Dearly Departed Dearfield

From Mick Melvin:

While vacationing in Colorado, I had the pleasure of visiting the Black American West Museum in Denver. It was a great experience for me since one of my hobbies is learning about Black History. I spent about 90 minutes viewing the pictures, looking at artifacts and reading the captions documenting the lives of black folk. At the end of the self-guided tour, my wife and I were offered the opportunity to watch a 30-minute video, "Dearfield: The Road Less Traveled." Even though it was hot and I was tired from walking the exhibit, I'm glad we stayed.

The video told the story of Dearfield, Colorado. The all-black community was established in 1910 by a black businessman, O.T. Jackson. Mr. Jackson and seven African American homesteaders laid claim to the land. They started out living in tents, dugouts and caves. After 10 years, the population grew to 700 citizens. The town had a church, schoolhouse, gas station, dance hall and lunch room. The farmers grew hay, alfalfa and food crops. They also raised poultry and livestock.

The town didn’t last for long because of many factors. One major factor was the drop in food prices after the end of World War I. Approximately 400,000 US farmers lost their land because of the end of the war. In the subsequent years, the farmers in Dearfield who tried to hold on saw the land dry up in the Dust Bowl years of the Great Depression. O.T. Jackson tried to hold on to his dream, but by the late '40s, there were only 12 families remaining.



After listening to the story, I was intrigued as to the location and found out that it could be found along Route 34, approximately 10 miles west of Greely, Colorado. My wife and I took to the road and after an hour ride, found the site. Most of the buildings are in disrepair, but it was a thrill to know what once was in the location. What remained is the house of O.T. Jackson, the dilapidated lunch room, the filling station and some unidentified buildings. It was an extreme honor to take pictures of black history. I took far too many pictures to ensure that I got some good ones for the Backside. I hope you enjoy.

Highway 180 Blues

From Joe Viger:

Zipping along at an air-conditioned 80 miles an hour through an arid, desolate stretch of California, I was struck by the sight of a fireplace and chimney sticking up out of the field. I stepped out of the car and felt a wave of heat on my shoulders. My feet settled into the pavement like it had just been steam-rolled minutes before. Crouching to make these pictures, the grass as dry as hay, I could feel the heat coming up from the ground. This wispy plant was the only speck of green in eye shot.



I was on California State Highway 180 going from Kings Canyon to Fresno through the heart of the San Joaquin Valley. While only about 60 miles, this stretch of road is full of contrasts. As you descend from an elevation of 6,500 feet in the cool Sierra, the Sequoia trees of Kings Canyon give way to the scorching, low land of the San Joaquin. The twisting mountain road with white-knuckle turns and sheer drop offs works itself out into a straight, cruise-control highway where you drive with your knees and turn up the radio to stay awake.

California is one of America’s primary agricultural states and the San Joaquin Valley is central to that reputation. The Valley has been said to be the “most productive unnatural environment on Earth.” It is a sea of yellow grass punctuated with black rock outcroppings and green islands of agriculture. Many different crops are grown here through the wonders of irrigation. In the area just east of where I made these pictures and near the junction with Highway 63 to Visalia, citrus orchards crowd the road. Earlier in the trip, I had seen trucks with high, open sideboards that literally overflowed with carrots. Just south of here is the world’s largest cotton farm, occupying more than 40,000 acres; Fresno is the home of Sun Maid Raisins.



As I looked at the old rock foundation, I couldn’t help but think this was a heck of a place for anyone to set down roots and try to start a dream. I have no idea of the story behind this abandoned homestead… it’s just a random, interesting thing on the side of the highway that I explored for 10 minutes before jumping back into air-conditioned comfort and driving on to get some enchiladas in Fresno. But as I drove away, I formed a story for myself and searched up the appropriate song on my iPod: “The Ghost of Tom Joad.” I had two versions and I listened to them both -- the original by Bruce Springsteen and another by Rage Against the Machine.

Later, I found out that State Highway 180 was formalized as part of the California freeway system in 1934. Even though the cement steps offer a sense that the house had a modern life, I like to think that this foundation is from that time because it adds to my mind’s story about what this place was. I recently read a great book about the photographer Dorothea Lange, whose iconic images chronicled the dustbowl migration and I'm sure this colors my impression, but this house seems to be an unwritten chapter from "The Grapes of Wrath." After months of traveling west in an overloaded truck, some Okie dustbowl migrant family chose this spot to get another chance at happiness that the corporate farms of the area weren’t going to offer them. It was good enough until they fled to the city and left the dream of farming behind along with this rock foundation.

