Lake George Mirror collection

The Launching of the Ranger

By Mirror Staff

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

With its exterior completely redesigned and its interior remodeled, what once had been a Navy PT boat was launched on Lake George on Saturday, May 31, 1947. She was christened the Ranger by Beverly Burton, the 16-year-old daughter of H.T. Burton, the treasurer of Marine Industries of Lake George. Miss Burton broke the traditional bottle of champagne over the Ranger’s bow, as it started to slide down the D&H marine railroad spur in front of Fort George Park at the head of the lake.

The Ranger was the first large boat to be launched on Lake George in 35 years.

After the purchase of the surplus PT boat in 1946, Marine Industries could find no one to move it from the Elco Boat Company in Bayonne, New Jersey to Lake George. The owners realized that there was nothing to do but move it themselves, so they had it dropped overboard at Bayonne with its steel cradle attached. Then they towed it up the Hudson River and the Champlain Barge Canal to Fort Ann, where it was hauled overland. Upon arrival at the lake, it was housed in a Quonset hut where workmen labored to have it ready for the summer. A cabin 40 feet long was built and a permanent canopy was constructed, allowing passengers to ride inside or out in the open. The mahogany of the original was replicated in the new cabin’s planking and trim.

The Ranger was 80 feet long and could carry 150 passengers. Until the mid-1950s, when the Ranger was retired and destroyed, it made two daily trips from Lake George Village, one of which was a run down the length of the lake and back. The other was a 1 1/2 hour evening cruise.

(Photo from Art Knight, Lake George Mirror collection, Lake George Historical Association. Most of the information about the Ranger comes from a June, 1947 issue of the Lake George Mirror.)

Tags: Art Kni, Lake George, Lake George Boating, Lake George Mirror, The Ranger

W.H.Tippets on S.R. Stoddard: Portraits from the Lake George Mirror,1898.

By By Mirror Staff

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Professor S.R.Stoddard, Glens Falls, N.Y., Artist, Author, Lecturer and Photographer

It is entirely fitting that in beginning the publication of a series of portraits of Lake Georgians, and Lake George gems of scenery that the series should commence with a portrait of Professor S.R. Stoddard of Glens Falls, a gentleman who has done a great deal to bring before the public the beauties of Lake George and the Adirondacks.

Whatever position S. R. Stoddard, the author, artist and lecturer, occupies before the public, it may be said, he has earned for himself. He was born in Saratoga county close under the morning-side of Mount MacGregor and knew in his early days the hard work of a farmer’s boy, with educational advantages such as the average country school presents, where development of mind is never allowed to seriously interfere with development of the soil. His taste for art showed itself early

And as a child he could draw a recognizable portrait before he could read or write. At seventeen he was apprenticed to a painter in the car works of Gilbert, Bush & Co. of Troy, and six months later was placed by his superiors in the position heretofore occupied by the most expensive man in the establishment. He came to Glens Falls in 1864, set up for himself as sign and ornamental painter and ended by painting landscapes and portraits. Later he gained the unsolicited title of “professor” as teacher of art in the old Glens Falls Academy. His life dream is “Art” and to be better able to secure subjects for study, he took up photography.

The Adirondacks and Lake George took on new beauties in his camera and in time his name became known across the Atlantic as well as at home. He made books of pictures out of the subjects at hand and the descriptive matter which seemed their natural accompaniment opened out a new field to his versatile nature. In 1873 came his hand-book of Lake George filled with historic events and traditions of the “Dark and Bloody Grounds” offset by pictures of the Lake George of to-day. Following quickly came “Ticonderoga” and in 1874”The Adirondacks Illustrated,” the first and the last of these books running through successive annual editions and today recognized as standard authorities on the sections indicated by their titles.In 1880 material which had taken years to gather appeared in his “Map of the Adirondacks” which has been revised and issued annually since that time. In 1880 he surveyed Lake George personally, making a map of this lake which was approved by the State engineer and surveyor and accompanied that officials report to the legislature. A companion map of Lake Champlain followed later.

