It's the Monday morning after Thanksgiving and the phone is ringing. "Hello. Have you had your Wheaties yet? I know it is late, but I heard you might have time to cut some trees." Six a.m. was late for Bob Bristol but for me on that cold, grey late November morning it was way too early to be thinking about some trees in Sutton. I did agree to meet with him shortly and look at his trees.

I had met Mr. Bristol six years previous to that morning wake-up call in 1988. I had asked for work in the surveyor's trade, but all he could offer was farm labor which I politely declined. He was now showing me an area of trees which he wanted cleared to reestablish what had been Benjamin Critchet's pasture. Critchet had married Matthew Harvey's older sister, Miriam, and apparently had been given rights to use that part of his brother-in-law's land. Benjamin's frequent need for toddy at the Harvey tavern was due partly, at least, to the lackluster land he had been granted.

I did cut off the trees and by the time I was done it was determined that the rocks and ledge had not disappeared since Critchet's day. The work had gone well that winter since there was no snow to speak of. The meeting further of Bob Bristol was an enjoyment, and I also was to begin a friendship with the farm's longest standing farmhand, Perley Palmer. Just about the first thing he said to me was "go to school, read all the books and still don't know ___." Things obviously got better and I've learned much from him, and I dare say that he has gained some from the books.

That clearing in the winter of '88-'89 was what I consider the beginning of the fourth era this farm has had. I view the four as the Harvey family heyday period, the Harvey descendants' decline period, the Bristol reconstruction period, and the current preservation period.

The initial clearing and settling of the farm by Matthew Harvey in what was then called Perrystown was a subsistence farm. His good fortune due to the excellent land and his attention to high standards brought success to him and his family. The tavern, the library and the annual musters made the farm a social and political center of the town. The farm prospered and utilized indentured farm hands to raise the crops and keep the animals.

With the development of new roads through the town now named Sutton and the end of mustering, the farm began an era of decline. The large open tracts of field and pasture were left to become forest again. The tavern was silent and the struggling descendants cared little for farming. John Bailey, who was the last Harvey descendent to live at the homestead, was quoted as saying to his father, "Don't sell the farm, Father. Give the damn thing away."

That is just about the time Bob Bristol happened to be buying fudge from John Bailey's mother, Abigail. The Bristol family was able to buy the farmhouse and about 15 acres for what today would certainly be a gift. This was the beginning of the farm's reconstruction. Bob built up a chicken and dairy business and piece by piece bought up parcels of land that had been part of the original farm. His dedicated work and that of Perley Palmer made what was now called Muster Field Farm a recognized source of eggs, meat, milk and summer crops. Unfortunately, interstate highways and the advent of convenience stores brought an end to local marketing, and Bob gave up farming as his main occupation and began his surveying career. As he traveled about surveying old farm lands, he probably started to realize that the era of the small N.H. farm was being lost. He began to collect old tools and buildings and started hosting events at his farm to show the skills which were becoming obsolete. The foundation for where the farm is now was being built.

So now we tend this land with a reverence for its past, but at the same time try to keep in mind that it is a farm. The animals and crops are grown with the hope that someday the need for local products will allow people to again live from their land.