This is the time of year when people start venturing out onto the ice. However, now is the time to be extra careful. It takes at least 4 inches of ice to hold an average person. Here is a great video explaining ice safety and how to get out of the ice if you happen to fall in. Hopefully this is information you will never need but it’s good to know and it might just save your life.
Now for Some History -1969
With yesterday’s plane crash into the Hudson River, I was reminded of this sad story, which I had heard about long ago.
The plane crash described here is known as the Crash of Mohawk Airlines Flight 411. It happened in the Lake George basin on November 19, 1969 and is the worst plane crash in Adirondack history.
A twin prop-jet commuter plane (a Fairchild-Hiller 227B) flying from Albany to Glens Falls crashed into Pilot Knob Mountain killing all 14 onboard. The accident is blamed on severe mountain downdrafts and pilot error.
Here is a picture of the airplane a year before the crash.
Lake George Draft Stream Rules Released
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The Lake George Park Commission released their proposed stream corridor rules this past week. |
You can read the draft regulations here on the LGPC’s website.
We’ll post some further thoughts on these proposed rules in the weeks ahead.
Doing it Mountain Dew – Huletts 1980’s
During the early to mid-1980’s, Mountain Dew received permission and filmed a commercial on the Paulist Islands off of Huletts. The camera crew took their equipment out to the islands from Huletts. I remember speaking to the crew and it was quite a production. They had numerous cameras and a lot of equipment.
The commercial wasn’t on TV that long and many people never saw it or even knew about it.
However, after a lot of searching, we found a copy. You’ll definitely recognize the background. Doing it Mountain Dew – Huletts 1980’s. Those were the days!
Bits of Everything
Here are some links which I thought people would like to know about.
Here’s a story about the completion of a deal to protect 104,000 acres of Adirondack forest. That’s a lot of land.
While they may be acquiring acreage, here is an update on how the state is at the same time proposing to not pay their share of property taxes on their Adirondack land. This issue is bringing together groups from both ends of the political spectrum.
Finally, this is something the Huletts fire department may want to consider in the future. The Hague fire department just purchased a new fire/rescue boat to protect shoreline property and make lake rescues. Perhaps something to consider for Huletts someday?
Interview with Adam Terry, Baltimore Raven
Photo Courtesy of Baltimore Ravens photographer Phil Hoffmann
The Huletts Current recently interviewed local standout, Adam Terry, who is now playing offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. This is a transcript of our interview with him.
What exactly is your affiliation to our area? We know you went to high-school in Queensbury but did you grow up in Whitehall?
“No, but I spent a lot of time up there. That’s where most of my family resided. On my dad’s side, my grandparents lived in Whitehall. On my mom’s side, they lived up in Clemons, which is on the other side of the mountain from Huletts. So I spent a lot of time up there. My aunt and uncle still live up there. I haven’t spent much time up there lately, but when I was in high school and younger – and even in college – I’d go up there quite a bit.”
Do you have any favorite outdoor activities in upstate New York?
“I like being on Lake George. Huletts is right there on Lake George. When I was young, we spent a lot of time up at Ticonderoga camping up there. As we got older, we spent more time on Lake George. It’s about five minutes from my house, so I spent a lot of time up there and I still do. I like being up there.”
What kind of insight can you give about what it’s like playing in the NFL?
“I guess one thing you could say is it’s a glamorous lifestyle, but it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. You know, it’s nice to be recognized, and you get your perks every once in a while – a free meal here and there. As far as it goes, though, there’s a lot of dedication and a lot of perseverance, especially for myself, dealing with injuries. It’s a full-time job, and I think people don’t realize that. They see what you do out on Sunday, but there’s a lot of preparation, a lot of dedication during the week.”
Getting drafted in the 2nd round by the Ravens must have been a dream come true. What advice would you give to young people who want to follow their dreams?
Even for me right now, it’s just continuing to focus on what you want to do and what you want to become. For me, growing up, I really didn’t even want to play football at a professional level. When I was real young, I wanted to play hockey. My dream died on a pond; it didn’t even go to an ice rink. It was baseball from there. But when you have an .087 average and can bunt real well, but you can’t run really fast, I don’t think that’s conducive to being a pro baseball player. But then John Irion, my high school coach, saw something in me that other people didn’t when I was growing up, and I attribute a lot of my success to him giving me an opportunity. There were a lot of people growing up that… There were a lot of doubters. Grow close to the people that have confidence in you. I think that’s the main thing. As a kid, I didn’t know where I wanted to be or what I wanted to do, but I just kept plugging along. This was my niche. So far, I’ve been successful.
