Springtime in Seaview/Dirty Joe

Joe Bradley harvesting hay off Corn Hill Lane.

About this time of the year (April) my Dad would start thinking about gardening. He would drive in the four stakes that marked the plot. On a Sunday morning before noon, he would pile me in his old Chevy and off to Cornhill Lane.

As we approached a turn in the road, he would pull off to the side and stop. We’d get out and go down a cart path to what looked a one-room shack near the edge of the North River Marsh. Across from the shack was a shed that housed a horse. Around both buildings were horse-drawn implements -- a cutter bar, a hay rake, a harrow, and all sorts of wagons in all sorts of condition.

My Dad would knock on the door and in a few seconds a man would appear, dressed in long johns that appeared to have never been washed! This was Dirty Joe -- Joe Bradly. Joe plowed gardens, and did other farm chores, so my Dad would arrange a time to have him plow our garden. As they made plans, I would climb aboard anything that had a seat and imagine I was driving it. Joe would holler over to me, "Sonny, you be careful on that. You might git hurt.'' I would reply, ''OK!” Joe had a different accent than I had heard before.

A week before Memorial Day, 'Dirty Joe' would show up about 7 AM aboard his wagon, with a plow and harrow tied down. The noises would wake me, and I would rush to get dressed and out to watch him unload. He would block the wagon wheels, then unhitch his horse, tie a chain onto the plow, hook it to his horse, and drag it down the ramps.

The harrow was a different story -- it could roll down out of control. He would drag it to the top of the ramp, tie a rope to it, then wrap the rope to a stake up front, give the harrow a tug, and it came rolling down the ramp as he slacked the rope. These tricks amazed this young kid!

By now my Mom would be out with coffee and a muffin for Joe, milk and a muffin for me. I would sit in the wagon seat and Joe would eat off the tailgate. I have no idea what we talked about -- mostly my questions about the wagon stuff, I think.

He would hook up the plow, let it lie on its side, then signal his horse with a “click-click” with his tongue and cheek, and off the horse would go to the plot. Once there, he would lift the plow, point it into the soil, ''click-click” and off the horse would go. It was so amazing to see that soil turn. My Dad would say, ''with just one horse power.''

After Joe finished plowing our garden, he would drag the plow over to the next neighbor to be plowed. At noon Joe would come back to feed and water his horse. I was the water boy. The horse could suck up about half the bucket a time. Remember, I was just a small kid, and dragging a full bucket was a chore. A canvas feed bucket was hooked over the horse’s mouth and he would chomp away.

My Mom would come out with sandwiches and tea for Joe, milk for me – I on the wagon seat and Joe on the tailgate. Joe had a brown bag but never opened it. The bag looked as it had been used a hundred times. My Mom always topped off lunch with dessert -- cookies, brownies, or a piece of pie. Joe would finish off anything left.

Now ''Dirty Joe'' would climb onto the wagon, lie down on a rug, cover himself with a robe, and take a nap. His horse stood by waiting.

Next came the harrow -- down the rows then up, then across until smooth. All for four dollars!

At about 4 PM, Joe would return to his wagon, arrange his implements, and get permission to leave them overnight (I loved that). Then he would take off the harness, put it in the wagon, mount the horse from the wagon, and off to Cornhill Lane from Seaview.

The story I heard is that he came from a well-to-do-family and graduated from Harvard. He had a Boston accent, a quick smile, and a mouthful of gold teeth. He was very polite, very well spoken, and my Mom once said, ''He had a twinkle in his eye!'' He was always dressed in black trousers with suspenders, black jacket, not very white shirt, black shoes and a black hat. Is there anyone out there that remembers 'Dirty Joe?”

by Ray Freden
Originally published in the Marshfield Mariner, May 19, 2010

Holly Hill

When I was young, Holly Hill was a mountain. It was a challenge from all sides. I think my first recollection on this mountain was peering out the windshield of my Dads old Chevy, stopped on top of Upland Road, looking at smoke billowing into the sky somewhere near Boston.

My Dad used Holly Hill as a testing ground for his old Chevy. He would do a tune up on it, then pile me into the old six cylinder, and off to the hill we’d go. Dad would make a left turn on Elm Street then a right on Upland Road. If the old Chevy made it to Dwight Road in third gear, it was a good tune up. If not, he would get his screwdriver out, make an adjustment on the points, and try again. This was an exciting adventure because we seemed to be flying around that hill! Also, we would usually end up at "Stead’s" for a bottle of Ballantine Ale (35 cents), a cigar (15 cents), and a candy bar for me (5 cents). Total, 55 cents. Life was good.

There were only four roads on Holly Hill -- Upland, Dwight, Emery and Holly, with just a handful of houses. There was only one house on Upland Road, at the peak facing north, with a spectacular view of the North River, all the cliffs, and way beyond. The next best viewing point was at the peak of Emery Road, facing north. There were only two houses on the right side, The Chamberlains in the first, and the Stantons at the very top -- a brick house.

At the south end of Emery there were two houses on the left side, both very large and very beautiful. Dwight Road had only one house (brick) at the corner of Holly Road. This part of Holly Road no longer exists, and Holly Road off Dwight did not exist --just a cart path that went to Ferry Street. Most of the homes were on Elm Street, starting from Holly Road to Ferry Street.

Now for a stranger, Holly Road can be confusing. It starts on Elm and dead ends. It used go though to Emery, across to Dwight, then stop. Now it runs south from Dwight, almost to Ferry Street. I spent many trips down this muddy cart path collecting holly with red berries.

by Ray Freden
Originally published in the Marshfield Mariner, March 24, 2010

Pine Island

As I remember Pine Island, looking west from Broad Creek, c. 1946. Sketch by Ray Freden.  

 Pine Island is a small island just off the shore of Seaview, between Warren Ave. and Seaview Ave.
It is about an acre with a horse shoe shape, the opening is on the south side and the high tide will flow into it making the center path impassable.

