great memories, great place

Basic category for information pertaining to Lake Minnewaska's history.
Doreen

great memories, great place

Post by Doreen »

Hi, so happy to find this web site. I spent many weekends at Minnewaska in the 1980's. I knew some of the staff but having trouble remembering names. I hiked and swam all summer long, almost every weekend for several years. I fell in love with the area. One summer I purchased a book from a staffmember compiled by William Doughty titled: Lake Minnewaska, In The Heart of The Shawangunks. It's a wonderful book and long out of print; so glad I have a copy. I treasure it and tears come to my eyes when I open it up. When my father passed away last year, I read a poem from the book after we climbed a mountain here in Colorado to spread his ashes. Thought I'd share it with all of you:

CAPTURED, by Jean Walker
There is a moment in the life of man
Who climbs the hills to scan the works of God-
When time is lost,
When he becomes the rock,
The tallest tree,
The ripple on the lake,
The tumbling waterfall;
And in that one rare flash
The riddle of the universe is solved;
Eternity walks by his side
And he with surer faith
Descends to run his course.
User avatar
Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 73
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2002 9:32 am
Are you human?: 13
Location: Bay Area, California
Contact:

Post by Admin »

I think a lot of people feel as you do, Doreen.

I'd be hard-pressed to remember the name of one single person that worked there. Maybe George the pot washer from Beacon, but that's about it.

Anyway, regarding that book you mentioned. It *is* out of print, but it's actually still very easy to find at a reasonable price. If you go to http://www.used.addall.com, and enter "minnewaska" for the keyword search, it will search a dozen or so online out-of-print bookstores, and you'll see about 50 copies offered in different conditions. There is also another book called "Frozen Waters" by Nan Knickerbocker which has good info on Minnewaska and is also pretty available.

There are also a couple of other obscure ones too. One is a poetry book which goes for as high as $175!
Doreeen

Post by Doreeen »

Hi, thanks for your response. It's amazing that it's still easy to get the Doughty book! I really treasure mine. Somewhere I have a pile of old menus and other papers from the earlier days of Wildmere; a staffmember gave them to me as a gift. I remember being in old Wildmere (this was way after it had closed, of course - and was in decay) during a terrible storm. I climbed up to the top tower of the hotel with a few staff folks and we saw the most awesome lightning show I had ever seen. Even here in the Colorado Rockies I've never seen a lightening storm like the one I saw from the top of old Wildmere. As far as old staff is concerned; today I rummaged through a few boxes and confirmed some names that I had thought of a few months ago - Diane Pecora (who was a maid in the late '70's at Cliff HOuse; and her brother - Carmen Pecora; not sure what he did there) I knew both of them fairly well, but they were kinduv "wild". I lost touch with them many years ago. I am trying to convince my husband to take a trip back east with me; so that I can again be in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Even if he doesn't want to go along, I am going to plan a trip - hopefully next summer! Can't wait! Take care,
Doreen
User avatar
Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 73
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2002 9:32 am
Are you human?: 13
Location: Bay Area, California
Contact:

Post by Admin »

I hate to be such a groveler (is that a word?), but is there any way you can scan some of those menus and things you have and send them? I'd love to post them on the site.

I'll tell you what's so frustrating about all this. I worked as a maintenance guy there, so I was pretty much in every nook and cranny of the hotel. I remember closets that had CASES of 19th century menus and other such things. Now I'm "begging" for people to scan anything for me. It's depressing.

In the game room corner was the post office and an automatic cancelling machine complete with the "Minnewaska" cancel plates. Arghhh! Where did they all go? All the stuff I came across.... it was like a living museum.
Doreen

Post by Doreen »

Hello Sam,

I don't have a way to scan anything - can't afford the equipment. But if I ever get access to one I will definitely scan the old menus for you. I don't even know where those old papers are - I have them in a box in storage. Sometime this summer I will pull those out and see what I have, and make a list. I can at least let you know what I have.

Take care, Doreen
Doreen

Post by Doreen »

Hi there,

I just posted a message on the guestbook page (I think it worked) to let you know that I have a scanner now and will scan the old menus I have from Wildmere House. My scanner is just a "home-use" scanner and I'm not sure what type of files you would like me to email (.jpg or something like that?). Let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Regards,
Doreen
User avatar
Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 73
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2002 9:32 am
Are you human?: 13
Location: Bay Area, California
Contact:

Post by Admin »

Thanks Doreen... that would be great. Really any scanner will do. And .jpg files are fine. Set your scanner to 200-300 dpi resolution if possible. If the color is black & white (or black on light grey) set the mode to "greyscale". If there is any color at all (like all blue type on white), set it to "24-bit color" mode.

That's pretty much it. If an item has any pictures on it, and after scanning they have kind of a cross-hatching pattern in the picture, see if there is a setting on your scanner software you can select called "Remove Moire'" or "Descreen". If not, don't worry about it, it can be fixed afterwards.

Thanks again! And rememer, the e-mail address is now sam@lakeminnewaska.org
playhockey
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Sep 12, 2002 12:41 am
Are you human?: 0
Location: Denver, Colorado

old menus; other old papers

Post by playhockey »

Hello Sam,
I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to scan some old menus and other stuff I have from the hotels. I promise to get to it! I won't give you a completion date though; obviously that would not work!
I just registered and logged in with a new Username and password. Can you please delete my previous usernames & passwords if there are any?
Also I am still getting emails from your web site that are going to my old email address - that account is still active (it's a graduate school email account) but can be made inactive by the school at any time.
Please keep my current email address, which is the one I used to log in a few minutes ago. Thank you!
Dee
:D
barbara brooks

Re: great memories, great place

Post by barbara brooks »

In going through old papers I recently found a story titled Diary of a Vacation Trip to Lake Minnewaska. It was typed in 1929 and gives the following as
its authors: S.C.G and Jessie C. Watkins. Would the Historical Society like this? It is quite a humorous story. Let me know. Thank you, Barbara Brooks at XKTCH @ live.com.
Post Reply