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Olympics History

Prison In the Woods: Environment & Incarceration in Northern NY

February 26, 2022 by Erin Becker-Boris Leave a Comment

A Prison In the Woods - Environment and Incarceration in New York's North CountyThe Adirondacks in Northern New York covers approximately 5,000 square miles. Widely known for its natural beauty, recreation opportunities and tourism, it may surprise many of those travelers to learn that the Adirondacks’ trails and amenities are intrinsically connected to New York’s carceral history.

In A Prison In the Woods: Environment and Incarceration in New York’s North Country (Univ. of Mass. Press, 2020), Clarence Jefferson Hall Jr. traces the planning, construction, and operation of penitentiaries in five Adirondack communities – Dannemora, Ray Brook, Gabriels, Lyon Mountain, and Tupper Lake – between 1840 and the early 2010s to show the intersections between the environment and mass incarceration.

Hall’s own personal history adds an interesting aspect to his narrative. His father worked for the New York prison system from 1973 to 1998, mostly at the maximum security Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora. He states that “the rhythms of the prison system became natural to our family, just as they did for so many other families in towns and villages across the Adirondacks.” [Read more…] about Prison In the Woods: Environment & Incarceration in Northern NY

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Books, Capital-Saratoga, History, New York City Tagged With: Adirondacks, Black History, Books, clinton correctional facility, Crime and Justice, environment, Essex County, Franklin County, Labor History, Lyon Mountain, Olympics History, Political History, prisons, Ray Brook, Tupper Lake

The Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Facility and Forever Wild

June 21, 2020 by Peter Bauer Leave a Comment

Mt. Van Hoevenberg courtesy PROTECTThis is the second article in a 5-part series that looks at amendments to Article 14, Section 1, the famed forever wild provision, of the State Constitution. This article looks the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Winter Sports Complex in the Adirondack Park, managed by the Olympic Regional Development Authority. The first piece looked at the recent history of Article 14 amendments.

Protect the Adirondacks has long believed that an amendment to Article 14, Section 1 is needed for the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Winter Olympic Sports Complex currently managed by the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA). At Mt. Van Hoevenberg, ORDA currently manages 1,220 acres +/- of Forest Preserve classified as Intensive Use by the Adirondack Park Agency (APA). Abutting these lands is 319 acres of lands owned by the Town of North Elba, Essex County. This complex houses the Olympic bobsled and luge track, cross-country skiing and biathlon trails, and associated facilities. [Read more…] about The Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Facility and Forever Wild

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: APA, Article 14, DEC, Forever Wild, Mt Van Hoevenberg, NYS Constitution, Olympics History, ORDA, Political History, PROTECT, Protect the Adirondacks, wilderness

40 Years After An Olympic Miracle

March 1, 2020 by Devin Lander Leave a Comment

a new york minute in history podcastThis episode of A New York Minute in History recalls the “Miracle on Ice,” when the U.S. Men’s Hockey team upset the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. [Read more…] about 40 Years After An Olympic Miracle

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Adirondacks, Lake Placid, Olympics History, Podcasts, sports, Sports History, winter sports

Considering the Controversy Around Melvil Dewey

February 5, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

portrait of melvil deweyNorth Country native Melvil Dewey was obsessed with order from the time he was young. At the age of 5, he would alphabetize the spices in his mother’s pantry. He was preoccupied with numbers, lists, rules and efficiency.

This obsession helped change the way we categorize information across the world with the invention of the Dewey Decimal system, which is still in use today at libraries in 150 countries worldwide. He also founded the Lake Placid Club and was instrumental in helping to bring the 1932 Winter Olympics to the region. [Read more…] about Considering the Controversy Around Melvil Dewey

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Lake Placid, Olympics History, Podcasts

Events Added for 1980 Olympics Celebration

January 27, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

olympic torch runner courtey Lake Placid Olympic MuseumLake Placid is one of only three cities world-wide to have hosted two Olympic Winter Games, 1932 and 1980. Since then, it has played host to annual World Cup events and other large-scale sporting competitions.

The community is set to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1980 Olympic Winter Games from February 13-23.

[Read more…] about Events Added for 1980 Olympics Celebration

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Events, History Tagged With: Lake Placid, Lake Placid Olympic Museum, Olympics History, winter sports

Lake Placid Celebrating 1980 Olympics 40th Anniversary

December 3, 2019 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Lake Placid Winter Olympic MuseumForty years ago this February, the Adirondack village of Lake Placid hosted the 13th Olympic Winter Games. The U.S. Men’s Olympic Hockey Team’s improbable win over the Russians, known as the “Miracle on Ice,” along with speed skater Eric Heiden’s five gold medals, helped make the 1980 Lake Placid Games one with an enduring legacy.

From February 14 – 23, the two-time Olympic village (the first winter games to be hosted outside of Europe took place in Lake Placid in 1932) is set to host a full slate of activities. [Read more…] about Lake Placid Celebrating 1980 Olympics 40th Anniversary

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Events, History Tagged With: Lake Placid, Lake Placid Olympic Museum, Olympics History, winter sports

Chateaugay Olympian Karl Frederick: Literally A Shooting Star

September 29, 2016 by Lawrence P. Gooley Leave a Comment

1KTFred1920St1The 2016 Summer Olympics have ended, and as usual, they were quite the spectacle. Folks in the Adirondacks and North Country are perhaps bigger fans of the Winter Olympics, for obvious reasons: the games have been held twice at Lake Placid, and a number of area natives have attained lifelong dreams by earning a place on the podium. But a man born in this region achieved summer Olympic glory long ago, one of many highlights in a very accomplished life.

Karl Telford Frederick was born in 1881 in Chateaugay (northern Franklin County), where his father was a Presbyterian minister, which required a somewhat nomadic existence (five relocations in 14 years). Before Karl was three, the family moved to Essex on Lake Champlain, remaining there until 1888—not a long time, but sufficient to establish a lasting connection between him and the Adirondacks. [Read more…] about Chateaugay Olympian Karl Frederick: Literally A Shooting Star

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Chateaugay, Olympics History, Public History, sports, Sports History

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