Building the Lodge (part 3)

New Ipswich Historical Society

Marion Davis Audio-Tape Transcriptions

Sometime before her death in 1986, Marion Davis recorded her memories at the encouragement of her brother, Walter Buck. The recordings were transcribed by a secretary.

The Friends of Wapack have made these available to the Historical Society. Marion was born on February 8, 1894 in Fitchburg, MA.

Roof and Flooring

December 8th--it had got to be pretty cold weather--we put the roofing paper on. The night before Frank had brought those rolls of roofing paper into the kitchen at the farm and set them up around the kitchen stove to warm. Then we took it out and put it into the Model T, covered it with blankets and headed for the Lodge. And do you know we got the whole of that roofing paper on the roof on that day, nailed on. in the spring after the planting was done we went over there to work on that building. We laid the flooring in about a 10 square in a corner and a phoebe had built her little nest up in one corner of the building and hatched out her babies. That kept it interesting. I had a 3-burner kerosene stove and I stayed there and worked on laying that first flooring. Then I began putting in the windows, which we bought out of The Chestipe (?) place. They were dismantling a lot of the buildings there.

We also bought a front door and a kitchen door. They were better materials than you would buy at the lumber dealers at that time. I remember Dad came up one day. I was trying to get a window in, and the studding was too close together, and I'd gotten a little bit fretty about it, and he said, "You just leave off, and I'll fix that for you". And he did it so quick and easy. It was right after that that I was to have a couple of women come to stay overnight. And, goodness, How could you take folks in when you hadn't got the building done. Well, my Dad and Frank had to make a little outhouse. Besides that I had to have water. There was a well at the NE corner of the foundation, and we could lower a pail down into that to get water, but that came quite sometime after. We went down to the spring and got water. for this purpose.

Photo Archives

Possibly Marion Davis (not certain)

James Roger diary entry - Pullets 18

4^th January 1913

Wild, stormy night and day; accounts of many disasters by land and sea in today’s papers. David choring around. Henry Royce called in afternoon to arrange about cutting up a tree blown down at Barretts’ some time ago. Daniel and David put in settees in Hall. Got letter from Sandy & Alice. Mother better today. Pullets 18.

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