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Bassmaster Weekend Series Returns to the Great Sacandaga Lake

The New York Division 23 of the Toyota Bassmaster Weekend Series, operated by American Bass Anglers, will wrap up its regular season on Aug. 17, 2013, at the Great Sacandaga Lake.

The competitors will launch at Northampton Beach Campground, located at 328 Houseman Street in Mayfield, N.Y. Anglers may begin fishing at safe light. Registration begins at 4 p.m. Aug. 16 at Northampton Beach Campground. To register for this tournament, see www.americanbassanglers.com/proddetail.php?prod=733.

Anglers fishing the Boater Division may weigh in up to five bass. Co-anglers may weigh in up to three bass. For New York fishing license information, call 518-402-8843 or see www.dec.ny.gov/permits/6091.html.

Great Sacandaga Lake, also known as Sacandaga Reservoir, covers about 24,707 acres of Fulton, Saratoga and Hamilton counties in the southern part of the Adirondack Park in northeast New York. The lake dates to 1930 with the damming of the Sacandaga River. It averages about 32 feet deep, but drops to more than 74 feet deep in places. The name comes from a Native American word meaning “land of the waving grass.”

During the Aug. 27, 2011, BWS tournament on Sacandaga Lake, John P. Damphier of Johnstown, N.Y., won the Boater Division with a five-bass tournament limit weighing 11.73 pounds. He anchored his bag with a 2.38-pounder. Damphier caught most of his fish on a jig fished around rocks and grass in 19 feet of water. Harold K. Miller Jr. of Washington, Pa., won the tournament big bass title with a 3.63-pounder.

In the Co-Angler Division during that tournament, Reed Poulton of Schenectady, N.Y., landed a three-fish division limit going 6.86 pounds with a 2.68-pound kicker. Poulton caught most of his fish on topwaters around weeds, but caught his biggest fish on a green pumpkin grub fished in 35 feet of water. William B. Adams of Piscataway, N.J., won the Co-Angler Division lunker competition with a 3.08-pounder.

Slated for Sept. 21-22, 2013, the two-day divisional championship will be held on Lake Oneida out of Oneida Shores County Park near Brewerton. At the end of the season, one BWS angler will win the opportunity to compete in the 2014 Bassmaster Classic.

For more information on this tournament, call Joe Angelone, tournament manager, at 256-777-6152 or ABA at 256-232-0406. On line, see www.americanbassanglers.com.

About American Bass Anglers: American Bass Anglers commitment is to provide low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler and at the same time offer each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers, visit www.americanbassanglers.com.

Micropolis “Meet the Artists” Reception on Friday, August 9

artist reception augustTwo new gallery members, Patsy Suydam, photographer and digital artist, from Johnstown and Carol Law Conklin, batik artist, of Fort Ann, will be introducing their artwork at this show.

Special guest artist Joel Chapin will be on hand to present a collection of his watercolor and oil paintings. Joel is a multi-talented artist who heads the Art Department at Fulton Montgomery Community College in Johnstown. He has a BS in printmaking from Skidmore College, and an MFA in drawing and painting from the University at Albany. Joel’s work is included in collections at the State University of New York and the Hyde Collection in Glens Falls.

Also on display will be a new selection of original artwork by Micropolis artists Laurie Cerasia, Ruth Crotty, Michele Drozd, Susy Easterly, Katherine Ehle, Frances Gaffney, Cheryl Gutmaker, Alexandra Higgins, Linda Hinkle, Michael Intrabartola, Dragan Konakov, Betsy Moore-Galinsky, Lynda Naske, Judy Olson, Judith and Stan Plotner, Sandy Smith, and Janet Marie Yeates.

Artwork in a variety of media will be on display including original paintings, drawings, photographs, fiber collages, mixed media, woodwork, glass, digital art, sculpture, jewelry, batik, and pottery.

The reception will be held between 5 and 7pm and is free and open to the public. Micropolis is located inside Mohawk Harvest Cooperative Market, 30 North Main Street, Gloversville, NY.

For more information about the gallery and membership information for artists, please go to www.micropolisgallery.com. Membership applications can be downloaded from the website.

