Ten Chimneys de Diana Enright

Ten Chimneys

Diana Enright

Tanya Hazelton

For four decades, "The Fabulous Lunts" were the greatest acting team in the history of English stage. If a play was attached to their celebrity, it was an instant hit. Their world-class talent revolutionized live theater. They were "Lunt and Fontanne," their guests were literary giants, famous thespians and royalty, and their Wisconsin home-retreat was Ten Chimneys. Alfred and Lynn created this idyllic paradise but Jules, their black major domo, kept it running smoothly. In a region not known for cultural diversity, this quiet man behind Ten Chimneys' success was Diana's godfather.Diana was raised by her grandparents near the famed two hundred acre estate. When her life met tragedy, Mr. Lunt told her, "This pastoral countryside will most assuredly heal you, just like it did me." With their deaths, the rough-hewn wooden gate was closed and chain-locked. However, Ten Chimneys' story didn't end there. With flood lights befitting a Broadway premiere, hundreds, including Diana, gathered for the reopening of the Lunt's most enduring legacy, Ten Chimneys.

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The sun was high in the sky as Diana pedaled her gleaming red Schwinn bicycle down Genesee Road. It was a birthday present, fully-equipped with basket, horn and handlebar tassels.In seconds, with her arms outstretched, balancing her bike, she was flying into the wind. Up and down the kettles of the moraine, soaring in and out of the woods, she always strained to catch a peek of the mystical white manor and estate with its ten chimneys, rising into the trees like steeples.Today, for the first time, she excitedly pedaled through the opened Ten Chimneys wooden gate. To savor the moment, she walked her bicycle slowly down a shaded, long winding drive and entered a large courtyard.Jules familiar voice floated to her through an opened window. Hi, Di! Dont you look pretty! Ill be right there. Holding her Nanas pie in a favored tea towel, she stood at the main houses laundry room door. Shading her eyes from the noon sun, she looked up. Above her, lace curtains in an open upstairs French door rustled closed.Hey! Miss! Behind her the Lunts groundskeeper, Ben Perkins approached, walking down the path from the stables. What are you doing there? Scared, Diana put the pie on the porch step, scrambled back onto her bicycle and pedaled away.Jules shouted from the open kitchen window, Ben, its Diana from over the hill, delivering a pie from Mrs. Herrold! Im sorry, Ben called back, laughing. I didnt recognize her all dressed up. Jules caution echoed through the woods, Remember to close the gate, Di!