HISTORIC SARANAC LAKE - HISTORY MATTERS

On the Twelfth Day of Saranac Lake-mas...

1/5/2020

On the twelfth day of Saranac Lake-mas, your museum gave to you... the uniform of the Saranac Lake Pioneers Drum and Bugle Corps! This handsome fringed jacket comes with a matching pair of fringed trousers. In 1959, a letter to the editor of the Adirondack Daily Enterprise thanked the community for their support to purchase these uniforms. They would have been worn with a tan felt cap, too!

To learn more about the Drum and Bugle Corps, visit our wiki: https://localwiki.org/hsl/Saranac_Lake_Pioneers_Drum_and_Bugle_Corps

Does anyone have any photographs of the Corps? We've love to see this uniform in action!

Thanks to everyone for following along on our Twelve Days of Saranac Lake-mas! We've had a ton of fun sharing these snippets from our history with you. Be sure to follow along all year round to learn more about Saranac Lake history and the goings-on here at the museum!

[Historic Saranac Lake Collection, TCR # 205, courtesy of Kurt Kamps.]

On the Eleventh Day of Saranac Lake-mas...

1/4/2020

On the eleventh day of Saranac Lake-mas, your museum gave to you... the "penny piper of Saranac," Robert Louis Stevenson (at right)! Stevenson spent the winter of 1887-8 in the Baker Cottage overlooking the Saranac River under Dr. E.L.Trudeau's care. He began work on "The Master of Ballantrae" and wrote a number of essays while here.

Steven Chalmers, a writer who also came to Saranac Lake for his health, wrote an account of Stevenson's stay entitled "The Penny Piper of Saranac." According to Chalmers, Stevenson's principle activity aside from writing was playing a penny whistle, which displeased the Baker family. Mrs. Baker was supposed to have said, "He tootles the whistle better'n he plays the piano," to which her husband replied: "And a sight oftener!"

The Baker Cottage is preserved and is now home to a museum dedicated to Stevenson's life and works. It contains the world's first and largest collection of Stevenson memorabilia. Be sure to pay it a visit in the summer months!

To learn more about Stevenson's time in Saranac Lake and his sometimes tumultuous friendship with Dr. Trudeau visit our wiki: https://localwiki.org/hsl/Robert_Louis_Stevenson

[Pictured, from left: RLS' stepson, his wife Fannie Osbourne, and RLS on the porch of Baker Cottage.]

On The Tenth Day of Saranac Lake-mas...

1/3/2020

On the tenth day of Saranac Lake-mas, your museum gave to you... Ed Lamy a-leaping! Lamy was an international speed-skating champion and record-breaking barrel jumper (and all around star athlete!). In 1912, he set a world record by jumping 14 barrels, or 27 feet 8 inches! Amazingly, all of his records still stood unbeaten at the time of his death in 1962.

To learn more about Ed Lamy's career (on and off the ice), visit our wiki: https://localwiki.org/hsl/Ed_Lamy

[Historic Saranac Lake Collection, courtesy of Dick Jarvis.]

Bonus fun fact--Ed Lamy was signed by the Cleveland Indians and played with their farm team in 1911, but a broken collarbone prevented him from moving up to the major leagues!

The Ninth Day of Saranac Lake-mas...

1/2/2020

On the ninth day of Saranac Lake-mas, your museum gave to you... majorettes dancing! These ladies appeared in the 1972 Winter Carnival Parade along with floats featuring Winnie the Pooh, nurses, and Smokey the Bear.

To learn more about Winter Carnival throughout the years, visit our wiki: https://localwiki.org/hsl/Winter_Carnival

Fun fact--the special guest at the 1972 Winter Carnival was Gordon MacRae, who appeared in the film versions of Oklahoma! and Carousel, among others!

[Historic Saranac Lake Collection, courtesy of Denise Richardson.]

On the Eighth Day of Saranac Lake-mas...

