Thankfulness: To be aware and appreciative of a benefit

Earlier this week, I turned the final page of Josephine Gibson Knowlton's charming and warm autobiography, "Butterballs and Fingerbowls" which chronicles her life from her childhood in Flushing, New York to her later years at Longfield.

Josephine wanted for little: she traveled the world and was well provided for; first by an adoring brother and ultimately a hard-working husband.  Still, the pages of her book reveal a woman with a keen awareness and appreciation of the value of family, friends, and the home that was Longfield. 

Like Scarlett O'Hara who spent her life trying to return - both literally and figuratively - to Tara, Josephine's pursuit of happiness brought her back time and again to the stately Gothic Revival that faced the bay.  It was there that she was married, there that her beloved mother died in her arms, there that her son was married, and there that she and Dan finally settled to live out their years.  

On the eve of Thanksgiving 2013, bombarded by the chill of unrelenting consumerism, my awareness and appreciation of Longfield extends to Josephine, whose sorrows and joys echo in the halls and fields of this wonderful house.  Longfield is important in so many ways:  for its architect, its prominent place at the gateway to Bristol, and its DeWolf/Gibson lineage... but also because it was a home to generations of a spirited and creative family.  

For the past few weeks, Craig has been working diligently to create a detailed plan to save Longfield and bring it back from the brink of total destruction on which it now sits.  This is no easy task given the scope of and cost of the work facing us.  I, for one, am thankful for Craig's determination and also for Longfield and its rich history.  I am aware and appreciative of the benefit that Longfield once was to the Gibson and Knowlton families, and know that it can be of benefit again, this time to an entire town.  Our focus is steady but our model has changed.  Slow and steady wins the race.  Stay tuned.