Historic Saranac Lake

Image of the Week: Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium (later Trudeau Sanatorium) nurses and staff ride a float dedicated to the Red Cross in the 1915 Winter Carnival parade. The storefronts along Main Street are decorated for carnival; trophies were awarded for the best-decorated block for many years. Happy Winter Carnival! Have you signed up for our virtual Winter Carnival history presentation tomorrow? Don't forget! Visit www.historicsaranaclake.org/events to register today! [Historic Saranac Lake Collection, 2009.10.4. From an album of 1915 "Carnival Views," courtesy of Natalie Leduc.]

We're excited about this webinar series from the Preservation League of New York State, "Sparking Recovery Through Preservation!" This six-part series is open to realtors, homeowners, planners, contractors, and more and is intended to show how historic preservation can inspire investment in the community. Get the full schedule and details: https://www.preservenys.org/sparking-recovery-through-prese

COVID-19 UPDATE: The Saranac Laboratory Museum will temporarily close to the public as of Monday, November 16, due to the increase in cases of COVID-19 in Franklin County. Our staff will continue to work remotely, and we will reopen the museum as soon it is safe to do so! We want to stay connected to you while we're closed, so get in touch by phone (518-891-4606) or email ([email protected]), and check our website for the latest updates! As before, we'll share local history, resources, and activities on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and our blog. We'll also still be shipping items from our museum store, so keep us in mind for all of your holiday shopping needs. Please stay tuned, and thank you for your support!

We are pleased to release the Pre-Bid Announcement for the rehabilitation of the Trudeau Building at 118 Main Street. Architectural design is wrapping up, and we anticipate going out to bid for construction this spring. We invite contractors with experience in historic preservation projects to contact us to find out more about this exciting project! Visit https://www.historicsaranaclake.org/trudeau-building.html to learn more about the project so far, and to download a full-size PDF of the bid preview flyer.

Looking for Black History Month educational resources, programs, and events from all across New York State? The New York State Museum has great resources online, in addition to a list of events taking place at museums and historical societies. http://www.nysm.nysed.gov//notes/2021-black-history-month-

Enter to win a Saranac Lake vacation today! This trip includes a visit to the Saranac Laboratory Museum and a book on local history so you can learn all about Saranac Lake's unique history while you experience it firsthand! https://www.saranaclake.com/enter-to-win

This Tuberculosis Thursday, we want to highlight Bill Bailey! Bailey was a tap dancer and vaudevillian and brother of actress-singer Pearl Bailey. He came to Will Rogers Memorial Hospital to recover from a "respiratory ailment," possibly TB (the hospital eventually opened its doors for entertainers with any kind of lung disease). The doctors wanted Bailey to rest, but he often entertained fellow patients with his dance skills. Bailey is credited with inventing the Moonwalk, ...although he called it a "Backslide." Check out this video of Bailey dancing at the Apollo Theatre in 1955: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URscOG1hwk0 He danced with Cab Calloway, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and Miles Davis during his career. Learn more about Bailey on our wiki: https://localwiki.org/hsl/Bill_Bailey Stay tuned for more Black History Month stories from Saranac Lake!

In honor of January being "National Hobby Month," this Tuberculosis Thursday we're sharing this photo of Helen Ratner (and friends) working on her knitting at Trudeau Sanatorium. Many of the patients took up knitting and other hobbies as a way to pass the time while curing. Patients could also learn knitting and many, many other arts and crafts skills at the Scholfield Memorial Workshop and the Study and Craft Guild. Many patients sold their works, and some even turned their... skills into lifelong careers! Learn more about the use of hobbies and occupational therapy in the TB industry in the virtual version of our Art of the Cure exhibit: https://www.historicsaranaclake.org/art-of-the-cure.html [Photograph of Helen Ratner and friends at Trudeau Sanatorium, c.1923. Historic Saranac Lake Collection, TCR 410. Courtesy of Mary Tim Baggott.]

Join us on Tuesday, January 12 for a look at the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States with physician, scientist, longtime HSL member, and historic fiction author Dr. Tony Holtzman. Use this link to register: https://secure.lglforms.com/form_e/s/pyd-_pxZm-uO6Woy8NHlUg A link to the Zoom meeting will be shared via email the day before the event.

Happy New Year from all of us at Historic Saranac Lake! We appreciate your support in this unusual year, and look forward to sharing even more of our unique local history with you in 2021! [New Year photo card from Dr. and Mrs. Trudeau, undated. Historic Saranac Lake Collection, TCR 337. Courtesy of Karen Lewis.]

We want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas! We hope this hand-colored photo of a festive tree at Ray Brook Sanatorium helps make your day bright. What are your favorite Christmas memories of Saranac Lake, past and present? [Christmas tree at the New York State Hospital at Ray Brook, 1929. Historic Saranac Lake Collection, ACC 2020.008. Courtesy of Howard Riley.]

The Cure Porch on Wheels got on the road this week, as we brought some holiday cheer to our friends at Saranac Village at Will Rogers. Here is a one minute video of highlights from carols in the snow. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us at Historic Saranac Lake.

The Cure Porch on Wheels will be making a special trip to bring history and holiday cheer to the village tomorrow, Tuesday, 12/22, after dark. Be on the lookout for the Porch, lit up with colored lights, between 4:45 and 6 and give us a wave as we go by!

Today on the Voices of Saranac Lake we are returning to a recent interview with Trudy Reichert! Trudy’s mother, Phyllis, took the cure at Trudeau where she stayed for seven or eight years. In the interview, Trudy spoke about the effect it had on her childhood, and shared what she knew about her mother’s experience at Trudeau. This interview is now transcribed and online! Visit https://www.hslstories.org/reichert-trudy.html to hear Trudy’s story.

We really enjoyed this post about raising kids to be history lovers! It might help you think of some fun activities to do and stories to tell to your family during the upcoming winter break from school. For example, you could take a walk around your neighborhood and look for historic cure cottages! https://historyplaces.wordpress.com//how-to-raise-a-histo/

It's Tuberculosis Thursday! Saranac Lake is all lit up right now for the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce's Light Up the Town event, which made us think of this photo from Trudeau Sanatorium. This glowing tree was seen in front of the Mellon Library at Trudeau in 1931. Have you explored around town to see all of the holiday cheer? Learn more about the Mellon Library on our wiki: https://localwiki.org/hsl/Mellon_Library [Historic Saranac Lake Collection, ACC 2020.010. Courtesy of Jan Dudones.]

History Matters: It's a Wonderful Life, Tony Anderson -- "Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole. It’s a Wonderful Life, 1946...Continue reading

Today we are featuring Natalie Leduc on the Voices of Saranac Lake! We miss Natalie dearly. It was a joy to return to these oral history interviews to hear her voice and listen to her stories again. Listen to interviews with Natalie Leduc at www.hslstories.org/leduc-natalie.html

We are so sad to hear the news that our dear friend Natalie Leduc died yesterday. Natalie cherished our community and our history, from the stories of the Norwegian sailors, to ski history, to the legacy of Martha Reben. Natalie fiercely championed all things Saranac Lake, past and present, and she lived an amazing life. We just won't be the same without her.