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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 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. The
reason for the deaths of her sons and husband haunted me and I began to do research.
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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