Author: Ray

In the early 40’s I walked the ”Old Railroad Bed” trying to span the ruts and valley’s of the removed ties.  I even tried to ride my bike over them… to no avail.

The valley’s are long gone!

At a young age, I was allowed to walk the bed down to “the crossing”, a cart path that ran from Station St. to David Seager’s well house ( now Pinehurst Drive).  There were Towhee’s scratching  in the leaves, an Ovenbird singing deeper in the woods. I saw the only one Redstart in my life, and my first Scarlet Tanager.

Later  in the afternoon I remember scaring-up Woodcocks feeding along the edges of the banking.

A resident Box Turtle  and I crossed paths many times. I would  always check  it out to see if it had the initials “BB” carved in its bottom shell. I could never confirm who ” BB” was.

I left the vicious Snappers alone,  and the fast  little Painted ones alluded me.

When I got older, I was allowed to travel farther away from home.
After the crossing,  there was a large cornfield.  I remember scaring up  hundreds of Mourning Doves many times.


Meadow Larks were a common sight in these same fields.
They often sat on the fence posts or as seen here on the barbed wire.

Sometimes, stuffed in my pocket, I had a hook and line wrapped up in brown paper. I’d search for a worm or bug to attach, hoping to catch young trout in the stream running though a culvert under the old bed. We locals called it Pocahontas creek. The trout were too small to bring home, but this was my entertainment.

One day I was sitting  on the banking waiting for a bite and a four-foot Black Racer snake slithered by, not five feet away!  In the years I plied that old bed, I encountered Garter snakes, Milk snakes, a Puff Adder, some Grass snakes, a number of ribbon snakes….all of which I chased down and caught just for fun. I knew these were non-poisonous and most didn’t try to bite.

Returning home late in the afternoon, I looked up and watched  the hundred or more crows returning to roost in the great pines on Seager’s Hill.

Quite often, a bevy of Bob White Quail would scamper through the brush rattling  the leaves. I knew when early evening came, the Bobwhites would call, whistling ‘bob-bob-white’, over and over.
I wonder if there are any Bobwhites left?

As I continued my stroll home, a Cottontail rabbit was sitting motionless until I was two feet from it. The little guy leaped into the air, flipped to one side and scampered out of sight!  It’s unusual departure made me laugh.

Just after dusk a Red Fox would bark, it was more like a ‘ba-a-a-rh’ ! I could imitate the bark well. I used to think we were talking to each other.

Just after dusk, one of my favorite bird calls would be heard, a  Whip-poor-Will would tune in with its song.
‘whip-poor-will’, ‘whip-poor-will’, over and over.

Look up the folklore of the Whippoorwill, aka goat sucker.

At my bedtime the Tree Frogs would peep , peep & peep -me-to-sleep.

“Nature is mans teacher, she unfolds her treasure to his search, unseals his eyes, illumes his mind, and purifies his heart;  An influence breathes from all sights and sounds of her existence.”
                                   Alfred Billings Street.

So-called “progress”, has utterly destroyed  this amazing wildlife stage that Mother Nature provided for me.  The clearing of land, the housing developments , the paved roads…. all this has done away with these creatures’ homes. Not one of these creatures could prevent this kind of destruction to their beloved village and they just moved away in silence.
Today, there is only one creature left to help save what’s left of this habitat…… that’s Man:  people, neighbors, abuters, and the power company!
This old Railroad bed has all of the requirements to remain a nature path , not a wide groomed roadway made easy for man to walk without getting his Nike Dunk Low’s or Yeezy’s dirty.
Have you ever noticed these creatures that walk paths through the woods  never look dirty?
 Even more wildlife, that I have not mentioned, once roamed this old bed.  Pay attention  people, when the creatures are gone, we will follow.
I challenge anyone to find the same observations  today, exploring that old Railroad bed!

Coincidentally, I just ran across this information published in a local newspaper.

“People need to pay attention to the birds around them because they are slowly disappearing,” said study lead author Kenneth Rosenberg, a Cornell University conservation scientist. “One of the scary things about the results is that it is happening right under our eyes. We might not even notice it until it’s too late.” Material from The Associated Press.
And more of Ken’s findings:
“Grassland birds have declined by 53% since 1970- A loss of 700 million adults in the 31 species studied, including Meadowlarks and Northern Bobwhites.”

