USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > History of the Forest Lake Club, 1882-1932 > Part 11
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HISTORY OF THE FOREST LAKE CLUB
which were put in Wolf Lake and have greatly im- proved the fishing. To keep up the food and bait supply, there have been distributed some 18,000 min- nows, and several lots of crawfish, but the latter have not thrived.
Under date of May 9th, 1922, there appears this record in our minutes: "Mr. Clyde B. Terrell had been engaged, through the efforts of a number of the members of the Club who had contributed the sum of over $500.00, to come to the Club and make a survey of the physical condition of lakes and grounds. As a result, he is to furnish certain aquatic plants which will assist in proper feeding of our fish and should aid in attracting wild duck." This plan was carried out in Forest Lake over a period of two sea- sons but with negative results.
During the seasons of 1922 and 1923 a number of black bass were transferred under careful supervision from Corilla Lake to Wolf Lake. Arrangements also were made to place breeding nests in Wolf Lake for the propagation of bass. This had the approval of Mr. Henry W. Beeman, owner of the Waramoug Bass Hatchery at New Preston, Connecticut. This was not done until 1925 and the results were not satisfactory. Plans also were made at that time, 1923, to transfer bass from Corilla Lake to Forest Lake. The dam at the outlet of Corilla Lake was entirely rebuilt, and screens were placed at the out- lets of all three lakes to prevent the escape of fish.
Largemouth bass, so many of which are now found
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LAKES AND STREAMS
in Forest Lake, are not native to that water. The first lot, about 20 adults, running from two to five pounds in weight, were caught by Albert E. Hen- drickson and Gerald Baird in Tink Pond about the year 1910 and transferred to Forest Lake. A few years later a small order for more adults added to the stock, and their propagation has gone on apace. In- deed, at the present time, during the season, catches of large fish, many running over four pounds in weight, are a frequent occurrence.
Our Club members have always been generous in the way of donations and apropos of this subject it may here be noted that in August, 1928, the thanks of the Club were extended to Fred Brackett and Edward Kemp for their donations of 1,000 trout to the Club for fishing purposes.
It has been rather difficult to tell a connected story of the restocking of our lakes as the reports of the transactions have overlapped to some extent; but enough has been set down to show how well the waters have been protected and how neither expense nor energy has been spared through all these fifty years to carry out one of the main purposes for which the Club was formed, namely, the preservation and propagation of fish and the furnishing of facilities that make our lakes a near approach to an "Angler's Paradise."
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THE STREAMS
There are three streams on or adjacent to our Club grounds that are of particular interest to the angler, though well worth anyone's time and effort to visit. They are Mast Hope Creek, Rattlesnake Creek and Forest Lake Brook. The two latter streams are tributaries of the first named. The Club owns Rattlesnake Creek from Flood Dam to about the point where it merges with Mast Hope Creek. Forest Lake Brook lies for at least a mile on Club property, while the Club owns slightly more water on Mast Hope Creek. Mast Hope Creek and Rattle- snake Creek come together a short distance below the Casetown bridge.
Mast Hope Creek has its rise in Perkins' Pond, which one passes on the way to Narrowsburg, and follows in a general way our northern and eastern boundary lines, until it reaches the Delaware into which it empties. In the old Indian days, Mast Hope Creek was known as Pine Creek and there were several Indian encampments along its lower end. A battle was fought between the Indians and some troops from Port Jervis, at the spot where the creek empties into the Delaware.
Rattlesnake Creek rises in Williams' Pond, a small lake about four or five miles northwest of the Club. It is also fed by a small stream known as Open Woods Pond, nearby Williams' Pond. Rattlesnake Creek gets its name from a famous snake den on top of a
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"BLACK ASH RUN." (FOREST LAKE BROOK)
LAKES AND STREAMS
ridge which the brook passes. Wolf Lake outlet empties into Rattlesnake Creek just above where the Wayne County line crosses the old "Plank Road," some distance above Flood Dam. The original dam is said to have been largely built by a beaver colony.
Forest Lake Brook is a short stream having its source at the outlet of Forest Lake and emptying into Mast Hope Creek between the two iron bridges on the old "Plank Road." Trail No. 4 called the "Brook Trail," follows the brook from the Mast Hope Road to its source at the dam.
These waters are all natural trout streams but they have been restocked several times in the last ten or twelve years. Trout up to fourteen inches in length and limit catches are frequently reported and the trout fishing in May and June offers rare sport to Club members who enjoy the woods at this season.
