Francis S. Kinney's Boathouse & Bathhouse

More details have emerged relating to Francis S. Kinney's Bathhouse and even his Boathouse, which did exist as you can see from this picture. We recently met with Tom Kline and John Connelly to get the lowdown on these vital details. In the process, Tom shared photos and both shared stories.

First some facts:

+ Both structures appear on a 1904 map of Francis S. Kinney's estate.

+ Both were wooden structures which means that neither has a "date stone" indicating exact building dates.

We do know that Kinney started using St. Hubert's Chapel in 1889 and had to have a means of getting people to the church on time. In other words, he needed boats - most probably an armada of wooden row boats and canoes - and a place for storing them. Hence, a Boathouse.

Extrapolating from that puts the construction date of the Boathouse and also the Bathhouse at circa 1890.

Tom Kline believes that the Boathouse must have disappeared long ago. It was located in an obscure location and none of the more recent (i.e., 1930s to 1950s) photographs show it. Despite examining the area very carefully, he has found no trace of a foundation or anything else.

Most likely, he thinks it was taken down at about the time (1934) that the original Kinney mansion was disassembled and rebuilt into the present day "Cotswolds." (Talbot Home)

Moving on to the Bathhouse.

Tom and I had a fierce email exchange over the Bathhouse. I just couldn't in my mind figure out how it could have fit so close to the Lake Kinnelon spillway and dam, let alone include a pool. As you can see from the second photo, the Bathhouse wasn't built on Lake Kinnelon, but rather next to it. Do you see that roofline to the left of the dam? That's the Bathhouse!

Here's how Tom describes our Bathhouse:

The bathhouse was a wooden structure that sat on the left side of the dam as viewed from the lake (cottage side). It was on the downstream side of and directly under the dam. The roof of the structure peeped out above the dam and was visible from the water. The foundation for the structure on the brook side (the brook being the water that came over the dam) was a massive stone wall that went all the way to the bottom of the dam. The water flowing over the dam would brush against this wall as the water found its way down the brook, heading towards the stable.

[Note: I think that's the carriage house/stable building that you can see through the trees in the photo above.]

It was a wooden structure that measured approximately 28 wide and about 40-45 feet long. A set of stone stairs lead from the lawn down to the structure. As you entered, the first part had a wooden floor. Inside, on the left (the side closest to the cottage) were 8 changing rooms, completely paneled with stained wainscoting. The beams coming down from the ceiling had decorative carvings on the ends.

On the brook side of the structure was an indoor swimming pool, cast in concrete, with a ceramic tile lining. The indoor pool measured approximately 12 feet wide by about 30 feet long. the pool itself was about 4-8 feet deep and tapered to the back of the building (stable side).

A small gangway, also in concrete ran the length of the building and acted as a hallway that separated the changing rooms from the pool area. I recall that the changing rooms had windows, complete with glass. The wooden wall that was on the brook side had already collapsed by the time I got around to seeing this, so I am unsure what type of openings were in it to allow light in. On the dam side of the structure there was a set of double doors that opened towards the lake. The exterior of the structure was covered in cedar shingles and the roof was of wooden shingles also.

In third photo, you can ever so slightly see the Bathhouse roofline to the center left of the image, above the water line and nestled amidst the trees.

Tom further explains:

At one point, later in the building's life, a wooden structured deck was installed above the pool and the roof reinforced - probably in the 1930s when Cotswold was created.
It was on this deck that two skiraffs were stored. The skiraffs were long, thin boats that Morris Kinney brought to Smoke Rise from Pakistan in 1937. They were used for the first "community" services at St. Hubert's Chapel in the early 50s. [Note picture of boats headed toward the Chapel.]

The Bathhouse was finally taken down in the late 1980s. At that point, the structure was severely rotted from the extreme moisture of water falling over the dam. It was too far gone to be salvaged.

In my next post, I'll share information relating to the previously mentioned Ram Pump which did NOT power the Bathhouse....

Remember, though, all of this was and continues to be on private property!





