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“Her husband had already become embroiled beyond the hope of recovery in his dispute with the camp over the buoy line for the swim area, which is his own personal Waterloo.”
—PacificRimbaud, “Attention Seeking Behavior”
June 25, 1986
Zenith House
Number 6 Mill Road
Black Lake, NY
Dear Arthur,
I write to tell you to disregard the letters of May 4, May 11, May 18, May 25, June 1, June 8 and June 15 sent by Beaufort & Beaufort, LLP. Apologies, but my attorneys can be a bit thuggish at times. Narcissa and I were in France and then Washington and did not authorize the persistence of the correspondence.
I do, however, want to address the contents of said letters and see if we can settle the issues referenced therein without the unpleasantness of law firms and lawsuits.
As two of the first families to settle Black Lake, I think we can agree that the distinct character and natural beauty of this place must be preserved against all comers. I do not deny that your camp is part of that character and would never suggest that it be shut down or moved (again please disregard the above-referenced letters). That said, I do believe that each of us has a right to enjoy the lake and its bounty in the way that our property rights guarantee.
This brings me to the matter of the buoy line of your swim area, always colorfully visible from my north-facing terrace, but in previous years concealed from the view of Zenith House’s main, east-facing deck. A clever, intentional bit of design by Mr. van der Rohe.
As mentioned and soon to be measured by my attorneys, this line has moved a considerable distance since the beginning of last summer and is now in plain view when sitting on the southern expanse of my primary outdoor living space. And as delightful as it is to witness the children splashing, we do value peace and a harmonious nature-centric vista when relaxing out of doors at Zenith House.
Also, there is the matter of the clear and obvious encroachment on the property line between our two parcels. And while I am willing to tolerate certain trespasses, this one does go a step too far.
Anyway, I’m certain a couple of old Deerfield men can resolve this amicably, and Narcissa insists that you and Molly come up to the house for dinner so that we can discuss it over steaks and a bottle of good red. Casual, of course, so you’ll be comfortable.
This Wednesday at seven? Please write or call to confirm with my secretary, Dolores (cc’d).
All the best,
Lucius A. Malfoy
cc: Dolores Umbridge
CAMP PIGWIDGEON
10 Mill Rd.
Black Lake, NY
Thursday June 26, 1986
Mr. Lucius A. Malfoy
6 Mill Rd.
Black Lake, NY
Re: Property Line/Buoy Line
Dear Mr. Malfoy,
My father, Arthur Weasley, is currently out of town. I am temporarily responsible for operations in his absence, so I’ve taken the liberty of responding directly to your most recent letter.
If our buoys were indeed in breach of the property line as you suggest, I would be happy to move them. However, I have surveyed them myself on more than one occasion — you may have observed me double-checking my measurements yesterday — and I can assure you that: 1) the buoys have not changed position in the past five years; 2) when checked against the county property maps, the buoys are in fact two feet east of your property line. I believe that natural lake shore erosion over the years, as well as renovations and additions to Zenith House, may have lead to the illusion that the buoys’ positions have shifted, which, I can assure you after rigorous confirmation, they have not.
I am inclined to concede the two feet in favor of neighborliness for the duration of the season, but the camp cannot in good conscience surrender any more land than that. I also believe it would be excessive to ask you to move the security fence on the southern portion of your property west by two feet to respect the legal property line. However, perhaps we can revisit the issue in the future and return to the proper boundaries with regards to the north lawns and the lake, as detailed on the enclosed Xerox of the aforementioned county property maps. I do hope these documents will lay the matter to rest.
If you would prefer I forward this response to your legal representation instead of corresponding with you directly in future, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Percy I. Weasley
Interim Director of Operations
Camp Pigwidgeon
June 27, 1986
Zenith House
Number 6 Mill Road
Black Lake, NY
Master Weasley,
How amusing that you’re old enough to write letters and conduct camp business. Are you in law school now? It seems like just yesterday that you were hiding behind your mother when she came up to deliver our half of the yearly apple windfall. Of course that was before your family decided to cut down the orchard to build those additional cabins, another issue on which the Weasleys and Malfoys disagreed.
