Schroon Lake’s 4th of July Celebration is Back

After months of  careful planning and multiple meetings with various stakeholders, the Schroon Lake Chamber of Commerce has announced the return of the July 4th Celebration for 2021.

The 66th festivities will look a lot different this year. The Chamber has opted to “deconstruct” the celebration. Rather than folks lining the streets, various crowd favorites will be available to visit at locations around town, said Chamber Director Sue Palisano.

The idea is for folks to be able to visit different brands bands and musicians at different times so some folks will be in one place and others elsewhere, thus spreading out crowds.

Sue said when organizers began planning the event months ago, the Chamber, Town officials -- with guidance from the County and the Department of Health -- believed this was the best plan. One big difference this year – Main Street will not be closed.

More from Sue:

“Once again, please see current information regarding THIS YEAR'S Fourth of July below. More details will be coming over the next several weeks, but here is the explanation for why the decision was made not to close Main Street and hold a traditional parade.

The Fourth of July Celebration in Schroon Lake takes months of planning that begins in March. At that time, there were still questions about crowd size restrictions (and we are still operating for the foreseeable future under some limits for outdoor gatherings). Working together and in consultation with both Essex County Board of Supervisors and Essex County Health, given the anticipated attendance both the Chamber and Town Boards agreed that holding a traditional parade - with crowds gathering on sidewalks along our fairly short parade route - was ill-advised, and a decision was made not to submit the required Rt. 9 road closure permits to the State DOT.

Instead, we chose to move forward with an alternative plan we were confident we'd be able to execute without the risk of having to cancel and that we expect will draw far fewer people to town than come for our regular parade. Multiple bands/performers will be playing at different times in different places over a two hour period, so some folks will be at one location while others are somewhere else, with people walking around instead of gathering in tight groups for several hours.

This is NOT a permanent situation, nor should the decision made be politicized. The Chamber and Town Board made a decision we felt was in the best interests of our community. Given what goes into making the entire day of activities on the Fourth happen, instead of making this negative we would hope folks would appreciate we're doing our best to hold a celebration”.

What are you most looking forward to this year? Let us know in comments.

Labor Day Weekend in Schroon: What Floats Your Boat?

Schroon Lake’s Labor Day 2020 won’t resemble previous years, but there’s still a few things to put on your calendar. Be sure to check out the 2nd Annual Boat Parade, sponsored by the Schroon Lake Chamber of Commerce. Saturday at the Town Docks at 6.30pm.

Load up your fall and winter reading needs at the Books Sale, Saturday, from 10 am - 2pm. It’s in the basement of the Hudson Headwaters Building. Sponsored by the Friends of the Schroon Lake Library.

The brewers have chosen Friday of the Labor day Weekend to drop their newest release: Leaf Peeper Supreme. From the good folks at Paradox:

“This Fest bier will be the best transition to the fall season. Alongside this drop, we will be selling a limited number of one-of-a-kind, Paradox Brewery 1/2 liter mugs. We will be offering a 1/2 liter of our Leaf Peeper Supreme, our 1/2 liter, limited edition mug, and a pretzels for $16.00!”

And be on the lookout for multiple garage sales! Got an event to publicize? Share the details in comments.

The State of Schroon Lake 2020

Many folks we’ve spoken to over the summer have commented how busy Schroon and Paradox Lakes have been this season.

On some weekends we’ve witnessed day long water craft induced wakes on Schroon. To get a spot at Dog Beach arrive early. The Dock Street boat trailer lot fills up quickly, with the Town Hall parking lot absorbing the overflow. The Schroon Lake Marina has moved a ton of inventory, according to co-owner Craig Kennedy. And we’ve seen a lot more smiling faces  on stand up paddle boards, kayaks and canoes than in previous years.  Maybe this is  due to the pandemic, with folks staying local.

The fact is our lakes and gorgeous Schroon town beach continue to be a huge draw, and the number one attraction pulling in tourists dollars to our local towns. And the reason our lakes are  so popular are the pristine waters, the result of three  organizations working together. Volunteers from The Paradox Lake Association, The East Shore Schroon Lake Association and The Schroon Lake Association (SLA)  are tireless in their efforts to protect our bodies of water.

Filmmaker and Lake Steward Christian Gratto

Recently the Schroon Lake Association hosted a virtual  educational presentation on the state of the lake, hosted by SLA president Marg Granger.

You can watch the presentation above by clicking the video above or click here.

Mark reminds us of the origins of why the SLA was formed in 1911. That’s when the government planned to turn Schroon, Paradox, the hamlet of Adirondack, Horicon and Severance into a gigantic reservoir. Citizens fought hard and won to stop the plan. Years later the fight continues. The enemies today are invasive species and pollutants getting into the lake.

Even during this pandemic, the work of the SLA continues: water sampling, stewards manning boat launches and boat washing stations, the mapping of the lake bottom to detect areas of invasives and monitoring sand and silt levels washing into the lake from the Schroon River.

The video is well worth watching. Christian Gratto did a fine job editing multiple interview and graphic elements. He also makes a cameo talking about his duties as a lake steward at the Schroon Lake Boat Launch

Paradox Lake Steward Wilden Bruce

You’ll also hear from several experts and volunteers, including Neil Chippendale, who gives a very informative and easy to understand demo on the technology used to “bottom map”  Schroon Lake.  Paradox Lake steward Wilden Bruce talks about boat inspections and two milfoil harvesters from the Invasive Solutions Dive Company explain why they remove this invasive by hand. You’ll come away with a greater understanding of just how important our lake associations are to the well-being of Paradox and Schroon Lakes.

Neil Chippendale demonstrates technology used to “bottom map” Schroon Lake

The SLA  is always looking for volunteers. If you don’t have the time, your donations will go a long way to help preserve our lake for generations to come.

Check out these SLA links for information on  Volunteers, new Members, and their  Fundraising activities. Please visit these pages to see what YOU can do to help!

Experts from the Invasive Solutions Dive Company are interviewed by SLA’s Roger Friedman

Schroon's Wash Days: Scrubbing Up on The Past

If you have kids who have no idea what a clothes line is — then the chances they know about how wash was done “in the olden days” are slim to none. But they can learn a fun little history lesson next Thursday, August 8th, 2019.

That’s when the Schroon-North Hudson Historical Society holds their "Wash Days" program, at the museum, a hands-on program for children to learn how to wash laundry the old fashion way.

From the Society:

“They will haul water to the wash tub, use a bar of soap and a scrub board to wash some good ole' fashion laundry including some fun long johns, use the hand ringer to remove excess water, and then wonder over to hang up laundry on an old fashion clothes line. The event runs from 9:30am -11:30am @ The Schroon North Hudson Historical Society. Free and open to the public! This program is possible with a generous grant from the Stewart's Holiday Matching Grant program!”