A series of posts as we look forward to the 100th Anniversary of ADKNY in 2023
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Prohibition is repealed and the 21st Amendment officially goes into effect making alcohol legal in the United States. 15 million people are unemployed in the country.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)
- Palisades 100,000 Acres in 100 Years, Robert O. Binnewies
- With Wilderness at Heart: A Short History of the Adirondack Mountain Club 75th Anniversary 1922 – 1997, Bruce Wadsworth
- 1932 – 1933 Trail Markers
Ellen King
Archivist
