While researching for my book on the New Boston Congregational Church - Little Brown Church - in March 2023, I chanced upon a folder in the archives of the Congregational Library in Boston that contained remarkable, clear recollections of Stella Hyde Morey who lived in South Sandisfield as a young girl in the 1910s. Written in 1987, her memoir includes impressions of farming, everyday life, and people, including preachers at the South Sandisfield Congregational Chapel, the social center of the community.

Stella's father, Howard J. Hyde, moved with his wife, Ethel, daughter Stella and two sons, John and Howard Jr. from New Rochelle, New York, to Sandisfield in 1914. He came to Sandisfield to farm. When he died only two years later, the family stayed on. In 1919, Stella's older brother, Howard Jr. married into the extensive Riiska family to Lempi "Mary," 7th child of patriarch Juho "John" Riiska and his wife, Matilda from Finland.

Ethel, Stella, and John moved to Springfield in 1920. Stella became a teacher and taught at the Arms Academy in Shelburne, Mass., in the 1930s. Her 3,600-word hand-written later transcribed account of South Sandisfield is a valuable legacy to this town. We start with excerpts of her recollections of farm life, with slight edits for clarity and conciseness.

The land was very fertile, and water was not a problem. There seemed to be many underground springs that were permanent furnishers of cold, cold water. Everyone had large gardens planted according to the sizes of their families. As I remember it, they grew just about every vegetable, suitable for the climate, that was known at the time. As the crops matured, they took their needs out, and the balance was taken to Winsted or to Great Barrington and sold to the growers there. The gardens also had gooseberries, currants, rhubarb, and several of the "bush" condiments.

The orchards produced summer apples starting with "snow apples," golden sweets, and went into "winter keepers," ending with Baldwins. You kept what you could and stored it for the winter, the rest was sold to markets.

Everyone had "syrup maples." Some farmers had a "maple orchard" (like) they had an apple orchard. Maple syrup was a cash crop and came at a time when you could do little else outside. Other cash crops (included) eggs - father had a flock (Rhode Island reds) of 200 birds - unusual at that time. Other cash crops were milk, veal calves, mutton, wool, lambs, honey, beef, fresh pork, ham, bacon, etc.