Saving 50+ years of memories at BonnyBrook

Have you noticed that people react differently when given unlimited time at home?  We’ve all heard about those who have decided to enjoy this unprecedented period with family activities, using the time to bake, enjoy a hobby or finish necessary tasks. There are others, however, who feel isolated or bored when away from their normal routines.
Home has always solicited strong feelings; fortunately in most cases, those feelings are positive for most people. One thing is for certain, our home and neighborhoods do shape our character, experiences and ultimately who we become as individuals.
Currently, I am helping one of my clients, Pete James of Mayville, New York record the memories and history of the family home, a property he has owned since 1969 called the BonnyBrook Farm. I’ve chosen his story as it is a perfect example of how our lives are influenced by where we live. In his case, it has also influenced future generations, namely his kids and grandchildren, and the people they have become.
After placing the property for sale in 2016, the affable, Stetson-wearing patriarch of the “James Gang” set out to ensure the family’s experiences of over a half of a century at BonnyBrook would be preserved. (Pete has given me permission to include some of the information from his family memories below).
Pete started his story with the history of the property and barn. The James’ 100 plus acres was part of the property first deeded from the Holland land survey to the Prendergast Family, significant since James Prendergast is known as the founder of nearby Jamestown, NY. The original family cemetery still exists behind the historic marker of the family home on Chautauqua-Stedman Road. According to deeded records, only three families of multiple generations—including the James’—have held ownership of this portion of the original property.
Pete received a good deal of oral history from previous owners, Gladys and Hip Bentley; Gladys referring to the property as “our piece of the earth’s dirt.” After selling to James, the Bentley’s moved into the house next door, preserving their “dirt,” which in reality, was really their piece of paradise. Living next to the James’ for years, they affectionately became known as “Hip and Granny” to the family.
Then there’s the barn, which is much like the rings inside a tree, showing various periods of construction and renovation. Ask Pete, and he will tell you the former and current use of every foot of the barn. Representing a work and play site for generations, there are also the countless family memories associated with it.
Originally part of a working dairy farm, Gladys told Pete that the original barn was built around 1900, then added on to when Gladys’ father moved another barn on skids from across the street. (Not sure how that was accomplished, but a team of horses was probably involved.) The James’ also did numerous renovations over the years, as the dairy farm gave way to raising beef cows and horses. In 2017, it was also the site of a wedding, some of the guests sitting on hay bales, but as Pete explains, “the first time the barn was ever cleaned out.”
The richest history, in my view, are the memories of his two sons, Rob and Andy, and Pete’s grandchildren. Both Rob and Andy credit their work ethic as the result of their life and responsibilities on the farm. In a serious, but joking manner, the brothers referred to themselves as the “helping hands,” tasked with cleaning the barn, haying, operating and fixing farm equipment and other countless jobs. When a problem arose, often the only solution was found in their use of ingenuity and common horse sense.
While laughing at the amount of work and some of their missteps along the way, they also believe — as their memories show— BonnyBrook was the best place to grow up. They loved being outdoors from daylight to dark, and while learning to use farm equipment, they also learned to drive early and fix things at an early age. But with those chores, there are also countless memories of riding dirt bikes and 4-wheelers, firing BB guns, building snow forts, and jumping out onto the hay from the second story of the barn—all in the name of fun.
In later years, the grandkids from out-of-state would spend summers at the farm, creating their own memories and experiences, one explaining, “We went home to go to school, but this is where we grew up.”

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