Until the end of the decade Noah John made periodic visits to Cold River City. On November 24, 1950, a great wind ripped through the Adirondacks, and the devastation was so great that the forest was closed to the public for the next three years. Having found a new career, at least temporarily, Noah John did not return to the woods he knew so well. For a few years he traveled around to sportsmen's shows and worked at Frontiertown and at the North Pole in Wilmington, New York, as a substitute Santa Claus. For a time he made all the money he needed, but later he went on welfare. He died in 1967 at age 84, and "has been dead ever since," as he would say. He's buried at the North Elba Cemetery in Lake Placid. On the abandoned site at Cold River, the Conservation Department erected a sign bearing his name.