Fellow Ralph Moody fans, you won’t believe what we (actually my sleuthing husband) found! We just finished reading The Fields of Home, the 5th book in Moody’s autobiographical series. At this point in Ralph’s young teen-age years, he goes to spend some time with his abrasive maternal grandfather after getting kicked out of Medford, Massachusetts by the town sheriff. His grandfather lived just outside Lisbon Falls, Maine.
This book is full of trials of a different sort than what we’ve seen in the previous books. Here, Ralph’s trials are primarily relational ones - trials with an old, stubborn, prideful relative. There are lots of golden nuggets within the pages.
So what’s the “find”?
Well, in the book, Ralph helps his grandfather clear much of his rocky fields. Ralph even convinces his technology-shy grandfather to use dynamite to expedite the process. They pile the blasted rocks into rock walls along the edges of the fields.
In the beginning of the book, Ralph recalls his ferry trip from Boston to Bath, then the trip to Lisbon Falls where, just off of Main Street, a road would take him to his grandpa’s farm. We later learn that the farm was on a hill, the highest point for miles around.
Well, putting all these little bits together, Marathon found the farm on Google Maps! The farm is on Gould Road (Gould was the grandfather’s last name!) Once we saw “Gould Road” we were pretty sure we were hot on the trail. Then we saw the high point, and when we looked at the satellite view, we could see the rock walls - piles and piles of rock! A hundred years later, they are still there. I wonder who owns the property now and if they know about the book written about their land.
If you haven’t read any of Moody’s books, do so. You’re in for a treat.
The picture below is a view of the high field. Those white lines are the rock walls. The following picture is a close up of the rocks.
Thank you so much for posting this! Ralph’s books and family stories are treasured in our home. It’s a treat to see the Gould Farm like this.
Thanks,
Over the past 2 years we have been reading these autobiographies. We would get mad and then fell in love with grandpa. Even my 3 year old likes to listen. Of course we omit the harsh language.
This is so cool!
I’ve only ever read Little Britches and Family Man. I really enjoyed them both and would like to read more.
Love, Wardeh
Wardeh, you won’t be disappointed with the later books. Oh, just thinking about it makes me want to jump into the the next book, but we’re currently doing a review of Bible history during our family story time. So for now, I’ll have to wait.
Thanks so much for your references to Ralph Moody. I have read all of the books in the series and can never seem to learn enough. My journey with Moody’s “Little Britches” began when I was in Fifth Grade in Airway Heights, Washington. Our teacher read the book to us and I was hooked. That was in 1971, while Ralph was still living. Man, if the internet had existed then like it does today, what a difference it would have made. At various times over the years, I’ll get the bug and attempt to dig a little deeper. Just today, I came across a publicity picture of Ralph for a speaking engagement and two letters he wrote to the organizers. I’ve included that link and the one from Littleton, CO, which I’m sure you’ve probably already read. There’s a picture there as well with a couple of his friends from the books. About 5 years ago, I took my two children and wife out to Littleton to see the area Ralph talks about in his books. I just loved it and was ready to stay. Anyway, If; you ever need anyone to bounce ideas off of, don’t hesitate to ask. I’m sure we’d both learn something. Thanks again, Patrick Garrett
Like Mr. Garrett, I became hooked on the Little Britches series of books when my teacher read two of the books to the class (Little Britches and Man of the Family) when I was in the 3rd grade. That was back in 1965, when Mr. Moody was still living. Since I lived in Maine at the time, I took it upon myself to read Fields of Home, which took place in the next town over (I lived in Topsham and the Gould farm was in Lisbon Falls). Being an industrious little fellow, I decided to send Mr. Moody a letter and invite him to my house in Topsham. Sure enough, within a few weeks I received a reply from Mr. Moody with fond memories of selling potatoes with his grandfather in Topsham, and he even recited a song about “potatoes they grow small in Topsham, and they eat them tops and all in Topsham”. That began a long friendship with Mr. Moody that continued for many years. Although I was never fortunate enough to meet him in person (even though he always promised to stop by on his next visit to the old farm), we corresponded through letters, traded pictures, and sent Christmas cards. It was a wonderful experience for a 9 year old boy, and he was everything and more that he portrayed in the books. I still have all of the correspondence and if anyone is ever interested in seeing any of it, please send my an email at ggreen7@yahoo.com and I will be glad to share it. Ralph Moody was a class act and one of a kind.