As I remember it, the south path was a dead end. The north path circled around the north end, turning east then south in front of four camps, all of which faced east toward Humarock. The largest camp was on the north end, its entrance facing south, with a screened-in porch on the east side. There were two more camps on the west leg; one was never finished. Getting to these camps was a chore for owners, campers and hunters.

Looking east from Warren Ave. c. 1955.

 A deeply-rutted dirt cart path (now Warren Ave.) ran from Summer Street along the south side of two cornfields, and through a stone wall, turning north. At that turn was a cold clear spring with a wood cover and a chipped porcelain scoop for taking a drink or filling jugs for the campers. The path turned east to the edge of the marsh. There was a turnout for two cars. A long narrow wood walkway ran from the cart path to the west leg. The walkway was only wide enough for one person, and it was underwater at the high tides. The campers would have to carry everything across that walk, which was usually in need of repair. When the summer folks came for vacation, it took hours to unload gear and get it to the camp.

My first recollection of Pine Island was just before Thanksgiving; I was almost 5. Dad would go to the island to collect bay berries. He would cut them and my job was to carefully put them in a big basket. The island was covered with berries. He would carry the basket back across that rickety walkway; I carried the cutters. The car was parked in the turnout of the cart path.

Then he was off behind the turnout, through the brush, to the red berry bushes, I behind him carrying another basket -- more clipping and very carefully stacking. Off we went with two big baskets on the back seat. A stop at the spring for a drink. Oh, was that water cold.

Dad would make bunches of berries and greens for Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations. A few years later, when I was allowed to go to the island alone, I collected berries and greens, and took over his job. I sold the bunches around the neighborhood and up to the end of Summer Street on my bike.

We once encountered hunters in the end camp. There was a sign over the door -- it read something about being a hunting camp. My dad had a chat with them.
In the summer, two families from Lowell, MA came for most of the summer, to stay in the north camp. There were 5 kids; two were my age.

I would ride my bike down the cart path, over the walkway, around the north path; I would pass the outhouse, stop and lean my bike against the water pump. We were almost always in bathing suits and tee shirts, so off to the swimming hole we would go.

On the east side of Pine Island was a wooden walkway out to a leg of Broad Creek. At the edge of the creek were a dock, a ladder to a lower landing, and a diving board. The walkways and dock were built mostly from driftwood lumber scavenged from the marsh. The camps also were built from mostly salvaged lumber.

At low tide, I would have mud fights with the kids staying on the island. The older kids would grind the mud into us! Every inch was covered in black, slimy mud. Sometimes we would wait until the tide came in enough to wash off. Other times we would lay near the water pump while another pumped. It took a lot of pumping to clean up, & the water became colder the longer it was pumped. The pumped water on the Island was salty and discolored, used only for washing.

At mid to high tide, we would dive or jump from the board or off the railing. Full high tide would cover the dock and walkway, but only ankle deep. It was a challenge to ride my bike out to the dock, and a bigger challenge to ride back through the water.

A dory was tied on the south side of the dock. The two men and two older boys would row out through Broad Creek to the clam flats at low tide, dig clams, then go fishing in the river. They would return as the tide came in, going with the tides. There were plenty of flounder, mackerel, cod and haddock in the mouth of the North and South Rivers.

The men would clean the fish on the dock. I was invited twice for a cookout. This would be the fish fry. I would help with the cooking fire in a stone circle. Plenty of kindling could be found above the high tide line and someone delivered firewood for the campers, by wheelbarrow!

There was a steel cook plate across half of the fireplace. The men filleted the flounder, the women rolled them in cornmeal, and three of us kids kept the fire going. On went the flounder, mackerel and hot dogs. Mmmm was that flounder good! I would have no part of mackerel! The haddock and cod were saved for fish chowder.

A cookout on Pine Island was suppertime for the camp people. The fire pit was either going or smoldering most of the time. (When it rained they would cook on the wood stove in the kitchen; it was unbearably hot.) I was invited the day before, so my Mom had time to make oatmeal cookies.

Off I went down Station Street, turned down the Pine Island cart path, over the rickety wooden walkway, up the path to the camp, and gave the cookies to the Mrs. The kids were in the water on red inner tubes I had salvaged from the Seaview Garage. I ran down the walkway to the dock, off the diving board to cannonball the two in the tubes. The two older kids had left for the city, and good riddance! Now there were two of us 14 1/2 yrs. plus two younger, so we took over the tubes. We stayed in the water until we were blue.

Back to the camp, stashed the tubes under the porch and put wood on the fire pit to warm up. It was nearing their suppertime -- they ate much earlier than I was used to, but this was a cookout to me.

Much of the perishables were kept in a wood lined hole filled with water, with a cover with a large stone on top. Out came sodas and hot dogs. The dogs were all linked together and stayed that way on the cook plate over the fire pit. I remember how hot dogs always had to be cut on two sides to cook properly. These folks didn't do this. They also put ketchup on their dogs -- yuck, mustard only! We filled ourselves with dogs and orange soda and oatmeal cookies.

Just before dusk, out came the midges -- they would cover you in a short time and we would have to pump water on our arm and legs to wash them off before we went inside. Inside, we, the kids, would play checkers on the porch, with a kerosene lamp on the table. The adults would play cards in the kitchen with one of those Coleman gas lanterns I so much wanted.

Summer came to an end. The folks from Lowell left. Fall came. The hunters arrived, hung their decoys on the side of their camp, and collected marsh grass to build a blind out near the dock. So many times I would hear their guns banging away early in the morning and again in the late afternoon. I thought to myself, ”Who would want to eat a wild duck?” It wasn't until years later I found out how good a black duck is!

The next summer, only one family came to the island, with younger kids, so my visits were short. I found hanging out in Humarock with my summer friends was a lot more fun, jumping off the old bridge as well as the new one, the 1952 one.