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Classic Cars & Cruisers Around Kinnelon

Were you aware that just down the road from us in Kinnelon, you can admire the most beautiful classic cars and cruisers? That's right, in Riverdale at the National Guard Armory, sponsored by the Tri-County Cruisers.

Cruise Night takes place on Thursdays from May through September. The last one of the 2009 season takes place September 27 so you have two more opportunities... [assuming no rain].

I learned about this fun on-going event from our friend, Dawn Winkler [yes, that Mrs. Winkler from Apple Montessori] who, with her husband Tim, participates regularly with their classic cars.

Above, you see Dawn next to their 1969 Ford Mustang Fastback. The engine is a 351 Windsor [see below].

Her 'baby' - not pictured here - is a 1973 Mercury Cougar RX7 with a 351 Cleveland engine. As Dawn describes it: "It is all original and everything works except the clock. My car has a/c, power driver seat, rear window defogger, power front disc brakes, power steering, fmx transmission, leather interior. It was the last year that they made this size cougar based on the pony cars. 1974 they went big like the Thunderbirds."

The Tri-County Cruisers was established in 1993. The event at the Armory includes about 60 to 70 cars, all in beautiful condition. I enjoy visiting with my daughter because it's such a fun opportunity to talk about some of the cars I remember growing up, and the roadtrips we took as a family before air-conditioning, and...

According to Dawn, the Thursday night event has changed places over the years because of different circumstances. Space, food, even the police!

The Armory, though, seems like the perfect spot with ample parking and easy access from Route 23.

If you go, do look for Dawn and Tim and say hi. Their cars are beautiful and they can introduce you to others who participate in the Tri-County Cruise night with their beautiful Classic Cars.

By the way, the definition of "classic" varies as you can read from the Wikipedia entry. Tim and Dawn's cars fit the description of unique, definitive, rare and classic.




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Oktoberfest & Ted's Fresh Hot Sauce in Butler at High Point Brewery: Sat. 9/12

A big event is taking place this Saturday, September 12th from 2 to 4 pm in Butler, NJ: Ramstein Beers is having their once a year Oktoberfest Brewery Tour at the High Point Brewery down in Butler, at which time they will introduce this year's Oktoberfest Beer which will be available on draft. And, you'll encounter Ted's Fresh Hot Sauce!

We will be there to drink the Oktoberfest and also to introduce the Hot Sauce Ted has been making for the past 15 years, in 2 types:

• SR Virgin Fresh Cayenne-Cherry Pepper Red, and
• SR Virgin Fresh Habanero Gold.

We will have a tasting of the 2, with appropriate food, and invite all of you chile heads to come join us and tell us what you think.

These hot sauces are a little different from what you are used to -- they have to be REFRIGERATED -- because they are FRESH. And they're not mostly vinegar and salt like others you may have tried. Come check them out!

We will have a limited number of the bottles on hand for sale should you like them so much you have to have some!

Also available will be the Ramstein Blonde Hefe-Weizen, Ramstein Classic Dunkel Hefe-Weizen, and Ramstein Golden Lager beers.

Don't forget! This all takes place from 2PM to 4 PM this Saturday, Sept. 12th, 2009, in Butler. Here are directions. Come and bring your friends!

See you there!

~ Ted

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The Full Hemlock Trail In Smoke Rise

And, now, as promised in The Hemlock Trail in Smoke Rise, the FULL Hemlock Trail....

This was our first hike of 2009 which we did on January 1st - an invigorating way to ring in the New Year.

We took the long way around - on foot - to get to the official trail head on Summit Terrace.

If you remember from the official trail description for the Hemlock Trail:

The head of this trail begins at the intersection of Summit Terrace South and Bush Hill Road.

Note the large glacial erratic at the trail entrance. Fabulous, isn't it?

Now, the trail description refers to many giant Eastern Hemlocks, including a particularly large one with a ten foot circumference within the first 100 yards on right side of trail.

Hence the name of the trail, right?

