2011 Androscoggin Oxford Sebago by Discover Maine Magazine

DISCOVER

MAINE Volume 8, Issue 4

Maineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s History Magazine www.discovermainemagazine.com

Free

Androscoggin/Oxford Sebago Region

2011

Peruâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Samuel Thurston Went West

Friends We Shall Be, Both Now And Evermore

He made history and left his legacy in the Oregon Territory

A history of summer camps in the Lakes Region

The Proud Franco-American Heritage Of Lewiston-Auburn Thousands moved into Lewiston and Auburn during the 1800s

2 4 9 13 18 21 24 27 33 37 40 43 46 52 57 62 65 70 73 77 79 82 84 87

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

~ Inside This Edition ~

The “Phantom Punch” Of Lewiston Much-hyped fight remains controversial Erick T. Gatcomb Auburn’s Lenny Breau Remembered Talented guitarist’s life cut short at age 33 Charles Francis Joseph Leavitt Left A Legacy In Turner High school bears his name today Ian MacKinnon Professor David Smith The impact of a great historian and teacher Charles Francis The Hammer Of Mediocrity Mary Moody Emerson helped raise her nephew, Ralph Waldo Emerson Charles Francis Tapping Into The Public Thirst Mineral springs of the Androscoggin Valley Charles Francis The Proud Franco-American Heritage Of Lewiston-Auburn Thousands moved into Lewiston and Auburn during the 1800s James Nalley This Was A Buzz Job Bare feet and long johns in the back yard Norman Houle Lewis Millett: “I’ve Fought When Others Feared To Serve.” Decorated Colonel from Mechanic Falls fought in three wars James Nalley Mellie Dunham World-class snowshoe maker from Norway James Nalley The Finnish Community Of West Paris Immigrants arrived in the late 1800s Matthew Jude Barker Sportsmen’s Paradise The Rangeley Lakes “by the book” Matthew Jude Barker New Hampshire Took Some Acreage From Henry Young Brown Confusion on borders placed Maine land in New Hampshire Ian MacKinnon Friends We Shall Be, Both Now And Evermore A history of summer camps in the Lakes Region James Nalley The Ellis River Where past and future meet Charles Francis Peru’s Samuel Thurston Went West He made history and left his legacy in the Oregon Territory Ian MacKinnon The Genealogy Corner Obtaining death certificates Charles Francis Louise Bogan The American poet from Livermore James Nalley Cornish Purchased For Rum, Beads Trade agreement goes awry Rev. Erick T. Gatcomb Kelly’s Killer Willard Mains Pitcher nicknamed “Grasshopper” was from Bridgton Charles Francis The Morning Star Of Limerick Condemning slavery with eloquent and rousing rhetoric James Nalley Albion P. Howe The Standish connection to President Lincoln James Nalley Directory Of Advertisers See who helps us bring Maine’s history to you!

Discover Maine Magazine Androscoggin/Oxford Sebago Region Published Annually by CreMark, Inc. 10 Exchange Street, Suite 208 Portland, Maine 04101 (207) 874-7720 info@discovermainemagazine.com

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Jim Burch

Designer & Editor Michele Farrar

Advertising & Sales Manager Cesario Rodriguez

Advertising & Sales Tim Maxfield Craig Palmacci

Office Manager Liana Merdan

Field Representatives George Tatro Andrew Burch

Contributing Writers

Matthew Jude Barker Charles Francis fundy67@yahoo.ca Rev. Erick T. Gatcomb Norman Houle Ian MacKinnon James Nalley

Maps supplied by Galeyrie Maps & Frames, and are available for reprint at Galeyrie.com. See their ad on page 27.

Discover Maine Magazine is distributed to fraternal organizations, shopping centers, libraries, newsstands, grocery and convenience stores, hardware stores, lumber companies, motels, restaurants and other locations throughout this part of Maine. NO PART of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from CreMark, Inc. Copyright © 2011, CreMark, Inc.

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Front cover photo: Main Street, Mechanic Falls (File #115705 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org) All photos in Discover Maine’s Androscoggin/ Oxford/Sebago Region edition show Maine as it used to be, and many are from local citizens who love this part of Maine. Photos are also provided from our collaboration with the Maine Historical Society and the Penobscot Marine Museum

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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Notes From The Fayette Ridge by Michele Farrar

pring has finally arrived, and with it one of my favorite pastimes — fishing. I started fishing about 4 years ago on a camping trip with friends where I was the only person who didn’t fish. My friend Aric lent me a pole, sinkers and a hook. He demonstrated how to thread a worm onto a hook. (I wasn’t thrilled and managed to get him to do that for me during our first few days of fishing. ) I got the hang of casting rather quickly, and on my third try I hooked a 10-inch Brookie. Since ending the fish’s life was right up there with threading a worm, Aric did that for me as well. He held the fish in one hand and flicked his fingers hard between its eyes. That was it. That night we fried up 8 Brookies in cornmeal and butter over the campfire. Mine was the biggest. At the end of five days we ran out of bug dope for the third time and decided we’d all had enough. We were covered with bites but we caught a lot of fish. Eventually I learned to bait my own hook, kill, clean and cook my catch. This allowed me to go fishing by myself, which I now do regularly. I find it incredibly relaxing, it’s nice to be outdoors, and

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occasionally I bring home dinner. The most surprising aspect of fishing has become my thought process. When I am fishing, I think about nothing else. (Other folks accomplish this through meditation, something I have never tried.) It can get a little crazy, though. When the fish aren’t biting, I find myself trying to understand the thought process of the fish. Do they swim around in groups (“schools”), and visit different areas of a pond/lake at various feeding times? Do they like to feed in the evening better than the afternoon? When a fish is caught, do his friends see and then high-tail it to another area? Why did five people catch trout on Wednesday, and nobody got a nibble in the same spot at the same time on Thursday? I learned to fish in fast-moving brooks. This year I started going to ponds and lakes. It’s even more relaxing to cast a line out with a bobber and then sit back and wait. I follow the fish stocking reports on the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlfe’s website. So far, it hasn’t made much of a difference. I have been “shut out” all but twice, in terms of what I can keep. Yesterday I returned to a pond I’ve been to several times without success. It’s close to my home in Fayette, a bit off the beaten path, and usually not very crowded. As I sat on the edge of

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the pond, three individuals put canoes in the water and fished just out of my reach. They all caught an abundance of trout. They all showed me their loot when they came ashore. One fellow mentioned, “Gee, you don’t see too many women fishing.” I said, “I know.” I wanted to say, “Give me your number, I’ll go fishing with you,” but I’m not that bold. I caught 10 sunfish of various sizes. (The D.I.F.W. says that catching sunfish is so easy it’s great fun for the kids.) I decided to try a different spot, put on my boots, and trudged through the woods and the mud to an area where I’d seen a man catch 4 nice trout from the shore two days earlier. I caught 4 more sunfish and 2 chubs. I got a bite every time I cast my line. It was exciting for awhile, until I realized the trout weren’t interested in me and it was getting dark. I hope to do a lot more fishing before the summer heat sets in and my favorite trout become scarce. If anyone has some tips for me, please send them along. You can email me at dmmgraphics@myfairpoint.net. Most of my fishing buddies from that camping trip four years ago have moved away, and I’m always looking to meet new ones. There is an abundance of streams, ponds and lakes near my home in Fayette. The trick is picking the right one on the right day. I haven’t figured that one out yet. Happy fishing! 

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The “Phantom Punch” Of Lewiston Much-hyped fight remains controversial by Rev. Erick T. Gatcomb n May 25, 1965 Maine played host to one of the most written about prize fights in the history of boxing. Mired in scandal and controversy, the brief match put the city of Lewiston on the map and secured its place in the annals of boxing lore. Known as Clay/Liston II, the fight was actually a rematch carried over from the previous year. On February 25, 1964 then-heavyweight champion and 7-1 favorite Sonny Liston was challenged by an egotistical up-and-coming fighter known as Cassius Clay. Perhaps buying into his own

The FBI conducted a thorough investigation but never found any conclusive evidence of wrong-doing and closed the case in July 1966.