The better part of a lifetime devoted to the portraying of these scenes could not but have its effect. A great part of the development of this region is due to this artist. “Adirondack Stoddard” is a familiar name wheerever the Adirondack wilderness is spoken of. Th show its beauties more satisfactorily the sterioptican was brought into requisition and the art of the miniature painter was invoked to give the photographs the color of nature. Immediate success set the seal of public approval on his venture as a public lecturer. In 1898 he gave by invitation of the New York State Forest Commission “The Adirondacks” and his illustrated poem “The Hudson from the Mountains to the Sea” before the legislature in the assembly chamber in Albany, concerning which the press of the city united in unqualified praise. Travel brought broadening knowledge of other countries and pcitured stories of the east, of the “Land of Christ,” of “Egypt and the Nile,” of the ruins of the old world were produced, forming admirable foils to a better understanding of the newer “Wonderland of the West” of a world in process of creation as shown in Yellowstone; of the unearthly grandeur of the Grand Canyon in Colorado and the marvelous beauty of the Yosemite; the Alaskan “Land of Ice” and the “Sunny South,” all faithfully portrayed in his later lectures. In 1884 the New York Mail and Express said:

“Close upon the heels of Murray came S.R. Stoddard, with his camera, his note book and his brush, all of which he has used continuously for twenty-three years to make the fame of the Adirondack Wilderness known to the outside world. Stoddard has done even more than Murray to publish the results of his discoveries, for in guide books, on his maps, in his marvelous photographs, on the lecture platform, on the screen, in poetry and in song, he has for nearly a quarter of a century preached the Adirondacks, and them glorified.”

He has devoted the best years of his life, fully half the alloted years of man, to Lake George and the Adirondacks, but no section has inspired higher enthusiasm in him than his first love. Of it he writes:

“Lake George! How the heart bounds and the pulse quickens at sound of the words that bring with them thoughts of the “Holy Lake.” In fancy we breathe the air, haevy with the odor of pines and cedar, or fragrant with the breath of the blossoming clover. Again we wander among the daisies and buttercups that gem the hill-side sloping so gently down to where the wavelets kiss the white beach, or, floating among the verdant islands, watch the sunlight and shadows chase each other over the mountain side, while crag and fleecy cloud is mirrored in the water below. A memory of the past comes to me as I write; of good old days now past and gone; when lumbering coaches toiled heavily along where now go swiftly glancing trains, of tally-ho, now crowded out by monsters breathing fire and smoke; of sounding plank in place of shining lines of steel.”

Last summer, following his plan of gathering material from all parts of the world, he made a voyage to the North British and Faroe Islands and Norway, “The Land of the Midnight Sun,” thence to Russia, and returned through Germany and Holland. The results will be given in a series of lectures and in an additional book similar to his :Cruise of the Friesland,” which appeared in 1896, giving an account of his tour through Egypt, Palestine and other Mediterranean lands.

He is a tireless worker and the end is not yet…………..?

Tags: History, Lake George, Lake George Mirror, S.R. Stoddard, W.H. Tippets

The shirts on display at Happy Jacks, Bolton Landing

Lake George Mirror and Happy Jacks Team Up to Create Authentic, Retro Lake George Ts

By Mirror Staff

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Ordinarily, a shop on Lake George that sells t-shirts would be in the news only if its products were especially vile or offensive.

We may be biased, but we think the t-shirts that Happy Jacks in Bolton Landing is selling are newsworthy, despite rather than because of the fact that the Lake George Mirror had a hand in designing them.

The t-shirts feature the logos of long gone, but not forgotten, Lake George bars, restaurants and resorts. The introductory line revisits Tops, the Tomahawk Inn, Lake George Bowl, Dock and Dine, the Bavarian House, Red Fez, Sunny Brook Acres and the Red Rooster.

The logos were designed in the 1950s and 60s by the printers at Adirondack Resorts Press, the company that publishes the Lake George Mirror, and appeared as advertisements in guides and brochures as well as in the Lake George Mirror itself.

Jeff Strief, the owner of Happy Jacks, promotes the shirts as “Authentic Retro Lake George Tees.”

“They were an instant hit,” said Strief. “Second home owners love them because of the appeal to nostalgia; their children love them because the shirts are a link to a lake they love.”

Strief added that the shirts also appeal to shoppers who have little or no connection to the lake.

“People just liked the retro designs, which they thought were very cool,” said Strief.

Every shirt comes with a tag offering a bit of information about the businesses, and longtime residents who have come into the shop have supplemented that with details from their own memories, said Strief.

“Tops, for instance, is described as the Village’s first biker bar; Lake George Bowl was owned by the mayor of Lake George Village; Sunny Brook Acres was a resort on the grounds of New York Times publisher Adolph Och’s former estate and its nightclub was popular with people from every town on the lake,” said Strief.

Adirondack Resorts Press, which continues to publish the Lake George Mirror, is credited as the line’s creator.

Tomahawk Inn shirt design

According to Tony Hall, the publisher of the Lake George Mirror and the president of Adirondack Resorts Press, Inc., the printing company was the premier publisher of Lake George brochures, guides, maps and post cards from the 1920s through the early 1970s.

The company even developed its own distinctive method of printing four-color images, which it called Colorgraph.

When Lisa and Tony Hall purchased Adirondack Resorts Press and the Lake George Mirror in 1997, they inherited a vault of advertising images and designs.

