Apple Blossom Time Trial

09 Monday May 2016

Posted by Eric Hamilton in Event, Mohawk Towpath, Recreation, Uncategorized

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The lineup for the pre-race meeting. Nice show of color!

We had a good turn out for the Apple Blossom Time Trial the day before Mother’s Day, 5 female and 10 male. The event was a part of the Apple Blossom Festival a day long celebration of spring on the Byway. The Festival is held at the Riverview Orchards. In addition to events and activities normally available at the Orchard, Shenendehowa Rotary provided picnic fare at reasonable prices and a number of free fun activities for youth and families. The Friends of the Mohawk Towpath Byway cohosted.

The cycling time trial was the activity that wrapped up the day’s events with a 4 pm start. The course was and out and back on Riverview Road going east from the orchard to a turn around just west of the Clifton Park – Halfmoon Town line. All on public roads the first 3+ miles are rolling hills followed by almost 3 miles of flat through the hamlet of Vischer Ferry and along the northern border of the Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve.

Results:

Position	Bib Number	Last Name	First Name	Gender/Age	Time
1	17	Hackett	John	M 30-39	26:22.6
2	7	Huiest	Robert	M 30-39	30:49.4
3	2	Cooke	Ron	M 70-79	31:27.0
4	5	Walling	Mark	M 20-29	31:59.8
5	8	Rosenberg	Edward	M 50-59	32:49.6
6	3	Forgett	Daniel	M 30-39	33:21.2
7	4	Brennan	Joseph	M 50-59	33:49.8
8	12	Koziol	Jill	F 40-49	34:57.2
9	18	Bologna	Catherine	F 40-49	35:52.9
10	9	Ciolko	Oksana	F 60-69	37:02.4
11	13	Koziol	Nate	M 40-49	40:25.2
12	10	Ellis	Robert	M 50-59	41:57.4
13	21	Stilson	Alicia	F 30-39	45:31.9
14	19	Stilson	Jason	M 30-39	46:38.0
15	20	Larned	Shana	F 30-39	1:03:58

Obviously those who participated missed the Mastodon 15 k race in Cohoes. The race director of the Apple Blossom Time Trial has done the 15 k previously and loved the course. I goes through every park in the City including several stretches of the route of the 1842 Enlarged Erie Canal, the Mohawk Hudson Bikeway, and Cohoes High School Campus. But the run is not for the faint of heart or those out of shape for a 9.3 mile run.

Our Story

09 Saturday Apr 2016

Posted by Eric Hamilton in Historic Assets, Telling the Byway Stories

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The Canal Fest attracted a wide demographic as seen in this shot of the Glenville Traveling Museum.

The Friends of the Mohawk Towpath Scenic Byway is a membership organization of enthusiasts dedicated to preserving the historic, cultural, natural, recreational, agricultural, and scenic resources within the corridor of the Mohawk Towpath Byway. That’s our story. Or should I say, that’s my “elevator speech.”
Defining our story is the number one priority of the Friends.

…it isn’t just one story, but it is multiple versions of one story that is tailored to the various audiences that will be hearing the story. We may even want to encourage people to select their particular favorite audience, then craft the story so it will resonate with that particular audience,

points out Ray Patterson, one of our charter members, who lives in West Virginia.

Let me add that each of the Friends of the Byway has a number of stories about our communities and our heritage. Most of us can tell one or more personal stories that has developed as they have volunteered for the Byway over the years. Each of us has one or more stories that they remember from family, friends, second person accounts, books, or teachers.

This body of knowledge with hundreds of stories make up the Byway story. This rich heritage is what brings our Byway to life. Whether its a Native People’s story, natural history, colonial history, stories from the Industrial Revolution, Erie Canal stories, local genealogy, or stories of our communities these all are part of the Byway story and need to be preserved. Some of these stories change over time as more research in local history, archeology and geology adds more depth and authenticity.

It is important for us, individually, and as an organization to hold on to these stories and preserve them for future generations.

Visitors to the Byway want to hear (or read) these stories as a part of their Byway experience. When we repeat a Byway story with authenticity we provide the listener with an intimate look at what makes our Mohawk Towpath Byway unique among a network of 150 America’s Byways®.

How Many Tourists is Too Many?

04 Monday Apr 2016

Posted by Eric Hamilton in Bringing Tourists to the Byway

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As a young couple I remember staying at a guest house where my wife and I shared a bathroom with another boarder who we never met. We did befriend the establishment’s owner, whom I will call Flo, and her carpenter husband. The two were most impressed with our respect for their property and we were overwhelmed with their openness to letting people into their impressive historic home.

