In its third outing last Sunday (September 3, 2023), chaired by Elizabeth Mayhew with Christopher Spitzmiller and Anthony Bellomo, the event was the largest ever and, once again, completely sold out.
Wethersfield Estate & Garden is a 1,000-acre sanctuary of conserved land that has been given to the community by Chauncey Devereaux Stillman. A unique treasure with a formal Italian Renaissance Garden on a hilltop with astonishing vistas of the Taconic Hills, the Berkshires, and the Catskills. It boasts more than twenty miles of
trails for equestrian sport, hiking and cross-country skiing and a Carriage House Museum with 22 antique carriages – the finest in the world.
AMENIA, NY – SEPTEMBER 3: Olga Sweet, Barbara Tober and Tara Shafer (Photo by Patrick McMullan/PMC/PMC)
Marion deVogel presented The Spirit of Wethersfield Award to Barbara Tober for her tireless devotion to preserving the beauty and accessibility of Wethersfield explaining, “In 2017, when Wethersfield needed help, Barbara was at the front of the line, contributing her immense wisdom…With Barbara’s encouragement and underwriting, bridle trails have been rebuilt, carriage driving competitions and exhibitions have returned, seasonal dance, art, and music performances has been added for adults and children – AND – this year, Barbara contributed the largest unrestricted gift to Wethersfield, for, in her words, ‘whatever Wethersfield needs’ and to inspire others in our community to give.”
In accepting the award, Barbara Tober recalled how she and her much loved late husband, Donald, discovered Wethersfield on horseback, with The Millbrook Hunt. Wearing a Gabriela Hearst dress and picture hat, she was clearly moved by the long-standing ovation by more than 350 guests.
(Photo by Patrick McMullan/PMC)
She also talks about her many years spent in Millbrook (bought their farm in 1981) – the fun, as she said was in discovering new trails. In those days, there was a lot of open lanes and open grass, making it a glorious place to discover all kinds of things. On one of their adventures, Mrs. Tober and her Late husband, decided to go north, and they kept going until they reached the beautiful place known as Wethersfield. As they weaved through all the statues in the back, they learned it was a wild and beautiful place, despite the community becoming much more civilized now, they loved it for what it was, is and promises to continue to be.
“Barbara is a singular force. Her support of Wethersfield is beautiful, her giving is generous, and her efforts have led to the making of something timeless,” added Tara Shafer, Wethersfield’s Executive Director and eldest granddaughter of the estate’s founder, Chauncey Stillman, “I want to be Barbara Tober when I grow up”. She presented Barbara Tober with a portrait, still wet from the studio, by Olga Sweet, who’s paintings of George H. W. Bush and Colin Powell hang in the National Portrait Gallery.
She took us through the history of how Wethersfield became synonymous with the historic art of carriage riding and how they fought to retain that history. “It’s a place that has grown up, in some ways maybe more than what Chauncey [Stillman] may not recognize it. He saw it as his refuge and right now Wethersfield is not a farm, it’s not an estate, it’s not even a brilliantly planned garden, it’s a national treasure, even if you don’t realize it yet, everyone here today is a part of the future of this national treasure.”
She continues to say, “it is your community, your open lakes and streams and beautiful places to walk [around in] and enjoy, so it’s really important to recognize and appreciate the beauty of the carriages and the beauty of the history. Not enough books have been written about this. It does represent a very elegant and beautiful past but it has an equally elegant and noble future for us to continue to enjoy as time goes by.”
The guests included Wethersfield Board members Nancy Hathaway, Kelly Morgan, Farnham Collins, Bernadette Murray, Candace Platt, Stanley Stillman, Jacqueline Thorne, George Whalen, IV; Friends of Wethersfield Carolina Gunnarsson Kim, Meghan Klopp, Deanna Mulligan, Bernadette Murray, Claire Mann, and Barbara Tober (honoree); as well as, CeCe Cord, Julie and Jim Dale, Lacey Schwartz Delgado (Second Lady of New York State), James Brayton Hall, Mary Hilliard, Fernanda Kellogg and Kirk Henckels, Karen Klopp (last year’s co-chair), Peter Lyden, Katie Ridder and Peter Pennoyer, Carolyne Roehm, Robert Rufino, Mish Tworkowski and Joseph Singer, Whit Stillman, Jill and Peter Kraus, Hilarie Burton Morgan, Kalliope and Michael Rena, Alese Fisher Tallman, Ashley Whittaker, and Pam Taylor Yates. Tim Mayhew proved auctioneer extraordinaire, proving heavy bidding for four fabulous exclusive items.
Generous sponsors included The Bank of Millbrook, George T. Whalen Real Estate, Nargi Landscaping, and Schumacher.
Wethersfield thanks the Garden Conservancy for its support of the preservation of Wethersfield Garden as one of America’s finest.
Wethersfield Estate & Garden is on the National Register of Historic Places. See www.wethersfield.org
