JULY 13, 2007
LAKE PLACID NEWS
V
lakeplacidneira.com
*
P A G E
3 5
Features
Evolution of the Northville-Placid trail
moved as a serpent does
through the woods, winding
its body along the terrain to
find a more perfect path.
Founders of the trail - the
A n d y Flynn
Adirondack Mountain Club
— envisioned such a changs the Northville-Placid ing path and were well aware
Trail hiking community of its shortcomings. In the
braces for changes to its 1924 guide; author William
beloved
pathway G. Howard, chairman of the
ADK Committee on Camps,
through the heart of the Trails and Shelters, introduced
Adirondack Park, it can look the new "trunk line" through
. to the past for comfort. the Adirondacks:
Through-hikers and section"The route as here discussed
hikers know this is an evolv- is still possible of improve; ing trail; change is needed to ment, particularly those sec- improve the wilderness expe- tions which run along traveled
; rience.
highways, where alternative
Trail
guides
in
the routes for hikers' trails will
; Adirondack Museum's library undoubtedly be developed as
'. help shape the history of the the use of the trail becomes
Northville-Placid Trail, which popular and there is a public
runs a total of 133 miles from demand for those changes."
the Fulton County village of
That sounds like a mission
Northville in the southern disguised as a prophecy. Since
Adirondacks to the Essex the early 1920s, ADK and
] County village of Lake Placid state conservation officials
in the north. Along the way, have combined their talents
the trail penetrates the wildest and resources and worked dilito improve the
regions of the Park, public and gently
>* private, but in order to reach Northville-Placid Trail. That
|• some of those areas, hikers, makes sense, since the two^
• * need to cross over miles of were partners from the very
; • paved and dirt roadways. One beginning of this project.
The DEC's predecessor, the
; proposed change to this trail is
\- aimed at minimizing roadway New York State Conservation
Commission, began develop" travel..
Even in 1924, when the ing outdoor recreation faciliAdirondack Mountain- Club ties, including backcountry
• published its first guide to the trails on state land, in 1920.
Northville-Placid Trail, hikers That led to the formation of
were required to reach wild the Adirondack Mountain
areas over roads. At the time, Club in 1922. ADK tackled
they were all dirt roads. The its first project during the
trail has been altered over the same year: the creation of a
* years, diverting hikers away 135.5-mile Northville-Placid
"; from traffic and into the for- Trail. The trail was cut and
marked in 1922, and improve* \ est.
', This is a proven theme for ments were made (more cut• the Northville r Placid Trail. ting and marking) in 1923.
The west end of the bridge
Picture the trail'on a map as a
over
the Sacandaga River at
serpent. Over time, it has
Adirondack
Attic
A
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ADIRONDACK MUSEUM
The Adirondack Mountain Club printed this first guide tolhe Northville-Placid Trail
in 1924.
Northville was the official change is planned for the secbeginning of the Northville- tion between Wakely Dam and
Placid Trail, and remains so Stephens Pond.
today. The Lake Placid train
From Wakely Dam to the
station was the official end of former McCane's Resort, the
the trail. Today, it is the "Four 6.6-mile section of the trail
Corners" at the junction of remains the same as it did in
Averyville Road and Old 1924, along the Cedar River
Military Road. ADK accepts Road (once all dirt, it is now
Upper Benson as the begin- partially paved). Then, from
ning and the Chubb River McCane's- to Stephens Pond,
trailhead as the end of the trail the trail through the forest is
(about 122 miles).
.the same. The new owner of
Two of the more significant McCane's does not require
changes over the years permission for through-hikers
occurred from the Blue to cross the property; howev-.
Mountain Lake area to Long er, day hikers are not allowed
Lake and from Wanika Falls to park on the property anyto Lake Placid. Another major more and use it as a trailhead.
This section is expected to
change in the near future. The
DEC plans to re-route the trail
through the Blue Ridge
Wilderness from Wakely Dam
to the trail just south of
Stephens Pond, saving many a
foot from being blistered
along the hard Cedar River
Road. The trail improvement
is just one of the suggested
changes in the state's Blue
Ridge
Wilderness
-Unit
Management Plan. After the
new trail is cut, through-hikers
will no longer be able to cross
the former McCane's property
to get to Stephens Pond.
