We’re still coming to grips a month later with the loss of two old friends: a wonderful nearby inn, and one of its owners.
Just a month ago, The English Rose Inn was destroyed by fire, and one of its two owners, Gary Bouchard-Pike, lost his life in the blaze. It still hurts us every time we drive up to Jay Peak Resort and pass by the blackened remnants of what was a wonderful old inn that Gary and his wife Mary Jane built up from what was previously the Eagle Lodge.
Lynne’s and my first meeting with the Bouchard-Pikes was just a few months after we had purchased the Phineas Swann. They came to a meeting of local businesses in our fireplace room, and after the meeting was done we had a wonderful chat with them. They easily could have seen us as competitors, but instead chatted with us like new neighbors. We often suggested them to guests when we were full, and likewise when they had guests with dogs (they didn’t accept pets) they would tell them about our place just down the hill.
We saw them several times afterwards, usually at innkeeper meetings up at Jay Peak Resort, or if one of them was shopping in town.
Since the fire, we’ve had a few people show up at our doorstep still unaware of the tragedy, and expecting to be able to stay with Gary & Mary Jane. It always pains us to tell them the bad news, and we’re happy to put them up, but it still leaves a hole in our heart each time we have to tell the tale.
We haven’t heard yet whether the English Rose will be rebuilt, but we suspect it may not. As hard as Mary Jane works, it’s hard to imagine the place without Gary’s cooking and all the hard work he put into it. The fact that he perished working so hard to keep the place in shape makes the loss that much harder.
We wish the family peace, and we say a little prayer for them every time we head up the hill on route 242. We’ll keep you informed on future plans, if any, for the English Rose Inn.