Fran Yardley’s new book Finding True North: A History of One Small Corner of The Adirondacks (SUNY Press, 2018) traces the challenges and transformations of Saranac Lake.
In 1968 Fran and Jay Yardley, a young couple with pioneering spirit, moved to a remote corner of the Adirondacks to revive the long-abandoned but historic Bartlett Carry Club, with its one thousand acres and thirty-seven buildings.
The Saranac Lake–area property had been in Jay’s family for generations, and his dream was to restore this summer resort to support himself and, eventually, a growing family. Fran chronicles their journey and, along the way, unearths the history of those who came before, from the 1800s to the present.
Fran Yardley is a writer, actor, and nationally known storyteller and workshop leader. With her late husband, she renovated and managed the Bartlett Carry Club for sixteen years. In 1999 she co-founded Creative Healing Connections, a nonprofit organization offering retreats for women veterans and women with cancer and chronic illness. Originally from Buffalo, she is rooted into the shores of Middle Saranac Lake, where she lives with her actor/photographer husband, Burdette Parks, and her dog, Merlin.
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