Adirondack Town Of Franklin
Adirondack Town Of Franklin

Town of Franklin Board Newsletter

Volume 7 Issue 2 - The Franklin Flyer Our Town News - OCTOBER, 2016

From the Supervisor

By Art Willman

I will be keeping my remarks brief so as to conserve space for other items and for an important survey we want you all to complete and return. This survey will help guide us in our plans for a community center at Kate Mt. Park. Please fill it out and either mail it or drop it off at the Town Hall.

As of this writing, we have reached the end of the summer season. Looking back, we see that quite a few items have been crossed off our "Bucket List." At the Town Halls some of you may have noticed a rather large hole appear outside the building. We had to do some digging to expose the well for the Health Dept., after which we replaced the current shallow well jet pump with a submersible pump and extended the casing so it was above grade and readily accessible, since the old casing was about 10 feet below grade. We are now once again in compliance with the Health Department regulations.

Our CDBG, also known as the HUD grant that we received in 2014 has come to a close as of the end of June with all projects completed. We have continued to apply for subsequent rounds of funding but have not yet been successful; however, no others in the North Country have been successful. We will continue trying.

Kate Mountain Park

Another great year has come and gone for our Youth Program. We had a very busy summer with, at times, record attendance. It is apparent that townspeople and those in our general area find this a valuable program. Also regarding the Park, we have enlisted Andrew Chary Architects to help us develop a forward-looking realistic plan for the park. To aid us in this, we received a Community Revitalization grant for technical assistance.

We have completed the first phase and the drawings are available for viewing at the Town Hall. We are now in the process of soliciting proposals for the design of the community building. This is why your responses to the survey on the back page are extremely important. We like to have it back by Oct. 15. Thank you in advance for your input.


$$$

By Lauren LeFebvre

As much as I cannot stand being outside, there is one thing I will go outside for .....MONEY, specifically, fund-raising for a Community Center at Kate Mountain Park. There are two more fund-raising events between now and the end of 2016. Thankfully, one takes place INSIDE.

Oct. 15: the 3rd Annual Pumpkin Heaves at Kate Mt. Park. The same team that brought you Founders' Day is also planning this. As far as outside aspect goes, I start my "all in" mental preparation for this day, in August. This day takes being outside to a whole new level, but you know what? At the end of the day, it is the most exciting and fun event we do. You've seen Punkin' Chunkin' on TV. Well, this is our version. Pumpkin Heaves cannot happen without catapults or trebuchets. That's where you come in. Build something as a family, co-worker, class project, club, a church or whatever. Name your team, name your dream machine and register now. Registration and rules are on the website www.townoffranklin.com . Click on events. We need contestants now and what better time to start your project? Our reigning champs are the Tartan Tossers, a family team from the Malone area. They had a combined distance of approximately 472.8 feet. Whiteface Lodge has had a consistently great team and has competed each year. Get in the game folks. It's a blast.

Regarding the use of the Town Hall, please note the following: Monday nights are booked for the Cub Scouts. The 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month. the 55+ Club meets (noon in winter; 5 pm in the summer.) Wednesday nights are for the Code Enforcement Office hours AND Town Board or committee meetings. Thursday is court, ALWAYS.

Approximately 30 out of 52 weekends are booked for private parties ( birthdays, wedding receptions, baby showers, family reunions, etc,) Around four times a year or so, someone asks to have a post funeral gathering during business hours. For those, we never say no; we close our offices out of respect for the family and they have their gathering. If you want to book the Town Hall, you can do it on 1sr or 3rd Tuesday .... Maybe. In the summer, the calendar for weekend bookings for the pavilion at Kate Mountain Park is nearly full before the end of May. Also at the Park, starting in June and lasting until the weather is inevitable, there is Drop-in dog training every Wednesday night.