Now I only went to Pine Island to collect berries in the fall. The camps were no longer used and began to fall apart rapidly. One late evening, I was driving home and there was quite a to do down Warren Ave. -- police and fire engines with flashing lights down the end of the Pine Island cart path. I suspected the worst -- the camps. I was told the next day that vandals had torched some of the camps! The others left standing were later torched.

I never went back to the island to witness the loss. I never saw my island friends again. My recent visits have been through the eyes of Google Earth. I have now witnessed Pine Island, after people!

Pine Island looking east, without people. Photo by Tony Lambert.

by Ray Freden
Originally published in the Marshfield Mariner, January 13 through March 3, 2010

Truck Farmers in Marshfield

Burlap bags of corn being unloaded.

In the 1940s Seaview had its share of truck farmers. These farmers were growing crops from the beginning of Seaview's settlement, but I only remember the 1940s & 50s.

I was always told they were "truck farmers." Most took their goods to the Boston market. Some research has informed me that "truck" was used to mean garden vegetables intended for sale in the market (1785). Now I have found out I was misinformed! They were "market gardeners!” I'm just going to call them what I had always been told, truck farmers and because I like TRUCKS!

But now, before trucks, wagons? Wagon farmers? I'll take you a little out of Seaview to Pine Street, North Marshfield. I was working for Franklin Hatch making furniture (1956- 1962). Elmer and Burton Fish lived next to Frank's shop and worked for F. Decker Hatch, Franklin's dad. Decker was a farmer and sawmill operator. On rainy or too-cold-to-work days, Burt would wander over to the shop and would tell me stories of his adventures. Most cannot be told here.

Decker grew crops all over Marshfield. Burt was the designated driver of goods to Boston by horse and wagon thru the early 1900s. It took Burt 10 to 12 hours one way, depending on weather. He would leave at 4 a.m. and arrive from 3p.m. and on. All were dirt roads, in poor shape, in North Marshfield, North Pembroke, Hanover and Hingham. He told me that Weymouth and Quincy roads were very busy.

Burt would stay over in the Essex Hotel and enjoyed what city living offered. Burt was a bachelor. He would quip, "Damn good thing the horse knew his way back home." Decker finally bought a Model A Ford truck in the early 30s. Burt could then make a round trip to Boston in a 12-hour day.

Saturday afternoons were special because after Dad finished his work around the yard or tearing apart the old railroad station, he would be off to Stead’s for a quart of Ballantine Ale and a cigar. I could tag along with a return bottle to exchange for a candy bar, .30 for quart of ale, .05 deposit, .15 for a cigar and 1 candy bar plus .05 exchanged for last weeks bottle! Total expense: 50 cents. High rollers, huh?

My Dad's favorite treat on a weekend afternoon.

 A quart of ale, 30 cents plus 5 cent deposit.

My favorite candy bar, a 5 cent bottle return.

On the way down, Dad would turn left on Elm Street and the next house on the left was the stately home of Victor Belanger, a beautiful home with a huge barn, another smaller barn, and many outbuildings. As we traveled further, we came to Ferry Hill Road. Mr. Belanger's land continued and included another large barn now known as the YWCA. A small pond and a boathouse were nearby. All of this to Little’s Creek was known as "Belangerville." From his home to the red barn (YWCA), was cultivated. There was a field of corn and fields of winter squash, maybe more. I'm not sure who cared for the fields -- it wasn't Mr. Belanger. He was a dapper of a man that did his business in Boston, and a gentleman farmer.

There were three fields of corn on the east side of Summer Street at a cart path to Pine Island, now known as Warren Ave. Before the war, Manuel DaLuz cared for these for Mrs. George Taylor, who owned large garden plots on both sides of Summer Street. Manuel was drafted into the Army and was gone long enough for those fields to grow into weeds and brush. Farmland was becoming valuable after the war. In 1946 the first new home in Seaview was built in that cornfield at 146 Summer Street and Warren Ave. by a Mr. Sherman. Keep in mind, houses were not numbered in Seaview in the 40s.

Gathering corn.

We continue up Summer Street and turn left on Pleasant Street under the railroad bridge, passing Gino Rugani's Sterling trucks. Gino was the largest general contractor in Marshfield. At the top of the hill, the street turned sharp right, shortly on the left was the Salvetti farm. Fields of tomatoes ran from the street up the hill and past their farmhouse and barn. Peter Salvetti was a mason by trade and also farmed his land to sell to the market, a truck farmer. His son Sergio still farms a plot of land atop the hill. Peter's son, Aldo, is also farming a small plot atop the hill behind the homestead. Aldo is my longest friend, from maybe 1938 or 9.

Across from the Salvetti farm were more fields of tomatoes. Next came another field of tomatoes up the hill to the Cervellis. Mr. Frank Cervelli was the largest tomato grower around. There were large fields past Eames Way, full of tomato plants strung on strings to a wire supported by posts on each end, as well as spaced every so many feet to support the weight of those large toms. Mr. Cervelli had a large processing operation off Pleasant Street. Crates of toms would arrive to be culled, washed, polished and packed for the Boston market. His truck would be stacked to the top of the boards, tied and covered with a canvas, ready for an early trip to the Boston market. I could never get enough of those big juicy sweet toms.

The largest-scale truck farmer in Seaview during the 40s and 50s was James Gonsalves, "Jimmy," from Moraine Street. He rented the fields from a Miss Donovan of 101 Summer Street and possibly a Mrs. Lucy Taylor of 119 Summer Street. There were more than 10 acres surrounded by wonderful stone walls known so well here in New England.

These walls were to keep livestock in -- or out -- also to mark owners’ boundaries. Where could all those stones, rocks and boulders have come from? And how to get them there! Imagine a boulder of 200 pounds or more sunken and in the way of the plow. You had to dig around it so as to wrap a chain, then have your team of horses or oxen pull it out! Then what? Pry bar it onto a skid or scoop and haul it to the wall area, then pry it off and into position. The next time you look at a stone wall, think how you would feel at the end of that days work!

