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It was a bright, cool day in autumn. A certain crispness was in the air and the clouds were puffy and white next to the light blue sky. In fact it was one of those days that seemed GREAT to be alive! The top was down on the white ’57 Chevy convertible with black interior and the small block V-8 engine was purring like a kitten!
Bill was on his way to school in a small town in Maine, you see, Bill is an educator. Being late, the shiny classic was pushed for more speed yet still being cautious on the twisting “hog back” road. Only partially visible but Bill saw a piece of old, rusted farm equipment off to his left. A perfect addition to his photographic expose that he has been working on for months. Having camera at hand he checked his rear view mirror and seeing no traffic he pulled off the road. Thinking of himself a freelance photographer he began to compose the picture. Pressing the shutter release slowly he also caught a red-winged blackbird perched on the rail of the three point hitch. Got it! Bill caught the interplay of light, color, and shadows perfectly.
In a pensive moment Bill began thinking about the man who used that plow…
He thought about the painting by Millet of “The Sower”, and how times had changed so that instead of a single man walking along the plowed row sowing seeds, everything was done mechanically now with machines. “Have we lost touch with the land?” he asked himself. “Does the farmer still get his hands dirty?” So many questions!
And then he thought, “How can I capture this concept as a photograph? Can I combine the idea of farm equipment and the idea of the soil and planting the land as a continuum?” He looked around for anything which might be close to the machinery which he could add to the composition as a symbol of the dichotomy between ages past and the modern age. The closest he could come was a discarded garden tool, a simple claw which the farmer’s wife had dropped, perhaps, as she was weeding her flower garden.
“That’s not it”, he said in disgust. “But by itself it would be another good idea for a photo.” Bill had a series he was working on about tools and the people who used them. So a photo of a discarded garden claw would add to his collection.
His mind drifted to other changes over the years including the changes in cars. A lawyer had recently approached him about an old right-of-way across his land, leading to a landlocked abutting property. The other landowners wanted to sell the property, and they wanted an easement to improve the access along the right-of way to be used by vehicles. Now, it was just a narrow path bordered by big trees, but it was probably plenty wide enough for the small horse-and buggies which had used it in the past. How much would they require to make the road passable for modern vehicles, and just how much was he legally required to provide. He remembered his father had been involved with that question too.
He decided that people are even removed from their everyday decisions. He can’t just say yes or no, he has to research the ramifications. Research takes time and is often at a distance, usually the county courthouse. Once the research is done, the legal issues have to be weighed. Sometimes that involves a lawyer. In law, this phrase hasn’t changed; Time is money. Is it worth the time and expense to allow others the use of your land while you have to pay taxes on it forever? The space of the right of way can never have a building or garden on it. Why can’t we just say you can drive over my land to get to yours until I notify you otherwise? Or life to be so simple… Ah well, thoughts for another day, after a quick glance at his watch revealed that school was about to begin and he was about to be late if he stayed longer. As he stowed his camera, eased into the seat, and started the car, he began thinking about how to incorporate the ethical decision making process into his lesson plan for today. The idea of a service learning project began to form as the car seemingly steered itself into the school parking lot. Maybe we couldn’t use my personal situation as a case study, but I’d bet good money that I’m not the only one in this predicament, he thought. Time is money, time is money, time is money…
Still lost in his thoughts, Bill entered the school and was greeted by the school principal and a well-dressed woman who resembled the reporter from Channel 5. In her hand she carried a stack of photographs and papers. Minutes later Bill noticed that when Mary, the principal, passed by his room she must have dropped a photograph. Bill stared at the picture for a long moment. To his disbelief, there in the print was a tired looking man, a chestnut brown workhorse horse and three point plow! What are the chances of such a coincidence? How could it be? It was as if he was seeing the same plow in the same field! The caption on the photograph read William Garrett III, 1867. That name rang a vaguely familiar in Bill’s mind. He was reminded of things long forgotten but being a self ordained super-sleuth, Bill began to put the puzzle together as the memories returned. Only a couple of years after the Civil War he thought. Let me see… the details of the picture came to him slowly. Civil War, 1865, Lincoln’s Assassination, Virginia, Garrett’s Farm! Slick detective work, a call to the town office, and several research hours later in the historical archives Bill had the answers he had been looking for about the print and much more!
Bill found that John Garrett owned a farm just outside of Port Royal and near Bowling Green, Virginia. Garrett was the owner of the farm and for that moon lit night the tobacco house sentinel. In the wee hours of April the 26th, 1865 Garrett saw two men creep along the edge of the building then disappeared into one of the tobacco barns. Suspicious as he was of vagabonds in this region of Virginia during the aftermath of the war, he quietly made his way to the barn in the same shadows and slowly he slid the bolt locking them in! Returning to the main house he awakened his son, and instructed him to watch the barn doors for any foul play and use the 44 cal. rifle if needed. William, at age 15, would do as his papa said, by God! John then disappeared into the darkness of the home.
Within an hour three more riders approached from the north. The first identified himself as Lt. Edward Doherty of the 16th New York Calvary. The other two identified themselves as detectives Luther Baker and Everton Conger. Minutes later the thunderous sounds of several riders approached. Doherty asked William
“Have you seen anyone suspicious around?” William quietly explained about the two men in the barn and noted that one had a limp. Just then the door of the barn burst open and the two men charged out revolvers blazing. The Lt. was hit in the leg and two other troopers were killed on the spot. William aimed his 44 at the man with a limp and one sure shot took the man down. Bleeding but still defiant the man tried to fire another round. This time Detective Baker shot and this time the man lay limp in a pool of blood. All of this information only made Bill more curious.
Further investigation found that William had stayed on the Garrett Farm for years helping to help grow the cash crop of tobacco. William married a local woman named Elizabeth and together they had three sons. The investigation eventually led to the third generation of the Garretts in a small town in Central Maine! The picture was eventually identified that William was a direct descendent of the man who shot John Wilkes Booth on that April morning in Virginia! Of still greater interest with further investigation it was found that William Garrett III married and had two sons. By the way, I never did introduce myself to you, I’m William Garrett IV but you can call me Bill!
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