Pam Stragnell recently mailed out her newsletter with order forms to purchase stamps by mail. Please remember to support the Huletts Post Office even if you are not in Huletts. Ordering stamps by mail through Pam is a great way to support the Huletts Post Office. In many ways the local Post Office is the center of life in a small community like Huletts Landing. Lets make sure it’s here for many more years to come.
Now for Some History: circa 1920-1930
Once we were returning from Whitehall after picking up a friend who had arrived on the “Laurentian.” My daughter, who was driving, made a sudden stop. Crossing the road in front of us was a curious looking animal which upon closer inspection proved to be a skunk, its head completely covered by a tin can. The poor creature crossed and recrossed the road. When it hit the weeds by the road-side it always turned and came back. This continued as three helpless women stood and wondered what to do. A young man came along in a car and sensing that something was wrong, stopped. I said to him, “It’s a skunk! But I have read that if you pick a skunk up by its tail it will not be offensive.” The brave man did so. Mr. Skunk seemed to know that someone was trying to help him and assisted by pushing the can with his paws, twisting and turning the can until it finally came off, leaving a bloody little neck. The skunk stood there on the bank, looking bewildered, but he was odorless. He seemed to be trying to say “Thank you.” I said to the young man, “That was one of the nicest things I have ever seen done and I think you deserve a Carnegie medal.”
by
Elizabeth H. W. Danforth
circa 1920-1930
Published in Hamlet Summers: 1950
The Danforths came to Huletts Landing in 1909 when “Forest Lodge” became their summer home.
Bits of Everything
NY Times Interview with Cuomo
The NY Times recently conducted an interview with Andrew Cuomo.
Trash Plant Contract to end Soon
The Post Star did a fairly in-depth piece documenting Washington County’s trash plant woes. The trash plant has cost taxpayers of Washington County a lot of money during its history.
Remembering Huletts
The Adirondack Almanack recounts some old memories of Huletts.
Think Big: Some Spectacular Shots of the Solar System
Boston.com has some stunning shots of our universe.
Sometimes a Teasing Self Promotion is in Order
Since the publication of Huletts Landing on Lake George, I sometimes get asked if I’m working on a second book. To date, I’ve always answered that I’ve been too busy and that quite frankly, every truly bit of interesting information that I had regarding Huletts was published in Huletts Landing on Lake George.
Additionally, I’ve always felt that any good history book must have an interesting story attached to it. After writing Huletts Landing on Lake George, I couldn’t see unearthing anything else which could add to the story presented in Huletts Landing on Lake George.
That is until recently when an historical artifact was given to me which was so intriguing, the story just presented itself.
Now you’re probably thinking, “oh what a tease, tell us what you’re working on”. Well if I told you now, it wouldn’t be worth the wait and secondly I have no idea when I’ll finish it because the Huletts Current while quiet now, does take a good bit of my spare time.
I will say this:
a.) it is an ongoing project with no clear finish date.
b.) there are pictures that have never been seen publically before.
c.) the story has even led me (figuratively) to Springfield, Illinois which is better known for it’s significance in the life of our 16th President.
If you see me, don’t ask. You’ll have to stay tuned here to learn more.
Congratulations!
Dr. John Stoutenburg was recently named by the Post Star as one of their 20 Under 40 Young Professionals.
Follow the link to read more about the awards dinner on October 29th and click on his name to read more about his impressive accomplishments.
Congratulations Dr. Stoutenburg.
Voting Absentee
Please know that the General Election is fast approaching. Here is how to obtain an absentee ballot if you are registered to vote in NY state.
Qualifications to Vote by Absentee Ballot:
Absent from your county or, if a resident of the city of New York absent from said city, on Election Day;
unable to appear at the polls due to illness or disability;
A patient in a Veterans’ Administration Hospital;
Detained in jail awaiting Grand Jury action or confined in prison after conviction for an offense other than a felony;
How to Vote by Absentee Ballot
Applications for Absentee Ballots are available at your county board of elections.
You may also download a PDF version of the New York State Absentee Ballot Application Form. ( 261KB)
Upon completion, applications must be mailed to your county board no later than the seventh day before the election or delivered in person no later than the day before the election.
