Musical Revival

Joyous music fills the calm atmosphere of a July afternoon. Children are playing, bellies are full and the lights of the Ferris wheel illuminate Sherman’s Amusement Park at Caroga Lake, in the southern Adirondacks. Hundreds of people sitting in camp chairs listen to bluegrass virtuoso Sierra Hull, who is performing. In the background, Caroga Lake hugs the park as the sun sets.

For people who spent the 1950s and ’60s in Caroga Lake, this moment offers a chance to relive some of their happiest times. Back then, Caroga Lake was an Adirondack destination, where personalities such as Elvis Presley and Irving Berlin are said to have visited, and where Cotton Club acts like Jimmie Lunceford