Clay and Liston in the first round of their fight on May 25, 1965 in Lewiston

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hype of being unbeatable, Liston did minimal training leading up to the fight and took quite a beating at the hands of the 22-year-old contender. After the sixth round Liston went to his corner and quit, complaining of a hurt shoulder, thus losing his heavyweight title. People immediately cried foul, and accusations of a fixed fight made their way throughout the sporting community. The strange ending to the first fight prompted a demand for a rematch by the World Boxing Council, an event which was scheduled to take place in Boston in November. The first fight had come perilously close to being canceled after promoter Bill Faversham confronted Ali about his ties to the Nation of Islam (also known at the time as the Black Muslims) and the recent visibility of the controversial Malcolm X in his company. An agreement was set whereby Ali would be allowed to fight provided he postpone announcing his conversion to Islam until after the fight, an agreement that he honored. At first known as Cassius X, he changed his name

Sonny Liston to Muhammad Ali within a week’s time. For the most part, the sporting press refused to honor the name change and insisted on calling Ali by his birth name. As November approached, Sonny Liston trained harder than ever, and even told the press that he’d never been in better shape. Alas, the fight was called off with only three days notice when Ali was forced to undergo emergency surgery for

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a strangulated hernia. To make matters worse, the promoters were notified that they did not have the appropriate licenses to hold a fight in the state of Massachusetts and were forced to scout other locations for the rematch. FBI files show that Suffolk County District Attorney Garrett H. Byrne objected to the fight being hosted in Boston due to prior knowledge of “a set-up.” The city of Lewiston stepped up and offered to host the event at St. Dominic’s Arena in May of the following year. During the six-month postponement, chaos reigned in America, and undoubtedly had a profound effect on the upcoming title match. Malcolm X had separated from the Nation of Islam but had been seen in Ali’s camp with more frequency up until February, when he was assassinated by three members of the Nation of Islam, his former colleagues. The night of the assassination, a fire erupted in Ali’s apartment, and two days later the Nation of Islam headquarters were fire(Continued on page 6)

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

(Continued from page 5)

bombed. In the months leading up to the fight, rumors of retaliatory strikes against Ali were making the rounds as well as numerous reports that the Nation of Islam had threatened Liston’s life. These threats were taken seriously by the FBI, which began providing protection to Ali. A week before the fight, reports began coming out of New York that a red Cadillac full of Malcolm X loyalists was headed to Maine. The loyalists were said to be trained assassins sent to kill Ali. Special police units were dispatched from New York and sent to Maine to investigate and ensure that no violence would erupt. On the day of the fight, state police were present along the road while Ali took his morning run. “I’m too fast to be hit by a bullet,” Ali boasted to reporters. Lewiston, Maine was an unlikely venue to host such an event, and the remote location discouraged many people from making the long trek to the “tiny little

Liston lands a punch on Clay town up on the border near Canada.” Indeed, the only heavyweight title fight to be held in Maine also had the smallest turnout in the history of boxing with only 2,434 fans in attendance. On the night of the fight, over 300 security personnel stood guard at the doors — then the largest security detail ever for a sporting event — and searched patrons for concealed weapons. At 10:30 the tuxedo-clad Robert Goulet walked to the center of the ring to perform the national anthem, his

first time doing so in public. Having lost his palm notes somewhere in the parking lot or auditorium, he was heard to mutter, “What am I going to do?” as he climbed into the ring. Several people snickered and prodded each other when Goulet mangled some of the words but most seemed not to notice. Within minutes, Sonny Liston — billed as the challenger — entered the ring, removed his robe and bounced around warming up. Flanked by security guards, Ali (announced as “Cassius”) soon made his way to the ring but was booed extensively by the Liston-friendly crowd. As people waited for the start of the first round they braced themselves for a brutal fight. Liston himself had told reporters, “I took Clay too light before. This time I’m gonna bring my lunch. We may be in there a long time.” What transpired left fans outraged, and government agents scratching their heads. At the sound of the bell, Ali and Liston advanced on each other with Liston landing a minor blow on Ali’s cheek. They

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

began circling, sizing one another up. As Liston threw jabs, Ali bounced around, staying out of reach unless he got backed up against the ropes. A minute and 44 seconds into the fight, Ali landed a shot on Liston that dropped the challenger to the mat. As Ali stood over him yelling for him to get up and fight, Liston rolled around for a moment and tried to regain his footing, this time falling onto his back. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott, himself a former heavyweight champion, tried to get Ali to a neutral corner but in doing so never counted Liston out. Seventeen seconds had passed before Liston was able to regain footing and be guided to his corner. As Walcott tried to sort out the situation, the fight resumed, this time with Ali swinging with force. Writer Nat Fleischer climbed up to the ropes and told Walcott that Liston had been down more than ten seconds, therefore earning Ali a first-round knockout. Walcott stopped the fight and declared

proud Ali the winner. Chants of “Fake! Fake! Fake!” filled the arena. The shot that floored Liston became known as the “phantom punch” because not many people saw it land. Ali himself was overheard asking his camp if he’d actually made contact with his opponent. Ali later claimed that he unleashed his patented “anchor punch” on Liston, a shot of precision designed to accomplish just what it did. Whether that’s true or not, the “anchor punch” was never used by

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him in any other match. Several former and future heavyweight champions who witnessed the “phantom punch” also opined that the whole fight was set up. Rumors of Liston’s gambling debts to the Mafia led people to believe that he had bet against himself and took a dive. Others speculate that threats from the Nation of Islam were the driving force behind his seemingly fake loss. The FBI conducted a thorough investigation but never found any conclusive evidence of wrong-doing and closed the case in July 1966. While Liston never publicly admitted to throwing the fight, he later told Sports Illustrated writer Mark Kram, “That guy was crazy. I didn’t want anything to do with him. And the Muslims were coming up. Who needed that? So I went down. I wasn’t hit.” “I was there and I’ll say this much: it was about as real as professional wrestling,” chuckles Maine native Ferd Butler. “Take that however you want.” 

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Discover Maine

Auburn’s Lenny Breau Remembered Talented guitarist’s life cut short at age 33 by Charles Francis

enny Breau is the greatest guitar player in the world. I think he knows more guitar than any guy that’s ever walked the face of the earth… The man who uttered the above words in 1979 was no slouch on the guitar himself. He was Chet Atkins. In fact, some consider Atkins — along with Les Paul — the greatest guitar influence in the history of popular music. So just who was Lenny Breau? Among other things, Lenny Breau was the chief mentor and first significant teacher of Randy Bachman. As the story goes, 16-year-old Bachman peddled his bike from the outback outside of Winnipeg, Manitoba to hear Breau play with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. At the time Breau was just 16 himself. Breau’s performance so inspired Bachman that he decided to make music his career. First under Breau’s tutelage, and then on his own, Bachman went on to earn more than 120 gold and platinum singles and albums awards. Randy Bachman is, of course, famous as the backbone of The Guess Who, the phenomenally successful rock group he quit to form the even more successful Bachman Turner Overdrive (BTO).

Sadly, Lenny Breau died much too young. He was just 33 at the time of his death in 1984. Yet, even though he was so young at the time of his death, Breau was a legend. Unfortunately, his death is also a part of his legend. The Los Angeles Police Department has never closed the book on Breau’s death. He was found floating in a swimming pool. The coroner’s report lists the cause of death as strangulation. The murderer has yet to be caught. Lenny Breau was born in Auburn in 1941. How is it, you may ask, that a Maine-born musician rose to such legendary heights in such a short time? Part of the answer lies in the fact that he was the son of legends. Lenny Breau was the son of Hal “Lone Pine” Breau and Betty

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(Continued from page 9)

Cody. Every country music aficionado of a certain age in the state of Maine knows the names Lone Pine Breau and Betty Cody. So, too, do country music fans of the 1950s across the country and in Canada. Their band, The Mountaineers, which featured Lenny Breau as Lone Pine Jr., is a country music legend. Part of the reason for the success of the band was Betty Cody (born Cote). Betty Cody was once sought after by Colonel Tom Parker (of Elvis Presley fame) to come to Nashville and record. This was when she was the #2 female country singer in North America behind Kitty Wells. Lenny Breau made his first tentative marks in the music world playing with his parents in Maine in the early 1950s. The marks became more than tentative in early 1960s Toronto, Canada. In fact, his impact was so great in Canada that in 1999 the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) made a feature documentary on him, The Genius of Lenny Breau. From Canada, Breau went on to success in U.S. television shows like Jackie Glea-

son and Joey Bishop and in posh jazz clubs in New York and on the West Coast. Had it not been for his untimely death plus the fact that he fell victim to the double whammy of alcohol and drugs, Breau’s career might still be in ascendancy, and except for the fact that he left Maine as a teenager, his stature in his birthplace akin to that of a Stephen King. So how is it that Lenny Breau moved to Canada? The answer, in part, has to do with the reason why Betty Cody never followed up on Colonel Tom Parker’s efforts to get her to go to Nashville. Hal “Lone Pine” Breau and Betty Cody were Maine Francophones. They had roots in Maine’s French Canadian community. This was one of the reasons why they were popular in eastern Canada, in New Brunswick and Quebec. In the mid-1950s the Breau marriage was on the verge of breaking up. In an effort to hold the family together, Betty gave up her career as a singer. She even went so far as to take a job in a local Lewiston mill. When this effort to save the marriage failed, Betty moved to a