Rebuilding the Lost City

From Dave Brigham:

The long-abandoned Haartz Mason Coated Fabrics factory is located in Watertown, Mass., in an area that my wife's brother-in-law dubbed The Lost City. Located along Pleasant Street, the complex, which comprises several buildings, sits amid a mix of industrial buildings, thrift shops, office buildings and residential neighborhoods. Less than a mile from the hustle and bustle of Watertown Square, the old factory has featured a "Sale Pending" sign out front for the last several weeks.

I'm fascinated by the extent of decay and ruin at the factory. There is a giant smoke stack in the middle, surrounded by buildings that have been partially torn down or fallen apart, all covered in graffiti. There is a walking/biking path that runs right behind the complex, hard by the Charles River. With the advent of spring and summer, trees and bushes on the perimeter of the dilapidation zone obscure the mess inside.



The Lost City has been treated of late to some upgrades, such as new blacktop and sidewalks. Right next door to the Haartz Mason building is a new condo development that was originally going to be an office building. The developer evidently couldn't sell the space as businesses, so he converted it to residential.

Given that built-in audience, logic would dictate that whoever knocks down these buildings would put up some retail space. Whatever goes in there, it'll be a vast improvement. I can only imagine the nasty clean-up that lies ahead.

Ghost Highway

From David Burke:

It must have seemed like a great idea at the time: constructing several stretches of highway, connectors and overpasses between Interstate 84 and Routes 9 and 72 in West Hartford and New Britain, CT. However, after several million dollars were spent, many of these roads have remained closed since their completion some 30 years ago. Eerie, quiet and strangely serene, they will probably still be there for another 30 years...ready for another generation of Backside fans to enjoy!

Dead End Tracks, Part II

From Dave Brigham:

I've driven over these tracks numerous times in the last decade or so, but as with so many old train tracks, abandoned buildings and rusting old vehicles, I had no idea what the story was. That's a big reason I started this site. The Internet makes it so easy to plug an address or company name into a search engine and discover history.

These tracks cross Christina Street in the Newton Highlands section of Newton, MA, and the adjacent Charles River, on their way into Needham. By plugging "Christina Street Newton Mass. Railroad Tracks" into Google, I found just what I needed from a discussion thread on Railroad.net:

"The tracks that cross Christina is the lead into the old Needham Industrial Park (now the New England Business Center). At a couple locations down in the park in Needham you can see evidence of the tracks there, too (unless they've been eradicated in the last couple years). To access the park, the trains came through Newton Upper Falls, crossed Needham St., went behind what is now mostly shopping centers (although the industrial buildings are still behind them) on Needham St., and did a 180-degree turn and went back south-west across Christina St. and the Charles (again) and into the industrial park."

That's all I wanted to know, no more, no less.

Volkswagen Time Machine

From Mick Melvin:

When I see a Volkswagen bus, I get nostalgic. A trip to central New York gave me the chance to see this old friend up close. Back in the mid '70s, I was riding in the family's red VW bus with my mother on a back road in Pennsylvania. She asked me if I wanted to try driving and I jumped at the chance! I was all of 11 years old and scared to death, but I am so glad I jumped in that driver’s seat. I’ll never forget that day. I thought my mom was so cool for letting me drive. I still remember her saying, “Michael, slow down”! She still says that to me to this day.

This VW bus that was sitting along the road in Alfred, NY, looked as though it had many miles and many stories to tell. If you look closely, you can see a Grateful Dead dancing bear in the front window, which brought me back to the late '80s when I traveled in a VW bus to a “Dead” show in Buffalo, NY. Like the bus, that trip was many miles and many stories ago.

The Truth Behind Beautiful Ruins

From Joe Viger:

My father, Richard Viger, worked for the BMRY for over 40 years. The Berlin Mills Railway was the connection between Berlin, NH's pulp and paper mills and outside carriers like the Boston & Maine, Grand Trunk or Canadian National. Raw materials in and finished product out.

My dad wasn't an engineer as most folks assume when I mention he worked on the railroad. Rather he was a member of the train crew. Brakeman or conductor, sometimes yard master. He retired from the railroad as superintendent.

I remember being a kid when these new box cars became part of the railway. They were bright neon green with a big white logo and I would see them all the time when my dad would treat me to a quick ride on the train or take me to the railroad carshop to change the oil in our family's Buick. Today this boxcar sits on an unused track behind the old mill research building near the Northern Forest Heritage Park in Berlin, NH.



When I was born, I was given a family name and joined the ranks of "Joe's" that included my uncle and my paternal and maternal grandfathers. My dad's father also worked for the BMRY. In the image below, my grandfather, Joe Viger, is on the right. Ernie Gagnon is on the left. Ernie was one of my dad's best friends and never walked into our house without a MARS bar for me.



