By Pat Malin

John Briant retired from the New York State Police in 1982 following a distinguished 28-year career, including 10 years as a uniformed officer, four years as a station commander and the last 14 years as a BCI Investigator. Thanks to his second calling as an author, however, it’s almost as if he never hung up his uniform.

He now lives vicariously through his alter-ego “Jason Black,” a retired trooper whose dogged pursuit of the criminal element in the Adirondacks has led Briant to pen six novels in the Adirondack Detective series. His next book is due in the spring.

Q.What prompted you to become an author?
A.I always had a desire to write. When I was a kid, I used to write little poems and short stories. When I was still on the force, I wrote some short stories and they were published. One was about an escapee I helped apprehend in Lake Placid. I had my poems and short stories included in 12 anthologies even after I retired.

Q.How did you get started?
A.It had entered my mind a few years before I retired. My first book was called, “One Cop’s Story: A Life Remembered” and it was my autobiography. It was first published in 1995 and reprinted four times.

Q.Were you surprised by the reaction to your first book?
A.I was very pleased. My friend, Dick Case [columnist for the Syracuse Post-Standard] wrote a story about it when it first came out. It’s still available, but it won’t be reprinted. I saw it listed for sale on one website for $260. Apparently, I had autographed the book. It might have been the first edition, and the seller claimed I had written a letter to him.

Q.Why do all your books take place in the Adirondacks?
A. I try to have my storyline within the Blue Line [the park’s boundaries].  My wife [Marge] and I decided to retire here. The next one will also take place in the Adirondacks.

Q.Where are you from originally?
A.I was born in Theresa, outside of Watertown. In 1937, my brother, sister and I and my parents moved to Westvale in Syracuse. Later, we lived in Throopsville, outside Auburn. My father did a lot of things, running a gas station in Watertown; a salesman for Nabisco, and he operated a restaurant called the Suburban in Watertown. We also lived in Carthage. Then when my father moved to Syracuse, he worked for the government at the naval base.

Q.Did you always want a career in law enforcement?
A.No, I didn’t plan it. I graduated in 1948 from Port Byron Central School and then attended Auburn Business School. At that time, I wanted to be a teacher. I was about 17 when I first considered becoming a trooper. When I was a junior in high school, I joined the 27th Infantry Division-108th Infantry in Auburn. I trained for three summers at Camp Drum from 1947-49. I went out to Kansas City and enrolled in a radio and TV school, but I was not successful in getting a job. I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1950 and assigned to food service and radio. From September 1951 to September 1952, I was stationed in Keflavik, Iceland. I was a mess sergeant, but my training was equivalent to that of an executive chef. I was honorably discharged in August 1953. Then I went home to Auburn and my father told me about the upcoming exams for the state troopers. I remember that there were 5,000 applicants and only 125 were considered. I was one of the 50 who was hired.

Q.Where were you stationed as a trooper?
A.I reported to Division Headquarters in Albany, and then on Dec. 16, 1953, I was assigned to Troop D Headquarters in Oneida, and my starting salary was $1,600. We got an additional $4.25 a day for meals. I also worked in Pulaski, Ovid, Waterloo and Herkimer. I was the station commander at the Lafayette barracks from 1960-63. From 1953 till 1960 we all lived in the barracks. I also patrolled the Dewitt and Elbridge areas. In 1973 I transferred voluntarily to Malone and Massena.  In 1976, I transferred to Lowville and spent a year there before going to Syracuse. I also trained 13 troopers during their training phase as a senior trooper. In addition, I was a speaker at many community functions. I retired in 1982 at the age of 52.

Q.What types of cases does Jason Black handle? Where do you get your ideas for the plots?
A.Jason’s investigations are very similar to the cases I worked on.

When the leaves turn red and gold, when the geese migrate south, setting down briefly on Owasco Lake to feed and gaggle all night long outside our bedroom window, and when the boat is snuggled under its shrink-wrapped winter blanket, that’s when Janet and I abandon our deck chairs at lake’s edge and drive our automobile—laden to the roof with suitcases and junk—to paradise in Juno Beach, Fla.

Thousands upon thousands of us snowbirds commute from our homes in the Northeast to our homes or condos in the Southeast every autumn, only to return the next spring. It is a uniquely American ritual that may die off with the 55-plus generation because of the rising cost of owning and operating property in Florida and other southern vacation states.

We enjoy the drive but other snowbirds prefer to ship their cars and fly back and forth. When you see the humongous car carriers unloading in front of the condos, then you know the “season” has begun. Likewise when you see the car carriers picking up their loads in the spring, you know that the “season” is over.

