Thursday, October 26, 2006

Paownyc: an Adirondack Family Compound

Great Camp Paownyc on Fourth Lake, Fulton Chain of Lakes, is located near Inlet, New York. It is actually right between Eagle Bay and Inlet. Here, the massive boat house looks beautiful in a weathered green stain on cedar shingles. Paownyc includes several houses on the lake, each one in the same hue of green, which served as the inspiration for the stain color on the new house at Penwood. Growing up on Fourth Lake, I recall that a Donzi was always parked in this boathouse. It had a foot pedal for an accelerator rather than a stick accelerator, as most boats have. It was loud, colorful, fast and exotic - unlike the house. But it was also green. When blue tarps are hung inside the windows, Paownyc goes to sleep for the winter season. In this photograph, it is alive and kicking in July 2006.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:02 AM

    I was a guest at PAOWNYC years ago while in college. I took a ride on that Donzi. Before I closed my eyes, the speedometer read 50 mph. My host slowed when he noticed me closing my eyes. What a place and what hospitality. It really is as grand and wonderful as it looks from the lake. I remember sitting on the dock and folks pulling up by boat asking when the dining room opened. The weekend finale was an aerial tour of the Fulton Chain via sea-plane. Our host "tipped" the pilot with a case of wine, as I recall. What an experience. A grand old camp and happy to see it looking so "grand".

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  2. Anonymous5:11 PM

    We too are delighted to see this gorgeous camp still looking "grand." For twenty years my husband and I visited the camp, guest of our Chicago host. We stayed in "the Cottage" for five years and then rented "the Main House" for two week periods when we were invited to bring our son and daughter with us. We all have wonderful memories of those visits, not the least of which were rides in the Donzi and the beautiful Josephine. We regret loosing touch with our host and would love to hear news of him.

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  3. Anonymous4:04 PM

    I used to work at Clark's Marina as a kid back in the late 70's. One of the great things that went along with that "dock jockey" job was that every once in a while you had to help bring a boat to or from a camp to work on it or deliver it to the owners. One of my greatest memories of that was the time I got to drive that green Donzi back to the marina. Of course I didn't go straight back. I took a little detour around Cedar Island. That boat could really move and had a great sound across the water. Fourth Lake has so many great memories.

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