A Groton Inn Remembrance

I have hesitated writing this for a long time, but realize that at some point it has to be said.

The Inn had been closed for seven years – Bob and I and our combined family (yours, mine and ours) lived in Groton, and every time we passed the Inn Bob would say that it should be open. We contacted the owner and when we walked through it I noticed the graffiti (some young people had partied in there after closure) but I also noticed that what furniture was there was good, it just needed attention. I loved everything about the Inn – and we bought it, in 1967. Then, it was just “that old inn in Groton” – there was no history.

It took us a little over a year to do over every ceiling, floor, wall (found the Rufus Porter mural under four layers of wallpaper, and the Indian shutters in another room tucked into the wall), rewire, replumb, redo the heating system, paint, carpet, refinish the furniture, upholster, and go to antique auctions to purchase furnishings that should have been in the Inn over the years.

At the same time we were noticing certain things about the Inn, architectural and obvious. Found references to them in books about Groton and histories – even in the town vault. Mrs. Virginia May, Town Diarist and historian helped us with the history that was sent to the National Register for Historic Places (without her we could never have done it) and the Inn was accepted August 3, 1976.

For our grand re-opening, two regiments of Minute Men marched into town in full uniform, our staff was in Colonial costumes, our menu was appropriate, TV stations were there (the Groton Historical Society has the tapes), and Bob was put in stock on the front lawn while one of the soldiers ran a pair of boxer shorts up the flagpole.

We had a busy inn with 15 guest rooms (the numbers ran up to 22), a busy dining room serving three meals a day, seven days a week including holidays, a busy bar with a small piano and resident guitar that guests often played. Both schools sent their parents to us and we became friends with many of them. If you have seen the pictures of the Inn when we were there, it was not “the junk” the Mr. Pergantis refers to every time he talks to a reporter.

The Coach House was the Outt (“It’s in to be out at the Outt at the Inn”) where we had one or two weddings every weekend (then it was referred to as “The Bloomerie”) plus Joe Sheppard’s band, singing waitresses and waiters. old-time movies, the rubber chicken and requests on the clothesline on weekend nights. It was a fun place to be.

Bob and I loved what we were doing – our workday was from 6 a.m. to 1:30 a.m.. There were guests who became our good friends. We lived on the property so we were near our children and saw them often, some of them working at the Inn for pay, like any other teenager.

In 1975, a man and a familiar looking lady came into the Inn one afternoon and started walking through the rooms. After a while, they stopped at the front desk and I asked if I could help them. The man introduced himself as David Pallion and said that he wanted to buy the Inn. “It’s not for sale”. “You don’t understand. I want to buy the Inn.” I laughed and said again, “It’s not for sale.” “Everybody has their price.” “We don’t.” And I turned away thinking how rude he was.

About a week later, he was again at the front desk – and this time he had an offer – half of the appraised value of the Inn. I smiled at him and told him it was not for sale, would not be for sales, and if he wanted to buy an Inn I was sure that he would find another one that was for sale. “I want to buy this one.” “It’s NOT for sale!”

I think a week passed when the lady that had been with Mr. Pallion the first time, came into the Inn, introduced herself as Rosemary Kerry of the Groton Board of Health and said that we had a seepage in our septic field. Bob went to the area where she found it and told me later that it looked like a square with corners. We couldn’t understand any seepage when we had a contract for maintenance pumping of the septic from the day our dining room opened.

The Nashoba Board of Health then appeared at the Inn front desk and said that the septic would have to be replaced, and closed our dining rooms and guest rooms stating that they would have to stay closed until there was a new septic – and we were served with a formal notice. The Nashoba Board of Health also insisted that we deal only with a named Boston firm for septic design – the price in 1975-76 was $30,000. The Groton Board of Selectmen told us that they would take our liquor license if we did not install the new septic and the bar was our only income. We had to take on a second mortgage to put in the septic.

The Boston Globe had a front page story, complete with a half-page colored picture of the Inn. A gentleman from Lexington offered to cut the Inn into six pieces and move it to Lexington, saying the Town of Groton did not deserve it. We declined.

The harassment began. Two or three members of the Nashoba Board of Health would come into the bar near noontime – one time one of them said to a guest “It’s unhealthy to drink in here with a putrid septic”. The police chief, Mayo A. Darling, insisted that the septic trucks clean their tires before leaving any dirt on Main Street – his red MAD car followed our children. Our lawyer, a former employer and a judge, went before the Board of Selectmen and was amazed at their attitude, set jaws, and set minds. And he put a lawsuit in motion in the court system.

We couldn’t meet our mortgages and the second loan holder (Triumph Mortgage) sent in a “Keeper” who took our income every night. He was there ten days when we received notice of a foreclosure auction in two weeks, and then that was moved up three days. We didn’t have time to do anything.

There were several people at the auction, two were active bidders, David Pallion and George Pergantis – George was top bidder for $137,000 and, as the bid wasn’t high enough, he was asked if he wanted to bid on the contents too. – he said “No”. So the contents went to David Pallion for $5,000, he wanted the kitchen equipment and dining room furniture for a restaurant for his son-in-law (we heard it opened in Acton or Littleton and failed within a year). Mr. Pallion stripped the Inn of all its original furniture, even attached items, and everything we had purchased – and sold all of it at an auction in the Coach House.

Two days after the Inn auction we left the parking lot with our children, two cars, two cats, two dogs, followed by our household furnishings in a borrowed apple truck – and $1,500 – all that we had in this world. Our children were ripped from their home and their friends with two days notice. We headed to Maine to stay with Bob’s parents – and started over again.

We left the Inn on July 24, 1976 and the Inn was accepted into the National Register on August 3, 1976, with George Pergantis claiming the certificate in the mail.

Almost six months to the day, we received a telephone call from our lawyer. The Town of Groton had been found to “have practiced gross illegalities”. He told us to go back and reclaim the Inn, the Town of Groton would be paying a large settlement for what their officials had done.

The septic installer had signed a sworn statement stating there was nothing wrong with our septic system. Somebody had deliberately poured oil in a pattern on top of the septic – the sun caused the oil to spread. He also added that there was no way the Board of Selectmen could have touched our liquor license – they did not have the authority. We had been “set up”.

I collapsed in tears to the floor – and I knew I could never go back to the Inn. Everything we had worked so hard for was gone.

One of our children decided that Bob would enjoy his 80th birthday party at the Inn and the rest of them went along with her. Neither of us remember what we ate or what the Inn looked like – we just wanted to get out of there and go back to Maine.

Yes, Rosemary Kerry was John Kerry’s mother. And every time I heard him say on his “run-for-President” campaign trail that his mother taught him to be an honorable man, I wanted to gag. She wanted the Inn for her friend David Pallion – no matter what it cost us.

Another political note. One of your selectmen in 1976 went on to bigger and better things. Had I known that he had such aspirations, I would have flooded the media with Letters to the Editors. Knowing what he had done and feeling it was time that he made up for it, I called him and asked if he would speak to George Pergantis about doing only a controlled demolition. Gloria told me that he said, “I don’t know why Pat called me after what we did to her”.

And, one of your present town officials asked me why we “sold the Inn to George”.

I think that says it all.

Except that town officials failed the Inn in 1976 and again in 2011. They have had opportunities to change the demolition permit to a forensic demolition or controlled demolition – and have not done it. Can they do it now? Is it too late? Thirty percent of the Inn building is viable – the first floor and the second floor façade – and should be saved. The oldest Inn in America deserves better.

Pat Frazer

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