THE GLENDORN STORY

During the 1920's, Glendorn was built for the outdoor loving and gregarious Dorn family. It is a 1,280 acre estate that offers luxurious accommodations, fine dining, and activities. As a family, they loved recreation, learning, excellent cuisine and a rollicking good time. Consequently, the family has been going to Glendorn for close to eighty years, spanning 6 generations. For family member Holbrook Lawson, it is one of life's rare opportunities where numerous generations of a family could gather, debate, play, learn, and enjoy each other. I still marvel that I know personally my second or third cousins. Think how many don't even get to see their siblings!

I remember being nervous when we opened our doors to guests in 1995. Would they enjoy what we do and would they evoke the name of Glendorn with reverence as the family does? To my delight and sheer intrinsic enthusiasm, guests use the property as we do. I have seen them darting off to Lake Bondieu with fly-rods or lingering in the Big House after a superb lunch and needle pointing. I've seen guests shooting skeet, hiking to the Hideout, or snow shoeing along the 18 miles worth of trails. After a fabulous dinner, I've also seen guests excitedly playing "Poo Denver", a game invented by my great-grandfather. I must say that hearing the participants play "Poo Denver" with shrieks of glee as they win and sighs of dissatisfaction as they lose makes me believe that my family members were playing at that moment.

There are numerous cabins on the property for the guests. Many of these cabins have personal and fond memories for me. One such cabin that I adore above all else is the "Roost". The "Roost" was my grandmother's cabin. She married her childhood sweetheart, Bill Bird and as a result this is where the Bird's came home to roost. Upon entering the 1930 cabin, I can still smell and see the Pecky Cypress wood as it provides a warm glow and cozy feeling for those who come to stay. I have fond memories of staying up late with my cousins, exchanging childhood secrets and eating Jiffy Pop Popcorn made on the 1930's original Vulcan stove.

It seems so much in our life is transitional, fleeting, or disposable. Glendorn is not. I have found that life pauses for a brief time for me when I go there. It holds back the hands of time and allows me to recharge my batteries and reestablish my foundation in life. I love to hike the woods and remember that my world in not always a concrete city, but a world of beautiful Cherry, Hemlock, Maple, and White Pine trees, where love, happiness, and creation can renew as it has for generations.

Holbrook C. Lawson