The Hand of Man

Legends of the Lake

Skimming the Surface

Pumping Cash Out of Seneca

Something about fishing.

Why Seneca?

Frozen in Time

Counting on the Lake

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The Lake Country Rambler

Arch Merrill is still well-remembered as the poet laureate of the region.

In his life, Arch Merrill wrote 23 books, some of them original histories, and other collections of columns he had published as a Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reporter. All evidenced his love for the region stretching from the Genesee River east into the heart of the Finger Lakes.

"The Lovely Vixen" is a chapter appearing in The Lakes Country (1944), which assembles Seneca Lake history and lore through the ages, beginning prior to European settlement. To the natives, he writes, "Seneca was never like her sister lakes. She seemed to be bottomless. She seldom was frozen over, even in the coldest winter. In her depths lurked perfidious currents that pulled the strongest swimmers down to death. She was given to gusts of temper and inexplicable tides that drove the war canoes against the rocks.

"But she could be so charming when she smiled," he continues, "that [natives] forgave her tantrums and her guile." He goes on to tell of Agayentah and other legends, and profiles many of the lakeside towns of the day.

Merrill, whose Hobart career was cut short by World War I, wrote from 1923 (his first year with the paper) until his death in 1974. Typically, his first book was a collection of reports on an extended walk along the Genesee River. His writings consisted of personal, first-hand, common-folk portrayals (in the tradition of, say, Charles Kuralt). He documented hundreds of the people and anecdotes that, in aggregate, define the spirit of the region. For his work, Merrill received the Hobart Alumni Association’s Medal of Excellence in 1972. A series of his books is now published by Empire State Books in Interlaken, N.Y. — D.C.

The Seneca Lake series was researched and written by Dana Cooke and Peter Rolph '85 — writer/editors in the Office of College Relations. Portions of the series also appear in the Fall '97 issue of The Pulteney St. Survey. To request a copy, e-mail Susan Murad at murad@hws.edu.