsled track, located on Mt. Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid, N.Y., on its national registry for historic places.

Clearing for the original one and a half, 26-curve course began in August 1930 and the track, specifically built for the 1932 winter games, was open to the public just 148 days later, Christmas Day 1930. More than 27,000 cubic yards of earth and stone were used for the straight-aways and curves, while 8,000 feet of pipe, laid four feet underground, was buried to carry the water used to spray the ice from a pond near the base to the top. A gasoline engine and pump forced the water to the top of the run, where a large storage tank guaranteed a continuous supply of water.


The United States’ bobsled team was right at home on the first track ever built in North America and the first-ever one and a half mile course used in Olympic competition. The team won two gold medals, one silver and one bronze. Billy Fiske, who four years earlier at the age of 16 became the youngest-ever Olympic gold medalist, claimed the four-man crown, while fellow American Henry Homburger of Saranac Lake, N.Y., claimed silver. Two brothers from Lake Placid, Curtis and Hubert Stevens, won the two-man race, while their teammates, John Heaton and Robert Minton, took bronze. That event also marked the first-ever two-man race in Olympic history and the first time athletes pushed their sleds at the start.

In 1934 the International Bobsled Federation (FIBT) established a one-mile standard for all tracks. To accommodate the change, the top one-half mile was shut down above the Whiteface curve and the number of curves was reduced from 26 to 16, making the upper portion of the run unusable.

Fifteen years later, the 1,537-meter long course became the first track outside of Europe to host a world championship competition and it was then that Belgian bobsledder Max Houben was killed during a practice run when sliding through the “Shady” curve, prior to the race. Today, the four-man world championship trophy is named in Houben’s honor.

As sled technology improved and speeds grew, changes were made to the course and it took 12 more years before world championship racing returned, in 1961. Throughout the decade of the 1960’s tracks throughout the world continued to try to keep up with sled technology as the request for speed knew no limits. From time to time crashes and tragedy would strike those tracks … even Lake Placid. In 1966, Canadian pilot Sergio Zardini (1964 Olympic silver medalist for Italy) was killed when his four-man sled crashed on turns 13 and 14, better known as the “Zig-Zag Curves.”

With the improvements made and with the blessing of the FIBT, the course hosted Worlds three more times, 1969, 1973 and 1978. Other sports including luge and skeleton also began using the course before it was demolished and re-built in 1979, in time for the 1980 Olympic bobsled competition.

The re-construction included installing refrigeration piping and the building of a refrigeration plant at the base of the run, operated by electricity, with a stand-by generator for emergencies. Following the 1980 games, the track hosted the 1983 world championships before the current combined bobsled/luge/skeleton track was built in 2000.

Today, the track no longer hosts international competitions, but it remains in use. Summer bobsled rides are held on the course, where visitors can enjoy half-mile rides, while reaching speeds in excess of 50-miles-per-hour, while professional drivers steer their sleds through “Shady” and “Zig-Zag.”

Kathleen LaFrank of New York State Parks Recreation & Historic Preservation helped to direct the research. She gathered much of the data and pictures required for the nomination of New York’s historical sites and the additional honor of being named to the National Registry as well.

“The bobsled run is internationally recognized for its association with the 1932 games and the rise of the sport in the United States,” stated Olympic Sports Complex general manager Tony Carlino. “Athletes and visitors from all over the world know of this track, and there are very few worldwide that carry this kind of history. The creation of this track helped to make Lake Placid famous as a winter sports capital.”

Photo: Construction workers lay rocks as they build the Mt. Van Hoevenberg bobsled track, in 1930 in anticipation of the 1932 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, N.Y. (Photo Courtesy of ORDA)

150th Commemoration of John Brown Events Planned

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Margaret Gibbs, Director of the Essex County Historical Society / Adirondack History Center Museum in Elizabethtown has sent along the following notice of the 150th Commemoration of John Brown scheduled for December 6th. Regular readers of my other online project Adirondack Almanack know that I have been writing a series of posts on John Brown, his anti-slavery raid on Harpers Ferry Virginia, subsequent capture, trial, and execution. You can read the entire series here.

