Athlete Profile: Betty Lou Bailey

Environmental Activist who Shares her Love of the Outdoors with Others

by Colleen Farnan

Anyone who knows Betty Lou Bailey would be surprised that she describes herself as a “late bloomer” as a participant in outdoor sports. In fact, she never owned a bicycle until she was 29 years old. Even though she got a late start, Betty Lou has more than made up for lost time. You name an outdoor sport and Betty Lou is involved. She enjoys white water and flat water canoeing (she prefers white water over flat water), cycling, hiking, and snowshoeing because these activities are good fun and require stamina.

Not only is she an avid participant in outdoor sports, Betty Lou’s dedication to conservation efforts has ensured that other people can enjoy outdoor activities as well. A self-described environmental activist, Betty Lou’s most important contribution has been as a river advocate. She became involved with this work as a longtime volunteer with the Adirondack Mountain Club. Neil Woodworth, executive director of ADK says that, “There is no question that Betty Lou has been one of our most active members and volunteers for many decades.”

For her volunteer work, Betty Lou received the David L. Newhouse Conservation award in March of 2004, the highest conservation award that ADK bestows. She was cited for many activities including her membership on the main club’s Conservation Committee since 1982. In particular, she has been chairman of the canoe route subcommittee. When receiving the award, Betty Lou was honored for her work monitoring every hydropower application submitted on New York waterways to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. She has submitted comments, involved chapters and attended settlement negotiations. Betty Lou has provided expertise to ADK about the release of water from these dams that in turn affect the recreational use and ecological health of the waterways.

Maria Beurmann, a fellow board member of the Schenectady Chapter of ADK, also attests to Betty Lou’s dedication to conservation work saying that she “has done a tremendous amount of work” and “has put in thousands of miles traveling to support our conservation efforts, one of our most important priorities.” Further, Betty Lou commands “a lot” of respect because of her knowledge and thorough research on conservation issues according to Maria. “Betty Lou is formidable and not frightened of saying what she thinks,” she said.

Brian Daniels, the president of the Mohawk-Hudson Cycling Club, reports that Betty Lou is close to being a founding member of the 700-member club. Among her duties as membership chair, Betty Lou sends welcome packages to new members and tries to find new ways to attract new members to the club. To Brian, she is his hero. “Betty Lou dedicates a huge amount of her free time to other people,” he said.

In terms of her personal life, Betty Lou grew up in Chicago as the youngest of five children. Surprisingly, she was a city kid who never had a bicycle.

Betty Lou attended engineering school in the late 1940s at a time when few women were among the ranks. She attended classes with older men who were World War II veterans “who had seen a lot of things.” To fit in as “one of the boys”, Betty Lou played bridge and substituted on a Friday night bowling league.

Betty Lou graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in mechanical engineering. While still on campus, Betty Lou was offered an opportunity with the General Electric’s job training program. The training program brought her to Schenectady among other areas of the country. Later, she was offered a “regular job” as an engineer working with jet engines for GE. During her long career with General Electric, Betty Lou has lived in Cincinnati and Philadelphia but she returned to the Schenectady area in 1969.

Her longtime involvement with two local groups, the Schenectady Chapter of ADK and the Mohawk-Hudson Cycling Club can be traced to her move back to Schenectady. She went to a meeting of the Mohawk-Hudson Wheelman (now the Mohawk-Hudson Cycling Club) to get oriented to the area and has been active in this club ever since. She also joined the Schenectady ADK chapter because she lived in Schenectady; her involvement with this club has subsequently led to her performing decades of conservation work with the chapter and the main ADK club.
In addition to the hours that she devotes to conservation, Betty Lou leads hikes for the Schenectady ADK chapter. Her name is frequently listed as a hike leader on the chapter’s schedule. Betty Lou says that leading the hikes has given her a chance to get to know other people and learn from other hikers. Also, she started the white water canoeing program for the Schenectady chapter.

Paddling since the late 1960s, Betty Lou always looks forward to white water canoeing season in the spring, one of the sports she talks enthusiastically about. She says that she enjoys being on the river and navigating in white water.

Not only is she active with local outdoor organizations, Betty Lou is an accomplished athlete according to both Maria and Brian. Maria says that she is an avid canoeist who “really knows how to canoe.” Brian is impressed that Betty Lou has more stamina on a bike than people half her age. “Betty Lou is really quite an athlete. She can go out to do a 50-mile ride and not be taxed by it, which is pretty amazing. As recently as the late 1990s, she has done 100 miles — a century — on a bike in a day,” he said.

Brian describes Betty Lou as a fascinating person to talk to and one of the most well rounded people he has ever met. She has traveled extensively, particularly at the end of her career with GE when she accumulated six weeks of vacation time. Recently, she traveled to Korea to attend the International Conference on Women Engineers and Scientists where she met people from all over the world. In the past year, her travels have taken her to Austria to hike and sightsee. Also, she drove to Illinois to cycle and sightsee in the “Land of Lincoln.” Betty Lou visited Mississippi in February on another trip.

Betty Lou has been retired from GE since 1994 after 44 years with the company. She enjoys her well-earned retirement. When Betty Lou was working, she didn’t get much sleep due to her numerous other activities. She is young at 76 saying, “the years have been good to me.”

As an environmental activist, Betty Lou has put in decades and countless hours of volunteer work for conservation. She has shared her love of the outdoor sports with others by leading outdoor trips and being active with local organizations. Additionally, she is an accomplished athlete who is well respected by others.

Colleen Farnan of Saratoga Springs is an active member of the Saratoga Stryders running club. She is a grants representative at the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services in the Violence Against Women Unit.