Bringing Back Holleywood
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  • circa 1977
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    • open house 10/27/12

morning laps

8/28/2014

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first family reunion

8/13/2014

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We had a wonderful week with visiting family from Boston, Ohio, Kentucky and Dallas who proved that the house is indeed made for a crowd. Most popular features of the house for the kids were tower top, bell butler and crawlspace closet in hallway.
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donald hard at work in his home office today

8/11/2013

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old window, new view

2/12/2012

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West-facing window added to the breakfast room will make KP duty easier by providing the dishwasher with a lake view. Silhouetted against old, wavy glass panes is vintage soap-holder faucet from The Old School Plumber.
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on a clear day

2/3/2012

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You can see forever across the lake from our calm little beach that is widened by winter.
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best. backyard. amenity. ever.

12/13/2011

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One of the many beauties of the property is that it sits on Lake Wononscopomuc, or, to most people, Lakeville Lake. The house's frontage isn't wide (a mere 55 feet, actually) but it is lovely. I went down to visit it the other day. There is an old rock near the shore that I like to wade out to and was sorry to have scared away a flock of fellow appreciators. 
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vernal ponds turn autumnal

10/13/2011

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For the first time in Holleywood's history (we think), its vernal ponds persist into leaf-peeping season.
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October 2, 2011
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October 12, 2011
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vernal comeback

8/30/2011

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Happily, the only impact of the hurricane at Holleywood was the unseasonable return of the vernal ponds. Some say the ponds formed originally because so much stone was extracted from the ground for building. Others contend that the ponds are a recent phenomenon. But this is belied by the photo below, from a 1930s glass plate found by Cynthia Hochswender in the archives of the Lakeville Journal. The photo shows that the ponds were alive and well-filled back when the west entrance was used as a formal driveway.
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image courtesy The Lakeville Journal
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loch legend

4/28/2011

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It turns out that the story of a sunken plane at the bottom of Lakeville Lake is...only a legend. Bill Littauer, President of The Lake Wononscopomuc Association, sets the record straight for those who weren't there 40 years ago. Too bad there's no Snopes category for local lore. UPDATE, January 1, 2012: Brian Doyle reports in a comment that there's enough plane wreckage left at lake bottom to make for a very interesting scuba dive. He dived to the wreckage in approximately 90 feet of water in the center of the lake. 

On Friday, September 18, 1970, a twin engine Cessna 337D was on a flight from the Westchester County Airport in White Plains to Glens Falls, New York, when a small fire apparently broke out in the cabin.

Witnesses said the pilot circled the lake once and appeared to be trying to land on the water. One wing tip touched the water. That forced the nose of the plane down and the craft immediately broke apart and sank in about 40 feet of water. Two men fishing nearby and several people from the Grove sped to the scene in small boats, but were unable to find survivors. They did manage to attach a grappling hook to part of the wreckage.

There is a myth that the plane wreckage remains on the bottom to this day. However, that is not true. The next day the Grove swimming float was fitted with a winch and a tripod and towed to the scene. Divers attached a hook to the tail section. The wreckage was towed to the beach where it was examined and removed. Parts of the wreckage scattered in 60 to 80 feet of water, but most of it was recovered by divers.

The bodies of the passengers were not recovered until the next day, Sunday, September 20th. They were 39 year old Vincent A. Nastasi of 135 Beverly Terrace, Yonkers, New York, and Jonel E. Jorgulesco of S.W. 13th Terrace, Miami, Florida.

Investigators later determined that a short circuit in a wire leading from a transformer in the rear of the plane to the front probably caused a small fire in the carpet of the cabin. That is what may have led the pilot to try an emergency landing on the lake. Witnesses speculated that the landing attempt may have failed because the pilot was trying to avoid hitting the fishing boat.


                                                                    --Bill Littauer, President of The Lake Wononscopomuc Association
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even in mud season the water is clear

3/31/2011

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We built a pond on our little farm in Amenia, but its waters are never as pristine as this. Lakeville Lake (or, Wononscopomuc Lake as it's officially called) is breathtakingly clear, perhaps because it's the deepest lake in Connecticut. In some places it goes to 250 ft, deep enough to conceal the crashed airplane that some say is buried at the bottom. [UPDATE: plane story turns out to be apocryphal.]

