JenRan
Homes, LLC... The
Complete Home Builder
(888) 240-5768 *
Randy@JenRanhomes.com
As the years passed and caring for the cabin slowly passed on to my husband and me, we somehow never had the heart to change "dad's" color. I'd always assumed he'd chosen it simply because he liked it and never realized that it could possibly mean so much more than that.
My father had come to the United States after fleeing across the Baltic Sea in a small boat from Estonia to Sweden in September 1944. He was one of the lucky ones. He made it safely to freedom before the Iron Curtain fell across the land of his birth. As is the case with many immigrants, he came to this country with little more than the clothes on his back.
When my dad passed away in the summer of 1999, his last wish was for him and my mom to be buried in Estonia next to his parents. A wish that I was able to fulfill in the spring of 2000. On the journey home, I decided to recreate the sea voyage made by my father more than half a century earlier in far different circumstances. After watching the spires of Tallinn’s old town fade in the evening dusk, I could only imagine the emotions felt by my dad as he watched his war-torn homeland disappear in the distance. I retired to my cabin and set the alarm for an early wake-up. I wanted to be on deck at first light as the ship approached Sweden. I'm not sure what I expected to see...but it was far more than I bargained for!
As the ship slowed and the fog began to lift, small craggy islands dotted with pine and fir trees drifted into view. And nestled on practically each and every one of them was a small cabin or two whose predominant color was barn red with white trim! My dad's first glimpse of peace and freedom in nearly five years! These welcoming islands greeted us along the entire length of the channel leading into Stockholm's main harbor.
Well, more years passed. Electricity finally arrived at our cabin in the summer of 2001. But despite our best efforts to maintain it, the original cabin finally outgrew both our ability to repair it and our finances. Additionally, it was also quickly becoming much too small for our extended family. After a long and careful search lasting nearly 1 1/2 years, we chose one of Greystokes International Wilderness Cabins to replace it. Why? Because of a combination of factors...foremost being good quality, efficient design, reasonable prices and accessible customer service. The latter was especially excellent! Randy Esposito, our local Connecticut sales rep and general contractor, went well above and beyond the call of duty! He not only got us a perfect match in cabin and trim color with my dad's original color choice, but also managed to have the new cabin built without sacrificing two special pine trees originally saved from building site clearing by mom almost 45 years ago. No easy task considering their size today, the myriad of wetlands regulations that restricted cabin placement and our desire to least disturb the existing natural environment! All in all, we ended up losing only three trees...leaving most of dad and mom's original forest intact.
Not only did Randy keep us informed of building progress via regular e-mails, but he also took lots of digital photos and posted them on-line. This allowed us to literally keep an eye on things even when we weren't able to be there on site. He even captured some delightful shots of local wildlife...four wild turkeys that went casually strolling past our front deck one day!
Every so often I get a feeling that although my folks are no longer with us...they are somehow delighted that the next generation hasn't given up on their dream...but continues to grow and nurture it. That feeling grew ever stronger after our last e-mail from Randy. After weeks of trying to get a commitment, he'd finally managed to corner the busy fellow who was to install the new cabin's stone fronted fireplace box. A firm installation date had been set...December 6th...the exact date of my mom's birthday!
Thanks guys!
Hillevi Obet Paul
*Estonian for woodland home...the name given our property by my dad many
years ago.
Metsakodu 1961 - This is the property my folks bought on Pachaug Pond....
from Eino Karjala, a farmer in Griswold, CT. His dog's name is Poika (Finnish for "Boy")!
In order to get to the property, a 3/4 mile long road had to be carved out from the woods! That's my mom, Heli Obet, 4 months before I was born doing just that !
Eventually a spot for a small cabin was chosen. Most of the land was cleared by hand.
Every friend of the family who dared visit, was put to work...even my babysitters! :-) That's my dad, Viktor Obet, in the white cap.
Eventually a bulldozer was called in to remove stumps and level the clearing.
I wasn't much help back then...
since I spent most of my time napping in a makeshift hammock....
or exploring the woods with dad!
It took several years, but eventually a small one-room cabin was built on the site. That's me and my mom circa 1964.
It's pretty amazing what a person with a dream can accomplish....
...when he sets his mind to it! Metsakodu 1976
Thanks mom and dad!
My family and our friends enjoyed the woodland home that grandma and grandpa built for many years!
But eventually... we outgrew it!
And by 2003, near constant maintenance and repairs required huge amounts of precious family time and threatened to put a serious dent in our family's finances!
It wasn't easy making the decision to replace my dad's old cabin with something newer...
or to find a company willing and able to build in a way that would least disturb the natural beauty that surrounds it.
After much searching, we chose one of Greystokes International's Wilderness Cabins, and in June of 2005 broke ground on the next generation's contribution to my parent's legacy. Like watchful sentries, the two tiny pine trees that my mom had rescued from destruction during the original building project in the early 1960's kept an eye on progress.
Construction of the new cabin progressed quickly over the summer. That's our daughter Maarja whizzing past on her way down to the lake!
And by fall, the project was really beginning to take shape! Thanks Randy!
Great job! My dad would have been beaming with pride!