You may also request an Absentee Ballot by sending a letter to your county board of elections. The letter must be received by your county board no earlier than 30 days and no later than seven days before the election. The letter must contain the following information:
the address where you are registered
an address where the ballot is to be sent
the reason for the request, and
the signature of the voter
An application form will be mailed with your ballot. The application form must be completed and returned with your ballot.
Washington County Board of Elections
383 Broadway
Fort Edward, NY 12828
Phone: 518-746-2180
Fax: 518-746-2179
The Halloween Parade
The Halloween parade will take place this Saturday, October 9th at noon. It will start in front of the Post Office and finish in front of the soda fountain.
While the little ones are enjoying some ice-cream, congratulate the Mackell sisters on 20 years of their family successfully running the soda fountain!!
Back to the Huletts School
The former Huletts school house as it looks today.
This past summer I had a chance to sit down with Francis Borden and talk in-depth about what it was like for him to attend the Huletts school house when he was a young boy. Below is my interview with him.
Attending a one room school house was made popular in the television series, Little House on the Prairie, but that was the way students in Dresden were educated for a long time.
“Yes, there were a number of schools in Dresden. Clemons had a school. Dresden had a school near where the old town dump once was and the Huletts school was actually District # 5. The boundary line for attending the Huletts school was on top of the mountain. But in those days everyone walked to school and you had to be close enough to walk.”
Could you give the readers of the Huletts Current an idea of what a school day was like for you?
“Well to begin, I had to make three trips up the mountain every day. I walked up the mountain in the morning. We got sent home for lunch, so I had to walk up the mountain again at one in the afternoon, and finally I had a job cleaning the school house so I would walk up again after school to sweep and clean the building. So if nothing else, I got my exercise.”
So there were children of numerous ages learning different things simultaneously?
“Yes, for instance, the Gregories from the top of the mountain were there, Ken Robbins’ son Ben Robbins was there and and Beulah Cooper was actually the last teacher I remember. Different things were being taught to different students but it was a very good education. The fundamentals of reading, writing and arithmetic were drilled into everyone.”
Are there any pictures that remain from those days?
“Ben Robbins sent me one a few years ago and I’ll be happy to look for it for you.”
The Huletts school house only went up to the 8th grade, correct?
“Yes, when we graduated were were taken by station wagon to Whitehall for high school.”
Station Wagon?
“Yes in those days, no buses came to Huletts and there were only about 4 or 5 of us from Huletts. So we were driven in a station wagon to Whitehall. I actually graduated early because I skipped 2 grades. So when I went to high school, I was only 12.”
So the Huletts school turned out some well educated students!
“I would say so. I did the 1st and 2nd grade in one year and then 5th and 6th grade in one year. It was a good education and we were made to work.”
It certainly was a time that was much different than today. Thank you for sharing your recollections with us.
“I’m happy to. The one thing I wish is that I had more pictures. It was a way of life that really can’t be described. But that’s the way it was. I’ll certainly never forget walking up the mountain three times a day. Every day.” (Big Smile)
Friends of Historic Huletts: August Minutes
For those unable to attend the Friends of Historic Huletts’ annual meeting held on August 28th, I have posted the minutes here.
Final 2010 Report – Coliform Monitoring
I have placed a link to the “Final 2010 Interim Report on the Lake George Coliform Monitoring Program”. This is prepared by the Darrin Fresh Water Institute. This report summarizes their coliform tests throughout the 2010 season at a number of spots on Lake George.
“The Coliform Monitoring Program focuses on a series of locations that have shown chronically high levels of coliform bacteria in past years with routine surveillance sampling of other locations also included. For 2010, synoptic sampling of public bathing beaches on a two week basis is also included in the program. In addition to samples collected at the lake-shore, a series of samples are collected up the watershed by the Lake George Park Commission to locate and remediate specific sources of bacterial pollution.”
The locations in the town of Dresden that were sampled can be found on page 5 of the report.
In the email which accompanied this report, Mr. Lawrence Eichler of the Darrin Fresh Water Institute explains some of the heightened levels found at certain areas.