But that is in the not so distant past. We are, apparently, corresponding about the present issue.
Regarding your measurements — is that what you were doing on my property the other day? — I think it shows a nice bit of self-sufficiency that you attempted to do them yourself. I’m sure that’s a quality that serves you well in your position. However, there are professionals who are trained to do such things and I’ve happily undertaken the cost of hiring several to make an accurate survey. I have no doubt that the results will clarify things for you.
As for your interesting theories about erosion and renovations, they are just that, interesting — but sadly, not accurate. The mud and soil survey I performed when I put in my pitching green showed minimal changes to the shoreline in the last three decades. And one does not renovate a Mies van der Rohe, so the structural shell of the house remains unchanged.
Thank you for your provision of a copy of the county property map, but I can assure you that Jack Beaufort is in possession of an original.
Sincerely,
Lucius A. Malfoy
cc: Dolores Umbridge,
John G. Beaufort II, Esq.
CAMP PIGWIDGEON
10 Mill Rd.
Black Lake, NY
Saturday June 28, 1986
Mr. Lucius A. Malfoy
6 Mill Rd.
Black Lake, NY
Re: Property Line Dispute and Survey
Dear Mr. Malfoy,
While I cannot speak to the matter of the orchard — as you have yourself observed, I was a child at the time and had no hand in the decision-making process — I can assure you that I am now a legal adult perfectly capable of conducting business. In answer to your question, I am currently completing my pre-law undergraduate degree and plan to attend law school after I graduate.
Regarding the issue at hand: I assure you that I was not on your property but rather on the edge of the camp property, as delineated on the county maps. While I appreciate your offer of hiring professional surveyors, there is of course the question of fairness and bias when one party is selecting and paying for private surveyors out of pocket. I have contacted Barty Crouch from the county surveyor’s office to conduct a survey on Monday June 30, 1986; as it is his duty as a public officer to make a fair judgment and his paycheck comes from the local government, I am confident that he will make a correct and unbiased determination.
I’ve attached some publicly available data about changes to Black Lake’s shoreline over the past forty years for you to review at your leisure. I value correctness above all other things, and I would be genuinely very interested in reviewing the data from your recent mud and soil survey, if you are inclined to share it.
One final thought: though I fully trust that the structural shell remains unchanged, I have observed some rather extensive expansions and modifications to the various porches, decks, and terraces of Zenith House in recent years, and as those are the areas that you mentioned noticing the difference from, it may be worth considering that those changes bear some part in your perception of the location of the buoys.
Sincerely,
Percy I. Weasley
Interim Director of Operations
Camp Pigwidgeon
July 2, 1986
Zenith House
Number 6 Mill Road
Black Lake, NY
Master Weasley,
Pre-law; how nice. Funny that I had both underestimated and overestimated your age. When will your father return from his travels? While corresponding with you has been a delight, I do worry that you may not have the authority to make a true completion to the matter, and my time is valuable.
Anyway, now that both surveys have been performed, I think anyone will see from the comparison that the buoys must be moved. Additionally, I’m sure you’ll agree that Sunday’s unfortunate incident involving the canoe of boisterous campers and my dock will underline the need for a more distant cushion between my property and your… activities.
I’m willing to overlook the damage, but the fact that Narcissa had to chaperone three rowdy boys (an individual named Joshua, I’m told, was a particular challenge) for nearly twenty minutes while she waited for your arrival is a touch beyond the pale. My wife is of a delicate temperament and has not been used to such impositions.
I’m simply champing at the bit to wrap up this affair and forestall further intrusions. My groundskeeping crew is in place to move the anchor poles of the buoy line on Monday.
Sincerely,
Lucius A. Malfoy
cc: Dolores Umbridge,
John G. Beaufort II, Esq.
