Esopus: Our comfortable home

By Father Gene Grohe, C.Ss.R. |

After much searching in places near the Mount, thanks mainly to the efforts of Tom Travers and a friendly real estate agent, Bill Fitzgerald, who was a student at St. Mary’s in North East and Suffield, we found a beautiful, well-built modular home on Peters Lane, directly across from the north entrance to the Mount.

It is a three-story home, complete with a full attic and a strong concrete foundation. Before we could move in, we had to have some remodeling done. Two men from Sacred Heart parish—Hank Pittner, a competent carpenter and builder, and Frank Krasinski, a skilled master of many trades and a retired state trooper—offered to do the work for us. We also had the help of Angel Coronel, who had worked at the Mount for us doing all sorts of jobs.

Let’s start from the top and work down. The attic was left alone. If needed, it can be fixed up. There are four bedrooms on the second floor. One is a master bedroom; the second a large, well-ventilated room; the other two are decent-size rooms with ample closets. New wood floors (Pergo) were put down, and the rooms were painted. One is called the yellow guest room, the other the red room.

There is a full bathroom next to the yellow room, with a good shower and bathtub, two sinks, and a storage closet, where bed linens, blankets, towels, washcloths, and toilet articles are kept.

Tom Deely occupies the large bedroom on the west end of the house, which has ample storage space, a new floor and a new paint job—a nice shade of blue. Tom Travers occupies the master bedroom at the east side of the house. The bedroom is large, has a beautiful big clothes closet, office space, and a nice-size bathroom, which was moved to the south side of the house so, if necessary, a person could use the bathroom by entering through a door that was put in. A person can go into the bathroom without entering the bedroom. There are new wooden floors in the bedroom and the hallway. New carpeting was put on the stairs to the first floor.

First floor: Extensive remodeling was done on the first floor, except for the kitchen, which would be a housewife’s dream. There are a brand-new stove, two big ovens, an excellent dishwasher, a large refrigerator, and plenty of storage cabinets for dishes, pots and pans, and groceries. There are a breakfast table and chairs, plus a beautiful stone tiled floor. Opposite the kitchen, on the east side, are a laundry area, sink, and toilet, with an outside door.

The area south of the kitchen and next to the upstairs staircase was previously a utility and storage area, with another outside door. A wall was put up, a full bathroom was installed, and the room was made into a bedroom for Gene Grohe. The second outside door was eliminated and a window put in. Gene has plenty of storage room in the hallway closet.

The door to the front entrance, with a staircase leading to the ground level, is outside Gene’s room. The staircase has 15 steps, so it is seldom used.

There was a big dining and breakfast room west of the kitchen. We decided to split it in half. So Hank and Frank, our carpenters, put up a wall. We use half for a nice dining area, which has a large picture window with a wonderful view for the beautiful sunsets. The other half we made into a beautiful chapel, which contains the picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help that was in the Mount’s Chapel, along with the two marble angels that guarded the picture. The picture brings back many fond memories, as we continue to ask Mary to watch over us.

Then there is the sitting room, or TV room, at the west end of the building.

There is a full basement. One part could be used as a garage. There is an overhead door, but we prefer to use the space for storage and supplies. There is an area used for a tool room, with various wrenches and plumbing and electrical supplies. At the far west end are the furnace, hot water tank, and oil tank. Facing the south is an exercise room, a washer, a dryer, and a toilet. Then there is a large office room used by Bob Cranston, our efficient finance officer, and adequate space for an office area for Tom Travers and Tom Deely. There is also an outside door leading into the office area.

The house (which is finished with olive-colored aluminum siding) is set in a beautiful wooded area, with a view of the mountain called “Sleeping Boy,” actually a foothill to the Catskill Mountains, as well as a view of an old stone home and a beautiful meadow.

We are within 200 or 300 yards of the train tracks. The trains don’t bother us. They are no noisier than the boats on the Hudson or the trains across the river on the east shore. There is a small deck outside the back door, adequate for deliveries, etc. Outside the north entrance to the TV room there is a large deck we added, with room for a lounge chair, a grill, a picnic table with umbrella, and adequate porch chairs. During the warm weather we have supper there. A ramp from the deck to the driveway makes our house handicap accessible.

There is a three-car carport with an outdoor tool shed next to it. The shed was a chicken coop, which was cleaned up, painted, and moved next to the carport.

Contractor Dan Bunten, who handles a front-end loader and backhoe as easily as using a knife and fork, put in a wrap-around driveway. We cleaned up the grounds, moved stumps and logs, etc., planted.grass seed, and put in a beautiful flower garden. There is also an adequate vegetable garden for tomatoes, strawberries, melons, and spices, maintained by Tom Travers and Tom Deely. Gene takes care of the grass and the flowers.

Last of all, with the help of our maintenance man and Dan Bunten, we have built a beautiful shrine to the Holy Innocents, with a beautiful statue of St. Alphonsus, donated by Kevin Devine. Also, there are bricks with the names of babies who died in the womb or shortly after. These bricks were put in the ground near the statue. There are also two marble tombstones with name plates attached to them.

We have planted shrubs and ground cover and a few trees to eventually hide the barren hillside.

We are justifiably proud of what we have done in the two and a half years we have been here and are happy with our surroundings. We have wonderful neighbors, who are always willing to help; four of the six families are parishioners.

We are grateful to God and Our Blessed Mother for keeping us safe and sound. We have good meals, get our own breakfast and lunch, and have different cooks each evening, except for Saturdays and Sundays. We welcome visitors and are sure you would enjoy your time here just to relax or make a retreat.

God and Mary bless you.