It definitely pains me to see Rosslyn's boathouse underwater (even 3+ decades after the fact), but it’s a reminder that we have made some headway over the last eleven years. Of course, there’s never any guarantee — and I’m well aware that flooding could bring the pretty boathouse to her knees once again — but I am optimistic that steady rehabilitation since 2006 has fortified this quirky old dock house so that it will better endure the next challenge coming it's way. I received this … [Read more...]
About George Davis
19th Century Essex Merchant Geo D. Anson
Ever scouring the midden heaps — real and virtual — for Essex artifacts, I came across these curiosities. These ACME “picture cards” were offered as incentives to soap customers. Save ACME brand Marseilles White Spray Soap wrappers, mail them to Lautz Bros & Co. (located in Buffalo, New York), and receive these odd collectibles. Think of them as the colorful baubles of an early brand loyalty scheme. Why am I sharing these? Flip any of the three cards above, and you find this. Geo D. … [Read more...]
1910 Hickory Hill Photo
I present to you a rather well captured (and equally well preserved) photograph of The Ross Mansion (aka Hickory Hill) circa 1910... The Ross Mansion in the photograph above was originally built for, and owned by Henry Howard Ross, the brother of William Daniel Ross who built Rosslyn. (Source: Geo Davis, Rosslyn Redux) SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave … [Read more...]
Willsboro Boatbuilders: Frederick W. Rice and Fred M. Rice
I recently stumbled across a reference to local boatbuilders, Frederick W. Rice and Fred M. Rice. The mention, buried in museum notes about a Willsboro, NY Adirondack guideboat builder, was brief. Too brief. 55-year old guide and boatbuilder, Fred Rice... Fred M. Rice learned boatbuilding from his father, a builder of small sailboats from Willsboro. (Source: Adirondack Experience, The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake) A small sailboat builder in Willsboro? What sort of vessels did the Rices build? … [Read more...]
Will You Sponsor the Essex Blog?
It's almost time to celebrate 6 years of Essex on Lake Champlain's service to the community! Since launching in June 2011, the Essex blog has reached some impressive milestones: I'd like to explain the remarkable — albeit somewhat unlikely — meteoric rise of the community building experiment we refer to as the Essex blog. And I will try to convince you that assuring its future is important and worth your support. In short, I hope to persuade you to sponsor the Essex blog in order to … [Read more...]
Lake Champlain Boathouse Blues
Welcome to spring in the Champlain Valley. And to Rosslyn's annual spring drama: the Lake Champlain boathouse blues! Over the last month lake water level has been rising, rising, rising. And rising some more. In fact, it's even risen since I started drafting this post. (Current level a little further down.) Boathouse Blues Begin Until recently I was singing the end-of-ski-season rag and the dandelion ditty while quietly hoping that Lake Champlain water levels would rise enough to hedge … [Read more...]
CFES Book Launch: A Practitioner’s Guide to Building College and Career Readiness
If you've ever asked Rick Dalton what exactly College for Every Student (CFES) does, you've witnessed a mysterious-but-beguiling force of nature. The Rick Dalton phenomenon. Part philosopher, part pundit, part snake charmer, part visionary, part salesman, and part wizard. He is a hybrid of your favorite teachers, professors, coaches, mentors and the Energizer Bunny. No joke! Rick Dalton is the founder, President and CEO of College For Every Student, "a global leader at helping underserved … [Read more...]
Downtown Essex Day Celebrates Summer (Press Republican)
Residents here are preparing in earnest for the longtime Downtown Essex Day tradition. In its 37th year, held faithfully on the first Saturday of August, Essex Day fills the sidewalks and Town Hall lawns with residents and guests, food and festivities. Donna Lou Sonnett, organizer with the sponsoring group, Essex Initiatives, said more than 50 vendors plan to join in for Essex Day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 6. "There is lots of jewelry and handcrafted items, woodworkers have lovely displays, … [Read more...]
Safeguard Fruit Trees with Tanglefoot
I recently wrote about organic orcharding in Essex, a post that that introduced several ways to grow healthy, productive fruit trees without exposing your family, pets, and plants to noxious, often toxic herbicides and pesticides. Tanglefoot has proven to be a reliable non-toxic pest inhibitor in our quest to cultivate holistic fruit tree orchard, and despite its sticky installation, I recommend it. A Gooey Safeguard The photograph above shows the first step of Tanglefoot installation, … [Read more...]
Holistic Orcharding Tips
Are holistic orcharding tips helpful? Or will fruit tree pests and pathogens laugh in your face?!?! For several years I've been absorbing holistic orcharding tips and gardening wisdom from Michael Phillips. I no longer recall how I came across the "pied piper" of organic, non-toxic fruit tree propagation, but... Michael Phillips is the owner (along with his wife, Nancy, and their daughter, Gracie), steward, and chronicler of Lost Nation Orchard in New Hampshire. His book, The Holistic … [Read more...]
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