Luxton Lake

I discovered and watched this little film this morning. This tiny home (via Wren Handmade), is the ultimate 1940's getaway. Oh, to own a tiny cottage like this! I totally agree with Laura. (see her etsy shop here) Wouldn't it be so fabulous to round up a car load of girlfriends; packed trunk of wine and cheese and chocolate and caramel corn...to spend a week rocking on the porch and making good meals together - going for teary walks and happy hugging hikes? Luxton Lake was a cottage town with a bittersweet history - until the lake dried up. Tina Spangler, a.k.a LuxtonLake, uprooted herself from her New York City apartment and lifestyle for the woods of upstate New York. She found her home in a forgotten community in Narrowsburg, NY called Luxton Lake. Once a thriving vacation destination for African-American New Yorkers the area was mostly abandoned in the 1970's when the damn was removed and the lake was drained. Tina found a dilapidated 1950's cabin in foreclosure and with very little funds, decided to take the leap and fix it up. This film by Tina Spangler (producer, director, creative human) is so charming. Tina also made a documentary film about her new hometown. LUCKY LAKE is a short documentary (you can watch the 10 min. doc here) about a racially mixed vacation community that was robbed of its lake. Nestled in the Catskill Mountains about 2 hours from New York City, Luxton Lake (aka "Lucky Lake") has a vibrant, seductive past full of jazz music, lakeside dances, and Harlem families saving to build their own cottage in the mountains. But in 1982, Luxton Lake's residents watched in horror as their lake was drained. Bigoted town officials were blamed, and racial tensions escalated. Homeowners hired a prominent civil rights attorney to sue the town for racial discrimination. The town's defense: the old dam was a hazard and had to go. Today's decrepit clapboard cabins and rotting rowboats are the only reminder of the lake's rich history.

I learn something new every day. I am full of happiness every day that I get to share it with you.