I was quite astonished today to stumble on your great article about Uncle Co. To hear about the gold and the sweepstakes was no surprise. We knew him well. When I sat for the first time on your grandfather’s land 40 years odd ago, I thought that heaven had descended and I was part of the most beautiful landscape on earth. On our frequent trips to the New England, we spent time in the summer house, camped out on the other side of the beaver dam and saw the new house being erected. You and Marleen were born, your mother moved to Vermont and, then, our trips became less frequent. Your grandfather’s funeral portrayed him exactly as he lived his life. He was an old fashioned Dutch pioneer; independent and self sufficient. He was an experimenter with a speculative bend for the unknown. We lost contact with your mom, and your two aunts after your grandmother died. A wedding picture of Harriet sent from Maine was the last piece of news I remember.

We made a detour a couple of years ago to that land after hiking in upstate New York. It was all still there. But it looked so sad. Maybe the gold was still there but the passion for the place had disappeared. The house must have been neglected for years. The lake was a forest of dead tree trunks sticking out of the mud. The beaver dam was not passable. I wished I had never made the detour.

Of course we have many questions and it would be great to hear from all of you. I hope everybody is ok.

Welmoet and Daan van Kammen