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Oct 1, 2025
Tom Wheeler
adk3356@gmail.com
This and That from the Chair
This autumn we have several items on our schedule in addition to Outings. Traditionally, we had a November Potluck, but owing to COVID we were unable to have the event. This year we are reviving it, on Sunday, November 16, at the Presbyterian Church in Potsdam, beginning at 5 p.m. We plan to showcase the entries in the Photo Contest and award prizes. The location provides a much better opportunity to view the entries compared to the lodge at Higley Flow. This is a great opportunity to meet with old friends and be introduced to other members. Please bring a dish or dessert to pass. We will provide cider and hot beverages.
Of course we will still have the potluck, ski and snowshoe at Higley Flow State Park to celebrate the New Year. This will start in the early afternoon on January 1 and conclude with the potluck shortly after four o’clock.
Tom Van de Water and I are also starting a discussion group which will focus on the history and issues concerning the Adirondacks. We are planning to hold this on the second or third Wednesday of each month from 5 to 7 p.m. (We may change the hours as this progresses.) The first session, in October, will focus on the creation of the park, the second on wilderness and the pertinent writings of Bob Marshall. The third will discuss environmental issues and the writings of Bill McKibben, George Perkins Marsh, and others. While some of the materials for discussion are easily accessible, we will also provide others which are less accessible or even rare.
I anticipate thoughtful discussions and learning new perspectives on our unique Adirondack backyard. We still haven’t settled on a location, so contact either of us, me at northflow@gmail.com or 315-244-9958, or Tom Van de Water at tblaisdellvandewater@gmail.com or 315-261-1723.
In all of these activities there will be the opportunity to interact with other members of the chapter, whether or not you are able to participate in our regular outings. I hope to see you at one of these events.
In 2003, my first year as president of the Adirondack Mountain Club, the club’s Eleanor Brown Communication Award was presented to North Country Public Radio. I still have the picture taken at the President’s Dinner with myself, Brian Mann, Martha Foley and Ellen Rocco.
This award was well merited. It recognized the extraordinary importance of NCPR to illuminating the economic, social and environmental issues that face our region, a region that’s large and sparsely populated. It extends from the Canadian border (although NCPR’s reach crosses that border) south through the Adirondack Park, west to the Tug Hill Plateau and east to Lake Champlain, which, again, NCPR broadcasts beyond. The station has established transmitters that provide coverage to many remote Adirondack communities. Over the years it has provided coverage of local disasters and local community concerns. It has covered the local impact of national and global issues. It has broadcast interviews with local farmers, small-business owners, community leaders, artists, musicians, ordinary citizens, and state and national figures.
NCPR has provided coverage that no commercial service is willing to provide. Moreover, most “local” radio stations have been acquired by outside corporations with little local content or staff. NCPR is a part of our community, part of the regional glue that binds citizens of the North Country, the Adirondacks and beyond.
It appears that there are those who wish to silence this voice for political reasons. Some cannot tolerate exposure to views contrary to their own. This intolerance is inimical to basic American values. It would be a great loss to the Adirondack region if they were successful.