By KIM SMITH DEDAM
LAKE PLACID — A posthumous tribute to award-winning cattle farmer and philanthropist Henry Uihlein set a stretch of his land aside Monday as a community preserve.
Three interlaced recreational trails, cut gently against the side of Heaven Hill, were formally named Henry's Woods.
Located barely a mile from the village, the new foot and mountain bike paths are a gift from the Uihlein Foundation to the local community.
Several of Uihlein's lifelong friends attended the dedication and imagined he would have smiled on this day.
"I'm sure he would be just thrilled to be doing this," said Ruth Hart, standing under the rustic trailhead kiosk. "He was really very proud of Lake Placid and loved living here."
Ruth's husband, Dr. George Hart, now in his 90s, was lifelong personal physician and friend of Henry and Mildred Uihlein.
He remembered conversations with Henry about what would happen to the large expanse of Uihlein lands at Heaven Hill, much of it sharing border with state property surrounding the Adirondack High Peaks.
"I spoke with Henry in his later years about this; the only thing he didn't want it to be was a housing development," Dr. Hart said. "The Foundation directors have left a great memorial to the Uihleins; this represents their love of the area."
TRAIL WORK
Uihlein Foundation Chairman John Leekley described the work of many hands over four years that helped design and cut 2.5 miles of shared walking-biking-snowshoeing trail.
In all, the woodland passage incorporates four sturdy bridges over forest streams, 3,593 tons of gravel and 4,827 work hours, Leekley said.
A parking loop for Henry's Woods that turns from Bear Cub Lane was built on property exchanged with Adirondack Medical Center for a lot adjoining Uihlein Mercy Center across the road, Leekley noted, thanking AMC CEO and President Chandler Ralph.
Monday's tribute completed a park pair for Henry and Mildred, whom most people remember as "Mid."
The village park in the center of Lake Placid, dedicated several years ago as Mid's Park, was open space that she had long protected, Mrs. Hart noted.
TIP OF THE HAT
Henry's Woods also holds quiet tribute to Frank J. Politi, horticulturist and longtime friend of the Uihleins. A standing stone fitted with a brass plaque celebrates his life and work near the trail entrance.
"Trees are timeless, but flowers must wait for the First of June," Leekley said, quoting a phrase used by the longtime Lake Placid resident.
Politi's son, North Elba Town Supervisor Roby Politi, helped cut a white ribbon opening Henry's Woods.
"My father was a horticulturist for Henry for years," Roby said, "and my father was a trail maker."
VISION
The Uihlein legacy extends back nearly a century to 1911, when Henry came to Saranac Lake taking the cure for tuberculosis, an affliction he contracted as a medical student.
Born in New York City, he was the grandson of Joseph Schlitz, president of the Schlitz Brewing Co., a position Henry later held.
He was 101 when he died in 1997.
Lake Placid was, on all counts, a beloved home.
"Henry really provided a part of the vision for the Olympic Games in '32," Roby said. "He and his wife would be very proud of the work the foundation has done."
ALREADY IN USE
Uihlein Trustee Jim McKenna said trails in Henry's Woods have been very active for much of the past nine months, even as construction and side work finished up.
"As our chairman mentioned, this is incentive to look at the rest of the trail system. It's certainly getting regular use and really bringing in all different types of people, young and old."
Uihlein Foundation intends to build additional sections of trail to the top of Heaven Hill, a gently sloped knoll with a great view of Lake Placid, the Adirondack High Peaks and Mirror Lake.
E-mail Kim Smith Dedam at: kdedam@pressrepublican.com