Instinctual need—The human animal has not evolved much beyond the geese, whales, sharks, or other mammals that are driven by unknown instincts to seek shelter from the snow and cold of winter.

Our routes of travel include Route 81 through Pennsylvania and Virginia to Route 77 in North Carolina, Route 26 in South Carolina, and finally hooking up with 95 that travels through Georgia and Florida. The most beautiful segment of our journey is Virginia, in my humble opinion the most beautiful of all the 48.

The rolling hills and lush landscape of this Colonial state highlight the vibrant colors of autumn as well as the verdant greens of spring upon our return. Our route hugs the mighty Appalachian Mountain chain. Starting in Front Royal Virginia—opposite Washington D.C.—Skyline Drive melds into The Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway and then The Smokey Mountain Parkway and finally ends in The Great Smokey Mountain National Park in Tennessee.

The parkways generally follow Route 81 and ride high over the mountain ridges. Occasionally, when weather permits and the mood is right, we will drive the Blue Ridge Parkway from Roanoke to Fancy Gap, Va., which intersects with Route 77 just south of the intersection with Route 81. This beautiful byway takes only a few minutes more and rewards with spectacular views of the Virginia landscape.

Breath-taking view—Some of the scenic overviews overlook 100 miles to the horizon. The driver must be continuously vigilant for the occasional deer or bear that sometimes meander onto the highway from the nearby woods. Oh, and if a passenger is prone to motion sickness, forget the whole idea.

Charlotte, N.C. is the halfway point of our journey and our stop-over point. It is a beautiful, modern, cosmopolitan city totally unlike typical laid-back southern cities like Savannah, Ga. This year, we discovered a new upscale Holiday Inn that, likewise, is totally unlike the typical mom and pop motel. This attractive high-rise hotel features plush rooms with every modern ammenities including a large flat-screen TV, an inside pool, and a steakhouse restaurant off the lobby. We would have expected to pay over $200 a night for such accommodations in a major metropolitan area, but instead, thanks to off-season rates and deep discounts as a result of the recession—our rate was $89.

In spite of the enjoyable trip, we were happy to arrive at our southern home. Florida is worlds apart from Upstate New York but we welcome the change of venue. Several of our friends and neighbors in Auburn join us, some introduced to the area by us. Additionally, we have acquired many new friends from other places in the Northeast. Janet is even able to continue her weekly bridge games with the same Auburn group, unabated.

Florida has undergone a sea of change since the crash of 2008. The explosive growth that produced condominiums on every square foot of beachfront and practically every street corner—or so it seems—has come to a complete halt. Many housing projects as well as commercial building projects were halted in mid construction. Many retirees on a fixed income have seen their investment income greatly reduced, while their mortgage is upside down.

The resultant chaos has reduced property values by up to 50 percent in some cases. This situation is likely to continue for the foreseeable future and while it produces opportunities for some, it has created hardship for others.

Meanwhile, Florida remains a haven for those of us who love to be outdoors practically every day of the winter, to swim, and play, and exercise. In my estimation, it can add 10 years to your life and make the golden years shine.

By Marvin Druger

Tipping is the traveler’s dilemma. The question of “should I or shouldn’t I?” occurs whenever someone offers any services.

Perhaps, at some time in the evolutionary past, tipping was for services above and beyond the call of duty. Now, it is a way of life, and is even built into the expected basic wage.

For the traveler, tips are like taxes. The penalty for not paying is often poor service, disdainful stares or rude accusations. Like taxes, tipping is no guarantee of good service, since the tip is usually given after the service. For the world traveler, tipping is an especially difficult puzzle.

Very often, the traveler is visiting places where the traveler has not been before. Different currency may be used as the traveler passes form country to country.

Meanwhile, experienced tip hustlers await the next unsuspecting victim, and it is not easy to distinguish the hustler from the honest worker who takes pride in helping travelers, and accepts a tip as a sign of gratitude. Unfortunately, tip hustlers are common enough so that even the most trusting traveler becomes suspicious of any service rendered.

Most individuals who perform services do so with a sense of pride and purpose. They are sincerely eager to impress the traveler with the hospitality of their shop, or hotel, or country. I have been to restaurants where the waiter takes such pride in the presentation of the food that I feel I am destroying a work of art by eating it.

I have been in hotels where there is no tip expected. Indeed, sometimes tipping can be an embarrassment to the tipper and recipient alike. Once, at an airport, I needed help to carry two extremely heavy suitcases from the baggage area. A young man saw me struggling and he helped me get the luggage into my car. I thanked him and gave him a tip for his assistance. The look on his face revealed that the tip was completely unexpected, and it seemed that my mercenary manner had deprived him of the good feeling of having helped another human being simply for humanity’s sake.