Here is the press release outlining the commemoration events:

On Sunday, December 6, 2009 the Adirondack History Center Museum is commemorating John Brown on the 150th anniversary of his death and the return of his body to Essex County. Events are scheduled in Westport and Elizabethtown in recognition of the role Essex County citizens played at the time of the return of John Brown’s body to his final resting place in North Elba. In the cause of abolition, John Brown raided the U. S. arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia on the night of October 16, 1859. The raid resulted in the capture of John Brown and the deaths of his sons Oliver & Watson and his sons-in-law William and Dauphin Watson. John Brown was tried in Charles Town, Virginia on charges of treason and inciting slaves to rebellion and murder. He was found guilty and hanged on December 2, 1859.

John Brown’s body was transported from Harper’s Ferry to Vergennes, VT, accompanied by his widow, Mary Brown. From Vermont the body was taken across Lake Champlain by sail ferry to Barber’s Point in Westport, and the journey continued through the Town of Westport and on to Elizabethtown. The funeral cortege arrived in Elizabethtown at 6 o’clock on the evening of December 6th 1859. The body of John Brown was taken to the Essex County Court House and “watched” through the night by four local young men. Mary Brown and her companions spent the night across the street at the Mansion House, now known as the Deer’s Head Inn. On the morning of December 7th the party continued on to North Elba. The burial of John Brown was on December 8th attended by many residents of Essex County.

The commemorative program on December 6th begins at 1:00 pm at the Westport Heritage House with award-winning author Russell Banks reading from his national bestselling novel, Cloudsplitter, about John Brown, his character and his part in the abolitionist movement. The program continues with a lecture by Don Papson, John Brown and the Underground Railroad, on whether or not Brown sheltered runaway slaves at his North Elba farm. Don Papson is the founding President of the North Country Underground Railroad Historical Association. The program continues in Elizabethtown at 3:30 pm at the United Church of Christ with The Language that Shaped the World, a tapestry of sounds, stories and characters portraying the human spirit and the fight for freedom. At 4:30 pm a procession follows John Brown’s coffin from the United Church of Christ to the Old Essex County Courthouse. At 5:00 pm the public may pay their respects at the Old Essex County Courthouse with the coffin lying in state. The program concludes at 5:30 PM with a reception held at the Deer’s Head Inn.

The cost for all events of the day including the Deer’s Head Inn reception is $40 ticket, or a $15 donation covers the programs at the Westport Heritage House and The Language that Shaped the World only. Reservations are requested. The procession and Courthouse are free and open to the public. The Westport Heritage House is located at 6459 Main Street, Westport, NY. The United Church of Christ, is located beside the museum on Court Street, Elizabethtown, NY. For more information, please contact the museum at 518-873-6466 or email [email protected].

The December 6th program is part of a series of events from December 4-8, 2009 presented for the John Brown Coming Home Commemoration through the Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau. For a complete schedule of events go to www.johnbrowncominghome.com.

John Brown Symposium, Reenactment, Memorial

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A tremendous slate of events has been planned for the Lake Placid-North Eba area to commemorate the life and death of abolitionist John Brown. Dubbed the &#8220John Brown Coming Home Commemoration,&#8221 held from November 4th to December 8th, 2009, the series of events will examine John Brown’s impact on the country leading up to the civil war, the use of violence, and on the ongoing efforts to end slavery and human rights abuses in this country and worldwide- and reenactments of his cortege home, body lying in state at the Essex County Courthouse, burial at his farm, and the memorial service.

Among those taking part in the events will be Kevin Bales, president of Free the Slaves, local author Russell Banks, activist and co-founder of the Weather Underground Bernardine Dohrn, executive director of CORE George Holmes, John Brown descendant Alice Keesey Mecoy, Maria Suarez, who was sold into slavery at the age of 16, Margaret Washington, Sojourner Truth’s America and Louis DeCaro, Jr., author of John Brown: The Cost of Freedom. A full list of events follows.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17

Actor actor Fred Morsell will launch the John Brown Coming Home’s Artist Residencies-in-Schools program with a dramatic portrayal of Frederick Douglass in one-man performance based on Douglass’ writings. Called “Frederick Douglass: A Soul’s Evolution,” the piece will include excerpts from Douglass’ homage to John Brown that Douglass delivered in Harpers Ferry in 1881 in which Douglass declared that Brown “began the war that ended American slavery, and made this a free Republic.” This event is limited to the participating schools, currently Crown Point, Keene, Keesville, Lake Placid Central, Moriah, Newcomb and Westport.

