The Village Improvement Society has kept Saranac Lake beautiful over the years with the many parks throughout the village.

Beginning on Lake Flower with the tennis court park (which used to be a supervised children’s play) to the tiny, charming, Vest Pocket Park across from the Hotel Saranac.

The meeting featured Landscape Architect Philip G. Wolff laying out his professional ideas on the creation of a VIS project on Olive Street.

First, let me tell you a little bit about Mr. Wolff. He was elected over and over for years, serving honorably as a North Elba Town Justice, but he never lived in North Elba. Phil’s phone number was listed in the telephone directory as small r for residence, Lake Placid Road. He owned two big greenhouses fronted by a nice office building and a floral shop on Academy Street in Saranac Lake … The Wolff residence was on Kiwassa Road.

I bring this up because of all the naysayers about Mayor Williams not living in the village and using his business address as his home address. He pays more village taxes than the entire village board combined. Over the years, the business address, if not a common practice, was often accepted as political protocol.

Also, one used to have to own property in the village to serve on the village board, so a small vacant lot on Neil Street probably had 20 different owners over 20 years.

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WHERE WAS I? OH, YES, THE VIS

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“The creation of an Adirondack Arboretum at Sunset Park would be magnificent for the neighborhood and, in time, might become of great significance because of the closeness to the new high school, Philip G. Wolff, land scape architect, advised members of the Village Improvement Society at their annual Membership Meeting and Coffee Hour Wednesday.

“The meeting was held in the Community Room of the Saranac Lake Free Library. Mrs. Warriner Woodruff, VIS President, introduced Mr. Wolff and welcomed approximately 50 old and new members. Special greetings were extended to Miss Nancy VanNortwick, Henry Savarie, Miss Marie Nadler and Miss Barbara Mullin, senior and junior class officers, who attended the meeting on behalf of the Saranac Lake Central High School.

“Prior to, and following Mr. Wolff’s talk, members were served coffee and doughnuts. Mrs. Loren Miller, chairman of the coffee hours, had arranged the silver service on a table decorated with maypoles and silver candelabra.

“The committee included Mrs. Kinghorn, Mrs. Allan Lofie and Mrs. Bradley Sageman. Mrs. Eunice Rask and Mrs. William Harvey co-chaired the membership drive.

“‘You know,’ Mr. Wolff opened his talk, ‘my first job in Saranac Lake was for the VIS. As a student in Cornell in 1938 I designed Riverside Park for then VIS president, Mrs. Joseph L. Nichols. The following spring I took a leave from college and executed the design. So my life here in Saranac Lake is deeply tied in with the Village Improvement Society.’

“Mrs. Woodruff, in turn, revealed that Sunset Park – a tri-angular piece of land bordered by Olive Street, Sunset Road and Fairview Avenue, was the first piece of property given to the VIS. Mrs. Jenkins, a charter member organization, offered the property in 1911 and it was formally deeded to the Society in 1925.

“Mrs. Alton Bouton, chairman of the Sunset Park Committee, had asked Mr. Wolff to study the area for creating an Adirondack Arboretum at the January meeting.

“Cleanup of the park has ben started under the direction of Earl Arnold. Mr. Arnold, Kenneth Bailey, Dr. Alton Bouton and Robert Scheefer have been removing brush and dead matter and piling it alongside the bordering streets. Last Saturday members of the Adirondack Hikers 4-H club spent hours picking up empty cans, bottles and other refuse and hauling it to the dump.

“The Niagara Mohawk Power Company has offered us two chippers to chip the debris with four men to operate them, Mrs. Bouton reported.

“Mr. Wolff said that he was surprised to see so many different trees and shrubs when he took is first walk through the area. It has almost everything indigenous to this area – several magnificent white pine, maple, white and yellow birch, hemlock, balsam, black cherry and many other Adirondack Trees.

“Mr. Wolff then laid out a five-point program of development that could be ‘attained without spending too much money,’ he said.”

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TUPPER LAKE CANTEEN

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“A special meeting has been called for, Monday, May 19th, starting at 8 p.m. in the study hall of the old Holy Ghost Academy, Wawbeek Avenue for the purpose of discussing the possibilities and terms involved in the process of forming a Tupper laker Teen Canteen.

“The major problems according to a letter issued by Gary D. Miller, adukt chairman, are financial and finding an appropriate site for the canteen. All organizations have been asked to send a representative to the meeting.”