This past weekend when I at Plattsburgh I spent a few minutes in the evening going for a stroll around Plattsburgh State, briefly sticking my head into the Feinberg Library and the Angel Campus Center. Hawkins Hall was locked as it was the weekend so I did not go in – funny enough thought I might still have a key to the building that I was supposed to return decades ago.
I can’t say though that I ever spent that much time at Plattsburgh State, despite my status as alumni and my B.A. degree on Plattsburgh State paper. Between the Assembly Internship and transferring in the bulk of my credits from other colleges, I only was here two autumn semesters. Still I have memories of the time spent here, and I was noticing the Green Fee (the “Energy” part of language was dropped in the give and take of legsilating) that I helped author and push through is being used for investment and improvement in Nature Trail at Rugar Woods all these years later.
Plattsburgh State still is a lot of fun to explore and get around on a bike. Rugar Woods has seen a fair bit of development with a disc golf and the former Rugar Street landfill now sporting the Chip Cummings Baseball Field on top. Officially the trail doesn’t go to the still very dilapidated Imperial Mills Dam, though that may change when the state installs fish ladders over the dam. Real pretty in the autumn colors. People were saying a lot has changed in Plattsburgh over the past twenty years, though at least in my mind the changes are a lot more subtle then I might have thought.
I’ve heard college students have dwindled in recent years – the state college is no longer affordable and monied students don’t want to go to rag-tag Plattsburgh. They demolished Adirondack and Banks Hall, though I never was in either buildings, so I hardly missed them. But at least they still have the classic funky lamps at SUNY Plattsburgh Library, and much of the mid-century Brutalist architecture remains in tack. I put my cowboy hat for a while the other day while I was poking around the city, just for memories of what was.
Before I leave Plattsburgh for who knows how long again, I might stop by the Political Science department to see if any of the professors I know are still around. Probably Dr. Harvey Schantz is the only one left but a lot of people come and go over two decades. I don’t even know if Dr. Tom Konda is still alive but he is certainly long retired. A lot depends on time and if I can get parking nearby the college. I am trying to be gentle on my elderly truck suspension and not push it too hard.
In some ways, it’s hard to put myself back in college. The world was a different place two decades and I was somewhat different of a person. A lot more idealistic but also ignorant. And I certainly undervalued the local scenery and beauty, though to this day, I still love the rural and expansive mountain landscapes. The Adirondack Northway is a treat on the eyes when you drive it. And touring that off-grid cabin and that New Land Trust cabin was definately something that got me thinking about my future, something I want to do some day once my years of work and toil – and investing – add up to something great.
Plattsburgh is a fun town. Not that I would want to live in city or anywhere near it, but living within commute distance to a reasonable place where you can supplies and services is a good thing. The deep rural of Adirondacks makes for much more difficult living when there is not a full-service grocery, a Walmart, healthcare and other services within a half hour drive away. Maybe not New York State due to my years working in sausage factory of Albany, with the gun laws and burn ban, but it’s good to know such places like Plattsburgh exist at least in my mind. While I spent so little time in Plattsburgh, I did really love the brief time I spent up here. Too bad there isn’t more roadside camping opportunities close to Plattsburgh, or I might come up here more.