CAMP PIGWIDGEON
10 Mill Rd.
Black Lake, NY
Tuesday July 8, 1986
Mr. Lucius A. Malfoy
6 Mill Rd.
Black Lake, NY
Re: Unauthorized Buoy Line Relocation and Canoe/Dock Collision
Dear Mr. Malfoy,
As our multiple face-to-face conversations over the weekend have led to no resolution, I am writing as a courtesy to let you know that, after your grounds crew insisted on moving the anchor poles without our permission in the midst of the 1986 Camp Pigwidgeon All-Camp Water Olympics, our own staff will be restoring the buoys to their correct location this afternoon. I am disregarding your litigious comments made yesterday, on the grounds that they were largely nugatory; being splashed, though sometimes unpleasant, is in no way punishable by law, and I am sure your employees would not have been splashed by our campers had they not insisted on continuing their work, against the repeated urgings of our staff, in the middle of the cannonball competition.
I would also like to reiterate, on paper, that I would appreciate it if you would not shout at our staff (including but not limited to myself) in front of the campers in future.
Though the results of Barty Crouch’s survey would justify extending the buoy line further east than it had been, I am willing to compromise by simply returning the buoys to their most recent previous location, ceding the two feet in question. This splits the difference of the four-foot strip that the two surveys disagree on.
While making such authorizations falls fully within the scope of my temporary position (please see attached position description), I understand that you are more comfortable working with my father. He has been briefed on the situation and is on board with the plan to return the buoys to the place they were before you moved them. I believe he left a telephone message to this effect with your secretary, Ms. Umbridge.
Once again, I do sincerely apologize for the unfortunate collision between the campers’ canoe and your dock. Your dismay is certainly justified; if it gives you any consolation, it is my understanding that the canoe suffered far more damage than your dock. While I appreciate your willingness to overlook the damages, our insurance exists for precisely this sort of incident, and I will be making a report to our insurance company tomorrow. I can easily submit a claim along with it if you can furnish me with evidence of physical damage totaling at least $100.
Concerning your verbal claims of “emotional damages” and “gross negligence,” our counselors and a trained lifeguard were immediately on hand; however, your wife insisted on waiting until I arrived to relinquish care of the campers. As I was conducting an inspection on the far end of the property, it took perhaps a quarter of an hour for me to get back to the dock.
I confess I was surprised by your implication that the event caused your wife undue duress. When I stopped by to apologize to her personally, she was most gracious and assured me that it was no trouble at all.
Please thank her (and Cam!) again for the refreshments and for hosting me so generously. I’m sorry I missed you during my visit; I believe you were out golfing.
On a final, less practical note: I will not begrudge Frost that good fences make good neighbors, but there are bound to be occasional trespasses. There are buoy lines and drifting boats (and Narcissa’s floating tanning dock, which has, more than once, caused considerable disruption when it has drifted astray and become entangled in the cordons of our swim area). Though our families have not always seen eye to eye, I do hope that we can return to occasionally crossing oars without necessarily crossing swords.
In regards to the contested four-foot strip of property — and any other places where our own oars may have crossed — I would venture that we could each lay equal claim.
Sincerely,
Percy I. Weasley
Interim Director of Operations
Camp Pigwidgeon
PS: If you do still have the results of your aforementioned putting green mud and soil survey, I would truly be very interested in obtaining that data.
July 10, 1986
John G. Beaufort, Esq.
Beaufort and Beaufort, LLP
1 Sorrel Avenue
Black Lake, NY
In Re: Malfoy-Black Trust vs. Camp Pigwidgeon, LLC Docket Number: 50074432
Dear Sirs,
In the matter of the property line dispute between Camp Pigwidgeon, LLC and my client, Lucius A. Malfoy, please direct all further communication to this office.
Sincerely,
John G. Beaufort II, Esq.
Partner, Beaufort & Beaufort, LLP