Hampton Becomes Home
Ruth and Patsy the dog
It was the outbreak of the Korean War that resulted in Ruth's move to Hampton, or so she suspected. Her parents and maternal Grandmother were living in Amherst at the time. The Stimson's had a 1,500-tree apple orchard there that was losing money.
"Mother decided that she needed and wanted to try a new course. Very quietly she asked me to look at for sale ads for houses. They (Mother and Grandmother) never discussed the matter with me, but Mother's decision that we ought to try living together might indicate her belief that in union there is strength in war or peace time."
Ruth, 31 years old, worked out of the Rockingham County Cooperative Extensive Office in Exeter. She rented a furnished room from Mrs. Upham at 83 Main Street. She was frequently at her parents' house on weekends.
In June 1950, Ruth found and her Mother purchased a Cape Cod style house with an attached garage at 19 Watsons Lane in Hampton. Ralph Tufts, a plumber, had built the house but then decided to sell it.
There was work to be done inside the house. Ruth bought a rollaway bed and "camped out" so that she could take care of having floors finished and walls painted and papered while continuing her work as a Home Demonstration Agent. She brought what she had at Mrs. Upham's - "an oak table, a boudoir chair, a two-burner electric plate and some dishes."
"I even planted a 1 foot tall Spruce tree on the west boundary to commemorate my arrival in Hampton."
When Ruth, her Mother, Grandmother and Patsy the dog moved into the house, her Father stayed in Amherst for the harvest. "Farming had been his goal from 1917 on. Thus it was a disappointment when the effort didn't succeed."
House on Watsons Lane
After snow at Christmastime, the Hampton house and property (with a giant Elm, Pines, Birches and Choke Cherry trees) looked "like a Currier and Ives scene." There was an advantage in Hampton compared to Amherst. "The street was plowed on the same day even after any Northeast storm. Mother felt much relieved with Gubba (Ruth's name for her Grandmother) in her 88th year now."
Ruth and her Mother shared the chores required to run their home. "I did the shoveling when needed and made household repairs. Both Mother and I worked on the grounds."
