Years 2013

News from Unirondack

Many years ago when Joyce Gilbert was a member of the Unirondack Board of Directors, there were

plans developed for a new building to be called Unirondack House. The hope at the time was that the

building would provide needed heated spaces so that Unirondack could better serve people in the cool

Adirondack fall and spring months. As often happens in UU communities, a combination of factors

including other pressing needs came to the fore and the project did not come to fruition.

Then, just prior to the summer of 2012, Unirondack was told by the NYS Health Department that the

showerhouse at camp was beyond the point where yearly repairs were sufficient for the building to

continue to be approved for occupancy. The building was going to need major renovation.

In the fall of 2012, under the leadership of Unirondack Board President Devin Hollands, a plan was

developed to renovate the showerhouse and simultaneously meet the need for more heated housing in

the spring and fall. The plan called for the building to provide heat, updated showers, additional

bedrooms for fall and spring campers, a large bunk room to meet the need for staff days-off quarters in

the summer, a meeting room for campers, and more handicap accessible bathrooms. To get the project

off the ground a grant application was made to the UU Congregation at Shelter Rock Large Grants

Program and in the spring of 2013 a $100,000 grant from the congregation allowed the work to begin.

Since then, it has been a frenetic time for Unirondack: a combination of intensive fund raising, building

into the depths of December, and addressing many unanticipated hurdles. The support from many old

and new friends of Unirondack has been nothing short of miraculous. A campaign to name the building

for Evelyn Anderson, the beloved long-time cook at Unirondack, has been successful and the opening of

Evelyn Anderson House is anticipated in June of this year.

The renovation of the showerhouse caps off several years of major infrastructure improvements at

Unirondack, including the building of the Stevens Performing Arts Pavilion next to the lake, the ongoing

renovation of the boathouse/artshop, the installation of new windows and sprucing up of the Gilman

dining hall, the renovation of Chadwick into a gorgeous heated cabin sleeping up to 16 people,

installation of wood floors in the lodge, and adding a meeting room onto Sophia Fahs. The major work is

in addition to smaller maintenance projects including building a new staircase to the lower field, putting

a new roof on Overlook, replacing a septic tank, and replacing the retaining wall along the entire road

from Gilman to the parking lot.

Along with all these infrastructure improvements, Unirondack has also been moving forward

programmatically and in building for the future. The camp has been filled to overflowing with youth and

family campers each summer, has served as a retreat for close to 300 members of UU congregations

each fall, and has continued to offer weekend programs each spring. In addition, the Legacy Foundation

capital campaign is ongoing, moving steadily forward in its goal of raising $1,000,000 to insure that

Unirondack is here for our children and our children’s children. Over $250,000 has been pledged and

donated to date and with all of your help there is no doubt the campaign will meet its goal.

If you have not been involved in Unirondack recently, now is the time to sign your child or family up.