Jimmy would rotate his crops within three fields; the largest bordered the railroad tracks then toward Summer Street. The next two were just behind the Donovan farm and the Taylor farm. These usually contained winter squash and sometimes corn. At harvest time, the workers would place wooden bushel boxes in a line, then cut the butternut squash and place them in another line, to be picked up later and placed into the boxes. A flatbed truck would come along and two men would load the boxes aboard, tie them down and cover with a green canvas. When the blue hubbard squash were harvested, they were just stacked into the truck up to the top board without a cover, then off to market.

In the large field, the corn harvest was done by pickers walking down a row, filling a sack then dragging it to the edge of the field where the tops of the sack were sewn tight then loaded onto the truck until full. The large field was often used for cabbage and sometimes lettuce, but most often for cauliflower. This harvest was the most complex to me. Just after the heads formed, workers would tie the outer leaves of the cauliflower with an elastic band so the heads would blanch and form uniformly. I had always thought they did this to keep the worms out! They kept the worms away by filling a sack with DDT then walking down the rows giving the sack a slight shake over the plant!

When harvest time came, hundreds of wooden bushel boxes were stacked in the northeast corner, along with a few tables and stools or chairs with broken off backs. The cauliflower plants were cut from their rootstock, tossed into a horse-drawn wagon then brought over to the corner where the cutters, usually ladies, chopped off the tops. They would hold the plant by the stalk, then slice the leaves off as close to the head as possible, a very precision task! As they sat around, going about business, they would chat in their native Cape Verdean, and sometimes English, always laughing. When the trimmed heads piled up, they would stuff a box with waste leaves then place the heads up, until the box was full -- I think five or six heads -- then cover it with leaves. The boxes were stacked along the edge of the field, awaiting the truck. The smells were awesome (I don't think I ever used that word in the 40s.) Fresh cut cauliflower, new pine boxes and the smell of the pines just across the tracks.

The boxes were made from boxboards from the Hatch Mill on Union Street and fabricated by someone unknown to me. However, many came from the Gib West Box Mill in Pembroke. Part of the building is still there, as well as the Hatch Mill.

A 1918 Wilcox Motor Truck and team of oxen loaded with empty wooden boxes
ready to pickup cauliflower off Summer St. in Seaview, c. 1920.

Jimmy’s truck would arrive late in the afternoon, to be loaded by the crew. Off came the stake side and back, then the loading began. Two men on the truck stacking, with the ladies passing up the boxes until they were to the top rail. The boxes were then covered over with a canvas to keep out the sun and dirt.

There were always culls left to rot, so I would help myself. This applied to corn, squash, cabbage and lettuce. I just mentioned the smells -- have you ever smelled a pile of rotten cauliflower? That smell would linger over Seaview for weeks!

I can't remember when Jimmy stopped truck farming in Seaview -- maybe in the late 50s. However Manuel kept on with it.

Another truck Farmer was Manuel DaLuz. I first remember Manuel living in a barn on the corner of Summer Street and Warren Ave. Manuel cared for and farmed the land of Mrs. Lucy Taylor of 119 Summer Street. Mrs. Taylor owned land on both sides of Summer Street back to the railroad tracks and fields along Warren Ave. to Pine Island.

Before the war, as I remember, the fields along Warren Ave. were full of corn. Manuel was drafted into the Army and the fields went unattended. After the war, a lot was sold to a Mr. Sherman and a beautiful home was built at 146 Summer Street, the first new home in Seaview for a very long time. Manuel returned from the war and now lived in Mrs. Taylor's home. The barn was moved back on Warren Ave. and turned into a home.

Manuel's '46 Ford truck.

 Manuel bought and sold junk as well as farming the land west of Summer Street. He had a stand in front of the high privet hedge and sold veggies and strawberries. I still can see his old truck stacked full, headed up Summer Street to the Boston Market.

If Manuel ever thought he was having a bad strawberry crop, it wasn't because of the robins or weather, it was because of the two young teenage birds camping out near the strawberry patch. My summer friend would arrive after school was out and we would look forward to our camp outs, sometimes in my yard and other times in his. One afternoon we planed a camp out for that night. We got permission from our parents, got our gear together -- tent, ground cloth, sleeping bags, lantern, comics, flashlight, drinks and snacks; oh yea, a jar with a cover full of holes. We set the tent up in a grove of locus trees at his house. We now killed time in the early evening playing ball, swapping comics and catching fireflies for use as a night light in the tent. Yes, it worked! Our plan for later was to raid Manuel's strawberry patch not far away.

Around 10 o'clock we quietly and quickly ran across the meadow hunched down to the cart path (about where Pinehurst Drive is today), over the stone wall and on to the huge patch of big red juicy berries. We stayed on the outside row so as not to crawl over and crush any berries. Now the trick was to feel a berry and slightly push your thumbnail into it to test it's ripeness. Then pluck the big juicy ripe ones and munch 'em down, one after another, and another, and . . . Another trick was to bury the bitten-off stem with the other thumb -- we didn't want to leave any evidence of leftovers from the night time raiders!

About 15 minutes into our raid, we were scared to hell with the arrival of my dog, Lucky. Yep he came bouncing up behind us, tail a-wagging and a little happy whining. OH S---!!! You see, Lucky was an English setter, mostly white, and stood out like a neon sign! Not very good for us! Now with both of us on our hands & knees, Lucky thought we were playing with him and started barking! We had to get the hell out of there, so, we scrambled on our hands and knees and Lucky ran with us, barking and nipping our ankles. We got to the stone wall and cart path then full speed across the meadow and into the tent, dog and all. My friend was laughing like hell but I saw no humor in our past few minutes! I was shaking: who might have seen us? Who heard Lucky barking?

Needless to say, we didn't sleep that night, waiting for the Berry Police or even Manuel. WE never again raided Manuel's strawberry patch. My Dad didn't know that I asked Mom to keep Lucky in the porch that night, and he let him out when he went to bed. Lucky never touched a strawberry and was the only happy camper that night!