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French community in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This was how Lenny came to play with the Winnipeg Symphony, and how he came to be an influence on Randy Bachman. It was while he was in Winnipeg that Breau began playing jazz guitar. He also formed a jazz trio with two Canadian musicians. In the early 1960s Breau, with and without his two compatriots, was a regular on Toronto-based Canadian television. Breau even had his own show, The Lenny Breau Show. This explains his popularity north of the border. Lenny Breau music is still very much available today. It is even possible to find rare recordings he made with his mother as well as with Chet Atkins. He also made records with Maine legend Dick Curless. Randy Bachman’s own label, Guitarchives, is releasing a whole Breau series including Breau’s Boy Wonder. Breau recorded the latter, appropriately named album, when he was just fifteen. Other businesses from this area are featured in the color section.

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A photograph of Main Street in Lewiston, taken in the early years of the twentieth century, shows a Chinese-American restaurant that advertised Chop Suey as well as "regular" (American) dishes. It may have been the Oriental Restaurant. Item #10372 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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Joseph Leavitt Left A Legacy In Turner High school bears his name today by Ian MacKinnon

Massachusetts solder who turned pacifist left an enduring legacy in Turner. After moving from Pembroke, Massachusetts to a remote township in the Androscoggin River Valley in the District of Maine, Joseph Leavitt created a family history recounted by a granddaughter, Caroline W.D. Rich, and recorded by William Riley French in his “A History of Turner, Maine, from its settlement to 1886.” Married to Bates College Professor Thomas H. Rich and a poetess herself, Caroline stressed that Leavitt was “my maternal grandfather.” Her maternal grandmother was Anna Leavitt Stockbridge, Joseph Leavitt’s sixth child with his first wife. Joseph Leavitt’s parents were Jacob and Sylvia (Bonney) Leavitt, who hailed from Pembroke, Massachusetts. The “original”

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know. In the 1770s, the Society of Friends (known as Quakers) enjoyed a prominent place in American society. Quakers refused to bear arms and fight, whether for Britain or the United States, and their neighbors respected their pacifism and neutrality. Joseph Leavitt had soldiered for 90 days before declaring himself a pacifist; that decision evidently garnered him no ill will among his friends. According to Caroline Rich, Leavitt told his apparently pro-liberty friends that “some must stay at home and raise bread,” which he would do “for them” (American soldiers). “His comrades gave him the name of Quaker Joe, on account of his peace principles,” Rich told William Riley French. This “cognomen” indicated no

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Bear Pond Park in North Turner. Item #101922 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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disrespect, because Leavitt “always bore [the name] among his friends.” Sometime later in 1775, the 18-year-old Leavitt accompanied surveyors dispatched by the Massachusetts General Court “to lay out the townships on the Androscoggin” River, Rich indicated. The surveyors took their sightings and recorded their measurements while working upstream, and Leavitt “was much pleased with the township of what is now Turner,” she told French. The township was initially named Sylvester-Canada after Captain Joseph Sylvester, whose militia company had fought in Canada decades earlier. Among the investors charged with developing the township was Ichabod Bonney, father-inlaw to Jacob Leavitt. Joseph Leavitt told his companions that because “he should return and settle there,” they should “select a lot for him.” The surveyors responded, “Well, Joe, you will like to go to meeting, so we will give you a lot next to the meeting-house lot.” Today, Mainers cannot realize how decisions made by late-18th century Massachusetts investors (called “proprietors”), politicians, and surveyors influenced the modern Maine map. Protocol required that when investors — typically the people to whom the General Court would assign a particular township — carved their 6-mile-by-6-mile townships into smaller, marketable lots, they must reserve one lot for a meeting-house. This requirement harkens to Massachusetts town meetings; in its infinite wisdom, the General Court decreed that settlers moving to a District

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of Maine township set aside a lot for building a meeting-house. The General Court did not decree when settlers must build their meeting-house. So Leavitt received a lot on “‘Upper Street,’ where he made his home, and where he lived and died,” Rich told French. “The place is still known as the Leavitt Place.” In spring 1776, the 19-year-old Leavitt proved he was no coward, an appellation that a soldier might receive upon turning pacifist during later American wars. Traveling alone, he returned to SylvesterCanada Township. “He was obliged to transport all his supplies on his back through the forest,” Rich indicated. French’s history of Turner reveals that other colonists had settled in SylvesterCanada, with Israel Haskell moving “his family from New Gloucester” in spring 1775. “This was the first family that made a permanent settlement in the plantation,” French wrote. Using a broad ax and various saws, Joseph Leavitt cleared his lot and used the logs to build a blockhouse. Returning to WITHIN 5 MILES OF I-95 MAINE TURNPIKE AUBURN EXIT 75

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Pembroke in autumn 1776, he traveled to Sylvester-Canada Township in spring 1777 to “put in seed” and grow decent crops. Determined to be a farmer, Leavitt then purchased 19 “young apple-trees” in New Gloucester, carried these through the forest, and “planted them near his house,” Caroline Rich remembered from “my grandfather’s stories.” The apple trees took root and thrived. That summer, Leavitt traveled to Pembroke. There he married Anna (Continued on page 16)

Discover Maine 16

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

(Continued from page 15)

history, French noted that Joseph Leavitt brought three people (including himself) to the township in 1776. Anna Stevens Leavitt would bear eight children for her husband before dying years later; the oldest child, Joseph Leavitt Jr., was born in 1777. His father later married Hannah Chandler. They had two children before Hannah died; Joseph Leavitt had no children with his third wife, Elsea Caswell. Jacob and Sylvia Leavitt and their other children moved to Turner in August 1778. According to Caroline Rich, Joseph Leavitt’s “sterling integrity and liberal hand won [him] friends while living and left a memory greatly beloved and respected.” After his death at age 83 in 1839, Joseph was buried in the Upper Street Cemetery. His long life likely lay in his genes; Jacob Leavitt was 82 when he died in Turner in January 1814, and Sylvia Leavitt was 77 when she died in December 1810. And Sylvia’s sister, Lydia, married Eleazer Hamlin, whose progeny gradually shifted east in Maine and thrived until a

Stevens, the first of three wives, and “brought his bride on horseback, seated on a pillion behind him … through New Hampshire” to Maine, according to Rich. Pack horses carried Anna’s baggage. The journey lasted several weeks and, according to Leavitt family tradition, was “a most romantic bridal tour indeed,” Caroline Rich indicated. Joseph Leavitt often dismounted to “hold the limbs of trees away” so Anna could “ride under them. Sometimes she had to dismount and cross a brook on a fallen tree, which served as a bridge.” The newlyweds prospered in SylvesterCanada Township, which became Turner on July 7, 1786. Joseph Leavitt “built the first frame building … which is still an old landmark,” and he operated a tavern there, Rich told French. Some confusion exists as to when the Leavitts actually arrived in SylvesterCanada Township. Caroline Rich’s dateline, which was based on her grandfather’s stories, places the Leavitts in Maine in 1777. However, elsewhere in his Turner Your Maine Technician Licensed • Insured

great-grandson, Hannibal Hamlin, served as vice president to Abraham Lincoln. The Leavitt name prospered in the Androscoggin Valley. Joseph’s son, Ichabod, married Aseneth Bryant and raised their children on the family farm. Like his father, Ichabod served in the militia, albeit during the War of 1812. Leavitt progeny worked in different professions during the 19th century, and many Leavitts stayed in the Androscoggin Valley rather than move away. One Leavitt did move to New York City to manufacture parasols and umbrellas, accessories then desired by every woman of fashion. This Leavitt, named James Madison Leavitt, gave Turner $10,000 in 1895 to construct a preparatory school. Today, Leavitt Area High School houses grades 9-12. The students attend a school that honors a surname long associated with Turner and the Androscoggin Valley . Other businesses from this area are featured in the color section.

