Hotel Balmoral on Mount McGregor Enter the world of a hotel on Mount McGregor north of the resort village of Saratoga Springs, New York, as it is seen in everyday events that could have happened to a young boy, Patrick, who joins his Irish parents at work in the summer seasons of the Hotel Balmoral in 1883, 1884 and 1885. This book is realistic fiction. Patrick is not a person from the pages of history; however the events he witnesses come from the actual events that likely did happen at Mt. McGregor. In this short volume boyhood adventures and dreams are recorded. Such are the events with which a child can relate and adults with a memory or an imagination can share as well. Later events in his life will show how Patrick's education and career emerge from the things that happen to him at Mt. McGregor. Nineteenth century American values and understandings of the ways that immigrants became Americans are not presented simply as nostalgia, although there is some romanticism about the story. There are lessons to be learned from Patrick and his parents that define options for present day living, education, citizenship, and the humanizing of contemporary American values. Further developments in Patrick's life will appear in future publication of his stories about growing up in Saratoga Springs at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Patrick tells of places, people and events that shaped his life at the village. The hopes, dreams and opportunities he finds in his hometown establish his identity as an American citizen.
About the Author: The author is a person who has often wondered what life was like for those ordinary people usually left unmentioned in the pages of history. Yes, the king rightly asks, "What do the simple folk do?" Writing to portray daily life and the values by which people lived "once upon a time" is an act of imaginative interpretation. Growing up in the decades from mid-1930 to mid-1950 in the City of Saratoga Springs, New York, provided many opportunities for me to see the remnants of the recent and distant past life of the city. Apparent also were the layers of social, ethnic, racial and regional features of the residents and tourists in the city. Schools, neighborhoods, workplaces, libraries, churches, family events and noteworthy landmarks provided settings for my learning. Education takes place in the streets and in the gentle and not-so-gentle ways that others relate to a growing child. While others write about magic and fantasy, violence and deception, troubled minds and shattered lives, I seek to write about decent living in hard times. I write about elegant living close to nature and I write about generous efforts in the employment of human talent and wealth. Simple events can reveal answers for many questions. What does united mean in United States? What does it mean when one calls the Civil War a rebellion? How should an immigrant become an American? Who are natives and who are aliens in America? How important is it for children to learn by working? How is a child's play so much like the business ventures of investors who seek to provide the things that people earn money to get? What is the meaning of wealth? My optimism is tempered by knowing human limitations, yet my vision of a full life and my affirmation of noble objectives is not just a fantasy of a Camelot. A vision of the good life for each person should be the guiding basis for American society, if not for every society to own as its purpose. As I see it, every government should exist for the benefit of all people. My stories are intended to influence how we understand human nature, parenting, education, careers, history, religion and government. Build, do not destroy. Stuart Stiles, B.S. Union College, Schenectady, NY '57; S.T.B. (M. Div.) Harvard '62; Professor of Psychology Emeritus & Past Chairman of the faculty Division of Social Sciences Orange County Community College State University of NY; Pastor Emeritus, UCC New Vernon, NY.