ISLES OF SHOALS
Before the arrival of John MacKenzie, the historic Sam Haley House at the Isles of Shoals was in ruins. These rare images, courtesy of Rodney Whitelaw and Christine MacKenzie Olmsted show the daunting task before restoration.
John MacKenzie’s Gift To Smuttynose
We don’t know when Samuel Haley and his large family built the two-room cape on Smuttynose Island. Historians estimate it was between the American Revolution and 1800. It was in sad shape when Celia Thaxter and the Laighton family summered there from 1839-around 1847. It was still in sad shape when John MacKenzie sailed by Smuttynose Island at the Isles of Shoals in the early 1990s. A dozen other buildings had come and gone on Smuttynose since the 19th century. Only two stand today. Haley Cottage had been scarred by time, vandals, and weather.
Someone, MacKenzie decided, had to do something fast to save this historic cape on the rugged Isles. That someone – was him. MacKenzie made an incredible bargain with the owners of the island. He would restore the cottage himself in exchange for a week on the island, every year, for himself and his family.
The story of the restoration, a four-year project, is an engaging tale of how one man can make a difference. Following MacKenzie’s work, the Smuttynose Stewards were formed to further protect the island, and recently the owners have aligned with the state of Maine to protect the island and its wildlife – and to keep it unchanged – for all time.
The following pictures are presented here with the permission of Rodney Whitelaw and Christine MacKenzie Olmsted, and courtesy of Before & After Photo Restoration. They show the condition of the building at the start of MacKenzie’s one-man restoration project. – JDR
Today, the historic cottage is lovingly maintained by the volunteer Smuttynose Stewards who occupy the building in season from May to October. Changing members each week, the stewards mow the lawn, clear the walking trail, monitor visitors, and maintain the two island structures –the Haley Cottage and Gull Cottage, Rosomund Thaxter’s one-room summer retrat in the 20th century. Headed by Johnny Kadlik, a descendant of “Old DHoaler” John Downs, the team has fully restored the two-century-old house. The islands till has no working wekk, no plumbing, no roads, or stores. Stewards survive with a propane-powered ship stove a dn fridge, and water pumped with a foot pedal. Water is carried in by the stewards or floated over from a supply on Star Island IN recent years, a single solar panel provides enough electricity to power a few lights in the house, but, as one steward notes, it is like camping indoors for a week.
Rooming with the Love Generation