The Trees of Seaview

As I was growing up in the village of Seaview between Summer Street and Station Streets, I became aware how important trees were to me.

The first swing I remember was hung from a huge maple tree in our yard. My Dad would push me up so high I could touch another limb with my feet. I could never achieve that height by pumping. I could twist the ropes so when un-twisting it spun so fast it made me crazy dizzy and I couldn't stand. Still a little that way, And I don't have a swing!

My dog, Skippy, would try to grab my feet as I spun around, and once did he hold on to spin with me. I laughed so hard tears were in my eyes. Now you have to remember this was when I was 5 or 6 and during the depression. This was my entertainment.

During WW2, I was 8 or 9 when my Dad set up a wall tent under the biggest maple tree in the yard. It was shaded and cool all day long. In the fall these maple trees provided me with huge leaf mountains that I could jump into for hours.

Skippy, my dog, would become so lost under them, it would take all I could do to find him. He loved it, this was his entertainment too.

Up on the hill behind the old Railroad Station, there was a grove of white birch trees, Oh how I loved to swing on them.

Robert Frost seemed to have it right; (from "Birches"

''I don't know where it's likely to go better.
I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree,
and climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
but dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches''.

We had three apple trees also, but they just didn't provide the same climbing and swinging as the maples and birches.

The maples were big but, the elms across the street were much taller than any other tree around. They rose into the sky like sky scrapers. They were nearly impossible to climb -- the limbs were too far from the ground to reach -- and if you could, there were no low branches to grab onto.

There were four stately elms and one runt on the Seaview Railroad Station property.
 The four on Station Street were very large and healthy; the one near the tracks was the runt, and dying.  c.1943.

Mr. and Mrs. Baltimore Oriole made their home in a grey, neatly-woven nest, hanging from a limb that reached out over Station Street. Mr. Oriole sang his beautiful song to us for many summers. I remember one summer,  the tree was sick, the branch that supported the orioles' nest broke and crashed onto Station Street. Fortunately, the oriole family had raised their youngsters and had left.
Sadly the Great Elms died and the orioles never returned. (c.1955)

These Elms were at 272 Summer Street. (''The Little Green Light Tea Room'' c. 1910)

Today, this lovely Cape Cod home appears to be doomed.

Elms along Elm Street on the left and birches on the right.
   Looking E. from Summer Street,  c.1910

 Elms along Prospect and Summer Streets, looking E.  c. 1915

Elms along Prospect Street, looking E.

Elms lining the four corners of Marshfield Hills
and every street in the hills.

More, stately elms on Patrick's Lane, once Bridge Street/Main Street.

The lane to Daniel Webster's Estate.

These are just a few of the Stately American Elms I remember in town.

How sad I was seeing our five elms fighting to live, but slowly succumbing to the Dutch Elm disease.

"Trees love to 
toss and sway.
They make 
 such happy
noises"
- Emily Carr


by Ray Freden
Seaview/Marshfield, 70 years
Down East Maine, 11 yrs.

Marshfield's Hay-days are History!

Yesterday morning, as I sat on my deck, having coffee. An almost lost but familiar smell drifted across my nose, the cutting of the August hay. The sweet smell of the newly cut grass is next best to the East wind coming across the bay. Well, I jumped into my truck, and headed east. About a mile away, the John Deer behemoths were cutting and baling at the same time.

 

But, no more bales -- giant jelly-roll-ups lined the field. Some different than Decker Hatch's operation. 

 

Oh how I remember Dirty Joe cutting North Marshfield’s hay fields and loading and un-loading by hand pitchfork!

'Dirty Joe'' Joe Bradley, haying off Corn Hill Lane. c.1950

Caption: Decker Hatch, mowing hay off Union Street.

The harvesting of hay was a much needed winter food source for the farmers’ livestock.

Tools of the trade before machinery:

Wooden hay fork.

 

            

Scythe

Hay saw.

Haying was usually done during the hottest August days and done bare-chested. Hayseeds mixed with sweat pierced the skin, and the sun cooked the workers.

 

OK, now into the barn! All for a dollar-a-day!

Caption: An early horse drawn hay baler.

This was a much easier way to handle hay.

 

Now we just stick our fork lift finger thru the bale and load it.

 

No bale has been touched by a human's hand. 

 

I have just returned home before noon, just short of 3 hours of watching todays operation.

The first truck load just passed my house, about 6 hours from todays start-up.

You will have to part with about $50.00 per 1100 pound round bale today. Your horse will need about 2-2.5 tons of hay next winter.

