There are special times of the year when we celebrate the seasons. The river ice that extracted annual damage to local bridges and in the ponds and lakes has now melted.
Times such as early spring in New Hampshire when the snow begins to melt and the maple sugaring begins. The cold nights and warm days provide a plentiful flow of sap from our local sugar maples and the sap houses burn late into the night. We also celebrate the end of the sugaring season for the approaching warm weather allows us to embrace the summer season, filling our days with most enjoyable events such as vacation trips to the seashore.
The anticipation and enjoyment that the spring season provides to us are a little different than the spring seasons our ancestors celebrated right here in Concord. The first robins appear as old friends, buds are again emerging and the farmer’s wife opens the long-closed windows to welcome yet another spring season.
The people of Concord’s past were well tuned with the upcoming seasons. As soon as the snow melted and the fields were dry enough for planting, the hard work was ready to begin. Unlike today, our ancestors enjoyed the little bit of leisure time that they owned only during the cold winters in Concord. There were always chores to be managed year-round, especially for the old farmers that maintained livestock as a source of food. The farmers that primarily lived in our area over a century ago were planters or dairy farmers, not large farms that produced beef and other meats for consumers. Since our ancestors relied heavily on the planting season it was very important for them to read their almanacs where the weather was forecasted for the upcoming season, without a successful crop the future was quite dim.
The plows were harnessed to teams of horses and the fields were ready to be turned in preparation of the plantings. The last of the frost would need to clear for a late frost could destroy an early budding fresh crop in the fields. The winter planning would pay dividends at planting time with much thought surrounding crop rotation order as well as the sale of excess crops to Main Street merchants where money was made to purchase supplies that could not be made or bartered.
The sleighs were stored for the summer and the wagons wheeled back into the side yards for easy access and use. Children were released from school and destined to help on their farms with planting, once planting was completed there was free time to enjoy summer activities such as fishing, hunting and swimming in favorite swimming holes. The days of summer provided much enjoyment for the children living in Concord, though the harvest season was always lurking not far away.
As we move towards warmer weather and celebrate in our own special ways it is important to remember the days of the past when spring planting dictated the farmers’ future and survival. It was a serious time requiring our ancestors to look ahead many months. As you walk the beautiful tree-lined streets of Concord and enjoy the sanctity of our local parks, reflect on the days from the past when such luxuries were not part of the lives of those that walked the streets of Concord in a much earlier time.