On the comeback road

Luxton Lake property owners have big dreams and a plan

By TOM KANE

NARROWSBURG, NY — The folks at Luxton Lake or “Lucky Lake” as it was called, lost their lake in 1983. They want it back.

In April of 1983, the 100-year-old dam was failing, in part because of improper use of the road over the dam by a developer who was building on lots near the lake. After a series of meetings discussing the dam, officials of the Town of Tusten, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the developer tried to salvage it and the lake. Their efforts failed. The DEC ordered the dam to be breached and the majority of the water drained, due to the danger posed by a possible dam failure to the properties below.

“The loss of the lake killed the spirit of the community,” said Jimmy Smith, a New York City drummer/singer and a long-time, part-time resident. “Without our lake and our club house, people began to abandon their property, and the community morale took a dive.”

A rich history

According to Smith, the community, which is now racially integrated, had its start at the end of the 1800s as an African American enclave. “Nobody really knows the exact beginning of the community, but in the 1920s there was another influx of African Americans from Harlem, many of them jazz musicians, which was spearheaded by the famous Negro musician, Nobel Sissle, who built a home here,” Smith said.

Later, more people from Harlem came because the famous ball player, Willie Mays, endorsed the enclave and purchased property here although he never built a home here.

In the 1950s, an African American developer set his sights on Luxton Lake, and the clubhouse became a hot spot for black jazz musicians, many of them world famous, in its heyday of the 1950s and ‘60s.

All that luster was dimmed after the dam was breached. But recently new life has kindled in this community.

“We residents formed the Luxton Lake Property Owners Association, Inc. with a board of directors and working committees to revive the community, get fund-raising activities started, do grant writing and work to have the dam replaced,” said Anie Stanley, a member of the association who is a multi-media artist.

“The Lucky Lake community, which was primarily black and lower-income, did not get the local support they needed to save it,” Spangler said. “Now, almost 25 years later, there’s a renewed interest in rejuvenating this community and bringing back the lake. But the community needs all the support it can get.”

The effort has also been aided by the work of another resident, Tina Spangler, a New York-based filmmaker, who is making a documentary film about the lake and its unusual history. The first chapter of that film “Lucky Lake,” had a screening at the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance in Narrowsburg last winter, helping to publicize the plight, and the rich legacy, of the community.

The association has also received a municipal cleanup grant from Sullivan Renaissance. It will be used to take down the clubhouse, which has been judged beyond repair. But as far as the association is concerned, that’s just the first step toward erecting a facility in its place.

Come to the picnic

To get the ball rolling on its restoration project, the Luxton Lake Property Owners Association plans to hold a benefit fund raiser. Appropriately, it will be a picnic concert, finally bringing music back to the historic clubhouse grounds that were once the heart and center of the community, and will take place on Saturday, June 30 from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. at 95 Luxton Lake Road, several miles south of Narrowsburg off Route 97.

“There will be entertainment and good food available, so everyone should have a good time,” Stanley said.

Performing will be “For The Love of Music,” a local group, Gary Matz the Piano Man, drummer Smith and a band from New York City called, appropriately, “Luxton Lake.”

A donation of $15 for entertainment is suggested and a $5 charge for food. In case of rain, the alternate date is Sunday, July 1 from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Prizes will be awarded, with a first prize of $500, second prize of $200, and third prize of $100. Bring a chair.

For more information, call 845/252-3722 or contact albinomooseprops@gmail.com.