Although we might think of Planting Fields as a peaceful and quiet respite from the hustle and bustle of the “outside” world, between 1918 and 1955 when the Coe family used the property as their private country estate it was humming with activity. At certain times of the year, over 120 people worked at Planting Fields. There were the servants who tended to the Coe family and their guests in Coe Hall, but a much greater number of Planting Fields staff worked in the gardens and greenhouses, the stables, and dairy, tending to the landscape, the horses, farm animals, and many buildings across the 409 acres regardless of whether the occupants of “The Big House” were in residence.
David and Mary Hunter, Irish immigrants who moved to Long Island after working off their passage to Canada, lived and worked at Planting Fields for over three decades, raising their daughter in the small two-story apartment at one end of the Hay Barn. On April 14, 1930, Mr. Hunter, shown in the photo above, third from the right, began his employment at Planting Fields, eventually overseeing a staff of many men as foreman of 40,000 square feet of Greenhouse. Mrs. Hunter ran the Boarding House, cooking three meals a day and conducting a weekly clean and for the twelve single male employees who lived there. In a 2006 oral history interview conducted for the Planting Fields Foundation archives, Trudy, the Hunters’ only child, remembered helping her mother to set and clear the Boarding House dining table, wash dishes and bed linens, and scrub the one bathroom shared by all twelve men. For his part, Mr. Hunter—whose salary in 1952 was “$210.00 per month plus a home which is supplied with heat and light”—was a dedicated and valued member of the Planting Fields staff. In a reference letter in the Planting Fields Foundation archives, he was described as “outstanding, not only in his ability as a foreman, but also in his character.” Housed in Coe Hall, the Planting Fields Foundation archives contain a multitude of stories, including those of the Hunters and the many other staff who have lived and worked at Planting Fields. We look forward to sharing more of these stories with you.
Meredith A. Brown