Students, representing age groups and disciplines, working with professional artists representing different mediums—poetry, dance, songwriting, drama and drumming&#8211will create personal works in response to their examination of the life, the times and the legacy of abolitionist John Brown at a culminating event at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts on December 4, and at their respective schools thereafter.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 20

7:30 PM, Lake Placid Center for the Arts, Algonquin Drive, Lake Placid, NY
Film: John Brown’s Holy War

Produced for PBS’s American Experience, drawing upon interviews with historians and writers, including novelist Russell Banks, and stunning reenactments, Robert Kenner’s film traces Brown’s obsessive battle against human bondage that in the end sparked the Civil War. A post screening discussion will be held. This event is presented by the Lake Placid Center for the Arts.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 22
3:00 PM, 511 Gallery, 2461 Main Street, Lake Placid

Have You Seen that Vigilante Man?, a lecture by Amy Godine and presented by the Lake Placid Institute for the Arts & Humanities

Night Riders, lynch mobs and vigilante justice… The darkest side of American mob justice was not confined to the Deep South and the Far West. The history of the Adirondacks is ablaze with incidents of so-called “frontier justice,” from mob attacks on radical abolitionists to “townie” raids on striking immigrant labors to anti-Catholic gatherings of the Klu Klux Klan. Amy Godine’s anecdotal history of Adirondack vigilantism explores a regional legacy with deep, enduring, toxic roots.

Curator of the traveling exhibition, &#8220Dreaming of Timbuctoo,&#8221 independent scholar Amy Godine is a contributor to the regional anthologies, The Second Adirondack Reader and Rooted in Rock, and a regular writer on ethnic history for Adirondack Life.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 4
5:00 p.m., Lake Placid Center for the Arts, 17 Algonquin Drive, Lake Placid

Culminating event of the John Brown Coming Homes Artist Residencies-in-Schools program (see November 17)

7:30 PM (reception to follow)

Slavery: An exploration through contemporary film, lead by JW Wiley, Director of the Center for Diversity, Pluralism, and Inclusion for State University of New York-Plattsburgh. Narrative and documentary filmmakers have captured contemporary situations that are equal too the personal experiences that motivated John Brown. This presentation will use film clips from their work to explore the broad context of racism in the era of Brown. Wiley writes, “situating the reality of his life in the midst of the racist times he lived will provide opportunities for us to speculate and examine some of his potential motivations for the monumentally historic actions he took.” This event is presented by the Adirondack Film Society

SATURDAY DECEMBER 5
High Peaks Resort, 2384 Saranac Avenue, Lake Placid, NY

Symposium on the Life and Legacy of John Brown

The purpose of the symposium is to investigate the whole person, John Brown, including the experiences and faith that shaped him- the pre Civil War reality for African-Americans, both in slavery and seeking to end slavery- the post Civil War era for African-Americans- Brown’s ongoing influence on those who have tried to foster social change- and to examine and understand slavery today and create discussion around the question, Is violence ever justified?

Morning

9:00 AM Opening Keynote: Margaret Washington: The African American Experience. Professor Margaret Washington, Cornell authority on the black experience. Recent work: Sojourner Truth’s America. Articles include, From Motives of Delicacy: Sexuality and Morality in the Narratives of Sojourner Truth and Harriet Jacobs, Journal of African American History, and Rachel Weeping for Her Children.

10:00 AM Presentation: Rev, Dr. Louis DeCaro, Jr.: John Brown, A Man of His Times, Assistant Professor of History at Theology at Alliance Theological Seminary, works include the collection of essays John Brown Remembered, and books John Brown&#8211the Cost of Freedom, and Fire from the Midst of You: A Religious Life of John Brown.

Break

11:15 AM

Presentation: Slavery in our Time

Kevin Bales. Author: Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy (nominated for Pulitzer), Understanding Global Slavery and Ending Slavery: How We Free Today’s Slaves. Expert on modern slavery, president of Free the Slaves, Board of Directors of the International Cocoa Initiative.

Maria Suarez, a social worker and advocate to end human trafficking, who was sold into and lived in slavery in the United States for 5 years beginning when she was sixteen years old and freed only when a neighbor killed her captor, but then wrongly imprisoned for that death and eventually pardoned.

