“You have seen more Canada than many in Ontario," said Sophia, when I finished narrating about the time we spent with our friends, Reji, Marina, Premod and Betty. My wife, her brother and I were with Sophia, my wife's cousin and her husband Sherry for two days. “No, you haven't done the Thousand Island Cruise,” Sherry said. That’s how the four of us and Sophia's daughter reached Gananoque, the picturesque banks of the St Lawrence River to board the ferry.
Thousand Island is an archipelago of about 1,800 Islands, strewn along the St Lawrence River. Some islands belong to the USA and the rest to Canada. The smallest island amongst them is the Hub Island, big enough to hold a small house and a few bushes and the largest among them is the Wolfe Island, approximately 124 sq kms and home to more than a 1000 people. One amongst the thousand is Heart Island, called so because of its shape. I'm not sure if the shape was nature's gift to mankind or the reverse through human ingenuity.
It wasn't the tourist season. There were only a few to board the ferry. We could sit anywhere and soak in the breathtaking view on offer. The ferry sailed out on time. It was cold and windy. A few dared to walk onto the deck and quickly retreated into the warmth of the cabin only to be lured back by the breathtaking view. I was among those shuttling between the wind kissed deck and the warm cabin.
“To the left and in front of us, is the famous Heart Island. The magnificent structure you see is the Boldt Castle,” I heard the skipper announce. The howling became unbearable as the wind picked up speed. I could not hear anything more of what the skipper said. Pulling the balaclava down to cover my face and freezing chin, I braved the winds to see the majestic beauty called Boldt Castle. I stood on the deck admiring the castle as the ferry went around before returning to base.
I do not know whether it was my inability to comprehend what was announced or the enchanting looks of the structure, I could not get Boldt Castle off my mind even after returning to the warmth of Sherry’s and Sophia’s nest. As soon as I got a chance, I read up on the castle. The castle once belonged to the millionaire hotel magnate George C Boldt, who had stakes in Hotel Waldorf Astoria in New York City and The Bellevue Stratford in Philadelphia. He was so much in love with his wife Louise, he decided to gift her with a beautiful, six story, 120 room castle filled with the finest of everything. The construction started in 1900. He employed around 300 people to convert his fantasy into reality on the Island, then known as Hart Island. The love story unfortunately ended sadly. In 1904, Louise passed away unexpectedly at the age of 41 cutting short a marriage of 27 years. Heartbroken, Boldt ordered cessation of all work immediately. It is believed he never returned to the island. The structure, left to vagaries of weather, stood as a skeletal reminder of lost love for more than 70 years. In 1977, the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority took over the castle for a sum of $1, restored it, and converted it into a tourist attraction. The Taj Mahal was a mausoleum but this was different. The castle and the couple refused to leave my mind space. The man and his immense love for his wife impressed me. I felt bad for him.
George C Boldt must have seen and successfully surmounted many challenges to reach that state of wealth to be able to buy Islands in the region and construct a sprawling castle for his wife. How could an astute businessman like Boldt be irrecoverably shattered by one catastrophic event? Can love be so debilitating? What happened to the immense wealth he had amassed by then? Did they have children and what happened to them? How was the Heart Island estate managed for over 70 years? Surely, there had to be more to the story. I decided to explore.
The Army has a lot to teach. All operations undertaken by the army can generally be grouped either under offensive or defensive warfare. Stalemates, long or short, are possible in both. When there is enough room for maneuver and the force can reach far deep into the enemy territory we get to see Maneuver Warfare in full flow. But if the opponent is tough, resilient and has the capability to take a beating and still fight back, what started as an aggressive advance soon becomes a war of attrition. Long wars inevitably become wars of attrition. Though experts have been speaking of short intense wars, even the most mismatched contests have turned into attrition wars. In attrition, the final victory doesn't belong to the one who moved fast and deep but to the one who took losses on the chin, regrouped, recreated resources and reserves, applied it against the enemy wearing him out and finally forcing him to kneel.
Life is very much a war of attrition.
It does not fetch us victory with a few maneuvers and quick thrusts here and there. It is a marathon that starts the day we are born and ends only with the last breath. Here time is the adversary and it can rain adversities by the hordes.
Gains and losses, success and failures are part of human life. To expect a life filled only with ascent is unreasonable. It may not be possible to succeed in everything that we do or keep increasing the scale of success in every attempt that we make. We are bound to hit roadblocks, achieve outcomes below expectations and at times even grave disappointments. Some losses or failures we encounter can be so devastating that we could end up questioning the very purpose of life. Many succumb to such losses while a few manage to take it in their stride and move on.
How did Boldt fare in his personal war of attrition?
Born on 25th April 1851 in Bergen auf Rügen in Prussia, Boldt came to America in his teens. He started as a dishwasher in a hotel and rose up the chain doing other low-level jobs. His ability to preempt requirements of guests earned him recognition. He went on to manage the famous Bellevue hotel in Philadelphia. He transformed the hotel and made it a niche place for the elite. He became the name in luxury hospitality by bringing class, style and sophistication to the hotel industry. His success brought him wealth. His flair of doing everything on a lavish scale seemed to have brought him to own Heart Island.
The loss of his wife impacted him but his business continued to flourish. He managed his estates and hotels till he died on 5th December 1916. Obviously, he managed to contain his loss, isolate it from everything else and win the war of attrition.
It is not necessary to be rich like Boldt to have a heart like him. When we face adversities, which we think are insurmountable, we too can make our hearts strong and steel our will to fight as long it takes, yet retaining our ability to live and love like George C Boldt.
(You can see more of the castle on my Instagram reels.)
