Under Six Figures Need Not Apply

I thoroughly enjoyed the trip to the Adirondacks.  Finding context and reality in all of the topics we've covered this semester has been pretty enlightening.  In particular, I really liked the Asgaard farm.  It seemed to be a place McKibben dreamed of, a place that utilizes cyclical practices, efficiency, and little waste.  It was a place embroidered with history and locality as well. However, behind the peeling paint of Asgaard, and even in Litchfield and Wynona, is a common thread - outside money.  It would be hard, if not impossible to start any of these three wonderful places we've visited without a large amount of capital to get the initial project started.  Granted, money is generally intrinsically tied with places of interest, but it is disheartening to hear that most commercially successful places in the Adirondacks are not tales of local lifetime residents, but commonly of older retirees looking for a place to relax from an urban-centric world in which they already made their fortunes.

This is not to suggest that money prevents one from a sense of authenticity in the Adirondacks - it is as valid a point of entry as any.  Money does not necessarily imply any narrative of oppression or elitism either.  Litchfield Castle, as mentioned in class, helps keep the land and surrounding lake a healthy place.  They correct the effects of acid rain on the lake, and after some digging, I've found a pretty impressive story of old as well.

Raquette River had been bustling with log traffic from local timber companies.  In order to facilitate quick transfer of logs down the river, companies commonly built dams to control water flow.  Basically, the water backed up a substantial portion of land, including parts of Tupper Lake.  Annoyed, the residents decided to blast a hole in the dam so they could build more houses in the area.  Lumber responded by re-patching the hole and adding more dams.  The residents naturally saw the response of the timber company, and proceeded to blow another hole into the dam.  To settle this dispute, Litchfield, using his New York City legal background, was able to sue the operators of the dams.  The ruling apparently is colloquially known as the "Litchfield Injunction which Saved the Junction".  Essentially, money is not a bad thing, but is an underlying thread in many of the places we've visited on our trip, and is something we should be cognizant of.