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Hermits...where did they go?

Started by Deadwood, November 08, 2005, 06:33:05 AM

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Deadwood

Does anyone still recall the Old hermits that used to reside around town?

Perhaps this is just a New England thing, but I remember while growing up here in Thorndike having plenty of Hermits around town. They were old reclouse men to be sure, but would venture out some days to fortify their supply of whiskey and such, and if the day was cold my father would stop and give them rides into town...to my mother's chagrin of course.

My Grandfather would often hire them as well, from cleaning out his old chicken house, to helping fix up the roof on the house, to plowing fields for the acres and acres of potato's we used to have. There was plenty of fond memories of these old guys, but one of my fondest is of Henry Curtis

He lived in an old camp my Grandfather owned and was getting along in years. Every day he would venture out into the woods with his crosscut saw to knock down a small cedar. He would buck it up into a short log, toss it over his shoulder and hike out of the woods, snow or no snow so he could cut it into firewood and have a little heat and grub for the night. I suspect he chose cedar because it was light and would burn right off the stump. One day my brother and I ran into him as he cut one of these many cedars down (the deer loved him mind you) while out snowmobiling. We helped him haul his cedar log back to the house on our old 1974 Arctic Cat Cheetah. He could not have been more happy, even though it was just a jesture of good will for a couple of kids out playing with their snow machine.

Of course he is no longer alive. He was having problems with his heart and was not about to go to a hospital so he died by his own hand, and his trusty shot gun. Some would call it sad, but that was befitting of Henry. He went out on his own terms, just as he lived out life.

Now I am not sure where all these Hermits are now. I suspect it is easier for bachelors of todays age to be placed into homes or low income houses then to build shacks out in the woods. Some of these old shacks are still standing around town and I should go get some pictures of them before they fall down, or disappear altogether. Might make a nice chapter in the towns history book as I am sure every one of them has an interesting story to tell about lost loves, being cast-outs, or tales of a solo lifestyle.

As I said, maybe this is indicative of Maine, but I doubt it. I also thought this might start a good thread going considering this forum is replete with outdoorsman type stuff and a country steeped in logging history. So does anyone else have any fond memories of Hermits of their town? Heck does anyone know why these Hermits are not around anymore?

Faron

I may have told of these guys before, but a father and son team lived along the river here in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  They camped up there, and slept outside. Apparently they hunted and fished and gardened for a living.  My grandfather said a neighbor once pulled a small shed on runners down to them.  They seemed very happy with it.  Next snow he went down to check on them.  They were sleeping next to a log, and had their mule in the shed. :D
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner.  Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote. - Ben Franklin

Max sawdust

Hermits,
It is not just a new england thing.  In my mind hermits are not nessesarly poor or unmotivated people.  The hermit is someone who is fed up with people!  We had a hermit that lived very near up until a few years ago.  This man was very old lived in an old aluminium sided trailer with a wood screen porch built on to it.  He had electricity and and out house.  He owned one of the most beautiful chuncks of land and lake in Northern Wisconsin.  I suspect he did not get along with his kids and this is why he chose his recluse lifestye.  Never did talk to him out of respect for his lifestyle.  Then again I have quite a bit of hermit blood in me.  Would not mind moving to a lake in northren canada and have a float plane as the only way in or out.  When you are sick of company simply say sorry the float plane is broke this year :D
True Timbers
Cedar Products-Log & Timber Frame Building-Milling-Positive Impact Forestscaping-Cut to Order Lumber

sawguy21

There was an interesting character not far from where I grew up. Nobody knew his name or where he lived . He was called Mountain Man and most in the valley knew of him. I remember seeing him walking beside the highway toward town presumably to get groceries. Apparently he would not accept a ride but was cheerful, particularily with children.
I wonder what brings people like him to that point. Maybe he never married and eventually had no family around him. A divorce and no contact with his kids? A misfit with poor social skills? Who knows?
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

crtreedude

I remember distinctly when I was about 20 feeling that modern life was just too complicated and also thinking I just didn't like people all that much. I was seriously thinking of going somewhere like Alaska or something - I probably read "My Side of the Mountain" a few too many times.  ::)

However, I met a woman I could love (and we are still together) and she isn't much into not having very many people around. So we compromise. I have places on the finca to go retreat - and I am going to build a few REALLY remote - like down at river, about a kilometer away from anyone just to detox.

I guess Costa Rica is a compromise for us - lots of nature, lots of isolation if you choose - and some very friendly people.
So, how did I end up here anyway?

Corley5

There's a few interesting characters like that around our U.P. camp.  They live in cabins in the middle of nowhere year round.  One guy parks his truck at our neighbor's place and walks the five miles to his place in the winter as the road isn't plowed.
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

johncinquo

Y'all need to visit MI more, we still have plenty! 

I think theres more a stigma now to it, so those that live like this keep to themselves.  Plus you rnot going to notice a guy wandering about when your traveling through life at 70mph.  I think theres probably just as many, we just dont see them. 