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Main Street, Norway. Item #101985 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Professor David Smith The impact of a great historian and teacher by Charles Francis

avid Smith graduated the radio, they saw it in news reels from South Paris High at the local movie house and, of School in 1947. Then, course, they studied it in school. like many other recent graduates Moreover, there were books and David Smith had a lot of interests. Some of the first years of the post-war stories and movies with military period, he enlisted in the military, themes and plots. Also, in the late of those interests extended beyond Maine his choice being the Navy. 1948 1940s there was the incipient Kohistory. In the 1970s Smith was working found him on the U.S.S. Coral Sea. rean Conflict. on the book that would bring him internaBack in the late 1940s a good A lifetime career in the military many young Americans saw the tional attention, H. G. Wells: Desperately wasn’t in the cards for David military as a viable lifetime career Mortal. Some of Smith’s research was done Smith. He served his stint in the choice. It was logical. Young men Navy, then enrolled at what is in the British Museum, including the and women who were in school at now the University of Maine at museum’s famous Reading Room. the same time as David Smith just Farmington. Then — to use a missed being able to fight the coined phrase that some might Nazis and Japanese in World War view as a pun — the rest is hisII. Today it may seem a bit odd to tory. hear a sentiment like that expressed. But Europe and the Pacific dominated every David Smith’s career goal when he enback when Smith and those of his gener- aspect of life — even if one was a stu- tered Farmington was that of teacher. He ation were in high school, the fighting in dent. Young people heard war news on realized that goal and then some.

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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David Smith died November 10, 2009. I tend to think of David Smith’s uni- elsewhere at any time. Besides Smith there He was eighty. He was retired Bird and versity office as a mine — a gold mine. were two other University of Maine proBird professor of history at the Univer- Anyone who appreciates books about his- fessors, Edward “Sandy” Ives and Ronald sity of Maine at Orono. At the time of his tory will understand what I mean. Smith’s Banks. Ives is the dean of Maine and death and for years before it, Smith was office was jammed with history books and northeast folklorists. The late Ronald regarded as the dean of State of Banks lived and breathed Maine Maine historians. Through his history in much the same manner Smith could make anything interesting — writings and as a teacher he influas Smith. even subjects as dry as wood pulp paper. enced an uncountable number of David Smith had a lot of interthe state’s young people, as well as He did it in Wood Pulp Paper Comes to the ests. Some of those interests exthose of us who seek to undertended beyond Maine history. In Northeast, 1855-1900. stand the state they were born in the 1970s Smith was working on or are lucky enough to call home. the book that would bring him inTo put the matter of David Smith’s im- a lot more. Books, papers, pamphlets — ternational attention, H. G. Wells: Desperpact on Maine history in the clearest terms most of historic nature — filled his office ately Mortal. Some of Smith’s research was possible, it is impossible to do any real de- to overflowing. Someone might think it done in the British Museum, including the gree of research into the state’s past with- would be impossible to get another text museum’s famous Reading Room. out encountering him. or paper or whatever in there, much less The Reading Room of the British MuEveryone who ever had any significant that there was room for Smith and anyone seum is a revered place. It is the holiest of degree of contact with David Smith will else. On the occasion I am talking about the holy for serious bibliophiles. On the have a story of him. Or rather, they can there were three others in the office be- occasion I am talking about, David Smith recall a story or two or three that he told, sides Smith and myself. told us of how he chose to seat himself in the kind of story that makes history come I can safely say that on the occasion I the very chair where Karl Marx sat when alive. Mine dates back to about 1975. It am referencing there was more historic he did his work on Das Kapital at the mutakes place in Smith’s University of Maine expertise on the state of Maine in that one seum. Simply put, the story was a link beoffice. small space than could have been gathered (Continued on page 20)

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

(Continued from page 19)

early Northern story, is the story of Garrett Schenck. He was a man of forceful personality and great breath of imagination, and a man who left two memorials, the Great Northern and the town of Millinocket. That is how David Smith transitioned from one subject to another in his Maine history on wood pulp paper. It is narration as it should be, with a clarity of beginning, middle and end. Some of David Smith’s work was directed at the popular readership of Maine. Here we find The First Century: A History of the University of Maine, 1865-1965. Most anyone whose heart skips a beat to the “Maine Stein Song” would want a copy for his or her coffee table. Smith also wrote A History of the Maine Agricultural Experimental Station 1885-1978. Among other things, the Station kept a record of the first detailed climate changes in Maine. This fact played into another of Smith’s interests, historical climatology and climate change, subjects of increasing importance today. Smith’s goal with this subject was a history of the cli-

tween past and present. That was what David Smith was good at — making the past come alive, and making the past relevant to the world of today. Smith could make anything interesting — even subjects as dry as wood pulp paper. He did it in Wood Pulp Paper Comes to the Northeast, 1855-1900. Essentially the work chronicles the rise of the giant paper companies in Maine, companies like International Paper and Great Northern. Great Northern grew out of a Madison, Maine mill operated by Manufacturer’s Investment Company of New Jersey. In 1899 the Madison mill went into receivership. It was possibly a deliberate move to bring Great Northern into existence. How do you make a subject like this interesting? How do you bring life to a business transition such as this? Here are David Smith’s words: The mill ran until the spring of 1899 when it went into receivership. Death resulted from than event, but reincarnation occurred in the Great Northern. That story, as is true of most of the

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mate of New England and New York of the past 300 years. Smith was also an advocate for Restore: Maine Woods National Park. Along with scientists like E. O. Wilson, Smith saw reforestation as a means for offsetting climate change. The South Paris high school David Smith graduated from is no more. It was replaced by Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in 1961. Changes such as this came about because of the Sinclair Act. David Smith wrote about this kind of change, too. He saw school consolidation as a good thing — as a positive change in education: consolidation spoke to Smith’s sense of what was right. David Smith spoke for Maine from the heart, from his conscience. His voice and that conscience will be sorely missed.

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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The Hammer Of Mediocrity Mary Moody Emerson helped raise her nephew, Ralph Waldo Emerson by Charles Francis

or most of the nineteenth century and almost to the end of the twentieth, Mary Moody Emerson was regarded variously as eccentric, an outright kook and nonentity and, at best, bearer of a famous name. Now, belatedly, new viewpoints regarding her have come to the fore. A biography has been written of her and an edited selection of her letters has been published. Her position in American letters and intellectual development is being assessed. The result of this change in perception may just be the creation of an enigma. Mary Moody Emerson is now being called seer, genius, angel of death and the American Jakob Boehme. The last reference may relate to her nephew Waldo sometimes writing her name as an ana-

gram, Tnamurya. Anagrams are mystical. Mary Moody Emerson was an intellect at a time when women were largely uneducated. Because she was uneducated her writing is difficult at best: it lacks style, it does not flow. Yet, she was a voluminous letter writer and her letters are highly prized today. They are valued not just because of the addressee, but for their depth and what they reveal of the woman who could arguably be called the mother of transcendentalism. Mary Moody Emerson spent a good portion of her life in Waterford, Maine, at Elm Vale Farm. She was one of Elm Vale’s owners. One would like to think she played a part in the farm’s naming, as the image the name projects is one of peace and solitude, of a natural harmony. Mary

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Moody Emerson valued all these. Mary Moody Emerson helped raise her five nephews and one niece. She saw all but one of them reach adulthood. Of the five who reached adulthood, she outlived all but two. She saw her favorite die. Four who reached adulthood had great promise. None, from Mary Moody Emerson’s perspective, realized that potential, not even the one who attained fame — Ralph Waldo Emerson. Today, death at an early age is an oddity, most often accidental. That is a happenstance of modern medicine and public health. It was not the case during Mary Moody Emerson’s life. Mary Moody Emerson did not know her father, William. He died when she was (Continued on page 22)

