Letter: Remembering a man good at dousing

May 02, 2008 03:18 am

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To the editor:

I stood by recently while Bill Burns of Newbury was laid to rest. Dousing wasn't just a hobby with Bill. He was really good at it.

I once had a woman call wanting me to find a location for a well. She had read an article I had written on the subject of dowsing. I sent her to Bill. I knew he could do a better job for her than I could. It's fun to show friends that it really works. I don't know how or why but you just can't stop that forked dowsing stick from twisting in your hands when you are over a vein of water.

Years ago I used to help out at the Churchill Farm. That is next door to the Burns' farm where Bill grew up. Mr. Churchill got me started really young looking for underground water. I was once staying with friends in England. I couldn't resist showing their grandchildren how a forked stick I had cut would bend toward water. They would try hard, but they just couldn't stop that stick from twisting in their hands as long as I held one side and their other hand.

I later learned, at the dinner table, that there was a water main running under the spot I had found in their backyard.

BUNNY FERNALD

Newbury