Sunset Point

About ten years ago, while skimming the classifieds in the Boston Globe, I came across this ad -

"Caretaker  needed for 5 cabins on lake in Maine. Call (207) xxx-oxox."

That's all it said, but it certainly intrigued me. My parents brought us up spending the last week or two of every summer taking the family camping in the woods of northern Maine. This was when the state-run campsites were quite "rustic" ...

Rustic meaning - outhouses/pit toilets; no showers; campfire cooking; no electricity.

But, that also meant the beauty and freedom of hikes in woods that had no man-made signs to direct you where to go;  swimming all day in the lake and taking our baths there too;  the oh-so-wonderful smell of bacon and eggs and fresh-caught trout cooking on the cast iron frying pan over the campfire;  nightly songs and stories around the campfire where my sisters and I learned to turn our marshmellows a perfect golden brown...unlike like my brother, the eager arsonist, who made his turn a glowing flame of orange-to-black, just before it slowly drooped into the fire ("Jan, make me a good one. Mine keeps catching on fire!") ;  and then, falling asleep to the soothing sound of rain on the canvas cover of the pop-up camper that my parents built and sewed themselves in the 1950's. 

I also sort of became the "expert" at curling and jabbing worms just so onto a fishing hook so they'd stay on as we then cast out a line from a dock, the shore, a canoe...

"We got one!"

I joined in with 4 year-old Mike as we screamed and ran 15 yards, dragging the whole fishing pole and line up to our parents at the campsite, a small perch bouncing and bobbling on the ground behind us!

So, yes, this ad caught my eye...too bad I was working and unable to pursue this idyllic sounding job.

But then,  I had a bit of a brainstorm...my parents were now in their early 70's and retired, and every summer they were still driving up from FL with a newer pop-up camper. They visited family and friends along the way, then made their way to up northern Maine, still camping, usually in the Rangeley Lakes area, where we had often taken our summer camping adventures.

This might be something that would intrigue them, I thought.

So, I cut the ad out of the paper, taped it onto a notecard, and with no further words or information, sent it down to them in FL.  I didn't hear a thing from them for almost two weeks when  finally one day my father called.  Now, I should mention, at this stage of the game, my mother was always the one to initiate any family communication, whether it be through weekly letters or phone calls...so, it was most unusual that it was my father on the line to me that Sunday morning!

"What are you trying to do, put us back to work?" he exclaimed from the other end of the phone.

I was kind of tongue-tied.  I certainly hadn't looked at it that way. I thought they might get a kick out of it...whatever "it" was.

Before I could formulate anything to say back to him, he spouted out excitedly - "We've got a job! We've been hired to spend the summer caretaking 5 cabins at Sunset Point at the base of Lake Mooselookmeguntic, in the Rangeley Lakes area of Maine!"

Dad proceeded to eagerly talk on and on about how, after receiving the ad that I'd sent them, he'd called the owner, Shep, and had spoken with him about his background as a teacher and football coach and how my parents both owned and operated Camp Daniel Webster for 38 years. He elaborated that they were avid campers and fishing enthusiasts in the Rangeley Lakes area of Maine.  Dad did say to me that he was somewhat perplexed however, because this fellow Shep had hired him right on the spot...didn't need any references...didn't ask for a resume...Shep just took Dad on his word and hired him immediately! Dad couldn't quite believe that.

It would be three months before they needed to arrive at Sunset Point, but weekly my Dad would call with some ideas that he had that he'd like to do at the camps. There would be firewood to cut, perhaps even trees to take down...so, this old woodsman who grew up in the logging camps of Maine, would be in his element...and, need a chainsaw! Perhaps there would be families who might need some canoing instruction, so my folks were going to pack their own canoe as well as multiple life jackets that they still had from CDW days. Maybe some of the people who came to the cabins would be interested in learning how to tie flies for fishing, so he would, of course, be packing his fly-tying equipment.

My mother sat back in amazement at Dad's renewed level of excitement to life. She'd call me separately and say, "He's ready to go today! I think he's all packed!"

And, this was April...they weren't scheduled to be there until mid-June!

The first summer was all and more than my father could have expected.  The teacher and coach in him resurfaced as he talked with the families who came up to rent the cabins. The responsible leader came out of him as he had to sternly speak with groups who were a little too loud a little too late into the  night; and the old wood chopper came out in him as he spent a few hours every day chainsawing down trees and cutting and splitting firewood for the cabins.

He was in his glory!

Back working in the woods of Maine!

     

Jim and Phyl had a great first summer at Sunset Point and were delighted when Shep eagerly invited them return to their new "job" for the next 10 summers!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Comments

[delan]

Great story, young person! We can't wait to come visit you in 2007. I wish I had known your Dad better than I did. Or your Mom for that matter. I'm glad that you and I connected at the reunion. Best for 07.

[joey]

Fantastic, Jan. You have captured the essence of the sight, of the event, of the life.
And look at the connections!!!

[j michael anderson]

Janey...thanks for continuing to help me with my burning marshmallows and for always making the fish seem bigger than they really are...I've seen some old photographs and this may be proof that you were indeed not adopted...but, I'm still not convinced :}

Love-
Big Brotha Mike

[Sally]

I so enjoyed reading this, especially knowing your parents for so long. However, this was a whole new dimension of your dad regarding the wood chopping and the fishing since we did not do that at camp. I do remember the stern lectures quite well!!!!!

Thanks, Sally

[frank conton]

Janet, You're a wonderful writer...really. I could feel your Father's excitement, going back into his elements...the woods, the responsibilities, which in turn would bring out his teaching and leadership skills. Thanks for sharing. I, too, remember the stern lectures. Coming in to work on a Saturday morning for "work crew" with a hangover was not well received by the "Boss".

[mom]

great job jan your mom isn't the typist she used to be fingers dont seem to find keys like used to.
love you mom

[Janet]

Alright, Mom!
You're on the computer!!!

[Taylor]

I've been there and it was some of the best times of my life. Three years in a row we stayed up there for a week in the summer back when i was like eight years old. I don't know if they're still there but i hope so because we're trying to go again next year.

[Joe]

My wife, Bettina, and I have spent our last few
summer vacations at Sunset Point. Your parents
helped to make it special for us. The first year
we went Bettina was expecting our son, Gus. Gus
is now 4. He took to your parents too.

We still go up, but we very much miss them.

[shebobdansarmat]

My grandfather Willis McGuire built the sunset point cabins. During the 1960's I spent most of my summers there helping my grandmother clean cabins on Saturdays. My job was to replace the woodpile, dust the chairs and wash windows. I have very fond memories of life at Sunset Point. We went hiking most days, picked strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. At night we would listen to Red Sox games on the radio as we played cribbage, yahtzee or scrabble. I also learned how to bait the hook with wiggling worms as we fished the lake in my grandfather's boat "the pink lady". (Yes it was really pink!) On laundry day we boiled the clothes in a big wash tub on the wood stove, scrubbed them on a washboard and rinsed them in the lake. My grandmother actually ironed all the bed linens for the cabins with heated irons on the wood stove. Uncle Lubert and Aunt Erma had the cabin "up on the hill in the woods". Between the renters and our cousins there was always someone to have an adventure with. I look back very fondly at my summers on Mooselookmeguntic lake. The lack of electricity and phones was a blessing as the relationships built with family and friends over the years meant much more than any modern convenience. I am so glad your parents love the place the way my grandparents did. Sounds like Sunset Point is in good hands. We hope to visit the area soon.