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

(Continued from page 21)

in generations past. Jonathan Edwards — he of “Sinners in the Hands of and Angry God” — was a personal hero. But Mary couldn’t be a preacher. The pulpit was no place for a woman in the early 1800s. The next best thing, then, was for her nephews to become ministers. William, Waldo, Edward and Charles Emerson all attended Harvard. With the exception of Waldo — that was what Ralph Waldo Emerson preferred being called — all did exceptionally well, finishing at the top of their respected classes. All seemed destined for the ministry. The title of this piece, the hammer of mediocrity, was once applied to Thomas Carlyle. It relates to his defense of German intellectualism and its rejection of Locke and Hume. In particular it relates to Carlyle’s attacks on those who do not “proceed from within and work out.” This is what Mary Moody Emerson did. She started within herself and worked out. This is what she wanted her nephews to do. She was their hammer of mediocrity. She did not want her nephews to turn to questioning like a Locke or a Hume — she wanted them to follow in the footsteps of a Jakob Boehme. Jakob Boehme was a follower of Martin Luther. Like Boehme, Mary Moody Emerson had a penchant for “wrestling with angels.” Boehme is viewed as the source of “the mystical heart” of the Lutheran faith. For him it was not a matter of climbing to the Godhead. Rather it was that “the Godhead climbed up in me.” After Harvard, William Emerson went off to Germany to study. There he be-

came so disillusioned with modern theology that, when he returned, he took up the law, eventually becoming a judge. William outlived Mary by five years, dying in 1868. Edward seemed the most brilliant of the brothers. He finished so far ahead of his classmates at Harvard, it was as if there was no second. He subsequently had a nervous breakdown. He died of tuberculosis in 1834. Charles, Mary’s favorite, likewise succumbed in 1836. Just prior to his death he was helping Waldo with translations from the Greek. He had yet to find himself. Although wrapped up with plans of marriage, he was dominated by images of death. Ralph Waldo Emerson did become a minister. However, he resigned his position in 1834. In 1838 he gave his famous Harvard Divinity School address. In it, he made it clear that Jesus Christ was not “Jehovah come down out of Heaven,” but a man. Mary Moody Emerson did not approve. Yet, it was Waldo who absorbed her teachings. The crux of “Self-Reliance” is look within, reflect, but do it with much

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an infant. William Emerson was a Unitarian minister. In 1776 he accompanied the troops that went to fight at Fort Ticonderoga. There he died of swamp fever. Mary was then hustled off to be brought up by her grandmother and namesake, Mary Moody. Mary Moody lived in Maiden, Connecticut. She had been born in York. The Emerson family had Maine connections. William Emerson had other children. Besides Mary there was William, Hannah, Rebecca and Phebe. Mary and Rebecca shared Elm Vale Farm until the latter died there in 1845. It was with brother William’s death in 1811 that Mary first left Waterford to take on the task of mentoring her nephews and niece. The second William Emerson died of a tumor of the lower intestine. He too had been a Unitarian minister. He died leaving sons William, Ralph Waldo, Edward, Robert Bulkeley and Charles and daughter Mary. Mary died in 1814 at age three. Robert Bulkeley was mentally challenged and spent almost the entirety of his life under institutional care. Mary Moody Emerson has been described as a termagant. She was 4’3’’ tall. She made her presence known with a biting wit. When she went out, she did so wrapped in a burial shroud. Her brother William was a liberal Unitarian, and she did not care for the position. Religion had a more important function than simply gluing society together for Sunday worship. Mary should have been a minister. She would have dominated a pulpit as John Cotton or Cotton Mather had done

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Discover Maine

reading, study. Mary Moody Emerson read a great deal. She was always recommending books to others. She demanded of others the same standards she aspired to. They were high standards — perhaps impossibly high. The biography of Mary Moody Emerson is Mary Moody Emerson and the Origins of Transcendentalism: A Family History. Its author is Penn State professor Phyllis Cole. Nancy Craig Simmons edited The Selected Letters of Mary Moody Emerson. These two works, as well as recent treatments of Ralph Waldo Emerson like Robert Richardson’s Emerson: The Mind On Fire, do much toward changing the once popular image of Mary Moody Emerson as a grim and unconventional throwback to the age of Puritan New England 

Other businesses from this area are featured in the color section.

Knight & Welch Garage, No. Waterford. Item #101925 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

Wilson MELBY'S Market & Eatery Excavating, Inc. (207) 583-4632

Rt35, Valley Rd • 583-4447 North Waterford

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444 Bisbee Town Road Waterford, ME 04088

Agency Liquor Store, Lottery Fresh Cut Meats, Fish, Buffalo Produce, In Store Bakery, Deli Huge Ice Creams, Fishing Licenses

The Area's Best Breakfast All Day

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Exciting Menu, Try our Buffalo, Elk etc.

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Discover Maine 24

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Tapping Into The Public Thirst Mineral springs of the Androscoggin Valley by Charles Francis

he sale of bottled spring water is big business in the United States. In fact, certain brands are viewed as status symbols. When Madonna married movie magnate Guy Ritchie, she saw to it that the ceremonies were liberally stocked with Voss, a Norwegian brand. A single 27.1 fluid ounce bottle of sparkling Voss goes for $30. The bottles were designed by none other than Calvin Klein. Americans consumed something like 26 billion liters of bottled water last year. This upsurge of interest in bottled water led upscale restaurants and hotels like the Ritz-Carlton in New York to place “water sommeliers” on their staff. Previously, “sommelier” was a term applied specifically to wine stewards. The water sommelier recommends various waters as complements to particular dishes. For ex-

ample, water with a high mineral content, which tends to be salty, is the preferred complement for hearty dishes like lamb, rabbit and duck. A spring in Bethel near Sparrowhawk Mountain was once known for its efficacious treatment of skin problems like psoriasis. The sulfurous nature of the Bethel spring came from decomposing pyrites in the area

While most Americans may think the bottled water phenomenon is relatively new, a Mainer will be quick to tell you that the famous mineral water of Poland Spring has been around for a long time. In fact, as early as the decades following the Civil War, Poland Spring meant bottled spring water for the American consumer. Of course, it never sold at $30 a bottle. What few Mainers know, however,

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is that Poland Spring was just one of many Maine spring water companies around the turn of the twentieth century. Back around 1900 there were twenty to twenty-five Maine companies bottling spring water. As to just how many there were, it is almost impossible to say because bottled spring water companies sprang up almost everywhere there was a spring. There is no question, though, that the Androscoggin Valley had more than its fair share of proprietors bottling mineral water. Auburn had at least five. Nearby Greene had four. And, towns like Minot, West Bethel and Rumford added more. While some of this water was bottled for local consumption only, there were companies like the one which bottled Lewiston’s Highland Mineral Spring water that had offices in New York.

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Mineral springs are generally divided into three classes. The classes depend on ingredients: sulfurous, chalybeate and saline. Sulfurous mineral water smells a bit like rotten eggs. It was once recommended for skin diseases. It could be imbibed or used externally. A spring in Bethel near Sparrowhawk Mountain was once known for its efficacious treatment of skin problems like psoriasis. The sulfurous nature of the Bethel spring came from decomposing pyrites in the area. Chalybeate springs contain salts of iron. They are associated with iron pyrites. Quite often leaves and twigs give the water a particular tinge. There is a chalybeate spring at the base of Anasagunicook Mountain in West Bethel. Saline springs hold various quantities of sodium chloride — table salt. The Mount Zircon Spring Water Company marketed the water of Mount Zircon, and Moontide Spring in Milton Plantation near Rumford was once famous for its colorless, transparent, pure product.

Around 1900 water from mineral springs in Auburn, Lewiston and Greene was sold as table water in Lewiston and Auburn. Residents of this central Maine urban metropolis had their particular favorites. Auburn’s five bottling companies were the Crystal Spring Bottling Company, the Mount Hozee Mineral Spring Company, The Lake Auburn Mineral Spring Company, Pejepscot owned by Simon Merrill, and Field owned by G. H. Field. At one point there was something of a brouhaha when the Lake Auburn Mineral Spring Company was accused of passing off water from Lake Auburn as mineral water. As the water from Lake Auburn is noted for its clarity and purity, it is doubtful that anyone could have apprehended a distinction between it and mineral spring water. The best-known Greene mineral water came from Glenrock Mineral Spring. Glenrock Mineral Spring Water was recommended for treatment of liver, kidney and bladder problems. While its major market was in Lewiston and Auburn, it

Discover Maine

was also marketed as far away as Providence, Rhode Island. Greene entrepreneurs also marketed water from three other springs. Their names speak to the competition of the day: Diamond, Switzerland and Purity. The proprietors of Highland Mineral Spring quite obviously hoped to rival Poland Spring and Mount Zircon. They had their central offices on Fifth Avenue in New York City and advertised that their particular brand was good for dyspepsia, constipation, biliousness and all forms of skin, kidney and bladder diseases. Today the priciest bottled water is Gleneagles from Scotland. It is described simply as “beautiful in taste and presentation.” Perhaps if Highland Spring had used similar marketing phraseology, it might still be around. After all, seeing words like constipation and biliousness does not tend to lead one to the dinner table. Other businesses from this area are featured in the color section.

