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Happy Thanksgiving


Sarah Josepha Hale, 1831, by James Reid Lambdin

Sarah Josepha Hale, a 74-year-old magazine editor, wrote a letter to President Lincoln on September 28, 1863, urging him to have the “day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival.” She explained, “You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution.”

This is the proclamation which set the precedent for America’s national day of Thanksgiving.

Proclamation of Thanksgiving
Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

By the President of the United States of America.
A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.

And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

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Henry Knox’s 1775 Epic Feat to be Recreated at Fort Ticonderoga


Learn more about how an unassuming Boston book seller moved 14 mortars, 43 cannons, and other artillery to Boston in the winter of 1776 at Fort Ticonderoga’s upcoming living history event.

Discover the story of Henry Knox’s noble train of artillery at Fort Ticonderoga’s upcoming living history event, Saturday, December 1, from 10 am – 4 pm. The event will feature a lively program highlighting Henry Knox’s arrival to Fort Ticonderoga and recreate the beginning of the epic feat that ultimately forced the British evacuation from Boston on March 17, 1776. Admission to the “The Noble Train Begins” living history event is $10 per person and payable at the door.

The siege of Boston, April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776 was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War in which New England militiamen, who later became part of the Continental Army, surrounded the town of Boston, Massachusetts, to prevent movement by the British Army garrisoned within. In November 1775, Washington sent a 25 year-old bookseller-turned-soldier, Henry Knox, to bring heavy artillery that had been captured at Fort Ticonderoga to Boston. In a technically complex and demanding operation, Knox brought the cannon to the Boston area in January 1776. In March 1776, these artillery pieces were used to fortify Dorchester Heights, overlooking Boston and its harbor and threatening the British naval supply lifeline. The British commander William Howe, realizing he could no longer hold the town, chose to evacuate it. He withdrew the British forces, departing on March 17, for Halifax, Nova Scotia.

“Visitors to the ‘The Noble Train Begins’ living history event will meet Henry Knox, the unassuming Boston book seller whose physical and mental might was first tested with the epic feat of moving more than 14 mortars, 43 cannon, and other artillery to Boston in the winter of 1776,” said Stuart Lilie, Fort Ticonderoga’s Director of Interpretation. “See man and horse power in action as the artillery is selected for the journey. Meet the soldiers left to guard this frontier outpost as the first winter of the Revolutionary War takes hold.”


Henry Knox: Washington’s Artilleryman by Rich Strum

“The Noble Train Begins” living history event will feature interpretive staff working with horses as they move the artillery in place for the journey, cannon tours and cannon demonstrations. The event will also feature Rich Strum, author of Henry Knox: Washington’s Artilleryman, who will present an overview on Henry Knox. Strum’s presentation will take place at 12 pm inside the Mars Education Center followed by a book signing.

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Today: Saint Kateri


Kateri Tekakwitha was officially canonized a “Saint” today.

Today, Kateri Tekakwitha, known as the “Lily of the Mohawks,” became the first native American to be named a saint of the Roman Catholic church. Pope Benedict XVI added Tekakwitha and six others onto the roster of Catholic role models today.

Although she is buried in Kahnawake near Montreal, she grew up in what is now New York state, close to what is now Saratoga Springs. She is considered to have lived in areas throughout the Adirondacks during her life.

Pope Benedict XVI, speaking in Latin at St. Peter’s Basilica, declared each of the seven new saints worthy of veneration by the entire church.

Numerous miracles attributed to Kateri’s intercession were part of the canonization process. A child saved from a fatal fresh eating disease, another child cured of a 65-percent hearing loss, and an ironworker who lost 16 vertebrae, fracturing his ribs and skull through a dangerous fall – and lived tell the tale; were considered miracles attributed to Saint Kateri’s intercession.

Raised by her uncle, near present day Fonda, N.Y., Kateri was inspired by Jesuit missionaries to study Catholicism. After her baptism, she became ostracized by her family and village and was threatened and ridiculed. In 1677 she fled to a Jesuit mission in Quebec where she taught prayers to children and worked with the sick and elderly.

The Mohawk settlement where Kateri was raised was abandoned in the late 1600s. However, the old wood post molds of the defense wall and longhouse buildings were discovered after WWII. Today a shrine is built there in her memory.

She died at the age of 24 from small pox uttering her last words; “Jesus, I love you.”

Kateri’s cause for canonization started in 1932 after more than a century of beseeching from Catholics devoted to her. Pope Pius XII declared her venerable in 1943, Pope John Paul II beautified her in 1980. Finally, Pope Benedict XVI signed the decree for her canonization last December.

Today, Catholics call her Saint Kateri and view her as an example in living a good, holy life.

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NY State Museum ~ Seneca Ray Stoddard Exhibition


Horicon Sketching Club, 1882 ~ Seneca Ray Stoddard: Capturing the Adirondacks: Photo courtesy of the New York State Museum

The New York State Museum will celebrate the Adirondacks and Lake Champlain on Saturday, November 3rd with “Adirondack Day,” an inaugural daylong event that will complement the Museum’s exhibition on iconic Adirondack photographer Seneca Ray Stoddard.