Peck’s Lake Triathlon Registrant Information

Pecks lake Tri 2013

Welcome to the 4th Annual Peck’s Lake Sprint Triathlon!

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Registration begins at 7:00AM

at Sunrise Bay, North Shore Road, Gloversville

 Please remember:

  • Race Start Time is 8:30AM
    • Competitive and Participant starting waves will be segregated prior to the start of the race
  • Do NOT bring dogs to the race
  • The Transition Area is Athletes ONLY
  • Earphones, iPods, MP3 players, etc. are NOT allowed during the race
  • Non-finishers please report to the Race Timer
  • Split times will be available on the Fulton Montgomery Regional Chamber of Commerce websiteapproximately 2 days after the race
  • Medals will be given out tentatively between 10:30 and 11:00AM
  • Refreshments are available for athletes after the race
  • A local Velo Club will be located near the bike racks to help with simple bike repair issues
  • A local triathlon club will be soliciting for members near the registration tent
  • Extra Peck’s Lake Triathlon hats may be available for at the registration desk for $15 each
  • Team Members can “touch” after the swim (past the timers) at the shore or in the transition area
  • Team Members will “touch” after the bike ride in the transition area (this is new this year)
  • SWIM LEG: Athletes swim clockwise around red/orange buoys to the last buoy. Safety boats will be on the outside with a kayak or two possibly in the center. Exit at the designated exit ramp and yell your number to the timers. Wet suits are optional; water temperature is approximately in the high 70s.
  • BIKE LEG: Ride on the right side of the road. Circle the marker at the end of South Shore Road then ride back to the transition area. Dismount the bike prior to entering the transition area.
  • RUN LEG: Run on the left side of the road (facing traffic). Circle the marker on North Shore Road then run back to the finish line near the transition area.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Boys & Girls Club of Gloversville, which promotes the social, educational, health, leadership, and character development of boys and girls during critical periods of their growth.

Thank you to our sponsors, to-date, Brown’s Ford of Johnstown, Alpin Haus, Wal-Mart DC #6096, and Railside Café.  And to the LUNA Chix Albany Triathlon Team for their donation of LUNA bars.

Anniversary Lecture Series Continues at Johnson Hall

Johnson Hall State Historic Site’s 250th Anniversary Lecture Series, marking the building of the historic Johnson Hall estate, continues on Saturday, August 3.

Through October, on the first Saturday of each month, lectures that focus on the period surrounding the 1763 building of the home will be held in the first floor hall of the Johnson Hall, beginning at 11am.  Refreshments will be available following each lecture in the Stonehouse.  Regular public tours will be available after 1:00pm on these days.

On Saturday, August 3, Lois Feister-Huey will present “Archeaology at Johnson Hall”.  A retired archeologist with the New York State Bureau of Historic Sites, Ms. Feister-Huey directed many of the archaeological projects carried out at Johnson Hall in the past.  The results not only found missing outbuildings, but also developed a better understanding and interpretation of the material culture of the Johnson family, as well as of their slaves, servants and visitors to the 18th century estate.

Before she retired, Ms. Feister-Huey consolidated  the information from all the work done by both herself and those archeologists who preceded her into a 1995 single hard-covered volume entitled Johnson Hall Outbuildings, Landscape History and Forgotten Features: Documentary and Archeological Research Conducted between 1945 and 1991.  This information is used by the Johnson Hall Site staff to enrich their knowledge and interpretation of Johnson Hall.  In addition, she collaborated with Bonnie Pulis, former Education Curator at the site, to write the 1997 book Molly Brant: A Legacy of Her Own.  Brant, a Mohawk Indian, was the lady of the house who, with Sir William Johnson, raised their family of eight children and served as a partner in the diplomatic relations with Native Americans during New York’s colonial period.

Additional lectures will include “Colonial Johnstown, According to the Daybook of Robert Adems, Sir William Johnson’s Bookkeeper” presented by Gayle Ann Livecchia on Saturday, September 7, and the final lecture on “Georgian Opulence – in the Wilderness, above the Hudson, and on the Seacoast” presented by Judy Anderson on Saturday, October 5.

