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Rockland Lake Nature Center Holds Grand Re-Opening - 11 September, 2003
By NANCY CACIOPPO
THE JOURNAL NEWS
ROCKLAND LAKE — The grand reopening of the Rockland Lake Nature Center yesterday drew many officials and about 50 area residents eager to enjoy the trails and exhibits on plant and animal life, the Lenape Indians and the 19th-century ice industry. The Nature Center opened in 1965 when Gov. Nelson Rockefeller dedicated Rockland Lake State Park. In later years, budget cutbacks slowly reduced the staffing hours, and the Nature Center closed in 1999. "We're thrilled about this," said Myrna Nizen of Spring Valley, who remembered visiting the Nature Center years ago with her children. "It's beautiful," added Nizen's daughter, Jill. "It's really important to bring it back." Also at the event were two Rockland Lake natives who spoke nostalgically about the area's early industries. Bruce Engelke of Congers said his grandfather, Charles Zenovic, worked in the ice houses and mined the cliff quarries in the early 20th century. "The bedrock of America rests on the decent, hard-working immigrants who were desperate to make a living," Engelke said. Frances Fay of Congers told how both her grandfathers cut ice and worked in the riverfront stone quarries. She and Engelke reminisced about the old days before the Palisades Interstate Park Commission bought up the land, when the small, rural community consisted of farms, hotels, a meat market and a candy store with a pot-bellied stove. Bear Mountain's Trailside Museums and Wildlife Center designed the Rockland Lake facility as a center for environmental education. And yesterday, Trailside environmental educator Barbara Thomas re-dubbed the Nature Center "Trailside South." Palisades Interstate Park Commission staff and Rockland County AmeriCorps and its Student Conservation Association joined with about 100 volunteers to restore the Nature Center's trails and build the center's exhibits during the past four months. Work on the project was done with a $10,000 grant through the office of state Sen. Thomas Morahan, R-New City, and "another $30,000 in sweat equity," noted Morahan who, along with Legislator Harriet Cornell, D-West Nyack, praised the work of the volunteers. Yesterday, AmeriCorps project coordinator Kathy Galione said she was gratified by the results. "It's like night and day," Galione said. "We also feel we generated a spirit of volunteerism." The Rockland Lake Nature Center at Rockland Lake State Park North, off Route 9W, Congers, is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday through Oct. 26. For further information, call 845-786-2701.
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