We noticed the hemlocks. Unfortunately, none were alive. Some blight had killed them. What remain are tall, imposing skeletons - including that of the large ten foot circumferenced hemlock.

Does anyone remember what happened?

The first markers we noticed were yellow. The rest, though, were orange.

The trail needs clearing. We had to creatively skirt many of the fallen trees.

You'll note a marvelously located bench - a perfect place for reading the Sunday paper perhaps. [Per Ted & Emma, the bench may no longer be. A tree may have fallen on it. TBD.]

The trail heads down a natural path or ravine. It looks to become a stream during rainy periods with water funneling down toward Hoot Owl Pond.

To our left as described, we saw magnificent mini-palisades, highlighting the marvelous variety of terrain that 've noticed throughout Kinnelon and the Pyramid Mountain or Split Rock reservoir hikes.

Although I took photos of these palisades, they don't do justice to their natural beauty.


Past the palisades, the trail/ravine continues to Hoot Owl or climbs to the left.

The official Hemlock Trail goes up to the left for a short steep portion, across flatter terrain and then down to the infamous bog area.


We noticed throughout most of the hike many other marks in the snow.

Not necessarily human, though.

Rather, deer! Many, many deer prints.

We believe we had come across the equivalent of a deer highway given the concentration of hoof prints and other signs.

Back to the bog portion of the trail.

In deep winter, as we had in January 2009, the bog is frozen over and the boards more stable. Missteps weren't that treacherous although some boards were iced over.

I consider this trail particularly magical in deep winter because of the Hoot Owl Pond connection.

When Hoot Owl Pond is frozen, you can extend the hike by crossing the pond, sliding here and there and checking out the pond dam. I have some photos of that that I'll share with you - ideally before skating season starts up again!

Once through the bog, there's a last climb and then you reach the trail end at the Hemlock Lane cul-de-sac.

There you have it: the full Hemlock Trail in Winter and Summer with contrasting pictures!

I'd love to hear stories relating to the heyday of this trail. It must have been truly magnificent.



But, what happened? Were the trees destroyed by the hemlock wooly adelgid?

It also seems that this trail hasn't seen much use lately. Wouldn't it be nice to get it back into trail shape? Hmmmm.

I hope you'll check it out, if you haven't already, and will you let me know what you like most about the Hemlock Trail?

Thanks!




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The Hemlock Trail in Smoke Rise

Last Sunday, Ted and Emma went off for a short hike along the Hemlock Trail in Smoke Rise - allowing me time to put the final touches on my just published e-Book "Social Media's Collective Wisdom: Simplifying Marketing With Social Media".

The Hemlock Trail is described in the Smoke Rise Trails Map as follows:

Hemlock Trail [orange]:

Round Trip walking time: 20 minutes

Head of trail begins at the intersection of Summit Terrace South and Bush Hill Road. Park on the left shoulder on Summit Terrace South near large glacial erratic on right at trail entrance. Note giant hemlock within first 100 yards on right side of trail [ten foot circumference at the base]. Mini-palisades on the left and beautiful stand of hemlocks throughout. Trails ends at cul-de-sac of Hemlock Lane between #12 and #16 Hemlock Lane.

Entire circuit approx. 1/2 to 3/4 mile.

Let me clarify up front: they did NOT do the entire trail [I'll share that with you in a separate post].

And, they did NOT start at the glacial erratic.

Instead, they started at the trail end [as described in the Smoke Rise Trails Map] on Hemlock Lane where you will find a trail marker that indicates "Hemlock Trail" [see photo above].

From this direction, the trail takes you through a boggy area made passable via these boards.

WARNING! Proceed very carefully! Many of the boards are moss-covered and slippery. Others are no longer anchored and stable. A misstep may land you - as it did Ted twice - in the bog!

Once past the bog, you reach the wooded section of the trail, which - in the depth of summer - is green and lush and not necessarily easy to follow.

Ted observed that trail markers were hard to find and follow given leaf coverage. They may also need some refreshing...

Rather than proceed north toward the beginning of the trail [and the erratic], Ted and Emma proceeded south, down the gully and toward Hoot Owl Pond.

