Cabin of original Warner Lake settler found after years of searching

It was Tuesday, June 20, when the Old Men of the Mountain met at the Your Way Café in Schoharie. The original Old Men (by the way those who are still here are really OMOTM now) used to meet after the crowds left the restaurants (hmm, crowds?) around 9 or 9:30 in the morning; now the OMOTM are the crowd and are standing at the door waiting for the restaurants to open up at 7 a.m.

This past Tuesday, six or eight OFs gathered in front of the restaurant waiting for it to open at 7 and watched two young girls set the tables and get the place ready for all the OGs to attack a little later on before they had to run off to school.

As some of the OFs age, the later time makes more sense, but the younger OFs have things planned and better things to do than have breakfast all morning. One OF commented that he moves so slowly now that he couldn’t even get out of the way of a train if it was standing still. Doesn’t make any sense but the intent is right on.

Still around

There was some discussion on who was still around, and doing what — if anything. This is a frequent topic at the breakfasts when something happens to an OMOTM, or an acquaintance of one or many of the other OFs.

Discussion about the OMOTM’s, friends and relatives, and people the OFs grew up with is not uncommon. The OFs who have the most aches and pains point to the fact they are beginning to outlive many of these people, and it is a little disconcerting. Belonging to a group like the Old Men of the Mountain helps a lot.

On the water

Our mountains have a number of lakes and good-sized ponds scattered about and the OFs discussed these for a bit and how they have changed from 70 or so years ago. The talk of the local lakes carried over from last week so it must be getting close to summer.

The talk of boats and the motors the OFs as YFs used to propel them was interesting, as the names of the motors are rarely heard today, names like Neptune and Evinrude.

The OFs were talking about what they did as kids, or maybe very young adults, especially around water. If some of this “horseplay” was done today they would all be arrested.

It seems back then the dumb things that were done by the young-uns were dumb things. Not the violent, dangerous, and destructive activities of today that seem so way out of hand and harmful.

“Then and now”

The OFs talked about White Sulphur Springs on Route 443 and how many of the OFs and their friends would go there generally as members of a church group or club of some sort. Today that very large building with its spacious grounds is all gone.

Driving on Route 443 in that area now, one would never know it was there. On June 7, 2017, by 2:43 in the afternoon, the resort was all gone. Some of the OFs who knew it was there and even spent time at the resort could now drive right by and not know it was ever there.

It was a time to discuss the Hilltowns to a certain extent. Just like OFs (whether OMOTM or just OFs), many times the conversation is just about “then and now.” In a way, discussing “then and now” is fun; sometimes it is what keeps OFs young.

Historic cabin

One OMOTM is a direct descendant of one of the original settlers of the area around Warner Lake. These settlers built a log cabin at the north end of the lake in the mid-1700s.

This OF has been trying to locate where this cabin was for quite some time to no avail — until recently. This past Tuesday morning, the OF related some of what he went through in his search for the log cabin.

The OF discovered that, as time went on, the family built another home because the saw mill apparently did very well and leaving the log cabin appeared to be a good idea. Recently, according to the OF, there was discussion on restoring the original home but that seemed to be unreasonable so they decided to tear it down.

In tearing down the homestead, the OF said he finally found the log cabin he was trying to locate for years. The home was built right where the log cabin stood.

The OF said the foundation was still there and so were parts of the cabin that were used in construction of the new home. The OF also said that, after taking the cabin down, what was not used, like the foundation, was packed in blue clay. (On the Hill, that is not hard to find.)

The OF said it is in perfect condition. So now he can cross that off his list of things to do. He has found the cabin.

The Old Men who arrived early at the Your Way Café in Schoharie watched the youngsters through the windows (like a play) setting things up in time for the café to open. When done, the smallest went to the door and opened it up for oldsters to enter the establishment. The door holder was no taller than three feet, and offered a little smile with the, “You’re Welcome” as many OFs said “Thank You” to the little waif holding the door. This was beyond cute and those OFs were: Doug Lonnstrom, Doug Marshall, Roland Tozer, Ed Goff, Wally Guest, Harold Guest, Miner Stevens, Bill Lichliter, George Washburn, Pete Whitbeck, Mark Traver, Glenn Patterson, Joe Rack, Russ Pokorny, Warren Willsey, Gerry Chartier, Marty Herzog, Jake Herzog, John Dab, Paul Guiton, Lou Schenck, Dick Dexter, Jack Norray, Duncan Bellinger, Elwood Vanderbilt, Dave Hodgetts, Bob Donnelly, and me.