For more information on this and other 250th anniversary special events, contact Johnson Hall at (518) 762 – 8712, visit the Site’s Facebook page, or visit www.nysparks.com.

Walking Tours Highlight 18th Century Johnson Hall Estate

To further highlight the 250th anniversary of the building of historic Johnson Hall and the development of its surrounding estate,  the State Historic Site will present special interpretive walking tours during the 2013 season.

Beyond The Mansion: A Walking Tour of the Johnson Hall Estate and Outbuildings will be led by Aaron Robinson, Johnson Hall’s Senior Historic Site Interpreter.  Archeological evidence, historic documents and ongoing research have provided a better understanding and interpretation of the property.  Robinson will detail the historic grounds and outbuilding locations of Sir William Johnson’s 700-acre 18th century working estate, highlighting how the craftspeople, guests, servants and slaves utilized these spaces to make Johnson Hall function.

Robinson, a graduate of the University at Albany Public History Program, has been on the Johnson Hall interpretive staff since June 2011.

The next Beyond The Mansion guided tour will be held this Thursday, July 25 from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm.  Tour-goers should meet in the East Stonehouse.

The tour will be repeated on Thursday, August 22nd from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm, and on Saturday, September 21st from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm.

For more information on this and other 250th anniversary special events, contact Johnson Hall at (518) 762 – 8712, visit the Site’s Facebook page, or visit www.nysparks.com.

 

What would you do with $10,000?

The Fulton Montgomery Regional Chamber of Commerce wants to remind the community that tickets are on sale for its 19th annual fundraiser to help their work in promoting the Fulton County region to visitors.  The $10,000 “Bet on Fulton County Raffle” drawing will be held on Friday, August 9, 2013, from 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Johnstown-Gloversville, 308 N. Comrie Avenue, Johnstown, NY.

Tickets are available for $100 each and only 300 will be sold.  Tickets are available at the Chamber office, 2 North Main Street, Gloversville; Partner’s Pub, 21 South William Street, Johnstown; and at the Holiday Inn Johnstown-Gloversville, 308 North Comrie Avenue, Johnstown.  The Grand Prize is $10,000, and additional cash prizes will be awarded.  Ticket holders are invited to enjoy great entertainment, a picnic style dinner, and cash bar at the event on August 9.

Funds raised from the raffle will be used by the Tourism Department for marketing and advertising Fulton County to prospective visitors throughout the year, and for promoting events that benefit our region.

For more information, call the Fulton Montgomery Regional Chamber of Commerce at (518) 725-0641 or e-mail tourism@fultonmontgomeryny.org.

Fifth Annual Walleye Challenge Ice Fishing Tournament Gives Back to The Great Sacandaga Lake

GSLFF check presentationA $1,500 check was presented by representatives of the Fifth Annual Walleye Ice Fishing Tournament to the Great Sacandaga Lake Fisheries Federation for fish stocking this fall. The Walleye Challenge, this year was held on held on January 26, on the Great Sacandaga Lake.  Event Coordinators Lou Stutzke (Owner of Fuel-N-Food of Mayfield), Hank “Beaver” Ross and Fulton County Director of Tourism, Gina DaBiere-Gibbs, presented the check to Randy Gardinier of the Great Sacandaga Lake Fisheries Federation at a recent ceremony at the Fulton County Visitors Center in Vail Mills.

The tournament registered 1500 fishing enthusiasts with approximately 54% of participants from outside of Fulton County including participants from seven states.  The event has sold out in each of the five years it has been held.  Besides cash prizes for the heaviest fish caught in each hour (between 7:00 AM and 3:00 PM), there were several door prizes awarded throughout the day, and two four-wheel recreational vehicles and a snowmobile were given away to three of the participants.

The 2014 Walleye Ice Fishing Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, January 25, 2014.  Anyone interested in adding their name to the event’s mailing list is asked to call the Fulton County Tourism Department at (518) 725-0641 or to send a request via e-mail at info@fultonmontgomeryny.org.