We collected additional samples in the south basin at Huddle Beach Brook and South Sawmill Bay Brook in Bolton. We have also collected samples with elevated bacterial levels in Lake George at East Brook at the outlet of Greens Pond. None of the FC/Enterococci ratios suggest a human source, however we will continue to monitor these location. The extensive wildlife populations present in wetland areas may account for bacteria present in these sites.
In the North Basin we collected additional samples at Cook Bay South Culvert, Temple Island Culvert, Stags Leap Brook, and Hearts Bay Culvert. A decaying goose carcass was removed from Stags Leap Brook and may account for the single elevated bacterial sample. A horse pasture is present in the drainage of the Hearts Bay Culvert, possibly accounting for the bacterial counts there. We will continue to monitor these sites and assist the Lake George Park Commission in on-site investigations at selected locations.
All beach samples continued to meet NYS DOH standards for contact recreation.
If you want to learn more about coliform levels in Lake George, read the entire report.
How Does a Sundial Work?
Many people have seen the old sundial which still sits in close proximity to where the first Huletts hotel stood. To the best of my knowledge, it still keeps pretty accurate time. As the summer draws to a close, I thought this might make an interesting post.
Wikipedia has a long description about sundials here but I present the “short version” below.
A sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In the most common design, the sun casts a shadow from its Gnomon, a thin, straight edge onto a flat surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. As the sun moves across the sky, the shadow-edge progressively aligns with different hour-lines. Such designs rely on the Gnomon being aligned with the axis of the Earth’s rotation. For a sundial to work correctly in the northern hemisphere, the Gnomon must point towards true north (not the north magnetic pole) and the Gnomon’s angle with horizontal must equal the sundial’s geographical latitude. Huletts Landing’s latitude is 43.6392326355 degrees.
The shadow-casting Gnomon must be in a fixed position and aligned with the Earth’s rotational axis. It must be oriented with true North, making an angle with the horizontal equal to the sundial’s geographical latitude. This axis can only be aligned with the celestial north pole, which is closely aligned with the (present) North star, Polaris. In other words, it can’t be positioned with a compass, it must be positioned with the North star.
If the shadow-casting gnomon is aligned with the celestial north pole, its shadow will revolve at a constant rate, and this rotation will not change with the seasons. That’s why a sundial works through all seasons of the year.
So while I don’t know the year the sundial was put in place, I can say with some certainty that it was positioned at night and those putting it into place stopped and found the North star. Our proof is that it still works today.
So as Labor Day brings this summer to a close, have a great break and a good rest.
Hole-In-One Club
Congratulations to Nicholas Mir who hit a hole-in-one of the 2nd hole of the Huletts Golf Course on Thursday, August 19th.
Using an 8 iron on the 2nd hole during a late afternoon round, he recounted the event in an email to me.
“I was with my dad and he actually called it in mid-air, he said “This one is going to look good in the newspaper.” It landed just short of the pin, bounced a couple of times and went right in. It took both of us a couple seconds to realize what had happened but when we did we were both pretty excited. He has now seen me get a hole in one as well as my sister who was only 8 years old at the time. It was the perfect scenario for my first hole in one, I was at my favorite place on earth with my dad, the man who taught me how to play the game, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
Congratulations Nick Mir! Thanks for sharing your accomplishment!
Take a Chance!
The annual
CHAPEL OF THE ASSUMPTION
Labor Day Drawing
Saturday, September 4th, 2010
at the Huletts Landing
Labor Day Weekend Community Picnic
GRAND PRIZE:
greens fees & carts for four
at the SAGAMORE RESORT
plus $100 CASH!
PLUS 18 ADDITIONAL PRIZES
A combined cash value of $1000!
More prizes than any Chapel drawing ever!
$5 per chance
$25 for six
Winner need not be present at drawing to claim prize
ALL PROCEEDS GO TO IMPROVEMENTS TO THE
CHAPEL OF THE ASSUMPTION
HULETTS LANDING
To enter:
Print out raffle tickets here.
Return to:
Chapel of the Assumption
PO Box 196
Huletts Landing, NY 12841
Email to the Editor
After reading the entry about the Bald Eagle sighting I wanted to share that we also saw a bald eagle the first week of August, just past lands end. We sat there in the boat and watched for a while. He/She didn’t seem to mind us, and preened.
Heather Bondesen