USA > Vermont > The Lake Champlain and Lake George valleys, Vol II > Part 26
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In the west are the Adirondacks. Let us visit them with Stod- dard, not resting "until the fragrant odor of wild flowers and the dewy breath of forest trees come like incense wafted to us from below.
"Come with me up into a high mountain. I cannot show you 'all the kingdoms of the world'-but 'the glory of them.' Over a rippling ocean of forests first in long, swelling waves, now rising, now sinking down into deep hollows; here in grand mountains, crested as with caps of foam, there tormented by counter currents into wildly dashing shapes, like ocean billows frozen by Divine command, their summits glittering granite, their deep green troughs gleaming with threads of
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silver and bits of fallen sky. . . . The rude laugh is hushed, the bois- terous shout dies out on reverential lips, the body shrinks down feel- ing its own littleness, while the soul expands, and rising above the earth, claims kinship with its Creator, questioning not His existence."
Among these mountains we find rushing torrents and rippling rills, large rivers headed toward the sea and small brooks through whose placid pools speckled trout shoot like an arrow. Here and there we find a great variety of lakes and ponds, the most important of which have been described elsewhere. They are like so many priceless gems reflecting brightly the glories of the heavens. Most noted of these small mountain lakes is famed Placid. As late as 1873 there were only two habitations in the present village section. Twenty years later it was connected by railroad with Saranac. Here, two thousand feet above sea level, a clean, prosperous and progressive resort community is flourishing. Perhaps the most interesting fea- ture of Lake Placid is its primacy in the field of winter sports, although it is an important summer resort as well. When, in 1932, the Olympic Games were held in the United States, the winter sport events took place at Lake Placid. Today this community is generally considered to be the Winter Sport Capital of America and enjoys a world-wide reputation. The famous Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Bob-Run is at present operated by the New York State Conservation Depart- ment. Nearby Saranac Lake also enjoys a great and well-won repu- tation. Like Lake Placid it has been a winter resort, but its chief claim to fame is in the field of health. Ever since Dr. Trudeau opened his sanatorium for the treatment of tuberculosis Saranac Lake's primacy in that realm of health has not been seriously challenged. Both Trudeau and Saranac are known wherever medicine is practiced. The numerous other lakes, although not possessing such long and extensive reputations, have their own champions and their own peculiar attractions. The famous hunting and fishing resort at Paul Smith's originated in 1861.
The most recent resort development has taken place in western Vermont. Here we find great natural beauty which is different in type from that found elsewhere in this section. Here we have moun- tains that offer a marked contrast with the Adirondacks. Instead of lofty peaks and precipitous sides we generally see more rounded domes and gentler slopes; instead of rocks and cliffs we have more
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often rich green foliage and trees. It would be a violation of fact if Vermont's ranges were not called the Green Mountains. Also a dark green are the slopes and summits of the rolling hills, and rich green are the low meadows. Particularly in the spring does this richness of color pervade the very atmosphere to refresh the human soul. Par- ticularly to those who desire a vacation of peace, quiet and rest, Ver- mont makes a special appeal.
A casual observer might be surprised that Vermont's resort devel- opment has been of recent origin. The chief reason for its tardiness, however, was its lack of good roads. Some rural areas were almost inaccessible. Those roads that did exist were extremely rough and gen- erally very crooked, curves and windings of brooks and rivers being fol- lowed because of the expense of building bridges. In many sections the soil was clay, with the result that spring travel was next to impos- sible, while in rainy weather at other times of the year it afforded treacherous going. Hard-surfaced roads were very expensive to build and their construction was bound to fall in particularly heavy fashion upon the taxpayers because Vermont is a relatively small state with agriculture as its chief industry, and without such large, wealthy urban centers as are possessed by New York or Massachusetts, for example. When I witnessed the great flood of 1927 in Vermont it did not occur to me that any possible good could come from such a destructive agency; but the truth is that this, more than any other factor, was responsible for the great improvement in this State's high- ways since that time. On that occasion the raging waters tore down the tottering covered bridges along with the more modern ones, piled boulders on the highways in some cases and ripped out the roads entirely in others, and did extensive damage to railroad property. New roads and new bridges had to be built. Vermont did a noble job of it and today provides ample travel facilities that are both comfortable and expeditious. A widespread resort development is in the offing. Already, a number of communities are becoming reasonably well known in this connection.
