New book features stories of Lake Placid Club workers
HEATHER SACKETT, News Staff Writer
LAKE PLACID — The former Lake Placid Club holds a prominent and special place in the village’s history, as well as in the memories of past guests. The sprawling palatial club was the summer home of the rich and famous and still symbolizes the golden age of Adirondack tourism. But the club never would have been the Lake Placid institution that it was without the hard work of its many employees.
Barbara A. Campbell, of Farmington, Conn., spent years tracking down and interviewing former employees of the Lake Placid Club so she could tell their story in her new book, “Inside the Club: Stories of the employees of the former Lake Placid Club.” Campbell first stayed at the club in 1957, when she and her parents were the “Introduced Guests” of a club member. She returned for several winter vacations, always in February.
“I only stayed in the winter,” Campbell said. “The extreme cold stood out and checking that record -24 on the thermometer. And the food was wonderful.”
Campbell said she read “Lake Placid Club; An illustrated history, 1895-1980” by David Ackerman, which is written through the eyes of a member.
“I wanted to approach it through the eyes of a person who worked there for a little different perspective on the club,” she said.
Campbell’s book details the sometimes tedious daily work of bellhops, caddies, waitresses, telephone operators, kitchen and housekeeping staff. “Inside the Club” also provides the reader with a glimpse into the past. It’s filled with interesting tid bits of the times. For example, in 1922, bell hops at the club were paid $1.90 a day, out of which they had to pay the club for room and board, laundry and other personal expenses.
Much more than a hotel or resort, the club had its own farms and dairies, ski hill (Mt. Whitney) golf course, stores, fire patrol and post office. It was a self-sufficient village. During peak periods, 1,100 people were employed at the club, along with 1,200 guests.
“Some of the people I did interview went back before I was a guest there,” Campbell said. “There are people in town who worked in the club for 25 or 30 years.”
The club provided tourists from the city an opportunity to relax, enjoy the outdoors and be pampered. But in the days before television, working at the club also gave the employees a glimpse into a life outside of isolated Lake Placid.
“The club brought outsiders in,” Campbell said. “Many (former employees) said because of conversations with members of the club, they were inspired to go to college and make something more of themselves than they would have. That’s what the club offered — to get a different point of view.”
But through her research, Campbell also uncovered some unsavory club practices that applied not just to members, but to staff as well. A fact that is widely known, but not often talked about, is that the club discriminated on the basis of race and religion. Chapter six, called “Restricted,” details a lengthy 1941 correspondence between club officials and others who were trying to determine if a prospective vendor at the club was of Jewish descent. Records from 1910 also appear to be doctored to erase the possibility of a black employee at the club.
“As everyone was aware, it was a restricted club and I thought that I did not have to address that,” Campbell said. “But then I found the information in the archives about trying to clear the name. I included it because it is part of the times. It’s part of the history and I think it should be saved.”
Campbell said this was one of the more difficult chapters for her because it required some serious digging into the history of the club, which some people are sensitive about, and is in stark contrast to the other more pleasant, anecdotal stories from former employees.
For Campbell, who teaches English at the University of Connecticut, penning “Inside the Club” was a positive experience.
“It was just reliving some very good memories that I had,” she said. “I think it was an integral part of the history of Lake Placid and I would like to see it remembered and I want to see what goes in that property in the future.”
“Inside the Club” is available locally at the Bookstore Plus, or at www.thetroybookmakers.com.
POSTED: January 2, 2009
LAKE PLACID — The former Lake Placid Club holds a prominent and special place in the village’s history, as well as in the memories of past guests. The sprawling palatial club was the summer home of the rich and famous and still symbolizes the golden age of Adirondack tourism. But the club never would have been the Lake Placid institution that it was without the hard work of its many employees.
Barbara A. Campbell, of Farmington, Conn., spent years tracking down and interviewing former employees of the Lake Placid Club so she could tell their story in her new book, “Inside the Club: Stories of the employees of the former Lake Placid Club.” Campbell first stayed at the club in 1957, when she and her parents were the “Introduced Guests” of a club member. She returned for several winter vacations, always in February.
“I only stayed in the winter,” Campbell said. “The extreme cold stood out and checking that record -24 on the thermometer. And the food was wonderful.”
Campbell said she read “Lake Placid Club; An illustrated history, 1895-1980” by David Ackerman, which is written through the eyes of a member.
“I wanted to approach it through the eyes of a person who worked there for a little different perspective on the club,” she said.
Campbell’s book details the sometimes tedious daily work of bellhops, caddies, waitresses, telephone operators, kitchen and housekeeping staff. “Inside the Club” also provides the reader with a glimpse into the past. It’s filled with interesting tid bits of the times. For example, in 1922, bell hops at the club were paid $1.90 a day, out of which they had to pay the club for room and board, laundry and other personal expenses.
Much more than a hotel or resort, the club had its own farms and dairies, ski hill (Mt. Whitney) golf course, stores, fire patrol and post office. It was a self-sufficient village. During peak periods, 1,100 people were employed at the club, along with 1,200 guests.
“Some of the people I did interview went back before I was a guest there,” Campbell said. “There are people in town who worked in the club for 25 or 30 years.”
The club provided tourists from the city an opportunity to relax, enjoy the outdoors and be pampered. But in the days before television, working at the club also gave the employees a glimpse into a life outside of isolated Lake Placid.
“The club brought outsiders in,” Campbell said. “Many (former employees) said because of conversations with members of the club, they were inspired to go to college and make something more of themselves than they would have. That’s what the club offered — to get a different point of view.”
But through her research, Campbell also uncovered some unsavory club practices that applied not just to members, but to staff as well. A fact that is widely known, but not often talked about, is that the club discriminated on the basis of race and religion. Chapter six, called “Restricted,” details a lengthy 1941 correspondence between club officials and others who were trying to determine if a prospective vendor at the club was of Jewish descent. Records from 1910 also appear to be doctored to erase the possibility of a black employee at the club.
“As everyone was aware, it was a restricted club and I thought that I did not have to address that,” Campbell said. “But then I found the information in the archives about trying to clear the name. I included it because it is part of the times. It’s part of the history and I think it should be saved.”
Campbell said this was one of the more difficult chapters for her because it required some serious digging into the history of the club, which some people are sensitive about, and is in stark contrast to the other more pleasant, anecdotal stories from former employees.
For Campbell, who teaches English at the University of Connecticut, penning “Inside the Club” was a positive experience.
“It was just reliving some very good memories that I had,” she said. “I think it was an integral part of the history of Lake Placid and I would like to see it remembered and I want to see what goes in that property in the future.”
“Inside the Club” is available locally at the Bookstore Plus, or at www.thetroybookmakers.com.
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