The eldest son of Alfred and Lillian (Nokes) Shutts, Maurice Shutts was born on September 23, 1897.   After marrying Rose May King in 1917, Maurice moved into the home his grandfather, Edgar, had built and lived in . Maurice Shutts was truly an extraordinary man.  Illiterate as a young adult, he bought an old typewriter and taught himself to read, write, and type. He also taught himself to play the accordion. In the journals he kept, he talks about making maps of the Chateaugay Lake area, as well as writing stories.

On the small farm at his home, he kept chickens, pigs, cows, and goats; and grew potatoes, beans, oats, squash, pumpkins, and peas. He picked apples and strawberries from the woods near his home, and collected sap to make maple syrup. Maurice was also a beekeeper. He kept beehives behind his house, and gathered them wherever they appeared around the homes of his neighbors. When the honey was ready, he would put it in cans and drive all across Clinton, Essex, and Franklin counties to sell it.  

In addition to being a farmer and beekeeper, Maurice was also a hunter, trapper, and fisherman. He was well-known in the area as a guide for hunting and fishing tours. At the time, nearby Chateaugay Lake was a popular destination for tourists, especially from the New York City area.Some came for the hunting and fishing excursions, while others merely sought the serenity of the Adirondacks.  

Maurice would take the groups by boat to Indian Point, where they would camp for four or five days. They would hunt and fish by day, and eat around a campfire by night. Maurice once described in his journal finding a man running frantically through the woods near the group’s camp.  He’d been lost for days and was ecstatic to finally be found.

During the Depression, as hard times fell upon most everyone in the area, Maurice was forced to find more work to provide for his family. With Prohibition in full-swing, and his home only 15 miles from the Canadian border, Maurice began bootlegging. He would drive his car over the border and load it with liquor. He would then take the contraband back to Merrill and sell it to the owners of the Hollywood restaurant, a local Speakeasy.

Maurice also took part in the federally-funded Works Progress Administration (WPA). One of over 8.5 million Americans who found work with the WPA, he built roads around Chateaugay Lake and over nearby Panther Mountain. This lasted for several years, until the WPA was finally dismantled in 1943.

Maurice lived on the Shutts Road his entire life, staying in his grandfather’s home up until the early 1980s. A true pioneer, he never once had running water in his home. My mother can remember once going to help Maurice’s second wife, Alma, to wash the dishes, and having to first pump the water from the outdoor well.

Click on the pictures below for larger views and/or descriptions

Maurice With Beaver Pelts	Maurice & Alma Shutts	Maurice The Guide

Maurice's Journals 1928-1940	Adirondack Honey Collected By Maurice

Maurice's Pocket Watch

Article on success in bee hunting
Article about speech on beekeeping

Children of Maurice Shutts and Rose King

Lester Shutts	1917-1989
Carolyn Shutts	living
Robert Shutts	1926-1965
Mary Shutts	living
Helen Shutts	1934-1995
Rachel Shutts	living