Tragedies are especially heartrending when children are involved. Those who hike the Frick Pond trail on the state land that surrounds the Mongaup Pond region, are often surprised to find the memorial stone for two young children, Marjorie and Lyle Lobdell, within the midst of the remnants of an old foundation near the pond. During the late 1920s and early 30s the site, originally the old Burton homestead, served as a temporary lumber-camp, housing the lumberman and their families during the late winter of 1933. The now overgrown foundation was part of an outbuilding that housed the family of Elwin Lobdell. During the early hours of February 28, and overheated stovepipe set ignited the first floor of the Lobdell residence. With the children trapped upstairs, there was no chance of their escape and both perished in the fire. The son was found within the ruins but the daughter was never accounted for. The year of 1971 began with the local area’s deadliest fire ever. During the late spring of 1963, an early morning fire at the Waldamere Hotel on Shandalee claimed the lives of three of the hotel’s guests, which at that time had been the deadliest fire to strike the region. Now, during the cold, early morning hours of January 17, 1971, a space heater, used to fight off the long winter’s night chill, ignited the Beardsley residence located along the Dahlia Road. Again, like the Lobdell fire, children perished in the fire, but this time, the number of the young victims was unfathomable.