Express News Staff
INDIAN LAKE - Stop, have a seat and sit a spell while taking the self-guided walking tour of historic buildings along Main Street here.
A ceremony to kick off two new promotions orchestrated by the Indian Lake Planning Committee took place Saturday, May 26, at Indian Lake Theater, itself one of 13 historic buildings along Main Street, Rt. 28/30, some of which date back to 1870.
Appropriately, the first speaker was Ben Strader, president of Indian Lake Theater Inc. He said the theater was built in 1938 and reopened in 2008 after being closed for several years.
ILPC Chairwoman Sally Stanton spoke of the short history of the committee and its vision of a “vibrant Main Street and a sustainable population.”
She was followed by Brenda Valentine, chairwoman of the ILPC’s Revitalization Sub-Committee, who said her committee had partnered with the Indian Lake Chamber of Commerce to work with Indian Lake and Hamilton County Historian Bill Zullo to create the self-guided walking tour.
Copies of the tour are available at the Chamber of Commerce, Town Hall and at many local businesses.
William Farber, chairman of the Hamilton County Board of Supervisors, praised Indian Lakers for their efforts to revitalize their community through imagination, planning and active volunteering.
Farber took aim at doomsayers who in recent months have discounted Hamilton County’s vitality and predicting a slow, steady demise into oblivion.
“We have some amazing strengths,” he said. “It doesn’t have to happen.”
Then it was outside into the bright sunshine for the unveiling of the first six of 15 decorated Adirondack chairs that will be placed around the hamlets of Indian Lake, Blue Mt. Lake and Sabael.
Hosting this portion of the event was Councilman Jack Valentine, who is also an active member of the ILPC. He believes there could be as many as 40 of these chairs around town within a couple of years.
Valentine said the first six chairs were built and donated by local Adirondack chair-maker Windy Baker, who spent several seasons at the Adirondack Museum building chairs to order.
“We hope people coming through town will stop to look at the chairs and maybe slow down to take a look at our community,” Valentine said.