Earl Joseph Fernald (1924-1933)

Christmas 1932, like most families of that time period  gifts were few and oftentimes for some none at all.  Well that year only the younger children were given the opportunity to pick out two items that they wanted for Christmas.  The parents would pick out one, Earl's two choices were a cowboy suit or a sled.  Well his birthday was in March so the cowboy suit could wait till then, the sled he could use more in the winter not only for play time but in using for odd jobs.

My maternal grandfather Charles William Fernald worked at a mill that made croquet sets.  One day his boss came up to him and said he needed him to work in the sawmill for a man who didn't show up for work.  Charles said he didn't want to work on that machine because he didn't really know that much about it.  Also the guy absent that day had said that there was something wrong with the machine.  The boss told him he either worked the machine or went home.  So Charles ran the machine, and a log came off hitting him in the stomach almost killing him.  He was rushed to the hospital where he spent a long time.  After the accident he had cashed in his life insurance policy, the family needing the money but he took out 25 cent policies on the three youngest kids - Betty, Bobbie and Earl.  He had only paid one month on the policies when Earl died.

The day was the 8th of January 1933 my maternal grandmother Iva Bernice (Haycock) Fernald had just made a big pan of biscuits.  My mother, Beatrice Ella (Fernald) Quirion was able to sneak out of the house with one without getting caught.  But not Earl, he got caught in the act, and his hand was slapped by his mother.  Earl, who had a studder wanted to know why the pet (meaning my mother) could get away with it.  It was a long time before anyone got any biscuits,  Even though Earl had a studder he could sing and whistle and he used to do it at lunchtime for the women at the Spinning Mill next door to where they lived and he would have my mother pass the hat.  My mother, Earl and their friend Elwin Thibeau loved to go sliding, but living on the island in Skowhegan the best place to go was across the river to a hill on Turner Avenue.  It wasn't unusual for them to be gone for most of the day playing with the neighborhood kids.

My mother and Earl were very close and when they could their older sister Helen would also come along if she didn't have chores to do at home.  When Helen couldn't tag along Earl was in charge and Betty never disobeyed Earl not until that day.  She never refused anything he asked of her.  She went every where with him and he never refused her or made her stay behind when he went some where.  This would be the one and only day she would ever refuse him.  It was getting dark and they knew they had to head home Earl wanted to take a shortcut.  His shortcut involved sliding down the hill and across the river ice straight to where they lived and be home in no time.  Betty said no she was too scared so Elwin said he would walk her home.  Betty made it home and Earl's shortcut that day never made it past going down the hill.  At the bottom of the hill, he went right through a hole in the ice.  When his sled hit a rock or abutment his body slid off with his boot strings catching in the front of the sled, otherwise his body would never have been found.

Earl had been missing for four days and my grandmother was beside herself, the authorities were searching everywhere with no luck.  So she asked my grandfather to get someone (they had no car) to take him to see a physic she had about in nearby Madison.  My grandfather didn't believe in them but if it helped his wife he would do it.  Off he went and the physic knew my grandfather didn't believe in her when he walked in but she told him where he could find his son in the river.  When he got back home he told the police what the physic had said and they told him there was a diver from Lewiston who was known to go in icy waters.  They went to see him but the man was sick, but the diver's son had just graduated from diving school and when he heard about the situation said he couldn't do it, he didn't want his first body to be that of a child.  My grandfather pleaded with him saying that he had already lost his son and he was afraid he was going to lose his wife.  The diver's son finally agreed and my grandfather said whatever the cost I will find a way to get the money to pay you.

The diver arrived, went down and his first trip up in the place the psychic said he brought up the sled.  His second time he came up with Earl's body.  My grandfather identified him through his face.  He tried to pay the diver but the diver had heard about the hardships the family had undergone with my grandfather getting hurt and all and refused any payment.  The Town of Skowhegan took up a collection for the family and the owner of Stern's provided the family with clothing for Earl to be buried in.  Earl loved flowers and different people sent them including my great great grandmother who sent roses one for every year of Earl's life.  When Iva counted them and saw that their was eight it set her off in hysterics and all the flowers were ordered out of the house.

When the funeral came, all the flowers that had been hidden in the cellar were brought over to the church and it loaded the place right up.  The minister said he had never seen so many flowers, and it looked like the whole town of Skowhegan was coming for the funeral.  The minister also knew that my grandfather was deaf, so he saved his sermon papers for him to read, so that he knew what was going on.  When Earl's casket was brought to the tomb after the service all the flowers were placed in the corner and it made my grandmother sick.  She made a promise then that anyone in the family that died in the winter their flowers would be given to people rather than put into place like that,  She kept that promise till her dying day.