The FREE event, from 10am to 4pm, will include a concert, lectures, displays, tours and films presented by the New York State Museum and many of the North Country’s leading educational and cultural institutions. The Adirondack Council is a supporter of the event.

Guided tours will be offered of the Seneca Ray Stoddard: Capturing the Adirondacks exhibition. The exhibition includes over 100 of Stoddard’s photographs, an Adirondack guide boat, freight boat, camera, copies of Stoddard’s books and several of his paintings.

Further information about “Adirondack Day” can be obtained by calling 518.474.5877 or visiting the Museum website.

Note: There are three pictures of Huletts Landing. Go to: Explore Virtual Exhibit / Adapting the Land / Pictures 15, 16 & 17.

Explore Virtual Exhibit Here

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Now For Some History: 1962

This photo was sent to me by Russ Considine showing his family in 1962 in front of the pond, gate, and gazebo.

Russ had this to say about the picture; “It (was taken) around 1962 and shows my father (Howard), mother (Dorothy), sister (Carole) and me. (I think) we just returned from Sunday Mass.”

Many people may remember that the Considine’s owned Oriole cottage in the 1960’s.

Thanks Russ for the great picture!

Click on the image to see full view.

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Now For Some History: 1940


The front of a postcard mailed from Huletts on August 29, 1940.


The back of the same postcard. Notice only 1 cent to mail.

Click on images to see full-scale.

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Chocolate at Fort Ticonderoga


Chocolate played an important role in the diet of a revolutionary war soldier.

Did you know that in 1775, the Connecticut Assembly passed the following resolution:

“As per May 11, 1775 the Connecticut Assembly Resolves Connecticut soldiers serving at Fort Ticonderoga were to receive as part of their rations, ‘Milk, Molasses, Candles, Soap, Vinegar, Coffee, Chocolate, Sugar, Tobacco, Onions and Vegetables’ in season…”

“Yes, Chocolate!” said Stuart Lilie, Fort Ticonderoga’s Director of Interpretation. “These rations made it all the way to Ticonderoga, and became a bone of contention with the New York soldiers who were not nearly as well provisioned that year.”

On Saturday, October 13th meet re-enactors of the Connecticut soldiers posted in the fall of 1775 at Fort Ticonderoga, and discover how chocolate was a simple luxury enjoyed by enlisted soldiers as well as officers. Step into the enlisted barracks and talk with soldiers about their sweet chocolate rations enjoyed in various forms to break the monotony of their usual stews. Visit the officer’s mess, where hot drinking chocolate makes the perfect final course to an early breakfast or late day supper. Rodney Snyder, Chocolate History Research Director for Mars Chocolate NA, will also be on hand to share the importance of chocolate in American history.

Free samples of hot chocolate featuring American Heritage Chocolate, an authentic colonial chocolate recipe made only from ingredients available in the 18th century made by Mars Chocolate, will be available throughout the day. Admission to this living history event is included with Fort Ticonderoga’s general admission ticket. Fort Ticonderoga is open from 9:30 am until 5 pm daily.

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8mm film of the 1974 Labor Day Picnic

At the 2012 Huletts talent show in the Casino, Maryellen (Jello) Hennessy showed a film of the 1974 Labor Day picnic.

Since then I’ve received a few requests to post the film.

Maryellen was kind enough to provide me with a copy that I have posted in two parts:

Part one is the 2012 talent show presentation with “still pictures” taken from the 8 mm film.

Part two is the film in its entirety.

Many thanks to Maryellen Hennessy for sharing the film. This is a rare treasure from 1974.

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Remembering September 11th

On September 11, 2001, I was about three miles from the Pentagon going through some training that the company I worked for had sent me to. I was in a computer lab, learning some new software and on a break around 10:00 a.m. someone said that a plane had flown into the one of the World Trade Center Towers. People started checking online and then all of sudden we heard fighter planes flying above us. I went outside and saw three fighter planes flying real low and smoke coming from the Pentagon. Everything was cancelled immediately. I still have a grainy picture on my phone of the military jets flying above Virginia.

The world changed that day for all of us.

Since then I’ve been to the World Trade Center site and back to the Pentagon. One of my resolutions for this year, is that I will make it to the Shanksburg, PA memorial.

Whatever you’re doing today, let us all never forget.

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Saturday Quote

“This letter will, to you, be as one from the dead. The writer will be in the grave before you can weigh its counsels. Your affectionate and excellent father has requested that I would address to you something which might possibly have a favorable influence on the course of life you have to run, and I too, as a namesake, feel an interest in that course. Few words will be necessary, with good dispositions on your part. Adore God. Reverence and cherish your parents. Love your neighbor as yourself, and your country more than yourself. Be just. Be true. Murmur not at the ways of Providence. So shall the life into which you have entered, be the portal to one of eternal and ineffable bliss. And if to the dead it is permitted to care for the things of this world, every action of your life will be under my regard. Farewell.”

Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Jefferson Smith, February 21, 1825
Jefferson was writing to a friend who had asked for advice for his young son, who had been named after Jefferson.

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Interview with Stanley Barber


Stanley Barber (right) with me.

Recently, I had the chance to talk with Stanley Barber. Mr. Barber is the youngest child of Royden Barber, who was instrumental in selling the first Hulett hotel to William H. Wyatt. (To learn more about Royden Barber, you need to buy: The Hulett Hotel Fire on Lake George!) Royden Barber had three children, all of whom are still living: Frances: age 99, Agnes: age 97, and Stanley: age 94. So all the Barber children seem to have the longevity gene.

Stanley Barber is also the nephew of Henry and Cora Buckell, who owned the first Hulett hotel. He is presently 94 (having been born in 1917) and will turn 95 later this year. Stanley Barber would only agree to be photographed if I would join him in the picture. He said, “I’m so old I’ll break your camera. So if you’re in the picture, you can’t blame me for breaking it!”

Interview with Stanley Barber. (Age 94, son of Royden Barber and nephew of Henry and Cora (Barber) Buckell.)

Your father’s sister, Cora Barber, was married to Henry Buckell making the Buckell’s your aunt and uncle. The Buckell’s owned and operated the original Hulett hotel. Do you have any memories of the Buckell’s and their time in Huletts?

Uncle Henry ran a really tight ship. He kept people working at the hotel and my father once told us, he rented cottages that weren’t even built when he rented them. He would take a reservation, tell his workers to cut the wood and build the house, and when the people arrived it would be built. The wood was cut at the Huletts sawmill. That was Uncle Henry, always trying to get people to come to Huletts.

He later retired and moved to Hudson Falls but he worked his entire life. He believed in thrift and hard work!

My Uncle Henry and Aunt Cora had five children: Gladys, Raymond, Hazel, Bernard (Bud) and Naomi. They were my cousins. The youngest, Naomi, just passed away in 2011 in Florida. One sad story that I remember is that a boat sank off of Agnes island and a few of the passengers went down with the boat. Bud, who was an excellent swimmer, dove down and brought the bodies up. They were dead, but it was my cousin, Bud, who got them to the surface. It was in over 40 feet of water but he was a great swimmer and he was the one who did it.

The Buckell’s owned the original Hulett hotel before the age of the automobile. Did you actually ride in a horse-drawn carriage when you were young?

Absolutely. My father bought a car in the 1920’s but as children we crossed the mountain in a horse-drawn carriage. In the winter, you would wear a “lap robe” over your waist and legs to stay warm as the horses pulled the carriage. It was made out of cow hide and the wind couldn’t go through it. It kept you warm. The stable in Huletts was located very close to the present Casino, the new one, back from the water. The horses really labored pulling you up the mountain. I can remember them snorting and pulling. It was a good pull for them going up the mountain. They had to work, but they liked going down the mountain. It was difficult crossing the mountain, and I still remember the sounds the horses made.

Could you tell us one of your memories about Huletts Landing which some people might not know?

Well one of the things I did, which is interesting, is that I actually surveyed a lot of Huletts Landing in the late 1940’s. When Arthur Wyatt died, (the owner of the Hulett hotel at that time) I was hired by a surveyor, from across the lake in Hague, named Henry Watts. He was hired by the corporation to survey the lands of Arthur Wyatt. I believe it had something to do with insurance. I surveyed those lands with Henry Watts and Robert Borden, Franny’s father. We traversed all types of terrain and found some stone markers going back 100 years or more.

Could you tell us what life was like in the 20’s and 30’s in Dresden?

One interesting fact that people don’t know, is that when aviation first started there was a revolving light beacon on the top of Spruce mountain. It spun in a full circle and the next one was about 40 miles north on some mountain. The pilots of planes looked out at night and saw the beacons below to fly by. There was also a “blinker” light on the Black mountain tower. It was different than the Spruce mountain beacon, but it was there so planes wouldn’t fly into it.

As of this interview, you are 94 years old. Can you tell us your thoughts on aging?

Right now, it’s hard. Some days you just ache all over and every move you make hurts. I once worked in a nursing home and you have to fight through it, you can’t give up. I saw old people give up and once that happens they were done. I decided long ago, that however old I got I would always fight and never give in. I don’t know if I’ll be here tomorrow but I’ll go out fighting. My father lived to be almost 101 years old, and he was an example to me.

Mr. Barber, it was a pleasure speaking with you. Thank you for sharing your memories.

Just let people know, if the picture of us breaks your camera, you did it and not me! (Big smile.)

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Vintage Images on Display Until September 1

The Friends of Historic Huletts Landing (FHHL) is having a display of vintage images and postcards from now until Saturday, September 1st in the Huletts Landing Library and Gallery.

Stop by and see a picture or image that you haven’t seen before and support the work of the FHHL.