Just north of Stephens Pond,
the
scenery
along
the
Northville-Placid Trail has
changed significantly since
1924. The trail originally
skirted the north shore of
Cascade Pond before passing
Rock Pond and heading into
the hamlet of Blue Mountain
Lake. The trail then followed
the unpaved state road from
Blue Mountain Lake to the
hamlet of Long Lake. Today,
the trail goes from Stephens
Pond to the Lake Durant State
Campground east of Blue
Mountain Lake, and through
the Blue Mountain Wild
Forest and private property
before reaching state Route
28N to the east of Long Lake.
The latest major change to
the trail was the section
between the Chubb River (just
north of Wanika Falls) and the
Averyville Road. The original
trail was cut to the west of the
current trail (re-routed in
1978) and connected to the
Westcott Farm on Averyville
Road (3.8 miles from Old
Military Road).
"The new route is through
magnificent hardwood forest,"
wrote Bruce C. Wadsworth in
the 1994 edition of ADK's
Northville-Placid Trail guide.
"It is significant that changes
made in the route over the
years have always improved
the quality of the trail."
LEARN
MORE
about
Adirondack history and the
"Adirondack Attic" column
and books by logging on to the
following
Web
sites:
www.adkmuseum.com
and
www.hungrybearpublishing.c
om.
• • •
Andy
Flynn
lives
in
S a r a n a c L a k e . H e can be
reached via e-mail at [email protected].
KOVELS: ANTIQUES AND COLLECTING
BY RALPH AND TERRY KOVEL
Satsuma, a city in Japan, has a special meaning
to collectors. An easy-to-identify, cream-colored
pottery with a crackle glaze and intricate decoration
is also called "Satsuma." The vases picture detailed
Japanese landscapes and people and have
brocadelike backgrounds and edges. Warriors and
gods often are shown. The inside as well as the
outside of bowls have similar overall decorations.
Colors used were beige, green and other muted
shades, often with added gold decoration. Styles
changed about 1918 to 1930, when' art-nouveau and
art-deco designs — especially pictures of irises —
became popular. After 1930, pieces had fewer
delicate decorations, larger figures, darker colors
and added black accents. "Monumental" vases are
especially popular today. These are vases more than
18 inches high. They're large enough to look as if
they belong on the floor.
***
Q: I have a wooden chair with open arms. The
seat and back are upholstered in black vinyl-coated
fabric. A small plate on the back of the chair reads,
"B.L. Marble Chair Co." Do you know anything
about the company?
A: Barzilla L. Marble (1851-1932) was bom
into a chair-making family in Bedford, Ohio. He
and A.L. Shattuck formed the Marble and Shattuck
Chair Co. in 1885. In 1894, he left the partnership to
open his own company, B.L. Marble Chair Co.
(often called "Marble Chair" by local residents).
The firm manufactured chairs for homes until 1910,
when it switched to making office furniture. Your
chair, with vinyl upholstery, was probably made for
office use. It could datefromanytime between 1910
and 1965, when Marble Chair merged with the
Dictaphone Corp. and became Marble Imperial
Furniture Co. The factory closed in 1985, the
building was toni down in 1991 and the Bedford
post office sits on the site today.
***
Q: Could you please tell me when an item is
considered an antique? I always thought it was at 75
years, but someone told me it's 100.
A: The U.S. government's definition of an
antique is that it must be at least 100 years old. The
.government uses the definition to determine the
duty on imported items. There are different rules for
firearms and cars. Many collectors use the word
"antique" to refer to "old" things, no matter how old
they are. Others say an antique is about 75 years
•
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This Satsuma vase, made between 1850
and 1900, sold for $2,990 at a Cyr auction
in Gray, Maine. It is 18 inches tall and
pictures a group of Japanese warriors.
old. The word "collectible" covers everything else.
***
Q: I have a cobalt-blue pickle dish with raised
lettering on the inside that reads, "Love's Request Is
Pickles." A figure of a woman from the waist up is
embossed in the middle of the oval dish. Please tell
me something about the dish.
A: You have a modern reproduction of an
Actress pattern pressed-glass dish originally made
in the, early 1880s. Originals came in only clear
glass or clear glass with an acid (frosted) finish. Any
Actress glass in another color is new. The actress
shown on the pickle dish is Kate Claxton (18481924), a popular New York theater actress in the
1870s. Other actresses are pictured on other pieces
in the pattern. No one knows for sure where the
pattern was made originally, but experts think that
the maker was one of three Ohio companies.
Reproductions were introduced in 1957 by the
Imperial Glass Corp. of Bellaire, Ohio. Imperial
used a new mold for the repros and continued to
make them for years. Its reproductions are
embossed "IG" on the bottom.
