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Text
UNION
BARNSTEADl
GILMANTON
NEW
DURHAM
VOL. 14 NO. 37
Published every Thursday at Farmington, N.H 03835. Second Clan Pottage Paid at Farmington. N.H 03835
PRICE
15
CENTS
THl KSDAY JI LY 12, 1973
FARMINGTON NEWS
Uncle Sam" Comes Home
Out O f T h e Past
July 12, 1929
by Niki Pszonosky
F A R M I N G T O N • Joseph Judd
and A.J Cameron, both lifelong
residents o f Farmington, have
brought " U n c l e Sam" back to
t o w n after being away nearly 25
years. Stated Judd " I ' v e always
thought ' U n c l e Sam' should be
back home where 'he' b e l o n g s . "
" U n c l e S a m " is "thought to be
the
longest
bobsled
in
the
country, if not in the w o r l d , in
the early 1900's"-According to
the March 2 7 , 1969 issue o f
F O S T E R ' S
D A I L Y
Mr and Mrs. Chester W Doe and family art moving to
DEMOCRAT
The quadruple
Northwood where Mr Doe will be in closer touch with
runner sled
was built
in
his duties as superintendent of schools of Union No. 17
Farmington about 1890, though
The change of residence is necessitated by transfer of
no
d e f i n i t e date has
been
Farmington schools to another union of the state, and
the loss of Mr Doe's capable service in local school established It was designed and
administration is felt with a universal sentiment of regreto w n e d by the late Hervey Pearl,
o f Farmington
Supt. Chester W . Doe
Moved To Northwood
With Family
He has given a year of most satisfactory management and
Pearl contracted B F Perkins to
not only in the schools has his influence of intelligence,
character and diligent application to his work has been d o the actual building o f the
felt but in the church work and affairs of community huge sled It is said to have taken
he has proven a loyal patriot Mr Doe always receives the over 2V4 years t o complete the
assistance of a remarkable family. Mrs. Doe is a fine 1,600 lb 90 f t . "Uncle S a m . "
soloist and chorister and the Doe children are especially Sitting c o m f o r t a b l y at least 75
talented, so the removal of this family is a real loss to adults and said t o have carried as
Farmington. Although Mr. Doe Is not going Into a new many as 108 children and adults
field of laSor, having pursued the administration work of one time, 'the .sled."when
at
Union 17 for a year, his recognized ability among the l o a d e d , weighs in excess o f 6M
superintendents of the state will be sure to further his tons. T h e sled was orginally
progress in the profession. Not only Is he an educator of painted with a red, white and
promising career, but he is an ordained clergyman of high blue design
standing,and a teacher of theology and educational text F o u r sled s e g m e n t s were
He knows the problems of these professions from adult connected in " t r a i n " fashion
experience and dfteftes his knowledge with vision and H o w e v e r , this proved too much
liberal understtylfftg. It is sincerely hoped the
lor e v e n the rugged 6'2", 250 lb
associations of the Doe family often may be renewed
Pearl, o f w h o m some had called
with the friendship of this community.
the strongest man in the state
and after deciding the 4 section
sled was unsafe, Pearl removed
the fourth section T h e section
removed
later
became the
"Nebraska "
Pearl was the only man ever t o
steer the huge sled, with the
possible exception o f Harold
( S t r i p ) Peail o n al least o n e
occasion
w h i l e Hervey
his
father, was away
T h e "run" would start by a
horse
towing the sled l o the
t o p o f Main St hill Their route
f o l l o w e d Main St 3/4 mile to
end al Peavey Hill on South
Main St The side roads had been
posted with guards to block off
traffic and as the loaded sled
roared down the lull with steel
runners clattering ovei icy toads
it sounded deceptively like a
freight train The sled reached
speeds in excess o f 60 mph and
quite possibly reached as fast as
80
mph
before stopping at
Peavey Hill
T h e sled w a s constructed with
two brakes, one placed about 8
ft
from the front o f the first
section the other was at the end
o f the last section. The. <eaV
brake
required two men t o
operate
it
The front
break
needed only one man T o steei
the sled Pearl would lie down
and have two men su on his legs
lo secuie
h i m and holding t h e
front runners with his hands
would guide I he huge sled down
(he hill F-oi nearly 40 years t h e
people
o f Farmington
were
thrilled b y the V 4 mile run
through town o n self-declared
"holidays
when
snow
conditions permitted The last
run probably occurcd in i h e late
20's or earl> !0's jftcr which
Pearl stored the sled Inr t h e next
20 years.
