Christmas at Eagle Pond
Your purchase helps support NPR programming. A former Poet Laureate draws on childhood memories while sharing the story of year-old Donnie, who visits his grandparents' farm during the holiday season of , where he listens to his grandfather's spoken poetry and wonders at a beautiful but obsolete sleigh before a huge snowstorm challenges his ability to return home. Cheuse says these five books strike the perfect balance between lyricism and narrative. Book excerpts are provided by the publisher and may contain language some find offensive.
I was twelve and traveled for Christmas to my grandparents' Eagle Pond Farm, where I spent summers haying with my grandfather. The Boston and Maine passenger train was a puffing steam engine followed by a coal car, a mail car, and a coach barely populated. We slowed and stopped in West Andover, at the tiny depot called Gale, and the conductor—in the summer he wore a handkerchief tucked between his collar and his neck—set down the yellow step for me to descend with my suitcase. Dimly in the darkness, I saw what I looked for: We stuffed my suitcase behind the buggy's seat.
My grandfather had always before picked me up in the high light of June. This Sunday it was wholly dark at six P. I saw that Gramp had hung oil lamps at the front and back of the buggy, and now—having snuffed them out to save kerosene as he waited for my train—he lit them again with a wooden kitchen match. We climbed into the seat and set out for the farm. There were few cars on the road, but we needed to be visible as we rattled down Route 4 with wheels in the gutter. Two Model A's pulled around us.
We passed the glacial boulder looming through the darkness at the side of the road. Riley shied at it, although he had passed it ten thousand times. After we spoke encouraging words about my mother's operation, we hardly talked; we were both too excited. Ahead I watched for the lights of Eagle Pond Farm, and soon I saw not only the porch light but through the window a lighted Christmas tree. I was a single child, like so many during the Depression. My mother's operation had been successful—she would recover fully—but medical habits were different in those days, and my mother remained in the hospital ten days.
Soon she would be home, in bed upstairs; there would be little Christmas in Hamden on December For many years I had asked my parents if we could drive north to the farm for Christmas, because I wanted to see it in winter, and because my mother had entertained me with her girlhood memories of Christmas there. This year they let me go by myself. It was my biggest present. My father drove me to the New Haven railroad station —a great cathedral, high-ceilinged over rows of benches, one wall grated with ticket stalls.
We bought my ticket to Boston, and my father nervously put me and my suitcase on the streamliner, its engine shaped like a bullet wearing skirts. I took a window seat as the train puffed through the railway yards past empty passenger cars and unloaded freight trains. We chugged by rows of houses beside the noisy tracks and emerged into a countryside bordered by Long Island Sound. Between the train and the water hovered the remains of a derelict trolley line that once took passengers, with many stops and transfers, from Boston down the coast to New Haven.
Over the marshes, the broken line swooped on great wooden trestles, dangling tracks where a thousand seagulls perched. My aunt Nan, youngest of three Eagle Pond sisters, was waiting for me as I stepped off the streamliner. She was working in a Boston bookstore while her husband did a stint in the Coast Guard. My parents had been relieved that she could lead me across Boston, although I could have done it myself. I bought my ticket and waited an hour talking with my aunt before departure.
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We hugged and said goodbye, and I climbed into the little train we called the Peanut. There were two passenger cars, and I boarded the front one because the second would be dropped off at the big city of Manchester, New Hampshire. The Peanut went all the way to White River Junction in Vermont, stopping at a dozen depots on the way, and returned the morning after. Now it passed through the populous area north of Boston, through Lowell and Lawrence and into farming country. Jan 05, Karen Witzler rated it really liked it Shelves: The crystalline fictional memory of this novella made me wake with tears on my face recalling my own grandparents.
Reminds me a bit of A Month in the Country having a deeply poetic and salvific quality.
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Recommended for those melancholy and stress- filled days prior to the holiday. Days later, my mind is still filled by this book The Man Who Lived Alone.
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I will be exploring m The crystalline fictional memory of this novella made me wake with tears on my face recalling my own grandparents. I will be exploring more of the poetry, essays, and picture books of Donald Hall former U. Poet Laureate in the upcoming year. View all 3 comments. Nov 15, Hilary rated it it was ok Shelves: We expected to really enjoy this book as we love reading about everday lives in different places and times, and love reading about winter, Christmas and snow. The story starts off well with a young boy going to stay on his grandparents farm for Christmas.
We enjoyed the detail of how Grandfather liked to recite stories and events and we enjoyed googling 'moxie' to find out whatever it was Grandma was drinking! After that we found the book which we thought was a memoir a bit flat. There were a co We expected to really enjoy this book as we love reading about everday lives in different places and times, and love reading about winter, Christmas and snow.
Also a young boy who has always dreamed of owning skates is given some and is so excited about using them goes skating before his 5 am chores and consequently is late so his father takes him back to the lake, cuts a hole in the ice and drops his skates through. We were interested to read the end note by the author about his grandparents and the farm and it turned out that it wasn't a memoir and he'd never even been there as a child in winter and it was just what he imagined it would be like, my daughter wondered why he didn't imagine something nicer!
View all 9 comments.
Seasons at Eagle Pond
Nov 29, Diane rated it it was amazing Shelves: A lovely novella about a boy visiting his grandparents' farm in New Hampshire during Christmas in Donnie helps with the chores, makes popcorn balls to decorate the tree, listens to his grandfather's stories and gets to attend the church's big Christmas party. On Christmas Day they have a feast -- everything but the salt and pepper came from the farm -- and they share more family stories. This book brought back fond memories of Christmas visits to my grandparents' farm when I was young, and A lovely novella about a boy visiting his grandparents' farm in New Hampshire during Christmas in This book brought back fond memories of Christmas visits to my grandparents' farm when I was young, and if my grandmother were still alive, I would share this wonderful story with her.
