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Longtime Newcomb supervisor George Canon dies at 78

‘He was the true godfather of the Adirondacks’

George Canon accepts an award from the state Department of Environmental Conservation. (Enterprise file photo)

As Steven Engelhart led a public tour of the Camp Santanoni Historic Area in Newcomb on Monday, one man was on his mind: George Canon.

It was fewer than 48 hours since Canon, the longtime Newcomb town supervisor, died early Sunday morning at Glens Falls Hospital at the age of 78. And though Engelhart, the executive director of Adirondack Architectural Heritage, said there were many organizations and individuals who helped to preserve the 19th-century great camp, it all would have been for naught if not for Canon.

“Without George,” he said, “it would have never happened.”

A day after Canon’s death, sentiments like this made up the overwhelming opinion on the life and legacy of the man seen as synonymous with the historic town of just a few hundred residents in the heart of the Adirondack Park.

From his former colleagues to his friends to even his opponents, the heartfelt homages poured in as Canon was remembered as a wise and versatile elected official adept at navigating the political process and versatile enough to mediate controversial issues.

“He had the respect of everyone who had the pleasure to really know him,” said Randy Douglas, the former supervisor of the town of Jay and an Essex County Board of Supervisors chairman. “He was such a mentor to me during my time serving as an elected official. He was a true friend to my wife and I and I will miss him dearly.”

Douglas was a staunch Democrat and Canon a firm Republican, but that didn’t weaken their bond.

“It is a very sad, sad day for Essex County and all of the North Country,” Douglas said.

To him and many others, Canon was a proud, driven man from the heart of the Adirondacks. He fought for people living and working in the middle of this vast wild area, pushing back against the creep of more state land and regulation of private land, but through dialogue. And he was an honest colleague and friend who always spoke from the heart to let people know how he felt.

“He was the true godfather of the Adirondacks,” said Tom Scozzafava, supervisor of the town of Moriah and a longtime friend and Lake Champlain ice fishing buddy of Canon.

“He always worked for the betterment of the people that lived within the park and also tried to, and did, successfully compromise and negotiate with the environmental lobby.

“He was a mentor,” Scozzafava continued, “there are so many different things that he did for the Adirondacks that are going to impact it in a positive way for many generations to come. And George and I had our disagreements over the years; we had many. But at the end of the day we were friends. Business was business, and George had the ability to separate that. It was never personal with him. But most importantly, he was my friend, and a good friend.”

As Engelhart drove away from Camp Santanoni on Monday, he pulled over to the side of the road to park and chat about Canon, whom he remembered as a “real champion of the Adirondacks.” To Engelhart, a nickname Canon earned through his years of hard work couldn’t have been more perfect.

“I think Mr. Adirondack is an appropriate moniker,” he said.

“Boy, did he put his heart and soul into everything,” Engelhart continued. “He was a big believer in that Teddy Roosevelt quote of being ‘The man in the arena’ if you want to make a difference. You have to get in the arena and fight the fight. And he fought the good fight.”

For a boy who grew up with the humblest of beginnings, surviving winters inside a tarpaper shack with a dirt floor, Canon’s list of accomplishments and what he did for the people of the Adirondacks is extensive.

He served as Newcomb supervisor for parts of three decades, from 1990 to 2015, including two terms as chairman of the Essex County Board of Supervisors.

He was at the heart of groups that countered the state Adirondack Park Agency by advocating for park residents. He served on the Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board. He was a co-founder and president of the Adirondack Associations of Towns and Villages. He was a founding board member of Adirondack Architectural Heritage. And he was the president of New York’s Association of Towns, a statewide organization of 926 towns and villages.

Fred Monroe, current head of the Local Government Review Board, worked with Canon since 1990. Monroe identified Canon’s work to preserve Camp Santanoni, his work on behalf of the Essex Chain of Lakes and his work with the state Open Space Committee as some of his greatest successes. To Monroe, Canon was a paramount example of a local elected official who had the sharp people skills and genuine ambition to follow through on his visions with action and enable local governments, and in turn, their people, to have leverage with the state.

Monroe also remembers Canon, though, as the kind of friend who would cook chili for meetings. A member of the more-than-century-old Gooley fishing club, Canon loved to share angling stories. He’d socialize in restaurants and taverns, his favorite spot perhaps the Newcomb House, where he’d hold court and hear the concerns of his constituents.

Current Newcomb Supervisor Wester Miga succeeded Canon fewer than two years ago.

“Basically, we lost a cornerstone of our community,” Miga said.

“Literally there are thousands (of people) that this man touched,” he continued, “whether it be the way he mentored them for their political aspirations or just life in general. He was somebody that had that presence where you listened to what he had to say and always left it up to you how you weighed those words. Nine times out of 10, people would give his words very significant weight.”

One of Canon’s proudest achievements was establishing the High Peaks Golf Course in Newcomb.

“He was the spark plug that championed that effort,” Miga said. “George supported any community initiative that came down the pike. His legacy goes back a quarter of a century, but as of late, looking at positioning the town for the future, he was a proponent of the comprehensive plan, the smart-growth hamlet plan the initiatives that spun off of those ideas.

“They always say that everybody can be replaced,” Miga added, “but we will be hard pressed.”

Even those who at times were Canon’s opponents recognized his shaping of the past, present and future of the Adirondack Park. Jim Frenette Sr., a Democrat from Tupper Lake and a retired APA board chairman, echoed the words of many others, including that Canon was a friend who was there to help when needed.

“You always knew where George was coming from,” Frenette said. “His concern for the people of the Adirondacks and the people in Newcomb was very evident. He did all he could to improve the situations and standards in Newcomb. He was recognized statewide as someone who knew what he was talking about and who was not afraid to speak up.”

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