Arboretum’s Awesome August Perfecta: An Open Call to Runners, Musicians,

Artists, Poets, Performers to Honor Founder Fred Lape; Saturday, August 30

ESPERANCE, NY (07/14/2008)(readMedia)--

The message from the Capital Region's Arboretum is simple and direct. Come. Stay. Play for a day - and save gas, while having a memorable time with family and friends.

The Arboretum calls the daylong event an Awesome August Perfecta -- a dawn-to-dusk panoply of outdoor events and an open mic to honor the renaissance spirit and influence of Arboretum founder Fred Lape who would have been 108 this month. The Perfecta is billed as the perfect alchemy for family fun, education, and entertainment at the beautiful Landis Arboretum (which straddles both Schoharie and Montgomery Counties).

As planned, on Saturday, August 30, the 548-acre Landis Arboretum will be a gathering place for a day-long roster of events:

9 am - Noon Arboretum's Perennial 5K Cross Country Forest Run/Walk ‘n' Tot Trot

Following last year's successful 5K, the Arboretum again invites Capital Region runners - and those who support them - to enjoy the spectacular views of the Schoharie countryside at the beautiful Landis Arboretum. All proceeds to benefit the non-profit Landis Arboretum and Wanderland Universally Accessible Garden at Landis.

Course: The 5K run takes you on a tour of the 548-acre public garden. The majority of the race is set among the Arboretum's trails, ranging from woodlands to fields with rolling hills.

Awards: Male/Female-Top in each age group: Under 15, 15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70+.

For more information - including registration fees and forms - visit http://www.landisarboretum.org . Free T-shirts to the first 50 people registered before August 4. Contact race coordinator Jonathan DiCesare with any questions-518-231-2290.

Noon - 4 pm Old Stone Fort Militia Encampment at the Arboretum

The Schoharie area was a dangerous place during the Revolution. Men joined the militia to protect their families and defend their homes. Awesome August participants are invited to be part of the action as the Stone Fort Volunteer Militia musters them to Join the Militia.

  • Learn basic drills and marching maneuvers with wooden muskets.
  • Engage in a mock skirmish - for the adventuresome of any age! No actual firing, but plenty of fun!

Individuals, families and visitors of all ages are invited to:

  • Participate in Coloniallifeat the Militia's Revolutionary War encampment at Landis
  • Explore Civilian activities for the whole family!
  • Learn spinning and useful household skills of the period
  • Sample 18th century cooking around the campfire!
  • Try basic drills and marching maneuvers
  • Have fun in the open air of the spectacular Landis Arboretum

In the afternoon, Jeff O'Connor, Captain of the Old Stone Fort Volunteer Militia - along with local Boy Scout troops, including Arboretum-sponsored Troop 501 under Scoutmaster Chuck Stephens - will present a more advanced demonstration of frontier skirmish tactics.

Old Stone Fort Museum. Eight historic and museum buildings exhibiting 300 years of rural New York history at a Revolutionary War battle site. Self-guided tours, customized educational and group programs, research and genealogy library, museum store, special events and more. 145 Fort Road, Schoharie, NY 12157, (518) 295-7192, http://www.schohariehistory.net . Open May through October.

2 pm Walk through Old Growth Forest at the Capital Region's Arboretum

Howard Stoner, esteemed professor of mathematics at Hudson Valley Community College (Troy) and member of the Eastern Native Tree Society (focused on documenting old growth in New York State.) will lead a walking tour of the ancient forests at the Arboretum. (See Old Growth Beckons, below.)

3 - 8 pm LAPE DAY OPEN MIC

The Arboretum will provide an Open Mic and atmosphere that encourages openness and artistic expression indicative of Fred Lape's legacy as a man of the arts

The Arboretum encourages creative individuals and those who support them to bring their music, poetry, prose, artwork, and crafts to share with others within the rolling hills and plantings of the Arboretum. "We'll provide a public address (PA) system and an open mic," says Fred Breglia, the Arboretum's ISA Certified Arboretum and event co-chair. "Participants can make the experience as public or private as they like." He suggests that "some artists and performers may prefer to sit quietly and play their music. Others play better to an audience.

Area bands, soloists, and performance artists will be allotted time within the evening's flexible agenda. Plans also include a campfire sing-a-long. The vast dark, starlit sky of the Arboretum, a favorite of area astronomers and star-gazers, will provide a natural closure to the enthusiastic events of the day. Guests and participants are asked to bring lawn chairs and blankets. Refreshments will be sold. No rain date is scheduled.

8:30 pm Nature Tunes and Tales Campfire

As part of the Lape Birthday Celebration festivities, well-know Amsterdam, NY-based naturalist George Steele will conduct a Nature Tunes and Tales Campfire.

