Mary HotalingBorn: December 23, 1942
Died: September 1, 2023
Married: James Hotaling
Children: Caroline, Elizabeth
Mary B. Hotaling moved to Saranac Lake in 1977. She was a founder of Historic Saranac Lake, and served as its executive director twice for a total of about 16 years. She was also a founder of Adirondack Architectural Heritage, and was the appointed Historian for the Town of Harrietstown, Franklin County. She received an M.S. in Historic Preservation from the University of Vermont in 1995. Her most recent project, a biography of Dr. E. L. Trudeau, was published by Historic Saranac Lake in 2016. Mary died at the age of 80 on September 1, 2023.
She was a frequent contributor to this wiki; her edits may be found under Mary Hotaling, MaryBHotaling, and under IP addresses 74.79.153.173 and 24.92.250.226, 24.92.253.187 among others.
Courtesy of the Hotaling Family.Adirondack Daily Enterprise, September 12, 2023
Mary B. Hotaling
Mary B. Hotaling passed away surrounded by her family at her home in Saranac Lake, in the Adirondack Mountains, on Sept. 1, 2023.
She is predeceased by her mother and father Evelyn and Charles Baumgart and her brother Thomas (“Tom”) Baumgart.
Mary is survived by her husband of 57 years, James Hotaling; daughter Ann Caroline Hotaling (Jacopo Surricchio); daughter Elizabeth Ida and grandsons James McAuliffe and Thomas McAuliffe; brother William Baumgart (Nikki); nephew Andrew Baumgart (Krystal); nieces Shara Hussain (Shaz), Hallie Lovell (Roger), and Anna Schmitt; cousin Peter Golzhauser; brother-in-law Bill Hotaling (Gladys) and family; cousins in the Chicago area; former son-in-law Joe McAuliffe; and many friends and associates.
She was a co-founder of Historic Saranac Lake and Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH), appointed by Gov. Mario Cuomo to the New York State Board for Historic Preservation, and a former town historian for the town of Harrietstown. Mary retired as director of Historic Saranac Lake in 2009.
Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and raised in the Midwest, “Mary B” was impressed with the architecture and landscape when she moved east in 1965 to marry her husband Jim, after she took a brief solo tour of Europe, and they spent two years living in the Rittenhouse Square area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Their early family years were spent in Evanston, Illinois, and Denver, Colorado, followed by Saratoga Springs, New York. In each of these unique communities she admired the public spaces and local character. That admiration grew into her life’s work when she learned about the tuberculosis curing history of Saranac Lake and dedicated the rest of her life to exploring and preserving that history.
Impressed by the quality of numerous intact cure cottages in Saranac Lake, Mary became a driving force behind historic preservation in Saranac Lake and the Adirondack region, and was particularly devoted to researching and writing about the lives of Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau and the architect William Coulter.
A graduate of Glenbard High School in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, she later went back to school at 50 years old to earn a Master’s Degree in Historic Preservation from the University of Vermont. She was also awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from Paul Smith’s College in 2004.
Mary was an editor, historian, historic preservationist, and author of the book “A Rare Romance in Medicine: The Life and Legacy of Edward Livingston Trudeau” (North Country Books, 2016), and graduate thesis about the architectural works of William Coulter. She was involved in many other projects on local history, including the book “Cure Cottages of Saranac Lake, Architecture and History of a Pioneer Health Resort” (authored by Philip L. Gallos), and the film “This Was Heaven, Really.”
Mary appeared in several TV programs about the Adirondack region, including “The Forgotten Plague: Tuberculosis in America,” part of the PBS American Experience series. She was delighted to be part of the work to shed light on the stories of those who cured including composer Bela Bartok, and Adirondack great camps such as the Coulter-designed Eagle Island Camp. She cherished her time as a member of the Reviewers Club, established in 1909.
A celebration of Mary’s life will be held on Sept. 23 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the John Black Room in the Saranac Laboratory Museum at 89 Church St. In lieu of flowers, please make a memorial contribution to Historic Saranac Lake, at 89 Church St., Suite 2, Saranac Lake, New York 12983. Friends and family are also invited to share a memory, leave a condolence and sign the online guestbook under the current services tab.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, December 19, 1978
VIS votes in life member
SARANAC LAKE — Francis Stearns, who organized and led a group of middle school children to clean up roadside trash during the spring and summer, became a life member the Village Improvement Society by unanimous vote at the organization's final meeting of the year. Retiring President Mrs. Warriner Woodruff also awarded Stearns a Certificate of Appreciation for his outstanding efforts to keep the village presentable and educate a coming generation in this responsibility.
Mary Hotaling and Betsy Minehan spoke on “The Historic preservation of Saranac Lake.” The two women head a committee which is gathering historical data on local buildings for the purpose of having Saranac Lake listed in the National Register as a Pioneer Health Resort.
Mrs. Hotaling emphasized that such listing would not affect an owner's right to do as he pleased with the structure. Buildings would have markers describing their roles in the development of Saranac Lake as a health resort and would be listed in a brochure for tourists.
The committee is currently gathering data and its members are anxious to receive any pertinent information on local buildings which were significant during the health resort era.
Before the meeting closed the membership elected a slate of officers for the coming year: Mrs D. Mott Chapin, president, Mrs Jacques DeMattos, vice-president; Ruth O'Connell, treasurer and Mrs Joseph Stephen, secretary.
The next meeting of the VIS will be held in May 1979.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, December 22, 1980
At a recent meeting of the board of trustees of Historic Saranac Lake, following officers were elected for a one-year term: Mary Hotaling, president; Betsy Minehan, vice president; Dorothy Stephen, recording secretary; and Dorothy Fobare, treasurer.
Mrs. Fobare wishes to remind everyone that Historic Saranac Lake license plate frames are great stocking stuffers!
This limited edition is almost sold out and will not be repeated.
The remaining stock is available at the local Chamber of Commerce office and Tom Doty's Country Road Beef.
Comments
2013-04-11 17:30:29 As one of the few surviving original patients of the Trudeau Sanatorium (I was there in the early 1950's) I am curious to know if there is any list of patients of that time. I remember my doctor was Dr. Meade, as well as a Dr. Giles. George Inglessis [email protected] —96.235.150.27
2013-07-10 14:25:16 Mary wrote about my great grandfather William Lincoln coulter. I am visiting saranac lake and staying in a cmp he designed aug 4 with my 3 sisters. We would love to meet her. Alison Lincoln coulter- [email protected] —98.25.246.240