Here are some tips about tipping that I’ve learned from my travels around the world:

• Learn the currency and exchange rates of the country you’re in. Countless amounts of money have been expended by travelers who do not take time to do this. Don’t treat every green bill as if it were a dollar. Also, the size of a coin often bears little relation to its value. I recall giving the cab driver in Spain a tip that was larger than the fare, and my wife recalls giving a penny tip to a cab driver. You must also avoid the common feeling that foreign coins are play money, and that only U.S. currency is real. Remember that all money is real, or you will have a sad awakening when you return home.

• Obtain a guide book and read about tipping practices in the country you are visiting. Information about tipping practices can often be obtained by asking the tourist bureau representative at the point of entry. The Web is also a good source for information about tipping.

Americans have a tendency to feel that the customary tip seems too low, and they tip according to American standards. This can be a costly mistake, both to you, and to people of other nationalities that visit the country. Higher tips beget higher expectations. Being American and giving higher tips will not get you better service; it will simply result in an emptier pocket. So, stay within the customary tipping range, no matter how unreasonable it may seem by our standards.

• Plan your tipping in advance and try to anticipate all possible developments. First, be sure to have bills and coins of all denominations. It is awkward to have only large denomination money in a tipping situation.

Think of all the places you plan to go and anticipate all the types of tip-seekers you might meet. Plan how much you will tip each person. I spent an hour planning how to tip my way out of a hotel the following morning. In this hotel, the doorman called for a taxi; two young men who usually greeted guests appeared outside. Then, two hotel porters appeared with the luggage. The ultimate dilemma, i.e., who to tip and how much I flung bills frantically into any hands that appeared in a desperate attempt to get out of there as quickly as possible. The taxi drove away. I had that relieved feeling, but only for five minutes, when I suddenly realized that the hotel had overcharged me. With a renewed sense of righteousness, I had the taxi turn back. I reclaimed my overcharge and walked out of the hotel with the sense of freedom and dignity that I should have experienced the first time.

• The tip hustler is not embarrassed about seeking a tip, so you should not be embarrassed about deciding whether or not to give one. In some instances, the approach is very direct. In New York City, a porter at a dock terminal loaded my suitcases on a cart, wheeled the cart about 20 feet into the elevator, and met me outside the elevator on the first floor. I gave him what I thought was a generous tip for the service performed. “That’s not enough,” was the thank you I received. Because I had not yet learned not to be embarrassed and the psychology of tipping, I gave the porter more money.

In Tangier, Morocco, a young man escorted my family into the Caves of Hercules. After five minutes of trivial remarks, we emerged and the boy jingled coins in his pocket. Then, he spoke the most meaningful word that he had said thus far, “Tip!” Again, I felt embarrassed and gave him a tip that was higher than the price of admission to the caves.

• Tip after, not before. Whenever possible, avoid tipping before the service is performed, or you may never get the service. I recall picking up some coats from a coat check person in a restaurant. When I approached the cloakroom, I dropped two dollar bills into the little dish on the ledge. First, she couldn’t find the coat; finally, after some delay, she found an umbrella without a handle and gave it to me, insisting that it was mine. Meanwhile, she knocked other coats and hats onto the floor. After 10 minutes, she located the coats, and virtually threw them at me. While all this was going on, I looked wistfully at my two dollars sitting in the little dish, wondering how and why they had gotten there.

• Anticipate whether or not a situation calls for service assistance. At many airports, moving your luggage from a car to a checkout counter is a relatively short distance. The usual, “Can I help you, sir?” can be politely, but firmly, countered with, “No thank you. I can handle it.” Then it is easy to transport suitcases one at a time over the short distance to the check-in counter. The trip is so quick that there is no time for guilt feelings or embarrassment.

However, it’s important to be careful in assessing the need for service, or this approach may backfire. This happened to me in a luxury hotel in Hilo on the big island of Hawaii. Our rented car was parked just outside the registration area of the hotel that consisted of a scattered complex of three-story units. The hostess registered us and served drinks to the family. She gave us the key to our room and said the bellboy would help us with our luggage and would escort us to our unit when we were ready. While I sipped my blue Hawaiian drink, I evaluated the situation. “You and the kids walk to the room,” I whispered to my wife, “while I drive our car around to our housing unit and deliver the suitcases.” Whistling a Hawaiian melody, I slipped out the front door and into the car. I drove the car around the complex and parked in the back of unit 10. Then, I discovered that our rooms were on the third floor, and there was no elevator. It was also a hot, sunny, humid day. After four memorable trips up and down the stairs to and from the third floor, I wondered whether parting with a few dollars tip to the bellboy would have been a better idea after all.