''He who feels the benefit should feel the burden''

Old Yankee proverb

by W. Ray Freden

Seaview/Marshfield, 70 years.

''Down East, Maine,'' 11 years.

As I Remember Decker Hatch: Part 5

Decker did not impress me as to his mechanical abilities. Although the saw mill kept running in spite of him. Maybe because the machinery was built to last a lifetime or a number of lifetimes. On occasion, there was metal breakage due to old age and usage fatigue. If Decker couldn't fix it with some fencing wire, he would have to call in the local welder and his portable equipment. This distressed Decker because the welder didn't work for a dollar an hour!

And, bye the bye, both Decker and his son had trouble pronouncing "dollar," the L's were replaced with W's. They had no trouble with, a "buck," a "fin," or a "saw-buck," but a dollar was more like a,  "dow-wa."

Although I have no idea what broke,  I remember the welder being there more than once. Other repairs were usually tackled by his workmen, Elmer and Burt Fish. Decker would mostly oversee and provide tools.

His tools, OMG! They were as vintage as the Mill itself. The tools were carried around in an old canvas bag with leather handles. One handle was missing. I convinced Decker to make a wire handle replacement to take the strain off the existing one. Finally he did, and it was made from wire.

 

Some vintage Ford truck tools.

His favorite tools were two monkey wrenches. A large one, and a small one. Also, there were pliers, an adjustable wrench, and a few screwdrivers, the blade type. I don't think Decker knew what a Phillips screwdriver was, nor, had any use for one.

More vintage Ford automotive tools that I have used for over 60 years.

His next favorite tool was fencing wire or hay baling wire. A good amount could be found in his tool bag as well as seen in numerous repairs in the Mill. I remember a coil of it hanging on a wood peg in the mill.

One fall morning Decker was leaving Franklin's shop as I arrived. I said, "Good mornin Decker."

He replied, "Nothin good so far," and left, walking down Pine Street.

After I got to work, in the shop, Franklin brought me up to date. It seems Decker's yard truck, a Ford model AA, wouldn't start. That meant the workers couldn't carry out Decker's morning plans.

Frank asked me if I had my tools, and of course I did, in my car's trunk. Off we went to the Saw Mill yard and up to the disabled truck.

I put my test light to work and found no power to the starter. Decker told me a new battery was put in by his men last week, and it's been starting fine.

Next, a look at the new battery. Well, it had almost fallen to the ground and snapped the ground cable.
The battery box had long ago rotted away, and the fence wire holding it had also rotted and broke away.

Franklin had gone back to his shop,and I was left to solve the problem.

Now, back to the shop to make a plywood box for the battery, then to the Trading Post for a new ground strap. The most difficult task was removing the rusted bolt that held the ground strap. I used fence wire to hold up the plywood box supporting the battery. Oh yes, I too believed in fence wire.

I installed the new ground strap, I gave the starter button a push with the choke on, and away she went. Five seconds later, she stopped and wouldn't restart.

Well, I checked for gas and it was dry!

Off to the trading post again with my two gallon can for gas.

After gassing her up, off she went. I drove her out to the driveway.

When I returned from a late lunch, the old truck had been moved and now loaded with slabs outside of the saw shed. I never got a thank you, nor paid for the two gallons of gas.

Just another day in "Hatchville!"

by Ray Freden, Marshfield, 70 years.
Worked in Hatchville, 6 years.
 
"We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once."
- Calvin Coolidge

As I Remember Decker Hatch and his son Franklin, Part 4: Cutting Salt Hay

This painting reminds me of Decker Hatch cutting hay, salt or otherwise.
Painting by Frank F. English.

I mentioned cutting salt hay in my previous blog. Alternate common name: Saltmeadow Hay, Marsh Grass, Saltmeadow Cordgrass. Its a Hay-like grass found in the upper areas of the marsh. It grows 1 to 2 feet high, green in spring and summer, and turns light brown in late fall and winter.

Decker had his share of salt hay on his property behind the airport off Ocean Street. He had a large barn where he stored his hay cutting equipment and housed his horses during the cutting season. Most of the cut hay was stored at this site.

Built by Samuel Hatch. c. Early 1880s.

Corn was also planted in the drier fields nearest the airport runway. I found it great pheasant hunting on those corn fields.

Decker used a single horse hitched to the sickle bar to cut the marsh hay and corn stalks. A team of two horses were used for heavy work and to pull the wagon loaded with marsh grass.

A wagon loaded with freshly cut salt hay.

Cutting on the lower and wet salt meadow, Decker would fit the horse with "marsh shoes." They were a strange addition to the horses hoof, and rather awkward for the horse. These were used to prevent the horse from sinking into the soft mud.

