There were about thirty six people that showed up.  The group was comprised of engineers, school teachers, students, scouts, computer programmers, local, state and federal employees, Field and Office workers.  We were a diverse group with a common thread.  We came ready to work for a great cause.  Who said there are no more good people in this world?

All those meetings I had to attend, both in person and through email, trying to fit them into a calendar bursting with activity.  I was really getting a different perspective on “The Legend of Eagle Mountain”.  I will never listen to that poem in the same way.

If I think back even further, to when I was a first or second class scout, dreaming of what type of project I would choose.  The very idea of this major undertaking was enough for me to quit.  I remember how stressed out I got when I had to plan and perform my first class cooking requirement.  I would beg my father to allow me to cook various meals so I could plan for the daunting event. 

All of that seemed like a lifetime ago.  All of my paperwork completed and submitted to Council, I have nothing to do but sit and wait for the scheduling of my Eagle Board of Review.  I promised all of you that I would post the pictures of my project here but to date I didn’t have the time.  Now that everything is done and nothing to do but wait, I have the time to do just that.  I will try to release them on a weekly basis until all of them have been posted.  Please feel free to post your comments.

Even after all of that physical work, there is the paperwork!!!

I am writing to you roughly 109 years after your death to tell you that people are busy these days.  There are baseball games, music events, Eagle courts of honor to prepare, Church services, work deadlines, lawns to care for, laundry  and just plain life to live, as life in the year 2009 is intense and stress ridden.

It is on this backdrop that makes the April 25th, workday at Layman’s Monument so unbelievable.  Roughly thirty six people from four counties, (Ulster, Green, Rensselaer and Delaware) turned out.  They were Engineers, Federal, State and Local government workers, Field and Office workers, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts(1) and one future Scout, ages ranging from 7 to 84.

These were busy people who came to honor your life by sweating under the hot sun,  keeping your spirit of volunteerism alive.  They carried rakes, shovels, pick axes, pry bars, hedge clippers, cement, cases and coolers of water and yes even four or five wheel barrows, (when we could not roll them over obstacles), one and one half miles in and out of the woods.

The day started with everybody meeting at Scutt Road, near the entrance to the North/South lake campgrounds.  After a brief introduction, as not all volunteers knew each other, our wonderful refreshment crew brought out the coffee and the “fat pills”, (this was the term used by Mr. Wallace to describe the Donuts).  After the refreshments, (or shall we say prefreshments), the caravan began to move along the blue trail to Layman’s monument.

After a long journey in, weighed down by many items, we stopped along the route to discuss various aspects of the project.  Some people were dispatched to remove trees that had fallen down in our path and would make the travel along the blue trail very difficult.  We all stopped along the way to learn where the various water bars would have to be installed and how to actually carry out that task.  Regardless of where in these great big woods people were to be assigned, everybody wanted to get a glimpse of this popular monument.

For those of us who have not been there recently, the appearance at first gaze was really quite disheartening.  My Father and I had been up there all winter so we were visually prepared, knowing full well the winter had taken a heavy toll on the monument.  Melting snows with the help of some vandals in the recent weeks had left it’s carefully placed stones strewn all over the area.

Our mason, (Mr Rick Rush) who had been very positive in his earlier assessment regarding the monument’s condition, this time did not seem as assured.  He explained to me that the original stones were cut and placed so that they fit together precisely.  Now that the stones were moved about, he was faced with a giant three dimensional jigsaw puzzle, (and he did not seem like he wanted to play with puzzles).

Regardless, the group set to work immediately and continued tirelessly in the hot sun that day.   All morning I ran up and down the blue trail directing a team of volunteers who just could not be filled of their need to help.  It was early afternoon when our wonderful refreshment crew, (Mom, Mrs Wallace (who also doubled as one of our photographers), Sean and Caitlin) appeared once again with food.  Most of the work was done by then, so we had the luxury of sitting and enjoying each other’s company.

