This is not where Irene and I had envisioned ourselves in our senior years. We worked hard, played by all of the rules, and we certainly believed that at this stage in our lives, all of yesterday’s “trials” would be manifested in today’s “tribulations.” Many times this train has been forced off the tracks with frivolous legal motions, or switched into some remote “adjournment” siding. Our friends and our family have been our strength with their unwavering support and stabilizing counsel. They bolster our spirits and sustain our faith in mankind.

These are troubling times for us all, and hopefully what we are witnessing is a purging of the greed and corruption that has insidiously crept into our society. Seeing “the glass as half full” I’m confident that the good and decent people of America will ultimately prevail, and that we will soon restore the fundamental principles that made our nation great!

And so…It is with great reluctance and deep regret that after nearly twenty years of welcoming Family, Friends and Guests to The Griffin House Bed & Breakfast, the time has come for us to close the doors and bid adieu to another era in our lives. We’re proud of “our creation;” of the recognition and awards we’ve received and of the far reaching contributions that our more than twenty thousand guests has afforded the community at large. Most of all, we’re grateful for the experience of meeting, greeting and serving you; it has been our very special privilege and we will miss you all.

Some of our fondest memories are associated with the conversations that took place around the breakfast table. The coffee flask was always a particular source for wonderment. When guests struggled with getting at the life giving liquid residing inside, we would comfort them by saying, “that’s alright, it takes a neuro-surgeon to open it.” And then one morning came the inevitable retort, “I am a neuro-surgeon, and I can’t get the damn thing open!”

Or…once, as Irene was washing up at the sink after the morning’s uniquely cerebral discussions, and the phone rang. The voice on the other end asks if we have hot water. Confused and believing that it must be a hoax or somebody looking for a room, she answered, “sure! of course we do. Where are you?” The voice on the other end responded, “I’m in the shower in the Griffin Room…could you send some up?” She turned off the water at the sink and asked, “how’s that?” He answered, “Great! Thanks!”

Then there was the gentleman in the Lancastrian bathroom who ran out of toilet paper. He looked around and saw that there was a fresh roll on the ledge of the transom window behind him. Unfortunately, in his attempt to retrieve it, he dropped it and in the process of bending over to pick it up, he burned his bare buttocks on the exposed steam pipe, which immediately and violently propelled him, headfirst into the wall

We’re sincerely grateful when guests and community members alike recall for us the very special benefits, fundraisers, and dinner concerts where Irene miraculously prepared six course dinners for forty people, and then followed with her own one woman show. Once the last dinner guest had departed, and the in-house guests were safely tucked away in their rooms, we would begin the cleanup of all of the china and silverware from forty diners…moving the catering furniture to the carriage house, and returning with the main house furniture, and finally setting and making preparations for breakfast. Exhausted, we would fall into bed around 3:00am only to awake again at 5:30am for the early risers.

We’re also proud to have played a major role in some of the happiest occasions in the lives of our guests. Many an engagement ring has found its way onto an accepting finger, and we are honored to have been selected for countless Weddings, Anniversaries, Birthdays and Christenings. Our own lives have been all the more enriched by the mutual joy that we have all shared.

These amazing memories evoke a deep sigh and a contented smile. Thank you, one and all!

Click here to see a pictorial review of what we went through