We Once Had Wings is a work of fiction, but it’s characters reside in very real places. Lake Skaneateles in New York State is the setting for the Meyer’s dairy farm, while the farmstead itself is based on the Billings Farm in Woodstock, Vermont. I stood in this parlor imagining Alice Meyer lounging on her brocade chaise among her potted plants. Margaret having just strung the popcorn on the Christmas tree, while butter cookies baked in the cast iron range.