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Granddaddy in 1976 who started it all.
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Clearing the land in 1960. Grandaddy is standing in the center.
That’s why he and my uncle bought a piece of land on the Chesapeake Bay. Granddaddy loved reeling in spot, croaker or the occasional flounder and a small beach on the newly purchased lot afforded easy access to saltwater. Just down the road was Windmill Point at the mouth of the Rappahannock. It provided a base for upriver jaunts or forays out into the bay. In the late 1950s, the nearby town of White Stone had few places in which to overnight, so with the help of family, a small cottage was soon completed on the overgrown lot. No doubt the occasional day trips then turned to extended stays full of rods, reels and sheer enjoyment.
As Granddaddy’s bait and tackle obsession continued, simultaneously the small cottage morphed into more than a fishing headquarters. It became an anticipated summer retreat for extended family. Granddaddy baited hooks while others steamed crabs and shucked oysters. Young cousins chased seagulls, watched dolphins and built sand castles while becoming unknowingly immersed in the developing family traditions. Layers of memories would be built from that place.
Decades have passed and Granddaddy has gone, but the cottage is filled with fishing poles and reminders. Over the years the family has grown and so has the cottage itself. Under first my uncle’s generous care, and now my cousin’s, roomy improvements mean space for more family, more vacations and more traditions. Family reunions are large gatherings. Kids in the water, lawn chairs in the shade and laughter in the air. Relatives from far and wide end up sprinkled across the yard, beach and deck. Gathered together, ultimately, because Granddaddy liked to fish.
Today, over 60 years later, our sprawling extended family still uses the cottage for summer fun and family reunions. We who grew up enjoying time there have passed on that love to our children. Several cousins have purchased properties of their own in the surrounding area. As a regular user of the family cottage, I understood the desire but hadn’t thought of owning a waterfront place of my own. Until last year.
My bay childhood revolved around Windmill Point with the occasional ride to White Stone or Kilmarnock. In a lifetime of fun in that area I never sought anything beyond that. I didn’t need to, so deep was the satisfaction found at that cottage. Still, in recent times, we began to think that a place of our own might be nice. With two adult children, one grandchild and more to follow, we set about looking for a house. There is beauty on every marsh, creek and river in the Northern Neck, but like Granddaddy I wanted a place on the bay.
Flash forward a year and we now have a house in Reedville. On the bay. More precisely, it’s near the community of Fleeton. With a youth spent at Windmill Point, I’d only heard of these faraway places. As it turns out, our house is just up the bay from the family cottage. We love it already. After months of renovations we now look forward to our first summer with the kids, and theirs, as we start making family traditions of our own. Not instead of the ones we’re already a part of, but in addition to.
My children live in other states, so cell phone technology made it possible for them to witness renovations as they began, were underway and were finally completed. They remained as excited as we were during the process and we enjoyed showing them new floors, new paint and remodeled bedrooms awaiting their arrival. We even have a room set up for our little grandson. The stage is set for years of family fun.
Not long ago, I had occasion to be in the house alone. I wandered from room to room imagining the good times and laughter to be had in each. Breakfasts and dinners and card games and joy. We’re ready and waiting. Hopefully, the kids and grandkids will see this house the way I saw, and still see, the old family cottage—as a retreat of carefree happiness.
I looked out at the shimmering water, a sight that still makes me catch my breath. In that overwhelming moment I thought back to years of remarkable memories made on the bay. My first trip to the family cottage would have been as an infant in my mother’s arms. Now, decades later, standing in my very own house on the bay I began to wonder what good fortune brought me to this place in time, to this house and with a family eager to make it theirs too. All there on that beautiful Chesapeake Bay. Then I remembered exactly how all of this came to be.
Because Granddaddy liked to fish.
Stuart and his family get together at the 1959 Windmill Point cottage whenever they can. Follow Stuart’s blog at storyshucker.wordpress.com.