In the late 90s, after moving to Amesbury, I began a process of discovering the jewel of a Town Forest adjacent to my home. In my first walk through western side of the forest, on the trail that loops below the line of vernal pools to the stone wall that demarcates the town and Waterman family property on Kimball Road, there was what can only be described as a shrine, noted by a simple postcard laminated image of a Native American Saint situated on a moss-grown stump.
Some couple years later, that card of the Saint disappeared, though from time to time, a stone would be strategically situated on the stumps as if of an offering.
About 15 years ago when I took the initiative to make and install signs for the network of trails that stretch from the Amesbury Town Forest out across the Great Swamp toward Woodsom Farm and the Margaret Rice park, the trail noted above was named SHRINE.
Seasons have passed and winters are measured in the number of days ventured out into the woods on Nordic skis. A couple years back, a couple storms and one powdery dusting yielded a tally of 16 ski days! 2024, however, experienced a solitary notable blizzard in early January.
Two days later, after a couple days of snow removal, a friend and I ventured out into the Town Forest.
When we headed out along the Shrine trail, I noticed that an 8.5 x 11 placard nailed to a tree above a cross made of two white birch sticks once again announced a shrine to St. Kateri.
Not aware of the history of this Saint, I had often wondered if she had crossed paths here in Amesbury. The website dedicated to her life and memory, https://www.katerishrine.org/st-kateri , describes a seminal moment of her brief life:
“When she was four years old, a smallpox outbreak ravaged her village. Her parents and brother died, and Kateri herself was left with a scarred face and permanently darkened vision. Her Mohawk given name, Tekakwitha, means “she who bumps into things,” likely in reference to her poor eyesight.”
Even though not of this area, it is interesting to note that within a quarter mile of the Amesbury Town Forest shrine to her memory, rests a small pox graveyard just beyond the long stone wall that bisects the Waterman family land from the Town Forest.
Thank you to the acolyte of the life of St Kateri Tekakwitha for periodically over the years for fashioning a shrine in her memory.
God bless you, whoever you are.