Interview with Brian R. Hannan
After 23 stays—in 23 years—at the Seth Peterson Cottage, Tim and Trish McNeely’s favorite season to sojourn there might not be a surprise: “All of them,” Tim said. “It is our favorite place to be on the planet.”
This summer, the Georgetown, Ky., couple were recognized at the 30th anniversary celebration of the cottage’s rehabilitation for having made the most overnight stays since it opened for rentals in 1992. They made their inaugural visit in 2001.
“The very first time that Tim booked the cottage, it was for one night, and he intended to make a business trip out of it,” Trish recalled. “When he saw how disappointed I was, he created an invitation to come with him and Above: Trish McNeely during the first stay she and her husband, Tim, made to the cottage in 2001. gave it to me for Christmas.”
She continued: “We have come in every beautiful season, as well as our birthdays, until we honed in on Frank Lloyd Wright’s birthday (in early June). I cried tears of joy one birthday there when my card told me I could get a dog after asking for 14 years.”
Tim, a long-time enthusiast of Wright’s work, said he enjoys the cottage for its tranquility. He said he and Trish have seen 276 Wright-designed properties, been inside 121 and stayed as overnight guests in eight. They saw the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation archives when they were located at Taliesin West, with Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer showing them original Wright drawings and artifacts.
“All of these experiences were awesome, but they all pale with what we feel at the Peterson cottage,” Tim said.
Trish agrees: “The cottage has its own smell and feel, making you want to spend all your special occasions there. I married into (Tim’s interest) but have come to love Wright structures too. We’ve stayed in more than a few now, but this is the only one to which we keep returning, like it’s our second home.”