Status Report: 11-16-08

The Grace Peak Proposal

Status and Work in Progress
Courtesy of Douglas R. Arnold
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Powerpoint Presentations to Raise Awareness of and Promote the Grace Peak Proposal


September 13th, 2008 the Adirondack Mountain Club approved a resolution to support of the Grace Peak Project. While the project is not complete that resolution concludes the ADK lecture tour so to speak. However, for those that have a desire to learn more about Grace Hudowalski and Russell Carson we plan on scheduling presentation dates is Essex county and the Town of North Hudson to continue the quest.

Meetings held to date

· Essex County

· Town of North Hudson

· Town of Keene

· ADK Trails Committee

· At ADK information center following the 2004 meeting

Lectures to the General Public

• Adirondack Loj/High Peaks Information Center (HPIC) (on two occasions)
• Keene Valley Library
• ADK Executive Committee

Lectures to ADK Chapters

All ADK Chapters which have seen the presentation to date have sent letters supporting the proposal to the Grace Peak Committee.

• Algonquin
• Laurentian
• North Woods
• Long Island
• Genesee Valley
• Niagara Frontier
• Black River
• Onondaga
• Iroquois Chapter
• Schenectady Chapter
• Albany Chapter
• Glenns Falls Rotary
• Mid Hudson (date forthcoming)
Future engagements see “Upcoming Events”
 

· Essex County
· Town of North Hudson
· Mid Hudson (date forthcoming)
Third Annual Grace Hudowalski Essay Contest


Grace Hudowalski, on her own initiative, ran an essay contest for high school students in the Schroon Lake area from 1957 to 1974 and awarded prizes for the best essay on an Adirondack theme. In memory of this contest, a collaboration of the Adirondack 46ers, the Adirondack 46ers Conservation Trust, and the Schroon North Hudson Historical Society revived the contest in 2007.

2008 Contest twelve entries were received, and prizes of cash scholarships and camperships at Poke-O-McCready Camps were awarded. The awards ceremony in Schroon Lake attracted a large audience of local people. All enjoyed strawberry shortcake and entertainment by Adirondack Story Teller Bill Smith.

Work is now underway to run the contest again in 2009. The award ceremony will again be held in conjunction with the Schroon Lake Strawberry Festival. The date, in June, and the entertainment will soon be announced.
Letters of Support Campaign
 


The Grace Peak Committee continues to assemble letters of support, of two kinds: from Adirondack people of note, including local and State politicians; and from members of the general public who have an interest in the mountains. This is now underway.
Initiating Files at Agencies Controlling Geographic Names
 


The agencies that set the official names of geographic features are: at the State level, the New York State Committee on Geographic Names, and at the Federal level, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, an agency of the U.S. Geological Survey. The Grace Peak Committee has submitted a request to both agencies to open a file on the Grace Peak Proposal, to serve as an archive of information supporting the proposal. Such a request does not constitute making an application for a name change, but it does effectively serve notice that an application is in preparation.

The Committee has also been actively collecting historical information that supports the proposal. Some examples include new clippings about the honorees, as well as letters of support received. These items will be filed on the application record.

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