There is so much we want to do and it has been frustrating, especially in the recent years of this “economic adjustment”. It is rustic, doesn’t have a swimming pool, or flat screen TVs in the rooms. Be encouraged that your work makes a difference in people’s lives.” Wow! What encouragement. I chose your inn last year because I needed a place to restore my soul. I think you provide a place to be still and know that He is God. “I’m sure y’all face many challenges in running the inn. Her son specifically said he would like to go back to Hemlock Inn because he felt closer to God than usual. This guest told of their visit last season and of the time this winter when she mentioned to her children the possibility of another trip to the mountains this coming summer. We received an email this winter that tells this story best. That gives us great joy because the place becomes a feeling of warmth and safety. Invariably, it leads to friendship, caring…and sometime even healing. That usually then leads to discussions of shared values and dreams. They just want to talk about the hike they took, or the rafting trip they just experienced, or their children or new grandchild. For others it is providing them a place to meet and become friends with folks who have no hidden agendas or manipulative plans. For many, it means simply getting them out of the rat race of large cities to the quiet solitude of nature. A place that takes them away from whatever gives them stress. Our goal is to provide them with a place of comfort and peace. Our guests are treasures and the reason we are here. Boy was I wrong! It took me several years to figure out what John told me from the very beginning……” Hemlock Inn is not just a place, it’s a feeling.” The guests were a means to accomplish that, but I spent most of my time with paper and pencil rather that with them. My goal was to make Hemlock Inn a thriving, successful, prosperous business. My early time was spent on budgets, cutting expenses while increasing revenue, increasing productivity. I looked at it through the eyes of a banker. I arrived and, quite frankly, did not have a clear understanding of what Hemlock Inn was. Lainey grew up here and knew what was ahead. We decided we needed to come and help and see if this was right for us. I never intended to work in their family business, but the Shell’s asked us to consider coming and help them out, and the time to leave the bank seemed right.
I learned compassion from my years working at the American National Red Cross I learned financial skills from my years in banking and then I married the owner’s daughter”. When I am asked how I became an innkeeper, I usually start with a silly comment…”I was destined to be an innkeeper from all my experiences. When she graduated from college and was asked if she would ever return to run the family business, she simply said it depended on who she married.
She went with her parents as they bought supplies for the business and to attend inn meetings. She grew up in the inn business and did whatever was required from cleaning rooms, to serving tables in the dining room, to occasional duties in the office. Her parents, John and Ella Jo Shell, bought the inn when she was just 12 years old. We are often asked how we became innkeepers in the first place. However we also use this unique time to reflect on what we do as innkeepers and why we continue to do it, even after 28 years. Lainey and I use the winter months to rest from the exertion of the season past, and begin preparations and planning for the next season. As you know, Hemlock Inn closes every winter, except for a few get away weekends and some special events.