Like many travelers, I have learned about tipping the hard way. Many people find tipping to be a distraction from thoroughly enjoying the people and the country they travel in. It is the constant nag of who and how much. Most travelers (including myself) would prefer that service charges be included in the overall billing, with an understanding by all that there is absolutely no additional tipping. If workers are paid lower wages because tips are expected to make up the difference (a common practice), their tips can be built into the overall cost.

We had that experience recently on a cruise ship around the Mediterranean. Tips were built into the cost of the trip. The ship’s staff was very helpful and satisfied, since they received their well-deserved due. Until such a policy becomes universal, the traveler must be alert about tipping. It should not be a birthright, or a form of blackmail, but a reward for good services rendered. We live in a tip-oriented world, and I like having all-inclusive trips. They prevent my family from calling me by a nickname they adopted for me in Spain, “El Cheapo.”

• Marvin Druger is a professor emeritus at Syracuse University.

By Sandra Scott

What do wings and Waldorf salad have in common with spiedies and salt potatoes? They all originated in New York state along with other favorites. Every area of New York state has its local favorites but some are world famous.

Buffaloes may not have wings but the Anchor Bar in Buffalo does. The Anchor Bar was the birthplace of the world-famous Buffalo wings. Late on a Friday night in 1964, Dominic Bellissimo was tending bar at the Anchor Bar Restaurant when a group of his friends arrived looking for something to stave off their hanger pangs. Teressa, Dominic’s mother, deep-fried the chicken wings usually destined for the soup stockpot. Flavored with her secret sauce, the wings were an instant hit and the word spread — worldwide. Although many have tried to duplicate the original Buffalo wings, the closely guarded secret recipe is what makes the Anchor Bar home to the “Best Wings in the World.” Regardless, Buffalo wings are on the menu of most restaurants.

Two favorite menu items owe their popularity to New York City’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Waldorf salad was an instant success when it was created by the hotel’s maître d’hôtel, Oscar Tshcirky in 1896.

The original version of the salad contained apples, celery and mayonnaise served on a bed of lettuce. Chopped walnuts later became an integral part of the dish.

Thousand Island dressing was born in Clayton. Legend has it that around the turn of the century, Sophia LaLonde, wife of a 1000 Islands fishing guide, shared her dressing recipe with a prominent stage actress named May Irwin, who dubbed it Thousand Island dressing. Irwin gave the recipe to fellow 1000 Islands summer visitor George C. Boldt who was in the process of having a castle built. Boldt, the owner of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, instructed that it be included on the hotel’s menu where it was introduced to the world.

Saratoga Springs can boast that it is the home of two American favorites — potato chips and the club sandwich. The original potato chip recipe was created in

Saratoga Springs in 1853. It seems that in 1853 a wealthy guest was dining at Moon’s Lake House where George Crum worked as a cook. The specialty of the house was Moon’s Fried Potatoes, which were cut in thick slices. A guest, perhaps a bit ornery from the summer heat, sent his order back declaring they were too thick and soggy. When the second order was also sent back Crum was not appreciative of the criticism so he sliced the potatoes as thin as he could, fried them to a fare-the-well, and salted them thinking he had made them impossible to eat with a fork. Much to Crum’s surprise the patron loved them and ordered a second serving. The word spread and soon others were ordering Crum’s Chips.

Most sources credit John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, with inventing the sandwich in 1781 but people had been putting meat between slabs of bread for generations. However, the club sandwich owes its existence to Danny Mears, a line cook at the famous Saratoga Club House, an exclusive gambling establishment that did not allow women or locals in their gambling rooms. A traditional club sandwich has three slices of toasted bread with a bottom layer of turkey and the top layer of bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise.

In 1845 Peter Cooper patented a gelatin product but it never “jelled.” Then in 1897, Pearle Wait of LeRoy, came up with a fruit flavored dessert gelatin, which his wife named Jell-O. In 1899 he sold his formula to a fellow townsman for the sum of $450. The formula’s new owner sent out salesmen in “spanking new rigs, drawn by beautiful horses” to promote this new product destined to make dessert preparation easier for the housewife. As the saying goes, the rest is history. Visitors can learn all about “America’s Most Famous Dessert” at the Jell-O Museum in LeRoy.

The Binghamton area is home of the speidie. A speidie is made of cubes of meat, usually chicken or pork but any meat will do, marinated overnight in the special spiedie marinade, grilled — preferable over a charcoal fire — and served on Italian bread or a submarine roll. The traditional spiedie marinade is made of olive oil, vinegar, a variety of Italian spices and fresh mint. A Spiedie Fest has been held in Binghamton every August since 1983.