I visited a guy up in Northern Lower MI with my Grand dad a couple years ago. This guy was ex-military officer, ex- pentagon, and had no reason to live like he did.  The cabin sat on 400 acres in the middle of no where.  water was collected off the roof into a couple barrels.  No electric.  Heat from a wood stove.  Walked or rode his bike into town once a week food at the diner and would pick up his paper and any used magazines laying around.  I figured he was nuts but when we showed up with a 1/2 gallon of Jim Beam the wit and wisdom just sorted flowed out of him.   He stayed there most of the year, except for January and February, then he flew to Las Vegas and lived in one of the casinos!  Total opposite of what he did all the rest of the year. 

I kow of another guy who you woulda thought was pennyless.  Had a small unkept house, seemed to not really have anything going for him.  When he died he left over $4,000,000 to a friend of mine who simply paid him some attention and took care of him in his last few days before dying of cancer.  he owned a gravel pit, a ski resort, property all along lake Huron, thousands of acres of timber, stocks, bonds, you name it.  Yet you couldnt get the guy to pick up a check for $3.99 breakfast. 

Has anybody checked on Furby lately?    Ha ha ha ha ha !
To be one, Ask one
Masons and Shriners

SwampDonkey

There's one living down the road from me in a travel trailor. Long hair and beard and looks like something out of the stone age. I never saw him walking in my life. He lives on a piece of land that was bought by immigrant farmers (I use that term very loosely) and I believe he uses their pickup to go to town. One early morning last fall he was going to work using a car he borrowed from his employer. He left the road and crashed into the woods. Got out and later told 'I heard a little voice that said get out'. This was just before the car exploded into flames. My uncle happened along and it was still dark. He saw this creature waving his arms in the darkness and thought he saw the Yeti. :D My brother said it sounded like Wayne the hermit who lives across the road from him. Come to find out the whole accident was suspicous, and people speculated that he didn't want to go to work. You couldn't stand being around him because he never washes. He's certainly not rich and doesn't care if he ever works as long as the neighbor keeps him fed and lets him dwell on the property. Takes all kinds. ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

SwampDonkey

My grandfather used to visit one old hermit who lived along the road (not a highway) in a camp. He had his own power generator and made his own light fixtures with sardine cans and flashlight bulbs. The little camp had a small stove, an army cot and a small table for eating at. No chairs, just plastic bales turned on end. He would bicycle into town for groceries and to deposit his pension cheque. In the winter months he would go to his daughter's house over in Maine. My grandfather used to stop and visit him to exchange stories and discuss his new inventions. :)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

crtreedude

When we lived in NJ in the midst of towns / city stretching forever, near us was a place called Chimney Rock - and there was a hermit who lived there most of the year. Hermit - bum, not sure what to call him.

Friendly guy though. First time I saw him I was walking through the woods - he offered me a beer. I wish I had had more time just to find out what makes him tick.

So, how did I end up here anyway?

beenthere

 :D :D :D  Just wondering out loud.....
I'm not so sure that some of us just might be the 'hermits' of today (or tomorrow).  Some of us who live in our own home on a few acres with a long drive and not too visible from the road or our neighbors.......Hmmmm? maybe to those living in the high rise apartments in the hustle and bustle of downtown think of us as the 'hermit' variety (like we are thinking of those we remember living off the beaten path).  ::) ;D 
Makes me wonder.... (I'm not going to touch that comment about the long hair and beard....I don't have any DanG hair. :) :) ::)

south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

SwampDonkey

 :D :D :D DanG your special.  ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Deadwood

We had another Hermit just down the road from us. Her name was Oressa Young and if you ever heard her story, you would know why she lived alone all her life.

We all thought she was crazy. I mean she lived in this ramshackled shack that she built herself. Seems as if she had a real home but it was taken by eminent domain to build a new school. (Kind of gets your dander up doesn't it when you think about the Conneticut Case where they took land for a PRIVATE venture but I digress.) She had goats, sheep and a geese that was more vicious then any dog I would ever want to meet. She hauled water from a well and somehow managed to live into her 80's.

Anyway all growing up we kept an eye on her though you had to watch what you did for her. We gave her some hay that we cut while bushogging and we got a leg of lamb?!! Well anyway everyone thought she was crazy because she kept talking about this William guy, even went so far as to paint a giant moose on the side of his shack so he could see it flying over?!! Now I did not get that gramically wrong. She built a shack for her boyfriend all done up with a bed sheets and everything just so she would be ready for him when he came back.

Well one day while we were talking to her and she gave us some clues. We came to our on conclussion on some of this stuff, but it seems as if her boyfriend was a Flyboy in World War Two and they had a fling before he left. He told her when he came home he was headed "straight to moose country". I am not sure if he was killed in the war and never recieved word of his death, or if he just moved on in life, but either way she never stopped loving him or waiting for him to come home.

