Above Ground and Counting: Lunch with Madame Sherri

September 25, 2012

Madame Antoinette Sherri summered in Chesterfield, New Hampshire for thirty years beginning in the late 1920’s. Her lifestyle was unlike anything the local residents of Brattleboro had seen before, and she soon became an exotic and mysterious figure in the region.
She was a music hall singer in Paris and married a silent film actor and theatrical producer. The couple became theatrical costume designers and opened a shop in New York City’s theater district.
Antoinette (Madame) Sherri first came to Chesterfield during the prohibition era to visit her friend Jack Henderson, a Broadway actor who summered and partied here. Her husband passed away in 1924 and Madame Sherri, in her 50’s by this time, bought a farm on the Gulf Road, as a place to build her summer home. Her entourage of beautiful young girls and handsome young men from New York, her 1927 cream colored Packard touring car and the seemingly endless supply of money fascinated the local residents. Her foreign accent, extravagant dress and the stone “castle” that she had built added to the growing legend.

Madame Sherri's castle was a wonder and a mystery to locals. It quickly became a blend of fact and fiction ... of imagination and speculation.

What stands in its place today are ruins. Maybe a ghost or two. And stories ... lots of stories.

Eric Stanway, a New Hampshire author, recently published a book called, "Madame Sherri", which purports to tell the story of Madame Sherri and her castle. We decided that in tribute to the legend, we would dress up and have a celebratory picnic at the site of the ruins.

I had a 1940's hat with a cool pheasant feather for Anne to wear. Madam Sherri was rumored to ramble around Brattleboro wearing a long mink coat and nothing else. I suggested a similar approach to Anne, but my idea fell on deaf ears. For myself, I had a old straw Stetson that I could wear with a black formal shirt I had in the closet. I decided that I needed a bow tie to complete the look. A visit to the flea market and fifty cents satisfied my need.

We chose a beautiful, sunny fall day, packed our picnic cooler, and headed for Madam Sherri Forest. Since it was fro Madame Sherri, we agreed that we definitely would need a candelabra as a centerpiece for the table.

For the picnic itself, we selected shrimp for the shrimp cocktail, olives , artesian cheese from the Crowley Farm, homemade pimento cheese and crackers, ham slices and ham sandwiches with homegrown tomato, dill pickles, Stets leon-lime soda, and iced tea. For dessert, we added cashew nuts, candied lemon wedges, and briscotta.

As a special treat, we topped it all off with Limoncello.

We met a guy that was filming some promos for a project that he hoped to find investors for. he was more than happy to take our picture just to get us out of his way.

Stomachs full, we decided to take a short hike in Madame Sherri Forest to Indian Lake. Along the way, a huge limb fell out a a tree onto the path in front of us. Was this some cosmic coincidence or a warning from Madame Sherri from the other side.

We quickly simulated what it would be like if I had arrived just moments earlier. Clearly, this was a cosmic message to me. However, I was sure that I detected a hint of a smile on Anne's lips. I checked the limb sections for saw marks and let it go.