Dad Hung up His Gathering Pails Forever
My father, Paul Putnam of Charlestown, NH, hung up his gathering pails for good yesterday as he passed away. At almost 84 years, he has gathered many, many thousands of gallons of sap and lugged countless number of pails over his lifetime. He and his brothers ran Putnam Brothers Sugarhouse in Charlestown, and he was the last surviving brother. Dad’s love was gathering the sap and was content to let his brother boil. I grew up spending many hours when little riding in the pickup while he gathered roadside buckets, then helping when becoming big enough too. He talked about how in high school, he and his brother hooked a Farmall H and John Deere A together by chain, and would drive 3 miles in unplowed deep snow to reach the trees by going a few feet forward and a few feet backwards until they made it. During the depression and WWII, maple was the family’s source of sugar. At 82-1/2 years old, Dad retired and sold the farm as his health was deteriorating, but still came over to my small setup and sat in the chair while I boiled offering words of wisdom. My brother started his own sugaring operation and Dad always looked forward to the daily sugaring report from both of us. Sugaring won’t be the same this coming year, but he taught us well.
