October 2023

October 2023 Newsletter

Weather

We hope you enjoy reading about the weather because we enjoy reporting on it!  October has been BEAUTIFUL!  We officially closed the resort on Sunday, October 1st and started closing duties on Monday the 2nd.  That day, we were still wearing shorts and tank tops.  No one can remember starting to shut down the resort in shorts (and still feeling hot!)  It was a dream!  By Friday of that first week, we transitioned into pants and jackets, but still, a far cry from most years when you need boots, coats, hats & gloves.

The whole month has been pleasant and comfortable.  We have taken advantage of the gift and gotten so many outside projects completed.  You won’t believe how many cabins got painted!  Turning off the water went smoothly and without any frostbite. We were able to complete 95% of all closing tasks before the first “white stuff” started to fall.  Warm fall couldn’t last forever.  We are thankful for the extra warm days and the delay of that “white stuff.”  It wouldn’t be a real October without a little snow.  Starting the evening of October 30th, winter has come.  We are now covered in over an inch of snow.  We aren’t sure if we should say Happy Halloween or Merry Christmas, it is very confusing!  We welcome winter with open arms because we choose to live here where we have 4 fantastic seasons (though we obviously have a favorite!)

Closing Up Duties

We’ve talked about it before, closing up the resort for the winter is a big task.  It takes weeks to get everything “winterized” so that it stays safe and secure over the coming winter.

Outside Stuff:  Almost everything outside comes inside.  All outdoor furniture gets moved, either inside a cabin or inside the lobby.  However, before we can do that, we have to tip it upside down so that any water can drain out while it is still outside and not inside on the carpet.  All toys, life jackets, and equipment gets moved inside somewhere.  You don’t realize how much outdoor stuff there is, until it is time to move it inside!

Water:  Water is turned off to the entire resort.  The water lines are shut off and then blown dry.  It typically takes our construction duo, James & Josh, about a week to get everything turned off entirely.  Then the real fun begins!  All water that sits in a reservoir has to be pumped out.  This might be the most sought after closing job of the entire closing season (insert sarcasm!)  We have all done it…the glorious toilet pump task.  We take a little hand siphon pump and suck out all the remaining water from the toilet bowl and tank.  Then we dump anti-freeze in all toilets and drains.  The tricky part about this whole operation is that you don’t know if it is successful until the spring.  When we turn the water back on and everything works, then the shut off was successful!  If we missed something in the shut off, we don’t know until the spring.  However, we have this down to a pretty good science, so usually we aren’t surprised with any catastrophes (knock on wood!)

Dining Room:  You might that think after the last meal, we could just turn off the lights and walk away from the dining room, but that would be incorrect.  While we could, there are a few tasks that we do each fall to keep the dining room and it’s furniture in good shape.  First, all the chairs get a good scrape out and cleaning.  A lot of food and grime can build up in the crevices and we get it all out!  Then the floor gets a good coat of wax.  This means that all tables and chairs are stacked on one end of the dining room.  Then when half the floor has been waxed and dried, we PICK UP every table and chair and move it to the freshly waxed floor (we can’t drag or we will ruin the fresh wax.)  Once that is done, the other half of the floor gets a coat of wax.  Then we PICK UP all tables and chairs and set the dining room in its usual set-up.  We make sure it looks presentable as we do give tours over the winter to prospective wedding couples and even some vacation guests.

Cabins:  This year with the extra nice weather, we are focusing on a few extra details in the cabins.  We are making sure every cabin has a clean box fan in every bedroom.  We are stocking every closet with 10 plastic hangers.  We are updating photos on the walls.  We are rearranging the books in every cabin, so you have different titles to peruse.  We are rearranging furniture and working on our updates list.  These cabins are getting attention!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from our families to yours! You know we love a good costume! Here are photos of the Meyers, Goetz and Norby kids in their 2023 costumes as well as the year round team in a few favorite Fair Hills costumes.

Wildflower End of Year

Greetings from Wildflower, now home of the Fair Hills office!  We ended our season after a beautiful day of golf on Monday, October 23, and what a difference a week makes!  We had our first snow of the year fall just one week after we closed.  It was a great year at Wildflower with our Superintendent Reed making significant progress to get our course back into pristine shape.  There are lots of projects that we were able to get done this summer from rebuilding some bunkers and tee boxes, to making sure our greens were in excellent shape, tightening up all our approaches, repaving cart paths, aerifying our fairways, and rehabilitating our chipping green to improve our practice facilities.  We had lots of wonderful memories with guests from Fair Hills who came to enjoy a round of golf, or two, take a lesson with our pro, or just come to visit the pro shop.  We thank you all for your patronage and look forward to seeing you again next year!

Photo Assignment

With the holiday season approaching, we have an assignment for you.  We would love to see your holiday family photos!  Here’s the assignment part…make it a “Fair Hillsy” photo.  Suggestions on how to make it “Fair Hillsy”:  Everyone wears Fair Hills apparel.  Include your Fair Hills ceramics, paintings or ornaments.  Show us the Fair Hills recipe dish that you cooked.  Play a Fair Hills game.  We will share the photos we receive in an upcoming newsletter in the new year.

2024 Season

196 days until we open!  (But who’s counting?)  You know we never stop thinking about summer and we are busy brainstorming new ideas, sifting through the comment cards and making reservations.  As we solidify a few of our ideas, we will share some sneak peaks in future newsletters.  We hope you can join us for the 98th year of Fair Hills family fun.  Remember, even if you can’t make it for a full week, we offer 3 & 4 night specials all summer.  Just give us a call, you know the number!

Thank you!

Thank you, as always, for reading and being a part of the Fair Hills family.  We hope you had an excellent October, just as we did.  Until the next newsletter, happy days!