Twenty-five years ago, my husband and I bought our home in Stowe Hollow – taking a leap of faith and most of our savings to anchor our lives in this valley. It wasn’t the dated carpeting or the windowless kitchen that sold us on the house; it was the breathtaking view and the promise of building a life in a mountain community. The views of Mansfield are majestic, but it’s the Worcesters that speak to my soul – the sun rising behind the Pinnacle, the wild and peaceful expanse of untouched forest, the echo of coyotes yipping and howling, the pink-orange glow of the mountains as the sun sets across the valley.
When we learned there was a campaign underway to protect Pinnacle Meadow from development, we made our first gift to Stowe Land Trust.
For 9,053 days I’ve woken up at the foot of those same mountains. I could never have foreseen that we’d still be in this house all these years later. That we would go from newlyweds, to parents, to empty-nesters in this very home. That over the years, we would hike Pinnacle Meadow hundreds of times, or that the little boys we carried to the summit in backpacks would later bring their friends home from college to hike that same trail.
From the Pinnacle summit, I’ve celebrated friends’ birthdays, toasting with champagne and cupcakes. I’ve left my house in the dark to watch the sunrise from the rocky outcrop at the top. I hiked up Pinnacle Meadow the day I learned my grandmother died, tears on my face. The words I would speak at her funeral came into my mind with such clarity, it felt like they came from the sky above. Once, part way down the trail, my husband and I watched an owl swoop soundlessly down and land on a pine bow. Motionless, she looked quietly at us as we looked quietly at her. Then she turned her owl head and was gone.
When they were old enough, we showed our boys our names on the Pinnacle Meadow plaque. To them–and to so many others – the Pinnacle trails were an extension of their backyard, something that had just always been. It felt important to show them that somewhere along the way, people made the decision to protect that land, to keep it open for everyone to enjoy. It’s not something we take for granted.
Who knows what the next 25 years will bring? Maybe I’ll bring my grandkids to Pinnacle Meadow someday. Or maybe we’ll move on, and the next family to call this house their home will start the cycle all over again. Either way, I love knowing that the experiences we’ve treasured outside our back door will be here for whoever comes next.
Emily Bradbury is a communications consultant working with Stowe Land Trust. She and her husband, David, are members of the Every Day Land Supporter Giving Circle.