I lived on the edge of Northwest woods growing up. There wasn't many kids close by to play with and so I found ways of entertaining myself. Across the main road, Springy Banks Road, was a small patch of land. This piece of land had been given to the town at some point and was a game preserve. I didn't know anything about all of that, I just saw an old weathered sign on a tree saying No Hunting,game preserve. I couldn't see why anyone would want to hunt in there anyway. In the center of it ran the dreen. Now you may not be familiar with that term,dreen. Dreen is an old English word meaning drain. This dreen or drain ,if you will, emptied into three mile harbor. It is strange now to think about it, but I never did follow it to its' source.
On the far side of the dreen there where houses, my Uncles house being the second one out. A man named Dave Jacobs lived in the one closest to the dreen. The name of their road was Soak Hide. They said the Indians ( Native Americans ) soaked their hides in that dreen and evidence was found of them being there. I never found anything myself, but then I wasn't looking either. One thing I did know about this dreen is you could ride a bicycle right up the center of it. It wasn't more than a few inches deep and the center was quite hard. The center strip of ground was very light in color. Deer, along with other small animals came to that dreen to drink. I saw many a raccoon wash his food there. When I wasn't riding my bike in it, which in all honesty became boring real quick, I would walk along the sides of it playing Indian. I would hide in the underbrush and spy upon the white man. This little area of land was like my hundred acre wood. When I was younger, it is where I would go, the much larger Northwest woods being a bit intimidating for this explorer. There was no getting lost in there. Just go to the dreen and follow it out again.
Also in this little patch of ground grew running pine and princess pine. Both of these were cherished by my Mom for holiday decorating. I went there every year to collect it. The place was loaded with squirrels. Deer liked it too. The deer loved to eat the tops off the princess pine. A little brown shoot that resembles a grain of wheat. I think it is like candy to them. It was the only part of the plant they would eat.
I recently went on Google earth and was pleased to see that little piece of land still there, apparently untouched. The satellite view is pretty amazing. I couldn't see if the pines still grow there but I expect they do. My initials were on a certain tree and I wonder if they are visible. I'm certain the old box turtle " timothy " with his brightly painted shell has long gone to meet his maker. I put him in those woods back in '63. The source of that dreen is still a mystery to me and I think I will leave it that way. I do hope to go visit that place again someday. As a kid I was worried that I could be arrested for being in the game preserve and so took evasive actions whenever anyone else came around. I evaded the town police on more than one occasion. I'm betting I still can.
On the far side of the dreen there where houses, my Uncles house being the second one out. A man named Dave Jacobs lived in the one closest to the dreen. The name of their road was Soak Hide. They said the Indians ( Native Americans ) soaked their hides in that dreen and evidence was found of them being there. I never found anything myself, but then I wasn't looking either. One thing I did know about this dreen is you could ride a bicycle right up the center of it. It wasn't more than a few inches deep and the center was quite hard. The center strip of ground was very light in color. Deer, along with other small animals came to that dreen to drink. I saw many a raccoon wash his food there. When I wasn't riding my bike in it, which in all honesty became boring real quick, I would walk along the sides of it playing Indian. I would hide in the underbrush and spy upon the white man. This little area of land was like my hundred acre wood. When I was younger, it is where I would go, the much larger Northwest woods being a bit intimidating for this explorer. There was no getting lost in there. Just go to the dreen and follow it out again.
Also in this little patch of ground grew running pine and princess pine. Both of these were cherished by my Mom for holiday decorating. I went there every year to collect it. The place was loaded with squirrels. Deer liked it too. The deer loved to eat the tops off the princess pine. A little brown shoot that resembles a grain of wheat. I think it is like candy to them. It was the only part of the plant they would eat.
I recently went on Google earth and was pleased to see that little piece of land still there, apparently untouched. The satellite view is pretty amazing. I couldn't see if the pines still grow there but I expect they do. My initials were on a certain tree and I wonder if they are visible. I'm certain the old box turtle " timothy " with his brightly painted shell has long gone to meet his maker. I put him in those woods back in '63. The source of that dreen is still a mystery to me and I think I will leave it that way. I do hope to go visit that place again someday. As a kid I was worried that I could be arrested for being in the game preserve and so took evasive actions whenever anyone else came around. I evaded the town police on more than one occasion. I'm betting I still can.
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