Dear Family,

On Sunday, August 6th, Viviane and Rebecca and I were on our way home to Boston after visiting some friends in Albany when I saw that we weren’t very far on the map from Saugerties, so we traveled a little way down Route 87 to find Sacks’ Lodge. I was anxious to see it and also to show Viviane, since I have talked about it to her often. I am pleased to report that the place appeared to me to be largely unchanged since I saw it last in 1987. And to Viviane it was clear why there is such a strong desire among many in the family to find a reunion setting which recalls the sprawling, peaceful, homely site.
Now called Totally Tennis, a weekly or weekend retreat for tennis lovers, the lodge has seen some change to be sure: the addition of a huge aluminum structure--big enough for three or four courts inside--in the place of the softball field, a few more clay courts down behind the swimming pool, and, most noticeably to me, the removal of that tiny, fuzz-less, vintage pool table from the rec. room in the main building, replaced by a large TV and video player. I’m certain there have been other changes made, but I did not see them. We were there altogether for 20 minutes.
For me, though, it was about the smell. That was the first thing I needed to check out. After we parked in the crowded lot, I walked out of the car and directly to the cabins of Cherry Hill to smell the banister beside the stairs. Viviane and Rebecca watched. The scent was there; it is what I remember as clearly as the lunch bell. I have managed to find this peculiar fragrance of treated wood outside Saugerties, on telephone poles, in fact, all over. (Micah Berger has found it, too, we discovered once about each other; perhaps there are others out there.) I use these telephone poles to bring myself immediately back to Sacks’ Lodge weekends, where many of my finest memories were spawned. I just stick my nose right up to the pole, and there I am...
We walked inside the old building, where I showed her the piano and also the dining hall. Then we took a drive down the dirt road that leads the to the quarry. We crossed the creek. We drove by those red or orange “POSTED, NO HUNTING” signs on the trees. I showed her where an old house used to be. Lastly, we saw the quarry, and then we drove home.
In the car, Viviane said, “I know what you mean. I can see why everyone loved the place.” The reunion is of course about the family, not the place. You don’t have conversations with a place. Wherever the family meets, memories of good will are given birth. Still, I regard Sacks’ Lodge as special for more then just my memories of the reunion and therefore am glad to relate that it appears to remain in good health.

Alan Reinstein