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Jim Tuthill raised three children on the shores of the Salmon River Reservoir.
He planned one day to raise grandchildren there too, at the waterfront camp his family has owned since 1958.
But an international corporation is threatening those plans.
Canadian power company Brascan Power, which owns a hydroelectric plant on the Salmon River Reservoir, is suing Tuthill and 29 other Noble Shores residents, trying to take ownership of 18 waterfront properties the families have owned for generations.
Company officials say the land is theirs, inherited when Brascan bought 71 power plants last year from Reliant Energy.
Residents insist the company is wrong - and they say they have the paperwork to prove it.
"We've paid taxes on the properties, we've got permits, and they come in and say we're encroaching on their land," Tuthill said last week. "They're basically saying our deeds are invalid."
All the residents being sued by Brascan hold deeds for their properties. The residents also are listed as owners of the
Noble Shores properties in Oswego County's real-property database.
"I've had this camp for 37 years," said resident Pauline Rossman, 71, of 211 Noble Shores Drive. "This is the first challenge I've ever had."
Brascan says it needs the land at Noble Shores to safely operate dams, control water flows and comply with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission mandates. Brascan owns the Bennetts Bridge hydroelectric plant, which sits on the shore of the Salmon River Reservoir in Orwell.
The Noble Shores properties are a few miles away, in Redfield.
"Interference with (the company's) ownership rights and control over such property . . . can cause operational disruptions and serious problems for the hydroelectric owner," Brascan's lawyers wrote in the December 2004 state Supreme Court lawsuit filed against Noble Shores residents.
The dispute between Brascan and the property owners began in fall 2003, when Reliant Energy sent letters inviting the residents to a meeting at the Salmon Hills cross-country ski lodge.
There, company officials told homeowners that Reliant - not the deed holders - owned all the property at Noble Shores that sat at 940 feet above sea level or lower. That includes 18 out of almost 50 properties in the Noble Shores community.
For Pauline Rossman, the company's announcement meant she owned part of her garage but not her cottage. For her neighbor Clyde Taber, the news meant a possible end to 32 years of vacationing at a family camp.
"Nobody heard of a 940 line when they bought the land," said Taber, 62, of 87 W. Noble Shores Drive.
In April 2004, Reliant offered residents leases on their camps. The leases included stringent regulations. Owners would be required to ask the power company's permission to paint their homes, landscape their properties or dock their boats.
"If we had signed it, we would have given away all our rights to our property," Rossman said.
"And at any time, they could say, 'You breached the agreement,' and it's goodbye," resident William Hamilton added. "They could kick you out at their discretion. If you've got one dandelion in the wrong place, that's it."
The "940 Club" - which is what the residents call themselves - refused the offer.
"This is our property, and we know it," Taber said. "Besides, if they need the land, why are they offering us leases?"
Brascan officials declined to comment Monday on issues surrounding the Noble Shores properties.
"Because it is a matter of litigation, it's not something we comment on," said Shelley Moorhead, the company's director of corporate communications.
Noble Shores residents said they will continue to fight the company until they can enjoy their properties in peace. Few dared to predict how long the battle will last.
"It's the little guy against the big guy," said Hamilton, 77, of 43 Noble Shores Drive.
"They have unlimited resources, and they'll just keep dragging this on," Tuthill added. "You get tired after a while. But we're not going to give up."
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