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR HELPING MAKE THE TOWN OF FRANKLIN FOUNDERS' DAY A HUGE SUCCESS:

Blue Moon Café, Nori's, Goody Goody's, Cashier Furniture, Ace Hardware, Joe, Lynn and Beth Nelson, Post Office Pharmacy, Adirondack Wine and Liquor, Community Bank, R&L Towing, Mirror Lake Inn, The Spa at Mirror Lake, Riverside Pet Supplies. HomeEnergy, Pack basket Diner, Fusion Market, Glenn Swinyer, Veronica Nason, Carl and Phyllis King, The Waterhole, Hyde Fuel Two Horse Trade Company, Pine Cone Ice Cream, The Belvedere Restaurant, Hulbert's Tri Lake Supply, Taylor Rental, Blue Line Brewery, Aubuchon Hardware, Downhill Grill, Owl's Nest Pizza Parlor, Shamrock Bar and Grill, Sturdy Supply, The Laughing Hen Luncheonette, High Peaks Wine and Liquor, Curtis Lumber, Adirondack Bank, David and Lisa Nester, Foster's Tents, Adirondack Daily Enterprise, MX Productions DJ Service, Carcuzzi, Town of Franklin 55+ Club

Your generous contributions helped raise over $3,700 toward building a Town of Franklin Community Center. THANK YOU.

Other UPCOMING EVENTS:

Lasagna Dinner - November 19 - 4-6:30
Visit with Santa - December 17 - 1–2
Roast Pork Dinner - January 21 - 4-6:30

Town Board Meetings

5:30 p.m. 2nd Wednesdays of the Month at the Town Hall, Vermontville

St. Paul's Food Pantry
Building behind Town Hall.

Distribution one day a month and as needed...

Make out donations to:
St. Paul's Food Pantry
C/o Mary Ellen Keith, 9 Tyler Rd, Vermontville, NY12989


54 Years Ago in Sugarbush

by Melinda Hadley, Town Historian

I was 12 years old in October, 1962. My knowledge of world affairs was superficial at best. If my parents reacted to something on TV news, I would pay attention because I knew they were not panic-prone people. I had heard something about the Russians putting nuclear missiles in Cuba. I, and the dozen or so other kids on Lee Tuthill's Bus#4, were not impressed. After all, we had our own Intercontinental Ballistic Missile ( ICBM) Atlas F in a silo on my Aunt Annie Keese's former farm. We would routinely see it raised and lowered, without the warhead, for training drills.

One beautiful October morning, however, we all knew it was "not a drill." On the news, the night before, President John F. Kennedy had stated that any attempt to deliver nuclear weapons to the island of Cuba would be considered "an act of war against the United States." The incoming Russian ships would be met with a blockade.

School and work went on as usual the next morning. Lee pulled the bus over and stopped where we could see "our" missile. The warhead was on, displaying its deadly earnestness above an American flag insignia and the vertical letters "United States of America." There were 11 more raised around Plattsburgh's Strategic Air Command (SAC) base and who knows how many more around the Country. Proud and nervous, we spent our "normal" day at school until the loudspeaker blared out 5 unforgettable words, " The Russians have turned back!" There was nothing to see but a beautiful sunset in Sugarbush.


The Town of Franklin 55+ Club

NOSTALGIA – MEMORIES
By Mary Ellen Keith

I am sitting at the picnic table in my yrd 6 pm on a summer's day. Tranquility, a rustle of leaves, a bird on a wire, fragrance of blooming flowers turned toward the latest sunlight of the day – memories galore. Tears of joy and memories recalled the days of yesteryear.

On May 22nd the 55+ Club visited the Wilder Farm, the home farm of the popular TV story of the Little House on the Prairie. Entering through the enclosed fence surrounding the farm, we stopped at the General Store.; shelves now lined with books, leaflets, and souvenirs. A glass case housed the dolls of Nellie, Laura, Will, etc.

Our group of nine seniors and one guest teenager was greeted by a very special knowledgeable, personable young man who guided us through our tour. Ripe red raspberries on bushes intertwined with blueberry bushes basking in weeds as we stepped into the blacksmith shop. An anvil, horseshoes, square nails, ball peen hammers, sledge hammers graced the wooden beams and walls. It was not impossible to imagine the "shoring" of a horse.

We then stepped into the adjoining barn and carriage house, hay and grain mows. My tears flowed of memories of our of families barns, same designs, same tools of back home. The pushweeders, hand cultivators, scythe and snaphe, wet stone, wooden hay rakes, threshing machine, pig pens, horse stalls, cow stanches, grain boxes, milking stools – what memories! The chickens had a roost housed in the barn. The heat from the animals kept the chickens warm. Hooks supported the lanterns when darkness descended at chore time. Beautiful buggies and sleds are on display as well as wagons and harnesses.