It seems to be a matter of paramount significance that the eleven assorted Vermont and New York counties have always constituted more or less of a unit; that they at present comprise one such unit ; and that in the future their economic interests are likely to be very much the same.
C & G-44
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In the first place this unity is based upon geography and, to a certain extent, on geology. Through the center of this area from north to south there exist those old familiar waterways. Into them from the east and from the west flow most of the streams. In Cham- plain's broad bosom water from the Green Mountains joins with that from the Adirondacks before it continues on to the St. Lawrence. The lake itself is the common property of the people of western Ver- mont and the New York counties of Clinton and Essex. Although the Adirondacks are older than the Green Mountains, throughout countless ages the two ranges have acted as sentinels for the Cham- plain Valley. Together they have welcomed the sun each morning and received a parting benediction each night. Each winter has crowned their crests with snow and each summer has cloaked them with robes of beauty as century after century passed by. And today they stand, those rugged sentinels, eternal, facing the sky-together!
In the second place these eleven counties have generally consti- tuted one great historical unit. This can best be illustrated by refer- ring to' the Burgoyne campaign. Here the actual surrender that determined American independence took place on the battlefields of Saratoga County, but other sections played an important part. The construction of Arnold's tiny fleet at Whitehall, Washington County, and to a certain extent in Essex County, combined with the stubborn naval battle at Valcour Island, Clinton County, held the British back an entire year, until the Americans were more nearly ready. Schuy- ler's stubborn defensive fighting in Washington County and the cruel murder of Jane McCrea were also important factors in the defeat of the British at Saratoga. Then again, at Bennington, Vermont, there was a tremendous setback to Burgoyne's fortunes which had a decided bearing on the outcome of the ultimate battle, the cam- paign and the war. In the War of 1812, the most important battle was fought in the vicinity of Plattsburgh, New York; but the iron and lumber for Macdonough's ships came from Vermont. With the exception of the land-grant episode, New Yorkers and Vermonters fought on the same side and had similar views.
In the third place there has been economic unity between these eleven counties. In the northern section, the first trade routes of both Vermonters and New Yorkers extended to Canada; in the south they extended toward Troy and Albany. After the construction of the
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Champlain Canal, both states were greatly affected in much the same fashion. When railroads opened up the route to Boston, New York goods mingled with those of Vermont. Although the virgin forests of the Green Mountains were destroyed before those of the Adiron- dacks, much of the early prosperity of both states was based on lum- ber. Although there is great variation in the mineral products produced by the two states, deposits are very important on both sides of the Champlain Valley, and the fundamental interests of the mining industries are very much the same. In the field of agriculture there has also been considerable similarity between the two states. The farming interests of one are the vital concern of the other. This unity is becoming increasingly evident in connection with our resort develop- ment.
The character of the resort business has changed considerably with the years. Up until recent times it centered primarily around inns and hotels. Today there are not as many of these as formerly ; while roadside cabins are everywhere and tourists homes are very numerous. Travel by boat and train has given way to the automo- bile to a great extent. Whereas in former times this area was acces- sible only to the rich and well-born, it is now in striking distance for anyone that owns a car. To my mind, however, the most significant change that has taken place is the transition from small, competitive resort communities to one large area made up of coordinated and supplementary parts.
