News & Opinion About Huletts Landing, N.Y.
Neal Vandorsten sits in the cockpit of a small seaplane he flew up Lake George last week.
The aerial photo I posted on Thanksgiving day inspired Neal Vandorsten to pass along these two shots from a small red seaplane he piloted up Lake George last week.
The lake was calm on a clear autumn day.
Many thanks to Neal for passing along these photos.
Would you believe that Whiteface had its first snowfall this past weekend? The beginning of the skiing and riding season isn’t that far off, it’s slated for Friday, Nov. 25. So tune up the skis and boards!!
Photos and video courtesy of ORDA/Whiteface Lake Placid.
Former Board Member Rejected by Voters Appointed to Whitehall School Board
How a Rembrandt Ended Up in Glens Falls
From North Country Public Radio
Painters Headed to Ticonderoga
Nancy Kimball, wildlife rehabilitator, holds an owl on Thursday at the Mountain Grove Memorial Church as part of the Friends of Historic Huletts Landing Summer Lecture Series.
Those who attended the Friends of Historic Huletts Landing Lecture entitled: Meet the Raptors by wildlife rehabilitator, Nancy Kimball, were treated to a great program. About 45 attended, about half children scrambling for front row seats. Ms. Kimball gave very informative talk which included three raptors she brought with her.
Lots of discussion of frozen mice, which she buys by the hundred to rehabilitate injured birds and animals which she nurses back to health. A sample of an ex-mouse bone and fur-ball choked up, was passed around (in a little box) – not everyone would touch the box. She does this as a labor of love. She received lots of questions and she and the birds received a big round of applause!
The August 29th episode of “Running Wild with Bear Grylls,” will feature Grylls and NBA great,Shaquille O’Neal, being dropped into the Adirondacks. See the preview below.
O’Neal’s episode will air on Monday 8/29 at 10 p.m
Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood, the stars “2001 – A Space Odyssey,” will appear in Ticonderoga in August.
Following the successful Trekonderoga last year, the second annual Trekonderoga convention will take place on the weekend of August 12-14, from Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon. It will be held in Ticonderoga, New York, on the banks of Lake George and Lake Champlain. Trekonderoga – 2016 will again show its special nature as a small, intimate setting where you can meet stars and participate in events up-close, all in a beautiful and historic setting in the Adirondacks!
Lean more at Trekonderoga.com – including all the “stars” who will be appearing and how to purchase tickets.
Lake George is ready for the second annual King George Fishing Derby July 8-10. Are you ready? Do you have what it takes to win money for catching the biggest Lake Trout or Bass?
If you think so, join hundreds of other anglers and get your entries into the Derby officials by July 1.
You can find the entry form – electronic or in PDF form – on the event’s website at http://www.KingGeorgeFishingDerby.com
Three prized fish are the targets for the derby — Lake Trout, Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass.
Adults and children are invited to compete, as there are separate divisions for each. In each division, the top five sizes of each of the three species of fish will be given prizes: Cash prizes for the adult division are $2,500 for first place, $1,000 for second, $750 for third, $500 for forth and $250 for fifth. There will be merchandise prizes for the Junior division (for those who are under 16 by the end of the tournament).
Adults can register for $40 by July 1, and juniors can register for $30. It will cost $10 more after July 1. Fees for the entries are non-refundable.
For more information, please visit the event’s website at KingGeorgeFishingDerby.com or email info@kinggeorgefishingderby.com
Sanford Stragnell of Huletts Landing refereeing a women’s rugby match.(Click to see full-scale.)
I recently learned that Sandy Stragnell of Huletts now referees rugby matches. If I had known this earlier, I would have included this in my recent post on local connections to sports. So if you don’t know anything about a scrummage or the difference between the rugby league and the rugby union, Sandy would be the one to know.
Sandy was a rugby player in high school and in college. While playing for the Oregon State Rugby Club he was part of a traveling side that played in Wales and England one summer. He also coached both men’s and women’s rugby at Castleton State College (now Castleton University) in Vermont. He played briefly with the Rutland Men’s club and is now a Level 1 Rugby Referee.
Liam Ballantyne (5th from the left) with the United States Coast Guard Academy’s sailing team. (Click picture to see full-scale.)
In my recent post on our local connections to sports, I failed to include Liam Ballantyne’s participation on the United States Coast Guard Academy’s sailing team, currently ranked fourth in the Northeast. Liam is the son of Peter and Angela Ballantyne.
You can read Liam’s Coast Guard Academy’s sailing profile here. Liam is the skipper of a J70 sailboat, which is quite large, as seen in the picture below.
This past October he won his race at the Boston College regatta where he made a quick tack right approaching the finish line and surged ahead of three other boats.
Liam skippering his J70 (on the left) for the Coast Guard Academy against the Harvard team (right). (Click picture to see full-scale.)
While so many of us are fans of some team or sport, I wanted to try and put as many connections that Huletts Landing has to individuals, teams or sports that might be of interest. While I can’t say that these are all of them, I wanted to try and start compiling a list. So here’s to sports in our community:
Aileen Colligan holds her Silver Medal in Figure Skating from the 2016 Empire State Games.
Empire State Games
Aileen Colligan, daughter of John and Beth Colligan of Huletts Landing, recently won a Silver Medal in Figure Skating at the 2016 Empire State Games in Lake Placid. This follows her Gold Medal from the 2015 Winter Games.
