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The Official Newsletter of the Queechy Lake Club
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It's Lake Season Again!

Hi Folks,

As I write this letter, the bright spring sun is out and the weather is shirt-sleeve warm. Soon we’ll be at our summer homes, cleaning up after the winter snows, washing windows and making the beds for company throughout the summer months. It’s a pleasure to be able to speak to you again through our Queechy Times which will continue to be the official forum for Queechy Lake news.

The Queechy Lake Boat Parade will be on Saturday, July 1st . Make your family plans early so vacation dates include the Parade. I’m still amazed at the number of fans that turn out along the shoreline. What a tradition. I remember being in the first parade dressed as a Native American in full Native American headgear. It poured buckets half way through the parade. My fake tanning lotion ran down my body. Needless to say I did not get an award that year.

The QLC Executive Committee has a full agenda this year with lake water testing, weed mapping, and other lake activities. Our lake specialist from Connecticut will be back to test the waters. He will make sure we keep our name at the top of the list of cleanest lakes in New York. Please do your part to keep the lake clean by maintaining lake grasses and vegetation along your shoreline. This will help resist toxic runoff. Remember that lawn fertilizer pollutes our lake. Septic systems should also be carefully monitored.

Hope you have a good and safe Memorial Day weekend. See you on the lake.

Sincerely,

Steven G. Berninger
President
Queechy Lake Club
The Queechy Lake Club is seeking volunteers to kayak and to float on pontoon boats. 
 
Sounds great, right? It gets even better!

One of the most important duties the QLC undertakes is our participation in CSLAP (Citizen Statewide Lake Assessment Program) -- regular water sampling and testing during the summer months. This helps us ensure the lake is clean and safe, and we can catch any problems early. The samples are sent off to a state lab where our data is analyzed and also becomes part of a larger database that is used to identify trends and problems, and to educate the public.

Water sampling occurs on the lake every other week during a 16 week period that will begin sometime mid-June. Betsy Janes is our specially-trained CSLAP volunteer but she can't do it alone. There are two ways to help out:

Pontoon boat (or larger, stable motor boat) drivers: 

Testing  generally occurs every other Sunday morning around 9 or 10am. We need volunteers to take Betsy and her equipment out to take water samples and conduct visibility tests. This usually takes 45 min - 1 hour.

Kayaks & canoes:

We need several volunteers to paddle along a designated section of shoreline to look for algae blooms every other week. You'll be given a guide of what to look for & a map. If you see anything unusual, you simply mark the spot on the map and snap a picture that we'll send to our experts.

We are hoping that we can find several kayak/canoe volunteers and a few pontoon boat owners to share the responsibility of covering all 8 testing sessions this year. The exact dates have not yet been determined as they will depend on our start date. We'll keep you posted, but please do let us know if you're interested in helping ASAP.

Testing is really fun! There's some cool equipment and there's nothing too complicated. It's like an easy floating science project. We all are a part of the QLC because we care about the lake, and this is a truly great way to contribute to our community and to learn a little more about lake science!

If you are interested in taking a shift or two or would like to learn more, please contact Betsy at queeche3@yahoo.com or call her at 781-4823.
Now you can pay your 2017 dues online via PayPal!
Click here.

Finch Grove Memories
By Doug Finch
 

My great-great-great grandfather was an indentured servant on the banks of Queechy Lake at Echo Farm. I was the first generation not to be born in the farmhouse on the corner of McNamee Road and Rte. 295. Finch Grove began when my great grandfather built the first cottage on Queechy Lake on that property.This was a time when Queechy was quite popular. I was told people would even come from Pittsfield on bicycles with the huge front wheel. In the 1920’s and 30’s the Queechy Lake Casino (on the site of the Red Inn, now the Backwater Grill) was a big draw for dancing. The vacation cottage business had found its time.
 
My family would stay in one of my grandfather Ira’s cottages during the summer. The walls of the cottages were not finished inside and the second floor interior walls only went up as high as the outside frame. I thought climbing over them was a lot of fun. There was only one pine tree on the now heavily forested hill between Finch and McNamee Groves. Everyone I knew called it the Big Pine because three kids could not put their arms around it. We all met there.
 
Grandpa and Mr. Shaver brought the first electricity to Canaan from a generator they built on the Stony Kill Creek  below the lake. The cottages had primitive wiring strung in parallel on ceramic standoffs. Every summer my grandfather would bring in many trailer loads of gravel to patch the potholes on Finch Grove Road as it was a private road not maintained by the town.  I do not know know why it was named Luke Hill.
 
