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July 27, 1995 - Musings on an 'Enchanted Cottage'10A • The Suffolk Times • July 27, 1995 Musings on an `Enchanted Cottage' By Paul Stoutenburgh I'm writing these first lines with only the moonlight shining. Talk about an enchanted evening. The bay sparkles before me and a delightful cool breeze is blowing through the windows, lifting the curtains to complete the mood. I'll con- tinue this in the Focus on morning. It's always nice Mature to be invited out to dinner by friends, especially when it's at a unique place in the woods at the head of a creek. It was a step back in time. As in many old families, Hayden and Lois managed to hang on to this last bit of what was once the family farm. Through time the big house sold and most of the farmland went into other uses. What our friends held on to and cherished was a little building that once housed the hired help for the farm. It still remains basically the same, with the exception of inside plumbing that replaced the old outhouse. The added simple porch acted as a dining room for our dinner of broiled bluefish that was cooked over an open fire. Baked potatoes in aluminum foil were first tended over the fire and as I sat there Hayden carefully turned each one of them to perfection. It reminded me of years ago when we were kids and built fires down on the beach to cook potatoes we called mickies. All we did then was throw them in the fire and let them cook. I'm not sure cooked is an appropriate term, for when they came out of the fire they looked more like an oversized charcoal briquette. We'd open them up and eat the hot, steaming meal of the potato that somehow had not yet been completely incinerated. While Hayden finished the outside cooking, a delicious fresh vegetable casserole and a colorful green salad came out of the kitchen. This was all topped by a bottle of one of our local wines. As we sat around and talked, we spoke of how rare it is in this day and age to find a truly summer cottage. There are still a few but most have been transferred into modern -day versions with plastic siding and manicured lawns. Thank Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh A TRUE SUMMER COTTAGE —Time passes and we find fewer and fewer of these true summer cottages. This one goes back to the early 1900s, when the pace of things was a lot slower. goodness this had none of those ameni- ties. On the contrary, a little lawn that was about the place had been mowed only once this summer and the native stubble that persisted was more than enough to make the place livable. What impressed me most about the little hide- away at the head of the creek was how well hidden it was to the busy world around it. Little had been cleared except for a small "window," looking out on the creek, that led down a dirt path to the marsh below. Here was a marsh not tar- nished a bit since the day of the Indians except for that narrow footpath that led to a small boat tied to the marsh edge. We were given seats of honor facing the creek that was now at low tide. The green algae lettuce that grows so prolif- ically in many of our creeks draped the ■ _90� ■ �MI.tM 75 Years Ago July 23, 1920 Girls' Baseball: This Friday afternoon, July 23, there will be a baseball game between the Greenport Girls and the Southold Girls. Greenport has defeated Southold once this year by a score of 13 to 12 so you can expect a close match. The Southold Girls claim they are coming after the bacon and the Greenport Girls claim they are not going to get it. Admission 15 cents. Greenport's captain is Hilda Johnson; Southold's captain, Elizabeth Howell. Aerial Express Stops at Shelter Island: The Commuters' aerial service planned for stops on Eastern Long Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts, made its first landing ner the Poggattitcut Hotel at Shelter Island Heights Thursday afternoon. Five of the plane's passengers were prominent New York men, who are stopping at Shelter Island. This is the first stop at Shelter Island of the regular service which is to continue during the summer for the con- venience of commuters. The run from New York to Shelter Island can be made in 1 hour and 15 minutes, beating the best express train service by two hours. 50 Years Ago July 27, 1945 Servicemen's Column: A letter was received this muddy banks and bottom. A snowy egret and a green heron stalked the tidal ponds where killies had been trapped. A group of mallard ducks, heads almost sub- merged, filtered out worms, tiny crus- taceans and a host of unknowns from the muddy waters. I heard the rattle of a kingfisher as he flew to a new territorial perch where water depth was more to his liking. A southwest wind that always seems to revive us after lunch here on the East End was still blowing strongly and took away an)' thought of gnats or mosqui- toes. I guess the place could be called rustic. Probably too rustic for some, but then just right for a selected few. This was Hayden's home grounds and he remembers it well as a boy. He learned to skate on a small pond across the way and week from Donald Boerum, A/S, son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Boerum, who is stationed at the U.S. Naval Training Center at Sampson, N.Y. He writes that since he has been at Sampson he has met two other Greenport boys, Robert Kalin and Richard Ketcham, both of whom were former classmates of his at Greenport High School. The letter also explains the rigid ten weeks boot training course after which the boys are either assigned to sea duty or sent to one of the numerous service schools which are in operation throughout the country. 25 Years Ago July 24, 1970 Lifeguards Settle: "The lifeguard situation has been resolved," said Supervisor Albert Martocchia after a wage settlement was agreed upon last weekend by the board and the nine lifeguards employed by the town. "This makes ours the highest paid lifeguards in any of the five eastern towns," Supervisor Martocchia added. "We went up to $2.25 an hour, with an additional 15 cents per hour for each year of service. And we have one lifeguard who's been with us for five years, and several who have worked for as long as four years." The lifeguards work from July 1 until Labor Day. "that grassy point is where I learned to swim," he said. Even the soft muddy spots brought back memories of his youth where kids would run and slide on the mud in great, gleeful joy only to flop in the creek to be washed off. No wonder the place meant so much to these two. There is a chimney that runs down the middle of the building that once fun- neled smoke from an old cast -iron stove in the kitchen and a woodstove in the main room. They have long since been recycled and now their openings ce- mented up, especially after a raccoon rampaged through the place years ago. (I get more telephone calls about "raccoons in my fireplace" than any other nuisance call.) I noticed the chimney had a firmly fashioned wire mesh over the top to keep out any future intruders. A Hungry Family A pleasant diversion during supper was the soft call of a chickadee trailed by two of three youngsters. Everywhere she went — up and down, in and out — she gleaned the shrubbery around the porch for insects. There was no fear as she led her little procession of new ar- rivals on their early sessions of food gathering. No doubt they had found a nest cavity in one of the many old trees that grew around the area. For a bit of diversion she would fly to the coconut - shell feeder that was stocked with a plentiful supply of sunflower seeds. Not to be outdone, a titmouse joined in the feast as we watched. Then another fam- ily of chickadees moved in. All were busy chatting and feeding. After friendly farewells, we reluc- tantly pulled away from the little cottage in the woods that was soon lost in the trees from the narrow dirt driveway. What a remarkable couple they are and what a unique place they have preserved. It was like a time capsule of the early 1900s. If ever there was a saying that should apply to their head -of- the -creek retreat it is the one that goes, "Bless this house ... "