Historic Saranac Lake was founded in 1980. Our mission is to preserve and present area history and architecture to build a stronger community.
- Restoring the Saranac Laboratory and opening the building as a museum interpreting Saranac Lake's unique role in history as a world-famous center for the fresh air treatment of tuberculosis.
- In 2019, embarking on a major museum expansion project, with the acquisition and rehabilitation of the Trudeau building.
- Preserving the Bartók Cabin, with tours provided upon request.
- Operating our innovative outreach project, the Cure Porch on Wheels.
- Leading a growing Oral History Project.
- Advocating for the preservation of Saranac Lake’s unique architecture. HSL has nominated and listed over 230 resources to the National Register of Historic Places. HSL Partnered on and administered the Union Depot preservation project.
- Caring for our museum collection of artifacts, photos and documents pertaining to Saranac Lake's history as a center for science and patient care.
- Publishing books and pamphlets such as Cure Cottages of Saranac Lake by Phil Gallos, our Downtown Walking Tour brochure, and A Rare Romance in Medicine by Mary Hotaling.
- Sponsoring educational activities such as a summer music series, walking tours, presentations for student groups, lectures, history days, and oral history projects.
- Hosting temporary exhibits in the John Black Room library.
- Maintaining the HSL Wiki site, an innovative online encyclopedia of over 6,000 pages of local history.
Meet THE HSL STAFF
Amy Catania, Executive Director
amy@historicsaranaclake.org Bio
Amy has served as Executive Director of HSL since 2009. She has implemented new projects including school outreach programs and the Cure Porch on Wheels. During her time as Executive Director, she has tripled the staff of the organization, grown the endowment from $10,000 to over $300,000, and launched the campaign for expansion of the museum. Ms. Catania has a Masters in Liberal Studies from Plattsburgh State University and a B.A. in Latin American Studies from Oberlin College. Her interest in local history stemmed from a research project for her masters program on the history of the Latin American patients who cured in Saranac Lake. She lives in a Saranac Lake cure cottage with her husband Roger. Together they have two almost grown children and a dog named Walter. 
Mahala Nyberg, Public Programs Coordinator
mahala@historicsaranaclake.org bio
Mahala oversees the museums events, tours, educational programs and community outreach. Mahala has a Master’s in Public History with a certificate in Digital Humanities from Northeastern University and B.A. in History and Archaeology from SUNY Potsdam. She believes that museums can serve as hubs for education, positive change and public service. Mahala enjoys interacting with museum visitors and is interested in exploring innovative paths for museum education, public programs, and digital initiatives. Her work experience includes education and interpretation at museums throughout New York and New England. In her free time, Mahala enjoys spending time outdoors and adding to the list of lakes and rivers she has paddled with her kayak. |
Chessie Monks-Kelly, Archivist/Curator
chessie@historicsaranaclake.org Bio
Chessie is an archivist with a love for local history. Chessie manages the museum's collections, plans public programming, coordinates social media outreach, and maintains Historic Saranac Lake's two historic buildings. She is passionate about making our community's history accessible to all. She has a Masters degree in Library and Information Science with a concentration in Archives Management. Prior to joining the HSL staff in 2015, Chessie worked on contract projects for the National Park Service with History Associates, Inc. Chessie has lived in Saranac Lake with her husband Andy and their two orange cats since 2013, and they work on fixing up their Park Avenue cure cottage in their spare time. 
Emily Banach, Museum Assitant
emily@historicsaranaclake.org bio
Emily is a recent graduate of the M.S. in Library and Information Science program at Syracuse University, where she focused her studies on historical materials and worked for the SU Archives. Emily also attended SUNY Binghamton and has a bachelor’s degree in English and Classical Languages. She has lived in Upstate New York her entire life and is excited to learn more about Saranac Lake and its history by working at HSL. |
Meet THE Board of directors:
Amy Heckethorn-Jones, President
Bio
Amy, a resident of Rainbow Lake, has lived in the area for 40 years and recently retired from a 30 year teaching career in the Saranac Lake Central School District. It was as a seventh grade social studies teacher that her affiliation with Historic Saranac Lake began. Some of her fondest career memories were teaching her students to engage with the local history of Saranac Lake and its surrounding hamlets. Now as a board member and volunteer, Amy is eager to contribute to the expansion of Historic Saranac Lake. She envisions the expanded museum as a center of learning where visitors can interact with the human stories that shaped not just our past, but our present and future as well. 
Karen Morris, Secretary
bio
Originally from New York City, Karen bounced around the globe before finishing her education at St. Lawrence University, where she met her husband, Don, and decided to move to the Adirondacks, eventually settling on an old cure cottage on Park Ave in Saranac Lake. Karen raised two kids in Saranac Lake and chose to stay here after retiring from the Tupper Lake Central School District; she spends her time in her pottery studio and on the golf course, or walking her pitbull, Patches. Karen joined HSL's board because she believes that understanding the past informs the present, and because of her deep connection to the Saranac Lake community. |
Beth Van Anden, Vice President
Bio
After many years of visiting Saranac Lake, Beth Van Anden and her husband Chuck moved to the village in 2013. Beth joined a primary care practice here and worked as a physician assistant until her retirement in 2017. Improving access to health care has been a life-long interest, and Beth worked in teaching hospitals, volunteer/free clinics, migrant health, homeless health care, and inner-city pediatrics over a 40-year career. The stories of Saranac Lake’s many and varied contributions to community health are inspiring, and HSL plays a crucial role in sharing that unique history. 
