The problem with having a fence that matches Twain's description and the original Sawyer illustrations is that it seems unlikely that Aunt Polly would not have seen the mob at work clearly visible through the wide spaces between the rails.  The vegetation in the yard could have created some visual obstruction, of course.  She was, also, at the back of the house nodding off over her knitting with the cat in her lap when Tom came to tell her he was done with the job.  As Twain says she was expecting Tom to slip away, she probably felt she had done her Christian duty by chasing Jim away and had long since stopped keeping tabs on him.

Probably more to the point, the Rockwell illustration, used on the postage stamp and displayed in the Museum in Hannibal, is of a fence with vertical boards.  That, no doubt, seals the deal as far as what type fence will be used on the boyhood home.  "When the legend becomes fact ..."

Jerry Dean

Sent from my iPad

> On Sep 13, 2017, at 2:34 PM, Peter Salwen <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> Thanks for the terrific photos, Terry. The place seems to have changed a
> bit since I was there last, in 1955.
> 
> Alas, I see they've still got that fence wrong, though, with the boards
> upright, even though that great and wise philosopher who wrote *Tom
> Sawyer* makes
> it clear that they should run lengthwise: "Sighing, [Tom] dipped his brush
> and passed it along the topmost plank."
> 
> Stay well & keep sharing those pix.
> 
> *_________________________________*
> 
> *Peter Salwen /* salwen.com
> *114 W 86, NYC 10024 | 917-620-5371*
> 
> 
> On Wed, Sep 13, 2017 at 12:29 PM, Terry Ballard <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
> 
>>   I recently traveled to Hannibal on the way to Nebraska to see the total
>> eclipse. I'd been once before, but this time I had a camera with a nice new
>> lens, so I had an afternoon and morning of fun capturing the spirit of what
>> seemed to me to be a booming ghost town (Lots of tour buses and fudge
>> options, no groceries or gas stations that I saw). The town was beautiful,
>> especially the Boyhood Home and the people were uniformly friendly and
>> helpful. If anyone is curious, a gallery of the best images can be found at
>> https://www.flickr.com/photos/terryballard/albums/72157688158021175
>> Driving west, I passed on the exit for the Clemens Birth home - you have to
>> save something for the next visit.
>> 
>> --
>> 
>> 
>> Terry Ballard
>> Author and Librarian Without Walls
>> http://www.terryballard.org
>> Author of the book "50 specialty libraries of New York City: From botany to
>> magic" http:// <http://googlethisforlibraries.com/>librariesnyc.org
>> 
>> "My memory has a mind of its own."
>> 
>