By Donald A. Windsor
Deputy Historian, Chenango County
In spite of the dire admonition by Thomas Wolfe in the title of his 1934 novel, “You Can’t Go Home Again,” many of us do. And, of course, we suffer the consequences. Things change and “home” is no longer home.
Daniel B. “Dan” Noble knows this very well. His birth home once stood along Frenchmans Road in the Town of Plymouth. The site is now part of state land and Frenchmans Road has long since been abandoned. All that remains are a stone-lined cellar, a well, and foundations of a barn, a silo, and a few outbuildings.
Dan was born in the house atop the cellar in June 1932. The Great Depression was well under way and the economic plights of most people were severe. When the depression hit, jobs vanished. But Dan’s father, Mr. Daniel A. Noble, had found work at a watch factory in Connecticut. That factory soon failed and the family returned to the Preston area. Mr. Noble had no job, but he did have a pregnant wife and two little boys to support. A farmer on Frenchmans Road, who sold his farm to the state, had 30 days in which to harvest firewood. He hired Mr. Noble to cut the wood for 50 cents a face cord and the use of the abandoned house for the month. Wood was money, so Mr. Noble spent every waking hour chopping and sawing wood, by hand, even by lantern after dark. Of course, chain saws were not available then.
Baby Dan was born while his father was out in the woods. His mother, Pearl, managed to deliver Dan herself, with the assistance of Dan’s oldest brother Charlie (age 4) At the time, brother Bill was still a toddler. Results are what count and all the Noble boys, including brother George, who was yet to be born, are still a Noble crew. In spite of beginning in such poverty, all four graduated from college and have served in professional careers.
In the photo Dan is showing some of us Bullthistle Hikers the stone foundation of an octagonal silo just north of the house. From left to right are: Vicki Whittaker, Dan Noble, Valerie Sifleet, Joyce Post, Chris Gray, Fred Gray, and Tom Whittaker. We had just hiked along Frenchmans Road and were admiring the sights, especially the mid spring wildflowers, such as the pink spring beauty and the blue periwinkle. We passed a few other foundations and were fascinated with an old rusty reaper/binder. The octagonal silo is an unusual agricultural relic and I am looking for those that are still intact.
The Noble site is about a mile and a half east of Perrytown, the little hamlet that eluded the map makers. A branch of Frenchmans Road was their connection. I will be leading a Bullthistle hike through Perrytown on Sunday morning August 9. Any hiker wanting to come along is welcome, but it will not be an easy trek. The 1998 tornado covered much of the area with blown down trees. We will have to bushwhack as well as climb over and crawl under fallen trees. Perrytown is adjacent to a hemlock swamp so it will be wet.
Dan has taken copious notes on the history of Perrytown during his conversations with some of its former residents, who are no longer with us.
The forest along Frenchmans Road is gradually closing in and hiking along there is like being many miles away from civilization. Actually, we were smack dab in a civilization, only the distance to it is not measured in miles but in generations. We were three generations away from a thriving community.