As we read more and more about the Adirondacks, we come to identify two general narratives that Emmons points out - one describing the Adirondacks as a natural landscape where residents live intimately with and have a deep appreciation for their surroundings, and the other as a place where people struggle just to make a living and work hard to support their families (18).
On the one hand, Emmons (and Terrie) are contrasting the struggles of early settlers with the picturesque perspective of summer tourists. But before tourists began to infiltrate the region, you could also find hints of both narratives in single families. This was one of the many paradoxes of the Adirondacks - that families could have such deep affection for and simultaneous antipathy to the backcountry. The best example of this was how long winters were so dreary, but the summers too pleasant to resist (27). I think it's important to keep this complex relationship in mind when thinking about the history of settling the Adirondacks. They were neither the mythic frontier that many sought nor the brutal, unforgiving wilderness that others feared. They were a mix - a personal and intimate relationship that was unique to each that lived in the Adirondacks, as evidenced by the endless variety of narratives that could be told.
This relationship made me think about the enduring question that Terrie writes: "who should control the land - those living on it or someone else? (25)" When emotions are such an integral part of the relationship between residents and the Adirondacks, this question is made even more complicated. If "outsiders" controlled the land, how could they understand the intricacies of the relationship and be sensitive to those inhabiting the region? But if residents controlled the land, how can we be sure that their judgment isn't clouded or narrowed by personal connections with the landscape? We then fall into the paradox of trying to control a system of which we are necessarily a part.
The paradox is pretty reminiscent of the relationship many of us have with Hamilton, I think. Every year we gripe about the onset of winter (which is already happening now) but as soon as the snow starts to melt we're back in our boat shoes and salmon shorts at Camp Hammy. Despite the fact that we're not actively working the land, we are very much a part of it and although we complain, we're all still here for a reason.
ReplyDeleteI think the question of who should control the land is a really interesting one. I would argue that, though Adirondack residents have "personal connections with the landscape," tourists are often more adamant about preserving the wilderness. Even though full time residents of the park may love and value the wilderness, they still have to make a living within the park. People have a more complicated relationship with their home environment; "home" is simultaneously sentimental and necessarily practical. On the other hand, people who live in New York City and visit the park occasionally to escape the realities of everyday life are much more likely to value aesthetics over the economies of Adirondack towns.
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