June 14, 87: Vinay, Vinita, Vijaya, Venkatesh, new name “RAJ” were here for the 25th Anniversary of mom & dad at Shunk.
This was a very short but very enjoyable day for all of us. Vinay went boating with Paul. We saw the whole family together.
Raj Venkatesh.
We had a wonderful time with everyone. We wish we could stay a little longer. It was very nice to see everyone after ten years! Same faces, same enjoyable moment – but everything magnified several fold! Vinay had a lot of fun going boating with Paul.
Love, Vijaya
Vinay Sundararajan Venkatesh
June 14, 1987
Vinita
June 14: Ken and I are blessed with a wonderful family – not one, but two parties! Both to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary (June 9). All offspring, including Caroline as a surprise, gathered for a sumptuous Sat. evening meal amid flowers and decorations.
Lovely presents included a quilt from Mother, pewter candle sticks & lamp from Dale’s family and a gorgeous pair of recorders (alto & tenor) from all the young. (Baroque, made of boxwood, Moeck) They are beautiful!
Surprise party on Sun. at Lake House I with relatives, Shunk friends, and old classmates.
Electronic typewriter & cashmere sweater!!! J.
Adam graduated from Earlham College with a major in Computer Science – with a sideline in Art – and beautiful pottery!
6/15: I flew in Fri. night from Albuquerque where I’m a secretary for Andrews, Asbury & Robert, Inc., civil engineers. I had fun surprising M. & D. and pigging out all weekend! Have to fly back tonight (Mon.) – too short a stay! Caroline
6/15: This is my one weekend here before going to Kenya. Having failed to announce my summer plans, I had to tell each one of the Baumunks (“you’re going where???”) A & I put stones on the driveway. All the cars broke down in one way or another. (What else is new?) – Lucas
6/15: Simply fabulous folks. Simply fabulous, folks.
Can the next 25 be even greater?
Dispersal:
Sun night: Sarah & Jason in brown bug to Philadelphia.
Sun morn: Nina and Paul northward (he to Elmira airport, she to Ithaca)
Ken, Joanne, Caroline, and Lucas to Philadelphia.
Adam remains in isolated splendor.
6/20: I’ve been here since last wednesday (the 10th) and been here alone since Monday. (It’s Saturday) The next time i come here, i want at least one other person here for company.
I spent the week mostly cutting up (and down) trees and helping Poppop build a road. I also played guitar, juggled, wrote letters, played Solitaire, rode the 4-wheeler, swam (once), cooked, baked bread, sailed….
“I’ll be back.” Adam
7/5: bridal shower for Mary at Ladd’s House. Nina & Joanne here.
7/10 – 11 – 12: Weekend
7/12: What a lovely place. It’s been a treat to meet most of the Ford clan and participate in the casual chaos that reigns. Thank you all for a weekend of good eating, swimming, canoeing, hiking and best of all, good company. Hope you have a cool summer up here – I’ll be thinking of you in steamy D.C.
Cindy
12 JULY: Paul – Drove from Chicago. left 12:30 AM Early friday morning with a rider, who helped split the driving. Dropped him off in State College around 3:00 PM. Picked up a couple of much needed canoe paddles at a local wilderness outfitter while there. Plastic & aluminum; sturdy – should last a lifetime. From there I drove on to Sunbury taking route 45. Quite a nice drive through some pretty towns and a bit of Amish country (passed 2 buggies). Meet Cindy at the bus station in Sunbury around 7:00, we got to Shunk the lake around 9:30 to find the place deserted, though there were signs of habitation. (Total mileage 786) Turns out everyone was at the rehearsal dinner in Eagles Mere. They got back around 11:30, while Cindy & I were out canoeing in the moonlight (nearly full!).
The morning of the wedding was hectic. Sarah, Cindy & Jeremy were the flower brigade gathering lilies & ferns & other greenery to decorate for the wedding. The musicians started practicing furiously making up for all the practicing we didn’t get done in the last month. I had slept under my favorite hemlock and was awakened by Nina & Joanne playing together on the porch. Quite beautiful sifting through the trees with early sunlight, over my head and onto the lake.
The performances during the wedding went quite well. The recorders weren’t the world’s greatest of … but I think we added a very nice touch to the scene after the wedding as folks stood in the receiving line.
Saw a lot of old aquaintences, Ladds & Lindleys in particular. All of them were there with 4 grand children in each family. Linda looked great – she’s getting married next March to a long time boyfriend.
Tommy Lindley & his wife (name Sh….?) I hadn’t seen in 12 years or so I think.
The wedding itself was splendid and executed to a T. The bride & groom looked great. The weather was nearly perfect though a late-afternoon shower interrupted the tail end of the picture taking sessions. Today (Sunday) Lindley Fords Blondeys & Baumunks gathered for a nice outdoor breakfast, … and frisbee. The team of Adam & jeremy slaughtered Jason Sarah, Nina & Paul 6–2, but we put up a good fight.