Many tourists still come to one hotel or one village for their entire vacations, but the proportion has dwindled considerably. Even they prefer to be situated where they can vary their days by boat or motor trips to other resort towns or districts. More and more there is a tendency to halt in one community for a few hours, a day, or a week- end and then drift along to other places. No longer does the average tourist desire his vacation to be confined to one village; he yearns to roam casually yet restlessly over a wider range. This is the day of the open road; if there is anything the average American hates, it is to feel fettered and chained to wherever he may be.
The era of competition between small communities for the tourist trade should now be considered to have passed. In times gone by neighboring villages were often engaged in feuds of much bitterness. In many cases the chief aim of one town seems to have been to cripple
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the other in every way possible. This was particularly true in con- nection with the construction of improved roads. How hard a com- munity would fight to prevent a good road from passing through a competing village! How afraid were its citizens that some of their tourist trade would thus be diverted into other channels! Today, this philosophy is distinctly out of date, as archaic as the famous "horse-and-buggy era." Some of the most savage feuds have given way to cooperation and appreciation. There is, of course, some com- munity jealousy yet, but it is as nothing compared to the good old days when a soul was surely destined to suffer the torments of Hell because he happened to be born in another town, as in a different political party.
In this day and age an isolated resort community, regardless of its attractions, could not prosper alone. The restless motorist of today would not be attracted there. The welfare of any of our vil- lages depends on the existence and accessibility of attractive neighbor- ing towns. The more roads, the better the situation is for all. When improvements are made to highways these benefit all, wherever they take place. The community that thinks in terms of its own selfish inter- ests exclusively is like the ostrich with its head in the sand. It remains there with its head buried in its own back yard until its opponent passes on deigning to pay no attention to such stupidity, or until its fate is sealed. There are still a few communities with their heads stuck in the sand.
In my estimation our eleven counties form one major resort dis- trict. Its size is large enough to satisfy all but the most restless of tourists. To explore all the natural wonders of this territory would exhaust the roaming urge of any vacationist. Nor is the traveler apt to get bored, for one of the outstanding characteristics of this region is the tremendous variety of attractions. There are such delightful contrasts between the Adirondacks and the Green Mountains; between Lake Champlain, Lake George and the smaller bodies of water; between the mighty Hudson and tiny streams; and between the multitudes at Saratoga at race time, and the peace and quiet of Vermont farmlands. Just as small neighboring townships have com- mon interests, so are these larger subdivisions bound together by indis- soluble ties. One attraction listed for Saratoga is its proximity to Lake George and the Adirondacks; on the other hand the presence of
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the springs and race track at the southern resort certainly increases business to the north. Tourists stopping at Lake George travel to Saratoga to sample the waters and watch the horses, while those established at Saratoga vary their vacation diet with cool and refresh- ing boat rides on Lake George. The bridges across Lake Champlain bear hordes of motorists passing to and fro exchanging the attractions of one shore for the beauties of the other. The water is like cement,
(Courtesy of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce)
MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM, BURLINGTON, VERMONT, ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF SOLDIERS AND SAILORS OF ALL WARS
binding the Adirondacks and the Green Mountains together, a union too powerful for State lines to break. We are here reminded of that marital benediction: "What therefore God hath joined together let not man put asunder." The interests of one shore of Lake Cham- plain are the interests of the people living on the other, just as they always have been. The unity which we have described as existing
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between Saratoga and Lake George and between the Green Moun- tains and the Adirondacks also clearly exists between these and any other divisions of this area. What is for the welfare of one dis- trict indirectly benefits all the others; and, conversely, what injures one section ultimately harms everyone.
This condition of unity is of great significance; and recognition of this proposition generally by the people of our eleven counties is even more vital. The watchword of today and tomorrow is clearly: Coop- eration. To support unity of interest there must be unity of action and solidarity of purpose. Famous as some of our sections have become, nevertheless this area as a whole is not so well known as its thrilling history, its matchless beauty and its great traditions clearly merit. Organization on a wider and more thorough scale than ever before attempted is imperative to the common good. In any case let us all stand shoulder to shoulder to resist those who would disfigure our landscape and pollute our waters, selling our birthright for a mess of pottage.
