Vibrancy of Catholic Summer School revealed in new book

PLATTSBURGH | Shadows in lingering summer light at Cliff Haven play on a sandy crescent edge of Lake Champlain. Wrapped by an enclave of closely-knit family homes settled around it today, this quiet beach was for nearly 50 years the center of thought-provoking summer education, recreation, reflection and social interaction. The Catholic Summer School at Cliff Haven was modeled on the Chautauqua Movement, a cohort of reading circles and non-denominational lectures founded by a Methodist/Episcopalian minister at Chautauqua Lake (near Jamestown, NY) in 1874. Still in existence today, the Chautauqua Institute's goal reached beyond the focus of religious education for a longer look at human concerns via history, art, drama, music, sociology, language and science. The Chautauqua Institute celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. Its descendant, the Catholic Summer School of America grew from a similar desire to explore lessons in life, philosophy, critical thought, fine arts and adult learning. With a wide-angle view of the then modern era, its themes, challenges and history brought thousands to cottages at Cliff Haven. The campus grew up in farm fields that were once the Thomas Armstrong homestead called Cliff Farm. The property started at a wooded edge at Jogues Point running north along the lake. The famed Hotel Champlain at Bluff Point was a nearby southern neighbor; Plattsburgh Barracks its neighbor to the north. Slightly north of the beach is the historic Crab Island. Almost called the "Catholic Chautauqua," reverend founders and advisors set their program apart by its perch at Cliff Haven. Catholic Summer School administrators and Plattsburgh's city council looked at several locations nearby, including Cumberland Bay. But they settled with a purchase of 450 acres in 1893 via an agreement with the Delaware and Hudson Railroad. The landscape grew clustered with two and three-story camp cottages: Two "New York" buildings, the "Boston," the "Brooklyn," the "Rochester" and numerous others. There was an Administration Building, referred to as "The Casino," along with dining, recreation and an alumna cottage. Many private cottages were built by families and urban Catholic diocese from throughout the northeast. The Summer School's academic and social popularity grew exponentially in the early years. Lectures and summer courses were approved for college credit by the New York State Board of Regents. The place thrived through the Gilded Age, eking past the Great Depression to the edge of World War II. The final years of declining use were exacerbated by legal battles, unpaid water bills, fire damage and the need for housing for the incoming U.S. Air Force. Catholic Summer School tenure at Cliff Haven extended from 1893 to auctions that began in 1954. AN HISTORIC TALE In an effort to preserve an important half-century of local history, burgeoning author Robin LaBarge worked with Clinton County Historical Association (CCHA) Director Helen Nerska, several local editors, including Lawrence P. Gooley, publisher, author and editor at Bloated Toe Enterprises, and the late former Press-Republican Editor-in-Chief Jim Dynko, to capture stories from the rise and demise of the prominent position the Summer School occupied in Plattsburgh's early 20th Century aspect. A historic marker in the wooded median in front of Cliff Haven today recalls the era. But LaBarge has captured the entirety in her newly published work: The Catholic Summer School of America: Cliff Haven, New York. "It is a fascinating part of local history," she said in a recent interview with The Sun. "A lot of folks like me -- I grew up in Clinton County -- never knew what Cliff Haven was at the turn of the century." Summer traffic at Cliff Haven supplied jobs and demand for food, farm goods and travel via rail and ferry, she said. The population at Cliff Haven swelled to the size of a village from June to September in its heyday. In 1904 over 7,000 adult learners including a staff of 1,000 lived on the campus. Sporting events, swimming, sailing, golf, horseback riding and croquet were popular, LaBarge said. There were dramatic plays and music, social dances, summer feasts and church services. The Summer School welcomed famed politicians, lecturers and distinguished musicians to its wooden hallways. The myriad of details are revealed in LaBarge's book. CAPTURING STORIES She first encountered the topic at a CCHA presentation in 2014 by Roger Black, a historical research volunteer who had discovered glass plate slides of the Summer School in the association's archives. "Roger helped with the first two chapters," LaBarge said of his assist to get the project off to a good start. CCHA Director Nerska said the slides are part of their George Brewer collection, which includes over 7,000 images from throughout the region. They are primarily glass plate and celluloid. "Some of them are dated," Nerska said, "but we were able to track the Catholic Summer School images through a construction timeline." Scores of the Brewer images illustrate LaBarge's history. They captured a dining staff of over 30 crowded onto the front steps of the school's dining hall. There are images of Summer School guests piled on the deck of a Lake Champlain ferry for excursions to Burlington and on trolleys for trips into the city. The Summer School was gaining pace as the Village of Plattsburgh became the City of Plattsburgh in 1902 and even as the Plattsburgh Barracks housed the early ROTC "Plattsburgh Idea" camps starting in 1915. It was a productive time before the Great Depression. A retired nurse, LaBarge laughed easily in talking about the winding path that led her to this work. She said she was so struck by the history presentation that she encouraged Black to write a book about early Cliff Haven. She approached several local history authors with a similar plea. They each helped foster her work. LaBarge said Black suggested she write the book. "My first thought was 'That's way over my head. I'm a nurse, not an author. Write a book? I don't think so.'" The dilemma was ultimately solved in conversation with her then 10-year-old granddaughter, Ella, who, with childlike conjecture and conviction said "Gram, why don't you write a book about it?" LaBarge said the photos kept pestering her, as though the people captured in them were "begging to have their pictures published and their stories told." Now they are. LaBarge was able to recount living history with memoirs from local residents who lived in the Catholic Summer School and helped build it. She parsed details from historic news stories and published accounts to bring the school's eminent rise to light. Interesting maps in her book overlay today's Cliff Haven streets and the original Catholic Summer School roads. A quiet step off the beaten path, Cliff Haven today is a year-round neighborhood. The path to the famed beach still has a set of concrete steps that some say date to the summer school era. A crust of the original retaining wall runs north along the lake. Boat and swimming docks still reach narrow arms into Lake Champlain waters. FIND OUT MORE LaBarge has two upcoming presentations about the Catholic Summer School story. On Aug. 16, she will speak at the Senior Council of Clinton County, 5139 North Catherine Street, in Plattsburgh, at 12:30 p.m. On Aug. 22 at 6:30 p.m., the author will make a presentation at the Clinton County Historical Association, 98 Ohio Avenue, on the old base in Plattsburgh. Published by Bloated Toe, the book is available from CCHA with all proceeds to benefit their ongoing work to preserve local history. The Clinton County History Museum at 98 Ohio Ave., is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. To find out more, call 518-561-0340 or email Nerska: director@clintoncountyhistorical.org Funding for The Catholic Summer School of America, Cliff Haven book project was provided, in part, with a 2023 Local Heritage Grant from the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership, via the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.

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Vibrancy of Catholic Summer School revealed in new book

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