Heart Of Stone Liner Notes

We were asked to write a song for a compilation CD about a ghost named Hatchet Harry that haunts Bertram Park in Monticello, MN. The back story is that a young unstable boy killed his parents with a hatchet in the 1940’s in their grainery. Now the townspeople claim his ghost still haunts their park.

Here is the story of Hatchet Harry

There was a boy named Harry who grew up on a farmstead in what is now Bertram Park.  His house is gone now, it burned down, but there is still an old stone foundation and grainery there.  Harry was born at the farm in the 1940’s where he lived and he stayed there until… well we will get to that.

Harry helped out on the farm as all kids had to do back in those days. He did chores around the farm like take care of animals and pick rocks.  His dad was really  mean to him.  He would call him stupid and other much worse names.  He also beat him terribly.  Once his dad took him out on the tractor to pick rocks and Harry slipped and his right foot got run over by the tractor tire.  For the rest  of his life, Harry walked with a slight limp.

To take out his frustrations when his dad called him names and beat him, Harry would go out to the grainery and beat things around.  He would kick buckets and milking cans.  He would take a shovel and knock stuff off the wall.  He was just so angry.  Once when he was out in the grainery, his dad came out there to get him, and Harry took a hatchet off the wall and killed his dad with it.  Then Harry felt bad of course.  He stayed out in the grainery all day until his mother got worried and came looking for him and his father.  Harry was afraid, and remember he wasn’t very smart, so he did the only thing he could think of at the time.  He took the hatchet and killed his mom too.

Well, Harry ran off after that and nobody really knows what happened to him.  Some people say that he was captured and sent to a mental institution in Wilmar where he was locked up until he died in there.  Others swear they still see Harry wandering around Bertram Park.

There have been many sightings and strange occurrences that just can’t seem to be explained.  You see Harry always wore bib overalls, a patterned shirt and a baseball cap.  One day at YMCA camp, some of the kids saw a strange man over by a gate with, bib overalls, a patterned shirt and a baseball cap.   This was the area between the two lakes where there is only one way in, and one way out.  He entered the area and one of the counselors used a walkie talkie to call down to the other counselors on the other side.  Guess what, no one ever came through….  On either side.  They went looking for him but didn’t find anyone.

Story thanks to http://friendsofbertramlakes.org/

Musicians:

Lead Vocals (Duet): Clint Birtzer, Sandi Millar
Banjo: Mike Hedding
Mandolin: Chuck Millar
Lead Guitar: Clint Birtzer
Bass: Vaughn Asselstine
Rhythm Guitar: Dustin Benson - Courtesy of Compass Records