27 SUNSET LAKE RD (Onarock)

The Stouts - July, 2009

In October of 2003 we bought the cottage from Russ and Charlotte Geer. Their son Russ Jr. is a friend of ours. His wife has been my friend since Kindergarten. We had come up to visit the Geers at the lake and had fallen in love with it. We mentioned - if you ever want to sell it- let us know. About 10 years later, while we were still renting a first floor apartment from my parents in Cambridge MA, the Geers contacted us and said they were selling. The timing was perfect. Our son was 3 years old and we were starting to look for a place that we could buy for a summer getaway. We had looked at a few lakes but all were so crowded or too far from our place in Cambridge that we weren't excited at the prospect of spending our weekends looking at more places. When we came up to Sunset Lake again, we knew it was the right one.

Ever since 2003 we have enjoyed all the seasons up here. We love ice skating and cross country skiing. We were excited to see people fishing on the frozen lake when we first came up. Our first spring up here it rained every weekend; the neighbors teased us that it was our fault. This year (2009) has been a rainy summer! It's now July and we've barely been in swimming. We're looking forward to warmer days, but no matter what the weather, we love to come here and relax.

Other than the wonderful neighbors who keep us infomed and were happy to help us when we forgot our keys or lent a jack and tools when we needed to repair the dock or Jake's bike, I think the best thing about the Lake has been the opportunity for our son Jake to grow up in a setting other than the city. When we arrive here, he jumps out of the car to look for frogs in his favorite spots. He was very excited to find the tiny frogs (spring peepers). I had never seen such small frogs before! Every morning, he wakes up and looks for the hummingbird. We can't forget his other favorite event - looking for candy that Sylvia leaves him in her mail box. We have our routines here and we love them. Jake has taken swimming lessons with the life guards for 3-4 years and has become a great swimmer. This year Jake has started to take the paddle boat out on his own and explore the lake for himself. He likes to see the blue heron and the turtles. He would never have seen so many animals in the city!

In the fall, we love to come and see the season’s changes. We are looking forward to exploring more of the hiking trails around here with our new dog, Odo.

Now, we are off to enjoy another one our favorite routines - visiting Friendly Farm.

Mark Mitchell, Janice Mitchell Carter, Nicole Carter Reese (Janice’s daughter) - September 16, 2008

Nicole remembers Albert Popple (Grampa) raking the water to get rid of the “yucky” stuff at the bottom so that she could walk into the water.  She also remembers the roof of our cottage being very noisy during rain storms because of a tin (?) roof.  Nicole was born in 1972, so I think she was about three years old at the time.

I (Janice) have a memory of Uncle Moe (Connie’s brother) throwing me off the raft and saying sink or swim!  Of course he knew I could swim since he gave me some lessons, but at the time I was scared to death I would sink.  My other memory involves Joyce and I putting a turtle down the back of Mark’s T-shirt and not realizing it was a snapping turtle!  Mom (Connie) really punished us over that incident.  To this day I still laugh about Mark’s reaction even though the turtle took a chunk out of Mark’s back.  Both Mark and I remember the toilet that Albert (a plumber by profession) installed in that cottage that “incinerated” the waste.  (We had a flushing toilet in the garage across the street.)  I remember the first time I used it I was afraid it would “burn” my butt along with the waste!!!

Mark remembers Mr. Robbins (Uncle Roy E. Robbins, Esq.) taking him over to the field by Greenfield State Park and letting him practice driving.  He remembers going across the main road to the sand pit and target shooting.  We both remember walking up to the pump to get water every day.  The next memory is a hoot!  Mark remembers the time we were water skiing behind the Wheeler’s small boat and everyone fell out and the boat went around in circles until someone climbed back in and shut off the motor.

Sylvia, I hope this is helpful and brings back fond memories. - Janice

Memories contributed by Pam Geer, July, 2009

 I remember ...

• Walking to the cool, clear spring at the bend in the road, with its banks and layers of dead leaves and the silent, cautious newts darting like mercury over the mossy rocks 

• Trips to town to go to the "Industries" for penny candy; I remember biting the heads off wax Dachshunds and the erasers off wax pencils to get the sweet, sticky liquid inside; pink and lavender pastel dots stuck to lengths of white paper  ~  we'd try to scrape them off with our teeth without ripping the thin paper ...

• The creak of the wooden screen doors in every cottage ...

• The daddy-long-legs in the outhouse at night  ~  was it better to take a flashlight and SEE them, or not take a flashlight and know they were there in the dark? ...

• The big, deep freezer chest filled with orange and turquoise popsicles that riveted themselves to our tongues when we tried to lick them ...

• Trying not to move or breathe as we hid in a secret spot in the dark at night, playing "Sardines"  ...

• The smell of Auntie's Jo's chicken noodle soup with the delicious, flat noodles and gorgeous, green herbs floating on top of the golden oil ...

• Hiding out from the mosquitoes, burrowed into the brown sleeping bag with the red interior speckled with hunters in caps and fishermen casting lures, in the big (five-bed?) room with the pine board smell at the top of the stairs ...

• Playing countless games of gin rummy, war, slapjack, crazy eights, and hearts on the screened porch or in the cozy cottage on a rainy day ...

• The creak on the stair and the soft slap of the closing screen door at night, OR the wooden scrape of a chamber pot across the painted floor ...

• My dad, "The Walrus," athletic as a kid, on the flat, red disc pulled behind the outboard motor, waving and flashing a smile as he swung around the far end of the lake past Lower Far View ...

• Skinny-dipping in the evening just as the last light faded and the sounds of cottagers, birds, and animals floated so clearly and invisibly across the hushed water ...

• The chunking, clunking, splosh sound of the metal barrels under the raft slapping the water as the wake of a boat set the raft bobbing gently above our heads while we swam ...

• Our dog Rocky, wet from the lake and wrapped in a beach towel bearing the legend "His Majesty," sitting regally on a webbed folding chair on the dock between "Big Russ" and "The Badger," each of whom was smoking a fat cigar, wearing a pair of drying swim trunks, and gazing out over the serene lake as the Badge mused, "I wonder what the poor people are doing today" ...

• Uncle John's early morning Bloody Mary's out on the dock as the mists of the night cleared, and he announced (as he loved to do no matter what the prevailing weather conditions), "Well, you know ...  it's clearing in the West!"   ~