Mabel’s Mountain

A small mountain community works together to save the mayor’s dog.

Mabel’s Mountain

Several times a year I venture out to a small cabin on a mountain not far from us with my wife.

We had purchased the cabin soon after being married.

My wife thought it would be a nice romantic getaway.

What we didn’t expect to find though was the most welcoming community we would ever live in.

Almost fifty years later it is still our favorite place to go on vacation.

Being there keeps us grounded and allows us to survive better once back in the real world.

Our cabin is located in a community dedicated to enjoying nature with others.

There are walking trails, streaming brooks, and the ever present smell of outdoor cooking.

Whether you own one of the more expensive cabins at the top of the mountain or just a simple one like ours, the views are breathtaking, especially in the Autumn when the hills are ablaze with the most vivid colors Mother Nature can display.

All the seasons in fact have their own glories.

Winter brings with it a snow covered majesty mountain that we can ski.

In the spring wild flowers cover the valleys and the summer brings canoe rides on quiet lakes.

The community consists of all year round residents, those of us who visit on a regular basis, and the occasional drop in owner.

There are bankers, doctors, lawyers, teachers, and professional people of all professions.

There are also mechanics, plumbers, electricians, and carpenters.

Social rank though holds no privilege on this mountain.

Everyone is simply a homeowner.

What we also like about this community is the fact that the people know each other.

People did not just wave to their neighbors; they stop to talk with them.

We meet at local spots to dine or drink or just learn the latest news.

New residents to the community are always welcomed in with invitations to dinners, friendly conversations to get to know them better, and help in whatever they need to make their transitions easier.

This is a community of people who just seemed to like each other and like spending time together.

Yes, there is even a General Store and the owner is the mayor.

Now the mayor owns the most friendly sheepdog one could ever meet.

Her name is Mabel.

Mabel greets all the customers as they enter the store.

She makes sure everyone is met with a wag of a tail and a friendly nuzzle of her nose.

God never made a more noble creature than Mabel and she has the run of the entire mountain.

It is not unusual for her to drop by unannounced if she smells you cooking something she might enjoy.

She loves a good piece of meat and a rub behind her ears.

Everyone in turn loves Mabel.

She is welcomed everywhere she goes.

Mabel just loves to roam and she can be seen daily walking the trails within the community.

It is on one of these morning explorations that this story is based.

In early November one year there was an early onset of cold weather and the lakes were just starting to freeze over.

Heading out looking for a free breakfast, as Mabel made her way down the mountain toward one of the larger and deeper lakes, she mistakenly thought that the lake’s ice was completely frozen; or that is what we believe she thought since she never did tell us the whole story.

Within seconds the ice collapsed under her weight and Mabel was over her head in the freezing water.

She struggled to stay afloat, but with ice all around her she could not regain her balance.

One of the local residents at the top of the mountain was the first to spot her struggling for her life.

He was on his deck with a morning cup of coffee.

He also spotted a local man fishing in the ice on the lake at the same time.

Like I said this was a small community and recognizing the man he searched frantically through the contacts on his phone for his number.

Finding it he called to tell him what was happening.

The man jumped up, looked around, and saw Mabel.

He started running toward her.

In the meantime, the homeowner sent a group distress text to everyone he knew lived nearby.

We were having breakfast when both my wife’s and my cell phone went off with the text alert.

I still find it amazing how many people ran out into the cold of that morning to help save a local canine favorite.

It took some time and a human chain of many people, but Mabel was finally dragged from the icy waters.

She was taken to the closest cabin where a team of people worked to revive her with warm blankets and hot food.

When the mayor of the town was informed he rushed to her side and stayed with her until she was completely recovered.

A few days later, because he was so grateful, he announced that he would throw a giant cookout to say thank you and to celebrate how the community had come together to save Mabel.

Besides the normal fare from his store, as part of that evening’s menu the grand main course was a deer that the mayor shot.

It was roasted over a huge open fire.

The residents sat around the fire eating, drinking, and enjoying good conversations with their neighbors.

As I watched the meat from the deer grow succulently brown with its juices hissing as they hit the open flame, an odd thought occurred to me.

To celebrate the saving of one noble creature another innocent one had been sacrificed and no one seemed to see the irony.

Guess that is just life in a mountain community.

As the festivities continued late into the night I sat back looking around and listening to the conversations.

My wife was drinking her hot toddy and I was enjoying sipping the warm brandy swirling in the glass in my cupped hands.

I just took it all in.

Sitting there I came to realize that what could not be denied was that this was a truly remarkable little community filled with even more remarkable people and that I was very fortunate to be a part of it.