Monthly Archives: September 2012

Growing Up Adirondack by Mitch Lee

Pondering instincts of man and beast

As an eight-year-old, I would think about a lot of things that were going on in the big world as I scouted around the mountain slopes surrounding my Limekiln Lake home.

It was the fall of 1974, and there certainly was no lack of issues in the news to think about.

I had watched and listened to a lot of reports over the previous week about TWA flight 841 and its crash into the Ionian Sea.

The plane went down just minutes after take-off from Athens.

A bomb placed in the cargo was the cause and a total of 88 people were killed.

And then there was the buzz surrounding the upcoming boxing match in Zaire, Rumble in the Jungle, between Mohammed Ali and Joe Frasier.

Those two news stories stuck with me and followed me like a shadow as I hiked amidst the sights and smells of fall.

Continue reading →

Share Button

Inlet Golf Club bests Thendara to take Roland Christy Cup

The Roland Christy Cup Golf Tournament was held Sunday, September 23 at the Inlet Golf Club.

The annual golf competition was established in 1998 as a friendly annual tournament between the Thendara and Inlet Golf Clubs in recognition of the decades of dedication to both clubs by Roland Christy, the pro of the Inlet club.

This year’s golfers were challenged by uncooperative weather, according to Tim White, who played on the Thendara team.

“One minute it was beautiful and the next it was rainy and cold. We really had to layer up to play. We put up a good fight, but the home team prevailed in the end,” White said.

Inlet took this year’s Christy Cup with a score of 9 to 3.

In the fifteen years of the tournament, Thendara has taken the cup eight times and Inlet seven times.

Following the match-play event, the two teams met at Mulligan’s where Thendara Golf Club President George Hiltebrant returned the Christy Cup to Roland and Roger Lind, owner of the Inlet Golf Club.

In the spirit of good will, Hiltebrant received a trophy to fill the space above Thendara’s fireplace where the cup had resided for the past year.

It was a crazily dressed animated golfer doll, in homage to Hiltebrant and his legendary golf ensembles. Following, all enjoyed a turkey dinner.

Roland, 88, an Old Forge native, is a ten-time Thendara Club champion who will soon be wrapping up his 40th year as Inlet’s head pro.

The tournament will be played at Thendara next year.

Share Button

Service planned for Gail S. Mawhinney, 85

Gail Mawhinney

Gail Sargent Mawhinney, 85, of Fayetteville, passed away September 23, 2012 surrounded by her loving family. She was born in Allentown, PA and grew up in the Philadelphia, PA area.  She was the daughter of the late Lena and Richard Sargent.

Gail was Valedictorian of her class at Springfield Township High School. In 1948 she graduated from Syracuse University Magna Cum Laude, majoring in Liberal Arts/Education.

While at SU, she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority, Eta Pi Upsilon Senior Women’s Honorary, Phi Beta Kappa Academic Honorary, Pi Lambda Theta Education Honorary, and the Tabard English Honorary Society.  Continue reading →

Share Button

4th Paddle for the Cure raises over $30,000 for Breast Cancer research

The Annual Paddle for the Cure, a paddling event which raises funds for the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund, was held at Mountainman Outdoor Supply Co. in Old Forge on Saturday, September 22.

Though organizers had hoped for nicer weather, the event went well with over 300 paddlers participating in the Moose River event, said Mountainman manager Roxanne Beacon, with over $30,000 raised for the fight against breast cancer.

Once the participants completed their paddling, all enjoyed a barbecue picnic courtesy of Mountainman and MT Bank.

A number of items were donated as give-aways during the event including two custom-made Paddle for the Cure paddles from Foxworx Paddles.

Also, Adirondack chairs, courtesy of Adirondack Bank, were awarded to the two individuals who raised the highest amount in pledges.

Among those present was Beth Baldwin who came on behalf of her mother’s namesake foundation. This marks the fourth year of the event at the Mountainman venue.

As in past year’s, owner John Nemjo donated 20% of the day’s boat rental fees back to the Carol M. Baldwin Research Fund.

Due to his support of last year’s Paddle for the Cure, Nemjo was recognized as the organization’s Philanthropist of the Year at a ceremony held at The Turning Stone Casino.

Share Button

Pedals & Petals joining Breast Cancer Awareness Ride, Oct. 13

Pedals & Petals of Inlet will join with Trek dealers across the United States and Canada to raise awareness for breast cancer research, treatment, and prevention by hosting a casual, family-friendly bike ride on Saturday, October 13.