A New York City favorite, the egg cream is an interesting beverage because it contains neither eggs nor cream. It is made of chocolate syrup, milk and seltzer water. It is thought to have originated with Louis Auster of Brooklyn in the late 1800s. The fountain drink is similar to an ice cream soda without the ice cream. Some say the name is a corruption of “Grade A Cream” which was used to make the drink while others say it comes from the German word for “echt” meaning “genuine” or “real.”

A local favorite hard to find outside Central New York owes its existence to the salt deposits near Syracuse, the “Salt City.” During the 18th century workers in the salt industry on Onondaga Lake, most of whom were Irish immigrants, would cook their lunch of potatoes in the salty brine. The tasty treats are best served with plenty of butter. The salt industry is no more but visitors can learn about it at the Salt Museum in Liverpool.

Some foods such as the Coney Island hot dog and hamburger have such a convoluted past that it is hard to pin down their exact origins.

Others are variations of established foods such as Long Island duck derived from Peking Duck. Long Island was once known as the “Duck Capital of the World” and the famous Big Duck in Flanders is still a favorite tourist stop.

Local favorites or world famous, New York state is home to “food, glorious food.”

Tony Funicello is an amazing guy. At age 67, this trim, muscular athletic man is an accomplished race car driver and one of the leading racing instructors in the country. During the summer season he commutes to Upstate New York from his Florida residence to conduct race training at Watkins Glen International Raceway.

His training sessions are animated with illustrations, demonstrations and war stories from his racing experiences.

One of his favorite demonstrations is to call a student to the front of the class and ask him to raise both arms above his head and clench his hands together into a fist.

Then Tony instructs the student to “Try and resist my pushing your arms down.” He is always able to push the student’s arms down. Then he has the student raise his arms again and says: “Do your best to keep me from pushing your arms down again.”

This time the student stiffens his resistance and is able to keep his arms upright.

Tony explains, “The first time I asked him to try and resist; the second time I told him to do your best. The first time his brain was wired only to try; the second time his brain was wired to release adrenalin to his muscles – and do it!”

According to Tony, this demonstration never fails. I have witnessed it and can attest to its effectiveness, thus acknowledging the human mind’s incredible control over the body.

Racing cars is a young man’s game. Perhaps no other sport calls for faster reflexes and greater concentration. However, age does not take much of a toll on reflexes — it does take a toll on concentration.

In the major leagues of racing, a race car driver is old at 50. One notable exception was Paul Newman, who happens to be my role model for more than just being a major league race car driver. Newman was never caught up in his fame and fortune and dedicated much of his life to helping others. His creation of the “Hole-in-the-Wall Gang,” a camp for youths with terminal cancer, is but one example of his inspirational life. His last race was the grueling 24 Hours of Daytona when he was 79. Incidentally, Paul’s race car proudly displayed the number 79.

I started racing at age 69 and proudly display that number on my race car.

Racing is one of the greatest challenges of my life and after almost a decade of racing it is still a challenge — more so than being an airplane pilot.

The most difficult aspect is the tremendous concentration that is required. While racing, at up to 150 miles an hour (not to mention the 200-plus MPH speeds that an Indy car driver achieves), you must be aware of what is going on all around you, while at the same time concentrating on the road ahead, and being prepared for a possible emergency around the next corner.

Tony says that if you divert your eyes into the cockpit (to check instruments for example) it takes two fifths of a second to refocus on the road ahead. At 150 MPH that is half the length of a football field.

After a few hours of racing it is not hard to understand why your concentration wanes. Racing is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical. More than any other sport, it illustrates the tremendous capacity of the human brain for mind over matter.

The point of all this is that aging is as much a mental condition as it is a physical condition.

I have written many times in this column about people who retire to their easy chair, let the world go by and prepare to die.

Usually, their mind precedes their body to the grave.

There is ample evidence to suggest that aging can be controlled and extended by exercising the brain and the body. The brain is much like a muscle: if you do not exercise it regularly, it will atrophy.

Studies have shown that those who regularly do mental exercise, such as cross word puzzles, word games, and even watching Jeopardy, are much less likely to suffer dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

To this we add racing as an exciting, rewarding and challenging mind exercise. Not for everyone but for the few of us old frogs who get a kick out hearing from our fellow racers — “you’re how old?”

By Sandra Scott

Bird watching is an inexpensive, rewarding recreational activity and a great way to enjoy nature. It can be done in any locality worldwide. New Yorkers are fortunate because the area along the Seaway Trail offers excellent bird watching year round. All one needs are binoculars and a bird identification book. “Birding in the Great Lakes Seaway Trail,” a new book published by the Seaway Trail, makes the pastime more enjoyable. Authored by Gerald Smith, the guide is divided into regions listing birds one can expect to find in each location and color-coded for easy use.