Joe
Judd,
a resident
ol
Farmington w a s o n e ol I he early
riders o n 'Uncle S a m
Judd
w o r k e d for Pearl at o n e n i n e a n d
since then was an employee ol
the Navy yard f o i
ycats
MISS MAINE-The front runners of the first section of "Miss Maine" alias "Uncle Sam"
betore Judd and Cameron have started to restore the sled (photo b y Bill McClintock)
'
until his retirement in |9<>S H e
has held an avid interest in t h e
90ft
sled through i h e years
since it was last used
In I h e
I 9 5 0 ' s Judd made an offer t o
Pearl for the sled which Pearl
"turned down for half thai
a m o u n t " stated Judd, and h e
continued "Pearl preferred t o
sell t o a man from Cornish
Maine to get I h e sled out o f
town'
Pearl was convinced that
the ordinary man could not
control the sled
He did not
want the people o f Farmington
t o use the sled
f
teat
that
0 I
s o m e
h
u
M
°n<'
would be
In the entire history o f "Uncle
S a m " only two accidents h a d
occurred One occurred when a
spooked horse jumped into t h e
sled, and once when the run
started t o o far up ihe hill and
failed
t o negotiate a curve
" U n c l e Sam' was sold t o ihe
man f r o m
Cornish
and
apparently
stored until his
death when the sled was turned
over t o a bank t o settle the
estate Then Mrs Gilbert Knight
o f Naples. Maine brought the
sled from (he bank and took
"Uncle .Sam" t o Sebago Lake t o
be pulled b y a truck across the
fro/en
lake occasionally for
t h e amusemeni
of ihe lake
residents.
"Uncle Sam" w a s
changed t o "Miss Sebago" and
later to "Miss Maine" which is
the name o n the sled al thistime
•' *
T R A N S P O R T ! I) HOMI-The three d i v « « » ^
flatbed
truck
McClintock)
«.n w l m l i
Judd and
C W
u
S
e
C
l
'"
a
S
"
Cameron brought the sled
V
"
c
l
e
W
'
5
,
1
,
1
o
n
«•»
home' (photo by Bin
In April ol this year Joe Jui
and
A.J
Cameron
of A.J
Cameron
and
Sons
in
Farmington wenl t o Ijmerick
YEARS
that
AGO-"Uncle Sam"
in f r o n t o f the R i c h a r d s b l o c k o n M a i n S t r e e t w i t h t h e
horse
used t o l o w t h e s l e d up the hill ( p h o t o c o u r t e s y o f P a u l P l a c e t
Maine m i husincss Judd who
had l o l l o w e d the sales ol I ride
Sain
knew that the owner
Mrs knight lived in Naples The
two men decided to go sec ihe
sled out of curiosity While there
Judd and ( j m c r o n made an
offer lor ' I ncle Sam
Mrs
Knight
almost j n c p t e d
right
rhen c o m m e n t e d Judd hut she
decided instead t o think it over
Ihe sled had been stored tor (he
past lew soars in j h.irn Kept
dry jnd m g o o d l o n d i t t o n until
this sear when
thev decided to
move the sled down hehtnd the
house
stated Judd w h o was
anxious t o gel it hack undet
cover He b i l l e d hoi hack alter
two weeks t o negotiate
the
price
She accepted the new
offet so Judd and
Cameron
made plans to bring the sled
back to Farmington the first
week in June
Transporting the
ft sled
even when broken d o w n to the '
sections
presented
several
problems
Cameron
had
volunteered the use o f his 40 It
truck but to find the lime when
the truck was not in use at the
C ameron's sod business proved
delaying Finally definite plans
were made and kept for Sunday
July I With Bill ( a m c r o n of
farmington
son
ot
A J
f amcron driving the rruck and
10 men to assist in loading the
sled thev succeeded in bunging
Miss
Maine
hack
to
farmington
hopcfullv
to
become
'I nde
Sam
once
more
Judd and ( amcron arc storing
the sled al the A J Cameron ind
Sons' buildings just o f I of Ri
11
These
buildings
were
originally
owned
by
B
F
Perkins and are in face the same
buildings where " U n c l e Sam'
got his start m o r e than 80 years
ago
Judd
commented
that
cle Sam' is finally home
asked what plans he and
irneron had for " U n c l e Sam
in the near future Judd replied
" W e plan to restore it I would
vis it ( t tide Sain I is m great
condition lor being as old as it
is
Judd continued
Wc might
p u I it
on
exhibition o r
maybe
it
the
weather
londuiiins arc right we II lake it
toi anothei tun
Judd added
that they
will paint
I ride
Sams
three seitions one red
one white and one blue
Some
of the older cili/.cns in town
would
<.eitaml\
remember
I n d e Sam
like Andrew l o s s
on Mam St He watched them
building the sled and Arthur S
Bc'us
l o o k
pK'utes
ol
0
ottered Judd
Vt illiam ( a i d
j lesidem • it
I armingiori lor
sears has
lived lor t h e last 4 > scars al 1 1H
( c n l r a l St
( ard
now retired
worked lor the Public Service
( o l o i ncatls 4 0 vcais I t o m
}'>:()
to