Featured Artists for Annual Woodworkiing and Fine Arts Weekend Announced

This year’s Woodworking and Fine Arts Weekend is highlighting two accomplished painters with different styles who have both been inspired by the area they are from.  Ellen Babin comes to us for the third year from Cape Cod, Massachusetts and our own Constance Dodge all the way from Edinburg who is joining us for a fourth time.  For both artists, painting has become more than a profession or passion. Having survived serious illnesses, they believe their painting is an integral part of the healing process.

Constance Dodge

Constance Dodge

As an artist living and working in the Southern Adirondacks, Constance Dodge has been drawn to the history and the beauty of the environment.  Imagination and the immediacy of pastels have allowed her to interpret the incredible natural surroundings with a more impressionist palette, focusing on light and shadow.  Connie’s education includes a BS in Art Educations from Nazareth College and a Masters in Fine Arts from Catholic University in Washington, D.C.  She taught both at the high school and community college levels and was an adjunct instructor at a number of local colleges including the College of St. Rose.

Connie’s paintings were exhibited at Amos Eno Gallery in New York City from 1975-98.  Her work appears in many public and private collections, the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., and she was published in the New York Magazine.  The Lake George Visitors Center includes a mural she co-created.  To cite a few of her many honors, Constance won “Best Overall Landscape” at the 2010 Central Adirondack Show, a Project Grant in 2002, a 2009 Artist Grant from NYSCA through the Saratoga Arts Council, and a Fellowship at the Millay Colony.  You can view some of her paintings on her website:  www.constanceadodge.com.

Ellen Babin

Ellen Babin

In her early years, Ellen Babin was inspired by the work of Andrew Wyeth.  She is an award winning landscape artist of the Cape Cod Art Association in Barnstable, Massachusetts.  Specializing in acrylics, her subjects include the beaches of Cape Cod as well as the mountains, wilderness trails, and streams of the Adirondacks.  While pursuing a career as a Physician Assistant, Ellen earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Medicine with a minor in Art from Alderson Broaddus College in West Virginia.  A Cape Codder at heart, Ellen moved to Yarmouth Port in 1983.  Recently retired from medicine, she now spends her time fulfilling her passion – painting fulltime.

Ellen has participated in numerous juried art shows from Cape Cod to Blue Mountain Lake and has been published in many issues of the American Art Review, including 2010 July-August issue, 2010 September-October issue, 2010 November-December issue and 2011 January-February issue.  Presently her work is displayed in galleries in Sandwich, Massachusetts and locally at Colorful Collections here in Northville New York.   She is scheduled for a mother/daughter show at the Cultural center in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts in September 2014.

Northville Rotary’s Fifth Annual Woodworking and Fine Arts Weekend will be held in Northville at the Bradt Building and Town Park on Main Street Friday July 19th from 5:30-8:30, Saturday the 20th from 9-5, and Sunday the 21st from 10-3.  In addition to our featured painters, over 50 artists including woodworkers, jewelers, photographers, weavers, sculptors, potters, a blacksmith and batik artist who will be  displaying their unique talents.  We will have a silent auction of items donated by the artists and will again be raffling a kayak and bicycle.  Come join us.  It is a great weekend in Northville on the Sacandaga Lake!

Path Through History Weekends Begin

Path Through History Weekends begin this weekend June 1 and 2 and will highlight special programming and the importance of heritage tourism to New York State.  Fulton County has many historical and heritage attractions to visit throughout the year.  The special events taking place in Fulton County this weekend are:

Anniversary Lecture Series: “In the English Manner: Pattern Books and Georgian Building Traditions in the Colonial Mohawk Valley”

June 01, 11:00am
Johnson Hall State Historic Site, 139 Hall Avenue, Johnstown
For more information please contact: (518) 762-8712

Retired Curator of Art and Architecture with the New York State Museum, Ron Burch will examine the use and influence of architectural theses and books of design published in England and readily available to American colonials in the 18th century.  Men of stature, including Sir William Johnson, exhibited substantial “pattern book” influence in their mid-18th century houses. (Public tours available after 1pm.)