B.C. HEATING ~ BARRY COLLETTE ~

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Pleasant River Motel “Stay with us while you experience the wonders of western Maine”

Easy Access to Everything Only Minutes to Sunday River & Mt. Abram Coin Laundry • Cable TV • Phone • Private Tub Showers

207-836-3575 • 1-800-847-7786 www.pleasantrivermotel.net 764 W. Bethel Road, Route 2 West • West Bethel, Maine 04286

Discover Maine 26

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Camp Silver Lake, Roxbury. Item #102269 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

S-K QUALITY FUELS, INC. Residential & Commercial Delivery 24 Hour Emergency Service Now offering a 4x4 delivery truck for your convenience and better service.

Casino at the Rangeley Lake Hotel. Item #109798 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

On the West Shore of Dodge Pond

Midway between Rangeley and Oquossoc

~ Michael Koob ~

Easy access to dining and shopping in both towns, all of the Rangeley Lakes, the Appalachian Trail, and Mingo Springs Golf Course.

Rt. 4, PO Box 295, Oquossoc, ME 04964

www.wilhelmreichmuseum.org

KOOB’S

The Wilhelm Reich Museum at Orgonon

207-864-HEAT

GARAGE & AUTO BODY Tune-Ups • Batteries Glass Replacement Auto Body Work • Sanding Flat Bed Hauling ~ 24-Hour Towing ~ Michael Koob, President

864-3737 Route 4, Oquossoc

The Wilhelm Reich Museum is an historic site and science museum devoted to the work and life of renowned physician/scientist Wilhelm Reich Free Natural Science Programs Every Sunday 2-4PM in July and August Nature Trail Activities for Children Inside and Out

July & August Wed-Sun 1-5PM September Sun Only 1-5PM

Off Route 4 Dodge Pond Road Rangeley Groups by Appt. • 864-3443

Orgonon, Box 687, Rangeley, ME 04970

www.wilhelmreichmuseum.org

Sam-O-Set 4 Seasons Housekeeping Cottages and Dockside Sports Center Marshall & Jackie Swain

Sandy Swimming Area

Fishing Boating Boat Rentals Southshore Drive • Rangeley

864-2424 • 864-5137

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Discover Maine

The Proud Franco-American Heritage Of Lewiston-Auburn Thousands moved into Lewiston and Auburn during the 1800s

by James Nalley n the 1860s, well before the mass European immigration into the United States had begun, thousands of French-speaking families (also known as Francophones) arrived in New England from Québec and New Brunswick, Canada. They moved into the industrialized areas of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts to work in the textile mills and shoe factories with one similar goal: to create a better life for themselves and their families. The Lewiston-Auburn region was especially affected due to the large number of factories within its relatively small population. But much like other proud cultures, the Franco-Americans tried desperately to blend into the community and create a new sense of “home” while remaining true to their heritage. With a strong social network and religious devotion to match, their ethnic

MAPS OF MAINE (AND MOST EVERYWHERE ELSE)

pride continued successfully throughout the years and it is still very noticeable to this day. After their arrival, the new FrancoAmericans easily found work in the region’s industries. As stated in the article “French-Canadian Americans” by Marianne Fedunkiw, “Work in the mills and the lumber industry was (far better than)… the backbreaking farm work in Québec.” Fedunkiw continued, “Six mills opened in the Lewiston area of the state of Maine alone between 1819 and 1869.” Ironically, it was the American Civil War that tragically took many American lives but in return brought growth and prosperity to portions of New England at the same time. Names such as Continental, Bates, Lincoln, Aurora and Lewiston were all mills in search of workers due to the war’s need for cotton and fabric. Joshua Daigle,

in his article “Historic Lewiston: FrancoAmerican Origins” wrote, “The population exploded during this time, increasing from just 5,000 in 1850 to 7,500 in 1860 and increasing to 23,000 by the turn of the century.” As a result of the growing population, a need for everyday supplies and services became necessary, which produced small Franco-American stores throughout the town. But the store owners were the lucky ones, because the factory workers endured long hours and low pay without any sort of regulation or safety control. Daigle continued, “Many people currently living in Lewiston can recall stories of their fathers or grandfathers working 12- to 14-hour days making less than a dollar a day.” With only a small amount of free time available, Franco-Americans sought to (Continued on page 29)

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Discover Maine 28

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

(Continued from page 27)

build a sense of community like what they were used to back home. The community, much like the “quarters” and “districts” of other ethnic groups, was known as “Little Canada.” Located on the banks of the Androscoggin River just over the Lewiston-Auburn Bridge, it was a denselyconstructed neighborhood with buildings three and four stories high that were all stacked against one another. Its borders consisted of River Street and a portion of Oxford Street, although many people considered Lincoln, Chestnut, and Cedar Streets to be part of the neighborhood as well. It was a thriving community where everyone seemed to know each other and the windows were close enough so that neighbors could chat without leaving the building. It provided the overall convenience of proximity to work, friends, family, stores and restaurants. Across the Androscoggin River in the city of Auburn, the influx of FrenchCanadians had also changed its community. As much as Lewiston was known for

its textiles, Auburn was known for its shoes. Much like Lewiston, its employers actively recruited French Canadians to work in their factories. According to a 2008 study “Shoe Mills and French Canadian Workers in Auburn, Maine” at Bowdoin College, “The workers migrated (with plans to) only stay for a short while to earn money, but over time many of them brought their families and settled in Auburn permanently.” The increase in population and growing number of mills led to dramatic adjustments for its residents and caused some tension in the community. But overall, the shoe-manufacturing industry was the primary aspect that shaped the social history of Auburn. According to the Auburn Historical Committee, “It can be truly stated that Auburn made shoes, but shoes made Auburn.” For both cities, the new Franco-American residents had created a new home, found employment (even under sub-standard working conditions) and created a strong sense of community. But an important aspect of their lifestyle was miss-

Discover Maine

ing: a center to observe their Catholic religion. As they faithfully attended the local English-speaking services, they struggled with the language barrier. Many of them were in search of services in French. Answering the need in 1857, the Diocese of Portland assigned a French-speaking priest to provide religious services in the basement of Saint Joseph’s church. As word of the French service spread, the numbers quickly grew and by 1869, the basement of Saint Joseph’s was filled to capacity with more than 1,000 attendees. As the “History of the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul” states, “The French congregation moved from the basement of Saint Joseph’s church to Saint John, a storefront chapel. The first mass of the new French parish at Saint John’s was celebrated on July 2, 1870.” By the following year, the chapel had again become overcrowded, and a campaign to build an even larger church had begun. By 1872, the cornerstone of Saint Peter’s church was laid, with its completion in 1873. (Continued on page 31)

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Discover Maine 30

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

(Continued from page 29)

In 1905 the church had attracted a regular following of 10,000 attendees. As a result, the original Saint Peter’s church was demolished with a new goal of building an even larger structure to handle the unusual growth. 33 years later, after much planning, effort and financial support from its community members, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul was dedicated on Oct. 23, 1938. Today it continues to offer guidance in every aspect of spiritual, social and educational needs. The second largest church in New England, it stands as a symbol of faith and devotion of the French immigrants who helped to build it. As Rev. Francois Drouin stated, “The people and their clergy were making plans and saying: ‘Let us build a temple of such beauty and serene majesty that the generations to come will look upon it as an impossible dream come true in the modest city of Lewiston, Maine.” Across town in “Little Canada,” another Catholic Parish known as St. Mary’s was founded in 1907. Located on the corner

of Cedar and Oxford Street, the parish thrived for many years and, as stated in the “History of St. Mary’s Parish,” it was a “well-attended church.” However, due to the decline of the industries that once encouraged families to stay in the neighborhood, the church began to suffer financially. After years of financial decline, it was announced that St. Mary’s would be closed by the Catholic Diocese of Portland on July 1, 2000. While other communities would have let the building deteriorate and disappear into history, “many people in the community wanted to preserve this symbol of Franco-American culture.” Community members from both Lewiston and Auburn immediately contacted the Diocese and proposed that the building be turned over in order to create a Franco-American Heritage Center. After much anticipation and negotiation, Bishop Joseph Gerry announced on June 25, 2000, that the Catholic Diocese of Portland had agreed to turn over ownership to the community group. Today, the Franco-American Heritage Center,

Discover Maine

also known as “Le Centre d’Héritage Franco-Américain” stands proudly on the corner of its original location. It is a thriving organization that includes a social space (Heritage Hall) that is used for public gatherings and themed events and the larger Performance Hall, which serves as the home to the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, the Maine Music Society and the Androscoggin Dance Company. It also offers an annual FrancoFun Festival, an exciting Piano Series and a popular “Medieval Fest” with costumed actors. It is truly a shining example of what proud community members can do to protect a historic building from abandonment and transform it into one of the cultural centers of the region. As the mission of the Franco-American Heritage Center states, “The mission…is to celebrate and preserve the Franco-American heritage while welcoming the cultures of our neighbors.” Today, the boundaries of “Little Canada” are still relatively clear, but many buildings have disappeared with time. (Continued on page 32)

Come Get Hooked!

