April 3, 1925 – JSA to W.K. Bixby (St Louis, Missouri) –
Dear Mr. Bixby:
So many changes of interest have developed since last fall that I am almost afraid to start a letter to you for fear that it will be too long.
The Governor yesterday vetoed our park appropriation bill, which was made unacceptable by the Legislature being influenced by some of our opponents to parks and playgrounds. This will prevent us this year from acquiring Dome Island and the land near Pilot Knob which is being threatened by further lumbering operations and wood chopping. It may even prevent us from acquiring the much needed land along Northwest Bay Creek, but after several hours with the Governor and various departments yesterday I am satisfied that is we can get a few people to show interest to the extent of writing letters to the Governor we can have some money in an old 1916 bond issue applied to Lake George this summer. It will take a lot more pounding, but the situation at Northwest Bay Creek is critical and I feel deserves all the time that anyone in love with Lake George can give it. Much of the land along the proposed road over the mountain, for which a contract will be let next month, has been bought, but the land down near the end of the Bay, owned by the Dagles, Frazier and Burgis people, needed for a fish hatchery, and to prevent commercialization, or unsightly structures, has not yet been purchased. The Conservation Commission and Attorney General’s Office have gone through many motions, but they need a little more inducement from the outside through the Governor before final action will be taken.
You might be interested in knowing that I finally bought the old house which was moved off of your Tongue Mountain lot and left at the mouth of Northwest Bay Creek. The house has since been torn down and the debris will be burned this week.
As you know, we need all the active supporters we can get on our Lake George Conservation work and you may have met Dr. Irving Langmuir, who is the Director of our Physical Research Laboratory. He is now one of the most famous physicists in the world, and a great lover of Lake George. He takes an active part in all our outdoor life, and drops his important work to go to Albany when called upon. Dr. Langmuir has two adopted children and feels the need of a simple camp and not being able to locate any place on Lake George, he bought a place on Sacandaga Lake last summer. I regard his moving away from Lake George a real loss to the Lake, and I am prompted to ask you if there is any possibility of securing for Dr. Langmuir a piece of the shore near your boathouse on the east side of Huddle Bay. You may have plans for the future which would interfere with such an arrangement, and I am sure you will not hesitate to advise me accordingly, but it would be a great pleasure to have Dr. Langmuir in our colony, and a great benefit to the Lake to have his genuine interest in the protection of the natural beauty of our shores and even a leasing proposition might be sufficient to hold him with us.
It is my hope that you and Mrs. Bixby will come back to Lake George early this year and allow me to go over with you in detail the various plans that have been maturing this winter affecting the future of Lake George.
Hoping you both are enjoying good health, I remain, Cordially, JSApperson