W. Ray Freden
Seaview/ Marshfield 70 years.

12/3/2019 Update:
I have added a sketch of how the original Little mill might have looked in the late 1600’s.

In the mid 1600’s, the Thomas Little family settled alongside a small stream that flowed easterly into the North River. They dammed-up the stream and created a pond for a controlled water supply to operate a saw and grist mill on the north side of Little’s Creek. The first power was supplied by an undershot water wheel. The Grist Mill Stones were shipped in from England and the Little’s got to work grinding corn and other grains for their own use as well as providing a place for other locals to mill grains. The use of the mill by others was usually bartered with a percentage of grain or other tradable goods.

An oil painting of the Little’s Mill. The small shed attached  on the left was the original Grist Mill . The Little’s homestead is within the trees, center. Elm St. is on the far right. The North River, upper left.

This oil painting was found in an antique shop in Hingham, 1981. The view is  from Sea View Heights, (now Deer Hill), by an unknown artist and before 1884. Owned by Ray Freden.

Thomas Little (b. 1610-d. 1671) acquired this farm about 1662, from the estate of Major William Holmes that arrived in Marshfield about 1658. Thomas improved the land and erected additional buildings. The Little family continued living there for the next 279 years with the second Luther Little  being the last Little living there. Luther  died in 1941.

William and Solomon Little , sons of Captain Luther Little (1757-1842), were still operating a grist mill in 1838. In 1871, at the age of 70 , William and Solomon sold the Mill, water wheel, the mill stones and water rights , to William Randall of Providence R.I. for one thousand dollars, with the understanding that they continue operating the Grist mill. However, the Little’s reserved the rights of taking from the pond, ice, trout, and other fish for their family’s use.

In 1872 George S. Randall moved to Marshfield, and, with his brother William W. Randall, went into business known as Randall Brothers. They maintained the original grist mill and added a three-story building where they manufactured cabinet organs.

A close up of the above painting .

On Sept 24, 1884, a disastrous fire destroyed the buildings and nothing could be salvaged. In October, William Randall sold his part of ownership and dissolved their partnership. The deed continued to include the wishes of the Little’s.

George Randall proceeded to rebuild a factory 30’x40′ by two stories high, along with a grist mill including a small 18” mill stone complying with the stipulation in his deed from the Little’s . The Mill reopened in 1885.
A newspaper publication of 9/24/1884

The new building’s gables now were north & south. The previous building’s gables were east & west.

The following few paragraphs are excerpts from the Boston Biographical Review  Publishing Co., “Sketches of leading citizens of Plymouth County”

‘GORGE S. RANDALL, of Marshfield Hills, whose organ-case factory
at Sea View is one of the important industrial plants of this locality, has long been interested in the manufacture of musical instruments, and before the piano had supplanted the cabinet organ in the homes of the people. He made many organs for the music trade. He was born in Winthrop, Me., on November 11, 1833, the son of Penuel and Emily (Baker) Randall.’

‘George S. Randall in his boyhood attended the common schools of Winthrop, Me., and when he was seven years old he also began to work at shoe-making. Thrown on his own resources at the age of fourteen by the death of his father, he was a skilled workman in the “gentle craft of leather” at the age of seventeen. At nineteen he began to learn the trade of cabinet- and chair- making, which he followed for a number of years. In April, 1856, he went to Ansonia, Conn., to learn to tune organs, and the following year his employer, Mr. Fisk, took him into partnership with the firm becoming Fisk & Randall. They engaged in the manufacture of organs and melodeons for six years at Woodbridge, Conn., and then moved to New Haven, where they built a large factory. A few years later Mr. Randall disposed of his for business in New Haven to the Schoeninger Organ and Melodeon Company, and moved to Providence, R.I. There was formed the firm of Baker & Randall, cabinet organ manufacturers, with which he was connected for about four years’.

George  Randall ‘s brothers , William & Jason,  on the front step of William’s home at 91 Summer St.

William W. Randall, b. in Parkman Maine, June 9. 1842 to Penuel and Emily Randall. m. Betsey J. Mitchell , 1884. William died August 3, 1924. age 82 yrs. Betsey died Dec, 23, 1912, age 63.. Their children were Archie W. Randall, b. 8/15/1885 and Charles W. Randall, b. 9/15/1887. d.8/3/1924.

William and Betsey’s home at 91 Summer St. Sea View. c. 1910.

