Trip to Sagamore Hill
The distance from my house in Syosset to Sagamore Hill is a measly 7.6 miles. In my hey-day of marathon training (post-Spring Break) I would run that distance daily. Unfortunately I didn’t think that running to Sagamore Hill was a realistic option because I didn’t know how to get there from my house if I were to run, and the run would actually be 15.2 miles because eventually I’d have to return home. Fortunately I’m able to keep up my running while I’m on Long Island, however I’m not in as great of shape as I had been weeks before the marathon.
Wednesday morning was a neither hot nor cold, it was perfect Fall weather. The leaves were beginning to change color on the trees in our backyard and the sun was out in all of its glory at 10AM when I made my way to Sagamore Hill. Lonely Planet had made Sagamore Hill one of the highlights on Long Island, as well as claiming it to be the “Most Unlikely Place To See A Taxidermy.” My mom told me the day before that I had gone when I was younger but I had racked my memory and had no recollection of ever visiting Teddy Roosevelt’s house with my family nor while I was in school. I told my mom that she was wrong, but she claimed that I had already been and my poor memory caused me to forget the trip when “I was younger.”
The drive to Oyster Bay Cove from Syosset had me passing through the towns of Oyster Bay Cove, Laurel Hollow and finally Cove Neck, New York. Once I got to Cove Neck I was driving along the Long Island Sound and life seemed pleasantly tranquil as I looked across the street to the water. Boats were still docked in the water, and most people would probably never have guessed it was the middle of October if they hadn’t been looking at their calendars. It was another “perfect day” in New York.
Brown signs started popping up providing directions to get to Sagamore Hill but I was paying sole attention to my GPS in my car and as always it lead me to my desired destination without any problems. Entering the property of Sagamore Hill one drives down a road surrounded by trees and forest and after a few minutes emerges into an opening where you can see Teddy Roosevelt’s house atop a hill. I found the parking lot without any problem and made my way to the ticket booth to gather information.
After paying $5 for my ticket to the house for a 1030 tour I had 20 minutes to kill so I walked around the grounds and took pictures of the area. There was a large windmill and a small shed as well as a garden nearby the house and after checking out most of the area I made my way back to house where I saw a few benches and people who seemed to be waiting for a tour, so I sat down and joined them. Moments after I sat down I heard all these high-pitched noises coming from behind me and turned around to see 30 plus elementary school students making there way towards the house. I prayed that I wouldn’t have to be stuck with that group, but when 1030 arrived a tour leader started giving his lecture and I tagged along at the back of the group behind the students. After a few minutes of talking about Teddy Roosevelt and the house the students made there way into the House but I soon realized before entering with them that this was not the tour I was supposed to be on.
An elderly man who seemed to be in the 60-70 year range then got onto the staircase and announced that the 1030 tour was about to begin. I circled around the man with another 6 people all of whom had at least 35 years if not 40 years on me in age. I thought it was interesting that very young students or very old adults seemed to be the only visitors of Sagamore Hill. I think my tour guide was surprised to see a young man attend one of his tours.
After hearing the student tour leader give his introductory speech in an enthusiastic tone I was somewhat disappointed when I realized my actual tour guide lacked the same spunk as the younger teacher. We got a brief intro to the house and made our way indoors.
When you enter Sagamore Hill the first thing you notice is the grand hall of the house and the exorbitant amount of dead/stuffed/mounted animals on the walls, on the floor and included in all the rooms in some decorative manner. I had never seen a house like it before. After examining Teddy’s study and his wife’s relaxing room we made our way by a pair of tusks and a few mounted heads of lions/tigers and bears, before reaching the “living room/guest room” area. The room was filled with hunting equipment and skins of dead animals as well as their heads and books. The room definitely had an interesting feel to it, however it was still fascinating when I realized how passionate Teddy was about hunting. Even though the tour gave us the reason why Teddy hunted so frequently - provide exhibits for the Smithsonian - I still had difficulty understanding how this hunter was so passionate about nature conservation.
