3 minute read
Wander Walloon with Us
three sons Stephen, Peter and David, and a daughter Kate Ausbrook, all of whom never missed a summer growing up on Walloon and remain regulars on the lake.
David Rentschler, current owner of two historic Walloon properties, the Shadow Trails Inn and Elvyn Lea Lodge, has many fond memories of life around Hamilton Court. “I remember my Gram Nettie watching all my sailboat races. She would always come out in her 1952 U-22 Chris Craft, which everyone on the lake knew, and blow the horn to celebrate a win.”
His sister Kate remembers her well, too. “All the kids along South Shore knew Gram Nettie. She would invite them all to her ‘tea parties’ on the dock, where we would drink our ‘tea’ — usually Tab —in an old metal tea set.”
The other branch of the current Parrish family was founded by Oakey and Augusta’s other son Lee, who married Eleanor Huntington, daughter of a prominent Hamiltonian. This branch of the family spent summers in a lakefront cottage on Hamilton Court that had been built in 1917. Lee and Eleanor’s son Huntington became an attorney, founding a law firm in 1932 that remains prominent in Hamilton today. Hunt married Katherine Allen of Vermont and had one son, Lee, and two daughters Pat and Cindy.
Today Lee, an attorney in the family firm in Hamilton, and wife Jackie
Hunt Parrish and his son Lee, age 9, about 1952.
Nettie Mae Parrish with her famous Chris Craft.
own the family cottage and are the keepers of the Parrish family legacy on Hamilton Court. Additionally, Lee’s sister Pat Everhart purchased the old farmhouse on the court in 1989. Lee is first and foremost a Wallooner, never missing a summer here in his entire life. His wife Jackie, first a math teacher, then a highly lauded community volunteer is equally devoted, coming to Walloon 56 years in a row. Lee served as president of the Walloon Lake Trust & Conservancy and Jackie was a board member of the Walloon Lake Association, further demonstrating their dedication to the lake.
Jackie and Lee have two children, Bret and Jill, and five grandchildren, all enamored with Walloon. “Our children adore it,” they report, which bodes well for the continuation of the Parrish family legacy. Bret and his wife recently bought a house in the Village for their family to further assure the Parrish legacy. As a child, Lee and his father Hunt had a habit of swimming across the lake from the South Shore to the North Shore. Last summer, Lee and his 18-year-old grandson Matthew repeated that ritual, a heartwarming tradition.
Oakey VanHise and Augusta Parrish not only founded a six-generation family dynasty on Walloon - they were instrumental in bringing many other multigenerational families to the lake. Standing on the porch of the Parrish family cottage, Jackie and Lee conclude, “We are so blessed it stayed in the family.”
Come Wander Walloon with Us!
Our Wander Walloon event series is meant for Wallooners and community members of all ages to explore our preserves with WLAC staff and local experts. Learn more about the land and water of Walloon while enjoying an array of fun, outdoor activities and workshops. We hope you can join us at one of this year’s events:
APRIL 14
BIRDING HIKE Fields Preserve
MAY 19
GARLIC MUSTARD PULL
Howell-Zimmerman Preserve
JUNE 9
WILDFLOWER WALK
Location TBD
JULY 8
MILL POND PADDLE
West Arm
SEPTEMBER 22
MUSHROOM HIKE
Wildwood Harbor Preserve
