There’s not a lot of snow on the ground any more. I think we’re in for an early spring. The only problem is that with spring comes spring yard work, which means I’m going to have to put a coat of paint on one of those two Adirondack chairs that sit beneath the branches of the cherry tree in the front yard.
The Adirondack chair, or Muskoka chair as it is sometimes called here in Canada, was designed by one Thomas Lee in 1903. Apparently, Lee was on vacation in Westport, New York, up in the Adirondack Mountains and needed some patio chairs for his summer home. He decided to make some himself, and, after testing out a number of designs on his family, finally settled on what would become the basic design for what has become known as the Adirondack chair.
Lee’s original chair design was made with 11 pieces of wood, cut from a single board. It had a straight back and the seat was set at a slant to sit better on the uneven ground. It also featured the wide armrests which have become a hallmark of the Adirondack chair.
After arriving at the final design for his “Westport plank chair,” Lee showed it to Harry Bunnell, a carpenter who had a small shop in Westport. Bunnell, who was in need of a winter income, was quick to realize that the chair was the perfect item to make and sell to people who came out each year to their summer homes.
Without even asking Lee’s permission, Bunnell filed for and in 1905 received U.S. patent 794,777. He manufactured his planked wood Westport chairs for some 20 years.
When it comes right down to it, one of my favourite activities in the whole world is just sitting out in the yard, relaxing in one of my vintage Adirondack chairs. Over the 20 plus years that I have owned those two chairs, I have sat and watched many a cloud drift by. I have listened to birds singing in the trees and pondered what is important and what is not. I have thrown the ball for my dog and fallen asleep with the warmth of a summer afternoon’s sun shining down in my face. I have watched the seasons change and the leaves turn colour. I have wished that some things could somehow be different and I have felt grateful for the way other things are.
One Adirondack chair is painted. The other has never seen a coat of paint. I think I prefer the one without paint. It is more rounded, more comfortable, more familiar. And, in as much as sometimes I look forward to just sitting around and relaxing, I also sometimes find it hard to get out of my chair.
Be that as it may, I don’t really worry about it, though. My new dog has learned to fetch and bring the ball back to me. All I really have to do is just sit there. I don’t even have to open my eyes to throw it. Arlo brings it back and pushes his nose up against my leg so I can throw it again. If he doesn’t, I know he’s lying not far away, chewing on it. He doesn’t seem to mind if I nod off a bit every now and then. I guess we both enjoy falling asleep in the warm sun.
I wonder if Thomas Lee enjoyed sitting back in his prototype Westport plank chair and feeling the sun on his face. I wonder if he knew just how much people would come to appreciate the comfort and sense of familiarity that seems to get worn into Adirondack chairs. I wonder if I’ll ever get around to putting a new coat of paint on my chair. I wonder what the chances are of getting my dog to paint the chair.
Of course Arlo and I could just go fishing and thereby avoid the whole having to do yard work and painting the Adirondack chair thing altogether. Then when we got back I could sit and relax and watch clouds drift by. I might even throw the ball a few times.