After finishing the first floor and all of its rooms the group headed upstairs…or at least the able-bodied…headed upstairs to the second floor of the house. The second floor of the house consisted of bed rooms for guests and the immediate family. Sagamore Hill had more bedrooms than inhabitants and Teddy allowed his children to sleep in whichever bedroom they wanted to on any given night, except for the eldest son. He had his own room.
I had difficulty remaining excited during the tour, not because the house was dull, but rather due to the slow pace of the tour and this one woman from Texas who always made an “oh” noise whenever our guide made a point, or whenever she saw a new room. After 100 plus “oh’s” I needed a break from the tour, but by that time, after an hour or so, the tour reached its conclusion and I left the “Summer White House.”
I decided to walk down this abandoned road that seemed to have been the main road to the house but had been closed off since Sagamore Hill became a U.S. landmark. I got off the road and made my way to a trail that lead me through the woods and to where the Roosevelt’s “tennis court” used to be set up. The “tennis court” at Sagamore Hill wasn’t what people from the 21st century consider tennis courts, but a net that was planted into the ground. This is what I saw at least.
At the end of the trail I was at the bottom of Sagamore Hill looking up to the house where I snapped off some pictures before making my way back up the hill, a 100 yard uphill walk. I checked out the gardens and tried to find the barn but was unable to because the National Park Society doesn’t own the barn any longer. I left Sagamore Hill feeling good about my decision to visit the site, but the day was still early and I thought that there could have been a museum set up or something else to look through. So I went to the Visitors Center and inquired if there was anything else to see. I was told there was a museum past the parking lot.
I walked through a field that brought back memories of my walks through the fields outside of London and after a hundred yards I stood before a large red brick building with a white roof. I wasn’t sure if this was the right building because I didn’t see any cars outside but I saw a woman exit and quickly made my way to the door. As I entered the museum I made my way through the numerous TR exhibits that described his childhood, his youth, his adulthood, rise to Presidency and his post-Presidential life. There was a 10 minute movie also that was shown before walking through the museum.
I enjoyed the museum but was disrupted on numerous occasions by younger children who were performing a scavenger hunt through the museum.
“Speak Softly and Carry…? What’s the answer? How does that end?” a younger girl read behind me. I felt compelled to turn around and say, “A Big Stick of course! Doesn’t everyone know that?” But I turned, smiled and laughed as I saw the kids run around the room looking for TR’s Purple Heart and other parts of the museum. I thought that maybe museum’s would be more lively if everyone who entered had to go through a scavenger hunt finding certain relics before being allowed to leave.
After reading through a few descriptions and spending close to an hour in the museum I headed back to my car and left the premises wondering what I’d do with the rest of the day. It was only 1pm and I had so much more time until work at 6. I was kind of upset as I left because I was hoping to make a day out of Sagamore Hill, but then I realized something. As I was about to leave Sagamore Hill for good I saw a cemetery and remembered that this was the cemetery where Teddy Roosevelt was buried. I strategically parked my car far away from any of the large school buses and began a small uphill hike into the cemetery. Passing tombstones on my left and right with the typical crosses, and rounded stones I saw a large gated area up above, but first I saw a group of 30 plus elementary school kids making their way down the hill as I was walking up. I walked up the side of the stairs and safely made it pass the kids and observed Teddy’s grave once I got to the cemetery’s peak. There was an American flag and and after snapping off a picture I made my way back down the hill to my car. As I was about to get back into the car I realized there was another part of the park - “The Theodore Nature Sanctuary.”
I quickly walked over to its entrance where an attendant in full uniform greeted me and suggested that I walk by the group of young students a hundred yards ahead. I thanked the park officer and entered the park taking pictures of the fountain and the preserve.
I saw an elderly woman walking with the aid of a cane and as I passed her I realized something very strange. “I know this woman!,” I thought in my mind. “This can’t be, no way…this is so weird,” as thoughts in similar vain ran through my head.
“Mrs. Thompson?!,” I half screamed in a hesitant tone. I was feeling extremely awkward at this moment. I had just disturbed an older woman who could be my old elementary school teacher or just an elderly woman who was seeking tranquility in a park, and definitely didn’t want to be disturbed by some punk.