Hiding from the Berry Police.

by Ray Freden
Originally published in the Marshfield Mariner, June 10 through July 29, 2009

More About Keene's Pond

When I was a teen, on a cold weekend, kids and adults would gather on Keene’s Pond to play hockey or just to skate. Franklin O'Donnell had a cart with an attached cabinet, the doors and shelves of which were stocked with candy bars, cheese crackers, Devil Dogs, Whoopie Pies and other stuff, all frozen. Frankie would haul his cart onto the ice to peddle his wares. A 5-cent Milky Way was 10 cents -- everything was marked up 5 or 10 cents over Sted’s prices. Stedmans, the store on the corner of Ferry Street and Sea Street, was also known as the Seaview Package Store.

Some nights, folks would come back to skate. Many times a bonfire would be made and we would cook marshmallows and sometimes hot dogs. The stick you would cook with was never long enough, and you would nearly cook your legs!

Ice blocks were sold by the pound.
Mom would display the pounds she wanted
at the top, in the porch door window.

“Dirty Russ” Williamson delivered ice to the neighborhood for Horace Keene. Russ stopped his truck on Station Street, under the overhang of a big maple tree (long gone). He would honk, then holler, "Ruthie, how much ice ya want?" Mom would have a sign in the porch window with the amount above. I never understood why Russ had to ask -- maybe Russ couldn't read or see? Anyway, Mom would holler back the amount, Russ would uncover a block then stab lines across with an ice pick. A small block would fall off. Then he would grab it with tongs and toss it into the scale, trim it, and put on his leather apron, which hung down front and back. Russ grabbed the block with tongs, lugged it into the back hall, then fitted it into the icebox. How did he know what size to cut a 50# block? There was always a chip of ice left near the tailgate that I helped myself to, standing barefoot in a pool of ice water that drained from the ice truck (summertime only).

A block of ice headed to our icebox.

In 1945, Horace Keene was no longer cutting ice. I think My Dad bought ice in Greenbush and hauled a block home, set onto the front bumper of his Chevy. Within a short time we got a refrigerator.

The icebox.

Horace Keene's helpers cutting ice. looking W.   Courtesy of H.C. Keene's grandson Tony Lambert.

 '' H. C. Keene'' Sea View Mass. icepick.
Courtesy of H. C. Keene's grandson, Tony Lambert.

Horace Keene's Ice House looking NE. Courtesy of H.C. Keene's grandson Tony Lambert.

Horace Keene's ice house under construction. looking SE.

As the years went by, I watched Keene's ice house, on Church Street, become a derelict -- first sagging, then a wall crumbling, and one day in the mid-to-late 50s, it came tumbling down upon itself, spewing sawdust out its walls in big heaps all around. It remained a heap of rubble for a few more years. A house has been built forward of where the icehouse stood.

I never knew who owned Keene's Pond. I suspect it was named for its abutter, Keene, on the south side, however there were other abutters on the east, north and west. The late Seaview historian, Philip Randall, told me that the pond was also called Little's Pond, Randall's Pond and maybe Seaview Pond. I wonder what folks call it now.

Just another remembrance: In the spring, after ice-out, Charles “Simmy" Simmons and Fred Hall, members of the Marshfield Rod & Gun Club, would replace the NO FISHING sign on the pond, about 50 feet out from Summer Street. It seems the pond was privately owned, and the R&C stocked it with rainbow trout. I never did catch one of those babies! And the sign and post usually helped cook marshmallows!

by Ray Freden
Originally published in the Marshfield Mariner, March 25, 2009

Ice Cutting on Keene's Pond

In the late 30s, my Dad would help cut ice on winter weekends. I remember one cold day, maybe 1939 or '40, my Mom bundled me up, stuffed me into the wooden box attached to my sled, along with a green tin lunch box and a thermos of hot tea. Off to Keene's pond to bring Dad’s lunch.

Upon arrival, we saw men standing around a big black hole in the ice. My Dad came over, sat on my sled, and ate lunch. We didn't venture onto the ice this time.

Another day or year, my Mom once again prepared a lunch for Dad, who was ice cutting. This time I had a longer sled with no box on it. I had to hold the green lunch box and thermos as well as holding onto the sled. As we passed Charlie Randall’s house, the road sloped down. Mom turned the sled backwards so it would not bang into her. She held the rope and let me coast slowly down the hill. Everything was going well until she pulled the rope to stop -- off I went! The lunch box & thermos went flying. My Mom screamed something at me about the thermos! I picked it up, handed it to her, she shook it, it wasn't broken! Phew!

A big hole with a team of horses pulling a sled filled with
blocks of ice. The man on the right is using a hand saw.

Out on the ice, this time the big black hole was near the back of the pond. Men were pushing blocks of ice around. We sat on the sled near the edge. It was scary to me. I don't remember any machinery around, I'm just lucky I remember this much.

The next few years, my Dad did not work the ice cutting operation. We did go to the pond often to ice skate, first with double runners. My Dad would push me in front of him while he skated along.

A model ''A'' powered  ice cutting saw driven with a flat belt.

Once or twice a winter, the ice cutting operation would be going on. About 1943 or '44 I was old enough to go skating by myself. I now remember more of the ice cutting. There was a gas engine powered machine (I think it was a Ford model T engine) with a huge saw out front, all mounted on sled-like runners. It must have been self-powered to move, because I don't remember a horse on the ice.

Most of the men were from the neighborhood. The only ones I can remember are Charlie Randall, Manuel DaLuz, Wally Loud, Lyman Kent & " Dirty Russ" Williamson. I remember Charlie pouring gas into the fuel tank & "Dirty Russ" hollering instructions along with cuss words.

Poling the blocks to the conveyer.

There was a canal cut to the icehouse, with a fence-like structure that extended out into the pond. The men would push the "ice cakes" through the canal to the conveyer that hooked the cake, and haul it up to the level were it would be stored. The conveyer was powered by a gas engine that was housed in a small shed.

