We will be hosting an open house on Sunday, August 10th from 12 to 2 PM at the Silos on Maple Street in Hudson Falls. The Feeder Canal Alliance Board Members will be on hand to guide you through the restoration and history of the five coal silos. We would also love your help with the future of the silos. The Feeder Canal Alliance wants to hear how you envision the silos in the years to come.

Hoist House Before

Silos Before

Silos After

We had a wonderful Canoe/Kayak Race this year! Sunny weather and many happy and eager racers!

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Lets aim for 100 participants next year!

We had loads of volunteers for Clean Up Day! Thank you to each and every volunteer that brought their elbow grease, dedication, rakes, clippers and even cookies. We appreciated your effort and the very clean parks and trails that everyone can now use. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Feeder Canal Alliance

On behalf of the Board of Directors, staff and friends of Adirondack Theatre Festival and Feeder Canal Alliance, we’d like to express our sincerest “ Thank You” for your generosity in volunteering at the Glens Falls Brewfest this year!  Brewfest was a tremendous success thanks to the wonderful organizational skills of John and  Janet Cordes, Bill and Lynne Mason, and Chris and Kathy Reed but most importantly because of the part you played in supporting these two wonderful not-for-profit organizations with your time.   Brewfest wouldn’t be the hit it was without your help.

We hope you had such a good time that you will join us again next year!

Merci Beaucoup! Danke Schon! Grazie!  धन्यवाद! Dziekuje! ….one more time.

Mark Fleischer
ATF Producing Artistic Director

Landrie Bock
ATF General Manager

Jeanne Williams
FCA Executive Director

Maurice O’Connell, a wonderful FCA Trustee/Board Member, found a great article that speaks specifically about the benefits and future of “Linear Parks” (flip to page 17 for the details). Thanks Mo!

“For those of you that are unfamiliar with the term “Linear Park”…The Feeder Canal is a Linear Park in the truest sense. According to Wikipedia: A linear park is a park that is substantially longer than it is wide. It is often formed as a part of a “rails to trails” conversion of antiquated railroad beds to recreational use. Other linear parks make use of strips of public land next to canals, streams, electrical lines, highways and shorelines.

The Feeder Canal has an interconnected network of outstanding trails and parks serving all forms of non-vehicular movement. It links many points of interest throughout three Cities and two Counties. It also provides healthy and diverse transportation and outdoor recreation opportunities for the people who use the trail and canal.”

-Maurice O’Connell

Mike Nicholson of Hudson Falls was very gracious to share the photos below with us. They are photos of the original weed cutter used on the Feeder Canal. Later it was sold and used on Dream Lake in Queensbury. Not long after Mike took the photos, the owner of the camp where it was stored passed away and the new owners scrapped it. Thanks for the trip down memory lane and the chance to preserve a bit of history Mike!

The Feeder Canal Alliance

Our Annual Appeal is going on right now! We’ve sent out thousands of letters to people near and far to help raise the awareness of the Feeder Canal and it’s integral role in the community. This is our 3rd year conducting an Annual Appeal and we look forward to the responses it generates each time. Let us know what you think. How would you like to support the Feeder Canal and Towpath?

The pumpkin painting at Taste of the North Country was a great hit. Thanks to the sunny, warm weather and lots of happy patrons we were able to see over 150 pumpkins painted.

We’d like to thank Lena Farms for the pumpkins, beautiful as always. And we’d like to thank our volunteers; Howard and Betty Raymond, Sarah Gebbie-Measeck, Bob Dickinson, Cathy Biss, John and Judy Bulova and our extra special volunteers, Judy and John’s grandchildren, Sophie and Charlie. Thank you to the Glens Falls Kiwanis for another wonderful event and for having us once again!

Harrison Freer is our newest Board Member. Please join us in giving him a hearty welcome! You can read Harrison’s complete bio below.

Harrison grew up in Wappingers Falls, NY and graduated from Our Lady of Lourdes High School.  He attended the US Air Force Academy and then AF pilot training.  He flew international cargo aircraft from NJ for 5 years, and then was assigned to Alaska for 3 years.  Next came one of several school and staff assignments, where he earned a MS in Space Operations at the AF Institute of Technology.  He returned to flying and flew in what has become known as Gulf War I, from1990-92.  Then Lt. Col Freer commanded the Global Positioning System (GPS) operations unit from 1992-1994. Under his watch the satellite system achieved initial operational capability in 1993.  He also commanded a group in Germany responsible for European, African, and Middle East strategic airlift support in these regions.  Two of his last 3 Air Force assignments were in the Pentagon where he worked primarily on countering weapons of mass destruction and space issues.  He retired in August 2000 in the grade of Colonel.

Upon AF retirement, Mr. Freer took a management position with Boeing in the metropolitan DC area.  He also was with Northrop Grumman in the DC area and he joined a small start-up and permanently relocated to Queensbury in 2007.  He is married to the former Tricia Lambert; they have 4 grown children and 3 grandchildren.

Harrison has been active in civic activities including youth soccer and swimming, and charity fund raising.  He has run 4 marathons, numerous triathlons, and has a renewed interest in biking since hip surgery eliminated running from his routine.  He is an active pilot and FAA Certified Flight Instructor.  He is the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Airport Support Volunteer for the Warren County-Glens Falls airport and serves on the Glens Falls Rotary Club Board of Directors.  He is also involved in several ministries at Our Lady of the Annunciation parish and serves on the Queensbury Zoning Board of Appeals.

Don’t forget, the Feeder Canal Alliance will be at the Taste of the North Country on Sunday, September 29th. Join us in downtown Glens Falls for a wonderful afternoon of food tasting and of course painting pumpkins with your favorite not for profit!