2) The Story of the Old Cottage

Our old farmhouse has an interesting history. Built in 1802 it was the home of Monroe MacKenzie. What a Scotsman was doing in Woodstock, Vermont in the early 19th century is beyond me. But he was a businessman and a potter. He used Fletcher Brook to turn the wheels of his South Woodstock Pottery. You can see one of his works, probably a cider jug, at the Historical Society in the village. And the old stoneworks that held his overshot mill are still standing. The 1802 Farmhouse:

The mill wall:

You can't dig around too deep without finding shards of pottery, an occasional old coin. Once we pulled out a pair of Teddy Roosevelt spectacles. Broken Delft pottery, pieces of coal and, even more surprising, lots of oyster shells. At some point, probably in 1947 someone broke up the property. They carved out a 3/4 acre parcel in the middle of the original 3+ acre house lot and built this place:

A cinder block two story small house that was state of the art for the time. It had insulation! (Unlike the old farmhouse). Oil heat and storm windows. What I figure is that an old-timer sold the big house and was glad to be rid of it. But he needed a place to live. Did the new buyer agree to build him a new house in trade for the old?

So along come the Melvilles... We bought the main farmhouse in 2009. And with it a doughnut. In the middle of our new property was a hole. The old cottage....

And along with it a new friend and neighbor, Phil Lacourse, the chef at the nearby South Woodstock Country Store. He was renting the old cottage and had done so for years. He also told us that people had been talking about buying the property. And this got us thinking. Maybe we should buy it. So we made an offer to the Massachusetts owner and it was accepted. Yay, integrity of the whole wins out! So now we were landlords. But what about Phil? There was no way we were kicking him out. A beloved fixture in town. It's tough to find an affordable rental in Woodstock, and there was no way we were going to hose this guy. Imagine our surprise when one day he walks up to us on his way to work and says, "Hey Hunt, I hope this won't bum you out too much but I'd like to give my notice, I've been offered a job by the Country Store with free housing so I think I'm going to take it and move out". I was happy for Phil and I was happy for us. Say hi to Phil if you ever stop in at the South Woodstock Country Store! He'll be the one cooking up fantastic soups and sandwiches.

But back to the old cottage. I have to tell you, this place hasn't worn well the passage of time. Though only 1/3rd as old as the farmhouse, it's post-war construction had about reached the end of it's life expectancy. Linoleum was peeling, the foundation was cracked, the basement was a horror show. The cemented stone staircase entrance was a nightmare, but worst of all was its proximity to the road. We get occasional logging trucks and horse trailers going by, and that's fine, unless you're 12 feet from them. So we were in the horns of a dilemma. Do you rebuild the place? Or do you tear it down and grass it over? I favored the former and my wife the latter. We couldn't decide. And then we were in the car returning from the Far-Away-Land. And a plan was made.