Ralph Bowden

The Treasure of Parkhurst Ralph Bowden

Gladys, the narrator, and her husband Ray are maid and groundsman for a retired doctor in an upscale neighborhood on the north shore of Long Island. They lose their position when the doctor and his wife move to a retirement home. Similar jobs are few in 1953. The only advertisement Gladys, finds is for a couple to be caretakers for a mansion/estate farther out on the north shore built by a robber baron in the 1890s. Sold to a mafia-related bootlegger in 1930, it has been essentially empty for a decade. A preservation foundation now owns it. Gladys has reservations. The estate, Parkhurst, is isolated, barely accessible, and remote from her roots in urban Nassau county, but it's the only option. After upgrading and renovations, they move into the old caretakers cottage. The creepy history is still alive, however, and provides Gladys with many challenges and opportunities to discover inner resources as she helps untangle the Parkhurst heritage and remaining issues.