Can you glimpse the water through the trees in this next photo? Pretty magical.

Have you taken the Hemlock Trail? What do you love most about it?

Next post, I'll take you through the entire trail. Be warned though: it's a winter scene...







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Kinnelon Critter File: New Jersey Black Bears

Some of what makes living in Kinnelon, NJ so magical has to do with the animals we cohabitate with. Take the largest of these critters: the New Jersey Black Bear - actually the American Black Bear. Did you know that not only has it been seen in all New Jersey counties, but it also ranges throughout most of North America?

Since moving into this area in 2004, we have had many opportunities to observe and admire, but also respect, these magnificent animals. After all, they are beautiful, but also big, bigger than me and bigger than my daughter.

Best then to try to understand this animal, how to minimize negative encounters and how to behave in case of encounters.

If you get the opportunity, do attend the session that the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife offers every other year or so at the Kinnelon Borough Hall. I missed the most recent one, but my daughter and I attended the previous session and learned from it.

Because, particularly at certain times of the year - early Spring through late Summer - our New Jersey Black Bears are busy. Eating, foraging, wandering... They love skunk cabbage so be on the lookout when you hike by wetlands and bogs.

Black Bears are curious and quite agile. We have observed from inside our house a momma and two cubs climbing over a cyclone fence, to peer into our neighbor's window, and then go off toward another neighbor.

We once discovered our very heavy BBQ pulled away from the house - because a very large animal had smelled the grease pan we had forgotten to empty. Bears' sense of smell is acute.

And, we've noticed them religiously visiting trash dumpsters and trash cans, to drag off into the woods any tempting loot. I'm sure you've seen the telltale trails of debris.

Given that we truly live in bear territory, here are a few of the bear facts that the NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife offer on the "Know The Bear Facts" website.

First, use common sense. These are WILD animals, not cute, cuddly critters. So, don't approach them and don't try to feed them!

When you are outdoors, be loud. If it's getting dark and I'm alone getting the mail from my mailbox, I sing badly and loudly.

If bears are close by, "make the bear aware of your presence by speaking in an assertive voice, singing, clapping your hands, or making other noises."

"Make sure the bear has an escape route."

"If a bear enters your home, provide it with an escape route by propping all doors open."

As it relates to your own home:

+ Close your garage doors.

+ At night, close your ground level windows. I assure you that a screen will not keep a curious and agile critter [if not bear, then think raccoon] out of your house.

+ Protect your garbage cans. Keep inside your garage the smelly-bear-desirable trash and put it out for collection at the last possible moment. Or, consider these garbage cages I discovered around Sterling Forest properties.

+ Forget about bird feeders.

[BTW, be sure to close car windows at night, particularly if there's any kind of food or food wrappers inside. Otherwise, you might be surprised to find that visitors have come by.... Raccoon or otherwise!]

"Avoid direct eye contact and never run from a bear. Instead, slowly back away."

"To scare the bear away, make loud noises by yelling, banging pots and pans or using an airhorn. Make yourself look as big as possible by waving your arms. If you are with someone else, stand close together with your arms raised above your head."

"The bear may utter a series of huffs, make popping jaw sounds by snapping its jaws and swat the ground. These are warning signs that you are too close. Slowly back away, avoid direct eye contact and do not run."

"If a bear stands on its hind legs or moves closer, it may be trying to get a better view or detect scents in the air. It is usually not a threatening behavior."

"Black bears will sometimes "bluff charge" when cornered, threatened or attempting to steal food. Stand your ground, avoid direct eye contact, then slowly back away and do not run."

"If the bear does not leave, move to a secure area."

During the NJDEP presentation, we were told never to play dead around the New Jersey Black Bear. Make noise, and lots of it, instead.

And, don't leave your children or small pets outside unsupervised.

Read through the Bear Facts website, check out Black Bear Safety Techniques, don't ever feed the bears - it's illegal in New Jersey! - and educate yourself. There's real magic to having bears around -- at a safe distance.