Be sure to read the author's note at the end, for it makes the book especially bittersweet. Dec 11, Candice rated it really liked it Recommends it for: People who like holiday stories that make them smile. I had read some of Donald Hall 's poetry and when this became available on Nook's "Daily Find" I decided it would make a nice addition to my holiday books.
The way you should read this book is with snow falling outside, a fire in the fireplace, and a mug of hot chocolate in your hand. But it's still enjoyable with no snow, fire or hot chocolate. A sweet story of a long-ago New England Christmas with loving grandparents and a year-old boy. The ending was predictable, but that didn't less I had read some of Donald Hall 's poetry and when this became available on Nook's "Daily Find" I decided it would make a nice addition to my holiday books. The ending was predictable, but that didn't lessen the enjoyment of the book at all.
After reading the book, you must read the Author's Note. I won't say why. Nov 03, Jgrace rated it really liked it Shelves: It comes complete with a train ride, homemade meals, a Christmas pageant and presents. The interesting point about this little book is that Hall didn't ever spend a Christmas with his Grandparents.
He has written a memory for himself and his readers to enjoy. The truly best part of this little book were the woodcut illustrations by Mary Azarian, They were beautiful. Aug 06, Terzah rated it really liked it Shelves: A simple, charming seasonal story, richer in description than plot, by a former Poet Laureate.
As someone with my own fantasy about the ideal locale for a family Christmas in my case, a cabin in the Rocky Mountains , I appreciated Hall's details. Maybe someday I'll be able to afford my own Christmas dream; for now, though, I might follow the author's lead and write it up from my imagination. Jan 25, Susan rated it it was amazing. What I assumed was memoir turned out to be something more sad at the end.
Christmas at Eagle Pond
Lovely prose as always by the old master Donald Hall. Savor an hour with this small glimpse of the past. Nov 22, Ken French rated it really liked it Shelves: A slip of a book, but as beautifully written as anything in Hall's magnificent career. Dec 09, Jenny Savage rated it liked it Shelves: This was an unpretentious and delightful story full of vignettes and characters that are simple, yet remind me of the good people I grew up with and those I know now. The illustrations by Mary Azarian have the same deep quality. It is not a true story as Hall stated in the epilogue.
He wrote it because it was a story he always wished had happened. And that makes it all the more poignant. This is my first Donald Hall book, but not my last. Dec 02, MissSusie rated it liked it Shelves: I liked the ending and could feel the snow and smell the farm, and I too wanted a ride in the sleigh. I enjoyed the postscript by the author of what this event in his life really was, make sure you read all the way to end the end to get the rest of the story. A charming nostalgic tale I would recommend for a read around Christmas.
Feb 23, John Mulholland rated it really liked it. This book reminded me of the time I spent at my uncle Bill's farm. It was similar in that it was just a family farm that raised most everything that was eaten. I came on the scene in and went to the farm on and off the rest of my life. I remember feeding the chickens, churning butter, raking hay by hand and then pitching the hay on a wagon and then having to pitch it off from the wagon into the hay loft.
Nov 11, Julie rated it it was amazing. Brief and lovely, this story has all the ring-ting-ting-a-ling Christmas nostalgia and simplicity I love. This small volume will no doubt be given as a gift to more than one special someone on my Christmas list this year. Dec 12, Tisha IG: Bluestocking rated it it was amazing. What a sweet little book with a scattering a beautiful illustrations.
If you want to read a book about life on a farm in the s at Christmas time then this is your book. Not much else to say about this book just pure and simple.
New Hampshire Historical Society - Christmas at Eagle Pond
Dec 02, Carolyn rated it it was amazing Shelves: What a cute little book to spend a gorgeous afternoon with during the holidays. Set in on grandparents farm, chores included, but with resounding pride in the work. Oh beautiful scenery in detailed words. What a childhood to have, but we must not romanticize the past too much.
So Donald Hall does so with caution. I like his poems, but wish he had written more short prose as well during his life time. This little Christmas book is a real gem. From cover to cover, including the authors note. Donald Hall had a magic in his words. Dec 19, Gloria rated it liked it Shelves: This is not a plot-drive book.
Rather it is a walk down memory lane.
Based on mostly true events, the author recalls a different time early s in a meandering recitation. Warm and friendly and you definitely get a glimpse into the past, but not an exciting read. Old sleds, sleighs, cars, plucking chickens, milking by hand, phone party lines, and more will be comfortingly familiar to some. Feb 27, R J Mckay rated it really liked it.
Christmas at Eagle Pond is a nostalgic look back to a young boys' Christmas at his Grandparents farm in rural New Hampshire. It is a wonderful look at a gentle bygone time when a World War II was feared, a radio brought the families entertainment, and a phone call was still a thing of wonder. It is a great reminder of what should be important during the Christmas season. Dec 19, Ed rated it really liked it Shelves: The author a former U. Poet Laureate no less creates the childhood memory that he always wanted to have, a Christmas on his grandparents farm in rural New Hampshire.
There isn't much to the story, but it's rich with vivid details of a time long gone. Jan 30, Carla added it Shelves: Nov 29, Tiffany Reisz rated it it was amazing. Wonderful, sweet, lovely, nostalgic. A perfect Christmas tale for the family. Dec 14, Lee rated it it was amazing. Donald Hall has long been one of my favorite poets, and I picked this book up, thinking that I had read it before.
I had not, and it is so lovely and poignant but not sentimental. Do yourself a favor and add this to your holiday reading, and don't pass on the epilogue.