Pictured are the sole bearers of the Read family surname (harumph! ahem!):
Left to right: Doug, Tomoko, Kit, Erika, Don, Leiper
This is the story of the Reads' Cranberry Lake years. There is of course more to the Read story than this- Kit's and Leiper's early years on Long Island, raising adorable little Doug and Don in New York State's Southern Tier, two years in Japan, etc.. But this is, after all, the Cranberry Chronicles, a long enough tale as it is, and still going on today. So, for the sake of brevity, we turn our attention to a beautiful pristine lake in the mountains...
The Reads have loved the Adirondacks for years but only discovered Cranberry sometime in the 1970s. From then on it was two week vacations every summer, roughing it in the RV at the State Campground. In 1982 Kit and Leiper Read brazenly defied gravity and moved north after retirement, taking possession of Idyllwild Lodge on Lightning Point. The lodge was a classic Adirondack log camp with knotty pine interiors, birch railings, and a moose head hanging in the main room.
Oh,yes, and a big shiny tin roof that could be seen from just about everywhere on the lake.
Here's the painful part: in the fall of 1984 this place burned to the ground along with all of my parents' belongings. Fortunately they were out of the house at the time. But they came home to find that all they owned was on their backs.
Things are better now; Kit and Leiper have built a new log home on the Point and love to play host to friends and family throughout the year.
They spend most of the year, including black fly season, overlooking this beautiful place.
I, for one, am envious.
Click on for a guided tour.
