"In the spring of 1984, Dad (Grandpa Trent) was coaxed out of retirement by a friend who started a construction company and wanted him to go to Vermont to supervise the restoration of a vacant & decaying historical hotel. He told me that there was a job for me too so we jumped in the car & headed off to Manchester Village. Three hours later we pulled up in front of the job...The Equinox Hotel. I couldn't believe the size of the place. I remember thinking this must have been something in its heyday; it was amazing! I was only supposed to be there for a few weeks, to secure the building for safety issues & to clean up. When cleaning, I came across thousands of daily dinner menus from the early 1900s that we were told to throw out. I decided to keep one; one that had been printed on Aug 15, 1900. I selected that one because it was my niece Cara's birthday. Little did I know that six years later my daughter Kirstin would also be born on that day. After 3 weeks of work, I was asked if I wanted to stay longer. I agreed & rented an apartment right behind the hotel. This time, I was to collect samples of trim & hardware so they could be matched/reproduced for historical preservation. This was, and still is, the biggest project I've ever been involved with. Things were going well until one day in January 1985 when a fire broke out & destroyed most of the South Wing. We had to demolish & rebuild again. While in Manchester, I golfed at the hotel course, fished the Battenkill, swam in the marble quarry, & went rock climbing in the Green Mountains. It was nice there, sometimes I think I should have stayed. I never would have imagined that 36 years later, Kirstin & Jak would be getting married there. It would be great if Dad could be here to witness this, but I'm sure he'll be watching from above & I know that he's as proud of her as I am, and that he would be as impressed with Jak as I am. I can't wait to go back for the wedding and to relive old memories." - Rich Bibbiani

Jak's grandparents, Bernard & Mary Kelley, were married on Saturday, November 13, 1948.