We walked along the rolling yards with evidence of deer and rabbit droppings as they feasted on wild apples from trees ; fields carpeted with clover and freshly mowed grass.

Next stop was a lesson in authenticity as we gathered at the homestead. Through the kitchen door we viewed the pantry, flour barrels, grinders, pots, dishes, and recipe books. The kitchen sink had pails for carrying water, frying pans, tea kettles, towel racks lined behind the stove. A bench cradle where babies could be watched midst the bustle of the day and cozy from the kitchen stove. Rocking chairs were a must, not an option. Rain barrels and the pitcher pump house were a vital source of water. A tour of the parlor with candle sticks, an organ, roll top desk, beautiful upholstered couches and chairs, family portraits on the walls, demanded refined manners. A room so beautiful questions one's authenticity. The older members decided to take a trip from home. Older girls and a mature boy were to take over the chores for a week. They did well day by day except for one chore, that is, to blacken the parlor stove every day with "stove blacking." As the end of the week approached, this duty had been woefully neglected. Fearing the wrath for disobedience, the girls decided to help the boys with the " stove blackening." With a Yeah, "we'll help you" fashion, they tossed a cloth saturated with the stove blackening to their brother. He missed the catch and it hit the wall. Wow! Remedy? We'll hang a portrait on the blob because the black smudge was permanent. Years later a family descendent proved the authenticity of the farm after having the black smudge analyzed.

Up the hill overlooking the farm, is the restored school house which also served as the church, both activities sacred to the welfare of their lives. Before we left, we looked at the cellar, which appeared to be a replica of that in my home. I was amazed! My day of "nostalgia" and memories ended as I proceeded to my kitchen, opened the cellar door and viewed the huge boulder foundation and stairway off the pantry – a replica of the Wilder homestead. I closed the door and stood in awe. We do live in a beautiful part of the world. Thank you God.

The day ended with dinner at a Chinese restaurant paid for by money earned by the 55+ Club's bake sales and dues. We invite seniors to join us for fun, good and community participation.

Upcoming 55+ Club Events

  • Bake Sale at the Pumpkin Heaves event on October 15th.
  • Trip to the Trudeau Lab on Church Street in Saranac Lake on October 25th.
  • Bake Sale on Election Day, November 8th at the Town Hall.
  • Christmas Dinner at either the Cascade Inn, in Lake Placid, the Fireside in Lake Placid, or The Red Fox in Saranac Lake.

55+ Club Meetings

2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the Month , 12:00 noon (Winter), 5 pm (Summer) at the Town Hall, Vermontville. Bring "Covered Dish". Contact Donna Buckley 891-9214


KATE MOUNTAIN PARK SURVEY

Give us your opinion of one of your of your Town's most beautiful places:

    1.Have you participated in any activities held at Kate Mountain Park? Y/N

    2.Have you ever participated in any activities held at the Town Hall in Vermontville? Y/N

    3. Do you think your Town would benefit from a Community Building at Kate Mtn. Park Y/N

    4. Are you aware of the ongoing effort to raise funds to build a Community Building at Kate Mountain Park? Y/N

    5. If a Community Building were located at Kate Mtn, Park, what would you like it to be available for? (Circle all that apply)

      A. Fund Raisers

      B. Youth/After School Programs

      C. Workshop/Classes

      D. Community Dinners

      E. Private Parties

      F. Club/Group Meetings

      G. Other_______________________________

Attach more sheets if you needed. We want to hear from EVERYONE

Include name and phone number if you want us to contact you.

Drop it off at the Town Hall or mail it to: TOF PO Box, Vermontville, NY12989 or scan and email to franklinclerk@roadrunner.com

Return to the top or for past newsletters, click here

Town of Franklin
P.O. Box 209, Route 3, Vermontville, NY 12989  ·  Tel: 518-891-2189  ·  Fax: 518-891-6389  ·  info@townoffranklin.com
© Town of Franklin  ·  Website Design: Rainbow Graphics
You are the visitor. Thank You for stopping by.