So just when you think her life could not get any sadder. The State of Maine steps in. They condem her house and try to force her into a mental institude. But of course she can't pay because Lamb Legs don't pay that much so the State hires a Lawyer on her behalf to fight the Attorney that is trying to evict her from the very State that she is also working for? It did not make sense to us either, but the judge threw it out after the media got involved and she lived peacefully by herself after that.

Always waiting for Wiiliam to fly his B-25 Bomber overhead! Talk about devotion huh?

Buzz-sawyer

I am here in defense of my fellow hermits....I wasnt sure if I was one till reading this post.................... :D :D
beenthere......You posted quicker than me!.............After reading this , I recon that what has been percieved as being a hermit is the same as living a quiet and simple life style......much as most all country people did until 50 years ago..........

I'm not so sure that some of us just might be the 'hermits' of today (or tomorrow).  Some of us who live in our own home on a few acres with a long drive and not too visible from the road or our neighbors.......Hmmmm?






I suspect it is easier for bachelors of todays age to be placed into homes or low income houses then to build shacks out in the woods.


Aint this a shame though?..............I would rather die of "NEGLECT" living in the woods in a shack than languish in a smelly nursing home!


Apparently they hunted and fished and gardened for a living............
I find it challenging to make a living doing this due to PRoPERTY TAXES...and other cash demand government penalties........... :-\




In my mind hermits are not nessesarly poor or unmotivated people.  The hermit is someone who is fed up with people!
I believe this is partially true......I am fed up with un pleasant, dictitorial, ignorant and selfish people..........BUT LOVE being around people like those that frequent this forum :) :)


I wonder what brings people like him to that point. Maybe he never married and eventually had no family around him. A divorce and no contact with his kids? A misfit with poor social skills?
In my case...it is the enjoyement I get out of simple, ang quiet times without drama and hustle and bustle...........


I think theres probably just as many, we just dont see them.  
Soime times you do , you just dont know you are looking at em :D :D :D







    HEAR THAT BLADE SING!

Furby


crtreedude

I think most hermits are now pulling down big bucks in the computer field.... Have SEEN some of these guys  ???

1. Antisocial
2. Don't bath
3. Only show up when they feel like it.
4. Involved in weird behavior
5. Often Bachelors because no woman wants them.

Thankfully my wife accepted me... Took some convincing though!  ;D

So, how did I end up here anyway?

Coon

I remember an old hermiit named Trapper Dave.  Man was he a different character, but a nice Jolly old guy once you got to know him.  He lived up to the northeast of here about 20 miles away from town.  He hunted, fished and, trapped most of his life.  His trap line paid for his dry goods and the likes.  Guess he lived off the land otherwise.
  I remember the day I met him.   There was four of us who decided to go out snowmobiling for the day.  After riding around for most of the day we decided we would stop just down the trail from Trapper's cabin for a smoke break and a shot of whiskey.  While we were stopped along came the trapper on his old beat up snowmobile that was pulling a sleigh full of beaver, coyotes, and the likes that he got while he checked his trap line.  One of the guys asked him if he would like a shot of the whiskey we were drinking and he drank down a big swill and pretty well the rest of the bottle.  He asked us to come along to his cabin for a drink, so we did as that was all we had left was that bottle.

His cabin was an old shack built out of logs and had a lean to on the side where he did all of his skinning.  After we helped him unload his sleigh and he showed us some of his pelts we went on in to the cabin for the shot he had promised us.  As the door opened we could smell something cooking, but it was not a regular smell.  He said that he had a pot of stew cooking and we were welcome to stay for dinner.  As we drank the drinks that he poured us he mixed up a batch of dumplings and put them in the cast iron pot of meat.  He put in potatoes, carrots, onions and garlic from his little garden he grew.  The stew was just about ready when he poured us another shot, this time some of his home made hooch.  He would not tell us what kind of meat was in his stew but boy did it taste good (as we were all hungry from a day of riding), until we all had tried some of it.  He dished himself up a portion and told us to help ourselves if we wanted more.  When we all had finished and had poured another drink he told us what it was.....

Beaver Stew is what it was.

 Old Trapper Dave was well into his sixties at this time and would not tell us why he lived the style of life he did other than that he loved it up there in the bush.  He died about 5 years ago while checking his trapline.  He and his sled broke through the ice near a beaver house.  He pulled himself out of the water but later died of hypothermia while still on the on the beaver house.

Norwood Lumbermate 2000 w/Kohler,
Husqvarna, Stihl and, Jonsereds Saws

Buzz-sawyer

Good eatin .....and a decent way to die. ;) :)
    HEAR THAT BLADE SING!

SwampDonkey

Personally, I feel the spirit of this thread has to do with being curious of Hermits. At least that is how I read it. I certainly don't have anything against them. Basically, they'll do their own thing while I do mine. Heck Buzz, maybe I'm a hermit. I live in this old farm house by myself, hardly anyone visits, I enjoy the woods, sometimes even the grass gets a little tall on the lawn at times. And basically, I don't care what people think about me, never did. ;D :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

slowzuki

We've got a few hermits left, just a pair of them.

