West Point Creates Leaders

This past weekend I had the good pleasure of hosting a whole inn full of West Point cadets and their dates for 500th night. They are all Cows (Juniors) at the the United States Military Academy and were celebrating 500 nights until graduation. Many of the group that stayed at Cromwell Manor Inn were members of the football team.

Cadets can let their hair down( although they don't have much of that) when they get to spend some time with their peers away from the academy. They stay up late and party hard, but they never lose respect for others. I was fast asleep when I was awakened by very loud laughter coming from the back veranda of the Manor House at 3 am. I walked over to quiet things down a bit (one of us had to make breakfast in the morning) and when they saw me coming, they apologized and went back into the Manor House. I did not hear another thing from them after that episode. Additionally, all the cadets took care of their cans, bottles, food, etc. so I was not faced with a mess in the morning. When I went into the Manor House in the morning to make breakfast, I checked the parlor and was surprised to see three cadets sleeping in chairs and on a couch. Later at breakfast, I asked one of the cadets why he was sleeping on the couch when he had a room with a bed in it. His response - "Too many stairs!"

There was one incident in one of the rooms where too many people were sitting on a bed and the bed broke. Rather than letting me find it after they checked out, they reported it to me and offered to pay whatever it cost to fix or replace. I was impressed by their integrity.

I have been host to many cadets over my years of ownership of Cromwell Manor Inn and really feel that our country is in good hands! The cadets are trained to be leaders and the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, is doing a great job developing these young adults if this past weekend is any indication.