Sterner Stuff
dirondackers are made of sterner stuff,” my mother would say as we passed Glens Falls, heading up to visit family. “They just keep going, no matter what the mountains throw at them.”
My sisters and I would lean forward, waiting for the story that was sure to follow. Her family was from these mountains, and Witherbee, Mineville, Indian Lake, Fagan’s Flats and Bloody Pond were in the background of our childhood, though we grew up far away.
My mother retold our favorite tales when we visited, and the stories came to life. As the cast of colorful characters got through tragedy and heartbreak, one thing was clear: anyone from the Adirondacks was a survivor.
Our great-great-uncle, William Wood, had a story that was the stuff of fairy tales. William and his brother Josiah were two of the first settlers at Raquette Lake, and
