Alice Perkins began coming to Lew Beach as a young girl. Her family would leave Mt Vernon, New York, by train to Grand Central Station. Next they took the 42nd Street trolley to the ferry to cross the Hudson River to New Jersey. There they boarded the N.Y.O.& W. (New York, Ontario & Western) train to Livingston Manor. Ed Sprague met them with his buckboard for the 2-hour ride to his boarding house, known as The Mountain View Villa in Lew Beach. Later her family went to Mrs. Towse’s Bonnie View. There she met William Harold Sharpless, known as Jake, who stayed at The Bonnie View frequently. They were married in 1923. The young family’s on-going annual summer vacations were first spent at the Beaverkill Trout Club and later at a variety of cottages and a local farm house until 1936, when they bought the two houses just past the church on the road to Craigie Clair and Roscoe. Alice and Jake introduced their long-time friends, Marjorie and Norman S. Gordon (“Cy”) to the Beaverkill Valley.

During the years before 1939, all the children referred to the adults of the other family as Aunt Alice, or Aunt Marjorie and Uncle Jake or Uncle Cy. That year was a significant one for both families. Marjorie Gordon and Jake Sharpless passed away, leaving two single parents. Alice had two boys and twin girls and Cy had three daughters. Early the next year, Alice and Cy decided to marry, combining the two families, and Aunt Alice became Mom and Uncle Cy became Pop. Two years later they had another girl, which completed the family of eight children.

The annual treks to the Beaverkill Valley home continued. Mom managed all aspects of the summer activities and Pop would come up most weekends and during his vacation. A large garden was prepared and planted in the late spring and was tended by everyone. Weeding and harvesting the vegetables went on all summer long. Many hours were spent in the kitchen canning and storing them for later use. Trips to the blueberry and blackberry patches yielded delicious berries for pies and preserves. We had two or three horses which were pastured in the Banks’ large pasture behind our property. Early in the day we walked around the pasture to find them and bring them in for a daily ride. Other activities were afternoon swimming in the river and often a round of golf on the Trout Valley Farm golf course beginning at the 4th hole across the road from our house. No one could go swimming down at the river pool across the golf course until one hour after lunch. Mother wore her glasses, even as she swam side-stroke with the current, so she could keep an eye on the children as they swam and played along the river bank.

back row: Alice “Mom” Gordon / Pat Gordon / Bill Sharpless Ted Sharpless / “Cy” “Pop” Gordon front row: Linda Gordon / Sally Sharpless Connie Gordon / Janet Sharpless

Mom loved to fly fish. She found the best time to do this was at dusk. She gathered up her waders, rod, fly box, a net, a creel, and insect repellent and headed out to her special places on the river. These spots were usually where the current flowed swiftly and the trout hid under the rocks. The only deterrent that might send her home early would be swooping bats that could get entangled in her line while she was casting.

All these experiences enriched the lives of all the children. The golf course, long gone, is covered over with forest. You can find your way through the pine forest to that portion of the river where we learned to swim and dive. Periodically the river changed course with the spring floods. Each one of us has our own personal recollections to share.