Hermit #1 - Old Frozen Toes

Old frozen toes lives in an 10 x 12 shack that has seen considerable upgrades over the years.  He now has power and a lawn, as well as a fridge on the deck.

Old frozen toes used to have 2 brothers and they were quite the drunkards in their day.  Well, they took to drinking one cold winter and went out to check their trap lines.  Somewhere along the way they figured a few drinks were in order and sat by a tree.  Well one of the brothers got separated from the others and made his way home.  On the way he lost his boots  and managed to get frost bite horribly bad in both feet.  He lost all his toes and earned the name old frozen toes.  The other brothers froze to death in the woods, they were found by a fisherman the next spring with the old jug of rum between their legs leaning agin a tree.

Hermit #2 - We'll call him Mr. JD

Mr. JD once had a family, you know a wife and kids and such but had a little bit of a gambling problem.  Well, he managed to lose the deed to their house in some gamble and things just didn't work out at home after that...

He scraped together a shack out in the boonies where I now live and got down to the serious matters of drinking and raising sheep.  After a while he had made enough to get an old car but his drinking resulted in several altercations with the highway patrol and a loss of driving priveledges as they say.  Well desperate for a drink the nearest liquor store is 25 miles or so away.  Being a thinker he fired up the old JD tractor with the 2 popper in it and drove to the liquor store and back in near freezing weather.

Engineer

I'm an antisocial kind of guy, by nature - my wife gets upset when I want to stay at home, not go out to dinner or go to any social event or party or go even to family gatherings.  I much prefer staying at home, eating a home-cooked meal, playing games with the kids or watching a movie or working in the shop or reading.  She calls me a hermit, and I say you ain't seen nothin yet.   ::)

And the problem is, I'm forced to be a social person by career.  Business owner, soon to be president of the Rotary Club, go to planning board meetings and present projects, got kids that are active in all kinds of music and sports, did my time on the local town council (board of selectmen), and I can't get away from any of it.

I already look forward to retirement, when I can picture myself as a fat guy in overalls, doing woodworking and running a sawmill once in a while, playing with model trains or my stamp collection, generally "fartin' around".  Not having to answer the phone.  I want to live up to my wife's perception of me...  :D  And I'm only 35.

SwampDonkey

There was (only thing he got hitched in late years  :o ), a hermit about 4 miles from here who lives in 10' x 12' shacks and has about 3 out buildings for all his donkeys, poneys, geese, chickens and rabbits. I remember riding by there on the school bus and he'd be tankered up riding one of his ponies with feet dragging down the road. I don't know why he lives that way, and nobody else can figure it. His family that he came from didn't live that life style. I remember seeing the old shack burn down at least 3 times when I was riding bus to school. My uncle used to pick potatoes with his wife (I think they've been together 15 years) and uncle calls her up once in awhile. She's not all together up stars but they have fun on the phone. There is a lady and her husband that lives near by my uncle's, whom he visits alot and they call the hermits wife sometimes for laughs. I don't dare type some of her speeches she gives over the phone. Let's say she's a little sassy and rough. :D Apparently she's proud of her pension cheques she recieves and tells everyone what she gets over the phone. The old soul never had as much money in her life. No one can figure out how two people living in shacks 40 miles away found on another.  ::) As they say, birds of a feather flock together. Takes all kinds. ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

SAW MILLER

 When I was a kid,there was an old black feller named Bill Kinney who hauled trash for people.he lived under a bridge a mile down the road from us and we would always speak to him when we drove by.He had a wagon and an old wore out team of bay horses.He would haul our trash for some change and the only place I ever knew he lived was right there under the bridge street bridge........I read a quote somewhere one time that said "The village idiot is the happiest guy in the village"...I think there is some truth in that.

       Ron ???
LT 40 woodmizer..Massey ferg.240 walker gyp and a canthook

Bro. Noble

Well I'm not a hermit.  I went to town twice this summer,  and I have lots of visitors.  Let's see there was Furby and ----let me think-----oh yes,  the Jehova's Witnesses ;D
milking and logging and sawing and milking

SAW MILLER

LT 40 woodmizer..Massey ferg.240 walker gyp and a canthook

Max sawdust

Sounds like a poll is in order :D
How many members are hermits?
How many want to be hermits?

I hear what many of you are saying.  My goal in life is to only take a bath and shave when I feel like it. Going to town should be a rare and special occasion.  Meeting people in the area..I suppose it is OK if I come across them in the woods where the properties meet up ;D

Lucky for me my wife understands and does not mind being  isolated most of the time ;D
max
True Timbers
Cedar Products-Log & Timber Frame Building-Milling-Positive Impact Forestscaping-Cut to Order Lumber

Deadwood

I'm lucky as well. I used to work for a railroad out west, and in fact did that for 7 years! I worked 6 weeks on and 2 weeks off (or was supposed to, but it was usually longer shifts than that). In any case I was telling this guy that I worked with that my family had some acreage, lived out in the woods, had very little neighbors that were not related and had built my own home and stuff. His question to me was one I never could answer the whole time I worked for them...

