Mr. Morin lived next door to me when I was growing up. On weekends he would go out to abandoned farmhouses and follow the stone walls to a corner of the property where two walls intersected marking boundaries. There he would dig, scraping through layers of refuse left behind by long ago occupants of the homestead. In those very early times, there were no town dumps or trash collection days, people picked a spot and buried their trash. Since nearly everything was reused, it was usually just broken pottery or glass bottles. And, that was Mr. Morin’s goldmine. He collected bottles.

The bottles lived in the back part of the house, on window frames and sills. There they would catch the light in pink, blue and green. I was very small and would brave his scary dog Duke, a German Shepard with a wood board attached to his leg, to see his collection. Dust motes filled that air, but the refraction of the light was amazing.

I never forgot his stories of the stone walls. When I come across two walls intersecting, I always wonder if there was a family dump site and if hidden treasure is buried there. I always think of Mr. Morin and Duke. And, I am amazed at the history all around us that we take for granted.

Part way up Bauneg Beg Mountain there is a nicely constructed wall covered with lichens, hikers pass directly through a gap where the trail crosses. On Blue Job Mountain, there is a gorgeous stone wall nearer the summit. Why build that high?

Someone once showed me a small square stone structure way out in the woods. We marveled at what it could be, a pen for animals? A cemetery? A monument? Our ancestors had lots of unwritten rules, they built their homes on hills to watch for danger. They pointed structures in certain directions to gather sun and protect livestock from snow. And, they moved a lot of rocks.

On Sunday, Aug. 14 at 2 p.m. Biddeford Historical Society and McArthur Library invite you to hear author, wall builder and historian, Kevin Gardner talk about New England’s unique stone structures. The talk will take place at the First Parish Meetinghouse at 7 Meetinghouse Road and is free and open to the public. Gardner’s book “The Granite Kiss” is available for circulation. If you would like more information about the event, contact Melanie at McArthur Library 207-284-4181 mtcoombs@mcarthurlibrary.org