Wobi Mandanondo, “The White Devil”, is Coming



When you think of the word, “frontiersman”, Robert Rogers (1731 -1795) was the living embodiment of the word. The Indian’s gave him the name Wobi Mandanondo, “The White Devil” because of his cunning in commanding the famous Rogers’ Rangers that fought for the British during the French and Indian War. Rogers’ Rangers were the only non-Indian force capable of operating in the inhospitable mountainous terrain during the harsh winter. The US Army Rangers, to this day, use his “Rogers’ Rules of Ranging” in the U.S. Army’s Ranger handbook.

Rogers Slide, at the northern end of the lake, is so named after the legend which circulated after the Second Battle of the Snowshoes on March 13, 1758 were Rogers himself was originally reported by the French to have been killed, which in fact was not true. This report stemmed from the manner of Rogers’ escape during which he discarded some of his belongings, including his regimental coat, and supposedly slid down 400 feet to the frozen surface of Lake George and escaped over the ice. While there is no proof of this event, the rockface he supposedly went down has become known as ‘Rogers’ Slide or ‘Rogers Rock.’

The story of his life is quite fascinating, starting with him being a member of a counterfeiting gang, to being sent to America as punishment, ultimately being charged with treason but later being vindicated, all the way to being arrested by George Washington during the revolution to finally ending up in a debtor’s prison. We can only assume that somewhere along the way he walked in Huletts. A statue was dedicated to him, on Rogers Island in Fort Edward on Memorial Day 2005. It’s a nice stop on the way home on a Sunday afternoon.

For a fascinating read about a fascinating life, this book is great and for an interesting take by a local author, check this site out.

An Educated Taxpayer is the Best Citizen

Over the next few months one reoccurring topic the Huletts Current will examine, is how we as a community are regularly treated by both Washington County and the Whitehall School district. More importantly, we will discuss strategies were we can effectuate positive change. Today’s editorial in the Post Star is right on the mark, noting that the Board of Supervisors really took the easy way out by closing two county parks, noting also that these two parks are located in two of the smallest towns in the county.

Read the whole article: Supervisors Lost Track of What’s Important

Now for Some History – 1891

This drawing accompanied a piece which ran in Harpers Weekly magazine in 1891. Entitled, A Day on Lake George, it clearly shows Deers Leap and the area right across the lake from Huletts, in front of Sabbath Day Point. What is interesting to note is the clothing of the passengers. (Click on the image to see it in larger detail.)

Post Star Bravo for Our Town Supervisor

The Post Star gave a bravo today to our Town Supervisor.

“Bravos to the Washington County supervisors who gave up their mileage reimbursement to help trim the county budget. Many supervisors have to travel quite far to attend county meetings in Fort Edward And on Friday, they were ready to approve a $25,650 package. But on Friday afternoon, when supervisors were polled individually as to how much they could accept as mileage, 14 of the 17 responded, “zero.” Wow. Those three supervisors who did accept reimbursement — JoAnn Trinkle, Vernon Scribner, and Bob Banks — live in the farthest reaches of the county, and even they accepted substantially less than what they might have been eligible for. In the end, supervisors cut more than $20,000 from their reimbursement, leaving only a $5,000 bill for taxpayers.”

Read the whole piece here.

Now for Some History – 1950’s

Radio Ad Coming Soon You may not have known that there were a few radio advertisements made for the last Huletts Hotel during the 1950’s. We have unearthed one original radio spot which is currently being converted into digital format. We will release this historical ad; here on Christmas Day, December 25th, for you to listen to. We’ll give you a tease that it’s both historical and humerous, but it is certainly worth returning for.

Washington County Beach – Continued

Updated – Saturday, November 22, 2008 10:15 am

In an attempt to give our readers the facts behind the cut in funding to the Washington County beach, the Huletts Current contacted Bob Banks, Town Supervisor of Dresden. Mr. Banks is our representative on the Washington County Board of Supervisors.

To begin, the County is under tremendous pressure to cut their budget not because spending is increasing, but because both revenue and state aid is declining because of the overall economy. It was not reported in the Post Star that the Board of Supervisors actually cut $750,000 from the budget yesterday. They should be commended for this stance, because the last thing a bad economy needs is more taxes. We in Huletts have struggled under the burden of high propery taxes for many years.

Mr. Banks assured us that the Washington County Beach will be open this upcoming year. It appears to him that the operation of the beach may be able to pay for itself with increased user fees and some adjustments in spending. If Washington County is not able to make these adjustments, the Town of Dresden will enter into some type of agreement to run the beach and to see that the beach remains open.

We will keep our readers informed as this develops.

Logging in the Adirondacks

This is a real good piece (about 7 minutes) about the history of logging in the Adirondacks. Logging and tourism are two industries that the Adirondack Park Agency is supposed to specifically encourage. It’s also presents the history of the formation of the Adirondack Park in the late 1800’s. It points out correctly, that private land has always been a big part of the Adirondack Park.

Dresden Gets It Right – Cuts Taxes

Lower Taxes Mean Vibrant Communities Dresden recently released it’s 2009 budget which shows the amount to be raised by taxes will be $1,500 less than 2008. This translates into a 0.50 percent reduction in taxes from 2008 to 2009. While the budget grows a little over 9 % from the 2008 amount, this growth is offset by new revenues. Congratulations to our Dresden Town Board for lowering taxes 2 years in a row. This is a perfect example of keeping government spending and taxes in check, a lesson that the Whitehall School District hasn’t learned yet.

Washington County Important Friday Meeting

From Thursday’s (Nov 20, 2008) Post Star:

“The Washington County Board of Supervisors on Friday will weigh slicing $264,583 from the tentative 2009 county budget in order to chisel down a projected 8 percent tax levy increase.

Items on the chopping block include closing the two county-run beaches in Jackson and Dresden.

The beaches at Lake Lauderdale in Jackson and at Huletts Landing on Lake George in Dresden would be closed for the 2009 summer season, which runs from May through September, saving the county $78,624.”

Read the entire Post Star Article Here

Please Bear With Us

Please bear with us as we upgrade and improve our site during the next two weeks. Our goal is to have a fully operational and extremely cool site with advanced functionality by the the middle of December. Stay with us – you’ll be glad you did.