I guess maybe I have watched more Winter Carnival Gala Parades than anyone else in town. Wait, that’s a big maybe, because Walter (Bud) Duffy has been here longer than meself, so he is probably the winner in that category.
Last Saturday there were more spectators packed on the streets for that parade than I have seen in a long, long time.
The parade — hold it, let my Enterprise cohort, reporter Aaron Marbone tell about the parade:
“The Gala Parade on Saturday brought in more than 40 groups of costumed marchers, dancers and drummers on a sunny afternoon. Riding on chariots, getting soaked in paint or waving canoe paddles, performers filled the roads with noise, candy, glitter and gunsmoke.”
Hats off to all who make this great spectacle happen every year. Jeff Branch and all his staff on the Carnival committee — can’t say enough about the Ice Palace workers — they make that palace appear like magic. And if you notice some of the huge chunks of ice melting a little, even when it’s freezing outside — it is caused by the workers sweating.
My pal and Enterprise colleague, Bob Seidenstein, BS for short, hit the ball outta the park with his great idea to create the bathing suit, BS for short, bicycle event. There were 75 registered racers in the event but the number who actually participated is said to have reached 100, following a bicycle event at Dewey Mountain recreational area.
Bob does not have to prove his love for his home town because we all know how he feels about Saranac Lake. But now with his bicycle race being such a wild success along with his already established “Brothers of the Bush” — bearded gentlemen — marching shoulder-to-shoulder, he has established two forever events for the Winter Carnival Gala Parade.
BS being towed through the parade in a chariot built of wood, by other bearded boys of the bush, was enough to scare any gladiator out of the Colosseum.
I am embarrassed to say, that I have to have a dictionary by my side as I religiously read Bob’s column every Friday in the Enterprise. The former English professor at Paul Smith’s College uses words unknown to me.
Now, to top off his various formal degrees he has two PhDs in BS. Please read about my friend Bob on page 180 of Volume I of my book “You Know What.” It tells about our friendship, but the chapter also carries his picture and touches somewhat about his career in the United States Navy.
Winter Carnival history
In 1997, the Enterprise published a beautiful, detailed, 32-page tabloid-sized supplement about the history of the Winter Carnival. The front page is in full color blasting with fireworks over the palace.
Mary B. Hotaling wrote a history of Winter Carnivals past and in her approximately 8,000 word story she included this:
“In 1896, major ice palaces were built in St. Paul, Minnesota, Quebec, Canada and Leadville, Colorado — the most ever built in one year.”
I can’t do justice to Mary’s story in this small space but here are a couple of briefs that tell about the beginning of Saranac Lake Winter Carnivals.
“The only contemporary account of the 1897 event is a small, after-the-fact item on the front page of the Press-Republican on February 25. ‘The Pontiac Club of Saranac Lake held a fancy dress winter carnival on Lake Flower on the 17th. About two hundred people gathered to witness the hockey match. The evening session was the most pleasing of all, about three hundred men, women and children skaters being there in some kind of fancy costume. Small as it was, the carnival was successful enough to be repeated in an expanded version the following year.’
“The headlines read, ‘Ice Carnival at Saranac Lake; Winter Sports and Pastimes to Enliven the Adirondack Metropolis.’
“The mercury at Saranac Lake Sunday morning registered 42 degrees below zero, but this exceedingly cold weather does not seem to lower the spirits of the inhabitants. On the contrary, it seems to be invigorating, for enthusiasm there over winter sports is just now at its height.
“The toboggan slide opened January 1st and the Pontiac Club have concluded to hold an ice carnival January 21 and 22, the two days following the ice races. [Horses, not people.] An ice palace and fort will be built opposite the Club House.”
Mary is the author of a great book about Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau, “A Rare Romance in Medicine.” And Mary, the long time historian for the town of Harrietstown, and as executive director of Historic Saranac Lake, was the driving force that put that organization on the map. She then turned the reins over to the present exec, the dynamic Amy Catania.
