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My first experience with George Goodrich goes back
about 20 years. I was walking with my family in Pawtuckaway State Park, a state park near my home in New Hampshire. We happened
upon a small, old cemetery behind a cellar hole where a farmhouse once stood.
Upon investigation we discovered
that the family buried there had suffered terrible tragedy. The mother, Sally Goodrich, gave birth to seven children. Her
last child and only daughter, Delia, died when she was just two.
In 1833 and 1834, four teenage sons and her husband
died, three of them within two months of each other. Another son died five years later. Only one son lived
to old age. Sally went on to live to the age of 101.
I was fascinated by Sally's story and wrote an article
for the newspaper. I began searching for the reason for the deaths of her sons and husband.
Although I never did
find the reason for the deaths, I began to collect information about George Goodrich, Sally's grandson. As it turned out,
George was quite a character. Dressed in torn off pants and barefeet, with a long white beard and hair, he looked like a Santa
Claus who had fallen on hard times.
The Barefoot Farmer is George's story. A musician, mathematician, and an
early photographer, he was a fascinating personality. The book contains reproductions of his postcards, information from his
diary, and pictures of barefoot George himself.
Thanks to George and his family, we now have a section of
Pawtuckaway State Park in Nottingham, NH, which has been left natural and unspoiled, to enjoy today.
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