WANAKENA WEEKLY #289 - 10/16/25 - 10/23/25

Happy Thursday!

Hello Everybody! Bring on the rain! And wear orange in the woods when you hike and hunt! Fall has REALLY arrived. You can see it, you can feel it... FACT-TASTIC! The Lake/River are rising, surely! Slow is the way to go; harmonious with the world settling around us into its wintery groove. Ochre Tamarack needles cake the tops of puddles and ponds. C'mon down, soak it up and check it all out! It's not quite Halloween yet but things sure are getting spooky around here! Even scarier are the faint gusts of Christmas Spirit in the air.... Lion's Club Holiday Wreaths are READY TO BE ORDERED! And The St. Hubert's HOLIDAY BAZAAR and The Christmas Elves Angel Tree events are advertised in the Bargain Hunter. SHIVER ME TIMBERS! Our friends are Birch's Lakseside Store and Campground in Cranberry Lake have CLOSED for the season BUT FEAR NOT: WE'RE STILL OPEN HERE AND ARE KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON FOR CRANBERRY LAKE ALL YEAR! LIVE LOCAL! SHOP LOCAL! YOU CANT HIDE THAT EAGLE PRIDE. Still a bunch of out-of-town folks hitting the trails out here; good for them! Fox prancing around town. How'd the New Moon treat you? BOB the bizzaro Tuxido Cat is poking around the yard lately. Frosty mornings that linger past lunch! Anyhoo, here is some stuff going on in the area: Sat Oct 25TH at The Holy Grail Star Lake is HUNTER'S WIDOW WEEKEND 10-5 good times. AT THE LEGION IN STAR LAKE: Friday Oct 24TH Taco Bar ALL YOU CAN EAT and Sat 25TH Halloween Party with DJ GAMES AND PRIZES! BILLY'S BOAT SHOP IN CRANBERRY LAKE is BACK for more HAUNTED ART HOUSE THRILLS Friday Oct 24th and 31st and Saturdays 18th 25th and 1st 6pm - until! Adirondack Community Church in Newton Falls has FALL FEST Fri 31st 5-6:30PM. CLIFTON COMMUNITY LIBRARY IN HAREWOOD HAS NEW EXTENDED HOURS! Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri 10-2PM & Wed 10-3PM + 6-8PM & Sat 10-1PM... THEY'VE GOT LOTS MORE THAN BOOKS! Friday Oct 24th way the heck over in Tupper Lake, Jamie Savage (of Wanakena Ranger School) will be performing at P2s from 6-9PM! A message from Packbasket Adventures in Wanakena: Join us on the first Tuesday of every month for Trivia Night. We offer four rounds of ten questions. Two rounds are Adirondack'y while the other two could be anything from the Revolutionary War to Broadway Show Tunes! Your face will hurt from smiling so much. 

Here's some shots from a bike ride last Friday starting in Wanakena and going up the Peavine Swamp Trail to the Parking lot on Rt 3. and then back west on Rt. 3 cutting south into the Ranger School Property via the snowmobile trail back to Wanakena. Peavine Swamp Trail is classified WILD FOREST so bikes ARE allowed. This would be one of the few sections a CL50er could bike the 50 if they chose to. Also this is an option for connecting Cranberry Lake Village to Wanakena and/or connectiong the Grass River Railway to Wanakena. OVERALL the trail was enjoyable as a rugged bike trail; some downed trees and unrideable rocky steep spots. Some very nice long stretches of smooth forest riding though! A lovely long rolling ramble. SOME BIG TREES OUT THERE! Biking back towards Wanakena down wide and flat rt 3 was a nice change of pace after the forest ride and the snowmobile trail though the Ranger School Propery was devine! A three hour ride encountering only one other person. GOTTA LOVE THESE ROLLING ADIRONDACK FOOTHILLS! Forget the Peak Geeks... Bag the Sags all day, baby. 

HAPPY AUTUMN EVERYBODY! SUMMER IS OFFICIALLY OVER AND NOW'S THE TIME WE NEED YOUR CONTINUED AND CONSISTANT BUSINESS MORE THAN EVER! IF YOU LIKE WHAT WE DO PLEASE CONSIDER COMING ON DOWN AND BROWSING OUR WIDE ARAY OF GROCERY ITEMS! CHECK OUT OUR ROBUST SELECTION OF MAPS BOOKS AND GUIDES THAT FOCUS ON THE LOCAL LANDSCAPE AND HISTORY! WALK-IN COOLER WITH OVER SIXTY VARIETIES OF BEER, CIDER, N.A. AND MORE! WHETHER YOU'RE STOPPING IN FOR HOT COFFEE, QUICK LUNCH, LAST-MINUTE DINNER IDEAS OR DOING SOME GOOD OLD GIFT AND GEAR SHOPPING, THANKS FOR CHOOSING TO TAKE TIME OUT OF YOUR DAY TO GO OUT OF YOUR WAY TO SHOP AT OTTO'S ABODE! QUALITY INCONVENIENCE SINCE 2016! AND DONT FORGET... OPEN AIR OPEN MIC SATURDAY NOVEMBER 1ST 6-9PM! RAIN OR SHINE! IN BEAUTIFUL AND HISTORIC WANAKENA, NY! GATEWAY TO WILDERNESS AT THE MOUTH OF CRANBERRY LAKE! NORTHWESTERN ADIRONDACKS IN SOUTHERN ST.LAWRENCE COUNTY! WE'RE OPEN AND HOPING YOU'LL STOP BY AND COME FIND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR AND PERHAPS WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT! CHEERS FROM YOU'RE FAVORITE YEAR-ROUND INCONVENIENCE STORE AND MORE! THANKS FOR SHOPPING LOCAL! 

