After many family conversations, along with deep reflection, we have made the difficult decision to “close up shop” here at the Neahtawanta Inn.

 

Thinking back over these past 47 years, I feel deeply grateful for all the people I have met and lifelong friendships that have formed. I have enjoyed so many, many  conversations, interactions and experiences with the folks who have come to my doorstep. All of you who have stayed here, have enriched my life in so many ways. I have been fortunate to witness numerous special occasions celebrated here, watched with delight as couples come to escape their busy lives, then return a few years later with little ones who grow up — and some even return with their own offspring!

 

Our children grew up with the beach out one door and the woods outside the other. They learned early on that they needed to share their home with many other people! It was a good life lesson. They are now adults and this place has become special to all of them.

 

Anders, my grandson, and his wife, Jacqueline live just across the road in a home we built in 2020 so that they could help me run the Inn. Now with 2 little ones of their own, the constant demands of the Inn have become too much for them. They will be selling and moving as well.

 

My late husband, Bob, and I founded the Neahtawanta Research and Education Center here in 1987 as a vehicle for pursuing community organizing, environmental, peace and justice issues; hosting many workshops, gatherings, events, seminars, conversations and projects over the years. My interest in Yoga spawned many workshops, trainings and retreats, along with my year round weekly classes, with an amazing yoga community. We held memorial celebrations of lives well lived, including those of my late husband, Bob Russell, as well as honoring Jim Olson’s and my daughter, Hallie, with remembrance gatherings. So many Solstice gatherings! And our annual Men’s Retreat, which has taken place since the early ’80’s. I will never forget the Great Lakes Bioneers Conference; the Inn was used by our planning committee for meetings all year long, for 12 years. We also housed the speakers and presenters for the conference. Many nonprofit groups that we connected with have held their own retreats here: Oryana Food Co-op, FLOW, Seeds, Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, NMEAC, Mideast: Just Peace; also national groups, such a Cornucopia, Greenpeace, Sierra Club and others.

 

Providing a place where people can come to rest, replenish, reconnect with Nature and perhaps do their own inner work and have FUN has been a source of joy for me and has brought a sense of purpose to my life.

 

I believe that one of our biggest life lessons is how and when to let go; not to cling too tightly to Life’s gifts. Now, as I approach my 80’s, it is time for me to let go of this fulfilling life and create a simpler, less demanding way of being.

I will take some time to sit with this decision as I begin the process of releasing possessions, re-organizing and planning my next steps.

 

I will miss this big, old inn that has enveloped me for all these years. I will miss just as much (or more) the land, the trees, the water…all of Nature right out my front door. I feel so fortunate to have been the caretaker of this sacred space. Living here, I have witnessed the subtleties of the changing seasons, the moon and sunrises, the changing nature of the water and shoreline, the fresh air, the trees who are all my dear friends, the pervasive quiet and peace. I hold deep gratitude for all the ancestors who lived here before me, including the First People and the previous innkeeper, Mary Kroupa Atherton (who died here at the Inn at the age of 99!).

 

To all of you who are curious, and want to know more about the details and my plans, I ask for your patience as my family and I discern the path forward. I will share my plans as they emerge.

 

I don’t know if the new owners will want to continue renting rooms; if you would like to be on a mailing list, email me your contact info.

 

Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for being part of this community; this beloved community. If you would like to share any thoughts, please feel free to email or call me (contact info below).

 

With gratitude,

Sally Van Vleck

 

To contact us: info@neahtawantainn.com

231 223-7315