Lunch on own

Afternoon

1:30 PM Panel: John Brown’s Legacy

Moderator: Russell Banks- Novels include: Affliction, The Sweet Hereafter, both also critically-acclaimed movies- The Book of Jamaica Continental Drift, Rule of the Bone, a historical novel about abolitionist John Brown, Cloudsplitter, and The Darling. President of Cities of Refuge North America and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Bank has taught at many colleges and universities including Princeton.

Panelists:

Kevin Bales. Author: Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy (nominated for Pulitzer), Understanding Global Slavery and Ending Slavery: How We Free Today’s Slaves. Expert on modern slavery, president of Free the Slaves, Board of Directors of the International Cocoa Initiative.

Bernardine Dohrn, activist, academic and child advocate, is Director of the Children and Family Justice Center and Clinical Associate Professor of the Northwestern University School Law, Bluhm Legal Clinic. Dohrn was a national leader of SDS (Students f
or a Democratic Society) and the Weather Underground, and was on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List for over a decade.

George Holmes, executive director, chief operating officer, Congress of Racial Equality, Coordinated American delegation dispatched to observe and monitor free elections in Nigeria in 1996-97. Organized emergency response team to assist in the World Trade Center collapse.

Alice Keesey Mecoy. Great-great-great granddaughter of abolitionist John Brown has researched her family history for 30 years, especially the women in John Brown’s life, dedicated to war against slavery. Presented her findings to the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Saratoga Historical Museum.

Margaret Washington. Cornell professor Margaret Washington is an authority on the black experience. Recent work: Sojourner Truth’s America. Articles include, From Motives of Delicacy: Sexuality and Morality in the Narratives of Sojourner Truth and Harriet Jacobs, Journal of African American History, and Rachel Weeping for Her Children

J.W. Wiley, Director for the Center for Diversity, Pluralism, and Inclusion at State University of New York &#8211 Plattsburgh and a lecturer in philosophy and minority studies. Works to implement strategies and policies for inclusion and diversity.

4:00 PM

His Spirit Lives On

John Brown’s Farm State Historic Site

Walk to the John Brown’s Grave along Old John Brown Road

Laying of Wreath at John Brown’s Grave

lead by Roy Innis, National President of C.O.R.E.

7:30 PM

Site: Adirondack Community Church

Tribute to Russell Banks

Presentation of the first Adirondack Arts and Humanities Award to author Russell Banks- author William Kennedy master of ceremonies followed by a gospel concert

SUNDAY DECEMBER 6

10 AM

Re-enactment of the bringing of John Brown’s Cortege across Lake Champlain from Button Bay Park, VT to Westport, NY by the Weatherwax, a replica of a 19th century sail ferry similar to the one used to bring Mary Brown, leading abolitionists and the body of her husband.

12:00 Noon

Westport Heritage Center, Westport, NY

JOHN BROWN AND THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
Lecture by Don Papson

John Brown sacrificed his life at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia in 1859 attempting to establish an Underground Railroad Passageway through the Appalachian Mountains. For 150 years historians have wondered whether or not Brown sheltered runaway slaves at his North Elba farm in New York’s Adirondack Mountains. Some local 20th century historians concluded that there was no Underground Railroad activity at North Elba and that all of Brown’s black neighbors were “ordinary” “free” “New Yorkers.” Social historian Don Papson has discovered documents suggesting that the truth may have been an entirely different story.

Don Papson is the founding President of the North Country Underground Railroad Historical Association and Curator for the North Star Underground Railroad Museum, which will open at Ausable Chasm in 2010.

Lecture followed by a 19th century luncheon. John Brown’s casket will have been brought up to the church prior to the presentation.

Event presented by the Adirondack History Center Museum (tickets required)

2:00 PM

John Brown’s casket brought to Old Stone Church in Elizabethtown

3:00 PM

Old Stone Church, Elizabethtown

Dramatic readings from Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks- poetry readings- musical presentations

Adirondack History Center Museum Open, appropriate exhibits on display

4:30 PM

Procession of John Brown’s coffin from Old Stone Church to Essex County Courthouse. Event presented by the Adirondack History Center Museum

5:00 PM

Essex County Courthouse

Coffin laid in state, honor guard, candles, public may bear witness through the evening

5:30 PM

Deer’s Head Inn

Reception presented by the Adirondack History Center Museum (tickets required)

MONDAY DECEMBER 7

3:00 PM

John Brown Farm State Historic Site, Lake Placid, NY

Returning Home

John Brown’s coffin is brought to the Farm. The procession will begin on Rte 73, continue up Old Military Road and along John Brown Road and end at the Farm with the placement of the coffin the in Farmhouse for the evening.

