now...Blue Door Cottages
It seems as if the best place to start this blog is from the beginning, and by beginning, I mean THE beginning. Blue Door Cottages was born in the early 1950’s under the name of “Bea’s Lakeside” on main Lake Shafer in Monticello Indiana. All of the original buildings still exist, and the marina is now Jake’s Beach House Bar and Restaurant which is the only waterfront bar/restaurant on main Lake Shafer.
We were so lucky to receive a letter from the granddaughter of the original owner about a year after we started renovating. She sent us these historic photos, which we treasure. We took it as a sign that we were doing the right thing, when she said “It is so good to know that someone is taking pride in them again. They have been out of the family for some time but will always be so special to us.” This property has been the backdrop to some of the best memories in their family, and in our family and we hope it will do the same for all the amazing families that visit each summer.
Of course, between then and now there was a long span of decline in the property that produced a lot of very colorful stories from a cast of characters along with interesting relics found in the renovation. The most interesting of these stories need to be censored for this blog, so if you are curious just ask Steve about them during your visit.
By the time we purchased the property in 2005, most would have declared it ready for a bulldozer. We realized everything had to go. We filled up more dumpsters than I care to remember. The only thing we kept where the roofs and foundations, and everything else was built brand new. I will put together a before and after book of photos for the front office this summer. It is a pretty amazing transformation.
It has been a ton of hard work, and it was worth every second. When we have any family events in the pre or post season we always include a group “cheers” to Bea, AND to the other cast of characters…(you’ll learn their names too, eventually). Today I’d also like to say “cheers” to all of you that have made this business so rewarding for us. Thank you.
-Heidi
