In her new book release, Ginger Henry Kuenzel recounts the boat racing frenzy of a bygone era on Lake George
By Arietta Hallock
From her log cabin nestled on the quiet end of Lake George in Hague, summer life is tranquil and slow-moving for author Ginger Henry Kuenzel. Yet in her latest book, “The Buzz on Lake George,” she recalls a local history of boat racing that is anything but slow.
Riding in her father John Henry’s race boats since before she could walk, Kuenzel’s lived history of Lake George boat racing dates back to the 1950s. Her book’s research reaches even further to the early 1900s, when her great-grandfather was a founder of the Lake George Regatta Association (LGRA). She details one exciting era from 1954 to 1964, when the town of Hague hosted a stock utility outboard marathon every August. The largest of its kind in the East, the grueling 90-mile boat race drew small wooden race boats with an outboard motor from all over the United States.
“Hague is a really small town. You can imagine over 100 cars trailing boats or with boats on top of their roof coming into town. It took over the whole town. It was very exciting,” Kuenzel said.
Daring races in different times
Boat racing at the halfway point of the 20th century looked a lot different than it does today, and it was rapidly evolving from years before. According to Kuenzel, the emergence of affordable and easily transportable race boats opened up the once-exclusive world of racing to middle-class families, who trailered their beloved and wittily named race boats to events on weekends, including the Lake George marathons.
Contestants of all ages and as young as 12, like both of Kuenzel’s brothers, eagerly hit the waters of Lake George in their rough-riding boats. Built for speed with minimal cushioning, she described the utility outboard boats in her book as “not built for pleasure cruising”. Only a thin layer of wood sat between the racers and the water as they pounded the lake’s surface.
“I often wonder what my mother was thinking allowing us to ride in these boats,” Kuenzel said with a laugh.
Kuenzel recalls that race days were often cursed with a strong north wind, and many boats flipped, crashed or couldn’t start.
“Fewer than half of the boats finished every year. There were all sorts of things that could go wrong, so just to finish was a feat,” Kuenzel said.
Though Kuenzel now admits to her childhood fear of the fast boats, she made headlines in 1962 when she signed up at 13 years old as the youngest girl ever to race in the annual marathon. Being the only daughter during a time when most women watched from ashore, it was an achievement even to register. Yet, to Kuenzel’s private delight, a last-minute crack in the hull prevented her from racing her father’s boat, aptly named Gingerly, and she spent the race grounded.
Ginger and Gingerly reunited
According to Kuenzel, Gingerly was custom-built for her dad in 1956 and has remained in the family ever since. For four decades after Gingerly’s heyday as a racing boat on Lake George, it was safely stored in Kuenzel’s brother’s Wyoming barn, far from its hometown of Hague. However, last summer, the boat was restored to its original beauty by Hague-based Mountain Motors and has returned to their family boathouse.
She invited over 100 friends and family to its homecoming celebration, held on the shores of the same town park where the 1954-1964 races once launched. It was a full circle moment for Kuenzel, who had plans to memorialize that racing history on paper.
Telling her story
Kuenzel’s lifelong fascination with Lake George boat racing came into fruition in book form with the help of gifted race archives, family stories, and former racers she found online. For Kuenzel, her new book, dedicated to her father, is a way to honor her family’s history in Hague.
“I just have a passion about this place, about the people, about the history, and so I’m happy to share it with people. I love telling stories.”
Ginger Henry Kuenzel’s book, “The Buzz on Lake George,” is available for purchase on her website, along with information about her upcoming lectures and book signings. Her dedicated exhibit on Hague’s annual outboard races will be open later this summer in the Hague Community Center.
Very nice article about a time that was pretty special up here in the Adirondacks.
Your quote, “I often wonder what my mother was thinking allowing us to ride in these boats,” made me laugh out loud remembering some of the antics we enjoyed as kids during that era. We somehow survived to tell the tale though and will look forward to reading your book.
In the 1960’s, in my hometown of Seneca Falls NY, they had stock outboard and hydroplane races on VanCleef Lake during the Aqua Festival. The man made lake was formed when the Cayuga-Seneca Canal was enlarged and the double lock was built in Seneca Falls. Used to love to watch those races, seeing those “rooster tails” fly high behind the boats. Good times.