What and who are the enemies of our priceless natural posses- sions ? How do they work and what are their aims? How are they to be defeated? These, indeed, are interesting questions; undoubt- edly as important to the people of this area as any that could possibly be asked.
The earliest enemies were despoilers of our forests-the pioneers who burned vast tracts in order to plant crops; the lumbermen with their careless, wasteful and unscientific methods; and the tanners with their almost total disregard of future generations. Railroads encir- cled the Adirondacks like a landing net frame, while the Hudson was literally choked with logs. The destruction of the forests here went so far that there was shrinkage in the water supply of this river, sud- den floods and the drying up of tributary streams. A similar situa- tion existed in other river valleys in both states. As has already been indicated in our chapter on lumbering, it became essential for State governments to take action to safeguard the general welfare and to prevent the ravishing of our choice resources by selfish lumber and pulpwood barons. During the last half century, State control in New York has gradually grown. Today much of the forested land of the Adirondacks lies in the State Forest Preserve which, in the Catskills and Adirondacks combined, totals 2,380,000 acres. In addition the
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State owns hundreds of thousands of acres of abandoned farm land outside the Preserve. On these, new forests are being planted. Plans call for the purchase and reforestation of one million acres by 1947 at an expenditure of twenty million dollars. The cutting of all trees on State land is forbidden by law. Vermont as a whole has nineteen State forests, containing 43,288 acres. In addition here was established that huge territory known as the Green Mountain National Forest. It extends as far south as Winhall, Bennington County, and stretches through parts of Rutland and Addison. In recent years there has been considerable development of parks and forests in both states. For much that has been accomplished we are indebted to the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Not only have our forests been withdrawn from private purchase, but their use is carefully regulated by governmental agencies. In addition to the prohibitions against the cutting of trees there are other regulations against marking them, against the building of fires without permission, and various other restrictions.
One dreaded enemy of our resort area has been, and still is, fire. Thanks to governmental control, it has been curbed considerably. Fires are caused in a variety of ways. When trees are, or have been, felled for logs, bark or wood, if the small branches are allowed to dry there instead of being burned under supervision, they constitute a dread fire hazard. When locomotives used wood for fuel, sparks belching from the smokestacks often ignited leaves or underbrush. Trees do not live forever and if dead trunks or limbs are allowed to remain where they fall they also are dangerous. Many fires are also started from cigarette stubs carelessly cast away. Sometimes a farmer decides to burn over some of his land, yet suddenly discovers that it is easier to start a fire than to stop it. Again, picnickers and campers are far too careless in leaving fires behind them. The protection of our forests against the menace of fire is one of the greatest duties and achievements of the States. New York alone employs two hundred men permanently, and one thousand men seasonally, for protection against fire. It is not unheard of for the Governor to close the for- ests to hunters in periods of excessive dryness. Fire wardens are sta- tioned on various peaks. In a twenty-year period, in spite of the greatly increased use of the woods, damage by fire in New York State decreased from 1.6 per cent of the area covered to less than 2/100 of I per cent.
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Another menace to our resort area arises from the threatened extinction of fish and game. New York alone has at least two mil- lion legal hunters and fishermen, not to mention poachers. Although the deer in Vermont were almost extinct as far back as 1870, there were 2,000 bucks reported killed here in a ten-day hunting season in 1936, not to mention those not claimed. During the same year in this State legal hunters alone reported having killed, in addition, 72,726 muskrats, 30,000 skunks, 15,000 raccoons, 11,076 foxes, 6,500 mink, 26 bears and 20 wildcats. Several animals that once made their homes in the Champlain Valley-the beaver, otter, wolf, panther, caribou and moose-have long since vanished completely. Among the fish we are still able to find are both brook and lake trout, pike, pickerel, landlocked salmon, perch, bullheads, catfish, icefish and other minor varieties. One of the major attractions of this entire area consists of hunting and fishing. If there had been no State restric- tions, both fish and game would have disappeared. To protect the general public in the days to come, both New York and Vermont have restricted these sports, not only as to season, but also as to size, variety, methods of catching or killing and, in the case of the deer, age and sex. Even this action is not sufficient to provide hunting and fishing to all. The government maintains game bird farms for the propagation of pheasants, quail and others; several fish hatcheries and some fish rearing stations; and also regular wild life refuges. Scientific surveys of inland waterways decide stocking policies.
