introduction
Dedicated to my mother and father. Their love of Silver Bay was infectious.
Anne and Don Sanborn at the dock.
My Father died in October of 2020, right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the circumstances, we couldn’t have a service, so we decided to wait and have the service that summer at Silver Bay.
At the reception, I sat down next to my Uncle Blackie. I started asking him questions about how Pudding Island Farm came to be and sharing with him what my father had told me. My dad was a great storyteller and sometimes embellished the details a little, so I was trying to establish fact from fiction.
We sat together for almost an hour. Blackie helped fill in the gaps and shared some stories I hadn’t heard before.
It had been 15 years since my last visit to Lake George. In fact, my children may be the oldest of the Parlin-Sanborn-Smith clan to successfully complete their first swim of the lake. This isn’t due to their swimming prowess, but because the last time they were there Hawkins was in diapers and Audrey was a toddler.
Even though I hadn’t been to Lake George for well over a decade, everything felt natural. There wasn’t that usual awkwardness that comes with the passing of so much time. Conversations with my relatives seemed to just pick up wherever they had left off 15 years ago.
Of course, there were some new faces. Nicole’s twin boys, Tristan and Kellan, were there every morning to greet us at the dock. Watching them reminded me what a magical place this was to be a child.
There were some new things as well, like my cousin Tim’s boat. This, according to my kids, was the best addition to the place. Tim took all the kids inner tubing, which entailed going top speed, turning hard, and watching the kids skid across the water and get bounced off the wake.
My brother and I tried it; it made me feel my middle age. Whatever happened to water skiing?
For a full week we were there. We (my brother and sister and their families) stayed at the Pudding Island House (formerly the Big House), which cousin Jennifer had rented to us. It was a marvelous week!
Towards the end of the week I started to think about writing this story. Maybe it was inspired by staying in that beautiful historic house, or being with my relatives and hearing stories about past generations, or simply that feeling of detachment when both parents pass and you long to stay connected to their roots. Whatever it was, it inspired me to write this.
No matter which branch of the family you belong to or what generation you’re part of, we are all connected to this history in one way or another. I hope you enjoy these stories and, more importantly, find a little bit of yourself inside of them.
acknowledgements
This project was a team effort all around. There are a few individuals that require special acknowledgement:
Mallika Mitra: I always knew my niece was talented but seeing her in action as Editor in Chief on this project really drove that point home. She showed me what a great editor can do.
Victoria Sanborn: My wife Victoria got interested in genealogy years ago. She was instrumental in tracking down people, dates, and archival documents that enriched the story and filled in gaps.
Leela Mitra: Leela painted the view from Pudding Island Farm that is on the home page of the web site.
Camilla Smith: Aunt Camilla (Charles’s daughter) was simply a joy on this project. While we never talked in person, we stayed in regular correspondence throughout the project. She shared numerous entertaining stories that helped bring color and personality to each character.
Blackie Parlin: Uncle Blackie (Charles’s son) provided the inspiration to get this project off the ground. In addition to interviews, he also helped to correct facts, and provide encouragement, along the way.
Joan Parlin: Aunt Joan (Blackie’s wife) was instrumental filling in gaps on some of the stories and organizing and scanning historic photos.
Chris Parlin: Chris (Charles’s grandson) was interviewed twice and provided historical corrections and some great stories, like the founding of Rag Tag.
Jeanne Chiang: Jeanne (Kaye’s daughter) shed light on Kaye’s incredible life and what it was like to come into the Parlin clan as “outsiders.”
John Sanborn: Uncle John (Charles’s nephew) was interviewed and had many stories about the early days of Pudding Island Farm and what it was like to work on the farm as a young boy.
Susan Rigger: Sue (John’s daughter) organized historic photos and provided copies of the Parlin family history books as well as other archival documents she found buried in the barn.
Kathy Mitra: Kathy (my sister) helped me to organize the family history books and track down our family’s copies of them.