Rachel Carson — In 1962 the first of three installments of Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” appeared in “The New Yorker” and that September her book of the same name was published. As a book-of-the-month club selection, Carson’s words breathed new vitality into the environmentalist movement.

Carson wrote, “We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost’s familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road — the one less traveled by — offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of the earth.”

Carson foretold a world without birds — a silent spring — if people did not pay more attention to the environment, which she feared was doomed. She was especially critical of the use of pesticides that were endangering the avian population.

Her words caused such a public outcry that it led to the banning of DDT in 1972 followed by the Clean Water Act, which allowed cormorants, herons and other nesters to breed successfully in once polluted wetlands.

Carson would be pleased if she could see the large number and variety of birds now found in Central New York.

New York’s State Bird — The New York state bird is the Eastern bluebird. Once you see this beautiful bird you will never forget its unique appearance.
The male bird has beautiful blue wings and a blue head with large black eyes and a thin, pointed brown bill. The bird has a white underside with a reddish and brown breast.

For one hundred years the population of the Eastern bluebirds was in a steady decline due to a number of factors, including loss of habitats and the increased use of pesticides. Due to the cleaning of the environment and those who dedicated time and energy to preserving the bluebird (including building bluebird houses), it is no longer considered threatened.

Not only has New York’s state bird enjoyed resurgence and so has America’s national bird, the bald eagle. Between 1976 and 1988 the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation introduced 200 juvenile baldeagles into the wetland areas that led to nesting adults that now raise their young along the Seaway Trail where they can be seen soaring above the trees and along the shoreline.

Nature’s Theater — Birding is something you can do in your own back yard, your local park or anywhere you travel. Birdwatchers observe birds in their natural habitat and learn to identify them by sight and sound. In North America, there are over 800 species of birds with at least 100 species that are easy to spot in the Central New York area.

It is always a thrill to see a flash of red as a cardinal takes flight from a group of pine trees or catch sight of the stately great blue heron standing is the shallow water along the shore or hear the joyful sound of the yellow warbler.

Birding is the fastest-growing outdoor activity in America. According to a survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 51.3 million Americans report that they watch birds, and more are taking it up all the time. It is something all ages enjoy and it makes a wonderful multigenerational pastime.

Bird Watching along the Seaway Trail — The entire 518-miles of the Seaway Trail from the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Pennsylvania border is perfect for bird watching but there are some areas that are especially worthwhile. During the winter in the Braddock Bay-Rochester region you may be one of the lucky ones to spot an arctic gull, a snowy owl, or even a rare Harris’s sparrow. Wintering in the area are mergansers, ducks, and gulls.

When spring comes to the Sodus Bay area be on the lookout for migrant songbirds along with the broad-winged hawk, the red-bellied woodpecker, and osprey. Trumpeter swans nest at the Lakeshore Marshes Wildlife Management area.

The 1,400 acres of Sterling Nature Center with two miles of shoreline, six miles of hiking trails, and a heron rookery offers excellent birding year round.
Dedicated birders are familiar with Derby Hill Observatory in the town of Mexico. It is one of the finest sites for observing the spring migration when all 15 raptor species can be seen and between September and December large numbers of waterfowls and water birds can be spotted.

The Eastern Lake Ontario dunes in the Sandy Pond area is a unique ecosystem with freshwater barrier dunes along with coastal barrier dunes that protect extensive freshwater wetlands that are the habitat for breeding and migratory birds. May and June are excellent for spotting black terns, Least Bittern, warblers, vireos, and thrushes.

Great Lakes Seaway Trail Birding Interpretive Panels along the shore aid in bird watching. More birding information is found on the Seaway Trail website (seawaytrail.com) including a Great Lakes Seaway Trail Birding Checklist to help birders keep track of birds they have spotted.

Every season is perfect for bird watching. Central New Yorkers are blessed with a plethora of bird watching areas.

Besides the sites along the Seaway Trail visit Montezuma Wildlife Refuge, Beaver Lake Nature Center, and SUNY Oswego’s Rice Creek Field Station.

By Sandra Scott

Learn about life in the past lane by visiting one of New York’s recreated villages. Explore the 17th century French fort on Onondaga Lake, wander the pathways of a 19th century country village in Genesee County, and at the Erie Canal Village in Rome find out how the Erie Canal changed the United States forever.

St. Marie among the Iroquois

During the 17th century the French settled in Canada. The people of the powerful Iroquois Confederacy lived south of the French Canadian settlements. The Confederacy was comprised of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas. The French and Native Americans were interested in trading with one another. The Native Americans traded furs for glass beads, cloth, and metal tools. As part of a 1653 peace treaty the Iroquois invited the French to visit the land of the Onondagas.

