Chesterfield New Hampshire Historical Society
Summers With Grandfather
Childhood Memories of Chesterfield
By
Gladys Cordana Pierce Priest
Gladys Cordana Pierce Priest was born Nov. 28, 1902 in the red brick house on Christian Street (now Poocham Rd.). It was the home of her grandfather, Frank A. Pierce. Sometime in the 1970s, she wrote down her memories of the summer school vacations she spent there with her grandfather. Here are some of them.
Although she lived in Connecticut, her roots and many generations of her family were in Chesterfield. She and her two sisters enjoyed an unhurried time during their summertime adventures with Grandfather. He would cook the main meal at noon. It generally consisted of salt pork with fresh garden vegetables and Johnny cakes. Meat was purchased from the butcher’s wagon that came by every week or so. The meat would have been wrapped and placed in a pail, then lowered down the well to keep it cool. The girls were encouraged to help with the baking. They eventually mastered soda and cream of tartar biscuits along with blueberry cake. Dinner was crackers with milk which they traveled to Herman Chickering's farm once a week to obtain.
Their days were carefree and unstructured. Some were spent, picking wild blueberries or rowing on Lily Pond while collecting bouquets of lilies. Rainy days found them in the woodshed cracking and eating butternuts, they had gathered on Grandfather's Westmoreland property. They often walked up the road to visit Cordana Presho (left) and Aunt Eliza. They were fascinated by Cordana’s antique rope bed with its puffy feather mattress, the wooden molds that imprinted pretty designs on her homemade butter, and the line of drying sliced apples strung up behind the stove.
Of course, there were chores. One very memorable one was washing clothes. Grandfather had an antique tub and posh (oval suction cups attached to a long handle). Hot soapy water and clothes were placed in the tub and the posh was hand rotated to agitate the mixture until the clothes were suitably clean. After rinsing, the garments were spread out onto the grass to dry. Their resulting fresh and clean smell remained one of Gladys' cherished life long memories. After gathering them, heavy black foot irons which rested on the wood stove, would be used to press them.
They arrived by train each summer at Dummerston, VT and took the ferry across the river. Grandfather would meet them in his horse and wagon. The horse's maintenance required trips to the Blacksmith in Chesterfield Center. The girls were impressed by the smithy's skills. Chesterfield's and West Chesterfield’s country stores provided supplies while the mail was retrieved from a private home in West Chesterfield. A notable part of these adventures was stopping at a spring-fed trough on the side of the road so the horse could have a cool drink.
Haying was quite an exciting but anxious time. The weather had to be just right so the cut hay could dry in the sun properly. Afterward, it was raked into neat rows. Men would toss the hay from the rows onto the hay wagon for transport to the barn. Gladys eventually learned how to drive the horse drawn hay rake which was a great point of pride. The fact she earned money for it made her summers happy and profitable.
One chore she was very proud of accomplishing was picking up her Aunt Ann Norris at the train station in Keene. Grandfather was "laid up" with rheumatism, so it was her responsibility to guide the country bred horse through the hazards of a mechanized new world. With a firm grip, she managed to control the horse and rig past the noisy factory outside of Keene and was thankful she didn't meet the air trolley car. She considered it her lucky day to have the horse safely secured at the livery stable while she waited for the train.
Gladys Priest continued to vacation on the farm until it was sold. Afterwards they summered in a cottage on the lake until the trips were shortened to just visits to the family graves and a picnic. She was the widow of East Haven, CT Police Chief Edwin B. Priest. She passed on Nov. 10, 2000 leaving behind 2 daughters, 6 grandchildren, and 13 great grandchildren.
The red brick house still stands on Poocham Road. Built in the 1700s, it was the only brick house in town. Grandfather Frank Pierce (1854 - 1925) is buried in West Chesterfield Cemetery. Cordana W. Presho (1833 - 1919) was laid to rest in Chesterfield Center Cemetery.