Up the conveyer and into the Icehouse.

If you wanted to get to the upper part of the pond, you couldn’t jump the canal with skates on, so you had to skate up along the fence-like structure and cross under the conveyer, then back on the ice and over to a spring hole, down on your belly, and slide up to the hole for a drink of clean, pure, cold, ice water.

The ice cutting operation stopped in 1945. From then on, Keene's Pond was for the joy of skating or fishing.

by Ray Freden
Originally published in the Marshfield Mariner, March 11, 2009

The Arrival of the 1949 Ford

Cost $1590

Early in 1948 there were rumors of the new restyled Ford at the Seaview Garage. Packages of literature began to pile up under the Parts Department counter, tubes of posters leaning in the corner, all sealed tight. Jim, the parts manager, kept guard over this booty.

My head spun with ideas of what the new Ford was going to look like. In the summer of 1947, I saw a new-style Studebaker while visiting my grandmother in Holliston, MA. One had to look twice to know which direction it was going to go! Another new style was the '47 Kaiser; there was one in town. I molded these new designs in my head and came up with the new Ford.

It was springtime and rumors were that there were two '49 Fords stored in Seaview! Where, oh where could they be? My head searched all of the garages and barns nearby. Al C’s two-car garage? No. A three-car garage down the street? No. A large barn down Summer Street? Nope. Then, right under my nose, why were Charlie and Mrs. Langille’s two Fords parked on Station Street?

Charlie had recently built a two-car garage on Station Street after he sold the Seaview Garage, so he could now keep their two new Fords safe and under cover. They had been out for a few nights, and the garage windows had cardboard over them. How was I going to get into his garage to see the new Fords? My head spun with ideas. The best I could do was, after school, and when Charlie wasn't home, to ask Mrs. L if she had any odd jobs for me -- I needed 50 cents for gas for my old woods car. (My A-bone pick-up, a story for later). Mrs. L said she would clean out her flower garden, which ran from Summer Street to Station Street. I was to fill the wheelbarrow and dump it across the old railroad bed. That would be tomorrow!

Oh my, would tomorrow ever come? My plan was to ask for the keys to the shed to get the rakes and wheelbarrow, then unlock the side garage door and take a peek! Well tomorrow came, the longest day in school I’d ever had! Off the bus, change my clothes, over to Mrs. L’s. She was already out, and had piles of litter, so no keys! But no wheelbarrow either! I asked where it was. Mrs. L said it wasn't in the shed but was in the garage in the far corner, and the garage was unlocked. Oh my word, how easy was this going to be . . .

She told me to lift the wheelbarrow over the cars and to be careful. I ran to their garage, opened the door, flipped on the light and oh -----! The cars were covered! I lifted the front of the nearest, and oh my! A black, wide thing with a large bullet in the middle of the grille. Then I slipped down to the rear of the other, lifted the cover . . . this car was either light green or tan -- I can' t remember. They had no fenders, that is, not added on! Long, low, wide, somewhat a cross between a Studebaker and a Kaiser, much like my mental picture.

I could barely get the 'barrow from the corner, over the hoods, out the door, down the stairs, and now I had no interest to pick up the garden litter! But I did, and earned a dollar -- very generous for two hours work and a preview of the new 1949 Ford. Wow, life was good. Bragging rights in school -- and I did! Mrs. L didn't have a clue I was interested in the cars or that I would take a peek.

The Seaview Garage got cleaned up, floors got painted, windows cleaned. The big opening day came and that weekend I helped pass out literature. The Ford Motor Company strained to catch up on the thousands of orders.

by Ray Freden
Originally published in the Marshfield Mariner, February 18, 2009

Gasoline was 26 cents a gallon.

The 1946 Super DeLuxe Ford.

Ford Sedan cost $1,074

The war ended and new cars started to arrive at the Seaview Garage in 1946. Most were built in '45, but dealers referred to them as 1946 models. A black sedan with a new engine, a 59A 85 h.p. V/8. Wow.

Sometime in 1946, Charles Langille sold the Seaview Garage to Edward Soule. Soon afterward "Ed" started to expand the garage with unattractive additions. The first was to the north end, a 2-bay lubrication pit; then to the west, to the edge of Station Street. Most of the neighbors thought the additions were ugly!

The garage continued to sell gas (Tydol) and oil (Veedol). There was a large Tydol/Veedol sign hanging from a bracket on the roof, with a flying horse in the center. Gas price was about 15 cents per gallon in 1946. In 1949 it was 17 cents, in 1950 it was 18 cents, and in 1959, 25 cents. I can remember 5 gallons for a dollar!

There was a waiting list for a 1946 Super DeLuxe Ford. Those that could pay under the counter didn't wait long! The 1946 thru 1948 looked much the same, some chrome changes and parking light relocations. In 1948, four new colors were added.

In '48, I was 14 and knew about everything to know about a Ford car, so I thought! A 1948 Ford Sportsman convertible came in. “Oh wow, this is the best Ford ever!” Wood side panels, tan convertible top, white walls, red leather seats, a spot light, a radio, a 100 h.p. engine, and hydraulic lift windows. Also a Colombia 2-speed rear end. Oh ya, I knew what a 2-speed was -- some of the contractors’ dump trucks had them. If you didn't shift them correctly, oh what a grind! The cost of the Sportsman was over $2,000. Fat chance I'd ever own one!

by Ray Freden
Originally published in the Marshfield Mariner, February 4, 2009

Ford Super Deluxe Sportsman cost $1,982.

WWII Air Raid Patrols & Military Convoys

 There was an air raid horn mounted atop the Seaview Garage roof. It was tested every week at night. My Dad was a warden. The horn would sound and scare the ---- out of me! Dad would don his air raid outfit, a helmet, an armband, a flashlight, dark clothing, a nightstick, a whistle and a notebook. He patrolled from the Seaview Garage to the O'Donnells' at 90 Summer Street.