Father Simon LeMoyne, a Jesuit priest, was chosen by the French governor to work with the Onondagas because of his previous experience with Native Americans. On Aug. 5, 1654, LeMoyne and his small party reached the main Onondaga village near present day Manlius. LeMoyne spent two weeks preaching peace and religion then returned to Quebec.The next year the Onondaga chief invited the “Black Robes” to return to build a mission and teach them about the Christian religion. In 1656 about 50 Frenchmen and their Iroquois guides left Quebec with 20 canoes loaded with supplies, tools, baby pigs and chickens along with other items they would need in their mission. They arrived on July 11, 1656 not far from the present location of St. Marie among the Iroquois, the living history museum and village in Liverpool. The mission only lasted 20 months. Troubles developed over trade and religion plus a new French governor lost interest in the project.

Constructed like the original mission, today’s St. Marie among the Iroquois is surrounded by a stockade with a lookout affording a great view of Onondaga Lake. In the museum life-size figures portray the 1653 peace treaty negotiations presenting varying attitudes to the treaty. The mission is a living history project with costumed interpreters on weekends during the summer that includes a blacksmith, cooks, woodworkers and other craftspeople.

Genesee Country Village

Experience a living, working 19th-century country village, complete with over 40 furnished buildings ranging from a pioneer homestead to a grand octagon house. Strolling through the village you will find costumed historic interpreters and a variety of live demonstrations that includes throwing pottery, cooking, and blacksmithing.

Typical of all country villages, Genesee County Village and Museum in Mumford, southwest of Rochester, has a blacksmith. The blacksmith shop was a place where people would gather to share local gossip and discuss world events. An amazing number of blacksmith phrases are still in use today. As blacksmith Jim Nicoll shares, “Blacksmithing is an art as well as a craft. It was important to ‘hit the nail on the head’ and to ‘strike while the iron is hot.’ And you should never ‘have too many irons in the fire.’” Nicoll explains that, “the word ‘brand’ comes from the smithy who, as far back as ancient Egypt, would use an iron firebrand with a distinctive design to mark his cattle. Merchants promoted the products they developed by using their ‘brand name’ and when they came out with a new product it was brand new.’”

Visit the mercantile, chat with the teacher in the one-room schoolhouse, watch the cooper fashion a barrel and learn about 19th century cooking techniques. The tinsmith will show visitors how to punch out their very own tin ornament. Genesee Country Village, one of the largest living history museums in the country, is also home to the John L. Wehle Art Gallery and the boyhood home of George Eastman, the founder of Eastman Kodak Company.

The Erie Canal Village

Erie Canal Village in Rome is the only place in New York state where people can ride on a horse-drawn canal boat. Truly it is a trip in the slow lane as the speed limit was five miles an hour. In the 1800s the canal was very busy with barges carrying people and products. There was often a waiting line to get through the locks. In its day it was state-of-the-art travel.

A video in the Orientation Building offers an excellent background on the construction of the Erie Canal, which has been compared to the building of pyramids. On July 4, 1817, construction started in Rome because it was considered the stretch with the least obstacles to overcome. The first stretch connected the Mohawk to Wood Creek and was busy from the moment it was opened. When the Erie Canal was completed in 1825 it was the longest canal in the world and became a significant factor in the development of the United States.

In the one-room schoolhouse  visitors will find seats that held students from 1856 to 1953. The lunch pails are lined up on the shelf by the window next to the water pail with a dipper that was shared by everyone. Miss Jones, the schoolteacher, shares information about the days when reading, and ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic were taught to the tune of the hickory stick.

The Erie Canal Village is home to three museums. The main focus is the canal museum. Besides the school and blacksmith shop there is a church, livery stable, Ft. Bull Railroad Station, a canal store, and a settler’s house. The Harden Museum displays horse-drawn vehicles of the era while the New York State Museum of Cheese explores the history of cheese making.

More Living History sites

Other living history villages in New York State include the Farmer’s Museum in Cooperstown, which explores rural heritage and farming history and Old Bethpage on Long Island, a recreated mid-19th-century American village that can trace its roots to Dutch and English settlements. At Fort Ontario, Fort Stanwix, and Old Fort Niagara visitors can learn about the various groups that defended what is New York State today.

By Sandra Scott

Today picturesque Sackets Harbor is a serene town that hugs the shore of Lake Ontario, which belies its tumultuous past. Following the outbreak of the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain, Sackets Harbor became the center of American naval and military activity in the upper St. Lawrence Valley and Lake Ontario.