Although the time was very short, I had a chance to reflect on this moment.  On this day, some very diverse people joined in an effort for one common goal.  It wasn’t just to rescue a pile of rocks from the elements or some random vandals, but to rescue collective hearts from the elements of intense and stress ridden lives.

I learned that while we are busy with our work deadlines, baseball games and various other activities, they are a sore replacement for doing the right thing, at the right time.  This was surly the right thing…and it certainly felt like the right time.  So although it is about One Hundred and Nine years late, thank you Mr Layman for this moment.

On Saturday, we will meet at the Scutt Road parking area in Haines Falls at 8AM.  If you are interested in helping and have not notified me yet, please send your intentions via the link below.  We will need to have a head count for both insurance purposes and food.  If you are not sure of where the Scutt Road parking area is, please click on the “directions” link at the top of this page.

Also, if you are interested in what type of work will be done on Saturday, please click on the Calendar link at the top of this page for an in-depth description of the activities to be performed.  If you are not interested in actually working and want to just witness a part of local history, please come out, visit us and give us your support.

If you are unable to take the 1.5 mile trek to Layman’s monument, please bookmark this site and visit often.  We welcome all of your feedback so do not be stingy.  We will provide many pictures and tons of commentary on all of the goings on at the Monument.

Also, keep your eyes “peeled” on the calendar link for upcoming events, (especially fund raisers).  If you have been looking for a way to help, but are not physically able, please consider donating to this cause.  By projects end, we will incur many expenses and could use all the help you can spare.  However, if you would like more for your money, wait for the car wash coming to a local church near you.

So as you can see, there are many ways to help.

Hope to see you Saturday!!!

In my house, the week of “President’s Week” was a cause for celebration.  We were all on vacation and we had lots of places to go.  The only day we really didn’t plan anything was Thursday, because the weatherman said we were going to have snow and sleet.  True to the forecast, the snow started Wednesday evening and continued on and off into Thursday.  It was during one of those “off” periods that my father came up with the brainy idea of visiting Mr. Layman’s gravesite.  He rationalized that with all of the attention on the  monument this spring, it might be a great idea to raise any issues of a deteriorating grave site.

We were halfway up the mountain when the “off” period of the snow storm turned into an “on” period.  The snow was really beginning to fall when we pulled into the Maplecrest post office to ask about their cemetery.  The cemetery is a small parcel of land surrounded by a fence right in the middle of town.  In fact, my father and I felt as if every move we made was being watched.  In contrast to so many other cemetery sites on the outskirts of towns all over America, this one was surrounded by houses.  Finding no place to park our vehicle, we decided to pay the post office a visit.

After a short conversion with the man behind the Post Office’s counter we learned a lot about the tiny community of Maplecrest.  For one thing, the people were extremely kind and nonjudgemental, after all he didn’t ridicule us for skulking around a cemetery in the middle of a snow storm.  Also, he told us to park in either the parking lot next to the cemetery, or the church across the street, for he personally knew the pastor of the church and he would not mind us leaving our car there while we paid our respects.  We thanked him for his guidance and quickly exited the post office to park our car.

We walked the short distance to the cemetery and entered through the front gate to begin our search.  My father and I walked each aisle carefully, trying to read the names and inscriptions on each stone through the snow flakes.  We would check and cross check the entire cemetery twice before we came to the conclusion that we must be in the wrong place.  With mounting snow, we quickly exited the cemetery and walked the short distance to our car.  We obviously messed up somewhere, but we would have to wait until we got home to find out where.  Once we got home, we reviewed a previous post on this blog,

http://givingbackinthecatskills.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/more-information-gathered-about-frank-d-layman/

and our mistake was immediately obvious.  Mr Layman was not buried in Maplecrest cemetery in East Jewett, but Maplewood cemetery in South Jewett!  A little homework before we set off on this journey would have saved us a lot of time and energy.  With the weather not cooperating, we decided to put our adventure off for another day.

