Last night we went to Beech Hill Farm here in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, for ice cream. While there, I noticed a small barn that was a museum for farm tools. I went inside and found a real riddle hanging on the wall! It was thrilling to see a scene from my historical novel for kids, The Riddle of Penncroft Farm, right there in my very own town!
Here is the scene:
The wooden sides of the barn—or what was left of it—were weathered to a gray that matched the foundation stones. There was a full top story, but because the barn was set into the hill, the ground floor was only about the size of our Minneapolis garage, much to my relief.
A wide door ran across the lower level. I gave it a shove, and the door creaked open on ancient iron hinges. I entered the dark inside, groping for a light switch as I went. I couldn’t find one.
Swell. How can I clean this place if I can’t see what I’m doing?” I asked, wasting good sarcasm on an empty barn. Moving gingerly along the wall, I touched a large, round, metallic object that felt nothing like a light switch. It clattered to the floor. I slid my foot around until I found it, then carried it across to the door for a closer look. It was a flat metal sieve, covered with cobwebs, red with rust, and bigger than any sieve I’d ever seen.
Perplexed, I murmured, “I’d hate to have to eat any macaroni that was strained in this . . . this . . . whatever it is!”
“’Tis a riddle,” said a voice in my ear. —Chapter 4, The Riddle of Penncroft Farm © 1989 by Dorothea Jensen
"Some of the earliest English settlers in Hopkinton were Aaron and Susanna Kimball, who came from Massachusetts in 1740. Their son, Abraham, was the first English child actually born in Hopkinton. In 1771, the King of England granted Aaron Kimball some land on Beech Hill."
The unexpected treat of spotting this riddle was even better than the ice cream cone I was eating when I discovered it!
