2022
The Friends of St Regis Mt Fire Tower participated in the statewide Lighting of the Fire Towers event on Sept 3rd sponsored by the NYS chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association. This was the 6th time the St Regis tower joined in and the 9th year FFLA held the lighting. Board members Tom Hirshblond and Bob Brand carried an array of lights to the summit in time to enjoy a beautiful sunset with "golden hour" fantastic views of the nearby plethora of ponds and lakes and distant Adirondack peaks. Friend and photographer extraordinaire Mark Boyce was, as usual for this event, on the summit for the entire show. We thank him for many of the photos he contributes.
Meanwhile the Lake Clear Lodge hosted a special tower lighting dinner with an informative talk and slideshow by Friends board president Doug Fitzgerald followed up by tower viewing from their beach. The slideshow (without audio – sorry) can be viewed here Slideshow at Lake Clear Lodge 2022.
It all came off without a hitch. The weather cooperated. We enjoyed a nice sunset from the summit with some interesting radiating cloud formations, saw far off lightning that was a bit of a concern until we determined it was coming from a storm northwest of Montreal, and tried to figure out where a couple of fireworks displays were coming from.
The Lake Clear Lodge event had an excellent attendance for the dinner, Doug’s presentation and viewing the lighting from their private beach. Lake Clear was calm and the light reflected in a beam across the water. Mary Brand greeted the guests and Doug made the rounds of the tables, handing out stickers and chatting folks up. After dinner he presented the slideshow outlining the history of the tower and our role in the restoration and interpretation. After that everyone all headed down to the shore and watched the light appear. The stars were out along with the moon and Jupiter. They talked by phone to Bob on the tower and visited until the lights went out.
2021
9/4/21 was our 5th annual lighting of the tower and the 8th statewide. The day was filled with activities on the trail, on the summit and tower during the daytime, at many locations with views of the tower in the evening - most especially the Lake Clear Lodge and the Paul Smith's VIC - and of course on the tower for the lighting!
The lighting of the towers event started in the Catskills and has spread to other towers around New York. In their heyday, fire towers and their observers kept watchful eyes over the land, spotting fires in early detection efforts. The lights from this event serve as a reminder for those who looked up and saw a glowing tower, and of the people and towers who looked over communities for the better part of the 1900s.
During the day, board members Doug and Jack joined Paul Smith's College VIC director Scott van Laer to lead a hike to the St. Regis Mt. tower. Steward Ethan met the group on the summit to share his knowledge and experiences being the steward all summer. It was a wonderful day to be on the mountain.
Participant Bill sent us these pictures he took from the cab:
Board members Bob and Rich hiked up early with the intention of doing some painting before lighting the tower. Friend Mark Boyce and another new friend - Jay Berkman who traveled from Canton - stayed with us throughout the lighting.
Bob preparing for his hike up the mountain:
Painting:
Some of the visitors we had during the daylight hours:
Dusk from the mountain top; preparing for the photo shoot
Bob getting the lights ready:
After the guided hike, the VIC held a gathering for folks to see the lighting from the Center's deck.
Meanwhile, board members Nancy, Scottie and Ed and many others gathered at the Lake Clear Lodge. They enjoyed a fine meal and stories of St. Regis Mt by Ernest. Ed gave a talk about the history of the tower. Then they all went down to the beach to see the tower lit up.
At 9PM, St Regis Mountain Firetower came to life. Lighting up the TOWER!!!
After the lights were out, this photo taken by "illuminator" Rich with help from his headlamp
And then, a couple days after the lighting and all the ceremony, Ernest Hohmeyer of the Lake Clear Lodge presents board member Rich with a check for $350. The Lodge has been a wonderful supporter of the tower and all the work FOSRMFT does. Thank you!
10.11.21: As a thank you, board member Bob presents a beautiful picture of the tower lit up to Ernest and Kathy Hohmeyer of Lake Clear Lodge & Retreat . The Lodge has hosted a Friends of St. Regis Mountain Fire Tower lighting the tower party for the last 4 years.
2020
9/5/2020: Board members Bob and Janelle participated in the Seventh Annual Lighting of NYS Fire Towers, the 4th year for St Regis Fire Tower and the third year for Bob and Janelle! Our reputation has grown pretty well over these past few years and this year we were joined by four new friends on the summit Mark Boyce, Dawn, Kelly and Laura! There was some wild weather but we all had a grand time. It rained. It was sunny. There was something different happening in every direction. Janelle and Mark supplied the wonderful photos seen here.
Meanwhile, Board members Nancy, Ed and Rich enjoyed a meal at the Lake Clear Lodge along with many other friends in a very safe environment. Then we all walked down to the lake to witness a spectacular lighting of the tower!
The lighting event started in the Catskills and has spread to other towers around New York. In their heyday, fire towers and their observers kept watchful eyes over the land, spotting fires in early detection efforts. The lights from this event served as a reminder for those who looked up and saw a glowing tower, and of the people and towers who looked over communities for the better part of the 1900s.
2019
8/31/19: This was St Regis Mountain Tower’s third lighting and the 6th annual lighting state wide. This year the St Regis tower lit up brighter than before. Last year was quite windy; this year conditions were perfect. Also, the “lighting crew” carried up 10 implements of mass lighting! This year’s crew consisted of board members David, Bob and Janelle; David’s daughter Erin and Janelle’s friend Braylin.
Meanwhile, down below at the Lake Clear Lodge, board members Ed and Scottie, their family and friends, and a packed house of tower lighting enthusiasts enjoyed anecdotes from Ed and the LC Lodge host Ernest. Scottie talked about the recent history of the tower and the need for more volunteers and donations. There was an ongoing slideshow of the work done on the tower and scenic pictures from the summit. Then a fine meal was had by all. After dinner they walked down to the beach on Lake Clear to watch the brilliant lighting of the St Regis Mountain Fire Tower!
2018
9/1/2018: For the Fifth Annual Lighting of NYS Fire Towers, FOSRMFT board member Janelle Hoh, and friends Bob, Jordan, Carly, and Bart ventured up St. Regis Mountain to light the tower from 9-9:30 pm. This event started in the Catskills but has now spread to other NYS towers. 2018 marks the second year St. Regis participated. The view was awesome, from the summit and from the Lake Clear Lodge & Retreat, where there was a viewing party for the event. During the lighting of the tower, we had the drawing of the raffle for our centennial celebration. Thanks to everyone who made this a huge success!
The hearty gang of 5 Friends of St Regis Mountain Fire Tower hiked up before sunset toting several lanterns. From 9 to 9:30 PM they were able to keep the lanterns glowing despite the wind. The hike down was uneventful (though quite interesting) and everyone got home safely. The “lighting of the tower” was a huge success – both on the mountain and from down below.
2017
9/2/2017: This was St Regis Mountain’s first tower lighting! Friend Jeff made a last minute trip up the mountain to light the tower.
