Had you been with us last night, you'd have been in front of the fire in the parlor, nibbling on Ducktrap salmon spread and Smith's Smokehouse chorizo, laughing as guests from Maryland, Connecticut, Florida, and New York were teasing yours truly. I had fun show and tell as I had the 1979 reservation book out. I had been looking up records of guests who were here on their honeymoon. They're on their way back and I wanted to research the previous visit. As I was looking for their name, I came across E.B. White's name. There is much anecdotal evidence of his having come to the inn many many times--and having sold eggs here, too, at one time, but this is the first I've seen his name on the guest list. He came with family and alone on an almost weekly basis for months. I'll have to research more about his visits and let you know what I find. The book says "Andy White & us, 3" on February 20, when the menu was pea soup, salad, oatmeal bread, baked scallops, baked stuffed potatoes, broccoli and apple crisp with ice cream. The "us" in 1979 would've been the Wakelins, who owned the inn from sometime in 1975/6 until 1983/4. I have a pamphlet from the time of the Wakelins ownership. Rooms were $30 a day for single occupancy during the season. I'm not sure what E. B. White's dinners would have cost. Another pamphlet in our history book says that "complete dinners" in the 1960s were from $1.75-$3.50. A reservation for a dinner party for Ellsworth Building Supply (still in business in town today!) was listed at $5 per person.
It appears that in 1979 rooms were named Captains, Boat, Deck, Fern, and Hamabe (Francis Hamabe was a popular artist who had a studio in Blue Hill beginning in 1950). I'm not sure how the eclectic names were decided upon (or if fern is based on plant or a person) or which room is which. Every time I answer one question about the history of the inn, three more appear!
A guest was asking about a handsome tree outside the breakfast room the other morning. I had to admit I didn't know what it was but said I would find out. Two guests overheard the exchange, saw Forest Trees of Maine at Blue Hill Books and presented it to me--gift wrapped!--that very afternoon. Can you understand why I keep saying I have the nicest guests?
One thing and another lead me to an article by E.B. White's stepson Roger Angell (if you haven't read his work in the New Yorker, or seen his memoir, Let Me Finish, I highly recommend you do).
I best wrap this up and pop the tarts in the oven for hors d'oeuvres tonight. I made blueberry sage ones, with sage from the garden, and sundried tomato ones with chives from the garden. The rain has guests gathered around the puzzle table and enjoying pots of tea along with the chocolate chip cookies Matt made this morning--somehow they'll still be hungry for savory tarts!