Andrew Rawdon, Treasurer
bio
Andy grew up in Saranac Lake where he developed a life-long appreciation for the urgency of protecting the natural environment; the necessity to volunteer in service to others; and the wisdom of understanding history and its relevance to how we live today. After college and law school, Andy began a career as a writer and editor in several different industries—corporate, government and nonprofit. “I am pleased to contribute in whatever way I can to help Saranac Lake discover, collect and preserve its unique history, a history which gave me a solid foundation for life.” Andy is a freelance grant writer for several national and international organizations. He lives in Potsdam. |
Koko Bickford
bio
Koko has spent summers since 1968 on Upper Saranac Lake - initially at her husband, Ed’s family’s camp and more recently at their own home in Back Bay of Upper Saranac. They have 4 married children and 10 grandchildren. Koko taught preschool, worked in development at Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, MA and coordinated the guide programs at The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Koko is on the board of the Upper Saranac Foundation and a trustee of the Church of the Ascension. With her background in education and museums, she is drawn to HSL with her interest in historic preservation and her love for Saranac Lake and desire to celebrate the town’s unique history. Koko and Ed split their time between Saranac Lake and Massachusetts where they are relocating to Plymouth late fall. 
Melinda Little
Bio
An entrepreneur by background, Melinda is currently focusing her entrepreneurial skills on managing Point Positive, an angel investor group committed to investing in and nurturing promising and scalable start-up companies within the Adirondack Region. She co-founded and is president of the Saranac Lake Community Store, now doing business as the Village Mercantile. Melinda serves on the Board of the Tri-Lakes Humane Society and was elected to the Village of Saranac Lake Board of Trustees in 2018. Melinda lives in a former cure cottage on Helen Hill. 
Suzanne Roberson
bio
A fourth-generation Adirondacker, Suzanne is descended from the Distin and Roberson families of Saranac Lake and is the great-niece of the architect William Distin. Her professional career has been focused as research assistant and archivist for Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy and in advancement research in institutions of higher education. She has served as an adjunct professor in building conservation at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and is currently providing contractual research services to various clients. Suzanne has earned graduate degrees in library and information science and in building conservation. She currently serves on the board of Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve and on the advisory board of AARCH. Suzanne has been restoring her family home on Kiwassa Road and can be spotted rowing her single racing shell on Lake Flower most mornings when the ice is out. 
John Wheeler
bio
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Pablo Davila
Bio
A love of architectural preservation brought Pablo to Saranac Lake in 2021. For the last 9 years he has been renovating historic properties at the Jersey Shore with his husband Mike. They are currently restoring several properties in the Highland Park and Helen Hill historic districts. Pablo enjoys researching a home’s history, finding out about previous residents and also the original architecture and evolution of the structures they work on. Pablo holds a BS in Pharmacy from the University of Puerto Rico as well as MS and PhD degrees in Pharmaceutics from the University of Michigan. He works as Vice President of Regulatory and Compliance for a Pharmaceutical company in NJ. Pablo and Mike are very happy to have found this community and have been enjoying getting to know the area, its history, and people. They live on Park Ave where you can find them walking their dogs. 
Judy Meagher
Bio
Judy's father’s family came to Upper Saranac Lake in the late 1800’s as caretakers. Her mother’s family came to Saranac Lake in the mid 1920’s to cure Judy's aunt’s TB and this is where her parents met and married. She has spent most of the summers on the lake and finally made this her permanent home 11 years ago. As a healthcare professional, she continues to consult part-time with large corporations involved in state Medicaid programs. Volunteerism has always been part of her life and she currently sits on several local boards. She is passionate about the history of the Saranac Lake area and believes Historic Saranac Lake is the organization that will preserve our local history. 
Jim Sonneborn
bio
Jim has been a resident of the area for over 30 years. He is both a lawyer and entrepreneur having started several businesses and supported many other startups. He has also been and is on the board of directors of several area for profit and not for profit businesses. He is committed to building a sustainable community, respectful of the diversity of interests, cultures and histories of its members. Jim sees the study and appreciation of history as a tool that allows us to find a better future, to better enjoy the present, and have an easier path from the present to the future. 
Amy Cheney-Seymour
bio
Coming Soon. |
Ann Greene
Bio
Ann Greene is a historian of American environmental and technological history. She recently retired from teaching and administering in the History and Sociology of Science Department at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of the book, Horses at Work: Harnessing Power in Industrial America. Ann lives in Philadelphia with her husband Bob Tate and new puppy Willie, and have a longtime second home on Hoel Pond. 
Betsy Minehan
bio
An occupational therapist by training, Betsy and her family arrived in Saranac Lake in 1976. Encouraged by the mayor at the time, she volunteered with the Downtown Action committee that helped to develop a plan for public parking, expanded sidewalks , signage etc for the village downtown. Out of this group a number agreed that historic preservation could also be a useful development tool for preserving our history and unique architecture . She was also a member of the village planning board that developed a master plan and revised zoning and planning laws . Betsy lives in the Highland Park Historic District . 
Susan Stiles
bio
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