In direct contrast to Thursday’s weather, Saturday morning’s weather was just beautiful.  So we started on our journey again, but this time to South Jewett rather than East Jewett.  Maplewood cemetery is a much larger cemetery than Maplecrest, located outside of town, rather than smack dap in the middle.  Everything about this trip spoke of success, the weather, the expectations, the absolute opposite of our experiences on Thursday at Maplecrest.  This time we also armed ourselves with a general layout of the cemetery making our search much easier.

Using documentation we found on the web,

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nygreen2/maplewood_cemetery.htm,

we were able to locate Mr. Layman’s gravesite in short order, and I am happy to say that the grave marker is fit for a Hero!!!  I really have to keep my father focused on the project site, but you know, there is something about a graveyard.

Headstone of Frank D. Layman

Thankfully, we found a “possible” water source much closer to the Monument than previously thought.  I say “possible” because I am not sure if this stream will be around in mid to late April.  Streams in these parts of the woods have a nasty habit of drying up as you get later on into the Summer, and we will need the water to mix cement.

We have noted three major obstacles on the 1.2 mile trek from the bottom of Scutt Road to the actual base of the Monument.  The first being the very active stream at the bottom of the road.  Apparently there was a bridge over this body of water but it is no longer standing.

We are contemplating building a temporary bridge that we can construct and use to get all of our material across the stream.  It will be much easier if we could cross the stream at Scutt Road as opposed to the existing bridge upstream.  We will erect and deconstruct the bridge every day we work on the Monument to avoid any possible liability.  We will be taking detailed measurements on our next trip up to see about the feasibility of this.

All vehicles carrying material could drive to the bottom of the road.  A crew would unload the vehicles and carry everything over to the opposite bank.  These items would be loaded into a wheelbarrow and brought to the second obstacle, a very narrow foot bridge, too narrow for a wheelbarrow to pass.

Awaiting on the opposite side of this foot bridge would be another wheelbarrow, (this would actually have to be carried over the rails of the foot bridge).  Material would be extracted from the first wheelbarrow and loaded into the second, which would be dispatched and rolled to the third obstacle.

The third obstacle, a very steep incline will be handled much like the narrow foot bridge.  Material will be carried from one wheelbarrow to another, then the loaded wheelbarrow will continue the long journey to the work site.  Then the actual work can begin!!!!  So you see, a lot of the work would be in supporting the Mason doing the restoration.

Kaaterskill High Peak (left) and Roundtop (right) as seen from Layman’s Monument.

I am getting exhausted just thinking about all of this.  It always seems difficult to focus on the work when I get up to the mountaintop, (that may be due to the beautiful surroundings).  Sitting down and gazing across the “great divide” of Kaaterskill Clove, I am blessed with this beautiful view of Katterskill High Peak and Roundtop.

Anyway, enough daydreaming…time to get back to work!

Notice all the erosion at the base of the Monument as is evident by the large exposed root.

My father and I inspected the bottom of the Monument to see how difficult it would be to lay landscaping ties around it.  The idea is to surround the structure with ties, put in drainage pipes to divert any water from the immediate area, cover the plastic pipes with stones and top soil.  We would then add plants to the topsoil to stop the erosion around the Monument’s base.  We were thinking of  using mountain laurel which grows quite well in this area.  This may be a question for Mr. Frank Parks our local DEC expert.

Dad and I will be taking a trip up to the monument today.  I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures as we begin our planning process.

An interesting fact gathered from:  http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=4651&id=I34344

Charles (Father), Philena (Mother) and Frank (Mr Frank D. Layman) are buried in South Jewett’s Maplewood Cemetery.

“IN MEMORY OF FRANK D. LAYMAN,

OF HAINES FALLS,

WHO LOST HIS LIFE ON

THIS SPOT AUG. 10, 1900,

WHILE WITH OTHERS FIGHTING A FOREST FIRE

WHICH THREATENED TO

DESTROY THE HOMES AND

BUSINESS INTERESTS OF

THE PEOPLE OF THIS PLACE

BY THOSE GRATEFUL

FOR HIS DEVOTED SERVICE

THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED”1

I had passed this monument and read the inscription many times while hiking, always wondering about the history behind this incredible man.  I would learn more about the last days of his life, from the Daily Mail, a local newspaper servicing the people of the Catskill mountains.