William came to Marshfield in 1871, nine years after being wounded at age 20  at the second Bull Run Battle in Manassas, Va. He purchased the Little’s Mill, within a few months, and started a woodworking business with his brother in 1872. He married in 1884, and suffered a total loss of his business by fire. The same year he acquired a Grocery business from George Curell, and constructed a building on the Curell property. The first floor consisted of a grocery store with living quarters on the second floor.

This building became the Sea View Post Office until 1922, then continued as a general store into the late ’30’s.

At a later date, William, now in his 50’s, built a shop behind his residence, c. 1893, and began a woodworking business. He built wooden model boat kits. These were assembled by other craftsmen and sold to collectors.

The William Randall boat models were of much detail.

The models were identified with a sticker attached to hull.

Although the models were not built in this building, it was clever advertising  to use a likeness of the original Randall Mill, water wheel and pond.

George Randall was a busy man building organ cases and parts for organs in his water-powered mill alongside the Little Creek and across from the Little’s Pond (now Keen’s) on Summer St., just short of 500 ft. from Church & Elm Streets. His cabinets were made only from the finest hardwoods…cherry, black walnut & mahogany. These fine woods would be ordered from out of state suppliers and shipped by rail to the Sea View RR Station less than a half mile away. This method of shipping was a boom to all the Sea View businesses.

An example of Randall’s work now on display at the Marshfield Historical society’s Marsha Thomas house at 65 Webster St. Marshfield.

This kind of work was dedicated to only the finest quality available for the consumer. Profits from this business allowed George Randall to live a luxurious life. He built a handsome Dutch Colonial home, and a mansard roofed barn at 103 Prospect St. Marshfield Hills. He and his wife Marion enjoyed the social and political life, along with his affluent neighbors.

George died in 1903. His wife sold this property in 1905 and Marion moved to Ansonia Ct. The Mill and its contents and land were sold to Andrew Lincoln “Link” Creed with the right to manufacture the ‘Pitman rod’ for pianos. This was the last successful business carried on at the former Randall Mill. Creed died in 1939.

Some attempt to make lawn decorations, bird houses, and whirlygigs in the early 40’s was done by an unknown woodworker. I remember my Dad stopping by for some unknown reason, and I was taken by a blue airplane whirlygig set up on the fence railing along the street. Oh how I wanted that airplane. It was $3.50… Huh, it might as well have been $350. My Dad hadn’t that kind of money for some needless decoration! Upon leaving in sadness, the man said to Dad, “Two dollars and take it away”. But home we went without an airplane.

WW2 came along and the mill became vacant. About 1948, while on a fishing venture to the creek that flowed under the Mill which became mixed with tidal water, one might be lucky enough to catch a “salty” trout. Looking up under that shed attached to the main building were openings where the turbine water wheels were installed by George Randall replacing the undershot wheel. There was room enough for a young kid, about as big around as a pencil, to squeeze into the shed. The shed contained two turbines, one 6-inch and one 9-inch. Later I was told by Philip Randall, the 6” ran the small machinery and both ran the large machines. An unlocked door led the way into the first floor where large wide belt pulleys and long shafts were attached to the turbines. The next floor was bare, but there were witness marks where machines once stood with openings in the floor for the wide leather drive-belts that came up to the machine. There was no inside access to the next floor up, but there was access by outside stairs. I did not try to access other floors.

The Randall Mill in 1943 with outside access to the third floor.
The third floor and above was added on  by  A. Lincoln Creed.

Philip Randall, master cabinetmaker, 1920-1994 was the grandson of William. Phil purchased the machinery in the mill late 1945 with his discharge money from the Navy Seabee’s. These machines still run today in the shop at the rear of 91 Summer St.   In the shop that William built, his son Charles created model boats, along with various woodworking jobs, and sharpening tools for others.

 Philip Randall in his shop in 1988.

Phil worked in that shop from 1945 to the early 1990’s. It was sold to another woodworker who carried on the same type of woodworking that the Randall’s had for nearly one hundred and fifty years. Phil was my mentor.

Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction – John C. Crosby

W. Ray Freden
Seaview Marshfield
70 years.

A special thanks to Janet Peterson, researcher of George S. Randall, William  Randall and their descendants.
Also a thanks to Robin Mitchell, author of “Yesterday’s Marshfield”, for including photos of my collection pages 34, 35 & 37.