"What the heck are you doing here then?"

My first wife though wanted to go out and party all the time. I was more of a reclouse, staying home and working around the house. We got along, but both wanted different things. When my current wife spent the first three weekends just relaxing and enjoying "her new home" I knew we were much better suited.

I don't consider myself a hermit per se, but I think I could be quite easily if the right circumstances came into play. If something happend to my wife for instance, I don't think I would try the love thing a third time. I have never lived lavish homes that are uncomfortable to live in. Just a small place, my workshop and a Basset Hound and I think I would be pretty happy. Besides my property taxes would not be as high!

Mike_Barcaskey

hermit in training!
I hear it's a life-long pursuit
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

OneWithWood

Let's see:

I live in a small house
I hate to 'socialize' (except for the pig roast)
I have some neighbors I have never met
Some people think I am crazy
I spend a lot of time in the woods
My wife, dogs and cats love and understand me
My siblings think I will eventually come around, but they're not sure
Tom thinks I'm from another planet
Chet knows I am

I must be well on the way to hermitage  8)
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

crtreedude

My goal is to have a largest enough reforestation project to put a cabin in the middle of it and not be able to hear ANYTHING besides wildlife. No cars, not motocycles, no ATVS, nothing! (No cows either)

Not that I have anything against these things, since I own all of them, except for the cows.

When the need to be anti-social strikes, I want to be prepared...

So, how did I end up here anyway?

Max sawdust

Amen to the last three posts 8)
Max 8) 8)
True Timbers
Cedar Products-Log & Timber Frame Building-Milling-Positive Impact Forestscaping-Cut to Order Lumber

Frickman

Years ago around here there'd be a few hermits living in the old coke ovens. For those of you not familiar with old fashioned coke ovens, they were just a big, brick oven in the shape of an old-fashioned beehive, about ten feet high or so. The hermits would break out enough of the front bricks to make a door and set up housekeeping. Every once in a while one of these fellows would die and they'd find all kinds of money hid around the place. There aren't too many of these fellows around now, the government likes to institutionalize everyone who doesn't live like they think you should.
If you're not broke down once in a while, you're not working hard enough

I'm not a hillbilly. I'm an "Appalachian American"

Retired  Conventional hand-felling logging operation with cable skidder and forwarder, Frick 01 handset sawmill

Pretend farmer when I have the time

beenthere

Brings up a question?  Where do the 'homeless' fit in here?  Are they institutionalized by the Gov't and allowed to spend their time wherever? or not?  My impression is they walk and sleep on the streets, which may put them in a different class than a 'hermit'. 
Just curious.

south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Tom

beenthere,

I have always considered the homeless as being made up mostly of individuals who are "on the dole" or depend on handouts from others.

Hermits, on the other hand, are misanthropic loners who make their own way but resist contact with others.

I guess I see it this way because it is so easy to see myself in the second catagory.  I wouldn't want to feel worthless, just alone and independent.  To belong to the first group would have me feeling pretty worthless.

Max sawdust

I agree with Tom.
Personally I have never thought of hermits as homeless.  Hermits fit more into the DanG the world let me live a self sufficent life.  As in many examples of this post hermits have money just choose to not participate in what is society exepts as "normal" this week 8)

I see the modern hermit as many of the people on this forum.  Most city folks would find us quite strange ;D

Maybe the box car guys of the depression erea are are a better example of strong men bitter with the world looking for a better life ???
max
True Timbers
Cedar Products-Log & Timber Frame Building-Milling-Positive Impact Forestscaping-Cut to Order Lumber

Paul_H

There is a hermit living in the Soo Valley just South of us.I met Bob(a draft dodger) for the first and only time when we drove in the Soo valley in March of 1986.Tall,skinny long hair and long beard,he was packing supplies back in to his cabin at the falls.He was freindy and appreciative when we picked him up and gave him a ride until he found out we were loggers,then he got real quiet.I can understand how he felt but the Soo is a large valley and I don't think we have one valley for for each person.
I saw him every once in awhile when we worked in the Soo but sometimes had a feeling that Bob was watching us when we were unaware.
As far as I know,he is still living in the Soo but now the roads go far beyond his cabin although it was left out of any cutblocks.
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

DouginUtah

 
Well, there you go, beenthere, dragging me into this by mentioning the homeless.

Yes, I am homeless. Oh, I'm not talking about not physically having a house, I'm talking about not knowing where "home" is, in my heart. There is no place in the world that I can call "home". It's not a nice feeling.