l^tSO
I ve seen the
thing ( I ride Sam ] go dear to
Peavcv Hill tho I never rode on
it remembered ( ard
Ms folks
wcren t
too
thrilled
at
the
thought ol me riding the sled
and I wasn t t o o enthusiastu
aboul it cithei" he added When
aijsed what he thought about ( h e
possibility
of
1. n d e
Sam
running again ( ard replied The
cars die ton numerous now
l
Florence Pike wile ol Harrs
Pike ot Spring Si Farmington
whose
home
was
recentls
damaged hv fire remembers being
in the selectman s office about
4 0 seats a g o '
when
I nde
Sam was being taken tor what
was probably
it s last
run
Florence continued 'That dav
ms son ( w h o is now 4 " i and I
were liwiking our the window i o
watch I rule .Sam go hs
f ertainlv there are mans more
in town that either rode or
watched
I ncle Sam" and will
be glad to k n o w (hai he has
c o m e home lev Farmington afiei
nearly 25 years. With nostalgia
o f 50 years a g o some perhaps
will wonder if " U n c l e Sam will
make at least one more run to
share with their children and
grandchildren
the thrill
they^
knew so long a g o
FRONT
BRAKF-This
"Uncle Sam'
|i
is t h e f r o n t b r a k e o n t h e 90 ft
t o o k o n e man
t o o p e r a t e it
Bill M c C l i n t o c k l
Sunset
Mattress ^ ^ r £ 3
TASKERS
WELL CO.
WE N E E D
Y O U R BUSINESS
FACTORS
OUR BUSINESS
IS G O I N G
IN T H E H O L E
OSSIPEE, N H 03864
PHONE 539 6256
sled
( p h o t o by
NORTHWOOD.
942 5S81
E l t a U s h s d 194 7
N H
BARNSTEADl
GILMANTON
NEW
DURHAM
VOL. 14 NO. 37
Published every Thursday at Farmington, N.H 03835. Second Clan Pottage Paid at Farmington. N.H 03835
PRICE
15
CENTS
THl KSDAY JI LY 12, 1973
FARMINGTON NEWS
Uncle Sam" Comes Home
Out O f T h e Past
July 12, 1929
by Niki Pszonosky
F A R M I N G T O N • Joseph Judd
and A.J Cameron, both lifelong
residents o f Farmington, have
brought " U n c l e Sam" back to
t o w n after being away nearly 25
years. Stated Judd " I ' v e always
thought ' U n c l e Sam' should be
back home where 'he' b e l o n g s . "
" U n c l e S a m " is "thought to be
the
longest
bobsled
in
the
country, if not in the w o r l d , in
the early 1900's"-According to
the March 2 7 , 1969 issue o f
F O S T E R ' S
D A I L Y
Mr and Mrs. Chester W Doe and family art moving to
DEMOCRAT
The quadruple
Northwood where Mr Doe will be in closer touch with
runner sled
was built
in
his duties as superintendent of schools of Union No. 17
Farmington about 1890, though
The change of residence is necessitated by transfer of
no
d e f i n i t e date has
been
Farmington schools to another union of the state, and
the loss of Mr Doe's capable service in local school established It was designed and
administration is felt with a universal sentiment of regreto w n e d by the late Hervey Pearl,
o f Farmington
Supt. Chester W . Doe
Moved To Northwood
With Family
He has given a year of most satisfactory management and
Pearl contracted B F Perkins to
not only in the schools has his influence of intelligence,
character and diligent application to his work has been d o the actual building o f the
felt but in the church work and affairs of community huge sled It is said to have taken
he has proven a loyal patriot Mr Doe always receives the over 2V4 years t o complete the
assistance of a remarkable family. Mrs. Doe is a fine 1,600 lb 90 f t . "Uncle S a m . "
soloist and chorister and the Doe children are especially Sitting c o m f o r t a b l y at least 75
talented, so the removal of this family is a real loss to adults and said t o have carried as
Farmington. Although Mr. Doe Is not going Into a new many as 108 children and adults
field of laSor, having pursued the administration work of one time, 'the .sled."when
at
Union 17 for a year, his recognized ability among the l o a d e d , weighs in excess o f 6M
superintendents of the state will be sure to further his tons. T h e sled was orginally
progress in the profession. Not only Is he an educator of painted with a red, white and
promising career, but he is an ordained clergyman of high blue design
standing,and a teacher of theology and educational text F o u r sled s e g m e n t s were
He knows the problems of these professions from adult connected in " t r a i n " fashion
experience and dfteftes his knowledge with vision and H o w e v e r , this proved too much
liberal understtylfftg. It is sincerely hoped the
lor e v e n the rugged 6'2", 250 lb
associations of the Doe family often may be renewed
Pearl, o f w h o m some had called
with the friendship of this community.
