Adirondack Country. William Chapman White (8).

Adirondack Country. William Chapman White (8). New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1954.

Why read it? The history of the Adirondacks, the names, the lakes, the peaks, the guides and impressions of the tourists and the seasons. "As a man tramps the woods to the lake.. .he knows he will find pines and lilies, blue heron and golden shiners, shadows on the rocks and the glint of light on the wavelets, just as they were in the summer of 1954, as they will be in 2054 and beyond; he can stand on a rock by the shore and be in a past he could not have known, in a future he will never see; he can be a part of time that was and time yet to come."

Ideas:

"During his stay, he wrote a book, Saranac Exiles, which he signed 'Not by W. Shakespeare.' " [Rev. John

P. Lundy]. P. 169 ………. Rev. John P. Lundy: "To the everlasting honor of Saranac Lake it must be said

that it has no lawyers or news editors to do the mischievous and harassing headwork of keeping the

community in an uproar of needless excitement and agitation." P. 169 ……….:With such a large patient

population, Saranac Lake was a natural target for all peddlers of nostrums and gadgets; for years the tuberculosis experts in the village had to show patiently that each new one was of questionable value; machines for breathing, glass helmets to admit special gases, vaccines, and secret drugs were each boomed in turn until each went bust; one doctor arrived and opened a sanatorium to cure tuberculosis with a serum

made from turtles; he left in a hurry, three months later."?. 176 ………. "The best symbol of the village of Saranac Lake's eighty-year-old reputation as a 'Town of Second chance' for victims of tuberculosis remains: it is Dr. Trudeau in bronze.. .looking at the hills in which he taught me to find new hope." P. 178.

 ………. "Al Jolson played a benefit in Saranac Lake in 1927 and broke all theatrical records by staying on stage alone for three hours, an astonishing show of repertoire, stamina and ability to hold an audience." P.180 ………. "...Chester Gillette of Cortland, New York, who drowned his mistress Grace Brown in Big

Moose Lake in July 1906, providing the incidents and murder trial which inspired Dreiser's An American Tragedy."? p. 180.

To be continued.