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Waterford couple’s home well-known for hospitality

Photo by Janelle Patterson Roger and Shirley Doak laugh on their front porch swing in Waterford.

WATERFORD — A home in Waterford is a top 10 finalist in the Reader’s Digest “Nicest Place in America” contest.

The Roger and Shirley Doak home is the only residence on the list.

“The niceness is focused on how people treat people, you see lists all the time of best places to live focused on good schools, job prospects and easy commutes,” explained Editor-in-Chief Bruce Kelley. “But we wanted to focus on how people treat others.”

Kelley said the magazine, with a readership of over 19 million people, had 300 submissions for restaurants, towns, historical sites, schools and workplaces, but only one home-the Doak house.

“I’m still kind of at a loss for words,” said Shirley, 70. “It was such an honor to even be nominated for this.”

The Doaks were nominated by Lucinda Fleming, a long-time friend of their daughter Jennifer Young.

“My mom and my dad have always been welcoming to whomever we brought home or whoever stopped by,” explained Young, 45, of Waterford. “Just whoever needed a place, whether it was kids from church, travelling singing groups, or the ball teams, they all know my parents house because they’ve been here for dinner or Bible study or Sunday school.”

Young said that’s the way it’s always been, that there is always room for another at their dinner table.

“We’ve been known to sit at the table for hours, just bringing people together with no pretense, just talking,” said Shirley. “You don’t have to be an excellent cook, you just have to be willing to accept people for who they are, welcome them to the table and share a meal and conversation.”

“We just thought this is emblematic of what’s best in America,” said Kelley. “I feel like they are perfect, the example of what captures the experience of community and small town values in this nation especially at a time that’s so divisive.”

One weekend which has drawn generations of family and community from near and far to the Doak’s home takes place in late October or early November each year.

“Everyone gets their job in making the apple butter,” explained Roger Doak, 72. “Apple butter has been in the family for years… It was a family tradition in (Shirley’s) parents’ home and several family members would come in and enjoy it in the 1940s and 1950s. As her parents got older and passed away then she wanted to continue the tradition of getting the family together at our home.”

The couple prepares for the weekend each year with an order of eight to 12 bushels of apples placed with Wagner’s Fruit Farm in August. Then the week preceding the day of stirring in large kettles is filled with family stopping by to help Shirley with peeling and slicing the apples and making the applesauce used to create the butter.

“But it’s more than just that day, getting up and building a fire in the gravel driveway at 4:30 in the morning,” said Roger. “It’s the community that stops by, it’s the person who gets to have a conversation with their pastor on our front porch, or the kids running through with a piece of bread to dip and taste. It’s all about the people.”

Roger described one night a few years ago when he looked across the street to the grounds of Waterford High School and noticed a couple with gear packed on their bicycles.

“I invited them over and asked what they were up to,” he said. “They told me they were biking across the country and asked if they could camp in my yard for the night.”

But Roger wouldn’t allow the pair to sleep outside when he had a guest bed, warm shower and open dinner table available.

“They had dinner with us that night and shared some tales of their journey,” said Shirley. “I believe they were from Utah.”

Young said stories like that abound when it comes to her parents, noting how both have instilled the value of a family meal and time spent with open doors.

“And I can’t count the number of Thanksgiving tables our apple butter sits at each year, because it’s all about the people and whoever comes,” she said.

Kelley said the stories his editorial team heard as people described the Doaks as “pillars of the community” but humble and unassuming were why their home has been included on the Reader’s Digest website for live vote currently open until July 7.

“We wondered how (the Doak’s home) related to the rest, but the nomination was very persuasive,” explained Kelley. “Then when it came down to the 20 to 30 places we were interested in we did some follow-up.”

The winner will be selected by the Digest team and announced in August, but will also be featured in the November issue of the magazine.

To vote on the Doak home for the Reader’s Digest contest visit http://www.rd.com/vote-nicest-place/, multiple votes can be submitted each day and from both desktop and mobile platforms.

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