Collin Badger, the Mirror’s creative director, began incorporating the graphics into Lake George Mirror covers and in promotional materials, but hoped to make wider use of the images through collateral products such as mugs, caps, posters and, of course, t shirts.

At the same time, Jeff Strief was searching for a line of retro Lake George Ts.

“Tony and Lisa Hall asked me for advice about the retail business, and a collaboration struck me as an obvious solution,” said Strief. “I had wanted to do a line of retro Lake George tees, but couldn’t find a source, and they had this great archive of images. So I suggested we work together and come up with a product that both the Lake George Mirror and Happy Jacks could sell.”

Last autumn, Strief, Badger and Lisa Hall began sifting through the archival images and selecting a few to be used on t-shirts. Badger and Strief then refined the images “to give them some contemporary appeal,” said Strief.

More designs will be added to the line soon, said Collin Badger, who created an online store for Adirondack Resorts Press to sell merchandise. Posters and other products will also be available at the online store.

Happy Jacks is located on Main Street, Bolton Landing. Adirondack Resorts Press’s online store can be found at AdirondackResortsPress.com. The site is also accessible through LakeGeorgeMirror.com and LakeGeorgeMirrorMagazine.com.

“Vintage Lake George is still Lake George,” said Tony Hall. “We see these products as another way to refresh the image of Lake George, to market the resort to a new generation as well as to people who haven’t been back in decades. We’re telling boomers that their Lake George is still here.”

Tags: Adirondack Resorts Press, Anthony F. Hall, Bolton Landing, Collin Badger, Happy Jacks, Jeff Strief, Lake George Mirror, Lake George Tees, Lisa H. Hall, Retro Tees, Shopping

The Inimitable Lake George Chowder Party

By Lisa H. Hall

Friday, April 22, 2011

“Lake George Casual” – inscribed across invitations today – had a somewhat different meaning in the 1890s, when John Boulton Simpson issued invitations to his “Lake George Chowder Parties.”

Simpson, as most people know, was the New York City businessman who, along with four other investors, purchased Green Island and built the Sagamore Hotel in 1882. They also built cottages for themselves on the island, and spent the long summers entertaining themselves and one another with regattas, cruises, balls and informal parties. Simpson’s “Inimitable Chowder Parties” as the Lake George Mirror called them, were among the latter. By 1891, they were “Regular features of life at this popular resort.”

Preparations for the chowder parties began early in the day. Levi Pratt, the “boss” chowder manufacturer of Warren County, according to the editor of the Lake George Mirror, brought the ingredients – for the chowder as well as the party – to the Sagamore docks. With the aid of six men and a corps of waiters, mostly African-American, Pratt loaded the 12 foot long trestle tables, linens, silverware, glasses and dishes, including the huge bowls from which the chowder was served, into Simpson’s steam launch, the Caprice. Everything was then transported to the site of the party, Gull Bay, Tongue Mountain or Indian Kettles. At 11 am, some thirty guests, each given a boutonniere on arrival, would board Simpson’s “flag ship,” the 80-foot Fanita.

“Commodore J.B. Simpson of the Lake George Yacht Club does nothing by halves, and when he purposes giving a party on board his handsome steam yacht, guests may rest assured nothing will be lacking to make the affair the most enjoyable. Wednesday of this week, the Fanita steamed down the lake, skirting the east shore in and out among the emerald gems scattered through the Narrows. The day was glorious. The sun shone over the waves, gilding their crests with bright touches of gleaming splendor as sparkling as diamonds.” Thus wrote the editor of the Lake George Mirror about the start of one such chowder party, held in September 1891.

Once Levi Pratt and his crew arrived at the site selected for the chowder party, the tables were erected, places set and the branches in the trees above strewn with pennants, burgees and bunting. Then the Fanita and Simpson’s guests arrived. “A landing was effected and the chowder compounded,” to quote the Lake George Mirror.

Although the parties were informal affairs when compared with the balls at the hotels, the chowder parties were not like picnics of today. The table settings were formal, the men attired in three piece suits, and the host outfitted in his commodore’s uniform.

“The eatables and drinkables were the best the market afforded,” the Lake George Mirror routinely reported. A bottle of champange was placed before each man. Not surprisingly, “Speeches were made after the inner anatomy of mankind was satisfied and many interesting stories told by the chowderites.” The party would last through the early evening, when the guests would return to the Fanita for the trip home, “well pleased with their trip, commodore Simpson’s hospitality and the chowder.”

Should anyone wish to revive the tradition of John Boulton Simpson’s Chowder Parties, we provide this local recipe from 1890.