A set of marsh shoes.

There are hundreds of variations because most were made by the horse's owner. There was a pattern applied for improvement of the marsh shoe in 1876. I once had two pair of marsh shoes hanging in my barn, each pair were different.

A team of horses wearing Marsh Shoes.

Salt marsh hay uses in days past:
Fodder
Roof thatching
Mattresses
Insulation of floors and foundations
Insulation for root cellars

Now-a-days:
Garden mulch
Shrubs and trees
Insulation of shallow wells

Decker sold salt hay to horse farms for stall litter. Others would buy the hay for mulching blueberries and strawberries. A lot of hay disappeared when Decker was away. He would deliver a truck load for twenty dollars.

After salt hay cutting was over, Decker would return his horses to his sister's barn across from the Hatch's home. His method was to hitch the pair up to the back of his truck and drive up Ocean Street to Plain Street, and down Union Street. Although Decker drove slow, this was a long haul for a pair of old horses pounding their hooves on that hard pavement.

Now lets talk of a horse of a different color.

Decker loved horse racing -- "the ponies." When the racing came to the Marshfield Fair, Decker was there. His son told me he never missed a day of racing at the  Fair.

This was Decker's hobby, and he took it seriously. No tree cutting, no sawing lumber, no farming, no hay cutting. When the horses were racing, Decker was in another world.

Rounding the first turn.

He would get a lot of kidding about the "ponies" and how much he won or lost.

A number of times, Decker would stop into Franklin's shop to chat with Frank and kill time before his dinner. By now, I was accepted somewhat, I could have conversations with him. When I got a chance I would ask, "Decker, did-ja win or lose today?"

After a bit he would respond, "Y-see, y-win some, y-lose some."

The next time he showed up, same question, "Decker, did-ja win or lose today?"

His response, "Y-see, y-lose some, y-win some." The ''ya'' was almost silent. The "ya-see" was a "yse."

Franklin once told me to pay attention to how his father arranged his answer. I have always wondered if this was a hint of his wins or loses, or just by chance?

Read his answers again. Leave your comment at the end of this blog.

 Decker must be there somewhere.

 

 

by
W. Ray Freden, Marshfield, 70 years.

"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people." - W.C. Fields.

As I Remember Decker Hatch, Part 3: Decker Was a Hard Worker.

Decker was a very hard and dedicated worker. Up early, work 'til noon, home for lunch, most of the time. Back to work at 1pm, and busy until 4pm, or later in the summer.

Decker was a small man and of slight build. He shied away from heavy tasks, leaving the hard labor to Bert and Elmer Fish, his right and left hand helpers.

There was a major job for each season. The main business was the saw mill. Pine lumber was milled from spring to freeze-up.

In the spring, there were interruptions with the cutting of June hay, and, in the fall, cutting of salt hay.

And of course, the summer gardening. Strawberries, raspberries, peas, tomatoes, corn, squash, and other crops.

The winter cash crop was rhubarb.

There were four long houses in a pine grove just off Pine Street. As I remember, in the mid 50s, only two rhubarb sheds were remaining. Two collapsed from disrepair.

The smallest shed in 1956.

Rhubarb shoots were planted in the field next to the sheds in the early summer. They were dug in the fall and stored outside where they would become dormant.

Early winter the plants were placed in trays inside the dark sheds and covered with horse manure and hay. A coal stove was fired off and tended until the plants were forced to sprout tender pink shoots. They were cut and wrapped and taken to the Boston market. That was Decker's cash crop for mid to late winter.

By 1960, the last remaining sheds fell in and no longer usable. I can remember many clumps of rhubarb growing wild all around where the sheds once were.

Heat from the coal stoves and darkness, forced the shoots.

Forced shoots are the sweetest.

by W. Ray Freden, Marshfield, 70 years.

"What New England is, is a state of mind, a place where dry humor and perpetual disappointment
blend to produce an ironic pessimism that folks from away find most perplexing." 
~ Willem Lange

Next! As I Remember Decker Hatch, Part 4: Cutting Salt Hay.

As I Remember Decker Hatch - Part 2

Inside of Franklin's shop, 1959.

Franklin's Dad, Decker, would show up in the shop from time to time for a small repair or advice. No advice was asked from me. In fact, I wasn't even acknowledged! I was the young "whippersnapper" that didn't know anything. So I just went about my work, but eavesdropped.

Of all the silent encounters, this one took the cake. One day, just before noon, Decker came in and confronted Frank with his problem. He had a flat tire on his 1946 Chevy Truck. He wanted to take a tire off his Ford model AA yard truck and put it on the Chevy.