After all these years I just realized there are about 10 different species of ferns in the woods. Gotta come back sometime soon and do some serious identifying.
This evening Cindy & I head back to Washington D.C. I’ll spend Monday there, including a visit out to PVF and then head back to Chicago Tuesday & work Wednesday.
It’s been a great year for visits – Christmas, the 25th anniversary & this wedding. – they always mean a lot to me.
Paul
P.S. There is a great shelf fungus up by the spring holding tank. Maybe we should grab next time there are a few of us up here and do some decorating.
Joanne: the wedding was lovely. Mary & Steven were stars in a grand celebration which included ~ 180 guests, a delicious spread of food, a vast array of gifts, music for dancing, and a general awareness that love & care were given to every detail. Nina played the wedding march and Vivaldi beautifully! The recorder consort (Nina, Joanne, Paul, Ken) enjoyed themselves immensly – adding happy background music. Jason rang the bell at the appropriate moment. Adam, cameraman & parking attendant, helped with that important operation. Sarah, Cindy & Jeremy spent hours gathering & arranging the beautiful day lilies & tiger lilies which decorated the grounds. They were lovely. All in all – quite a day. On Wed. Mary & Steven are off to Tahiti for their honeymoon – then on to Australia to their home & jobs.
I’m about to leave for Philly after spending two days alone. Plentiful ferns in the hard earth, painted doorway & cleared beech brush along the road.
Aug. 9, ’87: Dick and Shirley Bansen – RESTFUL!
Aug. 10, 87: Dick and Betty Drachman. Joanne is my conscience, my guide on the virtues of village life. A wonderful weekend with rain, walks, food, and visiting w/ the Bansens (see above), Ken, Joanne, Dale and Lucy. We left reluctantly w/ a few logs, a few rocks, a clump of ferns. Joanne – I think you cheat at Scrabble! Next time I’ll bring a dictionary – where is your conscience!
Aug 18: Thanks again Shunk! You’ve refreshed me & I’ll continue on my carrying the tantalizing scent of Eau de Lake. Am also carrying away most of my Christmas shopping – the results of our berry picking & jam-making (22 jars!)
Aug 26: Nina was here for 36 hours.
Aug 26: A week with mostly just Joanne – what have the old mothers come to?! And where are the kids of yesteryear? But we walked, talked, fished for our supper (yes, we two), played recorders and Scrabble. A new interest: wildflowers. Our identification list runs approximately thus: pilewort, tall white lettuce, whorled white wood aster, dewdrop, Indian cucumber root, turtlehead, yarrow, steeplebush, Queen Anne’s lace, pearly everlasting, white aster, hawkweed. Not all in bloom, so these identifications are not etched in stone. – A lovely visit, as always. It’s good to have some anchors that are always there—
Elizabeth
Aug 27: The yellow-bellied sapsucker is drilling holes right around the birch tree which holds the swing. Good nature study brewing – this delicious restaurant draws bees, butterflys, moths, flies, dragonflies, & hummingbirds. Many deer around. Transplanted ~ 20 hemlocks. Painted deck & table. Never had so many sunny perfect days in a row. Now, rainy today – back to Philly to welcome Lucas home from Africa (Kenya). J.
October 17-18, 1987: A lovely warm-cool, sunny, blue, golden, red, brown, tranquil weekend. Good friends, cheerful fire, hiking, water-color painting, “Our Town”, canoe ride, Joanne’s family, a ride to an overlook. Such a grand time. Donna Wilhelm
10/19/87: Closing up (almost – H2O left on for Nina) after a glorious weekend cool enough for a fire but warm enough to prevent Ken suffering from chillblains. —
Paul Wilhelm presented to us a work of art — Lakehouse II in water color.
K & J
October 24 – October 26: Nina and I were here for two days, studying for our comprehensive exams in “international relations.” We brought with us: too many books, just the right amount of coffee, not quite enough food, and not nearly enough time. We did manage, though, to take a walk, go boating, and gaze at the stars. (Las night – Sat. – was a beautiful, clear, cold night. The great galaxy in Andromeda was easily visible to the naked eye.) This morning – Sun. – we’ll stop by the General Store on our way back to Ithaca. Hope to come back when I don’t have to think about exams.
– Paul A. Kowert
Well, we weren’t very social but we were pretty diligent and we didn’t spend too much time stirring up the fire. I had exams to grade as well as this exam to prepare for – yuck! But better here than in some sterile room at school. “Mac” promises to make gourmet meals next time he comes down to make up for themenu of dry bread and canned soup we had this weekend. We had a frost last night and everything is covered with whiteness – I took the opportunity this morning to finish off my roll of film. Hope to come back again this fall. Nina