June 16, 2009

There is a lesson here....

This blog has a purpose. The Red Door Journal is an opportunity to share our story in hopes of providing a glimpse into the real perils of partition. It happened to us and it can happen to you. It's a sad story of loss but it is also an opportunity for anyone with a cottage they love to take the necessary steps to prevent this from happening to them.

The cottage is a haven. We go to "get away". To relax, enjoy old traditions, renew old friendships, savor the smell of our childhoods, connect with our history and generally enjoy the magic. The distant (or not so distant) rumblings of family discord are set aside, ignored or buried. The attitude of "it won't happen to us" or, "we'll deal with it later" won't protect you when the time comes and it does come. It will come.

We sincerely hope that the message doesn't become buried in the mired muck of this mess. It's natural to want to identify the evil doer and point fingers. The facts of the matter, we are all to blame. We all failed to plan. We were not innocent bystanders in any way. We simply failed to plan. Start planning now. The magic wand of Lakeside won't make it go away.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

your right it is a very sad story. Never being able to smell that smell of lakeside, swimming going to the dining hall all the things that make Lakeside special. Oh sure you can rent a cottage here and get all those beautiful things but it isn't the same as owning. Walking where all your ancestors walked for years and years without a hitch. It's so sad and then you have the pig asshole wanting everything to himself, not wanting to share or even come to terms. That's very sad.

Anonymous said...

I have heard many say to their siblings...you wouldn't do that to me right?? Well we thought the SAME thing and it did happen to us so please if you and your siblings and relatives all agree that is monstorous then put it on paper..get it legal and I don't mean partition. If you are that close then everyone in the family will agree to do this the RIGHT way and avoid our heart ache. On that note we are still Lakesiders and will see you this summer.

Katy said...

I hit anonymous by mistake...you can all know I wrote this

Anonymous said...

Cottage Grove and Pinewoods function on pretty much the same model as Lakeside, so hopefully the denizens of our sister camps are taking note of the perils of partition as well.

This blog is like attending a free educational seminar! Yes, the comments get a little carried away sometimes on the villainy of it all-- but that's what makes it kinda fun, too!

Anonymous said...

I have a cottage in Pinewoods and can tell you that nearly every cottage here is a tenants in common situation. Tensions do flare!

Anonymous said...

To be honest, as much as I love my aunties and uncles, grandparents and cousins, it's a bit of a pain in the ass to all be sharing the same old cottage! We try to do what you guys did, dividing up the summer according to private time for nuclear families... kinda sucks though. Would prefer my own place!

Anonymous said...

Maybe you guys should write a book with all this info. Include the comments after each chapter. I'd buy a few.
"How to screw your family while trying to influence people".

Anonymous said...

What makes this all so ironic is that the great Slymey one happens to be president of Lakeside Association!

Anonymous said...

you can smell the stank when you walk past his cottage. I'm not sure if it's mold or what but it sure stanks

Anonymous said...

Too bad for the Morleys and Torrences who have adjacent cottages to the slyme pit!

The Torrence cottage does look lovely however in the background of the pic that shows Slymons's ugly new swing./

Anonymous said...

The place is actually starting to grow real slime, I swear!

Anonymous said...

"Blood is thicker than water?".....but in President Oslyma's case the view of the lake means more than family ties.....Please listen to Joey and get your family affairs in order before your family becomes a victim of Slymonization.......

There is a lesson for all to be learned from this blog.....

Katy Elizabeth said...

I know it has already been said, but we used to be those people who thought that this couldn't happen to us. Even though we had the signs, clear as day, that he would eventually go crazy enough to pull this kind of crap on us, we were still pretty blind sided.

No one likes to think that their family would divide over a piece of land and/or cottage.

I just want to applaud my Uncle and my Mom for doing an exceptional job with this blog. A lot of us have learned quite a bit and I'm sure that we all now understand much better about what "could" go wrong. I can't think of any two people who could have put this together any better.

Anonymous said...

"No one likes to think that their family would divide over a piece of land and/or cottage."

I would guess this is actually the most common cause of spats and feuds in families... disagreements over inherited real estate.

Anonymous said...

In this particular case, wish the Lees had bought out the Slymons.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I believe most if not all of Lakeside would have preferred to see the Lees remain in the cottage vis a vis the Slymons.

Anonymous said...

You know it's a very very sad thing that happened to the Lee's and Jenkins. On the other hand can you imagine the amount of money that needs to be spent fixing up the old girl. They would certainly have to take out another mortgage. The place is going to fall down by itself and I don't think old slime ball has enough money to put into it, and I also don't think carols sister has a clue to that one. She will shat her pants when she finds out. So all in all the Lee's and Jenkins in my mind got out laughing

Anonymous said...

"So all in all the Lee's and Jenkins in my mind got out laughing"

You could be right. Sentimental value only goes so far--- the place has serious issues that would cost a fortune to fix.

Slymedog doesn't have any $$, and his boys don't seem inclined to want to contribute on the financial side.

Feel sorry for Carol's family-- they have no idea what they're getting in to.

Anonymous said...

Funny how everyone assumes that cottage owners in Lakeside, C.G. and P.W. are filthy stinkin' rich.

Some are, but many are just scraping by.

(Especially in this recession- ouch!!)

Unknown said...

I don't know... to me, sentimentality would drive my do-it-herself side to the limit.

I would have called up all my buddies and busted out my power tools....
Even if I had to drag it over a couple years, that place would have all it needed.

Still worth it to me, by a long shot.

Anonymous said...

Carly, that's the spirit!

Too bad Uncle Slymons never allowed you guys to fix anything up. Sounds like he had been pre-meditating this takeover for many years.

Joey said...

The cottages are really not in bad shape. A new roof was put on about 10 years ago, the back and front cottages underwent major renovation in the 50's and for the most part, are in good shape. Sure, cosmetic issues, some minor fixes, etc. need to be done. The beach house took a beating when Rick tried power washing it. Not such a good idea. Yes, it needs cleaning, a good paint job (again), a few boards replaced, etc. We wanted to do many things but were stopped at each step.

Anonymous said...

Was the comparable that sold for 620K that tear down little shack in Pinewoods?

In my opinion, Lakeside is more valuable property than Pinewoods because there is more land, more privacy, more association owned buildings, etc.