Well, I being a motor head, and having worked at the Seaview Garage for two years, knew it couldn't be done. I decided to offer my two cents, so I spoke up and said, "Mr Hatch . . . "

Well, without looking at me, Decker said, "My friends call me Decker!"

So I came back with, "Decker, the wheels won't interchange. The Model A Ford wheel is five lug, and the Chevy is eight lug."

Well, . . . silence. Then he asked Frank if he would take the wheels up to the Trading Post and swap tires on the rims.

Little did I know then, the Chevy tire was showing canvas and all the Ford tires were bald.

So, once again I butted in and told Decker that the tires were different sizes and wouldn't interchange either.

Well, there was silence and no comments. Out the door Decker went!

Lunch time came, and I headed out to the Trading Post for a burger. As I stopped at Union Street, I took a look down the drive to the mill and there were the two trucks jacked up in front, with wheels leaning against them. Decker and his workmen were home for lunch, so I drove down and took a look. It was sad -- two trucks, twelve bald tires, one or two showing canvas! There were no tires streetworthy, and nothing interchangeable.

The road truck

The yard truck

After  lunch, I asked Roger, the Trading Post mechanic, about the tire guy that sold used tires. I gave Roger the size for the Chevy. He said he would call and get a price.

Back to work I went. Decker showed up after lunchtime to discuss his situation with Franklin. Frank relayed my info to Decker. He asked Frank how to get the truck to Roger's for new tires? Frank looked at me and hesitated. I took the hint and told Decker to remove one of the dual rear wheels and put it up front. I'm sure Decker or his workers knew that, but it was not mentioned.

The next day at lunch, there was Decker's Chevy truck on the lift, being fitted with a set of used, driveable tires!

The next time Decker came in the shop, he did speak to me, but not by name. Oh well, all in a day's work with "Swamp Yankees."

by Ray Freden, Marshfield, 70 years.

"Knowledge and timber shouldn't be used until they are seasoned." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Next: Part 3 -- Decker was a hard worker.

As I Remember Decker Hatch and his son Franklin. c. 1947 to 1961

As long as I can remember, my Mom and Dad would go to shop in Rockland or Brockton. We would cross town to Pine Street then turn onto Union Street. As we slowed or stopped at the end of Pine Street, my Dad would always point and say, "That's the oldest saw mill around these parts still working."

Hatch's Mill. Photo by Ray Freden.

I never saw Mr. Hatch that I remember, until my Dad went to buy some lumber in
the summer of 1947. When my Dad was in the yard selecting the lumber he needed, I wandered into
the shed where the saw was. I saw someone pitching sawdust out from under the machinery.

I said, "Hi."

He responded with a "Hi."

"I'll never get all of this out!" he exclaimed.

 He crawled out, brushed himself off and said, "Wanna see it run?"

"Yep," I responded.

He told me to stand there and don't move. I did, and didn't move.

He disappeared into the other room and then the saw started to move, . . . then faster.

He returned and climbed over the machine, then pulled a lever, and the whole machine moved toward me with a huge log on it. It then suddenly returned and a large board fell to the side. It amazed me how easily the saw cut through the log.

My father returned and we left with boards tied to the top of the car. That was my first meeting with Franklin Hatch, Decker's son. Little did I know that I would be working for Franklin nine years from then.

After WW2,  when we passed Decker Hatch's house, the front lawn was filled with lawn ornaments and whirlygigs. These were the products of Franklin Hatch, Decker's son. He developed woodworking skills and was making lawn ornaments in his Dad's cellar. He also supplemented his income by trapping the North River for muskrat, mink, otter, beaver, fox and anything legal to trap.

In 1947, Franklin got married and moved into a small home two houses up the street from his parents. While Franklin was still working for his dad, he started making picnic sets. in his cellar shop. The demand grew to the point that he needed a larger shop, and working at the mill wasn't going to support a new family.

His Dad gave him a piece of land across Pine Street, where Frank built a new shop. The picnic furniture grew and whirlygigs declined. Soon there came a demand for inside furniture, and new products were developed.

Franklin's furniture business grew to the point that he needed help. I would stop in to his shop many times because of my interest in woodworking. I had gotten laid off from a carpentry job in December of 1955. I mentioned this to Frank. He asked if I wanted a job?

"Sure do," I said. I started work on January 2nd, 1956.


----

Coming next, part 2 . . . when Decker would show up at Franklin's shop----

by Ray Freden
Marshfield resident 70 years