Zane Grey, in his "Tales of Fresh-Water Fish- ing,"1 gives the following beautifully descriptive picture of "Mast Hope Brook in June."
"Of the myriad of streams that Cedar, Reddy and I have fished in, Mast Hope Brook is the one beyond compare. It is a joy, the substance of which are low tinkle and gurgle of unseen current beneath green banks; glancing sheets of hemlock brown water shining in the sun, rushing soft and swift around the stones; and in the distance dreamy hum of water- fall, now lulling, now deepening to mellow boom.
1 "Tales of Fresh-Water Fishing," by Zane Grey, reproduced by permis- sion of Harper & Brothers.
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"We left the road at the little village and took to the brook trail winding through mass-thickets of rhododendron. The buds showed ambitious glints of pink. There were weedy, swampy, grassy places, blue with violets, and cool, fragrant, dewy dells to cross before we came up into an open valley. . . The trees were full-foliaged, the maples blowing like billows of a green ocean. The sun was dazzlingly bright. From time to time we caught alluring glimpses of the dancing brook. Everything was bathed in the rich, thick, amber light of June."
With such a tribute as the above, and from so famous an author and angler, there is reason for The Forest Lake Club to be proud of its streams, to pro- tect them and enjoy them.
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XIII
WOODS AND TRAILS
T HE woods and trails of The Forest Lake Club are, apparently, not appreciated quite as much by the majority of our present members as they were by those of the earlier days. We do considerable tramping-over the links. We occasionally venture into the woods to hunt-the golf ball. Motoring, too, has become such a diversion and time saver that the short walks to the lakes are sometimes too long- even for the fisherman. To compare the merits of walking as a means of exercise with golf or tennis, is not to deprecate either method. But walking, after all, is the most natural way of keeping fit, yet few of us practise it. Besides, here lies the oppor- tunity, right at our threshold, of learning something about the trees and shrubs, the birds and other wild life; in short, an opportunity for nature study that can scarcely be matched anywhere; and most of us pass it by with a very sketchy nod of recognition.
Elmer Gregor has given to the writer the follow- ing complete list of the trees to be found in our woods-fifty species in all:
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HISTORY OF THE FOREST LAKE CLUB
Balsam Fir
Pin Oak
White Pine
Yellow Oak
Pitch Pine
White Oak
Red Pine
Black Jack Oak
Tamarack
Rock Oak
Black Spruce
Swamp White Oak
Red Spruce Hemlock
Sassafras
White Walnut
Witch Hazel
Bitter Nut Hickory
Sour Gum
Shag Bark Hickory
Mountain Ash
Pig-nut Hickory
Shad Bush
Gluncos Willow
White Hawthorn
(Pussy Willow)
Wild Cherry
Quaking Aspen
Choke Cherry
Large-tooth Poplar
Staghorn Sumach
Hornbeam
Poison Sumach
Gray Birch
Sugar Maple
(White Birch)
Red Maple
Black Birch
Striped Maple
Yellow Birch
Box Elder
Black Alder
Basswood
Gray Alder
Black Ash
Beech
White Ash
Chestnut
Flowering Dogwood
Red Oak
Sycamore
These forests of ours were probably lumbered and burned over several times before the founding of the Club, and even in our time forest fires have taken
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WOODS AND TRAILS
their toll. In 1892 a fire swept Mount Ogden and left standing only a few large trees between the Club House and Wolf Lake. Within the last dozen years, however, our fire breaks have been well preserved and such lumbering operations as have been carried on under the direction of the Club during its existence have been only such as were necessary to remove dead timber or that affected by blight; or, in two or three instances, for the production of necessary revenue. In these latter cases the operations were conducted in those portions where thinning of the woods would be beneficial rather than harmful. Two of these lumberings have been referred to in a previous chap- ter and, on both occasions, occurred in the heavily timbered section on the east side of Mount Hadden. The blight mentioned began several years prior to 1919, was general throughout the country and af- fected many of our forest trees, particularly the chestnuts. In October of the above year, it was de- cided that steps be taken to scientifically and judi- ciously remove the dead chestnuts and such other blight-affected trees and other growth as was endan- gering the forest lands, and accordingly, this plan was carried out as promptly as possible.
Groving has been carried on from the earliest days of the Club, but since 1912 we find many records of appropriations made for carrying on this work in a systematic and scientific manner. For the last ten or twelve years, one has been able to obtain a very fair vista of Corilla from the Club House porch, due
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HISTORY OF THE FOREST LAKE CLUB
to the groving of the woods between the lower boun- dary of the enclosure and the lake. Whereas in the early years one could see the original Forest Lake from the Club House, this part of the lake is no longer visible because of the increased growth of timber. This is more than made up for at present by the view to be had of the greater lake.