4:00 PM

Coffin arrives at Farm

6:00 PM

John Brown Farm State Historic Site

The Sword of the Spirit, by Magpie

Greg Artzner and Terry Leonino, better known as Magpie, one of the premier folk music duos in America today, will present their stirring collection of songs that reflect on the life, death and turbulent times of abolitionist John Brown, his family and followers. Sword of the Spirit, traces the story of one of the most controversial figures in our nation’s history whose rage against slavery led him to his daring and violent raid on the US Army Arsenal at Harper’s Ferry in 1859 that became one of the sparks that helped ignite the war between the states. Making history come alive is one thing. To do it through words and music takes a special talent. Magpie handles the task beautifully with upbeat themes, delightful harmonies and thrilling anthems. Here is music with depth, relevance and topnotch songwriting.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 8

11:00 AM

Memorial Service begins at John Brown’s Farm

Re-enactors for: Wendell Phillips, co-leader on American Anti-Slavery Society

Reverend Joshua Young, L Bigelow, Mary Brown

11:45 PM

Service ends with ringing of the bells in churches throughout the region.

Post event reception at Uihlein Farm (invitation required)

RESERVATIONS FOR SYMPOSIUM AND TRIBUTE
Kristin Strack
Reservations Manager
518-523-2445 ext109
Email: [email protected] JOHN BROWN 150th COMMEMORATION

First Of Several Local John Brown Events On Saturday

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This year marks the 150th anniversary of abolitionist John Brown’s anti-slavery raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, his subsequent execution and the return of his body to North Elba, Essex County, NY.

Over at Adirondack Almanack I’ve been writing a series of posts &#8211 The Last Days of John Brown &#8211 to commemorate Brown’s struggle to end slavery in America, and both here and at the Almanack I’ll be reporting on events as the anniversary approaches. So far local activities include a lecture, a symposium, and a reenactment of the return of Brown’s body to North Elba. It all kicks off with a lecture this Saturday, October 10th, with a lecture by historian Zoe Trodd at 2:00 PM, at John Brown’s Farm.

Here is the event announcement:

A Living Legacy: John Brown in the Anti-Lynching Protest Tradition, a lecture by Zoe Trodd. Protest writers have long pointed to the abolitionist past as central to present and future social change. At the heart was of this living legacy was one figure: John Brown. This lecture will trace the presence of Brown in anti-lynching literature from the Niagara Movement to Langston Hughes. Trodd is the author of Meteor of War: The John Brown Story- American Protest Literature- and The Tribunal: Responses to John Brown and the Harper’s Ferry Raid. This event is presented by John Brown Lives!

Conference on John Brown and the Legacies of Violence

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Yale University’s Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition will host John Brown, Slavery, and the Legacies of Revolutionary Violence in Our Own Time: A Conference Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Harpers Ferry Raid on Oct 29-31, 2009 at the university’s campus in New Haven, CT.

Discussions of the place of violence-its forms, its causes, its justice or injustice-in American history often begin with John Brown and his exploits in Kansas and at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in the 1850s. Brown’s image has been appropriated by groups from the left and the right. He is a historical as well as a legendary figure, and often the myth overshadows the reality. This conference will explore the meaning and memory of John Brown as well as the problem of violence in American culture, past and present.