Thanks so much for the pictures of Gould Farm! I first read Ralph Moody’s books when I was in high school in the 1960s, and have reread them several times over the years. In fact, I’m just finishing the final book in his autobiographical series right now. It’s been a joy to read them again.
There are several questions that are haunting me as I finish the series, and I’ve been unable to find the answers: When Ralph’s father died, why didn’t his mother take the children to live at Gould Farm? Since her own father was alone, it would have seemed a good option. Also, why did Ralph leave Gould Farm? At the end of “The Fields of Home,” he makes it clear that he has come to see the farm as his home. So, what made him leave? If anyone knows the answers, I would be most appreciative to hear them! My e-mail address is: saintiris1@cs.com
Sincerely, Dr. Iris St. John
My son was having some “character issues” and I rather than lecturing, I decided to read Little Britches to him (he’s a good reader and reads on his own, but we’ve had a tradition of me reading to him at bedtime since he was in kindergarten). I had my own problems with honesty at his age and this book was instrumental in getting me to rethink some things.
I wasn’t sure he’d take to it, but he was hooked right away. It also helped him understand my similar background, as I was born in the East and lived on a ranch in the Colorado mountains as an early teen.
I think we’re now ready to follow Ralph and his family into the next book.
Thanks for sharing your research!
[...] I changed the theme - again. Pretty sparce looking, huh? I like it. Gregg Green, commenter on one of my Ralph Moody posts, gave me an even better reason to blog again. I have some treasures he sent me that need to be [...]
I am 7 years old. My dad read all seven of Ralph’s books to me. The books were brought closer to me by seeing the map. Thank you.
Hi Gabriel,
Great to hear from you! You’re a lucky boy to have a dad who reads to you like that, and to have heard these stories at such a young age. Our family is almost done with the series — over half-way through the last book. We’re all hearing these stories for the first time. Boy, Ralph sure had a lot of ups and downs!
Have you read any of Ralph Moody’s fiction books? We have not, but I bet they are very good.
Thanks for commenting!
I was so pleased to see others appreciate these books! My mother read the first four of these books to us six kids in the early 1960’s in the evenings with us all sprawled on her bed all over her bedroom. Ralph’s economic troubles, resilience and persistence are somewhat reminiscent of our hard scrapping childhood, too. It is good to know we are not alone in lifes struggles. My Mother’s editions seemed old in the late 1960’s. When were the first editions printed? I really did not know they were so popular and broadly read, since I am only now looking to locate a set to purchase for my grandson to read aloud to him. I am interested in finding more information on the actual location of other establishments in the stories.
Thank you for your photos and Ralph Moody information.
I’m sorry to report to all the Ralph Moody fans that the Google photo you have produced was definitely not on the same farm as Ralph’s grandfather, Thomas Gould. For one, it’s on the wrong side of the road, and too far. I visited the farm in the 1990’s when an elderly couple whose last name started with “F” lived there, and the woman invited me in and showed me books and photos proving I was indeed in the same house, and farm, as in the book. She told me the house was rebuilt in the 1930’s after being burned down. But the house matches drawings in the inside covers of early copies of “The Fields of Home.”
The fields you have located are northwest of the farm, and north of Gould Road. The Gould farm rests on the south side of Gould Road.
On a different trip, after a lot of searching, I was able to locate the “granite outcropping” on the farm! This was a great find!
Ralph fans please feel free to contact me. Maybe we can exchange information. I have personally visited a number of sites Ralph mentions in his books.
Sincerely,
Mark Kislingbury
Houston, Texas
rtexcellence@aol.com
I did not read these as a child, but I read the whole series to my first 6 kids before internet was prevalent. Now I’m reading them to my last, much-younger son and having just finished Fields of Home I just HAD to look up “Thomas Gould” online. I’m wondering what others have, what happened between Fields of Home & Shaking the Nickel Bush? Why did Ralph leave - did Grandfather die? I’d LOVE to see any pictures. (I often print such & tuck them inside the book - as with Little House books).