The Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls, New York seeks to catalog the cultural traditions of the upper Hudson Valley and southern Adirondacks. This historical heritage is then shared with the public through special collections, exhibitions and events. Part of the center’s extensive archives includes a documentary video collection focusing on stories of the region’s people and places.
The Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership — in collaboration with the Lake Champlain Basin Program and funded by NEIWPCC — sponsored two collections: “Champlain Canal Stories,” celebrating the canal’s 200th anniversary in 2023, and “Local Solutions in the Champlain-Adirondack Biosphere,” which highlights stories of local residents working to protect the environment. NEIWPCC received grant funding from the National Park Service to support both programs.
Boasting 30 mini-documentaries — each about five minutes long — the Champlain Canal Stories feature aspects of daily life and work along the waterway. The 60-mile canal opened in 1823, connecting the Hudson River to the southern end of Lake Champlain. The new passageway made commercial traffic possible, opening trade routes for goods such as lime, lumber, coal and potatoes.
Many of the stories share personal accounts of what it was like to grow up on a canal boat, from days spent swimming with new friends, to doing laundry on the boat, and to legends of sunken treasure chests and ghosts along the waterway. Other documentaries offer excerpts from manuscripts, poems and local songs about canal life, complimented with historical photographs. Several films focused on the boats themselves from the perspective of captains, those that built and repaired the boats, historians, and boat model makers.
The 15,405 square mile Champlain-Adirondack Biosphere Network is the topic of the second video series. Designated as a biosphere region by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1989, “the network connects people and organizations working to build harmonious relationships between people and the environment” according to their website.
Abundant nature sounds and scenery tie the Local Solutions in the Champlain-Adirondack Biosphere series together, showcasing the innate beauty of the region. The 13-film collection details outdoor education at Camp Huntington on Raquette Lake, land conservation of a former logging site, and historic preservation of the Adirondack Great Camps. Several of the documentaries emphasize how people connect with and use their local natural resources through farming, beekeeping, foraging and harvesting. Other films focus on the arts, spotlighting local musical traditions, log carving, and using fiber art to tell the stories of our waterways.
All of the documentaries are available for viewing on the Folklife Center website.