Yet another archeological find this past weekend at Struan Farm. John and I have gone back and forth over whether or not to rehab the old tennis court. First it was yes, then it was no, we thought about a cutting garden and berry patch on the spot instead.
Right now we're heading back to yes, toward a grass court that can also be used for events in the garden and possibly croquet/archery too. And since we've had the digger working away at the farm on tracks, it was a good time to get the area cleaned up.
When the seal of the old tennis court was scraped off, we were surprised to see a clay surface appear below, marked out with what looks to be the outline of a tennis court in creosote.
(Yes, that's John running out of the photograph above as fast as he possibly can.)
Family discussion ensued to find out who remembers what about the history of the court and its incarnations. Everyone remembers the pumice court followed by a sealed surface (circa 1960) that a number were involved in making. Louise has some history on this directly from Maurie that indicates that the pumice came from Uncle Jack's farm down the road (seven truckloads) rolled with the Landrover. The markings were lead inch tape pinned into the pumice, while the fencing/netting came from the old Piopio Dairy Factory (yes, repurposing/recycling even then!). Also confirmation of family legend that Maurie bought drums of tar, but convinced a roading crew working outside the gate to lend him their handpump (after 5 p.m.) to seal the court. Fine gravel/metal was then spread on top with a shovel. Initially he "borrowed" the heavy road roller, which proved was too heavy for the fill, so used the Landrover pulling a water filled roller to finish the job.
But no mention of an earlier clay court before that, so the lines are still a bit of a mystery.
I hope this helps explain why we sometimes get detoured on projects and need to go off on a tangent or two or three.
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