Chuck Brumley demonstrating telegraphy in the Union Depot
Born: September 21, 1939
Died: February 20, 2010
Married: Karen Loeffler
Children: Dean, Sally, Michael, Amy, Ellee, Andrea and an assortment of pets
Charles "Chuck" Knox Brumley graduated from the McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Maryland and attended Yale University, Michigan State University and Towson University. While at Yale, he was a member of the swim team and was a Maryland State Champion cyclist during his college years. He received a master's degree in social work from the University of Maryland and worked as a social worker in Baltimore City, North Carolina, and York, Pennsylvania.
He was a runner in the late 1950s, long before running became widely popular, competing regularly in running events at distances up to 50 miles, and completing the Boston Marathon in 2:48. In 1980, he bicycled 400 miles from Baltimore to Boston to run the marathon. He also competed in triathlons. In his late sixties, he completed a cross-country bicycle trip from California to Maryland. He was also key to starting youth soccer in southern Pennsylvania, at a time when it was still unknown to many.
From childhood until moving to Saranac Lake, he had summered at Piseco Lake, Hamilton County, where his grandparents and great-grandparents had camps, as well as at Camp Red Cloud on Lake Champlain, where he developed his outdoorsman skills.
After moving to Saranac Lake permanently in 1984, he became involved in cross-country skiing, snowshoe racing, and canoeing competitions; he paddled the 90-mile, three-day Adirondack Canoe Classic every year. He also became a "46er," climbing all 46 of the Adirondack mountains over 4,000 feet.
He collected model trains, jazz and bluegrass recordings, antique canoes, old ham radios, Adirondack books, and various fast cars, including a Shelby Cobra.
He was a musician who played in jazz, folk, bluegrass and rock bands, playing trombone, banjo and acoustic bass.
He taught history for a time at North Country Community College and served on the boards of libraries, charitable and environmental organizations.
He was a licensed guide, who ran his own Adirondack tour company.
For a time he was, a regular columnist for the Adirondack Enterprise, and published four books: Wild New York: A Celebration of Our State's Natural Beauty; Guides of the Adirondacks: A History (1994); and two collections of Adirondack short stories: Ripples From the Paddle (2000) and Cry Me Home, Loon (2003).
See Al Pandolfo for one of Chuck's columns.
External link
- North Country Public Radio ran a brief audio clip of Brumley speaking about guiding.
Comments
2011-09-12 10:56:53 Thank-you for this tribute to my dad. —137.53.241.12