Princeton University Football
Brett Stewart, son of Jeff and Pam Stewart of Huletts Landing, just finished his freshmen year playing defensive back for the Princeton Tiger’s football team. Stewart’s grandfather played football in the NFL for the Chicago Bears. Read Brett’s Princeton football profile here.
George Washington University Basketball
Mike Lonergan, who I interviewed when he was the head coach of the men’s basketball team at the University of Vermont, is now the head coach at George Washington University, where his team is fighting for an NCAA berth. Mike and his family are frequent visitors to Huletts Landing. Recently, he recounted for a DC Radio station, the hilarious story of when he was asked to leave his daughter’s JV basketball game.
Historical
1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympic Games
Russ Considine, who grew up in Huletts, and who continues to visit, took many award-winning photographs at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics. His blog account of the famous games can be found at: http://rustyconsidine.blogspot.com
The following video by Yahoo Sports, contains many of his award-winning photos of speed-skater Eric Heiden who won 5 gold medals at the 1980 games. (It contains a short 15 second advertisement at the beginning.)
Former MLB Baseball Player – Ebba St. Claire
Former Major League Baseball Player, Ebba St. Claire, and his wife Maxine ran the Soda Fountain during the 1970’s while their son Shane constructed some docks in Huletts Landing. Randy St. Claire, one of their other sons, has had a long career in Major League Baseball, first as a pitcher for the Montreal Expos and later as a pitching coach. Most recently, he served as the pitching coach for the Miami Marlins last year.
Former NFL Quarterback – Ken O’Brien
Finally, I have been told, that former NY Jets starting quarterback, Ken O’Brien, who was born in Rockville Centre, once visited the Casino when he stopped by Huletts. He evidently posed for some pictures – which if anyone has – I will gladly post. Is this enough to make any Patriot’s fan switch their allegiance to the Jets??
Photo of the “Reed Property” on the east shore and north toward Ticonderoga, taken from the west shore’s Roger’s Little Slide. (Click image to see full-scale.)
The Lake George Land Conservancy (LGLC) has purchased 140 acres that are part of the South Mountain range in Putnam, for the price of $210,000. The closing took place on December 15, 2015.
Contrary to its name, South Mountain is in the northeastern corner of Lake George, stretching between Mount Defiance in Ticonderoga and the Anthony’s Nose property in Putnam.
The acquisition of this 140-acre piece, the “Reed property,” is the first major accomplishment in LGLC’s South Mountain Initiative, a project that aims to protect the entire South Mountain ridge line with the goals of ridge line protection, wildlife habitat protection, and recreational connectivity.
The entire South Mountain ridge line, which is mostly undeveloped, is highly visible from Roger’s Rock and LGLC’s Cook Mountain Preserve in Ticonderoga, and is also a dominant part of the visible landscape from Fort Ticonderoga.
Full panorama of South Mountain range, from Mt Defiance to Flat Rock, taken from the west shore. Huletts Landing is visible on the opposite side of the lake – far right hand corner. (Click image to see full-scale.)
In addition to providing a continuous stretch of forest for wildlife habitat, the mountain range has been identified as a “core forest block,” in a 2013 study conducted by the Vermont Chapter of The Nature Conservancy in partnership with the Staying Connected Initiative. These forest blocks are key to providing habitat linkage from Vermont’s Green Mountains to the Adirondack Park for wide-ranging mammals such as the bobcat, fisher and moose.
The Reed property contains a large vernal pool, possibly one of the largest vernal pools in the Lake George watershed. Vernal pools are critical breeding habitats for amphibians, including frogs and salamanders. In addition, birds such as egrets, ducks, and hawks use vernal pools as a seasonal source of food and water.
A major focus for the South Mountain Initiative has also been to increase recreational opportunities, especially to connect existing trails in Ticonderoga to those managed by LGLC in Putnam. The acquisition of the Reed property was a necessary step towards this goal. The LGLC has been in ongoing conversations with neighboring landowners since the summer of 2015 to implement trail easements that would allow the creation of a public trail corridor nearly 7 miles long, stretching from Mount Defiance to LGLC’s Anthony’s Nose Preserve trailhead. Further efforts are also underway to connect Anthony’s Nose to LGLC’s Last Great Shoreline and Gull Bay Preserves. Once completed, the trail would have multiple trailheads and include several scenic viewpoints that would look out over Lake George and the greater Adirondacks, as well as Lake Champlain and Vermont.
Funding for the Reed property acquisition was secured through grants from the Helen V. Froehlich Foundation ($135,000) and the Wildlife Forever Fund ($10,000), and through individual donors, most of whom gave during LGLC’s annual celebration on July 31, 2015.
The Raquette Lake Ice Harvest – This video was taken February 2015. The Annual ice harvest in Raquette Lake, NY has been happening for over 100 years.
Here's To Adirondack Traditions! from Adirondack Mountain Productions on Vimeo.
ANNUAL Rachel Ray Benefit Cooking Show: APRIL 29, 2016 6:30-10:30 pm
Lake George High School Auditorium
Pre Show: Pet and People Food Exchange for Door Prize Chances
Evening Program includes Recipe Handouts, Books Sales & Signing, Photo Opportunity and Recipe Tasting.
Proceeds are directed to LGHS graduates (Alumni) entering their 2nd year of an educational program including college and/or tech schools and also to the LG High School and Elementary enhancement projects.