Mr. Steele brings this traditional, group participatory activity to new heights as he creates a true theater in the round with a fitting emphasis on ecology, plants, animals, and nature-related movements - replete with a ceremonial lighting of the Magic Campfire.

Anyone who has ever experienced the warmth, excitement, and camaraderie of shared time around a dancing fire in the cool night air will want to attend this event at the Fred Lape Birthday Bash celebration. No one does it better than Mr. Steele, an area resident of the Route 20 Scenic Corridor, who is in demand at schools, nature centers, public gardens, and arboreta across the northeast.

Admissioon

Admission and parking are free to the Arboretum's Awesome August Celebration. There is a registration fee for the 5K. Food and beverages will be available for sale throughout the day. Suggested donations of $5 person, $15 family are strongly encouraged to support the Capital Region's Arboretum, a non-profit entity that depends on fundraising, grants, and the generosity of visitors to sustain itself as a public park open to all. Rain or shine, it's gonna be fine!

A Legend in His Own Time...and Ours as Well

Arboretum founder Fred Lape would have been 109 years old on August 19. Lape, a musician, poet, English professor, and writer, was a familiar face to residents in the area when he established the Arboretum in 1951.

Jeff Lape, a younger member of the extended Lape family tree, grew up in Summit, NY, recalls core attributes of the senior Lape: "He was in his 70s and living at the time at the Arboretum home," Jeff recalls, "but would travel to Mexico for the winter months. He was rather eccentric, intelligent, and friendly. He, like most ancestors, was not a good genealogical historian, although he gave me some information that was useful. His neighbors knew him best, as you can tell by their writing of Fred."

More than neighbors and writers, Kenneth DeKay and his wife Agnes were personal friends of Fred Lape. The DeKays, who still reside in Esperance, actually lived at the Arboretum and watched over the homestead in winter months when Lape traveled or spent time in Mexico. The DeKays memorialized Lape in their 1986 book, Fred Lape. To them, he was a larger-than-life figure..."possessed with boundless energy and a broad range of talents and interests. Because of that, people were attracted to him with the same enthusiasm as he exhibited for procuring rare specimens for the then-nascent Arboretum."

As they indicate in the preface of their book on Fred Lape, the DeKays "contacted their friend, Dr. Gene M. Gressley, who headed the Archive of Contemporary History at the University of Wyoming, about the inclusion of the correspondence, papers and writings of Fred Lape in his archival collection of Americana. In a short time Dr. Gressley, Fred Lape, and the DeKays made the necessary arrangements, and Fred Lape began to send materials to the University of Wyoming for its archives. After his death his remaining materials, correspondence, and unpublished writings were sent to Wyoming where an extensive file on Fred Lape has now been established and is available to anyone who wishes to do research on Fred Lape or on his literary works.

"One of Fred Lape's major literary endeavors was the publishing of Trails, a Literary Magazine of the Outdoors over a twenty year span from 1932 to 1951. A complete set of Trails is in the Wyoming file, but more or less complete sets can also be found in many area libraries. A partial list of the writings of Fred Lape can be found in the appendix to [the Dekay's book], but this listing covers only those works which were published, or which he had printed, in book or pamphlet form. A complete list of all of the individual poems which Fred Lape wrote, some of which appeared in magazines or newspapers but many of which were never published, and of his unpublished plays, short stories, and other writings would be far too long for inclusion in this volume. Hopefully, most of his writings are in the Wyoming collection, but there is no way to be certain that he kept a copy of each and every poem or piece of writing that he sold and which was published during his lifetime."

Kenneth DeKay also taught at RPI and knew George Landis. He was Executor of the Lape estate and for many years served as his literary agent.

Taking Root along Route 20 in Esperance

The Arboretum features cultivated and native trees, shrubs, and perennials on the site of a 19th Century farm in Esperance, the home of the Lape family. The Lape homestead was known as Oak Nose Farm - for a large 400-year old white oak on a point overlooking the Schoharie Valley.

Lape earned two degrees in English at Cornell and started a teaching career at Stanford University, before he returned in 1928 to the farm to pursue a career in freelance writing. Prolific in prose and poetry, Lape also delighted in music, art, and theater. In the late 1930s, he taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.

Fred Lape aimed to grow every species of woody plant from temperate regions around the world that would survive in the hills of Schoharie County. To fulfill that desire he started planting trees at Oak Nose Farm. Others came to share his interest and became an integral part of operations at the Arboretum.

George Landis, an academic colleague, plant collector, and friend of Lape, was one of the early enthusiasts who helped bring about the creation of the arboretum. He died in 1950, leaving most of his estate to Lape, enabling him to focus on planting an arboretum. The George Landis Arboretum was established in 1951 and named for the "friend who had made it all possible both in life and in death."

