By George Howe Colt
Colt makes a final summer visit to the rambling Cape Cod house that has been a retreat for five generations of his family, but which his extended family, now spread around the country, can no longer afford to maintain and decide to put up for sale. It's clear that he loves the old place - which has felt more like home than the various year-round locations in which he's lived throughout his childhood and adult years. [And, of all places, his summer home is on Wing's Neck, a little-known peninsula in Pocasset where my own family spent a couple of memorable summer vacations in a family house much like the one Colt writes about!]
He introduces the reader to the early generations (including some real characters!) of his Boston Brahmin family, then provides a history of Cape Cod. For much of recent history, living by the sea was not desirable, as the sand was useless for grazing and planting, but by the mid-1800s Bostonians wanted to get out of the crowded cities and started buying up seaside lots. By 1902, Wing's Neck was one of the few undeveloped areas of Cape Cod; the author's great-grandfather Ned Atkinson joined a group of 12 Bostonians who bought up the whole neck (for $83,450), dividing it among themselves, and selling smaller leftover parcels to like-minded friends. [And, when we were summering in our rented house, we indeed came across a directory of Association members, many still based near Boston. But in a recent Zillow search, I also found parcels of land for sail on Wing's Neck, so it looks like those large properties of a century ago are a luxury most vacation home-owners no longer want (or can afford) to maintain.]
The author fondly recalls sailboat races and summer-long tennis tournaments. As this final summer in the Big House starts to wind down, he reflects on some of the events and realities that changed his perception of the perfect summers he enjoyed as a boy. One was the early death (from leukemia) of his Aunt Sandy (his father's youngest sibling). Another was the on-again/off-again mental illness of his beloved grandmother. But perhaps the most revealing was his gradual realization that his family was not so admirable; they were Boston Brahmins who, though no longer weather, seemed to consider themselves above others, they were insular, resistant to change. But in the end, his own generation is forced to make changes. The author's parents, whose marriage is teetering mainly from his father's long business trips and lack of involvement, seek counseling and restore their marriage. Their generation form a kind of corp and put the Big House on the market. But after several years of no bids, the author's cousin Forbes and her husband David decide to buy and renovate the house. This unexpected development breathes new life into a much loved retreat, keeps the house in George's extended family (and where George, his wife, and their children will continue to vacation at the old chauffeur's cottage), and positioning it for its next century. Wonderfully written!
Colt makes a final summer visit to the rambling Cape Cod house that has been a retreat for five generations of his family, but which his extended family, now spread around the country, can no longer afford to maintain and decide to put up for sale. It's clear that he loves the old place - which has felt more like home than the various year-round locations in which he's lived throughout his childhood and adult years. [And, of all places, his summer home is on Wing's Neck, a little-known peninsula in Pocasset where my own family spent a couple of memorable summer vacations in a family house much like the one Colt writes about!]He introduces the reader to the early generations (including some real characters!) of his Boston Brahmin family, then provides a history of Cape Cod. For much of recent history, living by the sea was not desirable, as the sand was useless for grazing and planting, but by the mid-1800s Bostonians wanted to get out of the crowded cities and started buying up seaside lots. By 1902, Wing's Neck was one of the few undeveloped areas of Cape Cod; the author's great-grandfather Ned Atkinson joined a group of 12 Bostonians who bought up the whole neck (for $83,450), dividing it among themselves, and selling smaller leftover parcels to like-minded friends. [And, when we were summering in our rented house, we indeed came across a directory of Association members, many still based near Boston. But in a recent Zillow search, I also found parcels of land for sail on Wing's Neck, so it looks like those large properties of a century ago are a luxury most vacation home-owners no longer want (or can afford) to maintain.]
The author fondly recalls sailboat races and summer-long tennis tournaments. As this final summer in the Big House starts to wind down, he reflects on some of the events and realities that changed his perception of the perfect summers he enjoyed as a boy. One was the early death (from leukemia) of his Aunt Sandy (his father's youngest sibling). Another was the on-again/off-again mental illness of his beloved grandmother. But perhaps the most revealing was his gradual realization that his family was not so admirable; they were Boston Brahmins who, though no longer weather, seemed to consider themselves above others, they were insular, resistant to change. But in the end, his own generation is forced to make changes. The author's parents, whose marriage is teetering mainly from his father's long business trips and lack of involvement, seek counseling and restore their marriage. Their generation form a kind of corp and put the Big House on the market. But after several years of no bids, the author's cousin Forbes and her husband David decide to buy and renovate the house. This unexpected development breathes new life into a much loved retreat, keeps the house in George's extended family (and where George, his wife, and their children will continue to vacation at the old chauffeur's cottage), and positioning it for its next century. Wonderfully written!
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