Thank you for your interest in staying at our cottages! We have cherished this land and the waters on it for many years. We are happy to offer it to you during your stay. This is not simply a rental, but our home away from home as well. Five generations of our family have enjoyed this property for over sixty years. We hope you do, too.

_______________________________

Detailed History:

Welcome to the Nease Family Cottages. We are glad you have chosen to come stay awhile at a place that has been loved for over 60 years by 5 generations of family. We have diligently worked to make it a place for you and yours to relax and enjoy what Lake Champlain and Vermont offers.

A little history regarding this property. I am Linda Nease Scott, once a child here, now the matriarch. Our first summer on this site was in 1960 when we came up from Quincy, MA for a first trial visit. My parents parked a pop-up camper on the beach under the beautiful old willow tree that graced the property at the beachfront toward the right of the cabin. (It was a sad day for us when that tree finally came down in a storm. If you are interested in pictures there are some in the drawer to the coffee table.) Our family of five, Stephen & Christine Nease with kids Linda (10), Floyd (8), Stephen (5) and David (2 months) slept in that pop-up…sort of…and Mom cooked on a Coleman stove on the beach for a week or two. That week my dad caught his biggest fish ever – a 3 foot plus long northern pike – in the little boat we had, across the lake around that far point of mainland you can see. This little girl whose turn it was to go fishing early with Daddy, was frightened when he was pulling it in. To me, in the water it looked bigger than the boat, and I begged him to cut the line, to no avail. After that vacation, dad purchased the land for about $10 a “running foot”, a big expenditure for our family.

The first “summer home” we had here was an old trailer acquired from an estate with a one-room rickety addition on the front that served as a bunk room for the kids. After a summer or two, a second front room was added by a friend that pastored in town. It was all sort of held together with plumber’s tape and glue and we battled rodents that loved the space in the winter and were reluctant to move out in the summer. My dad worked for Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy Massachusetts and traveled all summer to different churches connecting with potential students and raising money for the college. The purchase of the camp meant that Mom could take the kids there rather than summering in hot Quincy while Dad was gone. It was a long and sometimes lonely summer for her without Dad, and it helped to be here.

We loved it here – most of the time. There were not nearly as many neighbors in those days and we sometimes felt a bit vulnerable on dark lonely nights. Money was scarce and we often fished for food. But love permeated it all and we treasured our time here. As adults that have moved around with our families over the years, we frequently gathered here as a group to the fullest extent possible. This is where we all best remember family gatherings – especially on the 4th of July. The lake is beautiful all the time – but seeing various fireworks go off across the waters on a clear calm night is especially fun. And then there are the sunsets – we have thousands, maybe trillions (!) of pictures of unmatchable sunsets.

Not too long after our initial purchase, my father was able to arrange purchase of the land next door where a trailer was added that housed maiden aunties that had helped my grandmother raise my father and his sister after my grandfather died at age 37 during the Depression. They were family to all of us, Auntie Bertie and Auntie Mary. They left the land to my dad’s sister, Auntie Helen, who built the cabin that is there shortly after Dad built this camp in 1987.

Dad suffered Alzheimer’s in his later days but would sit on the deck for hours staring at the lake – he didn’t talk much in those waning days but often would quietly comment, “I love it here!” He passed on April 6, 2006, and Mom followed three years and a day later on April 7, 2009. We got them up to this place as often as possible during their decline. They were always at peace here.

The camp suffered the historic floods of 2011 when the lake was in flood stage for 66 days, ruining both camps and requiring rebuilding that was problematic for us all financially. Since then we have slowly rebuilt and raised this cabin, and fully rebuilt the Bradley cottage, taking it down all the way down to the studs and completely remodeling in 2023.

As families go, locations and priorities change, and there has been some orchestration of change in ownership. As we move forward hoping to continue to maintain the camp, we know that we need to generate some income to help with maintenance and the very high taxes this lovely state mandates. So that is how you got here!

Hundreds of family, friends, and colleagues on retreat have benefitted from time here – always bathed in love. We pray that is what you experience, as well, as you relax and enjoy this special place. Thank you for coming!

Linda Nease Scott