LTE: The house on the corner

To the editor: Willsboro of the 60s and 70s was different than today, more than double the kids, and the Town felt like one big family. There were certainly disadvantages to everyone knowing everyone else's business, but there were also blessings that people will never know. One blessing was the House on the Corner of the West Road—today's Sunset Drive. Sadly, that house, the Stafford House, was destroyed by fire last winter and is now disappearing. The special thing about the Stafford House, besides its majestic appearance and the great Family from it, was its overlooked backyard. The reason it might be overlooked is because the ground drops away into a long, steep hillside. Today, that slope is choked with poplars, sumacs and burdock…it looks so uninhabitable. However, once upon a time, it was a sloped field, and every winter it became Willsboro's sliding hill. Probably every kid in town slid there, walking over a mile one way for the thrill. Me, and my aunts, uncles, and cousins would drag our sleds down the road to the House on the Corner. There weren't any NO TRESPASSING signs, no one had to ask for permission or sign any waivers or liability forms. You just went out back and let 'er RIP! DAY OR NIGHT. As we aged, sliding wasn't enough. We raced. We crashed. Eventually there was sliding demolition derby. We'd launch from opposite sides of the hill to try and dominate the collision. It was not uncommon after dark and dinner/homework, to go to Stafford's and use the warm glow from their kitchen/dining area windows and the pale reach of streetlights to launch from the top and descend into the abyss. I never stopped to thank Mr. and Mrs. Stafford for sharing their backyard with generations of us. I am now. —Douglas Ferris, Willsboro

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LTE: The house on the corner

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