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    who we are

    We are a couple of Upper West Siders from NYC who never set out to buy an old mansion in Connecticut. But the moment we walked through its massive front door, we were smitten. The info on this site is earnestly cobbled from a variety of sources, including the web. Please let us know if we've gotten something wrong, or if there's a story about Holleywood you'd like to share.

    forewords

    December 2021
    September 2021
    December 2020
    October 2018
    June 2018
    August 2016
    April 2016
    December 2015
    August 2014
    May 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    November 2010

    glossary

    All
    2101
    Acorn Lights
    Adrian
    Aimee Davis
    Arnoff Moving
    Art
    Attic
    Avocado
    Balcony
    Basement
    Bathrooms
    Bathtub
    Bathtubs
    Bauer Park
    Beatrice Sexton
    Beaux Arts
    Before And After
    Bell Butler
    Bell Register
    Bernie
    Bill Sigsworth
    Billy
    Bird's Eye View Of Holleywood
    Boathouse
    Bookcase
    Boot Scraper
    Breakfast Room
    Bricks
    Bringing Back The Gatehouse
    Bunny Williams
    Cappy Tatsapaugh
    Carpentry
    Charles E. Rudd
    Charles Keil
    Charlie
    Chimney
    Chris Brennan
    Cistern
    Closets
    Colors
    Cost Of Oil
    Cousins
    Craftsmanship
    Crew
    Crook
    Crops
    Ct
    Cynthia Hochswender
    Dean Meadow
    Decorating
    Decorating 70s Style
    Details
    Dining Room
    Discovery
    Dock
    Doors
    Dreams
    Driveway
    Dumpster
    Earthquake
    Easter
    Electrician
    Emma Rudd
    Extruder
    Fear Of Heating Bills
    Fear Of The Unknown
    Felling A Tree
    Fireplace
    First Thanksgiving
    Floors
    Frank Garretson
    Fresco
    Front Doors
    Furniture
    Gallery Books
    Garage
    Garden
    Gatehouse
    Gateposts
    Gazebo
    Geoff Rosano
    Geronimo
    Ghosts
    Glass Etching
    Glenwood Stove
    Gold
    Governor Holley
    Gracious Living
    Grand Entrance
    Gravestone
    Greek Revival
    Green Restoration
    Groundhogs
    Happiness
    Helen Klein Ross
    Helen Ross
    Hidden Histories
    Hinges
    Historical Accuracy
    Historic District
    Holley-Williams House
    Holleywood
    Hot Air Balloon
    House Closing
    Housewarming Present
    Hurricane
    Ice Carving
    Insulation
    Italianate
    Jackie Mock
    James Charlton
    Jane Lyman Holley
    Jason Hanley
    Jay Rudd
    Jinny Rudd
    John Gruen
    John Krom Rudd
    Jp Newton Market
    Juliet Balcony
    Katherine Chilcoat
    Katherine Ross
    Kitchen
    Kubota
    Kyle And Lindsey McEvoy
    Kyle McEvoy
    Lakeville
    Lakeville Ct
    Lakeville Journal
    Lakeville Lake
    Lance Middlebrook
    Landscaping
    Larry Burcroff
    Lathing
    Laundry Room
    Laurie Warner
    Lead Paint
    Leon Mcclain
    Lifetime Roof
    Lighting
    Lindsey McEvoy
    Living Room
    Locke Brothers
    Louise Hannegan
    Lucky Break
    Malcolm Day Rudd
    Margaret Ross
    Mark Niedhammer
    Masonry
    Matt Holderman
    Memorial Day
    Memory Lane
    Metal
    Middle East Uprisings
    Mike O'connor
    Miller
    Mini-museum
    Modern Realities
    Momentous Occasion
    Mott
    New England Winters
    New York Times
    Octagonal
    Old Houses
    Old School
    Old Stone
    Original Doors
    Outer Space
    Painting
    Peggy Obrien
    Plaster
    Plumbing
    Porch
    Pulley
    Pw Vintage Lighting
    Radiators
    Real Estate
    Restoration Holleywood
    Riley's Furniture
    Rob Anderson
    Robinson Leech
    Ron Carpenter
    Roof
    Roof Raking
    Rudd
    Rudd Family
    Salisbury
    Salisbury Association
    Sarah Coit Day
    Scaffolding
    Scoville Library
    Seeing The Light
    Shutters
    Sign
    Signature
    Simon & Schuster
    Sink
    Skeptics
    Snow
    Snowplower
    Soap
    Spiral Staircase
    Spirit Ballooning
    Staging
    Stairway
    St. Charles Cabinets
    Stilts
    Stove
    Stumps
    Susan Rand
    Team Holleywood
    Theodore O'neill
    This Old House Magazine
    Tiles
    Time Of Covid
    Tower
    Tower Bedroom
    Town Grove
    Town Historian
    Trade Secrets
    Tree Climber
    Trees
    Troy Tatsapaugh
    Turret
    Upstairs Downstairs
    Vernal Pond
    Vernal Pool
    Vernal Pools
    Vintage
    Vintage Dollhouse
    Voldstads
    Wade Warner
    Wall
    Wallpapers
    Walls
    Wall Treatment
    Wall Treatments
    Welcome To Connecticut
    What-was-mine-book
    White Hart Green
    William Taft
    Windows
    Wononscopomuc
    Wood Burning Stove
    Woodchucks
    Writer's Hack
    Writing A Novel
    Writing On The Wall
    Xmas
    Xmas Trees
    Zordan Brothers

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