About the Developers:
Jim & Peggy Bleckov
Not a large corporation, not a big contracting company, just a couple from Seattle – a carpenter and his wife (Jim and Peggy) looking to create a new life style.
A return to summers at the beach in the 50s.
That was pretty much the vision we had when, in 1995, we bought our undeveloped 4 acres of ocean front property located right in the middle of the Long Beach Peninsula.
The fond childhood memories from my summers in Seattle were the weeks typically spent at the beach.
I loved those times – the smell of the woods and the salt air mingled, creating a magical spell, the blackberries and huckleberries and of course the treasures waiting to be found in the sand deposited by the incoming tide. My sister and I would spend hours and hours happily collecting small shells and peeking under little rocks hoping to find a “sea creature”! - Something that delights me to this day, as well as the whole new expanse of beach to explore at low tide...
Our family beach vacations occasionally took us to the Oregon coast, Cannon Beach was a favorite. The town of Long Beach (just 7 miles south of Blackwood Beach Cottages) was also a favorite.
Mostly, we spent many glorious weeks looking back at Seattle from a prime spot called Wing Point on Bainbridge Island.
At that time there were a group of about 8 houses that probably dated back to the 20’s or 30’s. They seemed old, comfortable and very beachy smelling to me, permeated with years of aromatic driftwood burning in the fireplaces and in some cases the old cook stoves! I was all of about 4 years old with my first recollection of this wonderful place.
The same families would come every year. The wives and children settled in for the summer, the fathers would stay in town during the week, and then ride the ferry from Seattle over to the Island for the weekend.
Many good times, simple pleasures and precious memories.
Fast forward to 1994. In an effort to live a less hectic yet more rewarding life, my husband and I began a year and a half search to find a spot where we would choose to relocate. Finally we came upon this wonderful undeveloped woodsy property at the oceans edge on the Long Beach Peninsula and proceeded to build a small cluster of beach homes modeled very much after the summer retreat of my childhood.
A second generation carpenter, my husband Jim’s expertise of 30 years in construction brought our plan to life. Jim’s father delighted in watching our progress! The fun began with the planning and vision, followed by lots of hard work to create this wonderful atmosphere and community of unrivaled charm, which has garnered many, many winning, accolades over the last ten years.
Our new career emerged - Innkeepers! We specialized in a very personal setting, renting our cottages to an exclusive clientele. At the ten-year mark our plan would move to the next phase - sell our beautifully maintained cottages to private owners. The plan has been smoothly completed and now there are just a few cottages left! The cottage owners share the western most acre of the property, while Jim and I retain the other 3 acres as a private reserve.
–Peggy Bleckov
