When the Rooster Crows . . .

What was the first alarm clock? Levi Hutchins made the first American alarm clock in Concord, New Hampshire, in 1787. Here’s the funny thing: it only alarmed him at 4 a.m. to wake him for work.

Four o’clock is early for most Americans. It certainly is for me. I’ve had two situations when I got wake-up calls at four: one was when we had roosters, and the second was when I was living on a fishing island off the coast of Maine. The lobstermen headed to the pier at four every morning.

My Rooster Story

As a senior in high school, my advanced biology class required science projects from each of us. For my project, I chose to incubate fertilized chicken eggs. I opened an egg each day of incubation and preserved the developing chicken in formaldehyde in used glass baby food jars. It was a fascinating project, and one I’ve never forgotten. I let three eggs hatch and ended up with two hens and a rooster.

My siblings and I played with the chicks for several weeks and were delighted to watch them grow into full-grown chickens. As the rooster matured, he began taking his place on the fence post and crowing at 4 AM. Oh my gosh, how my parents were so patient, I don’t know. My mother, having grown up on a farm, had heard that all her years. My father? I’m not sure.

Sunday Dinner Surprise

One Sunday, friends from church came for Sunday dinner. My mother made fabulous dinners every Sunday. Often, she left a roast cooking while we were at church. There was always a Jello salad, fresh yeast rolls, and an absolutely divine dessert. She made the most marvelous pound cakes, lemon chess pie, lemon icebox pie, and her famous fruit cobblers in the summer. (My mouth is drooling just thinking about it!)

Sometime after the friends left, I noticed my hens were missing. Yes, my mom said, the Franklins took your hens to their house, as they have a chicken coop. I couldn’t believe it, but I consoled myself, thinking they were going to a great home. One day, a few weeks later, my friend Cheryl, the new owners' daughter, announced after Sunday School that they had eaten my hens for their Sunday dinner last week! What? I was appalled. Had mom known all along that was the plan? If so, she never let on.

At least I still had Javalon. (How in the world I came up with that name, I do not remember.) Javalon enjoyed playing badminton with us. He would chase after the stray cock, grab it in his beak, and run away. I always sent my younger sister to chase after him—until one day…

He had enough of chasing and turned and attacked her shins! Poor thing. She was running as fast as she could to get away from him. That’s when Dad said, “We’ve had enough of this rooster waking us up at 4 AM. And we certainly won’t allow him to harm any of us.” We never saw Javalon again. Where did he disappear to? I never knew.

The Sacredness of Four O’Clock

There’s something sacred about getting out of bed at four o’clock. Several years ago, I started that as a new habit. I followed that routine for about a year. Recently, I was reminded in someone else’s email that I had adopted that habit. I felt a bit lazy for not continuing it. Maybe I’ll go back to that. I love that early morning when all the world around me is still asleep. Perhaps I’ll get a rooster to be my alarm clock, though I prefer hearing the lobstermen at four.

Fence Posts: More Than Just Support

Whatever I do, I will always have fence posts for my aviary friends. Though not their purpose, they serve beautifully as perches. Even though my chickens and roosters don’t typically perch on metal posts, they like the wooden fence posts. The birds enjoy the wooden stakes in my garden. Even the owl perched on one of the stakes for several weeks.

Every fence needs posts, which come in pine, cedar, metal, and polypropylene. We sell them all to meet your specific needs.

Our steel T-posts are available in:

Green, galvanized, or black (6 ft only)

Lengths: 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 feet

Weights: 1.25# or 1.33#

Studs spaced uniformly along the length of the “T”-shaped post.

Choose Your Project, Choose Your Fence, Choose Your Posts!

We’re here to help you decide and order. 📞 Call us at 978-486-3116.

Warmest of my regards,

Debbie Page

CEO, Louis E. Page Inc.

Woman-owned business and family-owned since 1893.