Seems like yesterday….we lost our father thirty-five years ago this summer. When I get to the cottage I feel his presence more here than anywhere else. Memories pour back to me, each time….
I met Tony 50 years ago. When we met we were inseparable and I knew I had to introduce him to the cottage to see if he would love the River as much as I did. I told my Dad and my cousin Bobby (who was like a brother to me) “If this doesn’t work out what do I do?”
The first time he saw the cottage he probably wondered “where the hell am I?” Surviving rough water to an isolated island, arriving in mosquito crazy darkness, walking up a root filled narrow path on a cliff edge,(while shaking the flashlight to wake up the batteries), he entered a propane, hot, dimly lit room full of relatives. He gently smiled when I asked “are you okay?” His response…”who are all these people?” I told him that was a long story but that they were all related to me. And so it began….
Thankfully, Mom had met Tony previously and she offered a drink, after all it was Friday night on the River and everyone had gathered to meet family coming in.
Tony’s experience at a cottage had been in Honey Harbour, Sable Beach with telephones, electricity, running water and inside bathrooms. He quickly learned the stories of how we were all toilet trained at the outhouse, went to a telephone booth on another island to contact home and order groceries, light our lights with a match and cook our food, haul ice blocks packed in sawdust. That we actually remained here from school out to school in somehow piqued his interest. What did we do besides swimming? We played, “kick the can”, cards, sat and sang around the bonfires, fished, played store with pine needles as currency with our cousins, we read Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, The Bobsey Twins and lots of Archie’s, those, over and over again. Our imaginations were moving machines. We had fun! The cousins were always together.
Tony survived his times there quickly immersing himself into the chores, the comradery, figured out the family ties knowing this was a deep part of me. A cottage is a state of mind, it sneaks into your soul, it finds you, not the other way around. The River and all it’s “peeps” found him. My Dad and Bobby said “he’s a keeper”!
As we enter our seventh generation with the birth of baby George, we are proud and appreciate more and more the hard work and care of those who went before us. They taught us that while we have the cottage we too have the responsibility to make sure it is in a good place for those who come after. We are borrowing it for our time. The lands we rest on are precious and rare. I am a long time “river rat” and have come to realize it is not only the place but the experiences we hand down. My experiences from the original cottage on the beach my great grandparents built, the cottage my parents built, “Auntie Deans” cottage (1916) that we purchased from Uncle Bill, our new (1986), cottage - the memories twist deep into my soul.
To see my grandchildren all stand on the dock, wrapped in their towels, shaking and shivering, lips quivering, one bare foot chasing away a horsefly on the other calf makes me smile. Just like their Moms. The whoops and hollers with their first fish, first swim, first jump off the dock, dive, driving the boat! So many firsts! COVID shots!!
When I was younger the summer was forever long, now it flys by. For me it is a secret time, from open to close. The season is just starting to reverse, it is August. The shade of the trees will soon give way and reveal more light. The fall will bring relief inside around a fire rather than outside in the water.
We do not take summer down all at once, we do it slowly and carefully, cherishing our thoughts with each chore. We pull the plug after Thanksgiving; seems like the best time to reflect on what we were given, all those relatives, special friends, critters; the blips in our everyday - all the pump breakdowns, water and boat problems, new roof, paint, yes there is expense, extreme heat and rain….. those blips do not matter, you always leave with the thought - \240I can not wait until next year.
Yes, the cottages have changed, life is a little easier for us since our great grandparents days, which we appreciate. Those milestones will come at another time as there are lots of stories to tell.
Tony is a River rat and he has memories that twist his soul, he loves his cottage, the land, his family, including that room full of relatives that grows, with roots spreading strong beneath the soil and hopeful, with it’s fresh green sprouts \240blooming forth each year.
