LOCALadk Magazine

58 Spring 2018 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk Covewood Lodge, Covey Road: Earl Covey was already established as a prolific carpenter and mason in the Big Moose area when he started building Covewood Lodge, which opened in 1925. Earl's father, Henr y Covey, had first come to the area as a hunting guide, leading a party from Philadel- phia, Pennsylvania, up to the Big Moose wilderness in the 1880s. (Henr y later operated a resort called Crag Point off the southern shore of Big Moose Lake.) The main lodge of Covewood Lodge showcases one of Earl's fa- mous fireplaces and features a large porch with massive pillars and a grand rustic stonework staircase. The building was constructed with the vertical log siding technique and includes second-floor bal- conies. The Covewood Lodge expanded as Earl built more cottages along the shoreline. He also designed and built, with the help of many vol- unteers, the historic Big Moose Community Chapel. Earl sold Covewood Lodge in the 1940s to Gladys Bourner, a for- mer guest. She operated it until 1951, when she sold it to C .V. "Ma- jor" Bowes. After he passed away, his wife Diane Bowes and their daughter, Rebecca, took charge and continue to operate it to this day, along with the Bowes's nephew, Douglas. Covewood also has many families who return as guests year after year, said Diane. " We have lots of fourth generation families return- ing each summer, along with new ones," she said. "The established families at Covewood Lodge are always welcoming to the newer ones." Covewood has 19 housekeeping cottages for rent (guests supply their own sheets, pillowcases, bath and dish towels). Each cottage has one or more baths, furnace heat, a modern kitchen, an outside grill, and a fireplace. Laundr y machines are available on site. "Our cottages are not fancy, but they are ver y comfortable," Diane said. "It's a ver y low-key environment, and our guests like the idea of hav- ing ver y few interruptions." The main lodge has been remodeled to offer several rooms and apartments for rent upstairs, some with glassed-in porches. There are still common areas for guests downstairs in the living room and dining room (although guests prepare their own meals in the cot- tages). A traditional picnic is held once a week on the large porch of the main lodge, with the hot dogs and hamburgers provided by Covewood staff and side dishes brought by the guests. Covewood Lodge is known for its programs for children. There are two youth counselors who work several hours a day and offer a va- riety of activities, and the resort also has a sandy, shallow children's beach stocked with beach toys. The planned activities for children include scavenger hunts, boat rides, tie dying t-shirts, field games, magazine crafts, rock painting, water balloons, and even a sandcas- tle competition. Covewood offers guests kayaks, canoes, motor boats, or paddle boats to take out on the lake. There are hiking and nature trails, a fishing bridge, and waterskiing lessons for all ages. Guests ages four to 80 years old have learned how to waterski at the Covewood Lodge, Diane said. " Water-skiing is a long- established tradition at Covewood." Big Moose Lake is "quiet," Diane said, compared to many others in the Adirondack region because there's limited public access to the water. The owners of both resorts expressed pride and appre - ciation for the pristine water of the lake, which has remained free from aquatic invasive species found in other lakes throughout the Adirondack region. Many years ago, "People used to stay longer. But now, most of them stay one week. The parents and kids are so busy, but they still enjoy the histor y and atmosphere here," said Diane.

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