On our second visit Flo started to share with us stories of some of her worst customers. One of the stories Flo told was she rented one of her choice rooms, just beyond the living room to a middle aged gentleman. The room had her favorite rosewood octagon, key wound mantle clock that chimed the hour. Sometime during the night the guest had tried to silence the clock with blankets and pillows. This was an affront to Flo who “threw the bum out” with instructions to never return. To Flo this was one tourist too many.
Each of us has a threshold for how many guests is too much. The rule I am comfortable with is respect my special places as though they are your own. This is the basis for, “If you carry it in, carry it out.” “Leave nothing behind but your footprints.” This is the foundation of good stewardship.

One of the founding tenants of the Mohawk Towpath Byway Coalition is to balance the changes and developments along the Byway corridor with the need to preserve our natural and historic resources. Encouraging the constructive use of our resource will provide the economic engine to fund efforts to preserve for generations to come. Perhaps the most rewarding outcome is to have visitors embrace the preservation effort with the same enthusiasm as many of our local residents. That’s sustainability in the broadest meaning of the word.

With the depth and authenticity of our stories, variety of our recreational resources, and appeal to a broad demographic visitors will come, and, more importantly, return.

Cycling Time Trial

30 Wednesday Mar 2016

Posted by Eric Hamilton in Recreation

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HRRT Cycling Team, Shenendehowa Rotary and the Friends of the Byway are partnering on a fun new event: an Apple Blossom Cycling Time Trial to be held as a part of the May 7 Apple Blossom Festival at Riverview Orchards.

The Time Trial will be an interval start 12 mile out and back bike ride with no entry fee this year. Instead there will be a donation jar set up with proceeds going to the Friends of the Byway. The Time Trial will start at 4 PM as some of the other Apple Blossom festivities are winding down. If successful we hope that this can become a sanctioned annual event to start off the cycling competitive season.

Apple Blossom Cycling Time Trial Course

Planning

20 Sunday Mar 2016

Posted by Eric Hamilton in Uncategorized

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Planning Several members including a majority of the Board of Directors met on a recent Saturday morning to review and update our organization’s Action Plan. Facilitated by Ray Patterson, one of our charter members, we had a productive session that reviewed our mission statement and vision, our progress toward achieving that vision, and mapped out initiatives that would get us closer to that vision. This review will be most helpful as we put together a budget. If you are a member and would like to see what we are proposing for our Action Plan please contact Paul Olund, President or Eric Hamilton, Membership Director.

Envision

12 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by Eric Hamilton in Uncategorized

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We have built a broad based organization to fulfill our vision, including Friends of all ages, seniors who live in our region, as well as families, and youth in our regional schools. We have developed and implemented a full year calendar of activities that is widely publicized and draws visitors and investment to the Friends of the Mohawk Towpath Byway.

This is how our organization’s Action Agenda of 2013 – 14 starts. Where are we today? Are we on the right track? What do we need to do now to advance our vision? Do we need to…

Develop Our Story
Reach Out
Utilize Our Volunteer Base
Enhance the Byway Experience
Develop and Schedule Events
Strengthen the Organization

The Friends of the Mohawk Towpath Byway will be gathering at 9 AM on Saturday, March 19, 2016, at the historic Grooms Tavern at the corner of Sugar Hill Road and Grooms Road, Rexford, to map out the organization’s future, at least the next five years.

Will you join us? Perhaps Samuel Grooms or one of his team will provide lunch as our session winds down by mid day. You are encouraged to attend, bring a friend, meet new friends, and provide your perspective on the Mohawk Towpath Byway.

Chicken & Biscuit Dinner

12 Friday Feb 2016

Posted by Eric Hamilton in Uncategorized

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Shenendehowa Rotary is partnering with Giffy’s Bar-B-Catering to hold a Chicken and Biscuit Dinner fund raiser for the Friends of the Mohawk Towpath Byway on Sunday, February 21, 2016, from 4 to 6 PM at the Vischer Ferry Fire House community room at 360 Riverview Road, in Vischer Ferry (Rexford mailing address). Tickets are available from any Rotary member, the Friends or from the Mohawk Towpath Byway. Dinner is $10 a person, $8 for seniors, and child (10>) $6.

Tickets will be available (while they last) at the door and take out is also available.

This locally prepared dinner is reminiscent of the type of fare that one would have experienced on the Erie Canal back in its “heyday”: chicken, biscuits, mixed vegetables, mashed potatoes, beverages, and light desert. Come out and enjoy a hardy meal with friends, family, and neighbors right on the Mohawk Towpath Byway.

Historic Connection

24 Thursday Dec 2015

Posted by Eric Hamilton in Uncategorized

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Before the Vischer Ferry Preserve was established; even before the 1842 enlarged Erie Canal was abandoned in 1917 the area south of Riverview Road was a very different place than we see it today. The area was open agricultural land having been farmed by generations and cultures of native peoples and several generations of Europeans including Dutch and English. The community around Clutes Dry Dock was thriving.