I never thought much about it until this year. I've been thinking of buying a small farm, but where? Moving somewhere at my age to a place where I know no one does not excite me! It would be tough to do. If you have lived in a variety of places you might have experienced how some places feel right and others don't. Utah, while it has a number of good things going for it, is one of those places where I don't feel at home.

(Of course, there are a lot of other things which keep me from "just doing it", which need to be left unsaid--family, etc.)

I wish I wasn't homeless. It's an sad feeling.  :(

-Doug
-Doug
When you hang around with good people, good things happen. -Darrell Waltrip

There is no need to say 'unleaded regular gas'. It's all unleaded. Just say 'regular gas'. It's not the 70s anymore. (At least that's what my wife tells me.)

---

Furby

You know Doug, I can relate to what you just said.
I have a place to live, I have family close by, but my heart just isn't here.
Because of family, I don't really see myself leaving anytime soon, but I've known for a long time that this just really isn't "home" for me.
Maybe someday...........

UNCLEBUCK

I will never become a hermit because I am a member of the forestry forum and they will find me and pick me up and dust me off and bring me back into to cyberland whenever I feel hermititus settin in or I go missing !  smiley_wavy
UNCLEBUCK    bridge burner/bridge mender

DanG

You got it right, UncleBuck!  You can't be a member of this group and be a hermit.

Can't tell you how tickled I am to find you back on here when I returned from a week on the road! 8) 8) 8) 8)
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

UNCLEBUCK

I cant tell ya how good it feels to say "DanG" ! Thanks  ;D
UNCLEBUCK    bridge burner/bridge mender

crtreedude

Speaking of hermits and such. Harold (FDH) informed me that staying at the first finca wouldn't cut it because there was no phone line - the new finca will have a phone line.

So, Forestry Forum is officially an addictive substance. Jeff - imagine how many would be hermits you are saving here...  ::)

So, how did I end up here anyway?

Fla._Deadheader


Not quite right, Fred.

  I have a Brother (just lost the other one), and a Sister. We are not that close. I always had to "Care" for them. Help them here, house them there. I was always the Black Sheep, crazy one.

  MY (our) family, I try to remain close to. I worry about them, as any Parent should. I just need to be in contact with them. With computer access, an inexpensive way to stay in touch, is the easiest way in the remote setting I will be in. Accessing the Forum will be good, also, but, not the same as accessing the family.

  If not for my kids, a simple cabin, a good woman, and leave us alone, would be my choice.

  When I was younger, I nearly went to British Colombia, to work in the bush as a Guide, and be a Hunter-Trapper. Met my Bride, and the wilderness dream vanished. No regrets, just how close I was to being a hermit.
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

crtreedude

Well, family is important for sure...

We are backwards, but not THAT backwards.

Besides, there are always cell-phones. We have an 800 number that can be routed anywhere - including cellphones. Not very expensive unless people want to talk a long time.

Internet cafes are about 1 dollar a hour.
So, how did I end up here anyway?

Fla._Deadheader


  Maybe a bad choice of words, Fred, but, you get my drift.  ;D ;D ;D
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

crtreedude

It's okay Harold, I been "not quite right" for a long time...  ;)
So, how did I end up here anyway?

Frickman

Something occured to me today. Most hermits want to do their own thing and be left alone. They don't even want you to know they're around. But here we are, talking about them on an international forum. Ironic, isn't it?
If you're not broke down once in a while, you're not working hard enough

I'm not a hillbilly. I'm an "Appalachian American"

Retired  Conventional hand-felling logging operation with cable skidder and forwarder, Frick 01 handset sawmill

Pretend farmer when I have the time

Murf

Interesting thread for sure, but I read the title and thought DanG, I haven't had any of those cookies in a long time!!

But after reading some I realized this thread isn't about those delicious cookies with cloves, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, molasses and a bunch of raisins ......... mmmmmmmm.

Hmm, better go bribe my wife to start baking, now that my mouth is watering for cookies.  ;D
If you're going to break a law..... make sure it's Murphy's Law.

crtreedude

And now the thread diverts to food...  :)
So, how did I end up here anyway?

SwampDonkey

Grandma's hermits were the most mouth watering, awe inspiring cookies 'you ever put in the hopper' . The phrase in quotes she used often. Heck they'd come from all over the continent to eat her cookin, when they were suppose to be hunting deer with grandfather. Mother said when she was growing up, grandmother always told her to get out of the rode as she was busy cooking. So mother had to learn on her own. ;D :D Father keeps reminding her of the first time she baked taters in the oven. She forgot to wash the hides. Father has the habit of pounding the cooked tater to loosen the skin and when he did the dust flew. :D :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

beenthere

Okay, enough 'talk' here!!!  Where or when will we see the recipe for 'hermits' as I have never heard of them (either).  :)

Gotta have some!
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Murf

There's as many ways of makin' them as there is words in this forum.

Just Google the words "hermit cookies" and have your choice of whichever one tickles your fancy.

