Leisurama, the Ready Getaway
“All I want is a one room house,” I recall my mom telling my dad as we drove once again to our favorite hamlet, Montauk.
“I promise we’ll find one,” said Dad. He did.
My parents, Dad, a retired police officer and World War II veteran, along with Mom, an office manager for charity events, could have never envisioned their great fortune in finding just exactly what they desired. My mom and dad found their one room house in Culloden Shores, Montauk. After multiple forays to the pristine town that held their hearts, Pospisil Realty assisted them in discovering the house of their dreams on Tern Drive. I was not with them on that special day, but I recall the telephone call of excitement as my mom described their one room find. The historic name Culloden representing peace and readiness for each of them.
“It’s only one room, Chris,” she breathed, “but it has everything. It’s ready for us to just move in.”
It truly did have everything; we later learned of the rich history of the Leisurama. It seemed that my World War II dad had somehow been destined to find this home waiting for him and his family created for veterans after the Cold War.
While my parents had been working, Macy’s had been as well. With the US at odds with the USSR, a prototype was constructed in Macy’s in Herald Square. If one traveled to the ninth floor the visitor would be treated to the visions of architects, Stanley Klein, Andrew Geller, and Raymond Loewy. The house, fully furnished and complete with dishes, cutlery, even towels was on display. For approximately twelve thousand or so, the owner could get away and enjoy a leisurely visit to Montauk. The new owner would not need to pack a single item as the Leisurama was equipped and ready with every necessity.
So, it became for our little family, a dream home. The dreams and hopes of my hardworking parents were realized in 1984 just before the birth of my first son. My two.pregnancies were enhanced by wonderous, breathtaking vacations to “the little one room house” that my mom had wished for us. Culloden Shoes boasted of several Leisuramas, but our home was most certainly the most perfect. Located near the bay, we reveled in balmy beach days and breezy evenings of ice cream at Gossman’s Dock before returning to our respite, our home with everything. The wood paneled walls stretched to the high loft style ceilings as we lay upon our Murphy bed sleepy-eyed and content.
When these inspired architects envisioned their plan, I was yet to understand the impact these new visionary homes would have on our family. It seemed that these new Leisuramas were awaiting my mom and dad’s discovery. How could any of us know that while the war ended in 1945 and reappeared as the Cold War, one veteran would find peace in its arms? He would bring his family and heart to the shores of Montauk. He would watch not only his wife and daughter enjoy the glory of Culloden Shores but his two grandson’s laughter would echo between the paneled walls of his new sanctuary.
My mom and dad’s dream, their one room house, held its waiting open arms to us in the cozy town of Montauk. Our little home held, in its embrace, the dreams and hopes of a family after the turmoil of decades. It held the passion of a World War vet with his hard working wife. The home with lofty ceiling, warm paneling, spoons, quilts, and toss pillows welcomed its weary travelers “with everything” and blessed our arrival with warmth and peace. Surely after World War II and the Cold War, didn’t a veteran deserve its leisurely embrace?
One room was enough to hold a family with everything it had.
