Silver Bay in 1910 — Willard M. Farr

Silver Bay Association placed a boulder and memorial plaque on the grass just north of the auditorium in memory of Willard M. Farr, who died from heart disease June 5, 1910 at the near-by home of Silas Paine, after about a three-day illness.

Farr had been superintendent of grounds and resident general manager at Silver Bay since the association was founded, and had worked for Paine, the previous owner, before that.

“As an employer of a large number of men and women, Mr. Farr was kind and just and was greatly beloved,” the Ticonderoga Sentinel eulogized him. “Though unobtrusive and inclined to be reticent, he nevertheless exerted a powerful influence for good and his death is felt as a great loss to the community as well as the Silver Bay Association.”

“His position was a very important one and called for abilities of a very high order,” the Lake George Mirror reported.

Farr, a 65-year-old widower when he died, was born at Schroon Lake.

He spent much of his adult life in Wisconsin and Minnesota working in logging and construction of an electric railroad.

He returned to New York around 1901 and went to work for Paine, staying on with the association in 1904.

Construction projects he supervised included expansion of the inn and construction of the auditorium, twice, the second time after a fire,

In September 1910, Silver Bay Association hired Charles C. Oldruff as new superintendent of grounds.

Oldruff had worked the past nine years for William M. Kingsley of Elizabethtown and New York City.

“Oldruff … left Elizabethtown last night for Silver Bay, Lake George, where he goes to make his future home. He considers this job the best he ever had and many friends wish him success in his new field,” The Elizabethtown Post reported.

Sources: The Elizabethtown Post Sept. 15, 1910; Ticonderoga Sentinel June 9, Nov. 28, 1910; Lake George Mirror June 17, 1910.

Click here to read the most recent previous Silver Bay history post.