The Fonda, Johnstown & Gloversville Railroad & the Growth of the Fulton County Co. Tanning and Glove Industry

Railroad Display at the Fulton County Museum

Railroad Display at the Fulton County Museum

June 01, 12:00pm
Fulton County Museum, 237 Kingsboro Ave., Gloversville
For more information please contact: (518) 725-2203

Author/Railroad historian Paul Larner will speak on the necessity of a railroad as early as the 1830’s to transport raw leather to the growing number of skin mills located along the creeks of Johnstown and Gloversville. Finally, in 1867 the Fonda, Johnstown & Gloversville (FJ&G) was completed. In 1875 an extension of the railroad was made to the villages of Mayfield and Northville to provide their glove shops with leather. Starting after the American Revolution the cottage industry of tanning and glove making grew due to the abundance of deer skin. This little industry grew making Fulton County “The Glove Capital of the World”. The peak of the prosperity was about 1890. After 1890 the decline of the industry began due to strikes, unions, new laws, tariffs and finally cheaper labor in other countries. Paul grew up in Gloversville in the 1970s and witnessed the decay of the leather industry and the last run of his beloved railroad on November 27, 1984. Larner’s love of the railroad led him to a career with Amtrak. In his book, “Our Railroad”, the History of the Fonda, Johnstown & Gloversville Railroad (1867-1893) tells the story of the earlier days of the railroad in Fulton County this little railroad helped to build. After the lecture, Paul will give a tour of the railroad exhibit, which includes models of the many factories and skin mills located in Fulton County. Tours will also be available of the tanning and glove exhibit.

Johnstown Historical Society and Museum: Path Through History Weekend

June 01 and June 2, 1:00-4:00pm
Johnstown Historical Society and Museum, 17 N. William St., Johnstown
For more information please contact: (518) 736-4011

There will be weaving demonstrations on the original looms in the Loom Room of the Drumm House, a unit of Revolutionary War re-enactors, and guided tours available.

For Path Through History events in Fulton County on June 8 and 9 visit www.44lakes.com/calendar.

Lecture Series at Johnson Hall Marks 250th Anniversary

Johnson Hall State Historic Site will host a 5-part lecture series during the 2013 season to mark the 250th anniversary of the construction of the historic Johnson home.

On the first Saturday of each month, lectures that focus on the period surrounding the 1763 building of the home will be held in the first floor hall of the Johnson Hall, beginning at 11am.  Refreshments will be available following each lecture in the Stonehouse.  Regular public tours will be available after 1:00pm on these days.

On Saturday, June 1st, Ron Burch will present “In the English Manner: Pattern Books and Georgian Building Traditions in the Colonial Mohawk Valley”.  Burch will examine the use and influence of architectural theses and books of designs published in England and readily available to American colonials in the 18th century.  Men of stature – including Sir William and John Johnson, Nicholas Herkimer and Philip Schuyler – as well as the upwardly mobile middle class, had access to these publications and exhibited substantial “pattern book” influence in their mid-18th century houses.

Burch retired in September 2010 after 27 years as Curator of Art and Architecture at the NYS Museum in Albany.  He was also a lecturer in U.S. Architectural History for over 10 years at the University at Albany. He previously served as Registrar at the Farmers’ Museum and Fenimore House in Cooperstown, as well as Director at the Fort Plain Museum. He received Masters degrees in US History from Duke University and in Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program.                                                                                              

Saturday’s lecture is a Path Through History Weekend event.

Additional lectures will include:

Saturday, July 6 – “This Day I agreed with Mr. Samuel Fuller: Building Johnson Hall” presented by Walter Wheeler.

Saturday, August 3 – “Archeaology at Johnson Hall” presented by Lois Feister-Huey.

Saturday, September 7 – “Colonial Johnstown, According to the Daybook of Robert Adems, Sir William Johnson’s Bookkeeper” presented by Gayle Ann Livecchia

Saturday, October 5 – “Georgian Opulence – in the Wilderness, above the Hudson, and on the Seacoast” presented by Judy Anderson

For more information on this and other 250th anniversary special events, contact Johnson Hall at (518) 762 – 8712, visit the Site’s Facebook page, or visit www.nysparks.com.