The Grange Fall Lyceum series presents
FROM PREACHER TO PROGRESSIVE:
THE LIFE OF ADIRONDACK MURRAY

“Regarding Wilderness” six-part series
Tuesdays at 7pm
September 22 through October 27

$5 suggested donation per lecture

Co-sponsored by the Grange, Adirondack Council, Boquet River Association (BRASS), and Champlain Area Trails (CATS)

In the summer of 1869, the Adirondack Mountains were overrun. Thousands of middle-class urbanites from Boston and New York abandoned the comfort of their homes and rushed into the unknown, northern wilderness. The hordes of city dwellers included men, women and even entire families. They sought a storied wilderness of great restorative and even curative powers.

These would-be adventurers were informed by one man, W.H.H. Murray, a preacher from Boston, and his book Adventures in the Wilderness or Camp Life in the Adirondacks. Randall S. Beach, the great-great grandson of Murray, will present a talk on the life of Murray and the impact that his book has had on the Adirondacks and outdoor life in America.

SPEAKER: Randall Beach is the great, great grandson of W.H.H. (“Adirondack”) Murray, and has been immersed in the lore and heritage of his famous ancestor for much of his life. Having grown up just outside of the Blue Line, Randall has a deep appreciation for the uniqueness of the Adirondack Park. He and his wife, Sarah, spend much of their summers at their hillside farm in the High Peaks Area outside of Elizabethtown, New York.

In 2014, Randall joined Sarah on the path of building Murray’s Fools Distilling Company, a small craft distillery in upstate New York. A graduate of Union College and Boston University School of Law, Randall is a partner in the law firm of Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP in Albany, New York. He is an avid writer.