the strongest man in the state
and after deciding the 4 section
sled was unsafe, Pearl removed
the fourth section T h e section
removed
later
became the
"Nebraska "
Pearl was the only man ever t o
steer the huge sled, with the
possible exception o f Harold
( S t r i p ) Peail o n al least o n e
occasion
w h i l e Hervey
his
father, was away
T h e "run" would start by a
horse
towing the sled l o the
t o p o f Main St hill Their route
f o l l o w e d Main St 3/4 mile to
end al Peavey Hill on South
Main St The side roads had been
posted with guards to block off
traffic and as the loaded sled
roared down the lull with steel
runners clattering ovei icy toads
it sounded deceptively like a
freight train The sled reached
speeds in excess o f 60 mph and
quite possibly reached as fast as
80
mph
before stopping at
Peavey Hill
T h e sled w a s constructed with
two brakes, one placed about 8
ft
from the front o f the first
section the other was at the end
o f the last section. The. <eaV
brake
required two men t o
operate
it
The front
break
needed only one man T o steei
the sled Pearl would lie down
and have two men su on his legs
lo secuie
h i m and holding t h e
front runners with his hands
would guide I he huge sled down
(he hill F-oi nearly 40 years t h e
people
o f Farmington
were
thrilled b y the V 4 mile run
through town o n self-declared
"holidays
when
snow
conditions permitted The last
run probably occurcd in i h e late
20's or earl> !0's jftcr which
Pearl stored the sled Inr t h e next
20 years.
Joe
Judd,
a resident
ol
Farmington w a s o n e ol I he early
riders o n 'Uncle S a m
Judd
w o r k e d for Pearl at o n e n i n e a n d
since then was an employee ol
the Navy yard f o i
ycats
MISS MAINE-The front runners of the first section of "Miss Maine" alias "Uncle Sam"
betore Judd and Cameron have started to restore the sled (photo b y Bill McClintock)
'
until his retirement in |9<>S H e
has held an avid interest in t h e
90ft
sled through i h e years
since it was last used
In I h e
I 9 5 0 ' s Judd made an offer t o
Pearl for the sled which Pearl
"turned down for half thai
a m o u n t " stated Judd, and h e
continued "Pearl preferred t o
sell t o a man from Cornish
Maine to get I h e sled out o f
town'
Pearl was convinced that
the ordinary man could not
control the sled
He did not
want the people o f Farmington
t o use the sled
f
teat
that
0 I
s o m e
h
u
M
°n<'
would be
In the entire history o f "Uncle
S a m " only two accidents h a d
occurred One occurred when a
spooked horse jumped into t h e
sled, and once when the run
started t o o far up ihe hill and
failed
t o negotiate a curve
" U n c l e Sam' was sold t o ihe
man f r o m
Cornish
and
apparently
stored until his
death when the sled was turned
over t o a bank t o settle the
estate Then Mrs Gilbert Knight
o f Naples. Maine brought the
sled from (he bank and took
"Uncle .Sam" t o Sebago Lake t o
be pulled b y a truck across the
fro/en
lake occasionally for
t h e amusemeni
of ihe lake
residents.
