Ladd Connell and Al Filreis, a half century later

Ladd Connell (and Carolyn) live in Northern Virginia. Their two children have both had the FV experience, Ben in particular who spent 11 summers here. Ladd is the grandson of Frank Connell, the great long-lasting (died at 102) matriarch of the family that collectively owns the 8,000 or so acres between Frost Valley and Claryville. Their continued ownership of and close association with this land and their stewardship of the Neversink River in that 7-mile stretch are the two reasons why our property - the former Forstmann property - is so blissfully buffered from development and crappy land use and you-can-just-imagine-what kinds of unenvironmental commericalism. Their continued care for this land is why, in short, those who visit Frost Valley are so happily stunned by the gorgeous isolation of the valley as they drive in from Liberty on the final stretch before arriving at camp.

Anyway, Ladd's father Karl - one of Frank Connell's children - grew up here and is now 90+ years old. Karl spends most of his year in Florida but spends a month each year in the Valley, living in a house on the Connell part of the family lands. (They other two family owners are Mooney and Brock - three branches of the Connell family in all.)

And while Karl is here, Ladd and Carolyn visit. Ladd just happened to visit camp the other day and we invited him to join us for an informal dinner on the Castle porch. What a night. What a view! More about that dinner in a later entry, when I talk a little about the return of Ladd's cousin, Felicity.

Meantime let me note that as Ladd and I looked back on our time at Frost Valley, we realized that we met at camp in 1964, when we were both in Totem. We actually became aware of each other in Forest, but we must have met in Totem in '64. That's more than a HALF CENTURY ago. We were CITs together in 1971, and "pot boys" as LITs the next summer ("pot boys" refers, I hasten to say, to scrubbing pots and pans in the kitchen - for Marie Kremer in the "Girls' Dining Hall").

The two fellas in this photo represent just about the longest FV friendship imaginable. As I write this, I'm just astonished to have pressed those keys on the keyboard. HALF CENTURY. No. Yes!