T-Lake Mountain Fire Tower Piseco Colored Postcard Very Rare !
Illustrated postcard of Emerson Nye, the first fire watch of T-Lake Mountain Fire Tower, who served from 8 Aug 1916 - 20 July 1928.
Emerson Nye (August 31, 1850 – June 6, 1930) spent most of his adult life as an expert woodsman, river driver, and town supervisor in Arietta and Piseco (Hamilton County, New York). Later, while working for the New York State Department of Conservation, he labored through deep mid-winter snow to haul materials to the mountain peak to help erect the T-Lake Mountain Fire Tower.
Upon its completion, Nye became its first fire observer, serving from August 8, 1916, to July 20, 1928, for a salary of $72 a month. Because he had lived and worked in the surrounding country for half a century, he knew \"the lay of the land\" so perfectly that the tower\'s maps and instruments served as scarcely more than an auxiliary unit.
According to The Kingston Daily Freeman on August 25, 1928, the 78-year-old veteran observer forwarded his resignation and descended the tower for the last time, deciding that \"the weight of 78 years is too great a burden to carry up the steep steps of a forest lookout tower.\"
T-Lake Mountain Fire Tower History:
1916: The Conservation Commission erected the 50-foot, lightweight Aermotor LL25 tower, which initially featured only an exterior ladder for ingress and egress.1918 or 1919: Wooden steps were added inside the structure to ease access for both the observer and the general public.
1931: A self-supporting steel staircase (effectively a tower within a tower, designed by Aermotor) was installed to replace the wooden stairs.
1970: With the advent of aerial detection, the tower was closed at the end of the season. It was later removed as an \"excess\" structure and a \"non-conforming use\" within the newly established West Canada Lakes Wilderness Area.
This card is very rare. I only know of one other. Minor corner faults (see photo). If you collect this stuff, don\'t miss this one, as you will never see another. Not cheap, rarity never is.
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