But under no circumstances make a batch without a liberal helpin' of raisins.  :o

Dat's like cuttin up a nice big straight log fer firewood, sorta sacrilegious.......  ;D
If you're going to break a law..... make sure it's Murphy's Law.

beenthere

I see there are many ways. I was lookin for the recipe for the 'right' way.  Or is it a secret?   ;D

Or better yet, will you put up a batch of 3-4 doz in the auction?   :) :) ???
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Murf

Quote from: beenthere on November 10, 2005, 01:49:26 PM
I see there are many ways. I was lookin for the recipe for the 'right' way.  Or is it a secret?   ;D

Or better yet, will you put up a batch of 3-4 doz in the auction? :) :) ???

It taint a secret, but I cain't send em into the US neidder, under the terms of NAFTA if we start sending cookies south, the US has to be allowed ta send G R I T S north. .....  :D

Here's two ways ta make em yerself though, depending on which way sounds best ta yerself.


Hermit Cookies

1/2 cup shortening, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 2 teaspoons milk, 1-3/4 cups flour, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon clove, 1/4 teaspoon mace, 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 cup raisins.

Blend shortening and sugar. Add beaten eggs and milk and mix well. Mix and sift flour, spices and baking powder. Add to first mixture and mix well. Add raisins and mix thoroughly. Teaspoon sized lumps spaced 2 inches apart on greased pan. Bake in moderate oven (325ºF) 15 to 20 minutes.


Oatmeal Hermit Cookies

1/2 cup shortening, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 egg, 1/3 cup milk, 1-1/2 cups rolled oats, 1-1/2 cups flour, 1 cup seedless raisins, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon each cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Teaspoon sized lumps spaced 2 inches apart on greased pan. Bake in moderate oven (325ºF) 15 to 20 minutes.




If you're going to break a law..... make sure it's Murphy's Law.

Buzz-sawyer

Quote from: SwampDonkey on November 08, 2005, 03:42:39 PM
Personally, I feel the spirit of this thread has to do with being curious of Hermits. At least that is how I read it. I certainly don't have anything against them. Basically, they'll do their own thing while I do mine. Heck Buzz, maybe I'm a hermit. I live in this old farm house by myself, hardly anyone visits, I enjoy the woods, sometimes even the grass gets a little tall on the lawn at times. And basically, I don't care what people think about me, never did. ;D :D
Personally, SWAMPY, I think you are a hermit ;) :D :D :D
    HEAR THAT BLADE SING!

Paul_H

Quote from: Buzz-sawyer on November 10, 2005, 02:20:34 PM
Personally, SWAMPY, I think you are a hermit ;) :D :D :D

says the guy out in the boonies with no land line  ::)  ;)
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

Buzz-sawyer

Quote from: Tom on November 09, 2005, 09:45:30 PM
beenthere,


Hermits, on the other hand, are misanthropic loners who make their own way but resist contact with others.


Thats settles it .........."My name is Don .and I AM A HERMIT" :o :o
    HEAR THAT BLADE SING!

Fla._Deadheader

  :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

  Can't be a hermit if someone is livin wit ya. That includes Off-bearers.  ::) ::)             ;D ;D
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

Buzz-sawyer

Quote from: Paul_H on November 10, 2005, 02:23:57 PM
Quote from: Buzz-sawyer on November 10, 2005, 02:20:34 PM
Personally, SWAMPY, I think you are a hermit ;) :D :D :D

says the guy out in the boonies with no land line  ::)  ;)

Says the guy with bears pickin on his pooch ;) :o 8) 8) ;)
    HEAR THAT BLADE SING!

Buzz-sawyer

Quote from: Fla._Deadheader on November 10, 2005, 02:31:19 PM
  :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

  Can't be a hermit if someone is livin wit ya. That includes Off-bearers.  ::) ::)             ;D ;D

WELL......I am startin to think she might be a hermitress. ::) ::) ::) ::) :o :D
    HEAR THAT BLADE SING!

Paul_H

Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

SwampDonkey

My mother keeps calling me a hermit.  ::) If that's the case so isn't my brother, uncle and about a dozen others I know. ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Buzz-sawyer

Quote from: Paul_H on November 10, 2005, 02:38:56 PM
Hey Don your'e off-thropic   ;)
I know ..........that was the BEST come back I could come up with :P :P ::) ::) :'( :'( :D :D
    HEAR THAT BLADE SING!

CHARLIE

My Grandmother once told me that a Bum is a man that doesn't want to work and is always looking for a handout.  But a Hobo is a man that works for his food or keep but likes to keep moving.  She used to give hobos small jobs like raking or stacking firewood, then they'd sit on the back stoop and get a plate heaping with food and more if they wanted it.  Hermits are just loners that just want the basics of life and to be left alone.

