Building our Killington Dream Lodge: Part 16 The second floor framing on our Killington Ski Lodge was growing a little week by week. One of the slowdowns was only two beams could be transported at the time atop our station wagon each week (to avoid caving in the roof). As Dad progressed, I stayed in…

Building our Killington Dream Lodge, Part 15 Dad, a mechanical engineer, understood the principles of levers, pulleys and gears. He used them to lift heavy beams to the second floor and on top of the frame. It had to be done methodically, piece by piece with planning and forethought. He bought the materials as his…

Building a Killington Dream Lodge: part 14 By Marguerite Jill Dye Dad made progress and forged ahead on our Killington ski lodge while Mom, Billie, and I toured Europe. Our extensive European whirlwind trip was the very beginning of my awakening to understand the world and how I fit in. I had no idea what…

Building a Killington dream lodge: Part 13 Dad was focused and totally devoted to building his Killington dream lodge each weekend. It became his life purpose and passion to build his heart-felt legacy for our family. His dedication was inspiring to behold. Mom was committed (they were still married) but she had other interests, as…

Building a Killington Dream Lodge: Part 12 While building our ski lodge in Killington, we worked very hard but there were perks, too. One thing I loved most about Vermont was what I discovered when I was 13. Since we owned property, I’d qualify to apply for a learner’s permit when I turned 14. (In…

Building our Killington Dream dream lodge, Part 11 We began to build our ski lodge in 1958, the same year the Killington Access Road was built and the mountain opened for its first ski season. Preston Smith who began it all lived at the end of Roaring Brook Road, about a mile past the land…

Building a Killington Dream Lodge, Part 10 As the ski house we were building in Killington grew, I did, too, from age 7 on up. I entered adolescence and continued helping with various tasks. My latest assignment was pretty exciting compared to repairing our tar paper roof. I climbed a ladder to the top of…

Building a Killington Dream Lodge: Part 9 Dad was on a mission to build our ski lodge so wasn’t thrilled by invitations to escape our Killington work camp. But Mom and I were elated and ready to get off “the reservation” whenever we could. When our friend Ann relayed an invitation from Walter and Emile…

My brother Billie met Ann Wallen when he attended Colton ski camp. Ann was helping out in the kitchen and knew we’d become friends, too. That was the week Dad bought our land under 6 feet of snow from Oren Bates. It was 1958 when Killington was just beginning. When we arrived to begin our…

Building our Killington Dream dream lodge, Part 7 I felt I was living a double life since everything happened Friday through Sunday. Returning to “normalcy” in New Jersey resembled acting in a surreal play. We knew once we crossed the New York State line and entered Vermont, the magic would start. Our weekends were filled…

We were making progress on Dad’s Killington dream lodge, but it was slow going with lots of delays, often due to frequent weather changes. Whenever it rained, water leaked onto the floor. When it was bitter cold, ice carpeted the back room. With electricity in our basement at last, extension cords snaked around the room.…

Building our Killington dream lodge, part 6 When the power company man climbed a tree to connect wires to our basement ski lodge, Mom planned a party to celebrate the grand occasion for which we’d been waiting. Mom selected a rectangular table with two benches she’d stashed in our house in Montclair, New Jersey. We…

Building a Killington dream lodge, part 5 Mom and I perfected the art of dressing in bed when it was cold, which was quite often in Vermont’s Green Mountains. We giggled as we wiggled out of and into our clothing. It wasn’t easy, especially for me, inside my narrow mummy sleeping bag. I felt like…

Flat tires, Dad’s right hand tomboy, roof leaks ad infinitum The year Dad bought two acres in Killington was when my older brother, Jack, left home for the University of New Hampshire to study forestry. Our brother Billie played high school football and wasn’t free to join us most weekends. So Mom, Dad, our lab…

Part 3 of a series on building our Killington dream lodge Every weekend and during vacations we fled to Vermont for more adventures while building the ski lodge Dad dreamed of. While residing in our tent in the woods, we cleared the land and leveled the ground, no small achievement in a state made of rock.…