It has seemed appropriate at this point to tell something of the manner in which our woods have been cared for and protected. When the first stand- ing committees were formed, a Committee on For- estry was appointed, whose sole duty was the care and protection of the forests. Later, this work was taken up by the Fish and Game Committee, and since 1920 has been carried on by the Fish, Game and For- estry Committee.
In 1918, under the leadership of Elmer Gregor, there was formed an association of members called the Forest, Fish and Game Protective Committee, of which Mr. Gregor was Chairman, Louis H. Dos Pas- sos, Secretary, and Richard Lahey, Treasurer; the other members being Frank E. Davidson, Fred M. Johnson, Emile Hurtzig and Charles W. Campbell. The committee was financed entirely by voluntary subscriptions. As the name implies, the objects of the committee were the protection of the forests by the cutting of fire trails and paths; replacing the old timber, as it was cut, by new growth; restocking the lakes and particularly the trout streams; placing corn in the lakes to attract wild fowl; building brush shel-
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WOODS AND TRAILS
ters for the protection of grouse and other birds dur- ing inclement winter weather, and protecting the Club lands and waters from illegal hunting and fish- ing. The committee was, of course, entirely inde- pendent of the standing Committee on Fish and Game and was formed for the purpose of furnishing what seemed to be necessary additional protection to the Club property. This committee functioned for sev- eral years, and accomplished an unusual amount of good work. It was during its régime that Forester Ralph Blackmore was engaged, and at the same time was appointed a special deputy fish and game warden by the state. During this time beside the cutting of miles of fire paths, several of the original trails were recut and many new ones added.
Some extracts from the very complete and inter- esting report rendered to the Club members by this committee for the year 1919, are well worth setting down as a permanent record. In a "Foreword" the committee states: "Every private club owning acre- age of forest lands must, of necessity, be vitally inter- ested in checking the rapid decrease in the nation's timber reserve. An authority has recently stated that in the South alone the forests are disappearing at the rate of 50,000 acres a day, and that by 1960 the total lumber supply of the United States will have disappeared through the destructive and waste- ful methods employed by American lumbermen . . . the preservation of all wild animals and bird-life is wholly dependent upon the reproduction of forests.
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HISTORY OF THE FOREST LAKE CLUB
Where game and fish abound there will also be found a splendid means for healthful outdoor life." The report goes on to state: "During the year the Com- mittee has cut twenty-six and a half miles of fire trails and paths. The fire trails have been cleared for a width of twenty to twenty-five feet; the brush piled and burned. Two fire trails, Pine Ridge and Corilla Ridge, are new trails, and protect a great area of club land which never before has had protection. Pine Ridge Trail protects a large section heavily timbered with pines and hemlock. Corilla Ridge Trail com- pletes a circle of fire breaks entirely around our lake from which it is named. The club property, for the first time, is now entirely encircled with fire breaks."
Further operations included the scattering of eight hundred pounds of corn around the west shore of Wolf Lake to attract wild fowl, which led to grati- fying results in the increased flocks that came in to feed, and the restocking of Mast Hope Creek and the outlet of Forest Lake, in 1919 and 1920, with trout obtained from the Pennsylvania State Fish Commis- sion. Three hundred trespass notices had been posted along the club boundaries.
The plans for 1920 included: Maintenance of all fire breaks and trails; creation of camp sites; plant- ing of pine to take the place of diseased chestnuts; planting of feed for game birds and groving the woods. The above plans were all carried out as ap- pears from a report rendered by this Committee at the end of 1920. This report mentions a United
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WOODS AND TRAILS
States Geological survey made of our property in the fall of 1920 which gives the following official alti- tude figures:
In front of the club house 1382 feet
Mount Ogden 1430 feet
Mount Hadden 1440 feet
Wolf Lake 1300 feet
The duties of the new "Fish, Game and Forestry Committee," created by the revised by-laws of the Club in 1920, were modeled along the lines of the "Protective Committee," the members of which were appointed to the new committee, and the "Protec- tive Committee" automatically ceased to exist. The new committee in 1921 built a cabin for the game warden half way between the boat house on Corilla Lake and the Rowlands Road. This cabin is still standing though it has been unoccupied for several years. The present forester now occupies comfort- able quarters in the old bowling alley. An attrac- tive rustic bridge was constructed over the brook where the Mount Hadden trail crosses the outlet of Corilla Lake. Substantial log benches were placed at spots on Mount Hadden where the best views are obtainable and along the trails to Corilla and Wolf Lakes.