There in Fort Pierce, Florida as you cross the South Bridge to Hutchinson Island, you can look left an see an island in the middle of the Indian River just bordering the north side of the inlet. When Tom and I were young (yep, Tom was young....and skinny.... once) and up into the 1960's there was a hermit that lived on that island named Charlie Brick. His shack was built mostly from driftwood boards he accumulated. I don't know much about Charlie Brick other than he lived on that island in a shack. I always wondered how he got to the mainland for groceriers and such.  He must have had a small boat somewhere.  My cousin once did a pencil drawing of Charlie Brick. It's the only picture I've ever seen of him.  I'm sure Charlie Brick is long gone now, but don't know when he died. I'm assuming back in the early 1970's.  He lived on that island for a long time.  Tom might know more about Charlie Brick.



Before moving to Wisconsin, I lived in the very small town of Dover, Minnesota.  A friend of mine that grew up in Dover told me about a hermit that lived in a hole just east of town. This hermit had a drinking problem, but I can't imagine how cold he must have gotten during the winters.  This was back in the 1950's.  I can't remember his name but he's long gone.
Charlie
"Everybody was gone when I arrived but I decided to stick around until I could figure out why I was there !"

Buzz-sawyer





The thing I like about you and Tom is that you both seems to NOTICE things and take note of them in your mind and can re tell the MOST interesting stories out of the seemingly innocuous and mundane details of life Everyone has experiences I am just not sure EVERYONE appreciates them for the ART that they are...in life's tapestry. :)
    HEAR THAT BLADE SING!

Deadwood

Where I am from anyway, Hermits were older men that worked in the woods logging and whatnot. Some made their living on their own land while others worked for people like my grandfather and whatnot. I would aggree with the majority on here that they are not homeless or bums or even hobo's, just people that did not require a lot of socializing or lavish homes.

Out on Criehaven Island where I fish a lot, there is a hermit out there. He is kind of young as most hermist go, in his 50's and a guy that never quite got out of the 60's era. He is provided a house and lives their year around including the 6 weeks every winter it is iced in. No ice Breakers out there so he is alone 32 miles out at sea for 6 weeks. pretty scary, but I suppose if he had to he could shove a skiff across the ice and reach Metenicus Island which is about 10 miles away. His job is to take care of all the homes out there, looking after them and doing maintenace since most are fishermen and don't have time to do so themselves.

By the way, while I am on a fishermen kick here, thought I would mention that it was 30 years ago today the Edmund Fizgerald went down in Lake Superior with all 29 hands aboard. I lost 4 friends on the Candy B II in 2003 and have lost 10 friends out of a 92 person high school class since 1992. I know this is about farming and forestry, but thought I would mention it since fishermen are really just farmers of the sea.

SwampDonkey

Quote from: Deadwood on November 10, 2005, 04:05:57 PM
By the way, while I am on a fishermen kick here, thought I would mention that it was 30 years ago today the Edmund Fizgerald went down in Lake Superior with all 29 hands aboard.

There's been some random occurances in the forum about the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Here's Gordy Lightfoot's tune (midi format)
http://www.corfid.com/gl/wreck.htm

Quote from: Ron Scott on February 07, 2004, 12:49:51 PM
As a Great Lakes shipweck "buff", wreck hunter for 40+ years, and member of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS), I have my personal Edmund Fitzgerald collection.

Gordon Lightfoot continues to be an honory board member of the GLSHS and his song keeps the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald as one of the country's most popular shipwrecks.

Also see:
http://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/fitz.phtml

;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Max sawdust

I am about one hour away from Lake Superior.  November weather can be pretty bad.  Weird just a few days ago we had one heck of a wind, like the kinda gale when the Edmund Fitzgerald went down :o
True Timbers
Cedar Products-Log & Timber Frame Building-Milling-Positive Impact Forestscaping-Cut to Order Lumber

beenthere

Quote from: Murf on November 10, 2005, 02:04:25 PM......
Hermit Cookies

1/2 cup shortening, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 2 teaspoons milk, 1-3/4 cups flour, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon clove, 1/4 teaspoon mace, 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 cup raisins.

Blend shortening and sugar. Add beaten eggs and milk and mix well. Mix and sift flour, spices and baking powder. Add to first mixture and mix well. Add raisins and mix thoroughly. Teaspoon sized lumps spaced 2 inches apart on greased pan. Bake in moderate oven (325ºF) 15 to 20 minutes.

Well, to get this thread 'back' to food, this Hermit cookie recipe is "Very Good", and thanks. Dear wife made a batch this morning and I'm doing my best that they don't last til noon.  :D ;D
I thank you much for posting the recipe's.     Mmmmmmmmm Mmmmmmmmm Goood!
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Deadwood

I heard that when the gales kick up the Great Lakes are worse than the Alantic. I believe it because I don't believe you guys have the depth that we got. I know one theory abounds that the hatch gave way and the ship took on water, but I have also heard that because the waves were so great she actually struck the bottom. Here in Maine anyway, you don't have to go far off shore to hit depths of 50-60 fathoms (300 plus feet). You might get bounced around a lot, but you won't hit bottom.

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