Taking care of the Lone Mountain House would be impossible without considerable local help. We have informal “Gentleman’s Agreements” with Dale Brogan, Jennifer Loop, and Tracy’s Lawn Care.
We first met Dale Brogan when we had a burst pipe in the main house and bath house just a few weeks before Aunt Bertha died. He was recommended by Owen and Helen Jo Payne. He did great work at a reasonable price. Knowing that burst pipes during freezing weather is always a costly hazard, we asked Dale to be in charge of keeping the house prepared for weather. We agreed to pay him $50 per month to keep an eye on things, shut down the house for winter, take measures before freezes to keep the plumbing in shape, and turn on the house again in spring As part of his regular duties, Dale also makes sure everything goes smoothly for visitors. He makes sure everything is working. He will turn on the hot water heater and the washer and dryer. If the weather is cold, we will make sure the house is warm when they arrive. He is the perfect contact when visitors need something – last Easter, when my family spent a weekend, we found ourselves out of firewood. Our old source of firewood was no longer available, so we called Dale. He knew where to get it at a great price, and we paid him to deliver it and help us unload and stack it.
Additionally, we agreed that whenever there is a repair/improvement that we need to hire someone to do, we will offer him the job first. All the maintenance and repairs that have been done since 2007 have been done by Dale. In 2012, when we knew the roof would have to be replaced, he agreed to handle everything. He got the bids and supervised the work. He has pressure washed, repaired the floor in the small upstairs bedroom, repaired window frames, built storage in the bath house, picked up and installed a new hot water heater, upgraded the electrical system, fixed leaks and hung fixtures.
When our beloved Helen Lakins had to retire as our housekeeper, we found a new one right next door. Jennifer Loop is the daughter of our long-time neighbor, Sammy Loop. We pay Jennifer $180 to do a thorough cleaning each spring. And, as with Helen before her, she is the one we call to prepare the house for them and whom they can hire to clean after them. She has a great system. She breaks the clean-up into two parts. She cleans well after guests (takes care of the kitchen and any food, takes away the garbage, sweeps and mops the floors, strips the beds and does the laundry, etc.), but does not make the beds until just before the next guests arrive. The nicest thing is that she cleans after a visit, but also sweeps and makes the beds up fresh right before the next visitor. No more flies under the windows!
Jennifer also, on her own time, goes in and checks on everything. In 2012, she called me to report mice. I researched and sent her a really cool mouse zapper trap and $50 to use it. She got rid of the mice in no time. No more problems since.
For years we have had an agreement with Tracy’s Lawn Care. Tracy does a lot of mowing at Lone Mountain, including the Payne cemetery. Our understanding with them is that when they are in the area, they will take a look at our place and mow if needed. They bill us $50 for each mow, Depending on the amount of summer rain, they usually mow 9-12 times a year.
The Lone Mountain House is old, but with the help of Dale, Jennifer, and Tracy’s, we make sure it is very clean, comfortable, and well-groomed!