Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1906-02-26
CRYSTAL LAKE.

/ read with much interest your
somewhat optimistic forecast of the
future of Barton village as a summer
resort under the fostering care of our
new boat club, published in a recent
issue.
To many of our self-satisfed citizens,
who have spent good part of their
lives within a few minutes walk of
Crystal Lake without ever taking an
hour off for swim in, or row upon
its placid waters, doubtless your ideas
about booming Barton as a summer
resort will seem little overdrawn.
hear such people saying: 'sHow
can we expect to make more than we
have of our comparatively little at
fractions when we have, only five
miles away, lake, waiting for futher
development, which has its own Pc
culiar grandeurs unsurpassed in Yer
mont, or, perhaps, in New England;
and fifteen miles to the north the re-
nowned Memphremagog with its far
greater size, lake which has already
made for itself a history as resort,
although for the present sorely lack
ing in summer hotel accommoda-
tions?n
1t has occurred to the writer, how
ever, that our village, because of its
favorable locality, it's FIR edom from
the noise and dust arising from a
growing railroad centre like Newport,
our up-to-date modern conveniences
equal in many ways to those of the
city, which the urban visitor to Will
loughby SO much misses, our fine no.
tel service and railway accommoda-
tions, combined with our natural at
fractions, might come to occupy a
position superior to either of these
resorts, a position from which we
can look upon both these localities as
tributaries, rather than superiors in
summer entertaining.
We have the finest air and the best
water on earth, an undeveloped bath
ing or play beach for children, unsur-
passed lake, mountain and valley
scenery at our very doors.
1t has been remarked that the city
visitor does not care particularly for
pure spring water. While residing in
a Western city some years since
remember seeing city people wander
out into the country for miles in
search of trickling spring water, and
it's music was like symphony to the
thirsty one that has once known the
value of aqua pura. The beautiful
and perpetual flow of delicious spring
water at Hotel Barton would, in itself,
be an advertisement if it's virtues
could be we'll known.
Having in years past seen weary
and dusty pilgrims alight from the
train at our station, and also at West
Burke, after long and. tedious jour
neys. and board stage for an un-
welcome ride to Willoughby, have
thought good business policy on the
part of our people would devise a
way to bring visitors here and enter
tain them with more comfort and sat
isfaction, -making this beautiful viii
lage headquarters from which guests
could go and come at will.
Our local hotel interests, merchants,
boat club, and above all the Boston
& Maine Railroad Company which
| derives more revenue from the ebt
and flow of summer travel than al
the rest concerned, should get to-
gether for mutual co operation in this
matter.
1t is we'll known that railroad:
everywhere are growing rich through
the franchises and patronage We as E
people give them. And they are still
looking for ways of increasing theil
earning capacity. A few years agt
the railroad company set out to make
The Weirs, IN. H. popular resor
They built hotels, equipped th3 lake
with beautiful steamers, and as a mos
important inducement greatly re-
duced the excursion rates for year.
until the Enterprise was an established
success.
believe that any really successfu
undertaking in this line must hav,
the advantage of cooperation will
the railroads in the matter of adver
Using, train and hotel service, etc
This secured, ways will readily b'
Forthcoming to build other hotels, a
needed, on the shores of our lake or
as would seem wise, On the Barton
side of Willoughby lake,-runnint
such hotels perhaps as adjuncts tc
our local hotel interests, just as Lit
Teton, N. H., hostelries manage
mountain houses at a fine profit. Bu
we should guard against that avaric'
Droverbial of summer hotel charges