Chapter 11 - The River
The Sunday Recorder - Amsterdam NY - - November 17, 2002
Outdoors
By Ron Kolodziej
Journey of Discovery
Most of you know Paul Keesler as the founder and publisher of New
York Sportsman magazine. Paul and his wife Jan founded the publication
as the Mid-York Sportsman in the early 1970's and as its popularity
grew it eventually evolved into a statewide publication in 1975. After
Jan's untimely passing in the late 1980's Paul continued publication of
the magazine for several years, eventually leasing and then selling it
to Northwoods Publications. It later passed through a few more owners and
then ceased publication a year ago.
When Paul discontinued his role as publisher of
the magazine he embarked on a book writing venture and currently has four
books to his credit, on topics as diverse as cooking, area history and
canoe fishing. They include: Kuyahoora: Discovering the West Canada
Valley; Guide to Fishing West Canada Creek; Canoe-Fishing
New York Rivers and Streams; and It's Fun to Eat Cookbook.
Beside being an avid canoeist, angler, history buff, researcher and sometime
hunter he also enjoys writing and all the painstaking research that goes
with it. A few years ago he embarked on his most ambitious project to date,
writing a history of the Mohawk Valley and he decided he would canoe the
entire 161 mile length of the river from its source near West Leyden to
its confluence with the Hudson River, walking only those portions that
couldn't be canoed. Paul also created a fascinating and informative website
on which he chronicled his travels and discoveries along the route. Updated
regularly, the website contains historical data, geological information
and, of course, fishing and wildlife information and photographs as well.
He recently completed his 161 mile canoe exploration
of the river, something that has never been done before, and expects his
book to be published in 2004, with a CD available sometime next year. I
was fortunate in being able to accompany Paul in canoeing the stretch between
Lock 11 at Guy Park Manor and Lock 10 at Cranesville. Paul and I have fished
together many times in the past few decades but this river trip on August
13 was a unique experience because we also delved into the history of this
area, discussed the new Riverlink Park, did some fishing and even looked
for the site of the once prominent Painted Rocks.
You can visit Paul's website at www.paulkeeslerbooks.com
where links will take you to information on all of Paul's books as well
as his "Books In Progress" section which details this new book MOHAWK,
Discovering the Valley of the Crystals. It reviews just about everything
you'll eventually find in the book when it's published though he's still
in the process of adding and modifying information as new facts come to
light.
Paul's river trek is over but the research and writing
continues. When you go to the above website you'll be able to select individual
stretches of the river, review the history of the area, see how the fishing
was, and check out some of the interesting photos. Paul's "journey of discovery"
was unique and unparalleled and I'm pleased I was able to be a part of
it. Check out the website. It's really fascinating and contains a lot of
information on this immediate area as well.
Ron Kolodziej is the Outdoor Editor of The Recorder in Amsterdam, , NY.
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