Young family life | Turning back the pages

GOOD MEMORIES HAVE BAD ENDING A tragic accident occurred in our area that forced many good local citizens to pause and realize all too well just how fragile our lives are here on the planet Earth. This bad news made me stop and reminisce upon past years that I once considered to be the best of times. YOUNG FAMILY LIFE Many years ago — around the early 1960s and beyond — my husband Merv Hadden bought a small camp on the Schroon River from his good buddy, local barber Mitch Abood. This consisted of a rustic building that Mitch built himself at the base of the mountain. Across the road, on the riverside, was a small 8-foot by 35-foot house trailer where Mitch played the role of local hermit. The view across the river is breathtaking, especially at sunset. As a belated wedding present, Merv gave this property to me and I have always cherished it. It was not long before he bought a big modern house trailer from his friend, Karl Duell, Sr., to replace the small one on the lot. On an average Sunday in the summertime we would pack up at home in Warrensburg and go up there on the Pottersville Road with two of our young children, our son Maclane and my step-son John Hadden. They loved to swim in the river, off the dock, with their beloved little dog, Snipper. We would all ride in the boat, up the river, with a packed picnic basket and spend the day on Schroon Lake and occasionally visit with the neighbors around us. Those were happy times! CRUISING DOWN THE RIVER I especially liked to travel down the river a short distance to the historic Starbuckville Dam bridge and visit with good friends there. Today, the Riverside Pines seasonal home development is on the corner at the west end of the bridge. I have a vivid memory of that small area, now named Carl Turner Road. My husband, for a short time, owned another camp at the end of this road but he soon sold it not long after he acquired it as a business speculation. What I remember about it is that the road was short in those days, and this camp was at a complete dead end — there was nothing but forest and swamp after that. I have not been back there for a long time, but I have been told that Carl Turner Road was later continued on up on the west side of the river and at this time there are many other camps and homes back there. VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE On the hill, overlooking the river, Karl and Cecelia Duell had a large mobile home of their own. Down by the water, Karl's good friend and buddy, Arnold Davis, labored long and hard to built a beautiful summer camp. Arnold was well known as a master carpenter and he put his time, love and dedication into that little building, where he had created a scenic deck over the water. Every Sunday the place was bustling with Arnold's many friends, who he and his wife, Myrtle, always made welcome. I have been to many cocktail parties there, which were legend in the old days and Arnold's hospitality knew no end. ROAD NAMED FOR A GOOD MAN Not far from this hustle and bustle was the home of Carl Turner. Everyone was fond of this grand old gentleman who loved company and he made everyone welcome. I have been to his little house many times and I have no doubt that his ghost lives there still today, where he was happy, still guarding the area that is aptly named for him, all these many years later. FAST FORWARD TO THE 21ST CENTURY I owned that property on the river for well over 50 years. Today it is still in the family, owned by my son Mac Hadden, who a couple of years ago built a beautiful modern house there and later constructed a fine garage building with the view of eventually retiring on the river full-time after he's released from the fast-paced business world in Queensbury, where he owns a business. He now spends his time there today. NO HAPPY ENDING AT CARL TURNER ROAD It is a hard thing indeed to think of that little area by the Starbuckville Bridge, because of the horrific recent accident that left most of us in this area in a total state of shock. On the morning of March 15, 2018, firemen from Chestertown, Warrensburg, Horicon, Pottersville, Riverside and Bolton were called to the location at 1 Carl Turner Rd., next to the Riverside Pines campsite, to fight a fierce fire at 8:30 a.m. The fire tore through the camp, owned by the family of Jessica Dygert. Jessica was the daughter of Barbara Bravata of Chestertown and John Dygert of Newport. She had a son, Wesley M. Bolton, age 13, of Chestertown. She worked seasonally next door at Riverside. The cabin where Jessica was living was fully enveloped in flames when the firemen arrived and they are said to have had to plow the deep snow in order to get to the burning building. Jessica Melanie Dygert and her dog were found dead in the building after the flames were finally extinguished. Jessica was only 36 years old, a beautiful girl in the prime of her life when she was so cruelly cut down by fate. The fire is suspected to have been possibly started in a wall of the building. Today Jessica Dygert lives on in the history of Chestertown, a sad story which will linger forever, connected with the Carl Turner Road, through time and space, just another chapter in the local history. I would like to send my heart felt sympathy to Jessica's bereaved family and many friends. Readers are welcome to contact Adirondack Journal/Sun correspondent Jean Hadden at jhadden1@nycap.rr.com or 623-2210.

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Young family life | Turning back the pages

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