Preparations for the Memorial Day Weekend Opening begin with closing
day in mid-September when all the new improvements, purchases and
maintenance begin…but come late April the Tyler Place zooms into a whole
new gear. Think Barnum and Bailey’s elephants hoisting an entire
three-ring circus or Broadway staging a brand new production. At the
Tyler Place this is when the real magic begins as the place transforms
itself for its 79th season opening.
While most everyone has experienced moving to a new home or
re-opening a country cottage, we think you’ll find the scope of a Tyler
Place reopening as stunning as we do. Here’s a look at
just some
of the action right now from Amanda, Amie, Chad, Claudia, Dale, Gige,
Hector, Lori, Michelle, Quint, and Tasney’s To-Do lists—not even
counting Ted, Cathy, Pixley’s and the many others who help us open.
Afterthought: You may not slog your way through all
the attached lists. When we did, we decided to make opening the Bar the
first priority! Join us in 24 days. We’re there already. Can’t wait
to see you!
- The Tyler/Hill/Otis Families & Tyler Place Staff
Chad’s Entertainment List
o Resurface both clay tennis courts
o Replace the windscreens and nets on the 6 tennis courts
o Roll out the archery targets and get archery gear ready to go
o Reassemble the holds on the climbing wall and design a new advanced route
o Go through all those “bikes/trikes for everyone”, the mountain
bikes, climbing gear, and other sports gear to make sure it is in good
shape and replace as needed
o Organize the game cupboard in the Lounge
o Cut, clear and rake our 7 miles of single-track trails at Proper Pond
o Set up the Disc Golf Course
o Rebuild and set up the 3 land trampolines
o Set up the Low Ropes course
o Set up the zip lines and tire swings
o Reassemble the tipi
o Set out the chairs on the Indian Trail
o Clean up our mile of private shoreline from winter ice and storm debris
o Prep the DJ for Thursday’s dance party
o Purchase new songs for Karaoke
o Run through the hiking, biking, canoe and kayak trips
o Show Entertainment Staff how to get to the swimming holes
o Set up Candid Photography stations with equipment for viewing and ordering
o Set up the pony pasture for Cupid and Dixie
o Get the nametags ready for week #1 guests
Claudia’s Landscaping & Gardening List
o Clean and sharpen hand tools, organize garden shed
o Remove any debris from the garden areas like rocks, sticks, left over mulch and dead plant materials
o Weed perennials and move to different locations
o Weed, weed and weed some more all the flower beds on the property
o Remove the 40 different indoor plants from their temporary “tropical winter retreat” to their summer locations
o Prune the fruit trees before they blossom; attach traps to prevent infestation of the gypsy moth.
o Clean, paint, repair about 100 window boxes and planters and then fill then with our special prepared potting mix
o Plant truckloads of annuals in the upcoming weeks
o Install hops trellises and planting of rhizomes
o Plant another 150 Norway Spruce along the Driving Range
o Brush cut
o Finalize plans for the Vegetable Garden; hand till for best performance
o Tend to the early seedlings
o Turn composting pile
o Clear walkways, re-mulch surface
o Rota-till vegetable beds
o With Hector’s help, install small pond and a little home for our
new “animated pesticides” Max and Moritz—the 2 little ducklings that
applied for this year’s position to combat anything from slugs to
unwanted critters in our vegetable garden.
o Seed sowing on ongoing basis; plant potted vegetable plants
o Paint fence and trellises
o Shiitake Farm - Soak all 100 logs in the lake for a couple of days.
o Cover Shiitake area with straw and move logs to a temporary shady area until we have full tree cover foliage
o Cut and prepare more hardwood logs for inoculation of Pearl Oyster, Lion Mane, and Shiitake
o Nurture the new Pool trellis
Dale’s Maintenance List
o Turn on the water EVERYWHERE - a two-week ordeal!
