Every summer after the July 4th celebrations, Jack McCarty (the Protagonist in MASQUE OF HONOR) and his wife Lucy would bring their daughter to ‘take in the waters’ at the Bedford Springs Hotel where they would spend the rest of the summer. The McCarty family held this tradition through the 1840’s and into the 1850s. I thought it befitting that Bedford Springs Resort be our first stop on our Road Less Traveled Tour.
In addition to the cooler air and the beautiful grounds, the resort is host to eight different mineral springs. In particular, the Magnesia Spring was “a curative” for chronic liver disease, malaria, stomach and kidney diseases. As a result so many folks (to include a number of Presidents!) came here for “restoration” and to convalesce from whatever ailed them. The first thing you notice when you walk into the main lobby is the HISTORY! It is filled with so many old photos and artifacts. And what a wonderful place to do a little background research for a sequel to MASQUE!
