Old North Bridge Master and huntsman Virginia Zukatynski and hounds leave the Mary Martha Chapel at Longfellow’s Wayside Inn followed by piper Thomas Childs, the field, and guests after the Blessing of Hounds. / Jack McCrossan photo
by Patricia Jackson
The Old North Bridge Hounds (MA) held their Blessing of Hounds on the grounds of historic Longfellow’s Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts on October 17, 2015. The blessing took place at Henry Ford’s Martha Mary Chapel on a perfect fall day in New England under clear blue skies and beautiful fall foliage. Master and huntsman Mrs. Virginia Zukatynski, hounds, staff, members, and guests joined together and proceeded past the Inn to the chapel for the blessing.
Spectators enjoyed the sights and sounds as Joint-Master Marjorie Franko led horses and riders over the brick pathways and across the old bridge, following the music of the bagpiper. Longfellow’s Wayside Inn has a long history of hosting foxhunts on the property, including the Norfolk Hunt, the old Millwood Hounds, Myopia, and Harry Worcester Smith’s Middlesex Hounds. Situated on the Boston Post Road, one of the oldest commissioned roads in the U.S., much of it built along the two-foot wide Pequot Path used first by native Americans, the Wayside Inn has the distinction of being the country’s oldest operating inn, offering hospitality to travelers along the old road since 1716.
The Wayside Inn, made internationally famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s book of poems, Tales of a Wayside Inn, was run by the Howe family. Longfellow visited the Inn in 1862 and his book of poems was published the following year. In it he republished his poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” which contains his immortal phrase, “Listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.” Henry Ford bought the Inn in 1923, restored it, and formed the charitable trust that operates the Inn today.
(R – L) Master and huntsman Zukatynski, whippers-in Sandra Bedford and Lori Baldwin, Field Master Marjorie Franko, MFH, and the field pass the Wayside Inn as local hunts have been doing for nearly150 years. / Jack McCrossan photo
People stood on the chapel lawn to hear the blessing and to photograph hounds and horses, after which the hunt proceeded across Wayside Inn road to the Grist Mill and then through areas of Sudbury to a stirrup cup hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Richard Souchek. After the hunt everyone enjoyed luncheon at the Inn, recreating a centuries-old scene reminiscent of those now seen mainly in antique hunting prints.
The Foxhunting Connection
When Henry Ford took possession, he purchased with it 3,000 surrounding acres and became interested in having foxhunting return to the Wayside Inn. The Millwood Hunt Club bordered the property and consisted of land from three farms that comprised over 1,000 more acres. The Millwood Hunt Club, which led to the foundation of the Old North Bridge Hounds, was established in 1866 by Ebenezer Bowditch, a country landowner with a private pack of hounds. His son, Nathaniel Ingersoll Bowditch and his son in-law, Robert Forbes Perkins continued with the pack from 1892-1922.
The Millwood Hunt on a snowy day in the 1940s
The Millwood Hunt Club was the oldest hunt club in New England and the third oldest in the nation, and thrived for over a hundred years. Millwood Hunt hosted a visit of the Myopia Hounds under the Mastership of Frank Seabury, Esquire, which brought hounds, horses, and servants down to Millwood, with a supper followed by dancing to the fiddlers and music at the Wayside Inn.
A joint meet of he Norfolk Hunt and Harry Worcester Smith’s Middlesex Hounds in the mid-1920s
Henry Ford met with members of the Millwood Hunt Club and invited them to the exclusive opening of the newly renovated Wayside Inn in 1924. The Inn continued to be the setting of many hunt dinners and annual award parties as well as the Millwood Ball. The Norfolk Hunt and Harry Worcester Smith’s Middlesex Hunt also met often at the Inn for breakfast. The archives at the Wayside inn show pictures of both hunts in front of the Inn from 1914, and the front door registers and hostess diaries show hunt activity of Norfolk, Middlesex, and the Millwood Hunt Club from 1901 to 1959. The Old North Bridge Hounds celebrated their fortieth anniversary and several dinners at the Inn as well.
Mrs. Edith Overly followed her mother Mrs. Henry Hall as MFH of the Millwood Hunt Club until it was disbanded in 1969 due to country lost to development. Hounds from the Millwood Hunt became the foundation stock of the Old North Bridge Hounds that formed in Concord, Massachusetts and was registered by the MFHA in 1973.
The Old North Bridge Hounds is honored to be invited to hunt again at Longfellow’s Wayside Inn to preserve the tradition and to provide the opportunity for others to view and appreciate the sport of foxhunting. The hunt is ever grateful to the Inn and to Innkeeper Steve Pickford for their continued support and their enthusiasm in having horses and hounds running all over their property.
Posted December 2, 2015
The author wishes to thank Edie Overly, ex-MFH, Millwood Hunt, for her help with historical information, and Mrs. Kerry Glass, ex-MFH, Norfolk Hunt, for her suggestion upon which this article was written.