Subject: Question regarding Frontiertown

Steve,
I have the strangest query you will probably ever get regarding Frontiertown. I am trying to recall a trip I made with my daughter. I have only a fuzzy memory, and I hope you may be able to help me.
About 15 years ago, my daughter and I flew (in my plane) to a small airstrip which I believe was located along the east side of I87 in the Adirondacks. I recall that it was adjacent to a resort or lodge, and a creek or small river ran north and south between the airstrip and the Interstate. We camped overnight next to the plane, and flew out the next day. Somehow I never recorded the trip (or landing) in my pilot logbook.
Could this have been Frontierland? Or, are you aware of any such facility that might have existed at that time in the area that had an airstrip? I know we did it, but my daughter cannot remember, and it's really bothering me.
I will appreciate any thoughts you may have.
Heber

Heber -
I think that indeed your "lost" trip was to Frontier Town. The founder of Frontier Town, Art Bensen, became an avid pilot and added an airstrip to Frontier Town. He wrote a book about how he created Frontier Town called "Adirondack Mountain Adventure" - the picture on the cover shows him, Powhatan, Motoaka and Swift Eagle in front of his own private plane and a stagecoach. There is a chapter in the book called Frontier Aviation in which he tells how he learned to fly, about the airpark and about a plan he had to add an area to Frontier Town called Frontiers of Aviation. He had to abandon his plans to add the Frontiers of Aviation area (he had already purchased some antique aircraft) because the State of New York seized a portion of the land it was to sit on.
Here is what he said about the airpark:

Our Frontier Town Airpark has a paved runway, is on the air maps and is open to the public. When the weather is good around us, it is not unusual to find a lot of planes coming in. People like to watch them take off and land as they enjoy their meals iin our cafeteria. The restaurant and motels are also within walking distance of the airport.

There is a picture in that chapter of the building the cafeteria is in, with a plane landing in front of it. The caption under another picture of the building, with many planes in front, states, "When the weather is good there's lots of activity at our Frontier Town Airpark. The 'A' frame building is the largest in New York State measuring sixty feet to the peak. It houses our cafeteria and gift shop." That is probably the lodge you mention. The creek you mention is the Schroon River.
Your email has made me think that I should add a page to my website about the Airpark, with some of the pictures from Mr. Bensen's book. Though I never took advantage of it, your email makes it obvious that others did.
- Steve

Steve,
Your message gives me hope that I am not getting senile after all. ;-)
In my memory, we walked up a slight grade from the airstrip to the building where we ate and probably bought some of the gifts. I recall that it was a log structure, so it must have been the A-frame you mention. I remember going into the building and asking if it would be OK for us to camp overnight and the person in charge said 'sure'. We parked our plane on the creek side of the airstrip, facing across the runway to the cafeteria building. The runway may have been paved, but my recollection is that it was not in good shape. After looking at the pictures on your website, I'm certain that we didn't enter Frontiertown. It may have been closed, because I think we would have checked it out if it were open. I remember that the day we left, the ceiling was quite low and we flew south down the valley under the clouds to where it opened into a lake and eventually made our way to Glens Falls for fuel.
I'm pleased that you are keeping the story of Frontiertown alive on your website. You're welcome to add my email to the site. And I, among others I'm sure, would like to see a mention of the airstrip and it's history. I don't think I can add much more, but if these cues rattle my memory, I will send along any other recollections.
Thanks for helping me resolve a nagging mystery. I am still trying to place this event in time, but, so far, I cannot make it fit with any of my trips into the area. We have flown in to Keene Valley, North Creek, Glens Falls, Lake Placid, and at least one other airstrip in the Adirondacks. It is a very beautiful area. Once my best friend and I were considering building a vacation cabin in the area around North Creek. But his wife died, he remarried, and the moment was lost.
Heber

Steve,
As I was re-reading my reply to you below, thinking about the places I have landed in the Adirondacks, I looked at a large map I have on the wall of my den on which I have stuck pins marking the places I've flown. I looked at it to see where else in the Adirondacks I've been, and I found the answer. The color of the pin identified the plane I was flying and I knew where to look in my logbook. I wasn't with my daughter after all. I landed at Frontiertown on August 23, 1981. I was with the woman whom I would later marry. We were returning to Cleveland from a trip to Nova Scotia.
I feel a LOT better now.
Thanks, again, for your help.
Heber

Steve,
I was thinking about your idea of including a page on the Frontier Town airstrip on your website, so I copied the entry from the Aircraft Owner's and Pilot's Association "Airport Directory" for 1981. The AOPA Directory is the 'bible' for private fliers for airport information. The data is supplied by the airport operator -- in this case, likely by Art Bensen. Based on this entry in the Directory, I decided to stop over at Frontier Town:

NORTH HUDSON - Frontier Town (NY40). FSS: Glens Falls. VFR. New York Sectional. Lat: 43-57, Long: 73-44. Elev: 865; 3 mi SW of city. Tel: (518) 532-7131. Runways: 5-23/2350 X 50, asphalt, gravel. Obstructions: p-lines S end. Food: restaurant (May-Oct). Weather: (FSS) 793-2593. Storage: tiedowns. Lodging Frontier Town Motel (532-7660/adj.) Tourist attractions: Frontier Town (adj). Camping adj to arpt. NOTE: Private. Use at own risk.