By Cherri Sherman
Known in The Valley for countless involvements, be it driving for Free Wheelin’, weekly Meals On Wheels delivery, Habitat For Humanity, post-Irene river clean up, Cabin Fever Follies, Fayston Conservation Commission, the Mad River Valley Community Wood Program or Friends of the Mad River, Ned Kelley is out doing and giving. It can all be explained by looking to his past and what captured his interests.
It appears there are two people responsible for Ned’s character and altruism. His mother and his grandmother, on a small farm in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, believed that if you have extra money or time, you give it away. Growing up with his family, five beef cattle, chickens, and pigs, they lived out the philosophy. They ate what they needed and shared the rest. He mucked the horse barn and rode bareback in the nearby woods and knew early on that he loved the outdoors. His father’s labors provided the wood that heated their home and cemented the fact he would never want it any other way. He was introduced to skiing when he was 3 years old and at 17 hiked the Pyrenees.
Following four years of prep school, he spent two years at St. Lawrence stating he majored in the ski and the drinking team before the reality of the Vietnam War set in. Deciding he would be best off with the Coast Guard, he enlisted. He was part of the crew on a light ship in Nantucket Sound and later navigating the tricky currents of Woods Hole working from a lifeboat station with search and rescue operations. He went off to the Coast Guard’s Yeoman School in the North Atlantic where he learned he did not like office procedures and needed the open seas.
TOUGHEST JOB
He was a Gunner’s Mate in New Bedford and was often part of the rescues of drunks and people on shipwrecks. His toughest job was on what he described as a terrible boat as the low-man on the crew and was referred to as “shecker” by the captain. With little sleep and always being called out, he worked an 11-day stretch and, despite a big haul of scallops, earned $300. Runners-up were his gigs in Boston Harbor scuba diving into the sewage sludge disaster and in New Jersey diving to discover the oil drilling effects on fish.
He returned to college at UMass earning a degree in Marine Biology and went on to work as a shellfish biologist. In Peekskill he studied the effects of warm water discharge from a nuclear power plant on sea life. Back in Duxbury, Massachusetts, his work in marine biology continued.
He worked side jobs on moorings, boat deliveries and selling firewood. His physical labors with firewood were the precursor to The Valley firewood program he later created ensuring warm homes for those in need and the future arthritic hand and body pain that would plague him. In 1965, he began a 15-year marriage and feels blessed that a son Obadiah and a daughter Sabra resulted. Three years following a divorce, he met and married Ferris Buck and moved to New Hampshire to live in a cabin in the woods. During those years, Ned went to Antioch Graduate School for a degree in Environmental Science and earned a teaching certificate. His class was called “Nature with Ned” and he instructed his students to dress for it as the wigwam classroom they built was outside. Snowshoes were in order as well. His goal was to instill respect and excitement for nature.
MOST FULFILLING
He believes his year of teaching severely handicapped kids on a Navajo Reservation was his most fulfilling and furthered his love of Native American culture from the people to their arts. Additionally at their New Hampshire home he spent countless hours clearing land, selling firewood and hemlocks and oaks to mills, landscaping and planting. Ferris’s parents gifted them property in North Fayston to build a Vermont home. Ned liked the idea of being so close to Mad River Glen and figured retirement there could work. Together, with Northland Construction’s Russ Bennett and others they built a post and beam home with lumber Ned cut and hewed from rough-cut timbers. Following the lengthy completion, Ned’s home would be Fayston but, ultimately, his marriage to Ferris ended.
He had known he would retire at some point but that he would not be done. His mother’s orders to keep busy and help out were deeply engrained and are now witnessed with his many community involvements.
Ned possesses a rascal side and is well known for his scant outfits displayed annually at Cabin Fever Follies as he strips down out of ski attire to dance. He also wears his shiny leather pants to collect money from the audience as they commission signs for the traditional Raisinettes to display. Seven years ago, his volunteer job gained him his partner, Judi Gates. He spotted her following her performance coming down the stairs and immediately asked if she dates. She moved in a short time later and he discovered he had met not only his soulmate, but also a minimalist who loves shoveling snow and who is always trying to do the right thing environmentally and socially. Together they are loving life – surely a match made in Valley heaven. Judi’s daughter is Amanda Gates the youth services librarian in Warren and Ned admits forcing his way into being a grandfather to Amanda and Renny’s three children.
He credits his past for serving him well – everything from his early education with giving, to logging, and to the love of skiing and sailing. He finds it inspiring and remarkable how locals help locals and how one idea, such as sharing firewood, can be taken up by many to make a difference and, in so doing, create a wonderful community.
It is unknown, however, who to credit for his neckwear. Ned is always seen wearing a bandana or a silk scarf around his neck but surely not for warmth. His impish, generous, and kind manner are as much a source of warmth as are all the homes his labors and caring have heated. A shout out to the matriarchs is in order as well as a message to Ned to dance on!
