I moved to MA in ’79 and fortunately discovered Lincoln in a “house mate wanted” ad in The Phoenix alternative newspaper. I moved into this ‘group’ house with three other young adults on Old Sudbury Rd that Karl Van Leer had built on land his father, Hans, had given him. Karl had since sold the house to a couple who were our landlords. It was a Boise Cascade model home - Karl worked for B.C. I learned later that we were known in the neighborhood as ’the commune’ :-).
That house, which was across the road from the Coffin’s, has been replaced - as has the Coffin house….with the former “Pillar House Restaurant” where Margie and her family reside.
Late in the 6+ years I lived there, I finally met Karl’s father, Hans, whose house was across the large field from the house Karl built. (Han’s house is still there adjacent to Pony Henge. Hans and his first wife had been best friend with Helen and her husband. After each of their spouses passed away, Hans and Helen married).
The day Hans and I finally met, he’d stopped by to chat about something and upon his departure, with an offer for me to join him and Helen for lunch sometime, I asked him if I could call him by his first name, which I though was George or something. He said in his lovely Dutch accent, “Well, you can call me that, but my name is Hans”. I couldn’t stop laughing:-)
We enjoyed occasional lunches and Hans would tell me stories of how he first came to the US by ship to attend school in California around the early 1930s. He met some Amherst College students on the ship and they convinced him to forget California - “There’s nothing happening out there”. :-). So he went to Amherst with them but because his academic records had been sent to CA, Amherst could not admit him. So Amherst admissions sent him up the road to Mass Agricultural College - now U Mass - because their admissions dean was also from Holland. So Hans got in …..and studied Agriculture. After graduation, he was to return to Holland but wanted to stay in the US. His fraternity brother’s father owned a tree service company in Boston. To obtain a green card, they hired Hans and made him their - get this, “Dutch Elm Disease Expert” :-).
He was on a service call at his new job to see a customer who lived in what is now the MA Audobon Office / Drumlin Farms on 117. Told to return an hour later as “The Madam” was not available to receive him yet, he drove to what is now Doherty’s for lunch, driving there by way of Old Sudbury Road. He inquired at lunch about the abandoned farm house / barn on Old Sudbury Road - eventually bought it and ran his successful dairy farm for many years. Eventually sold his herd and got involved in land conservation at the state level.
Hans and Helen also invited me to his Plum Island summer retreat from time to time. I regret having never taking them up on that - and when I moved from Old Sudbury Rd, I lost contact with them. I learned Helen moved back to CT after Hans died so I never saw her again either . Han's old red dairy barn, where Mike Farney who owned the Lincoln Guide Service Bike & Ski shop stored his rental ski inventory in the off season, was eventually torn down. Pony Henge emerged on Han’s side yard and remains as Lincoln’s iconic enigma.
A few house beyond Han's farm lived Olympic Champion Para-skier, Diana Golden. I was very fortunate to know her for far too short a while also.
I never did meet Karl or Rachel, but their granddaughter worked with us at Dana-Farber a few years ago. I told her stories about her great-grandfather, Hans, that apparently even her mother, Han’s granddaughter, didn’t know :-)
Had digital technology been around then, I’d have recorded Han’s stories and taken lots of photos - but………
Thanks for sharing this Sara. Van Leers and descendants are good people. I coached and my kids grew up playing sports with the Van Leer grand kids in Sudbury and Lincoln.
Kind Regards,
Scott Clary
617-968-5769
Sent from a mobile device - please excuse typos and errors
Rachels skills were legendary.
My children grew up being soaped up with what Rachel produced from her sheep.
Family and friends looked forward to these little squares as gifts.
“Crafting” does not do justice to her many talents.
Her artistic endeavors, added to her devotion to gardens and her land were a delight to behold .
Rachel and Karl were the merger of 2 farming families from different sides of town.
Much of the van Leer land is now part pf Drumlin Farm and conservation land.
Davis land is now part of Valley Pond and households along Conant Road.
Davis descendants still live on this land.
At some point in the future, the Lincoln Historical Society hopes to document the history of the Davis farm and the family.
Rachel carries many stories with her as did Karl.
Their legacies will live on in their children and extended families.
--
The LincolnTalk mailing list.
To post, send mail to [email protected].
Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/.
Change your subscription settings at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln.
--
The LincolnTalk mailing list.
To post, send mail to
[email protected].
Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/.
Change your subscription settings at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln.