Any interesting tidbits from Huletts or Lake George?
“When my father was growing up, they used to run the county beach up there in Huletts. It’s a great area. As far as Whitehall, what is it? The Italian Festival, I want to say. We used to go up there every year and watch the fireworks when they used to be out at Mt. Carmel field, and then they went downtown. But I have a lot of memories up there because, like I said, a lot of my cousins were up there. So we used to run the streets up there. And then Lake George, Thomas Jefferson described it as one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. The people that go up there, it’s a nice area. It’s getting a little too expensive to live there, (laughing) but hopefully I can keep playing long enough that I can buy a house on the lake.”
Adam – thank you for your time and best of luck. If you’re ever back up our way, please let us know. (Big Smile)
The Huletts Current appreciates the time Adam spent with us this week. He was busy preparing for the Raven’s last game of the season, which if they win, will put them in the playoffs.
To learn more about Adam, click here to see his official bio with the Ravens.
The Current Reaches the NFL
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With the final week of the football season upon us, the Huletts Current will be rooting for the Baltimore Ravens to reach the playoffs. Why? Because local talent, Adam Terry, who spent alot of time growing up in Clemons, Huletts, and Whitehall, plays offensive tackle for the Ravens. |
Adam has a great story, going to school at Syracuse University and getting drafted in the 2nd round of the NFL draft. It is an understatement to tell you he is one big guy. He stands 6 ft 8 inches tall and weighs 330 lbs.
We completed our interview with Adam in anticipation of the playoffs and will be posting it here on Sunday morning. Read about him here – only on the Huletts Current. Go Huletts! Go Ravens!
Milfoil Eradication Working
We received the following press release from the Lake George Park Commission about its yearly milfoil eradication efforts.
The good news;
“During 2008, Lycott Environmental Inc. work crews under the Commission’s direction hand harvested more than 14,000 invasive milfoil plants and installed 115,850 square feet of benthic barrier material to smother dense beds of milfoil. Ninety-three sites were cleared of milfoil during 2008. An additional 47 sites remain clear from past management activities.”
Now there is still more work to do because some new sites have been identified, but the overall progress seems positive.
Read the recent press release here.
Read the 2008 milfoil report from the LGPC here. (Warning -it’s a big download)
New Rules to be Considered Next Month
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The Lake George Park Commission will be releasing a draft of their proposed rules to protect stream corridors next month.
The Albany Times Union reports on it here. |
This article is a bit oversimplified because it equates runoff with only private property development. Most people don’t know that when the LGPC was created, it was not given any authority to regulate other government entities. The biggest factor in pollutants reaching the Lake is runoff from County and State roads, especially salt and oil. But the LGPC has no authority to regulate other government bodies. This past summer, Washington County dug trenches down the mountain to facilitate runoff from County Route 6. When they did this, they destroyed areas Ed had created to catch runoff from the road. He had dug mini-sediment-basins over the course of a few years to catch any salt before it entered any stream. In the course of about two hours all of these were destroyed. The County’s response was that they could do whatever they wanted to because the LGPC regulations didn’t apply to them – and they did.
While we agree that every stream should be protected, we would like to see the government subjected to the same rules that private property owners are. Especially, when road pollutants are the biggest factor in runoff reaching the Lake. Until they are, the biggest source of pollutants will continue to flow.
No Removal of the Foster Brook Sediment Delta This Year
We are sad to report that the removal of the Foster Brook Sediment Delta will not take place this year. The Lake George Association worked very hard to make this happen but unfortunately they have informed us that because of funding issues and objections raised by the Lake George Waterkeeper, this project will not take place this year. We emailed the Waterkeeper last week to see what their objections were, but so far they have not responded.
Alred Bricher – Tongue Mountain
“Mohawk warriors attack the party of Father Jogues, 1646”
Photographing Lake George
This is a great piece on photographers in the Adirondacks. It highlights, Carl Heilman, while he shoots high quality panoramic views of Lake George.
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.