70 Lincoln Street, Lewiston

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Discover Maine 32

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

(Continued from page 31)

Perhaps a successful revitalization effort could help transform the neighborhood back into the thriving community that it once was. Until then, only time will tell. The Franco-Americans have a long and proud history in the Lewiston-Auburn region. It is noticeable in everything from activities and religious services at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul to events

According to a case study by Tammy Donovan at the University of Southern Maine, “At the peak of population, Little Canada had 42 or more buildings... Many of these people living in Little Canada found jobs in the nearby mills and factories, while others who could afford to, established shops and stores within the neighborhood. Little Canada was a neighborhood full of life, and its close proximity of buildings created a community dependent on one another.” But as the need for the factories began to wane, the community was deeply affected. One by one, the once successful businesses began to disappear. Only a fortunate handful remained that included FX Marcotte, a furniture store established in 1883, and Labadie’s Bakery, which was founded in 1934. Paul Dubois, co-owner of FX Marcotte, has fond memories of delivering furniture into the neighborhood during its heyday and is saddened by the decline, “At one time you could eat off the floors they were so clean… it is not like that now.”

such as the Franco Fun Festival produced by the Heritage Center. Even at LewistonAuburn College, there are French Sing-aLong Sessions held during lunch hours. Each of these activities continues to prove that although times may change and buildings may fall, the proud FrancoAmerican Heritage is still strong and alive.

Farnsworth Mill, Lisbon Center. Item #107770 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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In addition to running the rom early 1942 to early store, my father also worked the 1943 the United States night shift at the Ship Yard in Navy had a small detachSouth Portland. It was customment of patrol aircraft based at ary for my father to sleep from 4 the Auburn/Lewiston (A & L), p.m. to 9 p.m. and then leave for Maine airport. In early 1943 the work at 10 p.m. My father’s airport was turned over to the habit was to sleep in his one British for their use as a Royal piece Long Johns during the Navy Flight Training Facility. winter months because of the When the U.S. Navy operated lack of heat on the third floor. out of the A&L Airport, they Sometime in late October or referred to this base as the early November one of the pa“United States Naval Auxiliary by Norman Houle trol aircraft was returning to Air Facility Auburn Maine.” The base in the late afternoon and U.S. Navy established their opdecided to do a Buzz Job on the eration in what had been a tavern called “The Landing.” It was located across the street from Navy Operation next to The Airport Store. In order to do a the airport. My mother and father operated The Airport Store good Buzz Job, I was informed that the pilots should not fly directly over the intended target but rather to one side, in a slight next to The Landing. The building that housed the store had three floors — the bank, so as to get a good view of the target. It is also good to fly store was located on the main floor and the living quarters on the over the target as low and fast as possible in order to create as second and third floors. There was an oil furnace in the back of much noise as possible. A good pilot flying a good airplane the store, an oil operated kitchen stove on the second floor, but might also do a slow roll on climb out. On this afternoon, the pilot (using good judgment) did not do there were no heating facilities for the two bedrooms on the third (Continued on page 34) floor.

This Was A Buzz Job Bare feet and long johns in the back yard

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Main St., Lisbon • 353-4335

Bill’s Carpentry Inc. Newly incorporated in 2004, Bill’s Carpentry has been serving southern Maine and the midcoast region since 1986. Whether you are thinking of remodeling your current home or building your dream home, Bill’s Carpentry is your total turnkey solution. We will guide you through the process from design to the day you move in. We offer top of the line quality custom craftsmanship meeting your demands in all phases of construction from the simplest of projects to the most complex.

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Discover Maine 34

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

(Continued from page 33)

a slow roll, nor did he reel in his trailing antenna. Trailing antenna — what’s that? Aircraft at that time were equipped with radios that used trailing antennas to improve the range of their radios. These antennas trailed out of the lower aft part of the aircraft with a small cone or lead weight at the end to reduce the whipping action of the antenna. It was necessary, of course, to reel in the antenna before landing — like a fisherman would reel in his fishing line — so as not to damage the antenna. Well, you guessed it. The airplane went right over the store and the lead weight hit right in the center of the roof. Had there been a target painted on the roof, the pilot would have received a perfect score. The lead weight went through the roof, smashing through the attic and ceiling slats, and eventually coming to rest on a dresser three feet from my father’s bed. Needless to say, this was the end of my father’s nap. Dad came out of the bed three feet in the air.

He hit the floor running with his bare feet, dressed only in his Long Johns. Not realizing what exactly had happened, he ran down the two flights of stairs and out the back door into the back yard. As he stood in the back yard barefoot and dressed only in his long johns, he was trying to comprehend what had just happened. Dad thought that this must have been a bad dream. After all, he did not see any fire trucks, police officers or ambulances, and there was no airplane sticking out from the roof. Dad walked into the back of the store. My mother looked at him and asked him what he was doing in the store dressed in his long johns. Dad asked Mom, “What happened?” She told him that an airplane had just flown over the store and to go back to bed. He told her that he was not going back to bed and that she should come upstairs and see what had just come through the bedroom ceiling. Later that night the men who commuted to the Ship Yard with my father came to pick him up. Dad was very quick to tell them about the Buzz Job, but of course he left out the part about standing in the back yard barefoot in his long johns.

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Mill Pond, Monmouth. Item #101583 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Lewis Millett: “I’ve Fought When Others Feared To Serve.” Decorated Colonel from Mechanic Falls fought in three wars by James Nalley

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n Feb. 7, 1951 North Korean troops had taken hold of a hill near the village of Soam-Ni. Similar in terrain to other strategic hills during the Korean War, this one was named Hill 180 and it was a position that the United States military forces had to reclaim. Entrenched at the base of the hill was Company E of the U.S. Army’s 27th Infantry led by a 31year-old captain from Mechanic Falls, Maine. By the end of the day, the hill was re-taken and the captain’s actions would earn him the Congressional Medal of Honor. President Harry Truman presented the award to him later that summer. It was noted that he was one of only a handful of recipients who actually accepted the honor in person, since most were usually killed performing the type of action that Millett had completed. Lewis Lee Millett was born on Dec. 15, 1920 in Mechanic Falls. Throughout his childhood his admiration for military service was strong, and he was proud to share the fact that both an uncle had fought in World War I (with the 101st Field Artillery Regiment of the Massachusetts Army National Guard), and a greatgrandfather had served in the American Civil War. While still in high school he enlisted in the Massachusetts National Guard (the same regiment that his uncle had served in) but dreamed of traveling abroad to fight for the country that he was so proud of. By the time he was 20 years old, the war in Europe had escalated, and with much anticipation, he had joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and entered gunnery school with hopes of fulfilling his (Continued on page 38)

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Discover Maine 38

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

(Continued from page 37)

vision in Tunisia. His service during World War II would be exemplary and his actions were ones that began to resemble scenes from a movie. During one engagement, Millett drove a burning half-track vehicle filled with ammunition away from a group of Allied soldiers and jumped to safety just seconds before it exploded. That brave action earned him a Silver Star, one of the U.S. Army’s highest decorations. In another engagement, he fired machine guns mounted on a half-track and shot down a Messerschmitt Me-109 fighter plane that had been strafing Allied soldiers. Subsequently, he joined the battles on the Italian front at Salerno as well as Anzio. It was during the Italian campaign when the U.S. Army discovered information about Millett’s past and 1941 desertion. He was immediately court-martialed, fined $52 and stripped of his privileges. As his brother remembered, “He didn’t give a hoot about the leave privileges because he wasn’t going anywhere anyway, but he was a little annoyed about the 52 bucks.” A few

dream. By 1940 the U.S. had still not officially entered the war, and according to his brother in a 2009 Boston Globe interview, “He was mad because it didn’t look like the United States was going to go…he wanted to fight against Hitler.” Sensing that it would not change; he deserted and made a run for the Canadian border. After hitchhiking to Canada, Millett enlisted in the Canadian Army and was assigned to the Royal Canadian Artillery Regiment. After training, his wishes were answered and he was deployed to London, England, where he manned an antiaircraft gun during the Blitz. But by the time he had arrived in England, the U.S. had officially entered the war. Not one to sit on the sidelines of battle, Millett transferred to the U.S. Army in 1942 for ground action on the European front as an anti-tank gunner. With the growing use of German tanks in North Africa and the need for strong anti-tank gunners, he was assigned to the 27th Armored Field Artillery Regiment of the 1st Armored Di-

