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Saranac Lake

Cure Porch Cousining: Love In A Time of TB

July 7, 2020 by Amy Catania 1 Comment

Mary Welday and Duke Huntington, cousining in Saranac Lake. courtesy of Priscilla Goss“The great tragedy of life is not that men perish, but that they cease to love.” — W. Somerset Maugham.

Before antibiotics, one of the more powerful medicines against tuberculosis was love. Happy patients tended to be more successful in overcoming the disease, so health care providers took every step to improve patients’ state of mind.

Patients stayed busy with occupational therapy and social activities. In the Adirondacks around Saranac Lake, cure porches were oriented toward the best views to boost patients’ sprits with natural beauty. And then there was cousining — a term for informal romances that developed between patients. [Read more…] about Cure Porch Cousining: Love In A Time of TB

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Historic Saranac Lake, Saranac Lake, Trudeau Sanatorium, tuberculosis

Saranac Lake ArtWorks Support Local Artists

July 5, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

tim fortune at workSaranac Lake ArtWorks, a community-based organization founded and operating since 2008, has announced that it has achieved not-for-profit status as a 501(c)3, enhancing its ability to support local artists and cultural organizations in its area. [Read more…] about Saranac Lake ArtWorks Support Local Artists

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Arts Tagged With: art, Saranac Lake, Saranac Lake ArtWorks

Saranac Lake’s Famous Cure Porches Have Stories To Tell

June 13, 2020 by Amy Catania 2 Comments

245 Lake Flower AvenueLong after people die, the buildings where they made their lives often remain. Many visitors to the Saranac Laboratory Museum follow the footsteps of a family member who came to Saranac Lake with tuberculosis.

Often the only trace that remains is the address of a cure cottage and a porch where their relative once took the fresh air. [Read more…] about Saranac Lake’s Famous Cure Porches Have Stories To Tell

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Adirondack Architectural Heritage, Architecture, Historic Preservation, Historic Saranac Lake, Saranac Lake, tuberculosis

Adirondack Anti-racism Online “Listen-in” Series

June 11, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Protesters hold signs and engage with passersby during a peaceful protest at Riverside Park in Saranac Lake by Mark KurtzThousands have gathered for peaceful protests across Northern New York in recent weeks, as people and communities seek ways to engage in the broader national movement for racial justice.

In response, the Adirondack Diversity Initiative (ADI), in partnership with the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA), will host a series of virtual “Listen-in” and “Teach-in” sessions focused on mobilizing the community on issues of racial equity and transformational justice in America. [Read more…] about Adirondack Anti-racism Online “Listen-in” Series

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Arts, Events Tagged With: Adirondack Diversity Initiative, Adirondack North Country Association, diversity, Saranac Lake

Adirondack Plein Air Festival Online and Outdoors

June 5, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Baker Mountain in the Spring by Sandra HildrethThe 2020 Adirondack Plein Air Festival is still on schedule, but the viewing and purchasing part of the event will be held online. [Read more…] about Adirondack Plein Air Festival Online and Outdoors

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Arts, Nature Tagged With: art, nature, painting, plein air painting, Saranac Lake, Saranac Lake ArtWorks

Life in the Graveyard

May 28, 2020 by Amy Catania 1 Comment

Pine Ridge Cemetery in Saranac LakeGraveyards are for the living. It’s something I think about every autumn, when my local Pine Ridge Cemetery in Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks comes alive with children on our annual fifth grade field trip.

Ahead of time, the students research a person buried there. As we walk down to the graveyard from school, excitement builds. Upon arrival the kids race around, looking excitedly for their person. It’s like a bizarre version of an Easter egg hunt. [Read more…] about Life in the Graveyard

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Cemeteries, Saranac Lake, Social History

Poverty, Tuberculosis, COVID-19 and the Luxury of Health

May 25, 2020 by Amy Catania 3 Comments

Patients at Ray Brook State Hospital, c.1928. Historic Saranac Lake collection Since we first opened the Saranac Laboratory Museum doors in 2009, thousands have come to learn about Saranac Lake’s history as a center for tuberculosis research and treatment.

Visitors often ask about the cost of care and who was able to afford it. Was Saranac Lake’s fresh air treatment just for rich people? Did people of different ethnic groups and social classes have access to the cure? [Read more…] about Poverty, Tuberculosis, COVID-19 and the Luxury of Health

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, New York City Tagged With: Historic Saranac Lake, Public Health, Saranac Lake, tuberculosis

Historic Saranac Lake to Document COVID Crisis

May 20, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Kayt Gochenaur at the Saranac Laboratory MuseumHistoric Saranac Lake announced a new documentation project, “Saranac Lake in the Time of COVID” to help document local history. [Read more…] about Historic Saranac Lake to Document COVID Crisis

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Historic Saranac Lake, Public Health, Saranac Lake

Vote On Historic Railroad Corridor Set For Thursday

May 11, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

APA Building in Ray Brook NYThe Adirondack Park Agency will decide if the proposed final Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor UMP conforms to the State Land Master Plan. The State is planning to tear up part of the historic Adirondack Railroad line between Tupper Lake and Lake Placid for a multi-use trail. [Read more…] about Vote On Historic Railroad Corridor Set For Thursday

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Events, Mohawk Valley Tagged With: APA, Historic Preservation, Lake Placid, Minerva, Minerva Lake, railroads, Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor, Saranac Lake, State Land Master Plan, Tupper Lake

1 in 7 Infected: Tuberculosis Before Antibiotics

May 6, 2020 by Amy Catania Leave a Comment

prescription alcohol provided by Historic Saranac Lake collection courtesy of Jim Bevilaqua Post Office PharmacyToday, the planet is taking a crash course on the limitations of modern medicine and the complications of human disease. It is a good time to look back and see what Saranac Lake’s history might teach us about public health.

From our place in the world of modern medicine and science, it can be easy to see healthcare in the past as quackery. Many visitors to the Saranac Laboratory Museum skeptically ask: “Was there anything to it? Was there any benefit to the Saranac Lake treatment?” [Read more…] about 1 in 7 Infected: Tuberculosis Before Antibiotics

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Public Health, Saranac Lake, Trudeau, Trudeau Sanatorium, tuberculosis

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