A horizontal board fence need not have "wide spaces between the rails." I attach a photo, but if you can't open it, just use google images to look for "horizontal board fence." Gregg -----Original Message----- From: Mark Twain Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of J. Dean Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2017 1:32 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Hannibal The problem with having a fence that matches Twain's description and the ori= ginal Sawyer illustrations is that it seems unlikely that Aunt Polly would n= ot 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 obstr= uction, 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 w= ith 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 s= tamp and displayed in the Museum in Hannibal, is of a fence with vertical bo= ards. 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: >=20 > Thanks for the terrific photos, Terry. The place seems to have changed >a bit since I was there last, in 1955. >=20 > 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." >=20 > Stay well & keep sharing those pix. >=20 > *_________________________________* >=20 > *Peter Salwen /* salwen.com > *114 W 86, NYC 10024 | 917-620-5371* >=20 >=20 > On Wed, Sep 13, 2017 at 12:29 PM, Terry Ballard ><[log in to unmask]> > wrote: >=20 >> 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 n= ew >> lens, so I had an afternoon and morning of fun capturing the spirit >> of wh= at >> 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 a= t >> https://www.flickr.com/photos/terryballard/albums/72157688158021175 >> Driving west, I passed on the exit for the Clemens Birth home - you >> have t= o >> save something for the next visit. >>=20 >> -- >>=20 >>=20 >> Terry Ballard >> Author and Librarian Without Walls >> http://www.terryballard.org >> Author of the book "50 specialty libraries of New York City: =46rom >>botan= y to >> magic" http:// <http://googlethisforlibraries.com/>librariesnyc.org >>=20 >> "My memory has a mind of its own." >>=20 >=20