And this old house:  I believe it was 1982, when Boston Edison was building
a solar house it dubbed "The House for the Future."  We conducted a survey
of the parcel, which had been the site of a series of sawmills and of a late
17th-century dwelling.  Traces of dwelling were obliterated by futuristic
house prior to our arrival!  But we recovered evidence of the sawmill in the
form of piles of stones that had been piers, etc., and, most notably, the
large connector arm/gudgeon from the workings of an early 19th-c up-and-down
saw (like the one reconstructed at Old Sturbridge Village).  I thought the
tie-in was super:  3 centuries of alternative power!  Bob Villa was hardly
ever on site; only one of his appearances coincided with our efforts.  In
truth I barely spoke to him, just met him briefly.  He nixed any inclusion
of the archaeological finds on even a tiny, brief segment of the show.  I
can't say I really blame him:  our finds looked for all the world like a lot
of rusty scrap iron.  The project was further marked by sadness, in that one
of the men installing the solar panelling on the steep roof fell to his death
on the stone patio, while my crew was nearby digging test pits.  So I had
put the whole thing in the back of my mind.
 
We did do a little report on the work, and I can send you a copy if you like,
after my return from sabbatical.  They didn't exactly go like hotcakes!
 
Best regards,
Mary Beaudry
NEH Fellow
Winterthur Museum
Winterthur, DE 19735
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