LeVan Loveland, banker, financial advisor, and Lape friend, was responsible for the incorporation of the Arboretum as an educational institution. Loveland is also remembered for his skill and enthusiasm for flower gardening and his original perennial beds continue to attract large numbers of visitors year after year.

At the Arboretum, Lape kept careful records of his plantings, providing valuable historical documentation of his efforts. With assistance from friends and a few small grants, he continued to plant and maintain the grounds. He continued to be devoted to the idea of a "garden of trees and shrubs" until his death in 1985.

The Arboretum's reputation as a place to learn was established well before the first trees were planted. Fred Lape attracted a following of friends and academic colleagues who shared his excitement for plants. The collections are an excellent source of information for gardeners, artists, and scientists alike. The Arboretum is dedicated to providing formal educational programs, in addition to the collections, gardens and natural areas.

Now well into its second 50 years, the Landis Arboretum is one of the four more significant arboreta in New York. The Planting Arboretum and Bayard Cutting Arboretum, both located on Long Island in a different hardiness zone, and the Cornell Plantations in Ithaca, with an extensive scientific orientation, compliment the scenic, rural, and multifaceted operation of Landis. Approximately 10,000 people visit the Landis Arboretum each year.

Old Growth Forest Beckons

Those familiar with the Landis Arboretum know that it is many things. The Arboretum's most recent land acquisition, for example, almost doubled the size of the site and contains a horticulture bonanza. Last summer, a team of old-growth-forest experts surveyed the site and found species of trees ranging from 150 to 350 years old. One parcel of land near the Montgomery County line contains one of the oldest forests in the area.

Several stands of large American beech make this forest even more unique. Big beech trees growing in the wild are uncommon today due to a fungus disease known as the beech bark complex, which often kills beech trees before they can attain their mature size.

Like the venerable 500-year-old Great Oak that captures the sight and imagination of every visitor to the Lape Estate, the Arboretum itself is a mighty oak evolved from an acorn of inspiration and nurtured by passionate people united in their love and respect for nature. They unite again on August 19. For details or to participate in the open-to-all August 19 Fred Lape Birthday Bash, call 518-875-6935; http://www.landisarboretum.org

"This is just the sort of event that Fred Lape would have approved of and supported," says author Agnes DeKay. "...a fitting tribute indeed!"

(The Arboretum acknowledges the work, recollections, and contribution of Agnes and Kenneth Dekay and to Jeff Lape in the preparation of this article.

THE LANDIS ARBORETUM: MULTIFACETED, NATURAL JEWEL

Long a destination of choice among Capital District gardeners, environmentalists, nature lovers, hikers, perambulists, and birders, the Landis Arboretum may be one of the best-kept secrets among Capital Region residents.

In addition to its appeal to horticulturalists and environmentalists, the Arboretum often "rings a bell" of recognition because of its extraordinary plant sales - Spring and Fall -- that have become signature events. The Fall Plant/Book/Bake Sale Fundraiser is slated for September 13-14, Saturday and Sunday, 10 am-4 pm. Free admission and free parking.

What is an Arboretum anyway?

Arboreta serve as living museums. Collections of labeled plants are used not only for enjoyment and casual display but for critical examination and scientific study.

Arboreta...

  • Grow and keep labeled collections of woody plants which grow in a given locality;
  • Introduce plants into cultivation from the wild by selecting superior forms of indigenous plants or by importing and selecting plants from other climatically similar regions around the world;
  • Maintain accurate records of plant collections through herbarium samples, plant records, and maps of plantings;
  • Perform scientific investigations such as plants breeding;
  • Maintain library collections of relevant literature; and
  • Disseminate information to the public through educational programs, workshops, and publications.

The Landis Arboretum includes a nationally recognized collection of oaks and is registered with the North American Plant Collections Consortium (NAPCC). The Arboretum also is included in the New York State Route 20 Bluebird Trail, bringing even more birdwatchers to the site. The Arboretum's vast dark sky and wide horizons attract area astronomers to its meeting house and parking field for sky-watching events

The Arboretum is central to the New York State Wine and Spa Trails and in close proximity to historic Sharon Springs. And, it is a natural stop for those traveling to the high-volume tourist attractions between the Albany, Cooperstown, and Finger Lakes Regions. The Landis Arboretum is located 1.5 miles off scenic Route 20 in historic Esperance, NY. There, with decades of history and the riveting beauty inherent in the Arboretum's world-class, global collections, generations of extraordinary plantings continue to impart their secrets to its visitors.

For more information about the Landis Arboretum and Adventures in Schoharie County:

http://www.catskillmtn.org/publications/articles/2008-05-spectacular-beauty-sustainable-fun.html

The Landis Arboretum is located 1.5 miles off Scenic designated Route 20 in Esperance, NY, a beautiful and easy drive from within the Capital Region. For more information, call 518-875-6935; http://www.landisarboretum.org

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