We will be having a Zoom Talk on A History of Harriman State Park @ 7:30. MaryLynne Malone of the PIPC Regional Museums will be the presenter.
Virtual Camp Activities: Zoom Talk on the History of Harriman State Park
We will be having a Zoom Talk on A History of Harriman State Park @ 7:30. MaryLynne Malone of the PIPC Regional Museums will be the presenter.
Virtual Camp Activities: Zoom Talk on the History of Harriman State Park
A reminder to all Nawakwans and Applicants:
Please be sure to sign in when you arrive at camp, and be sure to pay your camp fees (or note your annual pass number).
Registering in advance with Teri is important during these covid times, but all camp rules are still in effect.
Also: if it’s raining, there are severe leaks in the Nawakwa main cabin roof. Leave a bucket or pail near
1.Living room NE corner by wood stove
2. SW corner over desk
3. south side table and
4. next to refrigerator in front of knife block
We are working with the Park to arrange for a new roof!
All,
We have reached our mandated limit on visitors for these dates. Please try for another date if you’d like to visit.
We would love to see you at camp this summer!
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) is formed from The New Deal. Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act creating a government pension system for the retired. Nazi Germany adopts a new flag of Germany, or national flag bearing the swastika. The Triborough Bridge in NYC is open to traffic.
Locally, the first of three sandy beaches opened at Lake Tiorati in 1935. Later two other beaches at Lake Sebago and Lake Welch would be established. (1) The Silvermine area was developed for downhill skiing at Lake Menomine, later called Silvermine Lake. Downhill skiing grew in popularity and a second slope was developed in the early 1940s. By this time, six fire towers had been built in the Palisades Interstate Park. (2) The Jackie Jones Fire Tower in Harriman was restored in 2018 by the NYS Chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association; https://vimeo.com/291136930.
“The Palisades Interstate Park Commission continued to acquire private property to construct the man-made lakes. One of the most newsworthy acquisitions was the cabin of Ramsey Conklin to build Pine Meadow Lake. Upon his death in 1952, it was thought that he was the last person to be buried on park property in his family plot.
Back at Camp Nawakwa, the Council authorized the drilling of a well. The Chapter had to assume the entire cost. Initially, the water was contaminated. It was thought that seepage down the casing was the source of the trouble. The present concrete platform around the well was laid and no further trouble developed. No record of the cost could be found. The depth is about 96 feet. (3)
Despite the Great Depression being officially over, finances remained difficult and the Chapter lowered the Camp Overnight Charges to $1.00 for non-members and 50¢ for members. Day Guests: 25¢.
In this period, the New York Chapter constituted about one-third the membership of the entire Club.
Ellen King
Archivist
Greetings fellow Nawakwa Historians,
Prohibition is repealed and the 21st Amendment officially goes into effect making alcohol legal in the United States. 15 million people are unemployed in the country. Adolf Hitler becomes the Fuhrer of Germany.
Locally, Eleanor Roosevelt unveiled the memorial plaque in honor of Stephen T. Mather, the first director of the National Park Service at the Trailside Museum in Bear Mountain State Park.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. gifted 723 acres, valued at $18,000,000 to the PIPC to build the parkway from the George Washington Bridge to the NYS line.
President and Mrs. Roosevelt returned to Bear Mountain to inspect and dedicate the George W. Perkins Memorial Highway.” (1)
“This was a lean period for the Adirondack Mountain Club. Overall membership dropped from a high of 910 in 1931 to a low of 570 in 1938, fewer than the number of original charter members. The 1929 crash on Wall Street was to send the nation into the Great Depression. World War II would follow.
With the new Chapters spread out and distanced from the Main Club, many members had a chapter outlook and drifted away from the activities and concerns of the Main Club. There was a fear that this central focus of the Club would be lost as members put their efforts into local chapter activities. At the same time, with Chapter activities taking place close to home, the Chapters attracted members from areas of the state far away from the Main Club. The future growth of the Club was dependent on the creation of more Chapters. In 1933 there were three ADK Chapters; Albany, New York and Glens Falls.
The first authoritative guide was published, “Guide to Adirondack Trails, Northeastern Section”, costing 75 cents. Later this guide became the well-known High Peaks Region guide. The original plan was to produce an encyclopedia of information but this was not to be, due to the financial constraints of the ADK.“ (2)
While finances were tight, the NY Chapter managed to have an active Social Committee. “June 16, 1933: The Trail Marker included a reminder of the “DINNER AND BRIDGE PARTY” to be held at Butler Hall, Columbia University. An evening of games including bridge and jig-saw puzzles will follow the dinner in the solarium. The dinner will be one dollar including tip. The bridge will be fifty cents.
DINNER AND DANCING – THURSDAY, AUGUST 17TH at the St. George Hotel Roof, 26th floor, 61 Clark St, Brooklyn. Cost $1.50 includes everything.
MOONLIGHT SAIL to Sandy Hook! Stroll on the deck or dance in the ballroom. Do come! The S.S. Sandy Hook leaves pier 81 – west 42nd Street at 8:15 pm. Special rate for sail – 75 cents.
For the first time, keys were issued to all members with cars to the gate at the end of the drive. Stern warnings were given to anyone who failed to lock the gate behind them.
The Chapter invited Nicholas Spadavecchia, a member of The Cosmic Ray Expedition to Mount McKinley, to speak at Town Hall, NYC. Two members of that expedition died on the mountain.
55 new blankets were purchased and the wire closet in the infirmary room was built. $250 was appropriated for the purchase. The old blankets were donated to the Suffern Red Cross.
Times were hard and the annual locker fee was reduced to $3.” (3)
Ellen King
Archivist
Founded in 1923, the Nawakwa Outdoor Association of New York, Inc. is a membership organization dedicated to the enjoyment of the outdoors through hiking, walking, camping, swimming, skiing, sailing, canoeing, and kayaking, and to the conservation and preservation of our wilderness, particularly the mountains, lakes, trails, and camping areas of the metropolitan New York region.