‍1923 - Fitchburg, MA. George Augustus Cutting (1893-1964) and his wife Anna (1895-1985) ran Mt. Elam Farm at the end of Mt. Elam Road. Their farm grew as the village did - providing wood, dairy, eggs, even trash collection. 

George Augustus was married once before, but lost all of his children in WWI, and the marriage dissolved sometime after. When he married “Nana” Anna, it promised a new beginning. While George and the kids tended the farm, Anna would visit schools & community groups to give talks on her proprietary cattle breeding methods. 

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George and Anna were able to purchase a small plot of land down the road in Ashburnham, MA in early 1923 from a good friend and fellow farmer. An undeveloped grassy patch sloping down to Billy Ward’s pond.

Deed-in-hand, they hired the man that sold them the land to build a 3-bedroom cabin:

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George Augustus eventually fell ill and left the farm to Anna and the kids. Many of the kids had moved into the city, and the simplest thing to do was split up and sell the farm. In the wake of George's death (sometime shortly after the start of WWII) his son Charlie painted the original HATETOQUIT sign and nailed it to the roof's ridge.

Over time the Camp became a classroom where generations of Cuttings learned skills, tricks, and trades — swimming, fishing, water skiing, and general carpentry were opportunities to sharpen your intelligence and test your courage.

Here’s a description of my how my Dad spent his summers, told by his cousin George:

Swim class took place on the wharf. Grandpa simply picked him up and threw you into the water and waited. I thought Robert was going to drown. Sometimes he came up gurgling, but he quickly learned to swim several different strokes. Swim class taught him not to be afraid of water and how to survive in it.

Fishing class took place in an aluminum rowboat and took hours in full sun. I thought Robert was going to melt. But he learned how to bait his hook, row a boat, troll, unhook a fish, prepare fish for cooking and cook fish over an open fire. Most importantly he learned patience.

Water Skiing class took place in a new Sport Haven ski boat with Grandpa at the helm. He would pull Robert every day until he finally got up and was able to easily circumvent the lake. Again there was a lot of gurgling going on. Ski class taught him that perseverance opens up new experiences.

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My Dad's cousins George and Phil Cutting helped me piece this story together. I asked them to define HATETOQUIT means in their own words:

George:

“We (the Cuttings) seem to be very inwardly focused people who like to solve our own problems. HATETOQUIT was an expression of that intent.”

Phil:

"One time when Gramps and I were returning from a row over to the pond outlet (The outlet was something that fascinated me as a youngster.) I remember being able to read the sign for the first time.  Asked Gramps "what does that mean".

Here is what I remember: He started off by saying that his father was a farmer and farmers worked from dawn to dusk.   The Camp was a respite from toiling in the fields.  He went on to say that his father "Hated To Quit" the Camp and go back to farming."

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To me, it seems pretty simple. There are things in life that we have to do (work / pay rent / etc), and then there are the things that we love to do (and would hate to... you get it).

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                         Dedicated to Robert H Cutting Jr. ♥ 

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