“This book has been brewing in my mind for over twenty years.  Amazing things were happening from the beginning of our running the resort and I began to write stories about them.  I wanted to share the stories.  Then you, the guests, not only began to ask  for the recipes but started sharing yourselves and your families' recipes with me.  I collected, revised, and used.

The format became a problem for me: how to share stories and recipes in the same book.  Through a series of events which got me thinking about this again, an idea emerged.  My friend and guest, Eileen St. Clair, consoled and counseled me. Then she sent me a book, Chicken Soup for the Soul which inspired me to get back on the track with this.  My love and thanks to her for getting me motivated again.

The watercolor cover for this book was a gift from Alan and Judy Clark who had spent their honeymoon at Oak Cove Resort.  Alan's talented interpretation of our lodge and surroundings is amusing.  We know you, too, will find it clever food for thought!”

Foreword

As we settle into the car, leaving the city for the hour and a half drive up to Oak Cove Resort, our bodies reluctantly begin to let go of some of the tension of our workday lives, anticipating the release awaiting us there.  As the car speeds on, bringing us ever closer, past memories of Oak Cove remind us to quickly pay attention to the antique store billboards, roadside fruit stands, and the interesting, colorful towns sprinkled along the route.  We are eager to get there.

Images drift in and out of our minds, more vivid than the road just beyond the windshield: flakes of sunlight dancing on crystal-clear Lake Cora guarded by huge white oak trees; the antique-filled cozy cabins and lodge; swimming in the pool at dusk; our canoe cutting soundlessly across the surface of the water; settling into a shaded lawn chair with a good book and coffee while the kids search for turtles under the raft in the lake; the misty sunrise over the trees on the opposite shore; mindlessly studying the gentle licks of the tiniest waves on the sandy beach...just being...with absolutely nothing to do except to relax and have fun.

In our minds Oak Cove is a jewel, perhaps passed over by many because it is so simple, so quiet and plain.  It has grown in our minds as a haven for us weary, urban souls desirous of a respite that connects us with quality family time, peace, and the sublime.

In the back seat, our sons, Nathan and Jared, are excitedly chattering about whether to go to the pool or the lake before their bike ride.  They discuss the quality of the frog season this year and wonder whether that big turtle is still around.  They wonder aloud whether Patrick, the rabbit that lives under the Bunny Hutch cabin, will be there, if they will catch a fish as big as the bass in the photo on the dining room wall, but mostly they wonder..."What's for dinner?"

Everyone in the family agrees that the best part of all the "bests" at Oak Cove is the delicious food Susan prepares for her guests.  The boys are always the first at the dining room door, even before the big bell is rung.  They have inscribed meal time into their very being.  They know that whether it's Mickey Mouse pancakes, Susan's chicken, lasagna, or roast beef , mealtime at Oak Cove is a real treat.

They eat massive amounts at each course, even the salad that accompanies lunch and dinner, but always manage to leave room for Susan's luscious desserts.  We adults struggle to maintain moderation.  After almost every meal, one of the boys says, "We should get this recipe," (as if they'd read our minds).

Now, at last, Susan has relinquished some of her culinary secrets.  She has provided us with some of the stories about Oak Cove, stories that remind us that communal places where people come to eat and rest, are also places of spiritual renewal and human redemption. 

So, when we cannot offer our sons "a boy's exquisite dream day" of water, fun, friends and wildlife, or find Oak Cove's perfect peace for ourselves, we can at least now savor Oak Cove's most popular treasure--Susan's food!

Linda & George Bailey

September, 1996