"Uncle Sam" w a s
changed t o "Miss Sebago" and
later to "Miss Maine" which is
the name o n the sled al thistime
•' *
T R A N S P O R T ! I) HOMI-The three d i v « « » ^
flatbed
truck
McClintock)
«.n w l m l i
Judd and
C W
u
S
e
C
l
'"
a
S
"
Cameron brought the sled
V
"
c
l
e
W
'
5
,
1
,
1
o
n
«•»
home' (photo by Bin
In April ol this year Joe Jui
and
A.J
Cameron
of A.J
Cameron
and
Sons
in
Farmington wenl t o Ijmerick
YEARS
that
AGO-"Uncle Sam"
in f r o n t o f the R i c h a r d s b l o c k o n M a i n S t r e e t w i t h t h e
horse
used t o l o w t h e s l e d up the hill ( p h o t o c o u r t e s y o f P a u l P l a c e t
Maine m i husincss Judd who
had l o l l o w e d the sales ol I ride
Sain
knew that the owner
Mrs knight lived in Naples The
two men decided to go sec ihe
sled out of curiosity While there
Judd and ( j m c r o n made an
offer lor ' I ncle Sam
Mrs
Knight
almost j n c p t e d
right
rhen c o m m e n t e d Judd hut she
decided instead t o think it over
Ihe sled had been stored tor (he
past lew soars in j h.irn Kept
dry jnd m g o o d l o n d i t t o n until
this sear when
thev decided to
move the sled down hehtnd the
house
stated Judd w h o was
anxious t o gel it hack undet
cover He b i l l e d hoi hack alter
two weeks t o negotiate
the
price
She accepted the new
offet so Judd and
Cameron
made plans to bring the sled
back to Farmington the first
week in June
Transporting the
ft sled
even when broken d o w n to the '
sections
presented
several
problems
Cameron
had
volunteered the use o f his 40 It
truck but to find the lime when
the truck was not in use at the
C ameron's sod business proved
delaying Finally definite plans
were made and kept for Sunday
July I With Bill ( a m c r o n of
farmington
son
ot
A J
f amcron driving the rruck and
10 men to assist in loading the
sled thev succeeded in bunging
Miss
Maine
hack
to
farmington
hopcfullv
to
become
'I nde
Sam
once
more
Judd and ( amcron arc storing
the sled al the A J Cameron ind
Sons' buildings just o f I of Ri
11
These
buildings
were
originally
owned
by
B
F
Perkins and are in face the same
buildings where " U n c l e Sam'
got his start m o r e than 80 years
ago
Judd
commented
that
cle Sam' is finally home
asked what plans he and
irneron had for " U n c l e Sam
in the near future Judd replied
" W e plan to restore it I would
vis it ( t tide Sain I is m great
condition lor being as old as it
is
Judd continued
Wc might
p u I it
on
exhibition o r
maybe
it
the
weather
londuiiins arc right we II lake it
toi anothei tun
Judd added
that they
will paint
I ride
Sams
three seitions one red
one white and one blue
Some
of the older cili/.cns in town
would
<.eitaml\
remember
I n d e Sam
like Andrew l o s s
on Mam St He watched them
building the sled and Arthur S
Bc'us
l o o k
pK'utes
ol
0
ottered Judd
Vt illiam ( a i d
j lesidem • it
I armingiori lor
sears has
lived lor t h e last 4 > scars al 1 1H
( c n l r a l St
( ard
now retired
worked lor the Public Service
( o l o i ncatls 4 0 vcais I t o m
}'>:()
to
l^tSO
I ve seen the
thing ( I ride Sam ] go dear to
Peavcv Hill tho I never rode on
it remembered ( ard
Ms folks
wcren t
too
thrilled
at
the
thought ol me riding the sled
and I wasn t t o o enthusiastu
aboul it cithei" he added When
aijsed what he thought about ( h e
possibility
of
1. n d e
Sam
running again ( ard replied The
cars die ton numerous now
l
Florence Pike wile ol Harrs
Pike ot Spring Si Farmington
whose
home
was
recentls
damaged hv fire remembers being
in the selectman s office about
4 0 seats a g o '
when
I nde
Sam was being taken tor what
was probably
it s last
run
Florence continued 'That dav
ms son ( w h o is now 4 " i and I
were liwiking our the window i o
watch I rule .Sam go hs
f ertainlv there are mans more
in town that either rode or
watched
I ncle Sam" and will
be glad to k n o w (hai he has
c o m e home lev Farmington afiei
nearly 25 years. With nostalgia
o f 50 years a g o some perhaps
will wonder if " U n c l e Sam will
make at least one more run to
share with their children and
grandchildren
the thrill
they^
knew so long a g o
FRONT
BRAKF-This
"Uncle Sam'
|i
is t h e f r o n t b r a k e o n t h e 90 ft
t o o k o n e man
t o o p e r a t e it
Bill M c C l i n t o c k l
Sunset
Mattress ^ ^ r £ 3
TASKERS
WELL CO.
WE N E E D
Y O U R BUSINESS
FACTORS
OUR BUSINESS
IS G O I N G
IN T H E H O L E
OSSIPEE, N H 03864
PHONE 539 6256
sled
( p h o t o by
NORTHWOOD.
942 5S81
E l t a U s h s d 194 7
N H