As weather warms and snow melts, our museum will be reopening and our current exhibit, “The Tools and Industries that Made Rochester” will be up for at least another month. It can be viewed before our April 15 meeting at 6:00 pm and by calling Connie at 617-750-2818 or emailing eshbach2aol.com.
Some of the tools on display, like the scythes, come in many sizes and have many uses. Others have a very specific use, like the cranberry scoops and the wide shovel from the Hartley sawmill designed for shoveling sawdust.
What almost all of these tools have in common is that they are made of wood and/or iron. This means that they (particularly the larger ones) are very heavy. One example, the broad axe was used to remove bark from the sides of a felled tree. The logger would walk down the log swinging it one-handed along the side. When I say that I found just lifting it with two hands was difficult, that’s an understatement.
Another large and heavy tool was the Peavey or “Persuader”. As you can see in the picture, a peavey is a very large wooden mallet. This tool was used in the building of “timber framed ” houses or barns. It was raised into the air and then brought down to “nudge” or push timbers into the proper position in the building’s frame. In other words, it was used to persuade the timbers to take their place in the construction. The peavey was used rather than a sledgehammer or similar tool to avoid damaging the timbers. Stop by the museum and try hefting it and you’ll appreciate both the strength and balance needed to work with it. Like all the tools of the past, the user needed well- muscled arms, a strong back and a straight eye to complete a day’s work.
By Connie Eshbach
