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October 3, 2009

Hermits seek isolation for many reasons

By GORDIE LITTLE, Small Talk

Sometimes my wife, Kaye, feels as though I live like a hermit here in the River Room.

I spend many hours a week doing research and writing. I also give prompt answers to every personal e-mail note that I receive.

Regular readers of this column might recall my reference to hermits a few years ago when I spoke of the old Civil War veteran named Sam Smith. He lived near the Canadian border and was immortalized in a delightful song written and sung by our friends, the Gibson Brothers.

For some reason, I've always been attracted to people my mother used to call "characters." I admit that I'm different from the average bear and have interests that have often taken me on "the path less traveled."

I'm probably the antithesis of being a hermit, although I truly enjoy occasional solitude. I'm never lonely when I have a good book. And when I travel with Kaye, we often spend hours without conversation. We have many other ways to communicate effectively.

When I was 6 and lived in Thornwood, our butcher had an unkempt, long-haired hermit relative living in the attic above his shop. At mealtime, they would pull down the trapdoor and hand him a plate of food. We would catch a glimpse of him, and he looked to us like Rip Van Winkle.

We learned that the man had lost a bet in 1940 when Wendell Wilke ran for president against FDR. If Wilke lost, the butcher's kin promised never to be seen in public again. I often wonder how many years he lived in that attic.

SOLITARY LIFE
For some, the very word hermit has a negative connotation, but it shouldn't. To me, it has a much broader meaning, including those who, for one reason or another, have chosen lives of solitude.

Sometimes, it has to do with religious vows or the psychological effects of military action. I'm sure jilted lovers have also gone off to live in the woods.

It seems as though there were many hermits in this region back in the decades between 1930 and 1950, and I'd wager you can remember a few.

The most famous, of course, was Noah John Rondeau, known forever as the Adirondack Hermit. Some who knew him well deny that he deserved the status of hermit, but he was certainly the stuff of which legends are made. He wrote daily diary items in a code that wasn't broken until the early 1990s.

Other names of those who lived the solitary life in our region have cropped up through the years. One was Glen Savage in Dannemora. Another lived near the Gougeville Spring in Cadyville. I don't know his name.

NAME SOUGHT
Mike Vanvalkenberg, a disabled veteran who lives on the Military Turnpike, has been on a quest. He has written me a couple of letters, and we have chatted on the phone. He is searching for the true name of a man who has been called "The Hermit of Peasleeville." Our guess is that he was possibly "shell-shocked" in World War I and lived a private life thereafter. He walked the streets of Peru in old military-style long coats and often drove an old Overland automobile.

Mike has expended much time and effort attempting to find the man's grave to make certain he is properly recognized as a veteran. Many names have surfaced including John Tripp. Actually, a John Tripp from Mason Street here in Morrisonville was the father of Mike's companion, Shirley, and she thinks the hermit might have been somehow related.

All roads have so far led to dead ends. I've heard the first name Ernest applied to the hermit and have jotted down several possible surnames to include Whittaker, Willavera and Merriweather. Take your pick.

Mrs. Banker, the former Peasleeville postmaster, said the man used to come in to cash his government check and order baby chicks and seeds at the post office in her home.

If you have information, please give me a ring or send an e-mail. It might even lead to another column down the road.

Have a great day and please, drive carefully.

Gordie Little was for many years a well-known radio personality in the North Country and now hosts the "Our Little Corner" television program for Home Town Cable. Anyone with comments for him may send them to the newspaper or e-mail him at gordandk@aol.com.

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Lois Clermont, Editor

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Peter Hagar: Cornell Ag Connection

Health Advice

Ray Johnson: Climate Science

Gordie Little: Small Talk

Terry Mattingly: On Religion

Steve Ouellette: You Had To Ask

Colin Read: Everybody's Business

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