My head was spinning with cars, girls & rollerskating.

I just got my first car on the road.

Saturday night was date night.

A buck got you 5 gallons of gas.  50¢  each  to roller-skate.
A burger, drink and fries for 2 at Tassy’s in Kingston, about 75¢ each.
So, a buck for gas, a buck for 2 to skate, burgers & fries for 2,  $1.50.
That was $3.50 for a night out with a date!

Hot Rod  magazine cost 25¢ and would have my attention for hours.

Hot rods were few and far apart in Marshfield then. There were no gathering places, no cruise nights, no car clubs.
It was time to get a few of these young car enthusiasts together.

A few friends with the same interest in cars agreed on starting a club.

A club was established by a few motor heads with a common interest for the automobile, hot rodding and customizing the car to their taste.
In the early 50s, the general public looked upon hot rodders as just another    menace on the roads.

I arranged  a meeting  at my folks home. The original club consisted of eight members from Marshfield, Duxbury and Pembroke.
These new members elected a president, yours truly.
Picked a club name, “Tappets”.
Put together by-laws and helped design an identification plate.

The “Tappets” plate was attached to the rear bumper

Monthly meetings  were held to discuss club rules & regulations, and document any assistance they provided to other motorists.

Meetings were held at different members homes and, unknowingly, creating their own cruise night.

The record of 1954, showed 15 assists to needy driver’s. The assists included jump starts, changing a tire, opening a locked door, getting a car unstuck, and helping catch a run away dog.

A card would be given to anyone assisted by a Tappets member.

The “Tappets” I.D. card

Poker and fun runs were a long time favorite gathering of motorcycle clubs on weekends. A motorcycle  friend suggested we have a poker run.
November 14th, 1954, the Tappets had their first run.

However it was not a poker run, in which you collect playing cards for the best hand, just a 26 mile “fun run” through four towns without. This run was to drive the 26 miles maintaining the speed limit or a safe driving speed.
Winning was  pretty-much a matter of luck. The closest to a predetermined time won the “fun run”.

I had  previously made 3 trips to establish an average time and used it as the winning factor, closest time wins.
At 1 PM Nov. 14, 1954, a map was presented to the six members that showed up at the North River roadside rest area on Rte. 3A, Scituate, adjoining the 3A bridge.

The FUN RUN map

They were instructed to drive at a safe speed and not to exceed the speed limit. The trip would be just under an hour, terminating at the starting point.  Their time was recorded upon start and calculated upon finishing.
The closest time and winner was Jack P. of Marshfield, driving a ’48 Austin, hardly a “Hot Rod” but it didn’t matter, he had wheels!

My 1932 Ford “Duce” Coupe

My first registered car was a ’32 Ford, model “B”, 5 window coupe.
The Ford “Duce Coupe” became extremely popular with the “hot rod” enthusiasts after WW2 and became known as high boy’s or low boy’s, which were featured on the letter head.

The “Tappets” letterhead

Featuring a Highboy & a Lowboy.

They were plenty around and could be bought cheap. And, many later model Ford parts were  interchangeable. Adding speed equipment, “hopping-up”, the Ford V-8 motor was easy and inexpensive.
I bought the coupe for $60 in 1952. A V-8 engine for $35. Lots of other parts to update the running gear & two years work. Total cost was about $300.
Today, an original 1932 Ford 5 window body could bring 50K or more.

On December 26th, 1954, I ventured a 1200 mile trip to Florida. At that time, gas was 19¢ a gallon. Cost for fuel & tolls to was under $30.

Two days before my trip

Florida, New Years Day, 1955.

Hollywood, FL

After a five week stay in the Miami area and running out of money, it was time for the trip home.

On the way, a detour to the Daytona  Beach Race Track was in order.  This was a week before the well known Daytona Beach Races.

An aerial view of the North turn, leaving the beach, then onto Rte. 101.

Driving my “Duce Coupe” around the North turn before the races.

As for The Club, it was dissolved in the early 60s.

This song by the “Beach Boy’s” came out October 27, 1963… 9 years later.

No-No, mine didn’t do 140 —- 85, maybe!

I used to love fast cars.

Marriage, a family, a business, and getting older, all slowed me down.

Ray Freden
Seaview/Marshfield, 70 years
“Down East” Maine, 14 years.