Elizabeth (Betsy) Folwell came to the Adirondacks in 1976 and has lived in Blue Mountain Lake ever since. She was the first education coordinator at what was then called the Adirondack Museum and with her husband, Tom Warrington, operated a general store in town. She directed the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts, likewise in Blue Mountain Lake, a year-round community arts center 1980–88. In 1989 she joined the staff of Adirondack Life as assistant editor and eventually became creative director in 2005.
In 2021 she retired from the magazine, with hundreds of articles and essays in the rear-view mirror. She is the author of Short Carries: Essays from Adirondack Life and the first three editions of The Adirondack Book.
Since 2017 Betsy and Tom have been bringing a 1946 Silk City diner back to life in Blue. The restaurant—Chef Darrell’s Mountain Diner—opened in June 2021 and is a rare oasis on NYS Route 30 where travelers can get hot chowder, a two-fisted Reuben and eggs any style.
Betsy’s knowledge of this landscape and its people runs deep. We are thrilled that she will officially be joining the board at our August 2022 annual meeting.
Photograph by Nancie Battaglia