Unraveling Rose Red: Piecing together the puzzle of history and “coincidence” in Rose Red.

Hotel Bremen, like Pinafore Lodge, was a very popular resort destination in the late 19th century and early 20th century. It resided on the cool, calm waters of Lake Chincopee in northern New Jersey.

After the last of the local Indians were driven from the area by white industry - primarily ice, cut in large blocks during winter and shipped around the area for storage in ice houses - the beautiful lake was prime for spring, summer, and fall retreats for middle and upper class travelers from around the country.

While one might suggest the brutality of the way the indigenous Indians were driven away could be enough to curse the entire area, their treatment was not entirely without justification. The local Indians sided with the British in the American War of Independence, as part of a confederation led by the Mohawk. They met their fate at the hands of New Jersey militia, and the rest who remained on the lake for several more decades were derided and finally shoved out of the way by the relentless forward momentum of industry. Between the ice businesses, the numerous iron mine operations on the lake’s surrounding mountains, and the growing tourism, there was very little undisrupted land left for the Indians to live on. Eventually their tribe dwindled and was absorbed into the larger Lenni Lenape nation, and descendants are rare. They are all but extinct. (Continue reading…)

Unraveling Rose Red: Piecing together the puzzle of history and “coincidence” in Rose Red.

Pinafore Lodge was constructed in 1876 on the slope of Mount Pinafore in Pennsylvania—called “Pinafore” for its curious shape and landscape, creating an apron-like appearance when covered in snow. Its builder and original owner, a wealthy Swiss emigrant by the name of Marti Lautens, saw the potential of the location for a mountainside resort—recognized, even before the advent of the popularity of skiing—that Americans would flock to the mountains for their natural beauty, restorative properties and amusement opportunities. He was correct.

For 60 years Pinafore Lodge reigned as the queen of Pennsylvania mountain retreats. Initially the wealthy came for the socializing, enjoying each other’s company in the enormous structure’s two ballrooms, four dining rooms, five recreation rooms (where various events and activities were held, typically gender-disparate in interest, but occasional lectures by famous physicians, writers and artists were attended by members of both sexes), two libraries, a cavernous gentleman’s club, two billiards rooms, a lavish theatre, a large gymnasium, a thoroughly-equipped beauty salon and many other attractions and amenities. After skiing became popular approximately a century ago, the lodge offered a range of slopes to satisfy skiers of all levels, and this brought further influxes of guests. In 1905 a sprawling addition of guest rooms was added to the original lodge complex, and their advertising boasted the Pinafore Lodge as “the largest and grandest resort in the country”. While I have been unable to substantiate those claims, Pinafore Lodge was clearly among the top of the tops for resort destinations at that time. (Continue reading…)