In the coves off Greenwich Bay when the ice was thick enough, one could often see men spearing eels through holes dug through the ice. American eels, Anguilla rostrata, are a catadromous fish – in other words, they spawn in salt water and migrate back into freshwater to live out their lives. All American and European eels spawn in one location – the Sargasso Sea – south of Bermuda. After hatching, they stay until about 1 year old, at which point they are called glass eels, as they are transparent. They migrate towards the coasts of North America and Europe in the Gulf Stream, leaving it to head towards the mouths of rivers and streams, where they move upstream into ponds and lakes. Glass eels become elvers (juvenile eels) when they gain pigmentation and will remain in fresh water 10 to 14 years before returning to the Sargasso Sea to spawn and die. Fishing for eels is usually by eel pots or eel spearing. In the winter, the eels will dig into soft and muddy bottoms and, basically, go dormant. By standing in the bow of a boat or through a hole in the ice, plunging the spear up and down into the bottom, eels will be speared and removed. Through the 1970s, one could buy eels from Clarence Bennett at his shack in Apponaug; and “Nancy” Allen could remember accompanying her mother, Helen Slater Allen, to buy eels on the waterfront in Greenwich Cove. This spear is displayed in the Center for the Outdoors at Clouds Hill.
This small wooden stool sits on 4 bulbous feet, has a handle for carrying, and an embroidered top which opens to reveal a square zinc “flask” to be filled with very hot water. A lady sitting in a carriage or in a cold room in a house or at church, would place her feet on it to keep them warm. It also made a warm and handy seat for a small child – especially in a crowded carriage. Travel to and from Clouds Hill during the 19th century was by carriage or passenger train (with 2 convenient stations in Cowesett as well as one in Apponaug and another in East Greenwich. Since Elizabeth Ives Reed was usually the person who had to pick up her brothers returning by train from Providence every evening, I’m sure she appreciated this heater during the winter months!
The two boys of Elizabeth and Alfred Reed, Jr., William Gordon and Alfred Slater, were recipients of a German train set, including a beautifully designed metal Victorian station with decorated verge board trim, and a large metal roundhouse accommodating 5 engines. Many winter hours could be passed enjoying the train set; and it made enough of an impression on Alfred Slater Reed that, as a young man, he designed and built a scale model working steam locomotive – large enough to hold an operator and capable of pulling several cars. For many years in the mid-20th century, it powered the small railroad at Highland Orchards in North Scituate, RI – one of the attractions for children coming to the orchard and restaurant on Route 101. The ride was highlighted by a small pond with ducks who would sit on the tracks and refuse to move until the on-coming locomotive sent out a huge puff of steam.
It was not until the 19th century that sledding became a popular recreation, especially in the United States. “Coasting”, as it was called, was enjoyed by both children and adults, and several sled models accommodated 4 to 6 adults, as shown in the top sled here. In fact, President Theodore Roosevelt was such an avid sledder that, in his 1901 book THE STRENUOUS LIFE, he says: “There is no more exhilarating and entirely satisfactory sport than coasting.” Clouds Hill has numerous sleds in the Sports Collection, from the early wooden one at bottom to the unique “ski-sled”. From the farmhouse behind the main house at Clouds Hill it was almost entirely cultivated fields, pasture and lawns down to the Post Road – what a great run for the four boys and four girls in the generations growing up here!
