Mavis Cain's blog

This has been a big season for field trips. PS 116 of Manhattan sent 4th and 5th graders with their enthusiastic leader, Michelle Yonkell. These kids know a lot about the water system of New York - enough to keep us on our toes with accurate facts. After seeing the movie and listening to Mavis' stories about John Jervis, the kids had to test the echo in the tunnel and hunt for bats. They went back to the city wearing their Aqueduct bracelets and armed with a fact sheet.

The Dobbs Ferry Democrats with members of the Greenburgh Hebrew Center did an amazing clean-up of the the Aqueduct trail back of the High School and up to Cedar Street. This group turned out on Sunday May 2nd and even pulled heavy trash out of the wooded section to the west. Bravo!

Not to be outdone, members of Temple Beth Shalom tackled the section of the trail on both sides of the Five Corners in Hastings. If members in every section of the trail did this we'd have a litter-free trail. Well done Aqueduct elves.

The Annual Meeting pulled in a big crowd, despite rainy weather. Mavis Cain, president, gave an update of recent activities. She was followed by Tom Tarnowsky who presented the slate of board members who were duly approved by the audience. Bob Kornfeld presented the schedule of the Keeper's House project. Construction bids go out as soon as the mechanical specs are approved by the State Department of Transport. Drawings were available for all to study.

Take advantage of the snow and try skiing on the trail. It's amazingly good in certain sections. I went out 3 times last week on the sections from Dobbs Ferry down to Yonkers.If you are the first one out you have to make a track away from the walkers' path - which is a bit slow going but on your return it's good. One has to clump across the streets and occasionally take the skis off - at 5 corners in Hastings for instance.

On November 4, a bus load of eager 11th graders from the Academy of Urban Planning studied the water system of the area from the upstate watershed to the Aqueduct.

In our area, they started at the Croton Dam. Student Venise Morales said, "The beauty of it is amazing, especially considering it is man-made." Kiara Rogrigues added "So many people put their lives on the line to make it." And Camille Velasquez noted that the Aqueduct "was built by hand, not by machinery. Irish people came from the potato famine to help build the tunnel..."

On October 3rd, Troop 24 left Croton Dam and walked south as far as Dobbs Ferry, a hike that took all day. The boys and their troop leaders spent the night at the beautiful Waterfront park beside the Hudson river. It was cold... br-r.
For the next lap of the journey they chose November 7. They left the Keeper's House early and walked as far as the High Bridge. Thanks to the Friends' trusty map, they made it!

On November 11th, the History Channel crew will be filming the Croton Dam and inside the Aqueduct tunnel. The Friends historian Bob Kornfeld will be on-camera giving the history of The Aqueduct. Our next report will tell you when to see it on television.

On Sunday, October 11, on a cloudless day, Tom led a group of more than 20 hardy walkers through the parts of the sity that are atop the Aqueduct. They started at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park, made a short tour inside the 135th St Gatehouse and then on to the CCNY campus. In Hamilton Heights they saw the Alexander Hamilton House now moved to a park like setting.

Tom's famous notebook was shared so that all could get a better grasp of the history.

In "Under New York," aired last month, we see the inside of the Aqueduct raw - totally natural with bats flying about and the grunge that accumulates with time. The explorers had to do confined space training and there they are, splashing through the dark and foreboding tunnel with hard hats and head lamps. One of the best parts is when they come upon a "dead air" section and they are running for air, one after the other, then scrambling up the ladder to safety. This section of the Aqueduct is not the refined and well-lit section that we have in Ossining. It's "au naturel." -- Mavis Cain

Part of the pleasure of walking the Aqueduct is finding the off-shoots and exploring them. On September 13, five brave women with Mavis and Joe Kozlowski tackled the overgrown carriage road from the Aqueduct to Untermyer Park starting at the Lion and the headless unicorn.