Summertime in Tourist Town

Stockton Cottage: its family and its history

Severance

Essex County, New York

Schroon Lake is a little rural town that re-invents itself as a tourist resort each summer. I grew up there, in a small family-run lodge from 1937 through the 1950s, returning some summers with my young children to help out again. For us, it was routine to give up our bedrooms and home to guest each summer. In return, along with enough money to survive till the next tourist season, we met new guest, heard new stories and enjoyed new friendships. Not an easy way to earn a living, but normal for life in a tourist town. This is a glimpse into life for one family, mine.