Jane Porter Gibson lived on the farm from 1972–2003. Her original lino prints depict the farm during those years. Jane taught in the local schools for many years. Summers she tends a large vegetable garden and is often in the kitchen‚ cooking‚ canning‚ freezing and pickling the fruits of her efforts. She and her husband‚ Bill‚ now live in the house they built in the apple orchard above the farm. Bill is a direct descendent of the original William Stearns.
Jane says‚ “When we returned to the old family homestead 35 years ago I became the art teacher at the elementary school and junior high grades in SAD #17. Bill and I kept farm animals‚ tended vegetable gardens and cared for the buildings‚ fields and woods.
Each Christmas we sent greeting cards to friends and family. I would draw a picture of a scene or animal‚ transferring this to a linoleum block‚ which I then carved‚ inked and individually printed.
This was our way of sharing our news and life on Stearns Hill Farm. We are happy that our niece‚ Ellen‚ and her family are continuing to take care of this very special place.”
Mary Gibson Williams studied at Worcester Museum Art School and received a BFA from Clark University. As a child‚ she looked forward to visiting her grandparents at the farm every summer. She knew she would someday‚ somehow live on Stearns Hill. Mary spent a number of years in Santa Fe‚ New Mexico‚ but has lived down the lane from the farm with her family for the past 10 years. She is the daughter of Jane and Bill Gibson and the great–granddaughter of diarist William Child Stearns.
The seasons came ‘round
The work went on,
And that was life
Upon the farm.
William Child Stearns (1866–1945) The man behind the words.
My great–grandfather‚ who was known as Will‚ was born on the farm‚ the youngest son of seven children. He took over the farm from his father‚ Porter‚ in 1895‚ and actively farmed here for over 50 years.
He kept a diary for many years. Each day‚ after a full day of work‚ he noted the temperature‚ and jotted down two or three lines about the weather and the work that went on that day. There are no embellishments‚ but somehow these succinct lines embody his heart and soul and the rhythm of the seasons.
William Stearns married Jennie Blanche Chase from North Paris in 1899. Blanche nearly died after the birth of my grandmother‚ Annette‚ in 1902. William built two miles of telegraph line through the wilderness to connect the farm to the outside world so he could summon help if Blanche needed it. “There is no one like my William‚” Blanche once wrote in a letter to his sister.
Their second child survived only three days. Blanche never completely recovered after the birth of her third child‚ Warren‚ in 1909. She died of tuberculosis in June 1915. William never remarried.
The excerpts included here are from William’s 1936 diary. The country is in the depths of the Great Depression. His daughter‚ Annette‚ and her husband Leslie are living on the farm with their four children. They moved back to the farm from California in 1933‚ after losing their livelihood. William heartily welcomed them back. He had been very lonely on the farm all by himself.
A new baby arrives in 1935. Leslie‚ a talented businessman‚ is struggling to find a regular work. William’s son‚ Warren‚ is living in Boston. He comes home often‚ taking the bus to Portland. Usually Annette goes to meet him. William always notes his visits‚ along with friends and family members who come and go regularly.
In rural Maine‚ the switch from horsepower to gasoline–powered vehicles is a gradual change. Mobility is a big deal on isolated farmsteads. William notes all trips‚ including taking milk to the creamery in South Paris two or three times a week. If the weather is bad‚ the milk is taken by horse and cart.
Annette drives the school bus‚ picking children up along the road and taking them to Hungry Hollow School‚ a one–room schoolhouse two miles down the road. In snowy weather‚ the “scholars” go to school by sleigh.