The conference will open on the evening of Thursday, October 29 with a performance of John Brown: Trumpet of Freedom by actor and playwright Norman Marshall. On Friday, October 30 and Saturday, October 31, conference panels will focus on four major themes:

. John Brown: A Problem in Biography

. John Brown and the Arts

. John Brown and the Legacies of Violence

. John Brown and Abolitionism

. Concluding Roundtable: A Problem for Our Own Time

For information on the conference visit: http://www.yale.edu/glc/john-brown/index.htm

Old Port Towns Along Lake Champlain in Lake Placid

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Adirondack Life writer Tom Henry will deliver a slide presentation entitled &#8220Exploring Old Port Towns Along Lake Champlain: Curious Stories Behind Their Relics&#8221 on Saturday, October 3rd at Northwoods Inn in Lake Placid, NY. From Shelburne’s elegant passenger steamships to Bridport’s world-famous 19th-century racehorses to Moriah’s strange subterranean world of railroads and iron mines, this slideshow of now and then images from old port towns around Lake Champlain will help us visualize many of the 400-square-mile lake’s unusual early enterprises.

2009 marks the 400th anniversary of Samuel de Champlain’s discovery of the lake. Henry’s Lake Champlain: An Illustrated History celebrates America’s most historic lake and offers stunning photos, vintage postcards, paintings, maps and military history. Tom Henry’s portion of the book “Towns Along the Lake” provides some of the book’s most interesting writing. He highlights each of Lake Champlain’s principle shoreline communities and provides their link to the lake’s history.

The evening begins at 6:30pm with a half hour cash bar cocktail reception with Tom Henry. Mr. Henry will deliver his presentation at approximately 7:00pm. Following the presentation, we invite any of our guests to join us in our Northern Exposure restaurant for dinner with Mr. Henry.

More information visit www.northwoodsinn.com.

Atlatl Contest Highlights Chimney and Crown Points Festival Of Nations

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Vermont’s and New York’s annual shared celebration of Lake Champlain, The Festival of Nations, hosted by the Chimney Point and Crown Point, N.Y., State Historic Sites will be held Sept. 18-20 and will feature a wide variety of events, including the 14th Annual Northeastern Open Atlatl Championship at Chimney Point.

The event honors the Native American, French, and early American history of the region and includes music- food vendors- Native American and primitive life and craft demonstrations- exhibits- showings of the award-winning documentary film Champlain: The Lake Between– a colonial French encampment with re-enactors- tours of Crown Point’s historic forts- historic, cultural, educational, nature, and family activities- a ceremony re-dedicating the Champlain Memorial lighthouse- and fireworks on Saturday night. The nearby DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) State Park will offer camping on a first-come, first-served basis.

The atlatl, a shaped wooden stick, acts as an extension of the throwing arm, so hunters can throw long, flexible darts with greater accuracy, energy, and speed. The atlatl was one of the earliest prehistoric weapons, pre-dating the bow and arrow, and was used by many cultures, including Native Americans.

On Friday, there will be a workshop held at Chimney Point at which participants can learn modern and ancient atlatl construction as they build their own dart-thrower and projectiles and learn how to use them. The fee of $65 includes instruction by champion atlatlist Robert Berg and all materials. Pre-registration is required.

On Saturday competitors of all ages test their prowess in using the atlatl to “hunt” wooly mammoth, bison, and other game targets- shoot at modern day bulls-eyes (International Standards Accuracy), and compete in a distance challenge.

The winners in each category compete in a shoot-out at the end of the event for the title of Grand Champion. At 5:30 p.m. and leading up to the start of the fireworks, enjoy lively music from Atlantic Crossing, well-known for their vast repertoire of music highlighting and honoring the history of the region. The Seth Warner Mount Independence Fife and Drum Corps will also perform.

On Sunday morning, from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. one lane of the Lake Champlain Bridge between Addison and Crown Point, N.Y. will be open for pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The Sky Blue Boys, Banjo Dan and Willy Lindner, will be performing their lively music near the Vermont end of the bridge from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m.

On Sunday morning there will be another International Standards Accuracy competition at 10:00 a.m., followed by master coaching for youth and the young at heart, as well as conversations with Samuel de Champlain and wood carving demonstrations.

Saturday’s and Sunday’s contests are $5 and $3 respectively to enter. Admission to the site on each day is free.

Photo: John Morris using an atlatl. Morris, along with Greg Maurer, will be offering master coaching on Sunday, as well as competing on Saturday. Courtesy Vermont Division for Historic Preservation

The Adirondack Guide at the Adirondack Museum

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Don Williams, storyteller, author, and retired Adirondack guide, will deliver a presentation entitled &#8220Adirondack Guides&#8221 at the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake Monday, August 24. Part of the museum’s Monday Evening Lecture series, the presentation will be held in the Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. There is no charge for museum members. Admission is $5.00 for non-members.