Reforestation dates back some ten years, when 275 Red Pine seedlings were planted along the Corilla Lake Trail. Since then seedlings of White, Red and Scotch Pine, Douglas Fir, Norway Spruce and White
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HISTORY OF THE FOREST LAKE CLUB
Ash, amounting to over 75,000 in number, have been planted and a large percentage seems to be doing nicely. To furnish food for ruffed grouse and other birds, about 7,000 of such berry-producing shrubs as Japanese Barberry, Sour Gum, Mountain Ash, Black Alder and Wild Roses have been set in natu- rally protected areas on southern and eastern slopes. This reforestation has cost in the neighborhood of $1,250.00 excluding a considerable part of the cost of labor for planting and the cost of boarding the labor.
Some excerpts and extracts from the reports of the committee over a few years may be of interest.
In 1921 the committee reported that the unsightly dead chestnut trees around the Club House, both within and without the enclosure, had been removed. Some of the lumber obtained from the fallen trees was sold as mine props, while other portions were used in the erection of the warden's cabin, as sills for boat houses, as cord wood and for other useful pur- poses.
The 1922 report contains the following: "In the spring a number of Chinquapin trees were planted. This high bush or tree grows well on rocky slopes, and bears a burr enclosing a nut about one-third the size of a chestnut." The idea in planting these trees was to furnish some food supply for the small game that formerly depended to some extent on the chest- nuts.
The 1923 report states: "Twenty-five hundred
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WOODS AND TRAILS
Red Pine seedlings and one thousand Douglas Fir trees were planted during the year as follows: 1,000 seedlings bordering the Decker's Mills Road; 125 seedlings and 125 fir trees between Forest Lake and the Mast Hope Road; 250 seedlings near the summit of Mount Hadden; 250 seedlings on the south shore of Wolf Lake; 750 seedlings and 750 fir trees on the cut-over land northwest of Fisherman's Landing; 125 seedlings and 125 fir trees on the trail to Lake Teedyuscong."
The 1925 mid-year report reads: "A large quantity of dead timber has been cut around Wolf Lake and along the road to Mast Hope. The Committee is planting evergreens adjacent to the bathing beach at Wolf Lake and making a grove nearby. Sixteen hun- dred pine trees were planted this spring on the Club property."
On October 16th, 1931, the Executive Commit- tee was authorized to take all necessary action and to make all expenditures necessary to remove the dead timber on the cottage sites and on other Club property in accordance with the recent recommen- dations made by a representative of the United States Department of Agriculture.
And so, each succeeding year has seen this impor- tant work go forward. These wonderful forests, handed down to us from our pioneer members, are being carefully preserved and we have a vision of passing on this heritage, unspoiled, to future genera- tions.
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HISTORY OF THE FOREST LAKE CLUB
Some of our trails were laid out very early in the life of the Club; in some cases as a protection against forest fires, and in others as paths to the lakes and to various points of interest on the Club grounds. The path to Corilla was one of the earliest made. In 1888, it was recut to make it more direct and a few years ago was again changed slightly to eliminate a rather steep grade. In 1915 a path was made leading from the Mast Hope Road to the Forest Lake boat house to accommodate the fishermen.
About ten or twelve years ago several of the trails were recut and new ones added, so that not only was the entire property well protected against fire, but there were offered many interesting and delightful walks, varying from one-quarter of a mile to three and a half miles in length. At the present time there are twelve well defined trails. In many instances the trails cross or run into one another and at such points, white arrows have been attached to trees for the pur- pose of guidance. The trails have been designated by number and in many instances by name as well and are as follows:
1. WOLF LAKE TRAIL
Around Wolf Lake; distance, about three and a half miles.
2. TEEDYUSCONG TRAIL
Through the woods from the Club towards Teedyuscong, with a branch trail turning off and extending through Club land to the shore
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WOODS AND TRAILS
of the lake. This is about a mile and a half in length.
3. CORILLA LAKE TRAIL
This follows the path to the lake, thence along by the boat houses past the cabin to connect with trail No. 2. About three-quarters of a mile in length.
4. From Club House to Forest Lake, thence along southerly shore of the lake to the dam. This is about two and a half miles in length.
