Schaefer family: Pioneers of conservation and adventure in the Adirondacks

The Schaefers’ multi-generational influence on the Adirondack Park

By Bill Buell

In the spring of 1921, Rose Schaefer’s respiratory issues pushed her to seek respite in the cool and clean air of the Adirondack Mountains.

Fortunately, relocating from Schenectady up north to North Creek for nearly half the year wasn’t a problem for the Schaefer family. You could say her husband Peter and the children really took to the place.

“That is a very significant moment because that family has had a huge impact on the park,” said Dave Gibson, managing partner of Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve

Peter and Rose’s five children made their mark on the region. And now their grandchildren and great-grandchildren are carrying on what Gibson calls “an amazing family legacy.”

The three Schaefer sons

Oldest son Vince Schaefer became an atmospheric scientist under the tutelage of Nobel Prize winner Irving Langmuir at General Electric.

No. 2 son Paul became a popular builder of stone houses in Schenectady (his own turned into Union College’s Kelly Adirondack Center and Adirondack Research Library).

Third son, Carl, a long-time foreman at GE, introduced the first rope tow ever in New York at North Creek. All were involved in the creation of the Mohawk Valley Hiking Club (1929) and the Schenectady Wintersports Club (1932) as were their sisters Gertrude and Peggy. 

“The men got all the ink in those days because they were men, but those two sisters also made very important contributions,” said Gibson, referring to Gertrude and Peggy. “All five of those kids were outdoor people.” They hiked, they skied, and they snowshoed, encouraged by their parents to get into the fresh air and woods, he said.

Born in 1868 in Albany, Peter Schaefer played high school baseball at Christian Brothers Academy before heading to Canisius University in 1884 where he got a degree in classic literature. In his late teens he decided to become a priest and headed to a Roman Catholic seminary in Innsbruck, Austria. While he never finished those plans, his time in the Alps greatly enhanced the love he already had for the mountains.

A love of the outdoors

“My grandfather had a great appreciation for the outdoors, which included sculling on the Hudson River,” said Jim Schaefer, Vince’s son, the town of Rotterdam historian. “We know that in Innsbruck his health failed and I’m not really sure what that means, but he came back to Schenectady and worked as a clerk at the GE for 30 years.”

Jim spends most of his winter weekends at Royal Mountain, an Adirondack alpine center just northwest of Johnstown, running the ski school there with his wife, Kim, and their two children, Mike and Mikayla. 

Peter, who was bringing up his family in Schenectady, first took Rose and the children to the Adirondacks long before it became a necessity due to his wife’s health.

“In 1912 they went up to Tripp Lake in Warren County and stayed with a friend who owned a farm there,” said Jim Schaefer. “For years my grandfather rented a home up in the tiny hamlet of Baker’s Mills and eventually he bought a home there. They rented for a long time, and that’s why my uncle Paul, who was also working at GE, started building houses. All three brothers hated the idea of renting.”

Money was always an issue for Peter Schaefer, and his two oldest sons, Vince and Paul, despite their great success later in life. Both sons had to quit high school and find jobs to boost the family income.

MORE TO EXPORE: Articles about Paul Schaefer in the Adirondack Almanack

“Peter was able to buy a home in the area in 1923, and the extended family still has ownership of that place,” said Gibson. “Then Paul and Vince eventually bought a small cabin that was about 100 yards into the woods from the family house. That became the headquarters for their outdoor adventures.”

While Vince and Paul were well-known in the outdoor community because of their efforts to protect and preserve the Adirondacks, they were also in the public eye due to their Monday through Friday careers.

Carl, meanwhile, remained in the background for many people, but if you were an avid skier you were well aware of his contributions. Along with helping the North Creek Snow Bowl get started, he created “Carl’s Skiland” in the same area just before World War II, complete with rope tow and ski instruction. They were two innovations that helped usher in the beginning of New York’s multi-million-dollar commercial skiing industry.

“He had a ski jump, a skating rink, a school, and it was the rope tow that had buses of people coming into town,” said Greg Schaefer, Carl’s son. “It wasn’t long before they were proliferating all over the state, but my father had the first one.”

Greg Schaefer and his wife Ellen, Adirondackers for years, serve as board president and treasurer, respectively, of the North Creek Train Depot Museum.

They both love New York history, especially if it pertains to the natural world and the part his father and two uncles played in expanding the Adirondack Park. And yes, the women were right there all the time, not behind them but right at their side.

Women in the family

Lois Perret Schaefer, Vince’s wife, may have been the most visible, creating the Schenectady Snow Train’s first aid committee on its initial trip to North Creek in 1934. But all the Schaefer women made their mark.

RELATED READING: Celebrating a snow train

“I’m at the younger end of my generation, but I know that the women, my Aunt Gertrude and Peggy and all of the wives of those three brothers were very environmentally oriented,” Greg Schaefer said. “Paul’s daughter Evelyn, my cousin, knew every plant and animal in the Adirondacks, and the family as a whole had wide interests. Paul’s wife, Carolyn, would take kids to the High Peaks for the week. Some of them went into the Peace Corps, others went into VISTA. They were all amazing.”

Peter and Rose’s three sons died within a few years of each other in the 1990s. All were in their late 80s. Gertrude Schaefer Fogarty lived until 2009, passing away at the age of 99, and Peggy Schaefer-Allen just shy of 90 in 2010.

But the family’s Adirondack legacy continues: Standing at the top of Royal Mountain near Caroga Lake among youths enjoying snow sports, Michael Schaefer, 27, recalled being trained by the legendary Frederica “Freddie” Anderson, who taught thousands to ski. Freddie’s ski instructor was Carl Schaefer, Michael’s great-uncle.

“It spider-webs,” he said.