As a senior at Lunenburg High I wanted to be able to say that I worked on a dairy farm. The year was 1977 and I approached Mrs. Stillman in the lunch room. I think it was February when I started and remember the electric wire had snapped off the pole from a recent ice storm, lying across the dirt driveway. Mr. Stillman said be careful. I truly learned what hard work was that summer and I loved it! My first job was to scrape, putty and paint all the windows on both sides of the barn. Mr. Stillman told me one day that I was going to slow, so of course I naturally picked up the pace. The sweet smell of sileage and the natural way the heat from the cows kept the barn warm, I will never forget! Being on the x country team, I thought I was strong, one day while haying on the hill, one bale was soaked from rain water and there was no way I was throwing it up three tiers high on the truck. Out of the corner of my eye I see Mr. Stillman approaching, he picked up that wet bail and just casually tossed it up four tiers. I think he kind of looked at me and winked. Everyone in that family had been farming for so long, they knew the most efficient ways to get things done. Weather it saving steps from walking all day to something as simple as a broom. I must admit here that I thought I knew how to use a broom, no sir re. I was outfitted with a new technique on how to properly use this tool and have been ever grateful. While mowing the lawn one day I accidently ran over one of Mrs. Stillman's prized blueberry bushes, had she not told me only days before that it takes eight years for a bush to mature, I probably wouldn't of felt so damn guilty. Then there's Bud! Fresh out of collage and back on the family farm, I would listen to his stories about campus life and near the end of any of them, I absolutely without a trace of doubt, new that I was standing in the presence of The Dude! Hi Bud! Brother Greg, who I also respected greatly and got along with would once in a while give me the look, like maybe I should have done it this way instead and he was right. If Bud was near by I would look at him because he would always have some funny look on his face, probably letting me know that Greg does the same thing to him. It's possible that I may have ben the last high school hire of that era. If so, I claim the grateful right for the title of last of the Stillman's! Mark Descoteaux ~ read more