The wardens were to be responsible for all lights out and no driving of cars. One time a car came down Summer Street during the test and my Dad stopped the driver. He said, "Harry you can't drive. Pull over to the side and wait for the all clear." Harry responded, "Bill, go to Hell," and drove off. Dad never reported him as he should have. Harry apologized later.

When my Dad was on his air raid patrol beat, he would pass our house (189 Summer Street) and give a little flash of his light to the special window, where I'd be sitting, watching and waiting, on the second floor landing. This window had a clear center with different color stained glass around the border. I could see clearly to Central Ave, near the bottom of 4th Cliff during the day.

During the war years, military convoys would come down Summer Street past the Seaview Garage and past my house, sometimes during the day. That’s when I would wait until they passed, then run into the house, up the stairs to my window, and watch them moving slowly up Central Ave. in Humarock. They were going to the Air Force Base on 4th Cliff. At night, it was a different story. When a convoy came through at night, one could barely hear or see them, with no lights on or very small slits on their headlights. After they passed, I would take my Dad's binoculars, go to my window, and try to see them approaching the Cliff -- usually with no luck. I always thought enemy subs or ships were off 4th Cliff, and so reinforcements were sent to the base. It was pretty scary for an 8 or 9 year old!

 Convoy stopped for a break, c.1944.

by Ray Freden
Originally published in the Marshfield Mariner, January 21, 2009

The Seaview Garage

The Seaview Garage was built in the early 1900s by Edgar Willey. Mr Willey sold Graham Paige and Jewett automobiles. Mr. Willey opened the garage summers only. Edgar Willey married Susan Tilden Carver of the Barstow Carver family. In c.1820, Barstow built the Cape Cod style home at 110 Elm Street. In later years, Edgar & Susan would live there summers. This home was never out of the Carver family until my wife & I purchased it May 28, 1971.

In 1919, Edgar Willey sold the garage to Charles Langille of 207 Summer Street. Charlie ran it as a gas station and repair shop. Charlie did not work there: he was the owner/manager. Charlie was in the insurance business and very active in town affairs. He was a selectman and an officer in the Marshfield Fair.

In the 1940s, the only employee I remember was James Lambert of 35 Station Street. Across the street from where I lived (189 Summer Street) Jim would walk to work in the morning, back home for lunch, then back to the garage. I was too young to go to the garage alone, but my Mom would sometimes escort me to buy a candy bar -- that is, when we had an extra 5 cents!

I'm not sure when Charlie acquired a Ford dealership. I remember he always had a new car. I was becoming a car nut, trucks too. Now that I was 6 years old, I could go to the Seaview Garage alone, but had to walk on Station Street, not Summer Street. Summer Street was a state road and very busy. It makes me laugh today -- busy was maybe 20 cars a day.

The Seaview Garage was my hangout after school and weekends. Remember, there were no kids in Seaview my age. There were other reasons for hanging out -- the candy counter, the Coke machine, the warm pot-bellied stove in the winter, the cars, and Eula. Eula was Charlie’s daughter, 12 years older than I and she always treated me nice. I remember not having a nickel for a candy bar but I always seemed to end up with 2or 3 pieces of a Skybar or the green Necco wafers.

The office was to the left of the huge metal overhead door that was operated with a chain -- what a clatter it made opening and closing. The office had a large window in the front corner were Pansy Hayes sat at a large desk. Pansy was the book-keeper and lived on South River Street. My Mom would buy fresh eggs at the Hayes farm. I was always allowed behind the counter to sit on the swivel chair and spin around.

Charles C. Langille standing beside a 1923 Jewett auto. Credits: Ad and photo, courtesy of the Langille family.

by Ray Freden
Originally published in the Marshfield Mariner, January 7, 2009

More on Tea Rooms

 Another Tea Room I remember was the "Lindens" in Centre Marshfield next to Centre Marshfield Garage, which was run by Fred Oxner. My Mom would go shopping at the A&P store down in Marshfield, run by the Houghtons (I remember the floor was always covered with sand and I could never understand why -- there would hell to pay if I tracked sand into our house!) Returning home, Mom would stop into Banners’ tearoom. It was just a small room next to the kitchen. Mom would get a cup of tea and a piece of pie, and I would have milk and a cookie. I think the total cost was 30 cents! I would sneak out back of Oxner’s Garage and look at the junk cars. Mom and Isabel Banner were friends for a long time.

The best tearoom I remember was the "Peacock" on Pleasant Street. On occasion, Dad, Mom and I would take a ride in his old Chevy just to gawk. This was before the war. When we came back through the Hills, Dad would stop at the "Peacock." Mom and I would go in to get ice creams -- they were the best, however I don’t remember any bad ice cream!

Not until I was older, a young teen, when I could ride my bike to places outside of Seaview, did I realize how special the "Peacock" was. A few of us kids would gather after school, and there were only a few kids in Seaview. We would have to push our bikes up the Pleasant Street hill, hoping Peggy was at the Peacock. Upon arrival we would dump our bikes along a stone wall that held a garden full of flowers, run up the walkway and knock on the back door. The door would swing open and there was Peggy. With her big smile, she would quietly say "Come on in children!"

I dreamed of Peggy's ice creams being this big!

 We would wait in line, girls first. When it was my turn, Peggy would ask, "Raymond, what flavor are you having today, coffee or chocolate?" Chocolate usually won out, with jimmies. Peggy’s idea of an ice cream cone was to fill the cone, then ask,"5 cents or 10 cents?" If 5, she put one scoop on top, if 10, 2 or sometimes 3 scoops on top. It sure was plenty for one small person. But my friend Aldo reminded me that two 5 cent cones were more than 1--10 cent cone. I never figured that one out! But then why should I have? I usually only had 1 nickel!

The war years passed and then the Peacock. Aldo told me he attended Peggy’s 100th birthday party. Our lives in Seaview were simple and fun.

The Peacock Tea Room, c.1940. courtesy of the Ventress Library.

by Ray Freden
Originally published in the Marshfield Mariner, June 18, 2008

Tea Rooms and Strawberries

The front room of this Cape Cod house became The Little Green Light in the 30s and early 40s'.

