For more than a quarter of a century, he was the voice for the Town of Hancock in the Upper Delaware Valley. A big man with work-hardened large hands and a face that had seen more of the outdoors than indoors, George Frosch epitomized the last of the independent landowners who made a hardscrabble living off the land. He relished his role as the spokesperson for private property rights and defended his point of view enthusiastically through words and physical action.

When he flashed his toothy smile and crinkled his eyes at the corners, it was impossible to anticipate whether the response would be a witty quip to something being said or the revelation of the darker side of his nature just below the surface. Love him or hate him, you couldn’t ignore him.

George’s involvement in the creation of the Upper Delaware legislation goes back to the days of the early 70s when the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation (BOR) study flowed from the original Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. He was an organizer and spokesperson for one of the earliest Upper Delaware River township associations that exerted a great influence on the study and shape of the Upper Delaware legislation. He enjoyed telling the story of guaranteeing the safety of bureau representative Red Arnold as he made his speaking rounds in the valley. 

George was one of the original members of the Upper Delaware Citizens Advisory Council as a representative from Delaware County and the Town of Hancock. His presence on that body was sometimes contentious as he aggressively pursued his private property rights agenda. When the fledgling Council of Upper Delaware Townships first flexed its wings, George departed the Citizens Advisory Council to assume a leadership role in that body, which metamorphosed into the present UDC. Wherever George was, that’s where the action was and he relished every minute of it.

George’s research into private property rights often clashed with the “official” version put forth by the New York State DEC representative during the preparation and implementation of the River Management Plan. He never gave an inch on his contention that the original Hardenburgh Patent granted riparian landowners more rights than the state was willing to concede. At several meetings and seminars on the subject, George would counter the state’s land ownership experts with a fistful of documentation of his own. In the end, his point of view, that the ownership rights to the land were established from the high water mark to the center of the river, would prevail as the state conceded that ownership was dependent on the individual deed emanating from the Hardenburg Patent.

George was also quick to assert his rights whenever an unwary boater or fisherman would appear on the river between his own Frisbee Island and the river channel that flowed between it and his Kilgore Switch farm. He was known to wave a pistol now and then to emphasize his case with recalcitrant visitors who disputed his claim.

George was a driving force behind the replacement of the Lordville Bridge and I will always remember the scene at its dedication as citizens from New York and Pennsylvania led by George and Chris Wallingford, his Pennsylvania counterpart, met in the middle of the bridge and shook hands.

George and his old pickup truck with his black Lab “Buddy” in the passenger seat were a familiar sight in Narrowsburg for many years on UDC meeting nights. He was one of the last of the original citizen volunteers who shaped the Upper Delaware’s future and helped to strike a balance between the national interest and private property rights while at the same time preserving the values that make the Upper Delaware a treasured addition to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

He will be missed.