—————————————————–

A local chowder recipe, circa 1890:

Fish Chowder

4 lb. Perch or other white fish

4 cups potatoes cut in 3/4-inch cubes

1 sliced onion

1 1/2 –inch cube fat salt pork

1 tablespoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons butter

4 cups scalded milk

8 common crackers.

Order the fish skinned, but head and tail left on. Cut off head and tail and remove fish from backbone. Cut fish in two-inch pieces and set aside. Put head, tail and backbone , broken in pieces, in stewpan. Add two cups cold water and bring slowly to boiling point; cook twenty minutes. Cut salt pork in small pieces and try out, add onion and fry five minutes ; strain fat into stewpan. Parboil potatoes five minutes in boiling water to cover; drain and add to fat; then add two cups boiling water and cook five minutes. Add liquor drained from bones, then add the fish; cover, and simmer ten minutes. Add milk, salt, pepper, butter and crackers split and soaked in enough cold milk to moisten, otherwise they will be soft on the outside but dry on the inside. Remove crackers, turn chowder into a tureen, and put crackers on top. Pilot bread is sometimes used in place of common crackers.

Tags: Bolton Landing, Chowder, Food & Drink, Green Island, Island Dining, John Boulton Simpson, Lake George, Lake George Chowder Party, Lake George Chowder Recipe, Lake George Mirror, Lisa H. Hall, New York City, Sagamore Hotel

W.H. Tippetts: Lake George, June 7, 1890, Part 1

By W.H. Tippetts

Saturday, June 7, 1890

The steamer Horicon

There are thousands of lakes scattered about this globe of ours, each beautiful in its way, but none so beautiful as Lake George, the Queen of our American Lakes. During the last decade, Lake George has become popularized as a summer watering place. For years it was given up to the solitary woodsman, or enterprising tourist fisherman in search of sport. To-day its foliage crowned shores and mountainous slopes are covered with fine hotels and summer cottages nestling in pretty nooks, or hidden away beneath the umbrageous foliage of forest trees. Scattered about its crystal bosom are hundreds of islands. Its shores are indented with bays. Bold capes push their outlines out into the lake from romantic and picturesque shores. Large palace steamers furnish transportation for thousands during the summer months, and when the weather is bright hundreds of staunch row boats and steam pleasure yachts may be seen darting from one point to another, laden with parties out for a day’s enjoyment on the dancing waters.

Two days ago I went through Lake George on board the steamer Horicon, and one day ago I came back through Lake George on board the same steamer. I mentioned the MIRROR to a few of the sixty or seventy hotel proprietors on the lake and they swore that life would prove a howling wilderness without the MIRROR. In order to prevent the aforesaid H. W., the MIRROR will be placed on sale at the Lake George hotels this summer.

Unaccountably, the weather was pleasant. The sunshine came over the mountains and descended in rich, golden sheets upon the water. The light breeze set the ripples dancing, and it needed only a glance to picture the waves covered with millions of shining eyes smiling a welcome to the return of spring. In the spring, Lake George is in its greatest glory, when the wooded slopes put on their garments of green, ribboned with lace-like stretches of darker color from the thousands of pines. At any time of the year, Lake George is as beautiful as a gallery of paintings. And yet, this is hardly a correct comparison, for a gallery of paintings, let them be ever so beautiful, are but masses of dead color, while Lake George, with its shifting, waving cloud stretches, the different phases of its moving surface, scenic effects, hundreds of islands, charming bays and wealth of foliage, is seen to the best advantage in the spring and summer.

The Marion House will unfurl the banner on or about the middle of June. The Roger’s Rock hotel, near the noble ledge of rock known as Roger’s slide flys the flag June 16. H. W. Buckell, of Albany, will act as proprietor of the Hulett’s Landing Hotel again this year. Charles Smart, of Albany, is at the Phoenix Hotel, Hague. He will spend the season at that pleasant resort. Commodore Cramer’s elegant steam yacht, “The Pocohontas,” has been placed in commission. James Newell and family have moved into their summer cottage in Hague; Robert Decker and family have taken possession of their cottage.

General Robert Lenox Banks of Albany, president of the Lake George Fish and Game Protective association, will arrive at the Fort William Henry shortly after the hotel opens. One hundred thousand lake trout were placed in Blue Mountain lake May 27. The fish were taken from the state hatchery at Tupper’s lake. The expenses of transportation were met by W. W. Durant of New York city.

Subscriptions to the MIRROR are now due. Send in your sheckels, we will find use for them.

W. H. Tippetts, Editor and Publisher. – Assembly Point, Lake George, June 7, 1890.

Tags: 1890, Assembly Point, June 7, Lake George, Lake George Mirror, Past Mirror Editors, W.H. Tippetts