These images are from a great website called Beyond Brown Paper. It features vintage photos of life surrounding the Berlin, NH, paper mills. As it turns out, you can find photos of both of my grandfathers on Beyond Brown Paper. Joseph Ruel, my mother's father, was a millwright at the Brown Company Paper Mill for many years. If you aren't familiar with the term millright, think MacGyver. Millwrights are more than mechanics or carpenters. They are craftsman who keep mills running by leveraging the skills of multiple trades to shape wood, steel and whatever else is needed to keep machines running.



Like most New England paper mills, the Berlin mills are mostly gone now. The Cascade mill is still standing and last I heard was running small batches of paper with imported pulp. Much of the Burgess Mill has been removed and included the demolition of the mill's smokestacks in the fall of 2007.

The town has paid a high price for the downfall of New England paper production. Berlin quickly became a favored location for prison development and there are both state and federal prison on the outskirts of town now. There is work being done to possibly redevelop the Burgess mill site as a BioMass Energy project. That is, burning wood to make electricity. This creates hope because when the mill closed it wasn't just the millworkers who took a hit. Folks felt it up and down the food chain of the paper industry: loggers, truck drivers, mechanics, oil and gas companies, chainsaw salespeople, safety equipment manufacturers, insurance folks... well, you get the picture. I remember reading that the economic impact even reached to Southern New England when the mill finally closed because of the nature of the industrial products supply chain.

While those of us who contribute to the Backside of America work hard to capture visual beauty in the decay and ruin of old factories, buildings and things, let's make sure we have good thoughts for towns like Berlin. They are full of hard-working folks living good lives. They aren't just working grunts, but often highly skilled and specialized craftsmen. Their work is more than a job and, in many cases, a legacy that is generations old.

Editor's Note: I love the dedication of the Backside contributors. David Burke recently bumped his head on a large piece of metal, bending his glasses and denting his head just a little, in pursuit of photos (which will be posted in coming weeks). Joe Viger, on a recent business trip out West, emails that for one of his upcoming photos, "The wheels were turning when I bounced in to the break down lane to u-turn and take the pics." And every other contributor has gone out of his or her way to look for good shots, take them, and do a great job explaining the where, what and why of each picture.

Michelle Loya, whose pictures and post below are about hiking on Connecticut's Mount Tom, was curious about an old chimney in the woods. So, as you'll read, she set out to find out its story. I'm honored to work with such dedicated photographers.

Smoke Signals From the Past

From Michelle Loya:

I took these pictures at one of my favorite hiking places, Mount Tom in Litchfield, CT. For as long as I can remember I've hiked or have been carried up this mountain to reach the beautiful castle and its gorgeous views at the top.

On one of the trails on the way up you pass by this giant fireplace and what remains of a tiny foundation next to it. My whole life I've wondered what this is and why it was there. The chimney is so tall and its hearth so large and inviting. It's a mystery why it's there. I searched for days online and made phone calls to the Department of Environmental Protection state park branch and no one had the answer for me.

Finally I found a number for the park itself and was luckily able to reach someone. The kind lady on the phone looked it up in the park history book and found that there had been a Boy Scout camp there from 1916- 1934. The scouts had been helping build the park and clean it up to make the trails that we hike on today. The chimney had been a part of their rec hall, and that is all that remains of it today.

Families have enjoyed hiking this mountain for years and will continue hiking and swimming for many more years all thanks to the group of Boy Scouts who blazed the trails.

Bank Shots

From David Burke:

I have always had a thing for old banks. Not the current "branches" that are most common nowadays, but the stately and spacious banks of yesteryear that were quite often the focal point of the downtown and helped define the town's personality.



The Terryville Bank & Trust building, in Terryville, CT, is still quite beautiful despite its current condition. I still had that feeling of grandeur and importance that I used to get when I would go to a bank with my mother way back when.

This building has been for sale for quite a number of years. I often wonder what will become of it; whether it will continue as a bank or some other sort of office space or whether it will remain as is, a relic of America's backside.

Chestnut Hill Phoenix

From Dave Brigham:

This site in the Chestnut Hill section of Newton, Mass., has been a mess for years, since a major fire wiped out several buildings and took a handful of lives.

New England Development Co. initiated plans three years ago, before the real estate and economic collapse, to erect a major project here, comprising residential, retail and office space. The company's plans have been on hold, but recently reps outlined scaled-back ideas, including a new grocery store, an eight-story residential building (instead of the original 14-story edifice), about 100,000 square feet of retail/restaurant space and room for a health club and medical offices. With the economy looking up, N.E. Development hopes to break ground early next year, according to an article in the Newton Tab.



While there's no doubt this site needs to be developed, and I'll likely end up shopping at the grocery store or other retailers that land there, I'll miss the carnival that's been held in the barren parking lot the past few summers. For more on the demise of venues featuring roller coasters, games of chance and fried dough, see June 1, 2010, Backside feature, "The Ones That Got Away, Part II."