Blue Mountain Lake resident and former Adirondack Life editor remembered for her impact on others and love of the Adirondacks
By Tim Rowland
Elizabeth “Betsy” Folwell, a Blue Mountain Lake essayist, author and conservationist who could grasp ephemeral threads of nature and humanity and weave them into vivid portraiture of the Adirondack condition, has died at the age of 71, according to family friends, who said the cause was cancer.
To people who knew her by her writings in Adirondack Life, her crisp and perceptive prose gave readers a better understanding of the mountains and its people. To those who knew her personally, she, along with her husband, Tom Warrington, was the glue that held together the community of Blue Mountain Lake, filling the frequent voids common to small towns struggling for viability.
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“She understood the Adirondacks better than anyone else we knew,” said Mike Carr, executive director of the Adirondack Land Trust, of which Folwell was a board member. “This is a loss for all of us, and for the Adirondacks.”
Best known for her “Short Carries” feature in Adirondack Life magazine, Folwell wrote with a keen sense of place. She once mused to writer and editor Rick Henry that she could start at the top of the hill in Blue Mountain Lake and name every person in town as she walked down to the lake.
Her contacts extended well beyond her town, Carr said, and her expertise and knowledge of the park was invaluable.
Chronicling Adirondack life
In her essays, she honored people whose names might otherwise be lost to time, lending lyrical paragraphs to wary recluses, jocular business owners and retired teachers.
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In one essay she recalled a regular at a local tavern from years gone by: “One wealthy patron kept a team of mules and a wagon long after everyone else was driving cars to bars. But Mr. Hollingshead had only to stumble out of the place, clamber onto the seat and cluck to his team to be delivered to his grand home two miles away. Back in the woods was the ‘jackass barn,’ where the steadfast mules lived for many years. It faces a stream, and now the rush of water is the signature sound, not hooves shuffling in sawdust.”
Though legally blind since the early 2000s, she saw things as one else did. “She was an inspiration,” said Blue Mountain Lake Fire Chief Greg George, who moved to the community with his wife Jean Williams in 1984.
“She and Tom took us in and made us feel welcome,” George said. “They did that with numerous people — they were the unofficial welcome wagon.”
A home in the mountains
Folwell came to Blue Mountain Lake in 1976, just out of college. Through the years she was the first education coordinator at what was then called the Adirondack Museum and directed the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts, a year-round community arts center from 1980 to 1988. In 1989 she joined the staff of Adirondack Life as assistant editor and eventually became creative director in 2005, retiring in 2021.
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When she learned the Blue Mountain Lake Fire Company was low on members, she joined. An accomplished cook and gardener, her knowledge of all things Adirondack was legendary. “She knew about any subject you wanted to talk about,” George said. “She knew the lay of the land, the history, the trails — she pretty much knew it all.”
She and Tom operated a general store in town, and when Blue Mountain Lake lost its restaurant they bought a 1946 Silk City Diner Company eatery and hauled it to the hamlet where it is today Chef Darrell’s Mountain Diner.
Carr said her love of the park — and all its recreations — was apparent, and she took joy in the land even as her sight diminished due to a neurological condition. “We recently took a walk on one of our properties, side by side for an hour and a half and she never broke stride,” Carr said. “She truly loved the Adirondacks and was a great listener. And she was always up for an adventure.”
Betsy and Tom were important and adored leaders of the International Regional Magazine Association. Betsy and I served on the board together and her views on any topic of importance were measured, expressed with clarity and conviction and always heeded. When I retired as Publisher of Arizona Highways magazine 6 years ago, Betsy and Tom were among my most treasured friends in the publishing business. My sincere regret is that I didn’t do a better job of staying in touch with many of my IRMA friends and colleagues, with Betsy and Tom at the head of that list. My sincere condolences to Tom and Betsy’s family.
Nice job, Tim. Betsy would be very happy with it…. Greg George
My interactions with Betsy were relatively few, but memorable, and she made an impact all over. She was a fine Adk journalist with an equally fine sense of humor. Tim, thank you for including such particular, personal remembrances of her.
Betsy – “the best” neighbor, friend, supporter of all! I will miss her knowledge, her generosity, her love our our community. Thank you Betsy for your welcoming arms and May Your Memory Be Eternal!
Marti
What an incredible woman – a true “Woodswomen” and steward for the environment. I feel incredibly honored for knowing Betsy! God Speed!
I will always appreciate Betsy for her guidance and support in encouraging my photography of my Adirondack patients, colleagues and neighbors. What started out as a mere hobby that helped me appreciate my role in the communities from Blue Mountain Lake to Warrensburg evolved into a writing career that includes 17 articles in Adirondack Life and four books. Betsy seemed to know everyone and everything happening within the Blue Line. Her very wry sense of humor was ever-present, and every encounter with her was worthwhile. I think she and Tom made a perfect match- they were made for each other. By now she is probably already telling stories to Saint Peter, while those of us who knew her already miss her dearly. Rest easy, Betsy!