Have we ever told you about our amazing staff at our Maryland bed and breakfast??
To run a place like the Brampton it takes a lot of quiet magic behind the scene and our staff is really good. I’m listing them by seniority:
First there is Manick Burton, our gardener and weekend breakfast server. Manick started working for us in the last millennium, 1999 to be exact. She is the lady with the charming French accent. She has an amazing gift with flowers and we have been lucky to have her take care of them in the garden. In her spare time she is a wonderful potter.
Then there is Carole Baxter, the breakfast chef and the genie behind the cakes, cookies, pies, muffins, scones etc. We can blame her for all those broken New Year’s resolutions! She has been keeping the cookie jar full for 10+ years now.
Rita Scardino, is our innkeeper extraordinaire. She is the one who answers the phone most days and you’ll recognize her by her wicked sense of humor. She also cooks breakfast, is the perfect wedding coordinator and keeps everybody organized. Mostly me 🙂 She joined us in 2006.
Tara Hanifee and Jen Russum are our hardworking housekeepers. These ladies know how to keep the rooms and the inn clean and sparkling.
The newest additions to our team are Lucas Hanscom and Rachel Jorgenson. Technically Luke is our most senior employee. He started as a teenager when we bought Brampton in 1987. He is Michael’s son and was put to work right away cutting grass, chopping wood, making fires, serving breakfast etc. After graduating from High School, he left. Quickly. College was calling on the West Coast. Who could blame him! However, his memory is playing tricks on him because now he is back cutting grass, chopping wood, making fires, serving breakfast etc. This time with great enthusiasm. He is very interested in continuing the hospitality at the Brampton. Luckily he met Rachel. In Chestertown of all places! They are a wonderful couple and Rachel joined us last summer as an innkeeper. She is a natural at this job. She and Rita take turns assisting and looking after our guests.
Michael and I are slowly pulling away more and more from the day to day operation at the inn, but we are sill popping our heads in regularly and Michael is still the handyman. Nobody knows Brampton, with its quirkiness, better than he does.