Fonda – Fultonville 1896

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Not a lot has changed in this sleepy Mohawk Valley town over the years except for the Thruway coming through in the 1950s. 

Same Sex Marriage Used to Be Illegal? Really?!

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Here is why I think future generations wll find that so shocking:

  • Same-sex marriage is not a tax. It doesn’t cost anybody anything, unless they choose to go out and get a marriage license to marry their partner.
  • There are no penalties if you choose not to get a same-sex marriage. It’s entirely voluntary. If you choose not to marry a partner of the same sex, you won’t go jail or face a fine.
  • Same-sex marriage is not a mandate. Businesses and local government will not have to do anything to adopt to the change, and indeed all of the same tax forms and paperwork as it continues.
  • Nobody loses any rights under same-sex marriage. Don’t like it, then don’t marry somebody of the same sex.

People who oppose same-sex marriage are really going to look backwards, when we look back, years from now.

Decided to head out to the Green Mountains on Friday …

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I just need to get away from it all this weekend. I was going to head out to Schoharie but I’m leaning towards the Green Mountains as I heard that Forest Road 71 is now open and I can camp along it, ride it on Saturday, go swimming in that swimming hole under the bridge by Somerset Airfield, and just relax and have a good weekend. Maybe the following weekend if the weather is hot and sunny head up to the Potholers, but the forecast could change before then, and this way I have cell service in much of that area, and can work from camp if need be.

Juniper Island on Lake Champlain

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The Juniper Island Light, situated on the 13-acre Juniper Island in Vermont, holds the distinction of being the oldest light station on Lake Champlain and the oldest surviving cast iron lighthouse in the United States. History In 1826, the establishment of a light station on Juniper Island replaced a private beacon, which was merely a lantern mounted on a post. The original structure, a 30-foot-tall brick tower, featured the lamp and reflector system common during that era. Its primary purpose was to alert ships to the vicinity of Burlington's harbor. By 1838, reports indicated that the tower had fallen into disrepair.

In response, a new 30-foot tower was erected in 1846. This tower was composed of four rings of cast iron and connected to a brick keeper's house via a passageway. Initially, it used the original beacon, but in 1853, it was upgraded with a fourth-order Fresnel lens. During the early 20th century, the island served as a storage depot for fuel, buoys, and other maritime supplies.  The lighthouse was deactivated in 1954 in favor of a steel tower positioned closer to the water. Subsequently, the entire island was auctioned off to state senator Fred Fayette. Unfortunately, in 1962, a fire severely damaged the keeper's house, though the cast iron tower and a separate shed for a fog bell remained intact. Fayette's family inherited the island and, in 2001, rebuilt the house using bricks salvaged from the original structure. Two years later, a new, taller tower replaced the one from 1954. While the family has plans to restore the old cast iron tower, it is unlikely to be relit due to the obstruction of trees on the island.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juniper_Island_Light

Fifty-three years after a private plane carrying five men disappeared on a snowy Vermont night, experts believe they have found the wreckage of the long-lost jet in Lake Champlain.

The corporate jet disappeared shortly after departing the Burlington airport for Providence, Rhode Island, on Jan. 27, 1971. Those aboard included two crew members and three employees of the Atlanta, Georgia, development company Cousin's Properties, who were working on a development project in Burlington.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jet-vanished-1971-vermont-wreckage-found-lake-champlain/