RISE AND SHINE CLIFTON-FINE... Starting from the west... Historic Fine Town Hall Building in Fine Village seeking input for its use and future! Fine Volunteer Fire Dept and Post Office! Lodge at Dodge Pond IS FOR SALE. UBs Mercantile and ADK Rustics in Oswegatchie (Home of The Bargain Hunter!) are OPEN! Oswegatchie Baptist Church Community Garden GROWING! Around Star Lake: Star Lake's ADK Holy Grail gift shoppe OPEN with A GIANT LOON out front!! ADK Pharmacy OPEN. EARTH MOVING AT THE OLD CONCESSION STAND. Clifton Fine Central School GO EAGLES! Fitness Center at the school is open M-F 5-8am & 5-10pm and weekends 5-10pm! Community Bank OPEN! Clifton Fine Hospital OPEN and HOPIN' you're healthy! They raised enough money to expand - check out their live construction camera! And look out for Food Truck Thursdays and Farmers Markets in the summer! Dollar General OPEN! Twin Lakes OPEN! CF Arena HAD A GREAT WINTER! Golf Course CLUB GRUB at the CLUB HOUSE has BREAKFAST LUNCH AND DINNER They are closed for the winter but will be back! CF Golf Course OPEN!! Star Lake Volunteer Fire Department and Water works! SOS Adirondack Exhibit Center EVENTS HAPPENING... stay tuned! Every Friday Night, open meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous at the Schoolhouse 7PM. Clifton-Fine Community Center and Food Pantry & Free "Community Meal" Wednesdays! Todd Hardware OPEN and FOR SALE!!!!!! Coffee Fever SOLD? Circle Jays OPEN! What's The Scoop Star Lake Scoops ICE CREAM! American Legion OPEN and REFURBISHED with LOTS OF EVENTS! Newton Falls Giving Box & Post Office & Community Church OPEN. PAPER MILL CLOSED! BENSON MINES CLOSED! Mountain Gate Plaza Bottle Hometown General Store, Deli and Redemption Center OPEN JUST DOWN THE ROAD at CLIFTON CORNERS bottle redemption no longer in operation! Down in Wanakena Packbasket Adventures Lodge and Event Space in Wanakena OPEN... with NEW OWNERSHIP TRIVIA NIGHT EVERY FIRST TUESDSAY OF THE MONTH!! Mary holds down 13695 Wanakena Post Office (!!!!!!!NEW NUMBER 8489022!!!!) - Clifton Community Library Book Drop Box and Lost and Found and MORE out-front on Otto's Porch! OTTO'S ABODE OPEN ALL YEAR DOWN HERE! Wanakena Ranger School class of 2026 IN SESSION!! Wanakena Historical Association has closed the History Center for the winter! BUMMER! Don't forget about the Wanakena Walking Tour and Labyrinth trailheads campground AND MORE! Clifton-Fine Summer Series in ZPARK SUMMERTIME check it out CLIFTON FINE ARTS. Common Thread Quilt Fest Labor Day Weekend! Out in Harewood: Wooden Fish Hathery OPEN! Billy's BLACK LIGHT ART SHOW this past Halloween! Cranberry Lake Volunteer Fire Department! Down in Windfall Wooden Fish Hatchery and Dragun Designs! Birch's Lakeside OPEN! Tilly's? Cranberry Lake Art Show 2026 GET READY!! Cranberry Lake North Shore Hub (AT THE OLD CHURCH) hosts space use, dock use, summer concerts and summer lectures! Clifton Community Library OPEN! Cranberry Lake Boat Club summer events! CHECK OUT THE Cranberry Lake DEC Campground! Cranberry Lake Mountaineers Snowmobile Club, check 'em out! THEY HAVE A GREAT LISTING OF LOCAL YEAR-ROUND RENTALS ON THEIR WEBSITE! Grasse River Railway has created a NEW MAP and is OPEN FOR USE! Sevey's Point at Sevey's Corner OPEN. Thirsty Moose Childwold OPEN with new owners coming soon?!! ROLL SNOWPACKERS ROLL! Childwold Presbyterian Church though September 15th! And don't forget... Back West: 2E's, Golden Glow, Edwards Opera House, Jim's Auto in South Edwards OPEN! Plum Brook Cafe in Russell OPEN! Jockos in Degrasse OPEN and re-painted and hosting SUNDAY FUNDAYS!! Hello to all them local churches out here in the area! CLIFTON-FINE RT. 3 CORRIDOR ROLL-CALL ROUND-UP! We're Southern St. Lawrence County. We're Northwestern Adirondacks. We're BOTH. We're NEITHER! WE'RE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE-LESS! WILD WEST! GREAT SOUTH WOODS WAY SOUTH OF THE ROCK! ALL THAT STUFF! OH YEAH! (Who's missing? What's stale? Les us know! Zoom Zoom!) Also... if you appreciate the work put into these newsletters (and Otto's Abode in general) consider donating something extra to the cause! We're on VENMO as Otto's Abode. Or as Click and Clack used to say: Write our address on a twenty-dollar bill and mail it to us!

“With man all is uncertainty. He does not confidently look forward to another spring. But examine the root of the savory-leaved aster, and you will find new shoots, fair purple shoots, which curve upward and bear the next year’s flowers, already grown half an inch or more in earth. Nature is confident.”

- Henry David Thoreau (Oct 21, 1858)

Wanakena, NY - A group of men standing in front of the Cranberry Lake Railroad engine and tender, in front of the Rich and Andrews Store. You can catch a glimpse of the Presbyterian Church in the background. Undated, but likely about 1908 or so. - Mark Friden (Town of Fine Historian and BIRTHDAY BOY!)