Even back in my great grandfather’s time city people came to the area, and  I was told one wanted to buy the farm one winter because he liked the big flat meadow --which was Queechy frozen over & covered with snow. When I was young, Canaan had many more dirt roads than paved, more cows than people and there was a limit on the size of motors on boats on the lake. This law ended when the Chittendens brought in a huge 25 horse power motor.
 
My grandfather made wooden boats which several families in the grove owned. I always thought mine was the fastest on the lake. I think he kept the best for himself. I liked rowing and they tried to recruit me for crew at Cornell. The Kinzels on the north shore and myself had the only sailboats I can remember. The Boys Camp next to the Grove (Boyville then, now Queechy Shores) had a long war canoe. We used to love watching it.
 
Hello to any of my old friends who may still be on the lake. We sure had great times,
Didn’t we?
 
Doug Finch is a 6th generation Canaanite whose mother taught at the Berkshire Farm  in Chatham, and whose father was a local insurance agent. He went to Canaan’s three room school and junior high in Chatham in the 50’s before leaving for prep school and Cornell. He loves Canaan and the kids he grew up with. He can be reached at Bigfoothsd@comcast.net.

IMPORTANT DATES!

Annual Boat Parade
Saturday, July 1st at 2pm
(Boats line up at 1pm)

Queechy Lake Club Annual Meeting
Saturday, August 5th at 10am
Canaan Town Hall
A Reminder About Boats & Lake Health

The health of the lake is put at particular risk when boats from visitors and guests are launched into the lake because of the increased likelihood of spreading aquatic invasive species. We are especially concerned about certain algaes and the dreaded zebra mussel, which can quickly and easily infest a lake with razor sharp shells. We urge you to not allow your property to be used as a public boat launch and ensure that any boat your guest may bring has been cleaned and completely dried before launching into Queechy.

We heard the concerns from some of our membership about motor boats that don't "belong" on the lake from our membership at the 2016 annual meeting. The Queechy Lake Club is not an organization that makes or enforces rules, but we are an educational organization. We encourage information-sharing through neighborly interactions and hope to resolve concerns through friendly, community-based efforts. And it's working! Think back to 10-15 years ago...the lake was a lot more crowded with motor boats that somehow snuck in. Thanks to the efforts of property owners with launch access and careful efforts by Berkshire Farm, we have come a long way. Things may not be perfect now, but our past efforts & current efforts are working. Thanks neighbors!

As always, property owners without boat launch access can take advantage of our arrangement with Berkshire Farm and non-property owner canoe and kayakers are welcome to use the car-top carry at the state launch down by the Adams Point Beach. 
To join the Queechy Lake Club as a full or associate member, please visit our website www.queechylake.org
Being Prepared for Bears

It's not uncommon for black bears to appear around Canaan in the springtime. Mama bears & their cubs tend to leave the den in mid-April & May to seek food. Since the weather is cooler, this is when they are most likely to wander around inhabited areas. They tend to retreat deep into the woods once the hotter weather arrives. While black bears are generally not harmful or aggressive, it's wise to take preventative actions to avoid attracting them and to know what to do if you do encounter a bear.

Be prepared: 
  • Keep outdoor trash cans secure with tightly fitting lids.
  • Keep grills clean.
  • Don't keep food outside & don't feed pets outside.
  • If you're hiking in the woods, wear a bell.
  • Keep dogs leashed.
  • Consider removing/emptying bird feeders April-June.
If you see a bear:
  • Make noise! Honk horns, bang pots and pans, sing loudly, etc.
  • Back away slowly, don't run. Talk to the bear in calm voice.
  • Take you dog away from the area.
Click here for additional information about black bears & avoiding negative interactions.

More information from NYS DEC.
Why did the bear cross the road? -- Lenox, MA on Memorial Day weekend in 2013.
View of Echo Farm is from site of the McDonald cottage on Vandenburgh Hill 1914. It was potato fields back then. Photo courtesy of Patsy McDonald.
Typed on the back of the photo.
Helpful Lake
Health Links 

For more information on CSLAP:
http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/81576.html

For more information on NYSFOLA:
http://nysfola.mylaketown.com/

For more information on invasive species, with many additional links:
http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/265.html

Photos of prohibited and regulated plants:
http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/isprohibitedplants2.pdf

For information on harmful algal blooms (HABs):
http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/77118.html

Photo gallery of non-toxic and toxic algae blooms:
http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/81962.html

Copyright © 2017 Queechy Lake Club, All rights reserved.


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