I remember "The Little Green Light" tearoom on Summer Street. I was very little when my Mom would visit with Moyra Banner and Dot King at the Banner residence; this was just a short walk past the Seaview Garage, and next to the chapel, the old Sea View schoolhouse. We would enter through the back door into the kitchen, where the center of activity was. A long table near the window always had a bowl of cookies on it and I was always welcome to help myself, however Mom kept her eye on me.

Mom would have a cup of tea while chatting with Moyra and Dot as they went about business getting ready for customers. Dot would have a stack of sandwiches, crusts removed and squared up. The crusts were going to be used for bread pudding. Yuk! Later when I took my lunch to the North School, Mom had to remove the crusts from my sandwiches.

The front room was very bright and was set with sparkling settings. I was not allowed in, but I could see in from the doorway. Dot was always fussing with something in that room. I'm sure Mom planned her visits so not to interfere with customers, as I never remember any. I don’t think the tearoom operated during the war.

This business card was found in Vermont by a vintage post card collector.
Years later, this incredible find was obtained by my cousin in Florida.
It is in pristine condition. Donated by cousin Jan.

There were roadside tables of strawberries everywhere in town, and Summer Street had its share during the season. Earl Banner, Moyra's husband, raised strawberries in his back yard and had a tableful out front. Mom would buy a box on occasion and we would have a bowlful with cream and powdered sugar on top. My Dad and I loved them! But best of all, on a special occasion, Mom would make a mess of biscuits, put one in a bowl, cover it with strawberries, and top it with whipped cream, I could never get enough of the whipped cream! Do you remember licking the beaters?

Not until sometime later I learned that Mr. Banner was raising Marshall berries. The way he bragged about "his Marshall berries,” I always thought he developed them. Not until recently, I found out a Mr. Marshall F. Ewell of Spring Street introduced the" Marshall" in 1890. It had exceptional taste and firmness, and has been described as " The Best Eating Strawberry In America." It flourished in the Pacific Northwest, but was devastated by viruses after the war. The "Marshall" is currently being maintained by the USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Corvallis, Oregon.

Mr. Banner was still selling berries after the war, and I wonder if he was trying desperately trying to save the "Marshall" or just loved that berry.

Marshall Berries, Photograph by Leah Gauthier'

by Ray Frden
Originally published in the Marshfield Mariner, May 21, 2008

Tearing Down the Old Railroad Station

This is a different view of the Sea View RR Station.

 My dad purchased the station from the Old Colony Railroad in 1940, and the land. His plans were to tear down the station and build a new home.

I remember the large waiting room with long settees along the walls, a clock with roman numerals, a pot-belly stove, and the control room with keyboards, head phones and record books. There was an ell on the south side with a big pump that would pump well water to a large copper-lined tank in the attic.

The tracks were removed in 1941 by a crane mounted on a flat car. The men would attach chains to a length of track. The crane lifted it, spun around, and lowered it to a waiting flat car, then hauled away when full.

Later during the war, scavengers would walk the track bed, picking up rail spikes and iron plates to be sold as scrap. Coal was also found along the track bed.

My Dad and I began tearing the inside of the station apart sometime during the war. During the next few years, the interior was gutted. Dad engineered the project and I, at 8 to 12 years old, was in charge of pulling nails, cleaning bricks, and straightening lead and copper flashing. Everything had to be saved because no new building materials were available.

When Dad was sure he was not going to be drafted, he made plans to dismantle the building during his summer vacation from the Record American Newspaper. His twin brother came to help. Bill & Herby would drop timbers to the ground by ropes, then later stack them in piles by size. I moved the smaller timbers. The attic and second floor were off in less than two weeks. The neighbors were amazed! No pictures were taken, Mom said that no film could found for her brownie box camera.

In 1946, Dad contracted Gino Rugani of Pleasant Street and Dog Lane to build the foundation and to excavate. August Schatz & crew were to build the new home from that old station. I can still hear Red Davis and Dobby Dobson cuss the hidden nails dulling their saws . . . the nails I should have removed! I'm sure there was much cussing that I never heard!

Dad found nails in Bridgewater, windows in Quincy, and roof shingles in Millis. The shingles were seconds and only lasted 50 years on that roof! We moved in October 1947. (Dad passed away in Feb. '06 at 101 years.)

This is a likeness to the crane used to remove the RR tracks. This is building the bridge at Damon's Point. 

by Ray Freden
Originally published in the Marshfield Mariner, May 7, 2008

Memories of Trains

Seaview Railroad Station.

Sometime in the fall or winter of 1938 I heard the train whistle blow just after I was put to bed. I went to the window and lifted the green shade and looked across the field beside the Sea View railroad station. I could see the lights of the passenger train going south. The lights were blinking on and off. Later in life did I realize the lights were not blinking, the trees along the side of the tracks made them appear to blink!

The trains did not stop at this station anymore and it was boarded up. The Nicholson family lived in the apartment above the station, and Sherman was my friend, 12 years my elder. Sherman showed me how to put coins on the tracks and have them flattened by the train! This must have happened early 1939 -- I was 5. My mom gave me 2 pennies and let me go with "Sherm" to the tracks. He placed a nickel on and I put my pennies down. 

I never heard or saw the train that flattened my pennies. The next day we went to the place where we put the coins and found nothing! Sherm searched up and down and finally found his nickel and one of my pennies. They were flat! I kept that flat oval shaped penny for years.

The trains were discontinued that year. The tracks were pulled up in 1940/41. A huge crane on a flat car would lift a length of track, swing around to a flat car behind it, and lower it down. Two men would unhitch it then scramble down to hitch up another. A small "donkey " locomotive would haul it off, filled. This was quite of an event for a 6-year-old.

The last train to pass through, at the Marshfield Station.

by Ray Freden

Originally published in the Marshfield Mariner, April 9, 2008