The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1920-04-22
HERMIT OF
BINGHAM
"Uncle" Sam Woods Farm is Now
tn0ccupied. Peculiar Individual. His
Habits

About a mile and a half from Bing-
ham village on the Solon road is an
unoccuped farm with a barn on the
side towards the river, few neglect
ed apple trees and a cellar on which
once stood the dwelling place of
Uncle Sam Wood Many Bingham
people remember him and his eccen-
trio ways. \ tall handsome man
with black curly hair. he lived alone.
doing, on his farm, all kind of work.
He rarely spoke unless spoken to.
Working near the road travellers
came and went un-notiCod As near
ly Independent as it is possible for
anyone To be. he spun and WOve and
made. in part, his own clothing, altho
it IS said that at times he was helped
by some Of his relatives who were
among the oldest and best residents
of the village What made him
choose his singular mode Of life
What threads Of heredity or environ
ment reaching into the past and meet
ing in his person would cause him to
shun human companionship? Day
after day, year after year. to plOd
along with an occasional trip to the
village or To the grist mill. always on
foot or with his yoke of oxen. hardly
ever accepting ride, generally TAX
ing his bag of corn or oats on his
back.
A strange man with peculiar ways.
the result ii is said of illness when
young. However. the boys did not
meddle with Uncle Sam" There
vas something in his general appear
ance, a kind OF dignilied aloofness
that did not invite the Interference or
meddIing of cheap minds who take
delight in practical jokes upon those
VINO by reason of any mental or
physical defect are considered fit sub
iects for ridicule Not that he was
unfriendly; whenever he butchered he
carried meat to the neighbors. In
the maple sugar season it was not
unlikely that the neghbOrs would get
bowl of syrup that had been boiled
! IN Uncle Sans big kettle at the sugar
berth on the hill where he tapped the
naples with an axe and caught the
sap in wooden troughs, heWed out OF
! poplar
In winter. he always hauled load
of wood TO the old Union Church and
! one to the SchOOlhOusc. one ul the
/ old time tax collectors says that he
Went to collect his tax and upon rap
ping at the door which was never
! locked whether The owner was in or
out. lncle sam opened the door and
aid Are you The taXgathorcr?' after
hearing an admission of the fact, he
said. Come ia and going to his bed
f1r+lHt
nu1led out wallet from which he
took hya dollar bill and passed 1t to
tho COLLECTOR aaNiHg 'Ihai IS flGhl,
For many wears whether the tax rate
was bIeb or low. this was the amount
of TncIe Sans tax. He paid no at
,entfon to fhc market: his price for
what he had To sell was always the
same.
lie did not take kindly to new
tbinrs After the time when the
course of his life seemed to change
he apparently did not forget the past
and lost any desire to learn. His
.aols we're old and old-fashioned, His
-lfd-rnnners made from log hewed
og the outsides and then split thru
tho middle with an augur.
In those days lumber was not sc
valuable as now and the log driving
companies would allow what now
would be called valuable in the way
of timber, taken from the river. The
best was none too good for Uncle Sam
For years he shaved pine shingles be
side the river in full view Of the
drivers. Not many to be sure. but
when one of the directors said to hin
Sam you ought not to take gooc
pine logs out OF the river" ho ans
wered "Mr. Spaulding you a',end It
! your business and I viii 20 mine
Altho not rea':.af church goer, h'
sometimes vent clad y me Sha low
tailed lrDadcloth coat and beaver ha
that / had worn when young man
fo. ling a part of the way what be
Il Il as Sam Wood road.
VIZ Il few rods near e. river
thru the alders where the road hat
! been but was changed to higher
ground a little further from the river
The cd road suited ia be ,er.
Llewellyn Goodwin arrived hom'
Friday evening from waters ab
sence in Chipley, Fla AID a visit viii