And, as long as they don't associate you or your home with food, they will remain at a safe distance. Hence the law to not feed the bears.

To learn more about the New Jersey Black Bear, consider visiting Pyramid Mountain Park and speaking with the rangers. The Visitors Station also has nice displays [e.g., see the Black Bear poster image above].

Another resource is the Turtle Back Zoo from which the other four poster images above come from. If you go there, you can meet Jelly and Jam, two New Jersey Black Bears.

Now, there's plenty of controversy surrounding Black Bears in New Jersey. Suburban Trends reported on Serious bear incidents more than double in 2008 [2/17/2009]. In researching this Kinnelon Critter file, I discovered the NJ Bear Hunt Blog, about the need for dealing with bear overpopulation issues. The Bear Education and Resource Group vehemently opposes a hunt solution recommending instead aversive bear conditioning [I'm thinking that someone may be receiving a supersoaker water gun for his birthday...].

What other bear tips do you recommend?




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Needed: Split Rock Trail Maintainers For East Side

Estelle Anderson, who told us about the New Pyramid Mountain Park Trail!, wants to know: would any intrepid hikers, especially Smoke Rise based, be willing and interested in becoming a trail maintainer for the East portion of the Split Rock Reservoir Trail, the portion most easily accessible through Smoke Rise?

As Estelle sees it, it's so easy to access Split Rock from Smoke Rise, that anyone living in Smoke Rise is an ideal candidate. For others, it involves quite a bit of a hike since access is from Split Rock Road and then one would have to walk the entire section and around the north end to get off trail near Camp Winnebago.

Here's what's involved in tending trails:

Minimum 2 visits during the year to the trail section. Picking up tree "litter" - branches on the trail that impede hikers; clipping back any overgrowth that would brush against a hiker; keeping the blazes painted and fresh so hikers are sure of their way. If there are trees down, then the maintainer advises the Trail Supervisor. There are certified sawyers within the Trail Conference and that's who gets the blowdowns out of the way.

The Trail Conference provides training for maintenance - either to a group or individual. It offers TM101 courses which involves about 2 hours inside and then out to a trail for field work. If it's a couple of people or an individual, then the Trail Conferences does on-the-trail training, instruction and actual work.

Here is a link to the Trail Maintainer Handbook.

I asked Estelle to go into more detail. She says that if a group is interested in maintaining as a group, there are a couple of options.

• Typically the Trail Conference would want the group to become a Member Organization, at a cost of $50 annually.
• The other option would be for two people to be the "lead" maintainers, with a group working under them, and just fill out a crew roster sheet. The leaders would have to be Trail Conference members. All this is because the NY/NJ Trail Conference covers trail workers with Volunteer Insurance and this is how to know who is out there.

Trail work training can be done on the trail; if desired, Estelle and her partner can do a short indoor session somewhere in Smoke Rise, or at the Newark Watershed building on Echo Lake Road, West Milford. But essentially it can be covered outdoors.

When Estelle teaches TM101, she includes 1-2 hours indoors, takes a break and then heads out to a trail to do the actual work. Maintainers need to provide their own tools, which would consist of clippers, loppers, folding saw (or bow saw), work gloves. If working as a group, then the tools can be shared without everyone needing to have all the above tools. Blazing the trail is also part of maintenance; the East shore is blue blazed and she would teach that also.

The goal is not to overwhelm attendees, yet also leave work for them to do; so most likely it would be about a 4 hour day. That way, they can all go back out to the trail and complete what needs to be done.

Estelle concludes that the section has been vacant for several years; this region has only very recently [i.e., as of last November] been taken over and there have been lapses. So all efforts are on getting vacancies filled and all trails back up to Trail Conference standards.

Estelle has been a maintainer since 2002, then co-Trail Supervisor and now Co Chair for Central Jersey Trails Committee. (Central Jersey meaning Central North Jersey).

Let me know if you're interested in becoming a Trail Maintainer, either individually or as part of a group. I know Estelle would be grateful, as would all those hiking these wonderful trails around us.





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