The 7th Annual Trek Women Breast Cancer Awareness Ride, which is open to men and women of all ages and abilities, will start at Pedals & Petals on Main Street at 10 a.m. and go down South Shore Road towards Old Forge. Participants can choose between an 11-mile  or a 21-mile casual ride.

Ride support, ride leaders, and a ride reception will be provided by Pedals and Petals.

Registration is currently open and interested bikers can sign up at Pedals & Petals, or online at: active.com. The fee is $25. Registration forms will also be available from 8 to 9:30 a.m. on the day of the event.

All registration fees are donated directly to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

The first 50 registrants will receive a gift bag, and all participants qualify to win fabulous prizes courtesy of Trek Women and Pedals and Petals. Prizes include a Trek Lexa road bike.

Lisa Egenhofer Peters, a 2010 ride participant, was the winner of a two-day supported bike trip through the California wine country that included accommodations, meals, social hours and the use of a Trek Madone or 7.5FX.

Organizer Ted Christodaro is currently seeking volunteers and sponsors of the event. Anyone interested in helping out can call (315) 357-3281 or email: info@pedalsandpetals.com.

More information can be found at www.bcrfcure.org.

Share Button

Gary Lee’s Daybreak to Twilight

Catching up with Karen’s classmates at 50th high school reunion 

We finally had some fall weather this week with a couple frosts and some cold rain and wind that brought down a few leaves. I noticed that the majority of the pretty leaves still remained on the trees as I traveled home from Saratoga yesterday. It was very colorful.

There were a few rain squalls along the way but when the sun came out the leaves were certainly showing their colors.

There was not much color beyond North River Hill but the oaks had a very good year producing nuts. Even the ones along 28 in Old Forge produced lots of nuts.

We made a stop at the rest area on the Northway (87) below Glens Falls. There was an oak tree there that had lost much of its fruit, which was covering the ground. The Deer and Squirrels in that area should be fat and happy before winter comes.

I picked a bag full of nuts to plant around Eight Acre Wood as I have several oaks already growing from nuts I planted years ago.

In the Town of Milton in Saratoga County, where we grew up, we heard that a bear and two cubs were killed by cars. As long as we lived there we never heard a report of a Bear sighting.

There weren’t many Deer either, but now they are just like rabbits in the area. We traveled there for Karen’s 50th Ballston Spa High School Class Reunion. Since we were only a year apart in school I knew many in her class and played on sports teams with many of the boys.

We spent some time looking at  name tags to find out who everyone was. One of our neighbors, Jimmy Egan, who was the best man at our wedding came up to me at the Friday night get-together and asked if I knew who he was.

Despite the hat covering his balding head and his facial hair, I knew who he was. One of my first cousins who married a girl in that class didn’t recognize me, but it had been a few years since we saw each other. We had a nice visit about some of our other relatives and our adventures. Continue reading →

Share Button

Old Forge welcomes firefighters for local dept.’s 46th Drill School

OFFD readies full weekend of demonstrations, training classes and recreation

The 46th Annual Fire Fighter’s Drill School hosted by the Old Forge Fire Department is set for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 14 through 16.

Registration will be held at the Old Forge Fire Hall on Thursday, September 13 beginning at 6 p.m. and Friday, September 14, at 7:30 a.m. and again on Saturday, September 15 at 7:30 a.m.

Classes will be held Friday and Saturday at the Strand Theatre and at the George T. Hiltebrant Recreation Center and Pavilion on North Street.

Outdoor instructional classes will be held on North Street and adjacent to the Fire Hall.

Event chairman Patrick Russell invites the public to observe the outdoor classes from a safe distance.

Instructional programs on Friday will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

At 5:30 p.m. on Friday, the annual Push Ball Competition will take place in front of the Fire Hall.

At 8 p.m. the Double Image Band will entertain at the Fire Hall. The public is invited.

The annual Firefighter’s Parade will begin at 2 p.m. from Old Forge Glass and proceed up Main Street to the Fire Hall.

It will include dozens of entries representing the fire departments taking part in the drill school.

The presentation of trophies and awards, along with a number of raffles sponsored by the Old Forge Volunteer Fire Department and Ladies Auxiliary will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Fire Hall.

Live music by the Honey Bush Band will begin at 7:30 p.m. Again, the public is invited.

Food  will be available for purchase along with commemorative Fire School shirts and hats.

At noon on Sunday, winners of the 17th Annual BIG BUCKS GIVE-A-WAY will be announced at the Fire Hall.

Tickets are $50 each with a maximum of 2,000 sold.

Share Button