1/1/2020

On the eighth day of Saranac Lake-mas, your museum gave to you... dairies a-milking! Milk made up a major part of TB patients' prescribed diets, which were designed to be high in fat and protein to combat the symptoms of "consumption." Patients received glass after glass of milk as part of the daily routine of temperature checks, naps, and exercise. As a result, large numbers of dairy farms opened in the Saranac Lake area to meet the growing demand for milk!
These paper bottle caps came from Mountain View Farm, and McMaster Bros., Inc., two of dozens of dairy farms in the area. To learn more about dairies in the area, visit our wiki: https://localwiki.org/hsl/Dairies
A bonus fact -- you may also notice that one of the bottle caps says "tuberculin tested." Bovine tuberculosis is related to the bacteria that causes TB in humans, and can jump the species barrier to infect humans and other mammals. Because of this, the Board of Health ran tuberculosis tests on all dairy cows, and checked milk deliveries for sanitary practices. A January 1923 entry in the Board of Health book read, "All herds furnishing grade A milk and cream in the Village tuberculin tested and free from tuberculosis, in compliance with the law."

[Historic Saranac Lake Collection]

On the Seventh Day of Saranac Lake-mas...

12/31/2019

On the seventh day of Saranac Lake-mas, your museum gave to you... kids a-swimming on Lake Flower! The lake was formed in 1827 when Pliny Miller built the first dam across the Saranac River to power a sawmill.

To learn more about the history of Lake Flower, including the origin of its name, visit our wiki: https://localwiki.org/hsl/Lake_Flower

[Historic Saranac Lake Collection, courtesy of Peter MacIntyre.]

On the Sixth Day of Saranac Lake-mas...

12/30/2019

On the sixth day of Saranac Lake-mas, your museum gave to you... tuberculosis patients a-laying in the fresh air! TB patients like these women at Ray Brook Sanatorium would spend their days on porches resting and taking in the fresh air.
To learn more about the process of “curing,” visit our wiki: https://localwiki.org/hsl/Curing
We’re halfway there - what will you learn in the next six days of Saranac Lake-mas?
[Patients at Ray Brook, c. 1928. Historic Saranac Lake Collection, TCR 124, courtesy of Ben Fruhlinger.]

On the fifth day of Saranac Lake-mas...

12/29/2019

On the fifth day of Saranac Lake-mas, your museum gave to you... golden (ok--silver) medals! In the 1932 Olympics, the Red Devils, a bobsled team from Saranac Lake took home the silver medal in the four-man bobsled! The team consisted of Henry Homburger, Percy Bryant, Francis Stevens, and Edmund Horton.

Pictured are The Saranac Lake Red Devils, Ed Horton (right), and the Stevens brothers. The other two Stevens brothers, Curtis and Hubert won gold for two-man bob.

To learn more about Saranac Lake in the Olympics visit our wiki: https://localwiki.org/hsl/Olympic_Winter_Games

[Photograph courtesy of Natalie Leduc.]

On the Fourth Day of Saranac Lake-mas...

12/28/2019

On the fourth day of Saranac Lake-mas, your museum gave to you... a calling card! This card was sent to Maude Liscomb, Francis Berger Trudeau's patient and friend, while FBT was serving as Captain of the Medical Reserve Corps of the Army in 1918. FBT (pictured above) was the son of Dr. E.L. Trudeau and continued his work with tuberculosis patients in Saranac Lake.

To learn more about FBT, visit our wiki: https://localwiki.org/hsl/Francis_Berger_Trudeau

[Calling card, Historic Saranac Lake Collection, TCR 363, Courtesy of Janet Swentusky. Photograph of FBT, Historic Saranac Lake Collection, TCR 581, Courtesy of the Trudeau Family.]

On the Third Day of Saranac Lake-mas...

12/27/2019

On the third day of Saranac Lake-mas, your museum gave to you... French Hill! French Hill is one of the earliest neighborhoods in Saranac Lake, and encompasses east-west streets McClelland, James, Charles, Prospect Avenue, McIntyre, Neil, and Olive Streets and Arnold Drive; and north-south streets Hope, Fairview Avenue, William, Virginia, and McComb. It is about forty acres in extent. In this 1902 photograph, Prospect Avenue runs up from Broadway to McComb Street.

To learn more about French Hill and its history, visit our wiki.

Historic Saranac Lake at the Saranac Laboratory Museum
89 Church Street, Suite 2, Saranac Lake, New York 12983
(518) 891-4606 mail@historicsaranaclake.org

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Historic Saranac Lake is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization. Dues and other contributions are tax deductible as provided by law.

© 2015 Historic Saranac Lake. All Rights Reserved. Historic photographs courtesy of the Adirondack Room, Saranac Lake Free Library, unless otherwise noted. Copy and reuse restrictions apply. Made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Also made possible, in part, by the Essex County Arts Council Cultural Assistance Program Grant supported by the Essex County Board of Supervisors.