Turtle Pond Lodge, c. 1930
Historic Saranac Lake CollectionThe Turtle Pond Club, named for Turtle Pond, southwest of Saranac Lake off of Lake Flower Avenue, existed from the late-1920s to the late-1960s, though tax records date the building to 1900. The post-911 system address is 710 Route 86.
Lake Placid News, December 20, 1929
TURTLE POND CLUB'S NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY
Residents of this section of the Adirondacks will be interested in the announcement of the Turtle Pond club of Saranac Lake that it will sponsor a gala New Year's eve celebration at the Hotel Saranac, Saranac Lake, on the last night of the year.
Phil Romano's well-known orchestra from the DeWitt Clinton hotel at Albany will furnish music for dancing. Dinner will be served at nine o'clock. Favors and souvenirs are announced. The whole affair, it is said, will have a real night-club atmosphere.
Add a captionRequests for reservations should be made to the Turtle Pond club, Saranac Lake, either by telephone in person.
Lake Placid News, January 3, 1930
Malone, Saranac Lake, Places First in Senior Group at Turtle Pond Club Sunday
Ski jumpers from Lake Placid took three of the four events in the ski-jumping competitions at the Turtle Pond club, Saranac Lake Sunday.
Richard Malone, Saranac Lake, placed first in the senior class with a best jump of 40 and a point score of 35.9. Bud O'Rourke of Lake Placid was second with a 31-foot leap and a point score of 34.0
Lake Placid had it pretty much its own way in the 16, 14, and 12- year classes.
Officials of the meet were Eric Aasea, sports director of the Lake Placid-Marcy hotel, Lake Placid; Frank W. Swift, manager of the Lake Placid-Marcy, and Donald Thompson, ski instructor at Turtle Pond club…
Skis from the attic at 90 Park Avenue
Possibly used for ski jumping at the Turtle Pond Club
Courtesy of John Mills
Plattsburgh Sentinel, January 31, 1930
Skating
...The Turtle Pond club of Saranac Lake will stage a gala carnival and masked costume dance on Friday evening, February. Fancy and acrobatic skating exhibitions, novelty races in costume and other stunts on the steel blades will feature the carnival which is the second annual affair of the organization...
Lake Placid News, December 18, 1931
TURTLE POND LODGE OPENS SEASON DEC. 22
A reception for members of the Turtle Pond club and their guests at the lodge will mark the opening of the club's winter season on Tuesday evening, Dec. 22.
LaMarr's orchestra will furnish the music for dancing at Turtle Pond Lodge. The club headquarters has been enlarged and improved and many social events are scheduled to be held there during the winter. There will be a tea dance on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 30th, and a New Year's eve party and annual costume ball.
The complete program as announced, follows:
December 22, Opening reception, 8 to 10 p.m.; December 30, Tea Dance, 4 to 6 p.m.; December 31, New Year's Eve party: January 9. Children's party, afternoon; January 16, Hare and Hounds Ski chase; January 18, Opening ping pong tournament; January 23, First annual ski race; January 30, Club and Ski Jump; February 3, Costume Carnival ball; February 4 to 12, Olympics at Lake Placid; February 14, Opening women's bridge tournament; February 20, Invitation ski jump; February 27, Children's tea dance.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, January 21, 1952
Ski Skope
…Time was when there was a very well designed ski jump at Turtle Pond at the site just back of Pryne's Cabins; this was during the time when the Pond Club had skating and skiing facilities, and there were home-and-home jumping meets between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. The Lake Placid contests were held on the Grand View Jump which had its landing hill and runout where the Olympic Arena is today. Was this when Fritz Bendell and Louis Pomeroy used to represent Saranac Lake?
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, March 28, 1968
The Year 1928- "Skating Club is Organized- A new winter sports club to plan a rink and other outdoor activities has been formed by residents of Turtle Pond colony on outskirts of the village. Stanley McCaddon has been elected temporary chairman and George Carmen, secretary and treasurer. The name Turtle Pond Skating Club, has been adopted.
"W. R. Shearman, Eugene Earley and J. D. McIllhenny will serve as a rink and grounds committee while the membership committee will include McCaddon, Shearman, H. W. Lockwood, George Light, Jr., Earley, McIllhenny, Carmen and Edward Billings.
"Though formed primarily to make arrangements for skating the club will also supervise other sports such as skiing, tobogganing and snow-shoeing. A building will be placed adjacent to the lodge to be used as a clubhouse and locker room. The rink will be bordered by ever-greens and ice pillars and will be illuminated by flood lights for night skating."
From "Travels with Charlie [Keough]," by George R. Packard, Adirondack Life, May/June 2000
. . . At the age of ten, lacking money to buy skis, [Charlie Keough] strapped waxed barrel staves to his boots and soared off a twenty-meter ski jump at the Turtle Pond Club, behind where Saranac Lake's Ames department store is today.
