Old Industry
Rural Peace
Ward Moss has lived in the 200 year old house at the foot of Hardscrabble Road for as long as I can remember. According to a 19th Century map, Ward's house is located next to Jenning's Mill, a tannery, a carriage shop, a blacksmith and two shoemakers. Because of flooding from Hardscrabble Brook as it joins Quaker Brook, Ward has had to rebuild the old stonework. In doing so, he came upon the piece pictured above, possibly part of the old tannery bark mill.
That is not the only ghostly presence of the past. A few years ago, he decided to add a bay window to his kitchen. When siding and plaster were removed, he found a pair of high button baby shoes, concealed within the walls of the house. Researching the practice, Ward learned that the concealment of shoes to ensure fertility, or ward off evil spirits, was an old European folk practice.
Ward, truck driver and rider of motorcycles and horses, is himself is a great teller of the great tales he heard from the last of those who farmed in Sherman. His knowledge of the area's people is vast, his love for it, profound. Ward, who has traveled this country over hauling horses, helps me understand how and why people choose to stay here.
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