Waterford Inne — 40 years and counting
When Barbara Vanderzanden and her mother Rosalie purchased the old Chadbourne homestead 40 years ago, they had no idea it would eventually evolve into their life’s passion.
Today with business partner and longtime friend Jan Beckwermert, the Waterford Inne continues its well-deserved tradition of providing lodging, meals, friendship and a litany of never anticipated personal services to folks from all over the world.
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Barbara Vanderzanden, left, and Jan Beckwermert |
“This business requires us to do a lot of different things for a lot of different people,” Barbara said
recently as she sculpted an apple pie. “You become very involved in people’s personal lives.”
That can range from providing chauffeur service to shopping for special menu requests to logistical scheduling to dog walking. Plus they keep meticulous records on each guest’s preferences. “We know who doesn’t like asparagus and who doesn’t eat eggplant,” Jan said.
Rosalie, who died in 2011 at age 90, handled cooking chores until she turned 85. Since then, Jan cooks, Barbara serves and the two of them handle the myriad of chores required to keep a bustling country inn going.
Guests observe the couple in the elegant backwoods setting providing exquisite meals and stimulating conversation as well as giving directions and ideas of things to do in the area. Yet they don’t see what happens when they’re gone.
“When they leave, we have eight rooms of laundry to do and vacuuming and dusting and bathrooms to clean and then the main house has to be cleaned… it just doesn’t happen by itself,” Barbara said. Amid the scurrying about, the persistent ringing of the phone punctuates the seemingly non-stop whirr of the washing machine and dishwasher. And then there is the ironing board.
“If I get through 75% of my morning to-do list, that’s a good day,” Barbara said.
The inn’s policy calls for a 24-hour booking notice but they receive calls all the time from people on the road who wonder if they could book a room for the night.
“We don’t want to turn them away, so the house pretty much has to be ready all the time,” Jan said.
The peak season typically runs from May to November but throughout the year, they have been getting folks from Portland and beyond who want to come up and relax, sit by the fire and read.
The internet has changed the lodging business forever. The Inne is on Expedia, bedandbreakfast.com, Expedia and others, which has opened it up to a wide-ranging audience. But the advent of technology has ushered in a more spontaneous clientele and more last-minute requests.
Barbara said she tries not to laugh when a caller on a Wednesday during the busy season wants to book a room for the coming weekend. With the proliferation of area wedding venues and the inn’s ever-growing popularity, most weekends are filled well in advance.
The popular Bear Mountain Inn located just a few miles away can accommodate 36 guests in their 11 rooms. But a wedding may attract four or five times that number, so outside lodging is a must.
“We compliment what they do, not compete,” she said, noting that Bear Mountain doesn’t serve meals. Summer camps that host weddings in the off season are also a big source of business.
In 1978, the pair of New Jersey school teachers had looked all over the state and up and down the coast in their quest to redefine their lives those four decades ago. When Barbara and her mother first drove up Chadbourne road after the first snowfall of the season, “I saw this house set back and I thought, ‘Oh boy. This is it.’”
After two months of grueling 18-hour days readying the 1825 house, they opened. It wasn’t long before people were asking about offering meals to the public, something they hadn’t considered. That side of the business has become a huge drawing card. Special occasions, birthdays and family and class reunions are popular themes for the inn’s famous four-course meals.
Lasting friends and countless memories have been formed over the many years. And the Inne and its owners have become a cherished fixture in the community.
“I can’t tell you how many people arrive as perfect strangers and when they leave here, they’re giving you hugs and kisses,” Barbara said. “Some people may not realize it when they arrive but they’re looking for company as well as a getaway. Guests don’t realize how much conversation we provide.”
Jan and Barbara laugh when they point to the status that longevity brings with it. Many returning guests become quite
possessive over who has been coming the longest. “And a lot of people come back just for Barbara,” Jan adds.
Retirement doesn’t seem to be on the horizon as long as they stick to their valued tradition of taking time off to travel over the winter.
“I wasn’t born here but I’ll die here,” Barbara said, noting these have been the happiest years of her life.
Source: Mutiny Brook Times Issue #123 |