Standing on the porch of the Commandant’s House looking out over what was once the battlefield it was hard to envision what the peaceful, green expanse looked like during the summer of 1813.

There were two long log barracks that housed 1,000 soldiers each and all the equipment needed to supply 2,000 soldiers. During the War of 1812, Sackets Harbor was an active station where naval ships were constructed and supplied. With easy access to timber, the area developed into an extensive shipyard.

A major battle occurred on May 29, 1813, when the British attempted to destroy the American shipyard. At that time the majority of the American forces was across Lake Ontario attacking Fort George. The remaining Americans drove off the enemy, but a fire that destroyed their military stores marred their narrow victory. In 1814, the 9,600-pound great rope, made famous in the book of the same name by the late historian Rosemary Nesbitt, was transported by lake and then overland on the shoulders of local volunteers from Oswego to Sackets Harbor. It was needed as an anchor rope for the newly launched frigate, The Superior. In the Ice House a video, “The Lion and Eagle,” depicts the conflict.

The Commandant’s House shows the lifestyle of the 1860s. Interestingly, few of the artifacts actually belonged to the occupants, Josiah Tattnall and his family. Tattnall sided with the Confederacy during the Civil War. Considered a traitor, his possessions were auctioned off to buy uniforms for local soldiers.
Regardless, there are many period things to see from the horsehair chairs to the tin-lined pantry. Living history programs, costumed interpreters, and the colonial garden help add to the understanding of the 1800s.

Sackets Harbor Battlefield is designated as one the top 10 War of 1812 historic sites where history comes alive at the annual reenactments.

Next to the battle site is the Pickering-Beach Museum. The long rambling 1817 house was home to families that were important in the development of the area. It offers more insight to the era.

Sackets Harbor played a part in every war up to and including World War II.

Madison Barracks is today a historic residential community on the site of Fort Volunteer, which was later named Fort Pike in honor of General Zebulon Pike, of Pike’s Peak fame.

Pike was killed during an attack on York, today known as Toronto; his body was brought back to Sackets Harbor for burial. Through the years the barracks served as a frontier post, military depot, hospital and training center for both civilians and the military.

The first stop in Sackets Harbor should be the Seaway Trail Discovery Center with detailed information on Sackets Harbor along with all the other sites along the 504 miles of the Seaway Trail. Housed in what was once a hotel, visitors learn about history, the area’s economic development, and coastal recreation along with local wildlife. The hotel was a gathering place during its heyday. Chat with the animatronic Ulysses S. Grant who was stationed in Sackets Harbor at Madison Barracks before his Presidency.

Another animatronic display is the ladylike cow comfy in her alcove stall adjoining the kitchen room. She explains life on a dairy farm and how important she is to the local economy.

Just minutes from the village visit Old McDonald’s Farm where during the tour of the cow barn LaWanda, the guide, explains, “Here girls rule and boys drool.”

The working farm has 700 cows. They are milked three times a day making it a 24-hour process. The farm provides fun and learning for the whole family. Did you know that rabbits can come in 150 coat colors but have only five different eye colors? And, how many eggs does the average chicken lay each year? The answer is 20 dozen. What does the owner of a farm get for a birthday present? A llama, of course, so the first llama does not get lonesome — and the camel needs company, too. The Robbins family has transformed their 1200-acre farm into a visitor-friendly working farm with over 1,000 animals and farm tours, featuring their Wizard of Oz Hayride along with a variety of seasonal events. Truly an agricultural adventure for all ages.

The arts are flourishing in Sackets Harbor. The Samuel F. Hooker House Arts Center is housed in the 1808 Hooker House, home of an early and prosperous merchant.

Besides showcasing work by local artists and special exhibits they have two large studio spaces where they offer classes and workshops. Nearby a private gallery displays and sells the work of Lawrence C. Barone with a focus on the Upstate New York landscape. Year round the Lake Ontario Playhouse is home to stand-up comedy from the national circuit and during the summer there are professional theatrical performances.

A three-hour motor coach group tour and walking tours are available from the Sackets Harbor Visitor’s Center housed in the 1802 Augustus Sackett Mansion. The tours highlight the village’s history, architectural landmarks, the importance of Sackets Harbor’s past, and the growth of the village in the last 30 years.

During the summer there are weekly Sunday waterfront concerts.

Stay at one of the many quaint B&Bs or Ontario Place Hotel, which offers accommodations with the option for a private chef. It is also home to the Sackets Harbor Brewing Company.

Today Sackets Harbor is a beautiful resort town with many attractions not the least of which is boating. Enjoy history, dining out, art galleries, and shopping for unique crafts, artwork, or antiques.
For more information check www.sacketsharborny.com or call 315-646-2321.