A Lodge, a Legacy, and a Little Mentone Magic

Nippersink Begins a New Chapter

Some places people choose, and others somehow choose them. For Paula and Tom Bouffard, Nippersink Lodge may be a little of both. The historic Mentone lodge on the banks of Little River has been welcoming friends since 1935, its stone walls, rustic timbers, and great room holding generations of memories. Built largely with materials from Lookout Mountain, it became a country inn in the 1940s and remained a beloved gathering place through generations of owners and guests.

Now the Bouffards have taken their place in that long story — not with the intention of rewriting it, but of lovingly adding another chapter.

“We want to honor the history and honor all that has brought it to where it is and add to that,” Tom said. That philosophy can be seen throughout the lodge today, where an extensive renovation brought modern comfort and updated infrastructure while preserving the details that have made Nippersink familiar to generations of visitors.

The path that brought the Bouffards there, however, was anything but planned.

Paula was born in Washington, D.C., while Tom grew up in Waterbury, Connecticut. Their lives crossed in Washington in 1982, when a friend invited them both to a Thanksgiving gathering. “It was history after that,” Paula said.

Tom built a career as a structural engineer, designing buildings and eventually becoming a partner in his firm. Paula worked for Merrill Lynch until the birth of their first child, then turned her attention to what Tom describes as another kind of small business: running a household that eventually included five children.

They raised their family in Hamilton, Virginia, in Loudoun County horse country, where neighbors had horses and the Bouffards had a full house. Later, after their children were grown, they moved to a condominium in downtown Leesburg, Virginia, where restaurants, coffee shops, and stores were just a walk away.

Mentone entered their lives through family. Their oldest son, Alexander, married Haley Manning, whose family is from the area. The couple’s rehearsal dinner was held on the porch of the Mentone Springs Hotel, and the Bouffards began making trips to the mountain. Years later, Alexander and Haley would settle in Valley Head with their own growing family. (Haley is owner of the popular Valley Head Bread.)

There was no immediate revelation for Paula that she, too, belonged on Lookout Mountain. In fact, her first reaction was nearly the opposite. After one visit, she remembers wondering if she could ever make the drastic transition from city life to mountain life.

As Tom began looking toward retirement, the couple found themselves wondering what the next season of life might hold. They had already begun simplifying life in Virginia, but neither was looking for conventional retirement.

One day, while visiting family near Mentone, Paula stayed at the Winston House in Valley Head. “I thought, ‘That’s a cool idea. Take an old place and breathe life into it,’” she recalled. She mentioned the thought to Steve Manning, Haley’s father and a real estate agent, and asked whether there were other old properties nearby that might offer that sort of opportunity. Among the names he mentioned was Nippersink. Paula began searching for it on her phone.

Then came one of those little moments she still remembers as part of the magic of how it all happened. She was in Florida when she finally connected by phone with then-owner Theresa Cox. When Paula first came to see Nippersink in person, she brought Alexander and Haley with her. “Our son had this delight in his face and in his eyes,” Paula remembered. “And he was like, oh my goodness, Mom, this is so wonderful.”

She watched him take in the relationship between the lodge and the river, and something shifted. “He just had this joy in his eyes and in his face.”

The property had reached a point where it needed loving attention. Tom, with four decades of structural engineering experience behind him, saw what he calls the “good bones” and possibilities of the property. “I started to see this as a new direction,” Tom said. Those bones — and the history they held — mattered to the Bouffards. Nippersink was built in 1935 as a summer gathering place, with local stonework and timber and a great stone fireplace anchoring its soaring great room. It later became a country inn. Through the decades, families returned year after year; weddings were celebrated there; people danced on the porch; and young summer workers left their names behind on walls and woodwork.

As the Bouffards began meeting people around Mentone, they discovered just how personal that history was. “That’s truly been the best part of this process, running into people and hearing what it means to them,” Paula said. People have stopped by with stories about childhood vacations, weddings, and summers spent at the lodge. The Bouffards found old poems and letters from former guests describing the flowers, the spirit of Nippersink, and the pull that brought them back. One visitor summed up what the preservation meant to longtime guests when she walked through the renewed lodge and told Paula, through tears, “I’m so glad you didn’t ruin it.” That was precisely what the Bouffards hoped to avoid.

Working with contractor Chris Jones of Tucker Hudson Construction and local craftsmen, they embarked on what Tom calls “a labor of love.” Electrical and plumbing systems were replaced; a new roof and windows were installed; insulation was added; and heating and cooling were introduced so the lodge could comfortably welcome guests beyond its traditional three-season schedule. Bathrooms were renewed for modern use while retaining period character such as the claw foot tubs and pedestal sinks.

No decision was too small. When a door was needed, Jones built one to match the lodge’s existing doors instead of simply installing a modern replacement. Another old door covered with the names of generations of young people who had worked at Nippersink was preserved and incorporated into the renovated building.

Those details appeal particularly to Paula, whose creativity seems tailor-made for a place where the old and handmade matter. “I feel like my inner spirit is a hippy artist,” she said. Paula creates stunning wood burnings depicting nature scenes and the lodge itself. She also knits and she is quick to try just about any creative pursuit that catches her attention. She has embraced Mentone’s arts community, taking local classes in basket-making and other hands-on crafts and eyeing still more classes she would like to try.

“Anything that I can get my hands on to do creatively, I’ll try,” she said. The lodge itself, on a much grander scale, has become “a great canvas,” she added.

A Big Move

The transition from Northern Virginia to rural Lookout Mountain was a real adjustment, Paula admits. But now, “Would I go back? Absolutely not.” The people here have been a large part of that successful transition. “We love the art community and we love how generous everyone is here,” Paula said. And family is closer now. Three of the Bouffards’ five children live within relatively easy reach — their son Alexander in Valley Head and two daughters in Franklin, Tennessee — making Nippersink not only an inn, but the large family gathering place Paula had imagined when she first began to see its possibilities.

For Tom, Nippersink offers the special endeavor he needed on the other side of a long career. “I feel like we’ve always said for Tom that he couldn’t retire to nothing,” Paula said. “He needed to retire to something.” He isn’t officially retired yet, but the pace of the mountain is starting to feel like his natural habitat. His smile and warm handshake reflect his ease in his new home.

The couple is discovering that innkeeping gives them something they were seeking at this point in their lives: a way to give back — to give something special to visitors and residents. They’ve heard the stories of people who came before them, preserved the marks those guests left behind, and added their own careful touches.

Now fresh breakfasts are coming from Paula’s kitchen. Rows of fresh peaches line one counter, awaiting her mother’s peach preserve recipe that no biscuit can resist. Homemade scones are a regular menu item, and her newest creation, “Nipperskillets,” are baked and served in individual cast-iron skillets — a mouthwatering combination of fresh eggs, herbs, vegetables, cheese, and seasonal additions.

Guests can once again linger in the great room, admire original pieces of furniture here and there throughout the B&B, and sip coffee on the screened porch, where Little River still flows past the lodge just as it has for generations.

Somehow, a couple who once thought they were meant for city life have become caretakers of a place people have loved for nearly a century. Asked whether Nippersink might be where their own story ultimately settles, Paula wouldn’t predict the future. But she allowed herself one hope: “It would be a sweet, sweet end to the story.”

For booking information and to read more about the history of the lodge and see fascinating photographs from the past, visit the lodge website: https://nippersinklodgebb.com/.