***
Q: What is my figural "MacBeth" clock worth?
It's cast bronze, 15 inches high and 15 inches wide.
The round dock sits on the left side of the base, and
a sculpture of William Shakespeare holding a quill
pen and writing his play "MacBeth" is on the other.
A: Your clock was made in the early. 1900s by
the Ansonia Clock Co. of Ansonia, Conn. Ansonia
made several similar figural clocks with different
finishes. Ansonia Clock Co. was in business from
1850 until the Depression forced it to close in 1929.
Ansonia clocks are well-made and collectible. We
have seen your model sell for $250 to $400,
depending on condition.
***
Tip: Missing part of a jigsaw puzzle? Make a
color photocopy of the picture of the puzzle on the
box. Enlarge or shrink the copy to exactly the size
of the puzzle. Then cut it to make the missing piece.
It will be an almost perfect match.
***
The Kovels answer as many questions as
possible through the column. By sending a letter
with a question, you give full permission for use in
the column or any other Kovel fonim. Names and
addresses will not be published. We cannot
guarantee the return of any photograph, but if a
stamped envelope is included, we will try. The
volume of mail makes personal answers or
appraisals impossible. Write to Kovels, (name of
your newspaper), King Features Syndicate, 300 W.
57th St., 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019.
***
CURRENT PRICES
Current prices are recorded from antiques
shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout
the United States. Prices vary in different locations
because of local
TED COMSTOCK e c o n o m i c
conditions.
Painting* • Prints
Karo CookOM B o o k s • A n t i q u e s
book,
1910,
Old P a p e r I t e m s
little boy and
girl with baby
on cover, black'
Buy, Sell, A p p r a i s e
and white, 52
Adirondack Guidebook a Specialty pages, 5 x 6 1/2
inches, $35.
SARANAC LAKE
Paladin
518-891-9609 "Have
Gun Will
By Appointment Only
crHAlR <:AN1NG
Jay, NGw/ Vork
• Furniture Repair
• Chair Caning
(c) 2007 by Cowles Syndicate Inc.
tt\ ANTIQUE AND
lliVARIETY MALL
"North Country's Largest
Group Shop"
• Brass Polishing
u
HAND CANING
and aN types of
SEAT WEAVING
Travel" fan-club member card, 1958, CBS
copyright, 2 x 3 1/2 inches, $45.
Steiff Mama, Papa and Baby bears, yellow
mohair, black eyes, black embroidered noses and
mouths, jointed, peach felt pads, 1980s, 6 inches, 14
inches and 16 inches, $355.
Rookwood ashtray, harlequin in yellow suit in
corner, marked, c. 1929,4x6x6 inches, $460.
Sampler, Mary W. Curlin, dated 1836, "Favour
is deceitful and beauty is vain," 17 1/2 x 16 1/2
inches, $570.
Cylinder musical box, Freres No. 75615, crankwind spring, zither attachment, grained case,
cherubs at play tune-sheet, patent date 1888, 20
inches, $765.
Handel lamp, bronzed base, reverse-painted
shade with landscape, impressed mark, shade
signed, 15 x 22 inches, $ 1,080.
Paris porcelain vases, floral bouquets in
baskets, handles form vines and leaves, handpainted and gilt design, c. 1865, 18x9 inches, pair,
$1,440.
Tiffany sterling coffee service, round form,
dome tops, ball finials,* scalloped base, scrolled
border, c. 1902,43 pieces, $1,840.
»George IV sideboard, mahogany, scrolled
backsplash with crest, bowed top, drawers over
cabinets, reeded turned feet, c. 1825, 54 x 75 x 24
inches, $4,590.
***
"Kovels' American Antiques, 1750-1900" by
Ralph and Terry Kovel is the book that introduces
you to the collected antiques from past centuries.
Learn about American antiques, from art pottery and
old advertising signs to rare silver. Written to help
you recognize and evaluate the valuable items of
Great-Grandma's day. Hundreds of color
photographs, marks, makers, dates, factory histories
and more. Chapters on pottery, glass, furniture,
silver, advertising, prints, jewelry, pewter, tools and
ephemera. An easy-to-use book with current
information. Available at your local bookstore;
online at www.Kovels.com; by phone at 800-5711555; or send $24.95 plus $3.95 postage to Kovels,
P.O. Box 22900, Beachwood, OH 44122.
** *
Visit www.Kovels.com to sign up and see more
than 750,000 free antiques and collectibles prices
and to receive free weekly e-mail updates with the
latest information on the world of collecting.
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