52 Ancestors Week 44: Rural

From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 44:

The theme for Week 44 is “Rural.” Many, if not most, of us have ancestors who lived in a rural area. Having trouble who to choose? There’s nothing wrong with picking someone at random!

Rabbit rabbit

    Last week, I talked about how going to the big city was a big event for a lot of people in my family tree. I couldn't just pick one story about someone going into Boston because there were so many stories to be told. Boston is not that far away from Haverhill and so everyone went to the city at one point or another. Now, imagine living in a town that's roughly equidistant between two major cities. It's a town with a long and storied history stretching back hundreds of years. I am of course talking about the town of Salem. No, not the one with the witch trials and everything. Though, it does have the same name! This town is Salem, New Hampshire and it's the place where I grew up.

    Today Salem, New Hampshire is a town of over thirty thousand people and it had very humble beginnings. In the 1700s, it was the North Parish of nearby Methuen and in 1750 it was incorporated into its own town as part of the New Hampshire colony. These days it's considered to be a suburb of Manchester, New Hampshire and Boston, Massachusetts due to its proximity to both metropolitan areas.

My brother Jim and Mary Matorian

   Long before urbanization came to Salem it had farms and many of those farms were owned by either immigrants from places like Armenia or by people have had ties to the land for hundreds of years.

    When I was growing up, an older couple used to take care of my brother and I whenever my parents were busy. Their names were Peter and Mary Matorian and I may have mentioned them a few times in the blog.

    Peter grew up on one of those farms I mentioned earlier and he often told my brother and I stories of how different Salem was when he was growing up. The way he told the story made Salem appear very different from what it is today.

    Peter's parents Garabed and Annie lived in a very rural part of town and their farm was one of many that sold produce to nearby communities like Derry, Haverhill, Methuen, Plaistow and other towns in Essex and Rockingham counties. They would travel along the main road connecting the towns and sell their goods. There was a train station near the intersection of Main Street and what we called "Route 28". From there farmers would load their produce onto the trains and they'd go all over Rockingham and Essex counties. 

    These days that same stretch of road in Salem is now two miles of gas stations, stores, malls and restaurants.  A horse track was even built to entertain visitors. To say times have changed is a bit of an understatement! It was like that when I was a kid, too. So, I always knew that road to be abuzz with activity. There's even a Wikipedia entry for it! Check it out! There's also a very old amusement park that also entertained visitors and it's not far from the action on Route 28.

Matorians in the 1930 census

    Rapid urbanization didn't stop farming in Salem. Many people held onto their farms and even today you can buy delicious produce from various nearby farm stands. One such stand is called "Pete's Farm" and sadly it has no connection to the Matorians. Though, I wish it did. Their corn is simply amazing! We get their corn every time it's in stock and they go great with hamburgers. There's something about farm raised veggies that makes them so addictive.

    The Garabedian farm also supplied produce to nearby grocery stores like Market Basket where you get "moah foh ya dollah". Gotta love that Boston accent!

    The Matorian farm just one of many farms in my area. Closer to home was the Duston farm. The owner, sadly, was not as eager to talk about their family as the Matorians were. In fact, he seemed to not appreciate having neighbors around at all! His name was Thomas Elliot Duston and he was a direct descendant of famous/infamous Hannah Duston of Haverhill. I found that connection decades after he passed away. Though, there were rumors about his connection when I was growing up.

Ye Olde Duston Farmhouse

       My parents wanted to experience rural life since they both grew up in urban settings. They moved into the area around Duston's farm in the 1970s and ever since that day Mr. Duston always kept a watchful eye on the family and anyone else who lived on his street.

    When I was a kid my brother and I would cross one of his fields in order to go to a friend's house as it was a lot safer to cut through the field than going around the block. The journey was a lot shorter, too.

    Our journey was often marred by screams and occasional chases. Duston did not want anyone on his property. The weird thing was that there was never anything actually growing in those fields. It was just weeds and dirt! And maybe some bugs!

    Duston never really talked to anyone save for a few other people who lived on his street. He never really bothered to talk to anyone else but a few people. He did live with his sister and took care of her. Though, I do remember seeing his cows in the field across the street. Hearing them moo from time to time was an interesting wake-up call for my parents. Thankfully, I never heard them moo in the wee hours! His farm was about 150 acres in its heyday.

I feel a presence I've not felt since.....

    Once Duston passed away in 2006, the fields that my brother and I used to cut through rapidly became neighborhoods. The centuries old farmhouse the Duston family lived in was even torn down and whisked away like it was never there. 

    On occasion my brother and I would walk down those roads with my sister-in-law and my nephews. As I walked, I got bombarded with feelings of nostalgia and a sense that I really shouldn't be on that road. It's weird. It's been twenty years since Duston passed away and I could still feel like there's a presence there. My mind could be playing tricks on me. It's hard to say. 

    Still, it's interesting to compare and contrast two farming families who were contemporaries of each other. One family was eager to tell everyone about their farming past and offer advice on how to grow things and the other family was not as welcoming as we had hoped. To each their own, I suppose. Everyone has their own quirks and not every farmer is going to be like the Kents in Smallville. At least I got to experience both rural AND urban life growing up in Salem. When you live in a town like Salem, you get to experience both and you don't have to travel that far to see it. Will Salem become a city like its bewitching friend to the south? That's not likely. You never know. At least I got to experience both ways of life and you can't beat that!

See ya next time!

The picture of Duston farm is courtesy of Google Earth.