Entrepreneurial Fulton County Residents Follow Dreams with Second Careers
Donna and Karl Christensen are breathing new life into an old store and a historic house in rural Lassellsville and creating a new life for themselves.
Opened in 2005‚ Snappies Country Store sells groceries and gifts. Next door‚ in a 200-year-old house‚ the family owns and operates a café‚ pizzeria and guest house. “It feels a little like Mayberry‚” Donna Christensen says‚ referring to the fictional television town. “We really love it here.”
The Christensens‚ a retired Navy couple‚ are among the many folks who have reinvented themselves in Fulton County. The scenic beauty of the Adirondacks‚ affordable real estate and a great quality of life make the area attractive‚ especially for baby boomers seeking a change of pace.
“We enjoy the outdoors and the lifestyle‚” says John Zawadzki‚ who moved BioMed Communications LLC from Brooklyn to Johnstown in 1996.
Zawadzki and his wife‚ Brigid Kane‚ run their medical writing and consulting company from the basement of their A-frame home on Peck’s Lake. The view includes hemlocks and maples‚ as well as otters and pileated woodpeckers.
“We always had the dream of living on a lake in the Adirondacks‚ and we’re living that dream‚” says the 50-year-old Zawadzki. “It’s heaven on earth.”
Zawadzki says technology makes it possible to run the business from anywhere because most of the work is done electronically. When a project requires travel‚ however‚ Albany International Airport is just a 45-minute drive.
BioMed specializes in customized writing for doctors‚ pharmacists and other health-care professionals. The company also has a strong commitment to science education and provides mentoring for high school and college students.
Unlike Zawadzki‚ John Ruggiero is a lifelong resident of Fulton County. Since 1975‚ his family has owned Pearl Leather Finishers‚ which supplies quality leather material for the auto industry. In 1996‚ Ruggiero started a second career when he opened Pearl Meadow Stables in Gloversville.
Ruggiero‚ 50‚ purchased the 187-acre farm with the intention of building a barn for his two horses. A decade later‚ the property has 50 stables‚ a half-mile track‚ paddock area‚ indoor arena and riding barn‚ and Adirondack Loft Tack & Horse Supply store.
“When you drive by‚ you think it’s a place out of Kentucky‚” says Ruggiero‚ who owns five pure-black draft horses – Rudy‚ Reilly‚ Sam‚ Prince and Queen. He refers to the colossal equines‚ each weighing about 2‚400 pounds‚ as “my gentle giants.”
With Ruggiero at the reins of his own carriage‚ the horses are popular for weddings‚ proms‚ wagon rides and other special events. He says the horse farm helps relieve the stress of his full-time job as company president and COO.
“I deal with automotive people and get beat up by those guys every day‚” Ruggiero says. “The horses help put my mind at ease.”
Nearby‚ on the shores of Great Sacandaga Lake‚ Linda and Frank Bruno have also discovered a slice of paradise. The New Jersey couple‚ along with friends Tom and Fran Bartlett‚ bought Northville’s Inn at the Bridge in 2005.
The century-old‚ Victorian-style home has six guest rooms and offers postcard views of the lake.
“We just wanted to live on the lake‚ but then we found out the inn was for sale‚” Linda Bruno says. “We thought‚ ‘Well‚ this will be fun‚’ but it’s also been a lot of work.”
During their first season as owners‚ Linda ran the inn while her husband commuted on weekends from their home in New Jersey. The middle-age couple had started looking for property in Fulton County once their son graduated from high school.
“This has been a huge change in my life from being a suburban mom‚” she says. “But it’s been a great opportunity to start a business and meet some wonderful people.”
Donna Christensen is also from New Jersey‚ but her husband‚ Karl‚ is from the Schenectady area. Four years ago‚ while living in Germany‚ the Christensens were searching the Internet for property‚ when they found the 60-acre homestead for sale in Lassellsville.
“God placed us just where we need to be‚ in the quiet beauty of the Adirondacks‚” she says.
The couple‚ along with young daughters Charlotte and Jenna‚ moved to the area three years ago as Karl completed his Navy career.
In early 2005‚ the Christensens noticed that the vacant store and historic house about four miles from their farm were on the market. Within a few months‚ they opened Snappies Country Store‚ then the café and pizzeria.
“We were looking for what our next career would be‚” Donna Christensen says. “What’s nice about this area is that we have felt welcome from the day we moved here.”
