One for the Crows
A Southwick Farm Tragedy, 1924
On the morning of June 25, 1924, Raymond A. Mason left his home on Putney Road—known today as Fred Jackson Road—in Southwick, Massachusetts, with his shotgun in hand. He headed into the fields, as he often did. For weeks, crows had been plaguing his farm, and before settling into the day's work, Raymond had made it his habit to drive off the troublesome birds with his shotgun to protect his crops.
Around 8:00 a.m., his wife, Bessie, heard a gunshot echo across the fields. It was nothing unusual so she continued with her daily household chores.
Whether Raymond intended to scare the crows or strike them down is not recorded, but it was a familiar morning ritual on his farm. Bessie expected him back by noon for lunch, as was their custom. It was a day like any other—or so it seemed.
When noon came and went without Raymond returning home, his wife grew uneasy. She waited through the afternoon, watching the clock, expecting to see him walk through the door at any moment. But the hours stretched on without word from him. Concerned, she asked Raymond's brother, Luther, to search the fields.
About half a mile from the house, Luther came upon a heartbreaking sight: Raymond’s lifeless body lay beside his shotgun near a barbed wire fence that divided the land. It appeared that, while attempting to either climb over or through the fence, a barb had caught the trigger. The weapon discharged — a single, fatal blast to the head. Death had been instantaneous, in his own field.
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