“Stuart Schisgall!,” she replied very excitingly. “What are you doing here?”
“I thought that I should stop by since I’ve never been here before. My mom kept telling me that I had been, but I never remembered visiting it and I was actually just thinking why we never came here in Montessori.”
“Yea, it’s too bad we didn’t. Isn’t it such a beautiful place?,” Thompson said as she made herself comfortable on a nearby bench.
“Yea, it’s definitely gorgeous. So is Mr. Thompson here?” I asked uneasily hoping that nothing bad had happened since I last saw him. I guess I have some type of innate fear that when I ask an older person how another older person they know very well is doing there’s this higher probability that they may be dead. The Thompson’s weren’t ancient, but Mrs. Thompson had definitely seemed to age and get much smaller since my years in elementary school.
“Mr. Thompson is with the kids. He should be here any minute…O look at that, here he comes now,” as I turned my head towards the entrance of the deeper park. Mr. Thompson didn’t seem to recognize me until he got much closer and he actually looked very similar to how I remembered him so many years prior. I asked about other teachers and how things were, and within a few minutes I was asked by Mrs. Thompson to talk to the students about college and life after Montessori and if I had any advice for them.
I thought it’d be fun to talk to the kids about life after Montessori and the travels I’ve done, so I agreed to her request and before I knew it she had started her introduction for me:
“This is Stuart Schisgall. He was one of the first fourth and fifth graders at Montessori. He’s an excellent writer and he’s currently writing for Scholastic magazine. You’re all familiar with Scholastic right? Stuart lived in London, England for a year and has traveled throughout Europe, Asia and Israel, as well as spending this past summer road tripping through the United States. He went to Kenyon College, which is one of the best colleges in the country and he wants to talk to you about life after Montessori.”
Of course that’s not verbatim, but that was the gist of the introduction as I stood there dumbfounded to the introduction I had just received. No one in my life had ever introduced me like that and for a few moments I felt that I was actually someone to be respected and admired. This thought immediately left my mind as I started thinking about what I wanted to talk to the kids about. Here’s something I came up with:
“Hi everyone. My name’s Stuart Schisgall and I went to Montessori many years ago and was actually part of the first fourth and fifth grade classes. I just graduated from Kenyon College in Ohio…does anyone know where Ohio is? (About 15 kids raised their hands) and studied Political Science, or government. Mrs. Thompson suggested that I provide some advice for you while I’m here, and even though I’m at a weird stage in my life as I try to figure things out for myself because I’m no longer in school, I’ve talked to a bunch of Kenyon graduates who have shared a similar message. ‘Figure out what it is that you enjoy doing and pursue that dream or activity because there’s no reason not to do something in your life that doesn’t make you happy.’” I ended my blurb and immediately 20 hands were raised.
I looked at Mrs. Thompson to get the thumbs up to ask on one of the children, which I got, and picked a child at random. “So what’s better…” the child began…’Montessori or college?’
I laughed to myself before I answered the question but continued: “Well, they are both very different experiences, but I truly believe that had it not been for Montessori I don’t think that I could have enjoyed the college experience as much as I had.”
I chose a second kid: “What if what you like to do is illegal?”
I was totally dumbstruck by the question and realized in that moment that I definitely had no interest in teaching. “You should not do anything illegal, and you should pursue the legal desires you have.” My response wasn’t long, but quick, to the point and spoken slowly as I stared at the child. I said goodbye to everyone and continued my walk through the woods.
The Preserve itself was very beautiful especially in the fall as the leaves are changing colors, but after 20 minutes of walking around I had seen everything and made my way back to the car.
I drove back home and had a few hours to kill before work, but waited for my mom to come home from work to let her know that I had never been to Sagamore Hill prior in my life.
“I don’t know Stu,” mom responded. “With your terrible memory, it’s hard for me think that you’ve been there a few times but you always forget the day after.
Tags: New York Road Trips, Travel
