People from all over the U.S. and Canada take a boat up the St. Lawrence River to visit the Thousand Islands and one island in particular—Heart Island. It may seem insignificant, but there is a love story more beautiful and heart-breaking than any sappy Nicholas Sparks novel you could pick up. The story begins with a man named George Boldt who fell in love with a woman named Louise.
The two met when he began to work with her father in hotel management and later they fell in love. Louise and George later married and their lives became busy with managing hotels and raising a family of their own. George wanted to make it up to Louise so he purchased Hart Island on the St. Lawrence River and changed the spelling, as he was planning to construct the island in the shape of a heart. He began having a castle built for his wife as a Valentine's Day present and as a getaway for the two and their children. George Boldt wanted the castle to be built for his wife to make up for any time the two spent apart while running hotels and whatnot. Imagine: your significant other buys an island, has the island shaped into a heart, and then builds a castle on the island, all for Valentine's Day!
However, Mrs. Boldt never received this lavish and heartfelt gift from her husband, because when it was 90 percent done and only a month away from that special date, she died of tuberculosis. George was heartbroken and sent a telegram to the workers to stop. The castle ceased construction and no one was allowed on the island. After decades of it falling into ruin, the castle fell into ownership of the Thousand Islands Authority and began reconstruction of the castle. It is a popular attraction in the Thousand Islands and truly a wonder to see.
Walking through some of the unfinished rooms of the grand castle makes the mind wonder what each room would have been. Would they have been secret hiding places for the children on rainy days and store millions of memories over the years? Then there are the rooms that have recently been finished such as Mr. and Mrs. Boldt's suites, the kitchen, the dining room, the library, the ballroom, etc.
How many times would the castle be filled with the laughter of the children as they ran in from the outside for lunch?
Are these rooms where they would all retire for the day and get ready for the grandiose parties in the evening?
Would Mr. and Mrs. Boldt be the last two in the ballroom after a long party, just dancing quietly and enjoying one another's company?
How many beautiful and memorable memories would the family have had? We may never fully know the answer to that question and can make many presumptions as we wish. For now, it is just great to enjoy the magnificence of the castle, the island itself, and the love George Boldt had for his wife, Louise.
