Floyd Guild’s Well

most of the summer

Building Floyd Guild’s Well

After choosing a site with a willow divining rod, Floyd cast a dozen concrete rings, each three feet high and three feet in diameter with approximately eight-inch-thick walls. He excavated beneath successive rings until the well was thirty-three feet deep. Bernard and Bob helped winch dirt; Dale McFarland and Tom Johnson are tentatively identified as neighbors who later helped. One unused ring was rolled to the orchard.

a hot day, just before Dad hit water

A Secret Descent into the Well

Dad and Dale lowered shirtless Bernard into the well using a rough rope halter. He recalled painful rope, intense cold, and seeing stars in daylight from the bottom. Dad required secrecy under threat of the razor strap.