In the summer of 1978, my brother and sister and I could not agree over responsibilities at The House in the Woods which we had inherited (see page one.) I was loath to leave the spot that had been my home nearly every summer since the age of eight months but I started to look on other lakes.

A neighbor suggested we visit Upper Saranac Lake, and we trailed a boat there that afternoon.

As we went down the lake, he pointed out the camps of socially-registered, "Main Line," Philadelphia families, a Lehman brother or two, and Jules Bache's home (his daughter Kitty was a buddy of mine.)

We circled back, and passing a wooded point, my friend yelled above the scream of the motor, "Some day when you are very old and very rich, you should buy that place. It was built by William Avery Rockefeller, and is the last of the Adirondack Great Camps!"

Not being able to see through the trees, I shrugged.

The next morning, out of breath, he telephoned.

"You won't believe it, it's for sale!"

I wasn't very excited, but we drove over to see it. Rather unkempt, it did have terrific bones.

I walked into the great hall and said to no one in particular, "I'll have it."

The owner was standing around the corner of one of the twin fireplaces. I agreed the price immediately but he seemed sort of stand-offish and asked me to come back tomorrow. The vetting committee took the form of Joe Blagden who lived next door. A squint was followed by a grin - Joe Blagden's brother had been my art master at Hotchkiss and his son had been my classmate. He nodded his approval and the sale was done.