o Fix any water line breaks, water tanks or drippy faucets from winter freezing
o Drain, clean and patch leak in the Indoor Pool; refill
o Indoor pool – drain and patch leak
o Outdoor pool - drain the pool that is filled to the surface to
prevent rips and tears in the cover; drop water level down; clean and
refill
o Set out pool chaises and umbrellas
o Clean and set up hot tubs
o Set out picnic tables
o Retrieve some 230 Adirondack chairs from storage for accommodations and lawns
o Ditto all the hammocks
o Clean the 5 playgrounds and equipment
o Complete finishing touches on new additions to miniature golf course
o Stack each cottage with wood and kindling
o Put back all fire extinguishers in all accommodations and public areas now they are back from winter inspection and servicing
o Reinstall all smoke /CO2 detectors that were individually bagged and cleaned and stored during the winter
o Add sand and put up nets on the 2 volleyball courts
o Clean the Field House (a major winter home for equipment) and reinstall all the nets, equipment, etc.
o Patch and grade all the driveways and private roads
o Rake and mow all the lawns
o Inspect and make final repairs to staff and (our) family housing
for nearly 80 live-in staff and 16 on-premise Tyler/Hill/Otis family
members (100 plus other staff live locally at home)
o Complete upgrades to Ferncroft plumbing
o Landscape around newly upgraded Kiddie pool
o Install over 80 ceiling paddle fans in accommodations and public areas
o Complete installation of brand new Inn fire alarm system and build and paint new ceilings
o Put final touches on the new bath in the Fitness & Exercise Center
o Paint and install the new brackets for window boxes throughout the property
o Landscape and reseed all areas where new septic systems and foundations were upgraded over the winter
o Order truck loads of mulch and compost
o Finish touch ups on all accommodations and public areas (a huge annual project led by Pierre)
o Complete cleaning and maintenance of hot water tanks and burners
Hector’s List
o Replace back-up batteries on all our smoke detectors...and test
each and every one...a mere, oh, 250 or so. I’ve heard so much beeping I
actually jumped out of bed the other night because I dreamt my own
alarms were going off. They weren’t. But they kept ringing in my head.
Time for new task.
o Lawns, lawns and more lawn to mow and reseed
o Clean a mile of gutters
o Attend wine tastings with Quint at our distributors’ wine show (the suffering we endure go for the good of our bar patrons).
o Feng Shui furniture per eye of Tasney and Amie.
o Get in the wine and beer orders (any Vermont beer favorites out there?).
o Clean the tap lines.
o Stock up on the liquors
o Polish up the glassware
o Load the soda machines
o Make my own lunch. Sigh. (Can you tell I’m counting the days
until those tasty three squares a day from David and company?). I was
lucky enough though to score some of Claudia’s homemade Shiitake
mushroom soup straight from her TP garden to her kitchen to my belly
(don’t tell her, but I waited for her to eat the mushrooms first. Hey,
ya never know...she may not have liked my mulching)
Jeff & Chef Dave’s Kitchen & Dining Room List
o Work with local farmers to source the best fruits and vegetables for our guests
o Order barrels of maple syrup
o Assemble the 6ft griddle (think pancakes & Vermont maple
syrup), organize and unpack all the new assorted stainless steel pots
& pans, the beautiful platters and display bowls for the buffet
o Finalize menus for the summer for adults, teens and children
o Procure new equipment for the kitchen
o Prep and clean the entire Kitchen and Dining Room: ceilings to
floors, walk in coolers, stoves, ovens, tables, chairs, silverware,
dishes, etc.
o Begin serving meals to arriving staff
o Chef David has been putting in time in our off season to help down
at our sister property, The Red Clover Inn & Restaurant and has
managed to bring a little of Dennis's Portuguese/Mediterranean flavor to
the TP this upcoming season.
Lori’s Housekeeping List
o Clean up after all the new construction, roofing, plumbing, foundation work is complete.
o Clean all 70 family accommodations “ceilings to floors” (including
kitchenettes, screened-porches, master and children’s rooms, baths, and
in many cases, living rooms) plus all the public areas and recreational
spaces in the Inn, Playhouse, Clubhouse, etc.…and staff houses.
o Turn, vacuum and clean all mattresses
o Make up 253 guest beds with linens, pillows, blankets…and 80 beds for the live-in college staff
o Unpack and place all new equipment, such as new pots, pans, toasters, etc.