William’s program will include the portrayal of a historic Adirondack farmer-lumberman-guide, Adirondack humor as found in folk tales, and the introduction of skunk oil, ginseng, and spruce gum, as well as traditional Adirondack skills and tools well known by guides. He will focus on the role played by jack-of-all trade Adirondackers in opening up and popularizing the rugged North Country with sportsmen and tourists.

Don Williams (that’s him above) is known throughout New York State for his Adirondack storytelling, sharing the lives of Adirondack settlers and visitors through oral histories and humorous tales. He has been an Adirondack lecturer and storyteller at schools and organizations throughout the Northeast for more than forty years.

A retired teacher, school principal, and Adirondack guide, Williams has provided presentations about the Adirondacks at elementary and high schools, colleges, libraries, and Elderhostel programs.

Williams is the author of nine books about Adirondack and local history. He has written more than 250 articles for magazines including Adirondack Life and the Journal of Outdoor Education. He served as Adirondack regional editor for New York Sportsman for twenty years. His &#8220Inside the Blueline&#8221 column has appeared weekly in four regional newspapers since 1989.

Williams hosted an Adirondack television show in Gloversville and Glens Falls, N.Y. for six years and appears in the PBS documentary, The Adirondacks, produced by WNED Buffalo.

Historic Vessels Arrive in Plattsburgh For Events

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The historic canal motorship Day Peckinpaugh arrived in Plattsburgh today as it travels the Champlain and Hudson Corridor on its 500-mile Quadricentennial Legacy Voyage. The 259-foot canal boat, built in 1921, will be joined by the replica 1862 canal schooner Lois McClure and 1901 Tug Urger at the Wilcox Dock in Plattsburgh on August 11-12 and at the Burlington waterfront on August 14-16. The public is invited to step on board free of charge (see tour schedule below for hours).

The Day Peckinpaugh was the first canal motorship ever built and is the only one that remains. Rescued from the scrap yard in 2005, it is now the largest single item in the collection of the New York State Museum. The tour marks its first voyage in its new role as a traveling museum.

Tour Schedule

Tuesday-Wednesday, August 11-12
Plattsburgh, Wilcox Dock
Free tours: 11 am &#8211 7 pm
Experience the breadth of maritime history on display with vessels including the canal schooner Lois McClure, Tug Urger, and the Day Peckinpaugh together on the dock at Plattsburgh. Enjoy music and food on shore throughout the day.

Friday, Saturday & Sunday, August 14-16
Burlington, Perkins Pier
Free tours: Friday 4 – 7 pm- Saturday-Sunday10 am &#8211 6 pm
Working on Water Weekend- Tour the Day Peckinpaugh, Tug Urger, replica Canal Schooner Lois McClure, and Tug 8th Sea on Vermont’s own “great lake.” Also visit the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum to learn about the history of Lake Champlain boating from the 1600s to the present.

Wednesday, August 19
Crown Point, Crown Point Pier
Free tours: 11 am &#8211 7 pm
Join the festivities as the Day Peckinpaugh is welcomed to the newly refurbished Crown Point Pier at the DEC campground in Crown Point. The Champlain Memorial Lighthouse also invites visitors to examine and explore its recently renewed sculpture and structure. A climb to the top offers breathtaking scenic vistas.

For more information and schedule of events at fourteen ports of call, visit: www.eriecanalway.org.

Photo: The Day Peckinpaugh docked at Albany’s Corning Preserve on it’s maiden voyage in 1921. The D&H Building can be seen in the background.

Upcoming Events For New Adirondack Book

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There are several book signings and other events for the new book Historic Tales from the Adirondack Almanack beginning this weekend. I hope you’ll come out for one of them.

August 8: An informal talk about Adirondack blogging, trends in local media history, the new book, and their connection to Hulett’s Landing at 7:30 pm, this Saturday, August 8th, at the Hulett’s Landing Casino.

August 9: Book signing at The Adirondack Reader in Inlet, NY on Sunday, August 9th from 1-3pm

September 12: Book signing at The Open Door Bookstore in Schenectady on Saturday, September 12th from 1-2:30pm.

September 19: Book signing at Bookstore Plus in Lake Placid on Saturday, September 19th at 2:00pm.