A portion of the Clutes community drawn before 1878. Note the dry dock to the left and the culvert and stream to which the dry dock was drained. – from Clifton Park Collection

Fertile agricultural land will slowly grow back to mature forest in as little as two or three human generations.

The Friends of the Mohawk Towpath Byway have explored the area around Clutes and re-establish some of the historic connections to improve recreational potential. After three successful work details there is a trail between two farmer’s bridge abutments along the Mohawk River, the current Erie Canal.

A map drawn by Paul Olund on an areal photograph showing the current vegetative cover and some of the features including a newly re-established trail between two farmers bridge abutments.

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Sue Lasker, Maryanne Mackey and Paul Olund on Canal Clean Sweep.

A trail cleanup crew discusses what seems to be part of the early “Clinton’s Ditch” north of the Clutes Dry Dock.

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A total of 39 person hours with hand tools and three hours of chainsaw use were required to re-establish the connecting trail between the two farmer’s bridge abutments.

New Kiosks

08 Tuesday Dec 2015

Posted by Eric Hamilton in Mohawk Towpath, Telling the Byway Stories

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New interpretive kiosks have been installed along the Mohawk Towpath Byway to help tell the story and highlight the significance of the individual sites. One will be located at the Old Military Crossing of the Mohawk River between the Towns of Colonie and Waterford. This crossing was used during the Revolutionary War during parts of the year when water was too high to cross at Waterford. Today this is the site of the Crescent Dam on the Cohoes Crescent Road.

The other new kiosk is located at the Lock 7 Overlook at the foot of Sugarhill Road in the Town of Clifton Park. This is the location of one of the most challenging locations for construction of the original Erie Canal prior to its opening in 1825. Before the advent of steam powered excavation equipment the work on the shale bedrock was done by hand labor. Canallers later identified this site as the “young engineer’s cut” and was the deepest cut along the entire Erie Canal with stretched 363 miles across New York State. This is the site boasts an excellent panoramic view overlooking the Mohawk River. This is also the western gateway to the Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve.

Unveiling and ribbon cutting at the Lock 7 Dam Overlook with Clifton Park Supervisor Phil Barrett, Assemblyman Jim Tedisco, Eric Hamilton, Chamber CEO Peter Bardunias, Larry Sydek, and John Scherer. – photo provided by Phil Barrett.

“These interpretive kiosks were originally envisioned during early planning and preparation of the Mohawk Towpath Byway’s Corridor Management Plan almost 15 years ago,” admitted Eric Hamilton, Executive Director of the Byway. “The kiosks are funded by a Federal Highway Administration Byway Grant through the New York State Department of Transportation Byway Program.

“Uncovering these bits of history along the Erie Canal has been a rewarding process,” adds John Scherer, Town of Clifton Park Historian. “The Mohawk Towpath Byway has many stories from natural history, Native Peoples, and generations of local residents. These kiosks provide a glimpse of some of these stories.”

Colonie Town Historian Kevin Franklin observes that a lot of America’s history happened right here in our own back yards. “Providing these kiosks helps to summarize these stories and tease visitors and local residents to learn more of their community’s heritage,” adds Franklin. The kiosks are on public property and accessible year round. The kiosks also include a QR code that provides access via smart phone to an audio recording by local people explaining the significance of each of the sites.

Duathlon a Success

30 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by Eric Hamilton in Uncategorized

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Sue Lasker, Loueen Whalen, Mary Duclos and Isabel Prescott take a break from registration.

The final figures on the duathlon are in. It was a successful event: it was a safe event, we had 99 competitors registered of which 84 finished along with three 2 person teams. We had eight sponsors for a total of $3,100. In addition the major sponsor Capital Region Landfills underwrote the event tee shirts for $2000.

Larry Syzdek, Eric Hamilton, and Norm Schartzer caught together near the communications trailer

I figure we had 115 hours of volunteer hours into this project with an equivalent value of over $3,100! Through that effort we made many new friends and only teed off a few unhappy motorists (none of them Byway visitors).

Bottom line: the Byway came out ahead by $2,737.

Thank you all of you who helped in so many ways! If you worked on the project and didn’t pick up your Giffy’s Bar-B-Q chicken dinner… well it got eaten. If you didn’t get a goody bag including tee shirt I will get one to you on your request.

In addition to CapitalDistrict Landfills our sponsors included Jeff and Kim Hamilton of Kennesaw, GA, the G E Foundation, Brookfield Renewable Power, Mohawk Fine Papers, Stewart’s Shops, Shenendehowa Rotary, Halfmoon Family Dental, and Price Chopper/Golub Foundation.

These photos were by Tracy Perry. There are over 2000 photos of the competitors and volunteers by Kristen Hislop. Look for her collection on her Google+ page and search on her name.