When inspiration strikes, the North Elba Historical Society writes a piece digging into a facet of the history of the Town of North Elba. You can generally find these commentaries posted below and in the Lake Placid News.
Fall Activities
As the temperatures are getting cooler and the leaves are changing, that only means on thing -the History Museum will soon be wrapping up their 2016 season. This Columbus Day weekend will be our last open weekend for the year. This season, we have been fortunate to be able to install a large touch screen kiosk in the museum. This allows our visitors to view the Stedman and Moses Collection of Glass Plate Negatives in a large format. It sure is exciting to view these images and point out the fine details that cannot be seen in the original 5” [...]
Historical Society Member Shares Family History – Cascade Pass
Recently I have been corresponding with R.J. Potter, a member of the Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society who currently resides in Vermont. Although he lives on the other side of Lake Champlain, he still is fascinated with his family ties to the area. Potter has been kind enough to share his research with the Historical Society, and we have enjoyed learning his family’s history. We want to thank him for his hard work and for allowing us to share his research. The anecdote I am sharing today, which is written by Potter, ties his great, great grandfather, Harvey White (1808-1895) to [...]
Summer Scenes
By: Kayla Kempf As we approach the middle of summer, I am feeling confident in my role as the Museum Assistant. My primary duties are working with the Historical Society’s collections and assisting with research. The Stedman and Moses Collection of Glass Plate Negatives are a large part of my collections work. I have a background working with museum collections, however I have never worked with glass plate negatives before this summer. I find the images on the negatives interesting and a fun way to learn the local history. I have learned how to clean, scan, and input [...]
Summer Parades of 1919
By: Carla Eilo With Independence Day right around the corner, you can’t help but get excited for parades, fireworks, and all the fanfare associated with the holiday. There have been no shortages of parades in Lake Placid’s past. There have been parades for the 4th of July, Memorial Day, Winter Carnival, Halloween, musical acts and circuses visiting town…and the list could go on. Because of this, parades were even critiqued with the highest standards in mind. In the July 25, 1919 edition of the Lake Placid News, there was a comical review of a “parade,” or more aptly named, “A [...]
Paul Stevens and His Pet Bear
By: Carla Eilo As I was logging photos into our digital catalog this past month, I came across this fantastic photograph! It wasn’t too hard to find out who the man and the driver of the car were. Dean Stansfield had included a photograph taken by G.T. Rabineau of the two in his “Images of America” book. Recently, Andy Bull had had written an anecdote about the two riding a bobsled together at Mount Van Hovenberg in “Speed Kings.” I am talking about J. Paul Stevens and his pet bear, Tobias! Paul Stevens, was one of four [...]
Frederick Fountain’s Magic Lantern Slides
By: Carla Eilo It was not too long ago when magic lantern shows were at the forefront of many events and socials in the United States. What are magic lantern shows, you ask? They were picture shows projected onto a screen by illumination of a gas lantern. These lantern shows were often presented by a narrator describing the images or presented with live music that would help set the theme of the photographs. During the turn of the 20th century, newspapers advertised many of these events being held out of schoolhouses and churches. They were so popular that [...]