Blister rust and various pests in their turn constitute a menace. Governmental agencies have been particularly active in protecting the pine tree against rust. Not only has an intensive educational cam- paign been under way for some time to arouse the public in this area to fight this disease, but the Civilian Conservation Corps has joined hands with the states concerned to rid the pines of their incubus. Blis- ter rust is a relentless enemy, however, and the battle now raging is far from over. The Champlain Valley without its pines would never be the same. The gypsy moth has also been a stubborn enemy.
Reference has been made elsewhere to the building of a road to the summit of Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks. This has made it possible for the old and decrepit, as well as the young and strong, to enjoy that remarkable forest scenery that can only be obtained from the crests of our high mountains. To this extent
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Whiteface fulfils an urgent need. There is, however, a grave dan- ger that it may serve as an evil precedent; that ultimately the so-called "tin-can civilization" will penetrate to the domes of other mountains and that long lines of motor cars will displace sylvan beauty. An even greater menace to our forest preserves is the idea of carving the likenesses of great public figures on the sides of our peaks. In my experience, few are the students who would care to deface their man-made school walls with sculptured profiles; fewer yet should be the adults bent on disfiguring the beautiful precipices created by God. Regardless of a sculptor's ability, he would be vain indeed to imagine that he could improve upon the Creator's handiwork. The defacing of our mountain sides is not advisable, in my judgment, even if it results in increased sales of gasoline, "hot-dogs" and ice cream to multitudes of tourists that would gather from far and near to gaze upon the disfigure- ment, like human vultures at a funeral. Governor Clinton, and the others, great though they certainly were, positively would not wish beautiful mountains to be defaced to do them honor. They would desire no part in it, the very thought of it being enough to make them turn over in their graves. Our great public men in both states have generally been the most zealous of our citizens in preserving our beau- tiful preserves, not in destroying them.
There are others who would transform the wilderness into gigan- tic parks, where the trees would be trimmed out as they are in urban centers, were "hot-dog" stands, tables and fireplaces would crowd out the underbrush; where multitudes of sightseers could more easily dis- card cigarette butts, tin cans and papers. In time there would be a variation of Coney Island in existence here. The dangers in such a possibility are so clearly evident that no further discussion is neces- sary. No one, who has any love for the out-of-doors, desires to have forests transformed into city parks. On the other hand there can be no objection to the erection of small parks here and there, provided they are properly supervised. In fact, this is probably preferable to having amateurs building fires elsewhere, where they cannot be super- vised. So far as parks are concerned our chief concern should not be their existence, but their supervision, control and limitation.
The building of roads to the tops of mountains, the defacing of the precipices, and the unwise extension of the wrong kinds of parks together constitute at present one of the greatest dangers facing our
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forest preserves. The temporary economic motive is clearly apparent ; but not all proponents of these policies fall into this classification. There are others who, though misguided, are sincere. They do not seem to realize that the most attractive feature of our mountain ranges, par- ticularly the Essex County Adirondacks, is their wildness. Once brought too closely within the realm of "tin-can civilization" they will never be the same; rather, they will lose much of their historical beauty. It is our thesis that man cannot improve the appearance or attraction of the mountains as they now exist. If we accept this, our chief duty then is to protect our forest preserves against those who would loot and ravish, whether their intentions are honorable or not.
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