5. MOUNT HADDEN TRAIL
Along trail No. 4 to the stream connecting Co- rilla and Forest Lake, thence up Mount Hadden, encircling this plateau. One may then continue east to the dam or south and then west around the southern end of Corilla to the Rowlands Road. From the Club to Mount Hadden and re- turn the distance is about two miles.
6. FOREST LAKE TRAIL
Club House to Forest Lake, thence along west- erly shore of lake to the Mast Hope Road. Dis- tance one mile.
7. PINE RIDGE TRAIL
Commencing at north side of Mast Hope Road about one mile from the Club House, and con- tinuing along the northern Club boundary un- til it again crosses Mast Hope Road about a quarter of a mile below the Old Farm bridge. About three and a half miles long.
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HISTORY OF THE FOREST LAKE CLUB
8. SHORT CUT TRAIL
This runs a quarter of a mile from the spring on the Pine Ridge Trail to the Mast Hope Road.
9. FOREST LAKE SPRING TRAIL
Begins about a mile and a half down the Mast Hope Road; runs along the eastern shore of Forest Lake to the dam. A short trail has been cut from the dam to the spring nearby. Dis- tance from Club House to spring is about two and a half miles.
10. BROOK TRAIL
Running along Forest Lake Brook from Mast Hope Road to the dam. One mile in length.
11. From Fisherman's Landing in a northwesterly direction to the Plank Road. This is about two miles in length.
12. From Fisherman's Landing west by south to the Honesdale Road. About one-half mile.
Springs are to be found along many of our trails and close to the shores of all three of our lakes. They are especially numerous along the southeastern shore of Forest Lake and there are at least twenty-two on our entire property, as a reference to the latest map will show. Lean-to cabins have been erected near some of these springs; one is situated on the west shore of Wolf, another at the south end of Corilla, a third on the south shore of Forest Lake, and a fourth at the spring on the Pine Ridge trail where this inter- sects with the Short Cut trail. It will readily be seen, with so generous a choice of a camping ground
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WOODS AND TRAILS
for the rendezvous and because the trip can be made almost entirely by canoe, why picnic-suppers have become so popular. These little affairs, usually more or less impromptu, give the men an opportunity to show off a bit as cooks and the entire party a chance to go native for a few hours. Camping over night in the woods, once or twice during the season, usu- ally once, has always been a favorite diversion of the young boys. Ordinarily they are back at the Club House the following morning long before breakfast time, having eaten much and slept little, and with harrowing tales of attacks by wild animals and wilder mosquitoes.
The country hereabouts is rich in Indian lore and legend and there are still to be found, on our Club lands, abundant traces of Indian occupancy. Prob- ably the red man followed, in a general way, many of our present day trails. We are certain that he camped and lived along our lakes and streams; and it is fascinating to try to picture the scenes of those days. Wolf Lake, as we shall see later, was a favored place of encampment. Blot out the boat houses and banish the automobiles from the parking space; grow again the trees that formed the beautiful grove near the bathing beach; then see the teepees, a half dozen, perhaps, strung along the shore, the smoke issuing from their tops in thin spirals. Can you see the little Indian children playing in the sand at the lake's edge? No sand box; no nurse to look after them. But the Indian mothers, busy as they are, making pottery, [189]
HISTORY OF THE FOREST LAKE CLUB
fashioning arrow heads, cooking, or performing vari- ous other tasks, are watching out; and if the little savages should fall into the lake, they are quite likely to scramble out by themselves, unharmed. Here, emerging out of the deeper shadows of the woods comes a party of braves, who have been successfully hunting the wild deer and turkey. A canoe is pad- dled swiftly in from the middle of the lake, and a string of fish, to make the modern angler sick with envy, is brought ashore. The wolf of Wolf Lake lies deep in his cave by day, but his howling at night sometimes makes the little Indians whimper in their sleep.
Not only did the aborigines live in their teepees or wigwams, but they made use of natural shelters whenever possible. The following description of some of these early habitations was written by Elmer R. Gregor.
"INDIAN LEDGE"
"One of the most interesting spots on the Club property is the old Rock Shelter or so-called 'Indian Ledge' which is situated about a mile northward of Wolf Lake. This interesting aboriginal shelter is an overhanging ledge more than one hundred feet in length with a cavern or shelter beneath the overhang- ing roof wherein the redman and his family camped and lived before the arrival of the white man. The ledge was 'discovered' and explored in 1903 by Wal- ter B. Rockwood and Elmer R. Gregor who recov-
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