- Long Island with a marker on Middle Island -
Tracing Home
Joan’s story begins in a place she calls home—Middle Island, Long Island. It’s a quiet, country-like hamlet halfway between Manhattan and Montauk, nestled among the forests and far from the hustle and bustle of city life. It’s where Joan and her husband have lived for over 50 years, and where they raised their children.
When she first saw a Treeline Terrains map of Long Island, Joan knew it was something special. “I think I first saw Treeline Terrains at the Big E in Massachusetts,” she recalls. Wanting to commemorate her and her husband’s 50 years of marriage and their shared life on Long Island, she decided that a custom wooden map would be the perfect gift. Originally planned as an anniversary present, the map became a Father’s Day surprise—a symbol of their enduring love for each other and the place they’ve called home for decades.
She reached out to Treeline Terrains, requesting a Long Island map with a special touch—a small heart marking the location of Middle Island. “I loved that little detail,” Joan says.
However, when the map arrived, she noticed something wasn’t quite right. The blue epoxy representing the surrounding waters appeared foggy in some areas, and no amount of wiping seemed to help. “I decided to send them a picture,” she explains. Treeline Terrains responded immediately, acknowledging the issue and offering to fix it. The team tried to clean the map but soon realized the fogginess couldn’t be removed, so they made the decision to recreate the entire map from scratch. “The process was easy, and they were so helpful,” she recalls. In no time, Joan received a brand-new map—perfect, pristine, and without a trace of fog. She was thrilled. “It’s perfect,” she says. “No fogginess, no anything.”
The map now sits proudly on the dining room table, waiting for the perfect spot to be displayed. Joan and her husband still haven’t decided where to hang it, but in the meantime, they enjoy seeing it every day—a beautiful reminder of the place they call home. “I love it,” she says. “The shape of Long Island, the coastline, the blue epoxy, the 3D dimension of the wood—it’s all just so beautiful.”