HERMIT NEWS
Living the solitary life isn’t easy in the 21st century, as these stories show
The last year has been hard on hermits, even though they would seem better equipped than most people to deal with isolation, social distancing and lockdowns.
RIVER DAVE
In summer 2021, after 30 years of living alone in a remote part of the New Hampshire woods, David Lidstone, 81, known locally as “River Dave”, was evicted from his hut and jailed for squatting in a dispute with the land’s owner. Lidstone, a former logger who lived self-sufficiently, chopping his own firewood, hunting, and growing his own vegetables maintained that he had a verbal agreement with the owner’s father, now dead, that entitled him to live there, but the owner begged to differ and wanted him out. A local celebrity, he was well-known to boaters on the Merrimack River and over $200,000 was donated by well-wishers to help him start a new life. While his case was being heard, his self-built cabin “mysteriously” burned down, but he still returned to set up a makeshift home in a surviving shed, earning him another arrest for trespassing, with a hearing due in March. His supporters hope to use the money raised to buy him some remote land where he can live legally and return to his hermit ways. “He loves to be in nature... We are still planning to build or purchase a home in the spring,” said Jodie Gedeon, a kayaker who has known Lidstone for years. [AP] 4 Jan 2022.
NUNS ON THE RUN
In Ireland, it was hermit nuns who fell foul of the law. Sister Irene Gibson and Sister Anne Marie Loeman, who claimed to be Carmelite Nuns of the Holy Face of Jesus, set up what they described as a hermitage on land near Leap in County Cork in 2016. They constructed several huts, brought in a red shipping container, put up fences, all without planning permission, and lived in seclusion there, praying and rarely appearing in public without heavily veiled faces. In June 2021, they were prosecuted for planning breaches and while they had agreed to leave the site, they had failed to return it to its former condition as required and were fined over £800. The judge said the nuns should consider relocating to a less expensive area “like Leitrim or Mayo”. In response to the fine and to meet the cost of relocation the two nuns put out a request for funds, saying the council’s action was “the malicious work of Satan” and raised over £41,000. However, the Carmelites say that the nuns are not part of the order, nor indeed of the Catholic Church. A spokesperson for Bishop of Cork and Ross said the nuns were schismatics who “attribute their allegiance to an organisation which was established in Spain in the 1970s and which is referred to as the Palmarian Church” (see FT30:32-36). They are now said to be setting up a new retreat in an existing property which does not require any planning permission and where they are repairing the roof and ensuring water supply. irishexaminer.com, 22 Jun 2021; southernstar.ie, 14 Nov 2021.
CRUSOE RETIRES
Also getting evicted from his hermetic existence in 2021 was Mauro Morandi, 81, known as Italy’s Robinson Crusoe, having spent 32 years alone on Budelli, an island off the coast of Sardinia (see FT397:12, 409:26). He arrived in 1989 while sailing from Italy to Polynesia and was instantly taken with the place, staying on to become its caretaker. He remained in post until 2015, when Budelli became part of La Maddalena National Park. After that, he spent years at loggerheads with officials trying to evict him, saying they intended to “intervene against all illegal constructions inside the park”, including Mauro’s hut, with park President Fabrizio Fonnesu disingenuously adding, “Nobody wants to chase him away, but what title does he have to stay since the island is no longer private?” A petition calling on the Italian government to allow him to stay attracted 70,000 signatures, but in April 2021, he finally threw in the towel, moving to a small flat on the nearby island of La Maddalena, bought with his pension from his former life as a teacher, saying, “My life won’t change too much. I’ll still see the sea.” In this case, the story has a happy ending; a few months later Morandi said: “I’m happy and I have rediscovered the pleasure of living the good life and enjoying everyday comforts.” BBC News, 26 Apr; edition.cnn.com, 30 Apr, 25 Sept 2021.
OH LUCKY MAN
Another happily rehomed hermit is Oh Go Seng, whose story went viral in Singapore when it was discovered that he had been living unnoticed in one of the country’s forests for more than 30 years – quite a feat as Singapore is one of the world’s most urbanised countries with hardly any natural landscape remaining. His reclusive life became public after officials stopped him selling vegetables and chilies he had grown at the roadside because he was trading without a licence; a passing charity worker filmed the confrontation and posted it on Facebook as she felt “angry” on his behalf. This brought Oh to the attention of MP Liang Eng Hwa, who discovered that he had been living unnoticed in the forest since his village had been demolished to make way for high-rise buildings in the 1980s; while most residents got government accommodation, Oh somehow slipped through the net. After a period living with his brother’s family, he retired to the forest near where he had lived and built a shelter of wood, bamboo and tarpaulin and planted a garden to grow his own food. He was not a complete recluse, though, taking odd jobs when he could and striking up a relationship with a woman on a neighbouring island, with whom he went on to have a daughter. However, he remained evasive about where he lived, saying it was “in a garden”, and always returned home to his hut after visiting them. With Liang’s help, Oh has now been provided with a flat that he shares with another man, and has a driving job, although he keeps his forest garden and returns daily before work to look after it. He is apparently enjoying his return to
civilisation,
particularly having hot water to wash in, as well as other mod cons. “It was wonderful. I got to watch television for the first time in more than 30 years,” he said; although, speaking of his time in the forest, he added, “I lived there for so many years, so yes naturally I do miss it.” BBC News, 20 Feb 2022.
THE HERMIT OF TREIG
In contrast, lots of people are making considerable efforts to help Ken Smith continue to live as a hermit in the Scottish Highlands. Smith, 74, has lived in a hand-built log cabin next to Loch Treig, two hours walk from the nearest road, for 40 years, foraging, fishing and collecting his own firewood. Friends, concerned about his age, provided him with a GPS locator beacon, which saved his life just a few days later when he had a stroke while out in the snow
– it enabled him to be airlifted to hospital, where he stayed for several weeks recovering. Medics wanted him to move into sheltered accommodation, but instead he returned to his cabin. However, he has accepted help from the head stalker of the estate, who now brings Ken food every couple of weeks, paid for from his pension. Even a second hospital airlift after a pile of logs fell on him did not deter Ken, who said: “We weren’t put on Earth forever. I’ll stop here until my final days come. Definitely something will happen to me that will take me away one day, as it does for everybody else. But I’m hoping I’ll get to 102.” BBC News, 8 Nov 2021. For a vintage hermit tale, turn to p77.
He had been living unnoticed in the forest for over 30 years