Town mourns loss of popular caretaker

by Dan McClelland

A fitting memorial to a popular caretaker

A portion of the attractive floral arrangement created by Ann Hoag on the two gates at the entrance to the town's Little Wolf Beach and Campgrounds this week is a memorial to the facility's caretaker John Sparks II who died this week. The many seasonal campers who liked John shared its cost.

This has been a terrible week for Town Supervisor Patti Littlefield. She lost her younger brother, John and the town which she directs lost one of its best Little Wolf Beach and Campsite caretakers the place has seen in years.

A sign of how well liked and how well respected John was at the town facility these past three years was the large floral memorial fashioned by Cabin Fever's Ann Hoag on the gates to the place this week. The 20 foot long floral arrangement was paid for by the seasonal campers who enjoy the place every summer and who liked John.

“John was into Little Wolf Beach and Campground twenty-four/seven each year,” Supervisor Littlefield said of her brother. For the past three years John and his wife have come up from Florida each spring to run the beach and campgrounds for the town.

When their truck and camper rolled into town about three weeks ago, it marked the start of their fourth season there. It was a sign too of the approaching summer season.

“He got along with everyone there and will be deeply missed!”

“John was always friendly, but firm! He was a great asset there for us at the town.”

She called her baby brother a great conversationalist, very knowledgeable about history and many other topics. “I always loved the time we spent talking!”

Mrs. Littlefield she said she and her brother had started planning in recent days about what exactly the town will be able to operate there if the pandemic and the state shut-down continues through June and into early July.

The scope of the usual operation there depends now on state and federal orders that will be coming in the weeks and months ahead, she told the Free Press this week. “It all depends on what we are allowed to do!”

She said she recently spoke to Senator Betty Little about the operation of campgrounds this summer.

“We may not be able to open our public bathrooms,” and that would essentially eliminate day users of the beach and tent and small trailer campers.

Each year the town must secure a permit for its restrooms from the state Department of Health and according to the town leader, that agency isn't issuing permits right now.

If the town was permitted to open its restrooms at Little Wolf and the social distancing continues, they would have to be continually monitored so everyone kept their distances, she thought. Repeated cleaning and sanitizing would have to continue throughout the time they were open.

Another popular town program, the summer Day Camp, is also in jeopardy right now. The camp is generally based at the elementary school which may not be open to such a public use this summer. The school is a staging area for the programs many day trips around the area.

“There are so many unknowns right now!”

One option she is thinking about this week is opening up the campgrounds to only seasonal campers which have self-contained rigs and their own bathrooms.

There are currently 42 camp sites with utility hook-ups in the campgrounds.

There are already strict distancing guidelines in force at New York State campgrounds. Tent awnings must be at least ten feet apart, she gave as an example.

She said her brother was very good about working with campers who come for the week making sure their tents were far enough apart to meet the state rules.

Mrs. Littlefield said he was very aware of each campsite's size and what size tent or trailer or motor home could fit in each. “He knew the rigs and the spaces that would accommodate them.”

She said while her concern is to make the seasonal campers who patronize the local campgrounds each summer happy, there is a bigger concern she has “to keep Tupper Lake safe.”

She said there are 29 seasonal campers registered to come to the campgrounds this summer and most are from Tupper Lake. The supervisor worries that those who come from out of town might pose a health risk to the community.

These and other concerns will be weighed by town officials in the days to come.