Colrain Historic Surprise
I walked through the Pitt House breezeway
And wondered why it’s there.
Did it protect the farmer
When there was weather in the air?
Was it to keep the wagon dry,
Outside shelter for the herd?
Was it access to the grass behind,
The wood lot?
What’s the word?
And then this narrow yellow door
I noticed to my right.
I pressed the antique thumb latch down
And guess what came to light?
A tiny room and all enclosed,
Vented windows way up high.
I wondered just how many times
I’d passed this doorway by.
A member since the eighties,
I’d toured house and barns before.
I wondered why in all that time,
No one pointed out this door.
A bench was built across the back,
Little room to turn around.
Rusted hook holds rusted lantern
In this precious place I’d found.
Lath and plaster on the walls
In a barn, who would have thought?
And on that plaster, maple leaves
Hand-stenciled, the whole lot.
The bench had two hinged covers
But they were both nailed shut.
My guess—for hiding two large holes
For doing you know what.
I imagined the Sears catalog,
Pages torn, not meant for reading.
I think by now you all must know
Which way this rhyme is leading.
The reason for this breezeway?
Pay attention one and all,
Was to keep Mother Nature
From impeding nature’s call!
Guy Wheeler
Colrain Historical Society
Poem and photo posted on the Colrain Historical Society website with permission from the author.
This poem was previously published in the Colrain Clarion – February 2022 Issue.