o Wash and clean all the kitchens/kitchen equipment: stoves, burners,
racks, refrigerators, microwaves, toasters, coffee pots, silverwares,
dishes, pots and pans, utensils, silverware
o Clean and stock with linen and supplies all the baths; replace shower curtains
o Add to and rotate accommodation books
o Check all nightlights, air conditioners
o Clean the light switches (toothbrushes work best)
o Clean all the screened-in porches and living rooms; sweep, porch furniture, replace the pillows
o Unpack and place all the new purchases of cushions, porch furniture
o Check all luggage racks (minimum 2 per accommodation)
o Ditto folding and drying racks
o Wash all the interior windows throughout the entire property
o Sweep and wash outside windows and screens
o Sweep down screens in and outside
o Order all supplies and organize the Housekeeping golf carts and kits
o Give daily hands-on training and orientation to new Housekeeping staff
o Clean and install the bamboo Porch blinds and Deck awnings
o Clean and set up the Deck and Lounge furniture
o Ditto the Main, Lakeside and South Dining Rooms and buffets
o Wash and clean all the cribs, highchairs, baby linens, bibs
o Clean all the floors and carpets everywhere
Quintin’s Boatdock List
o Dismantle the 10-boat-high stack of Hobbie Cats wintering in the Field House and replaced the two oldest with brand new ones
o Unpack the 4 new paddle boats with canopies
o Weld final bolts for the dock system and prep for the water
o Final repairs to Pump House now out of water (due to last April’s historic flood)
o Prep the new river routes for kayak trips
o Clean and wax ski boats
o Replace the three old boat lifts with three new ones
o Inspect 10 bags of sails for new replacements
o Set out moorings for fishing boats, ski boats and boat skids
o Inflate the water trampolines
o Set up swim lanes, swim docks, Raake’s dock and Pump House dock
o Set up the Death Slide from its winter home in Butterball and Woodduck’s parking lot
o “Springer-ize” all the canoes, pontoon boats, kayaks, etc.
o Register every boat in the Marina
o Lakeshore cleanup from winter and last year’s flood
o Unpack and inspect life jackets, oars, tubes, water skis, and paddles
o Remove snow tires on all TP vans, trucks and cars and rotate tires
o Complete oil changes, inspections, clean Tyler Place vehicles
o Get golf carts running for housekeeping
o Make sure all AV equipment is up and running; TVs, PA; WIFI; DJ equipment—and of course, the staff music system
Tasney, Amie & Amanda’s Kids’ Groups & College Staff
o Put finishing touches on activity schedules for all 9 kids’ groups
o Complete trial runs with counselors and directors on all newly planned activities
o Scheduling all the counselors, Parents’ Helpers and sports’ staff
o Unpack and sort through dozens and dozens of boxes of new toys, games, books, strollers, playground equipment, etc.
o Set up the new Water Tables
o Replenish equipment on all the Playgrounds and Children’s garden areas
o Wash, organize and restock the Playhouse, Clubhouse and Inn Seniors through Teens recreation areas
o Make name and cubby tags
o Stock the Arts & Crafts Building
o Settle staff in their quarters
o Prepare and hold the 3-Day Staff Orientation (an overdrive experience if there every was one!) And fun, too.
o AND so many other to-dos that we’ll keep them for the next newsletter!
Michelle & Gige – Reservations, Office & Front Desk
o We move the WHOLE office from our winter quarters in St. Albans to
the Tyler Place’s Highgate summer home resort. We pack one day. We move
the next. The maintenance crew loads up trucks and vans with all of our
office supplies and computers and brings them to Highgate. It is an
exciting day for all of us!
We
may as well leak the news that our 2013 summer guests are in for a nice
culinary surprise when they return next summer. The work has begun and
there is no turning back at this point, even though we had our first
frost of the season.
We have found the perfect location (view photo slideshow)
just below the Inn for the oven and what I enjoy most about designing
this project is the fact that my family has been grilling in the exact
same location for the last seven decades! There is a very good chance
that a grill or fire pit even sat there during the camping days of the
late 1800's as well. I found a number of old photographs showing guests
enjoying a freshly cooked meal there, but I love this one showing one
of our family reunions at the site (click here to enlarge the photo above).
You can see Grandfather, Mrs. T, Pixley and even try to spot Ted as
they take advantage of the old grill that sat there in the mid 1940s.
We were amazed to find the remains of this grill still there when we
began excavating the site.
