transferred to the New York State Archives in Albany. Anton “Tony” Solomon #3626WV, a retired Amsterdam high school math teacher in the Albany area, was that successor. Having worked closely with Grace earlier, he began formally in 1996, although many other volunteers helped fill the breach in many ways (see sidebar). “Forty-Sixers are good for that!” Tony says. “At first I was in awe of Grace,” says Tony, whose resume reveals that he knew how to fly small planes (although he never bothered to get his pilot’s license) and was an EMT, a volunteer fireman who once rescued several children from a flaming house, a motorcyclist until he was in his 80s, and a contributor to the Upper Range chapter of the 46er history book Heaven Up-H’isted-ness! “There was nothing she couldn’t do,” Tony says of Grace. “It didn’t take her long to put me at ease with her kind, gentle, generous nature. “Grace was very organized,” Tony told an Adirondack Daily Enterprise news reporter several years ago. “She had developed a wonderful system to keep track of ‘her’ climbers,” the basis of which, computerized now, is still in use. “The problem was that no one knew what that inscrutable system was, except Grace. So, Suzanne Lance #1802WV, former PEEKS editor, and her husband, George Sloan #2651WV, then 46er president, spent several evenings interviewing Grace and developed a handbook that documented Grace’s system. It was a big help.” Soon, Tony asked his companion, Jane Nye #4142V, to join the “Grace 2.0” group. “Since Jane had been an office manager for a large company, she was perfect for the job,” he explains. They moved Grace’s 46er history office to a room in the law offices of L. John Van Norden #2110W in Schenectady. They also firmed up the system of correspondents, who, Tony says, “are the backbone of our organization. Some correspondents write to more than 400 climbers. We encourage them to write in a tradition started by Grace. We feel that this is very special and sets the 46ers apart from other hiking clubs. By reporting to us, climbers are encouraged to love and respect the mountains. They are given encouragement when needed — and restraint when necessary.” As the millennium approached, consideration was given to dispensing with Tony Solomon and Barb Harris #2824WV on their first hike together, tasked with removing the canister on Gray “Always ready for a good time”: Tony and Jane, second and third from left, with a crew at Camp Peggy O’Brien SUMMER 2026 | 11
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTk3MQ==