PERSONAL HISTORY 189 



allowed him to go out on Sunday afternoons and 

 roam in the fields among the trees, birds, brooks, 

 and flowers. The memory of these rambles is 

 yet recalled by him with much satisfaction. 



On our farm were extensive peat meadows, on 

 which several acres of cranberries were growing. 

 It was of great interest to Luther to see the men 

 rake off the cranberries by the bushel with cran- 

 berry rakes, instead of picking them by hand as 

 other berries are gathered. When he was twelve 

 to fourteen years of age it was thought best to 

 flood the meadows to increase their productive- 

 ness. A large trout stream ran through the 

 meadow and Luther conceived the idea of dam- 

 ming it, ostensibly to increase the crop of cran- 

 berries, but chiefly for the purpose of providing 

 a fine place for skating — an amusement of which 

 he was very fond. Much hard work was done 

 by him through the October and November days 

 in building the dam which later flooded not only 

 father's cranberry meadows, but a great number 

 of acres adjoining. One of the happiest days 

 of his life was that on which he first saw this 

 great sheet of water where none had been before. 

 Flashboards had been prepared to raise the 

 water at the dam as desired, and during the 

 winter when the snow^ fell, covering the ice, it 

 was only necessary to add a board to raise the 



