QUESTIONS FROM YOU AND ANSWERS BY DON DOUCETTE
Rehoboth State Forest
Cellar holes and wells deep in the woods. Do you know know any history of this place? Ben.
No sorry to say.
I surmise you are in East Branch, Palmer River Watershed below the old NIKI Rocket site off Peck Street.
Otis Dyer the old Rehoboth land surveyor would have known.
Someone once told me a story of repeated walks in that area and with each trip out finally carried to the car an indian (metate) grinding stone. Its use was converted as a bird bath – and now in dwelling thought, I believe Milton Veno told the story.
There was an old fire tower on the high ground. As a kid, I climbed halfway up the stairs during a windy day, got the willies and came back down. Could see to Providence from up there.
I was probably with my father on a detour to one of the old Rehoboth horse traders, and they were a site to behold – spit, cussed and rolled their own cigarettes, licked and creased in one motion, pursed their lips and spit out the loose strands of tobacco and with a wooden match in one hand, struck to flame with a thumb nail, always cupping the hands to shield the wind, all between continued spits and cusses and with squinted eyes, puffs of smoke arose while they lazed about in old dried horse buns telling horse stories while wearing their grimy barn boots, rolled up bib overalls at the ankles and sweaty cocked hats as formal attire – like sun turtles on a log.
I still know all the curse words, but we’ll let that go for now.
Don Doucette
“Ten Mile River Rambles”