NOV 11, 14 .. THE WILSON HOUSE - EMERALD LAKE

When we visit The Wilson House, we always make it a point to visit Emerald Lake State Park.

 

Emerald Lake was an important place for Bill and Lois Wilson.

 

The information below can be found in the A.A. conference-approved book, 'Pass It On'.

 

In my humble opinion, reading the book 'Pass It On' is critical to understanding the birth and growth of A.A.

 

It was at North Dorset Pond (now called Emerald Lake) that Bill Wilson's mother told Bill and his sister Dorothy that their

father Gilman Wilson had gone for good.  It was a very traumatic event for Bill.

 

I quote the book 'Pass It On' as follows:

 

"Then it was that mother told us that father had gone for good.

To this day, I shiver every time I recall that scene on the grass by the lakefront.  It was an agonizing experience for one who apparently had the emotional sensitivity that I did.  I hid the wound, however, and never talked about with anybody, even my sister."  

 

The Burnham family, Lois Burnham Wilson's family, were from Brooklyn, New York.  They had a summer cottage or camp on Emerald Lake.

 

Emerald Lake was an important place for Bill and Lois during their courtship and throughout their lives.

  

Below are several photos of the lake and of the Autumn Colors that we enjoyed being able to witness on a pleasant afternoon during our October 2014 visit.

 

What a truly beautiful place Emerald Lake is.

 

 

 

 

Stunning the colors of Autumn in New England.

 

This will conclude my five posts focused on Bill Wilson's birthplace and gravesite in East Dorset, Vermont.

 

To read the first four posts, continue to scroll down.

NOV 10, 14 .. THE WILSON HOUSE .. GRIFFITH LIBRARY ..

Across the street from The Wilson House is The Griffith Library.

The Griffith Library is located in the home of Bill Wilson's grandfather, Fayette Griffith.  Bill Wilson and his sister lived with their grandfather for a period of time while their mother was away getting medical training.

 

In the below photo you see the street going past The Wilson House.  The Wilson House is the red building on the right of the below photo.

 

 

Looking to the left of the above photo you see the below scene.

 

 

Across the street to your left is the East Dorset Congregational Church.

 

 

The Griffith Library is to the left of the church.

 

Now my disclaimer !  IF I HAD KNOWN I was going to post photos, I would have taken many more and I could have more clearly and more thoroughly explained to you more about The Griffith Library.

BUT I didn't. So I will just show you the several photos I snapped inside The Griffith Library.

 

 

 

 

The below photos show the bedroom used by Bill Wilson while he and his sister were living with their maternal grandfather Fayette Griffith.

 

 

 

 

There you have it.  My best limited photo coverage of The Griffith Library.

 

Across from the Griffith Library, and diagonally across from The Wilson House, is the East Dorset, Vermont Post Office.

 

 

I have mailed many MANY post cards from this nice Post Office!  Notice the railway tracks in the above photo.  Freight trains regularly pass through East Dorset.

 

 

 

 

I hear that train coming !

 

 

You can see The Wilson House along the left edge of the photo.

NOV 7, 14 .. THE WILSON HOUSE - BILL WILSON'S GRAVESITE ..

The small cemetery that Bill Wilson and his wife Lois Burnham Wilson are buried in is on the southern edge of the village of East Dorset, Vermont on the west side of US Highway 7 that passes through the village.

Bill's grave is on the lower right of the below photo.  Lois's grave is to the left of Bill's grave.



At the foot of Bill's grave is the below marker.

I have very few words to add to the below photos.

 

 

A time for very quiet reflection.

 

I wish you all could visit.  It is a very special place on this earth.

NOV 3, 14 .. THE WILSON HOUSE .. EAST DORSET, VERMONT .. PART 2 OF 2

Below are a few photos of the exterior of The Wilson House that I have also shown in part 1 of my first post.  I repeat them here just to refresh your memory.

Now let's walk into The Wilson House.

As you walk through the above doorway, and turn to you left, suddenly you feel right-at-home.  At least we always do! 

Below is the living room of The Wilson House.  Yes!  It is as warm and as welcoming as it looks!

In the above photo, walk into the living room up to the blue davenport. Then turn around and you see the front of the living room as you see it in the below photo.

Below is a close-up view of the corner table you see in the photo above.

The living room invites quiet reading and reflection.

Before we take-a-look at the dining room, let's see the kitchen.

The Wilson House has rooms upstairs for visitors to spend-the-night.  We have stayed overnight on other visits but did not do so this visit.  So we have no photographs of the rooms upstairs.

The dining policy changes depending upon the time-of-year and other circumstances.  If there is a weekend retreat or other event, three meals-a-day can be served.  During our prior visits we enjoyed breakfast and dinner.

Below you see the dining room.

The kitchen is through the door to the far right above.  Straight ahead of us is the living room. 

If you walk through the door and into the kitchen area, you find a hallway.  Walking down the hallway, to your left, is a general purpose room.  Below are photos taken inside of this room where some meetings are held.

The main meeting room area of The Wilson House will be shown further below.

I have had the honor and the privilege and the joy to attend men's meetings in this room on a number of visits to The Wilson House including this visit in October 2014.

Now back to the dining room.

Straight ahead of you, looking up the dining room table directly above, you see another room to the right.

Below are photos of this room.

Back to the dining room for a close-up look at the dining room hutch.  To the left below you can peek into the laundry room.  To the right below you have a peek into the above room. 

I could weep quiet tears of joy and humble appreciation for all of the years and years and years of work that so many volunteers and patrons have put into the restoration of The Wilson House.

During my first visit in October of 1988 The Wilson House was absolutely beyond repair!

The quilt below is but one example of the warmth and of the love that abounds here!

What do you say that we all have a meeting in The Wilson House.

Straight ahead, in front of the far wall, is the table that the meeting secretary sits at to conduct a meeting.

Above is a close-up of the secretary's table.  We sat on the tan couch on the left.

The above photo shows the area to the right of the above two photos.  Are you getting the feeling of how very comfortable it is to be in The Wilson House?  Can you feel the love that has gone into its restoration?  Every single item had to come from some place!

In the above photo, walk ahead bearing to your right and look diagonally to your left back at the meeting secretary's area as you see below. 

Basically turn to your right in the above photo, walk to the wall and turn right and look back at the rear of the meeting room to see the below view.

To assist you to orient to the meeting room I again show the below photo.

In the above photo, walk ahead and to your left. Then turn around and you see the below view of the meeting room.

I will close this post with the following quote from Mister Edward Everett Hale:

I am only one, but still, I AM one.

I cannot do everything, but still, I CAN do something.

And because I cannot do everything, I will NOT refuse to do the something that I can.

IF I had had so much as one clue that I was going to open up this website and show photos that I snapped on our trip, believe me!  I would have taken many more and made notes to go with them.

That being expressed, I HAVE done what I can do.

Thanks Doc 89403 for your undying support for so many years!

Over and Out until the next time!