On Sunday, February 1, 2009, I glanced at the front page of the Daily Mail, only to see myself staring back at me.  Yes there I was in my Boy Scout uniform, with a sash full of badges, grinning from ear to ear.  I guess that’s better than seeing me being led out of some courthouse in handcuffs and a raincoat pulled over my head.  Anyway, the caption under the picture stated;

“Life Scout Dan Coughlin III of Palenville has received approval from the Hunter Town Board to perform restoration work in the spring at Layman’s Monument for his Eagle Scout project.”2

In his article, Mr. Jim Planck described my meeting with the Hunter Town Board and more importantly to me, went into the background of the monument.

“Layman had been a Twilight Park employee, and it was the Twilight Park Association who originally funded the memorial and caused it to be created.”2

Interesting enough I did some digging of my own and “Googled” Frank D. Layman.  In one of my “hits” I came across a web page that stated there was a Frank Layman listed in the “Town of Hunter, 1896 Green County Directory”.  The listing stated;

“Frank Layman—laborer PO Tannersville “.3

This was beginning to border on obsession with me!!!

Mr Planck references the Saturday, Aug. 11, 1900 issue of the Daily Mail to describe the events on Mr. Layman’s last day.

“A fierce fire was raging in the forest on the mountain in the vicinity of the Laurel House and Hotel Kaaterskill last night.”

“It started in the clove below Kaaterskill Falls about a quarter of a mile from the Laurel House.”

“A large party of men are fighting the flames, but whether their efforts would be successful could not be determined last night.”

“Oscar Ford and Frank Layman, two of the fire fighters, were caught in the ravine below the falls while working to stop the progress of the fire.”

“Ford, after falling from a ledge, succeeded in getting out, suffering with some severe burns.”

“Layman, who was following him, fell back and had not been seen up to the time this report reached us.  It is feared he has been burned to death.”

“At least 200 men are fighting the fire in the woods around the Laurel House”.2

Mr Planck references the Monday, Aug. 13 issue of the Daily Mail to describe the aftermath of the fire and the fate of Mr Layman.

“The body of Frank Layman, who was thought to have perished in the flames Friday afternoon, was found Saturday morning only a short distance from the ledge over which his companion jumped and escaped, burned into such a charred mass as to make recognition impossible.”

“He was identified by means of the watch he carried.”

“He was a son of Charles Layman, of Tannersville, 25 years of age and unmarried.”

“Some idea of the fierceness of the fire can be conceived when it is learned that the flames where Layman was fighting the fire leaped fully one hundred and fifty yards, starting another fire which quickly formed a semi-circle hemming in the men on one side, while at the other, a ledge fully twenty feet high with jagged rocks below stared them in the face if they would escape; and this dangerous leap they took and succeeded in escaping, but Layman, not so fortunate, was overtaken by the flames before he could reach the ledge, and perished.”

With his research and the stroke of his pen, Mr Planck succeeded in transforming the eroding monument of stone into a living breathing sole.  In me, he resurrected the “volunteer spirit” of Mr Layman.  For this was no mere pile of stones held together by cement, battered by time, but the heart of the Town of Hunter.  I will never be able to hike past this place without stopping and paying my respects.

Thank you Mr. Planck for the wonderful article and a new perspective on the people and the place we call “The Catskills”.

Mr. Layman, a special thank you… for your service… and at such an unbelievable price!!!  You and I will be doing a lot of talking this Spring.  See ya up there at the monument!!!

1. This quote was taken from the actual plaque on Layman’s Monument
2. The Daily Mail, Sunday, February 1, 2009, Vol. 217, No. 32, www.thedailymail.net, Author, Jim Planck
3. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nygreen2/1896_town_of_hunter.htm