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| 8/23/2004 11:55:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Sally Forth visits Berwood Hill Inn
By John Torgrimson
Over the years, Berwood Hill Inn, the elegant Victorian Bed & Breakfast, located between Preston and Lanesboro has received its share of publicity. The country estate, with its exquisite gardens, has long been featured in tourist magazines as a “must see” vacation and weekend retreat.
For example, this June Victorian House magazine did a 10 page spread about the country inn; back in 2003 the Minneapolis Star Tribune chose Berwood as its Connoisseur’s Favorite; and, a few years ago, Better Homes & Garden TV shot their program from the Berwood front yard.
While publicity may not be new to Berwood, it came as a suprise to many employees to see their Victorian house as the backdrop of a Sally Forth cartoon in the Sunday, August 8, 2004 editon of the Star Tribune.
The cartoon, which is syndicated by King Features, has Ted and Sally finishing their stay at an unidentified B&B, lamenting the fact that their vacation must end.
But those in the know clearly see the cartoon B&B’s resemblance to Berwood. In fact, the angle of the illustration of the house is identical to the picture Berwood uses in their own promotional material.
Jan Engstrom, who handles reservations for Berwood, said that she was totally surprised by the cartoon.
“A colleague asked me if I had seen the Sally Forth cartoon, and I responded that ‘I don’t read the cartoon page,’ but then she said, ‘Well, you better read this one’,” Engstrom recalled.
“I could hardly believe it, the cartoon had everything down to the last detail,” Engstrom said. “Even one of the cartoon frames had the newly arranged pillows in the third floor room - the Owl’s Nest.”
Unbeknownst to Berwood staff at the time, it turns out that Sally Forth illustrator Craig Macintosh was a recent visitor to the inn. The cartoon, which is written from a woman’s perspective, was created by Greg Howard in 1982. Today it is written by Francesco Marciuliano and appears in nearly 700 newspapers.
The funny pages aside, if imitation is the highest form of flattery, then Berwood Hill Inn can stand proud as the real world inspiraton for an idylic cartoon vacation.
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