Lake Placid, NY

We spent the day in Lake Placid, NY. We started out at the John Brown Farm which was not a stop on the UGRR but an important place in the anti-slavery movement. It was interesting to see how people managed so long ago in very desolate areas. The ladies at the Farm were very helpful and directed us to areas that would have been stops on the UGRR. Unfortunately these places were a bit too far for a day trip and none were open to the public.

We enjoyed the rest of the day as Lake Placid tourists. We went to the top of the 120 meter ski jump - 26 stories high - what a great view of the area. The picture on the left is how it would look just before pushing off for a ski jump on the 120 meter run. Now I know why I decided to become a Kindergarten teacher and not a world famous ski jumper. We also visited the little shops along the main street of town and planned what to do with our money when we win the lottery and build our log cabin in the mountains.

Lake Placid has a very interesting history. As you might remember it was the location of the 1980 winter Olympics (and 1932 for older readers) but did you know that it has a tie to the American Library system? In 1914 Lake Placid was the home of the first winter resort in America called The Lake Placid Club. It was started by Melvin Dewey! You know good ol' Melvin - he developed the Dewey Decimal System! He became a resident of the area in 1895.

We did find a cute little fabric store here in Lake Placid. No reproduction fabrics but a great selection of other things. I found some "paper doll" and clothes material - which the shop owner said she had a very hard time getting as the manufacturer kept selling all of the runs to Keepsake Quilting. I love tib-bits of information!

This afternoon it has been raining like the dickens. We have enjoyed watching the loons out on the lake and a little chipmunk that we are feeding peanuts. Tomorrow we are off to Vermont to visit an UGRR stop in Ferrisburg.