I visited one other small estate in Upstate New York that was owned by a very rich lady from a family that owned a Woolworth-like chain of stores. After forty years, I can't for the life of me remember her name, which was the family name used on the business.
Anyway, I went to her house with my assistant to ask permission to enter the grounds. The servants told us she was working out by the entry road about a mile from the house. We drove back and saw an old lady picking up trash along the lane, and that was her.
We stopped, and she asked very crossly, "Don't you know this is a private road?"
"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but we are conducting a federal survey of forest lands, and we have a sample plot on your property. We work for the United States Forest Service."
"Oh, my goodness!" she said. And then we were her bosom buddies. She gave us a tour of her horse barn, which was cleaner than most people's houses and had a crystal chandelier to light the stalls. Her daughter had won an equestrian medal in the Olympics.
She then showed us her own house and took us up to where her late husband had tied flies for fishing as a hobby. My assistant was an avid fisherman and fly tier and she gave him all her husband's stuff.
Then she took us out to the pond and showed us her small fleet of canoes and invited us to come back and use them any time. Which we did, one time. It was very enjoyable.
Elsewhere in Upstate New York, and in the Catskills I entered big estates or compounds that looked as if they were managed as resorts for the mafia. They were locked up and had armed guards, but we were allowed in with no problems.
The worst problem I had in New York was a small land owner thought I was surveying for a missile site. Apparently they had a big problem with that. |
