Bald (Rondaxe) Mountain
Fire Tower Restoration Project

2014 Report from FoBM
12th Year for the Committee

Workday April 28th, 2014

Just three more years, and we will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the magnificent steel fire tower on the top of Bald (Rondaxe) Mountain just outside of Old Forge, NY. Found an interesting article over the winter that documents the summit climb of #23 – that is former President Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901) nearly 120 years ago. General Harrison, as he preferred to be called, spent the summer of 1895 at the Dodd Camp on the North Shore peninsula between First and Second Lakes. 

Benjamin Harrison married his hiking companion, the former Mrs. Dimmick, in the spring of 1896 and brought her back for their honeymoon at their new cottage just across the lake from the Dodd Camp. 

Friends of Bald Mountain made our springtime trip up to the tower to paint out 6 months of graffiti. Scooped up some trash, a bit more than usual . . . but thank you to all who climb to this beautiful place and keep it nice. We’re always interested in reading the trail sign-in sheets and noted that hundreds of climbers reached the summit of Bald Mountain this past winter and enjoyed the frosty panoramic view of the Fulton Chain of Lakes. Records show that more than 700 folks signed the register from early February to the end of April 2014. At a dinner meeting in Old Forge in September, members of our Board agreed to hold onto our offices for another year. Discussion centered on recruiting new volunteers. We welcome a note from anyone interested in helping with our trail and tower work. Contact our Sec’t-Treasurer in Old Forge Peg Masters by email or by sending a note to Box 914, Old Forge, NY 13420.

Memorial Tributes

 Kyle Riedman

The entire North Country was devastated by the tragic snowmobile accidental death of 24-year-old Kyle Riedman in February. Kyle was the only son of Judy Riedman and DEC Lt. Doug Riedman of Old Forge.  Kyle was a 2008 graduate of our local school and Paul Smith’s College. He was an accomplished athlete, avid sportsman, and loyal friend. Kyle worked alongside Doug in their local property management, landscape and firewood business.

 For those who have followed our postings, it was Lt. Doug Riedman who was our initial DEC contact here in Old Forge. We could not have accomplished re-opening the Bald (Rondaxe) Mountain fire tower without his help. FoBM are eternally grateful for the support he gave us in coordinating with DEC all the restoration work of the fire tower and especially for organizing the 2004 helicopter drop of supplies on the summit.

The fire tower was a special place for Kyle Riedman too. On Saturday, February 8th, the day of Kyle’s wake in Old Forge, a group of his classmates and friends climbed up Bald Mountain to share time together and remember this special young man. At the request of the family, donations were sent by the Friends of Bald Mountain (FoBM) to two local organizations: MAC’s Safe Ride and the TOW Baseball Team program here in Old Forge.  Talyer Kiefer, a grandson of FoBM founders Charlie & June Kiefer, paid Kyle the following poignant tribute: “He was happier than anyone else I knew. He was the person everyone works 100 years to be and he mastered it in 24 years. He was the best of all of us.” Quote from Adirondack Express, “Town Mourns Kyle Riedman,” February 11, 2014.

Cpl. Kyle R. Schneider Memorial on Bald Mountain in June 2014

Summit hikers on Bald (Rondaxe) Mountain the past couple years may have noticed a small memorial tribute placed along the rocks beyond the tower that pays tribute to Cpl. Kyle R. Schneider.  Kyle R. Schneider was not a local boy but Bald Mountain was his favorite hike in all of NYS. Kyle was a 2006 graduate of Baker High School in Baldwinsville, NY and the son of Richard and Lorie Schneider. After high school, he enlisted in the US Marines and graduated from basic training at Parris Island, SC in 2008.

In 2011, Cpl. Kyle R. Schneider died in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, killed by an improvised explosive device on what would have been his last patrol. He was 23 years old. Kyle was the 45th U. S. soldier to die in Afghanistan in June 2011. Kyle received several merit awards for valor and was twice awarded the Purple Heart Medal, the second one posthumously.

A story on Cpl. Schneider appeared in Tom Woodman’s article “Park Perspectives – A day on Bald Mountain,” in the October 2012 issue of the Adirondack Explorer. Kyle first climbed Bald Mountain when he was two years old and last climbed to the summit in July 2010 just before his deployment to Afghanistan. Woodman interviewed Kyle’s mother Lorie by phone and learned that the family now makes an annual trip up Bald Mountain on the Fourth of July and carry with them a stone from Kyle’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery. The stone, prayer, flag and photocard memorial is as Woodman aptly wrote – “a somber symbol of the role the peak plays in the lives of families.”

 Friends of Cpl. Kyle Schneider formed a not-for-profit foundation in his memory to aid families of fallen members of the Armed Forces and returning disabled veterans. For more information on how to get involved or make a contribution, visit the Cpl. Kyle R. Schneider Foundation - http://www.cplkyleschneider.com/ - Source of photo of Cpl. Schneider

Adirondack Explorer article by Tom Woodman - http://www.adirondackexplorer.org/stories/park-perspectives-a-day-on-bald-mountain

In Memory of Donald Lee Hendricks (1945-2014)

Don Hendricks passed away at his home in Palmyra, NY on November 8, 2014. He was survived by his wife Sandi, their two sons, Brian and Keith Hendricks, and five beloved grandchildren. Don brought his family to their camp at Eagle Bay on Fourth Lake for more than 30 years and climbing Bald Mountain was a favorite family activity. On the refrigerator in their Palmyra home is a Bald Mountain patch – and in discussing where to designate memorial donations, the family selected the Friends of Bald Mountain Endowment Fund as the sole recipient in Don’s obituary.

This is a great honor for our FoBM group of volunteers and the first time in a dozen years since we organized that we have been acknowledged for memorial donations. One of our short-term goals is to raise awareness of this landmark historic site on the outskirts of Old Forge, NY. Funds raised over the next three years are earmarked for additional restoration work in order to prepare for the fire tower’s 100th Anniversary in 2017. Thanks to this bequest by Don’s family, donations are already coming in and for sure, a whole network of folks, especially in the Palmyra area are aware of our grassroots tower restoration project up here in the North Woods. Many thanks to Sandi, Brian, and Keith for this very much appreciated tribute to Don’s love of the great outdoors.

Online condolences to the Hendricks family may be left at Murphy’s Funeral Home’s website at: www.murphyfuneralservices.com.

On a final note – The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released the final unit management plans (UMPs) for the Hurricane Mountain Fire Tower Historic Area and the Saint Regis Mountain Fire Tower Historic Area in early November and Friends groups for both these fire towers can begin restoration work this next summer! 

Thanks for Visiting our Site! Volunteers are always welcomed
 - send a note if you would like to help. 
Back to Friends of Bald Mt. Homepage

Created by: Masterpiece Productions of the Adirondacks
Webmaster
Last updated: November 16, 2014