{"id":322332,"date":"2021-08-11T23:59:39","date_gmt":"2021-08-11T20:59:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/river-dave-doesnt-think-he-can-go-back-to-being-a-hermit\/"},"modified":"2021-08-11T23:59:39","modified_gmt":"2021-08-11T20:59:39","slug":"river-dave-doesnt-think-he-can-go-back-to-being-a-hermit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/river-dave-doesnt-think-he-can-go-back-to-being-a-hermit\/","title":{"rendered":"#\u2018River Dave\u2019 doesn\u2019t think he can go back to being a hermit"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#\u2018River Dave\u2019 doesn\u2019t think he can go back to being a hermit<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n

CONCORD, N.H. \u2014 An off-the-grid New Hampshire man\u2019s days living as a hermit app<\/a>ear to be over. \u201cRiver Dave,\u201d whose cabin in the woods burned down after nearly three decades on property that he was ordered to leave, says he doesn\u2019t think he can return to his lifestyle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see how I can go back to being a hermit because society is not going to allow it,\u201d David Lidstone said in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Lidstone, 81, said even if he could\u00a0rebuild his cabin, which burned down last week<\/a>, \u201cI would have people coming every weekend, so I just can\u2019t get out of society anymore. I\u2019ve hidden too many years and I\u2019ve built relationships, and those relationships have continued to expand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lidstone, a logger by trade who chopped his firewood and grew his food in the woods along the Merrimack River in the town of Canterbury. He initially built the cabin with his wife, from whom he is now estranged, although he said they are still married.<\/p>\n

\"David
David Lidstone, 81, stands for a photograph with his friend Jodie Gedeon, Aug. 10, 2021.<\/figcaption>
AP Photo\/Steven Senne<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He said he\u2019s not grieving the loss of his life in isolation.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe the things I\u2019ve been trying to avoid are the things that I really need in life,\u201d said Lidstone, who drifted apart from his family. \u201cI grew up never being hugged or kissed, or any close contact.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had somebody ask me once, about my wife: \u2018Did you really love her?\u2019 And the question kind of shocked me for a second. I \u2026 I\u2019ve never loved anybody in my life. And I shocked myself because I hadn\u2019t realized that. And that\u2019s why I was a hermit. Now I can see love being expressed that I never had before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"David
David Lidstone had been living in a cabin in the woods along the Merrimack River for nearly three decades.<\/figcaption>
AP Photo\/Steven Senne<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lidstone declined to comment further on his relationship with his family. Two of his three sons had told the AP they hadn\u2019t been in touch with their father recently, and his daughter did not respond to a message seeking comment.<\/p>\n

On July 15, Lidstone was jailed on a civil contempt sanction and was told he\u2019d be released if he agreed to leave the cabin following a property dispute that goes back to 2016. The landowner, 86-year-old Leonard Giles, of South Burlington, Vermont, wanted Lidstone off the property.<\/p>\n

The property, undeveloped and mostly used for timber harvests, has been owned by the same family since 1963.<\/p>\n

\"David
David Lidstone leaves a status conference hearing in Merrimack County Superior Court, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021, in Concord, N.H.<\/figcaption>
AP Photo\/Elise Amendola, Pool<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lidstone had said a prior owner in the family gave his word years ago that he could live there, but had nothing in writing. He later disputed that he was even on the property.<\/p>\n

In court Wednesday, both sides agreed to arrange for Lidstone to collect his cats and chickens and remaining possessions at the site; some items had been given to police for safekeeping. Lidstone, who still believes he was not on Giles\u2019 land, also was given permission to hire a surveyor to give him \u201cpeace of mind,\u201d Judge Andrew Schulman said.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0fire destroyed the cabin on Aug. 4, hours after Lidstone defended himself<\/a>\u00a0during a court hearing. He was released from jail the next day after the judge ruled that he would have less incentive to return to \u201cthis particular place in the woods,\u201d now that the cabin had burned down.<\/p>\n

\"David
David Lidstone was jailed on July 15, 2021 on a civil contempt sanction and was told he\u2019d be released if he agreed to leave the cabin, that has since burnt down.<\/figcaption>
AP Photo\/Steven Senne<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Canterbury Fire Chief Michael Gamache said that while the investigation isn\u2019t over and arson is not being ruled out as a potential cause, the fire was more likely caused by accident. He said a representative of Giles who was starting to demolish the cabin on Aug. 4 disabled solar panels, which still had electrical charge in them. He also used a power saw to cut into metal supports that held the panels onto the roof. Either action could have created sparks to start making things smoke.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe finished his day at about a quarter of three, and a fire is noticed at about 3:15,\u201d Gamache said.<\/p>\n

He also said it\u2019s also possible the results could be inconclusive. \u201cRight now, there\u2019s nothing left to go on at the site.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"David
The court determined that David Lidstone will be able to collect his cats, chickens, and remaining possessions from the site he has lived on for 27 years.<\/figcaption>
AP Photo\/Steven Senne<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the meantime, many people across the country and beyond have\u00a0offered to help Lidstone<\/a>, either through fundraising or offering him a place to live. Lidstone said he is thankful for all the support. He\u2019s still trying to figure out where he would go next, although he wouldn\u2019t mind staying in New Hampshire, where he\u2019s developed some strong connections.<\/p>\n

One proposal under consideration is for him to live on property belonging to the Concord Friends Meeting, a Quaker meeting in Canterbury that\u2019s not far from the cabin site. Lidstone worked on the meetinghouse as it was being constructed in 2010. The congregation would have to agree on the matter.<\/p>\n

The property overlooks the Merrimack.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has certainly occurred to us that here is a neighbor in need,\u201d said Richard Kleinschmidt, co-clerk of the Quaker meeting, \u201cand how can we help him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"David
David Lidstone\u2019s cabin burned down last week.<\/figcaption>
AP Photo\/Steven Senne<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“#\u2018River Dave\u2019 doesn\u2019t think he can go back to being a hermit” CONCORD, N.H. \u2014 An off-the-grid New Hampshire man\u2019s days living as a hermit appear to be over. \u201cRiver Dave,\u201d whose cabin in the woods burned down after nearly three decades on property that he was ordered to leave, says he doesn\u2019t think he…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":322333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21223560332361.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[113932,113530,72174],"class_list":["post-322332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-8-11-21","tag-cabins","tag-new-hampshire"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}