Manifest Destiny: America from the Bottom Up - Day 8 - Part 2 - North Scituate, RI - Raymond DiCarlo

The afterglow of the Transformation persisted for hours. Before it faded a Providence Water truck pulled in. I waved. The man inside rolled his window down and asked how I was doing. I told him I was happy to find this spot and how helpful it was for me to get reorganized. He reminded me to be careful and not roam too far out into the woods, because it was hunting season.

I didn't even know what town I was in, so I walked over to him and said, "I do have a question for you."

He was a big guy with the straight talking Rhode Island accent. He put the truck in park and asked, "What do ya need to know, my friend?"

I smiled and asked, "Where the hell am I?"

He smiled back and chuckled. He told me that I was still in Scituate. He asked me where I was headed and I told him my story and that I wanted to get into Connecticut without having to go too far south first.

He said, "Well, the most direct way is by taking Route 102 and heading west, then taking Route 14 across the border into Connecticut. But..." he continued with a bigger smile, "...I don't know if you want to deal with THAT hill," and pointed down the road to something beyond the horizon.

I told him I'd been through alot and that I could probably handle anything he could throw at me. Boy, would I find out how wrong I was!

He said, "I don't know, my friend... What happens is you start climbing and the hill isn't very steep. You begin to walk around a slow curve and the hill gets a little steeper. Then as you realize you walking up a long incline, you go around another curve and it seems to level off. But this is just a tease, because it slowly starts to go up again. This happens over and over again. You think you're at the top and there's just as much to still climb. By the time you actually do get to the top the ground will be like this..." he flattened his hand level to the ground, "...and you'll be like this..." he kept his hand level to the ground. "Yep, it's killer."

Raymond DiCarlo

We talked a little more. He was definitely interested in what I was doing. I repeated that I was happy to find the spot and joked that if I only had water it would be a perfect day. He told me he would have taken me over to Dunkin' Donuts, but he wasn't allowed to have other people in the truck. I asked him how far Dunkin' Donuts was from this spot and he said, "Oh about a mile." If I had only taken the other direction earlier in the day I would have found it and been able to get re-hydrated. But I never would have found Crazy Corners. Thankfully, one mile was nothing to walk for me. So I resolved to go there after I was packed up again.

I asked Raymond about his job. He said he patrols all the outlying areas of the Providence Water Reserve. This is the water that is filtered for the City of Providence to use. He said he'd been working for Providence Water for 14 years. He's married and lives nearby. 

He told me an interesting fact about Scituate (something I had briefly mentioned a couple posts back). There had been a  town that was moved to make the reservoir. Here is the history, expanded from what he told me...

The Scituate Reservoir is the largest inland body of water in the state of Rhode Island. It has an aggregate capacity of 39 billion US gallons (150,000,000 m³) and a surface area of 5.3 square miles (13.7 km²). It and its six tributary reservoirs—which make up a total surface area of 7.2 square miles (18.6 km²)—supply drinking water to more than 60 percent of the state population, including Providence. 

The surrounding drainage basin that provides water to the reservoir system covers an area of about 94 square miles (243.5 km²), which includes most of the town of Scituate and parts of Foster, Glocester, Johnston, and Cranston. The Scituate Reservoir is operated by Providence Water Supply Board.

[Snip] 

The creation of the reservoir flooded much of the town of Scituate, including the villages of Ashland, Kent, South Scituate, Richmond, and the western part of North Scituate. Other parts of town were destroyed as Providence acquired land surrounding the reservoir. In total, Providence acquired 23.1 square miles (59.8 km²) of land. Most residents of this area were forced to move out of Scituate and received compensation from the city for the property they lost. Some individuals such as businessman and farmer Arthur Steeresold hundreds of acres for the creation of the Reservoir.[1] 

Between 1920 and 1930, the town's population decreased by 24 percent to 2,292, the lowest number since the 1780s. 1,195 buildings were demolished, which included 375 homes, 233 barns, 7 schools, and 6 mills. The loss of 30 dairy farms limited agricultural activity in town. The Providence and Danielson Railroad, an electric railway line that carried farm produce, granite, and lumber to Providence, was abandoned due to the project. 26.4 miles (42.5 km) of new roads had to be built to make up for the 36 miles (58 km) of roads that were also abandoned. 

Most people complied as they were forced to settle elsewhere, but some families were unwilling to part with the houses they had inhabited for generations. The Joslin family, which owned large mills in the doomed villages, fought a long legal battle, which they eventually lost. After moving out, the family built an opulent rural estate on Field Hill. The Knight family, while selling their property, set fire to their house as they were reluctant to leave. A few residents even committed suicide. [2] 

Source: Wikipedia

Raymond was very kind and gave me suggestions about how I might be able to get into Connecticut and then down to the coast. We said goodbye and he took off. About 5 minutes later, I was surprised to see him return. He stopped and called me over. I walked back up to the truck and he handed me this liter bottle of Mt. Dew...

Manna

Many things made my day, but that was above and beyond. Now I could take my time with the pack up, relax, enjoy the sun and begin to re-hydrate. The Blessing of discovering this little rest area was becoming manifest.

Nothing felt better then guzzling about half of that bottle. I also didn't have to go to Dunkin' Donuts now to buy anything else to drink. I could continue on directly down the road.

Raymond was the second guy I'd met and actually spent time talking to on this journey. Meeting him confirmed to me that it should be the people that come first in my reporting from now on. Rhode Island was a great, almost prophetic place, in that it showed me the pattern that would characterize the adventures to come as I headed south and west across the country.

And, even then, the day was not yet over...