weeks later, in a reversal of fortune, former sergeant Millett was awarded a battlefield commission with a rank of second lieutenant. After World War II, Millett returned home to pursue a bachelor’s degree at Bates College in Lewiston, but only completed three years before the Korean War called him back into service. In 1951 Millett (a U.S. Army Captain) was assigned to command Company E of the 27th Infantry Regiment. On February 7 his company was entrenched at the base of an enemy-controlled hill known as Hill 180. As one platoon became pinned down by heavy machine-gun fire, Millett recalled in a 2006 interview with the Journal of Military History, “I saw Chinese propaganda flyers saying that Americans were afraid of hand-to-hand combat. When I read that, I thought, I’ll show you.” He immediately ordered his men to fix bayonets, and despite being wounded in the leg, he led another platoon in a direct bayonet-assault up the intimidating hill. With a bayoneted rifle in one hand and hand Rawn Phinney Joyce Phinney

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

grenades in the other, Millett screamed encouragement at his soldiers as they valiantly pushed toward the summit. As his Medal of Honor citation states, “Despite vicious opposing fire… His dauntless leadership and personal courage so inspired his men that they stormed into the hostile position and used their bayonets with such lethal effect that the enemy fled in wild disorder.” Even though his actions at Hill 180 had earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor, he actually participated in yet another bayonet charge during the same month that earned him a Distinguished Service Cross (the military’s second-highest decoration). At that point, when other highly decorated soldiers might have retired and moved into civilian life, Millett did the opposite. He attended Ranger School in Fort Benning, Georgia, and was subsequently assigned to the 101st Airborne Division as an intelligence officer. During the 1960s he commanded the Army Security Agency training center at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. The position would even-

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tually lead to his role as a military “advisor” in the Vietnam War, where he also established a Reconnaissance-Commando training program that would train small units for covert operations. By 1973 Millett finally retired from the U.S. Army at the rank of full colonel (although he later stated that he retired because he felt that the U.S. had “quit” in Vietnam). During retirement, according to a Washington Post article about Millett, “He championed the return of U.S. prisoners-of-war from Vietnam and then worked as a deputy sheriff in Trenton, Tennessee, before settling in the San Jacinto Mountains resort village of Idyllwild, California, across the street from an American Legion post.” Things seemed relatively quiet in his retirement years. But that changed in 1985, when his son (Army Staff Sergeant John Millett) was one of 240 soldiers killed in an airplane crash in Newfoundland. The plane was returning home from a peacekeeping mission in the Middle East. The tragedy inspired the retired Millett to compose a poem entitled,

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“A Soldier’s Prayer.” Throughout the rest of his life he proudly appeared at events honoring veterans, and often recited the poem that began with the opening: “I’ve fought when others feared to serve.” On Nov. 14, 2009 Lewis Millett died of heart failure at the Jerry L Pettis Memorial V.A. Medical Center in Loma Linda, California. He was buried at the Riverside National Cemetery in California and his grave is located in Section 2, No. 1910. It was the end of an illustrious career and life that can be best summed up in using one of his quotes, “I believe in freedom, I believe deeply in it. I’ve fought in three wars, and volunteered for all of them, because I believed as a free man that it was my duty to help those under the attack of tyranny. Just as simple as that.” 

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Mellie Dunham World-class snowshoe maker from Norway by James Nalley ixty odd years ago a farmer boy snapped the filling in his father’s snowshoes. This was a serious calamity in the household, for men who could turn the trick of refilling the frames lived miles way. To reach them, it meant for the boy a long, tedious hike through deep snow and unbroken forest. The Yankee spirit of adventure and resourcefulness prompted the youngster to experiment. He procured strips of a colt’s skin and after much labor, completed the repairs. That is how the “Dunham Snowshoes” were born and that is what a promotional four-panel brochure stated in 1926 about Mellie Dunham from Norway, Maine. Well before his fame as Maine’s champion fiddler, he had excelled in the field of snowshoe making with a reputation that even had Commodore Robert Peary requesting 60 pairs for his legendary North Pole expedition in 1905. Alanson Mellen Dunham, better known as “Mellie” Dunham, was born on July 29, 1853, in Norway. Growing up on a farm and living through the usual hard winters in the area, his first experiments in snowshoes were around the age of 13. His designs were based on necessity, and limited to his immediate family and neighbors. But after the shoes stood up to hard and consistent usage, word spread throughout the area and orders began pouring in.

Then, one pair at a time, he slowly constructed the “Dunham Shoes” in a small workshop in the corner of the kitchen. By 1878 business increased, and the colt skin was replaced with stronger cowhide strips, which gave it overall strength and flexibility. As stated in the 1926 brochure, “Only the best ash and clearest rawhide were used, which meant life and staying qualities. In 1902 a shop was built on the farm and some five hundred pairs of first quality handmade snowshoes were turned out nearly every year.” The model included wide curves and a front toe that was turned up three inches to handle every type of snow condition. Dunham continued producing snowshoes at a blistering pace and only stopped when his fiddling took him away on tour. He even added a Ladies’ Model (endorsed by his wife “Gram”) that also included a front toe turned up three inches but differed in design with a wider body. In 1905 Dunham received his greatest marketable promotion. Commodore Robert Peary received a $50,000 gift by George Crocker to embark on an expedition with the goal of reaching the North Pole. Knowing that his new ship The Roosevelt could only go as far as an area north of Greenland, he ordered 60 pairs of snowshoes from Dunham for the dogsled drive to the pole.

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

The shoes were especially adapted for fast travel with special features such as a more narrow design, toes turned up four inches (instead of three) to handle deep snow and icy crusts, and tails slightly turned up to provide ease in turning. The “high-performance” shoes were eventually marketed as the “Style P-Peary Model.” Although Peary did not successfully reach the North Pole, he did complete approximately 10 miles a day. Peary’s use of the snowshoes would become one of Dunham’s proudest achievements. By the 1920s Norway was being billed as “The Snowshoe Capital of the World,” and several others (even former employees of Dunham) began creating their own versions. According to an article about Mellie Dunham by David Sanderson, “Unlike other makers who had begun to automate the process, Mellie continued to hand lace his shoes, working alone in the shop on his farm near Norway.” On Sept. 27, 1931 Dunham died at the age of 78 in Lewiston after a two-week illness. He was buried in Pine Grove Cemetery in South Paris. Although the news coverage focused more on his fiddling, it was clear that his first talent was making quality snowshoes that could withstand the harsh elements of the Arctic Circle. As stated in the promotional material, “Those qualities that appealed to the intrepid explorer Peary, and hundreds of woodsmen and trappers, make the Dunham snowshoe safe and sure for recreation or business.” Today, the actual Dunham snowshoes from the 1905 Peary Expedition are part of the permanent collection at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. 

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Mellie Dunham of Norway making snowshoes, ca. 1925. Dunham made snowshoes, notably making 60 pairs of snowshoes for Commodore Robert Peary for an expedition to the North Pole. Detail of item #18986 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com

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Discover Maine 42

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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The Finnish Community Of West Paris Immigrants arrived in the late 1800s by Matthew Jude Barker In the late 19th century a great number of immigrants from the northeastern area of Finland began to settle in West Paris, Oxford County, Maine. The first known Finn to arrive here was Jaakko Mikkonen in 1890; he later Americanized his name to Jacob McKeen. He saved money as a woodworker to bring over friends and relatives from the old country, and they, likewise, brought over more friends and relatives. Like the Irish families who settled in Maine, they were part of a successful “chain migration.’’ Interestingly, many Finnish families also settled in the town of Greenwood in Oxford County, where a sizable Irish enclave had also formed. The Finns, again like the Irish, had suffered a

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years.’’ 15 percent of Finland’s population perished at this time and many more were forced to emigrate. Howie Parsons, Owner 207

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The Finnish men worked in the lumber camps in and around Paris, an occupation many of them had followed back in Finland. Eventually they were able to purchase farms, usually containing many acres. The usual farm animals were raised, especially hens. They sold the eggs to the National Cooperative Store in West Paris. By 1900 Jacob McKeen, who had immigrated to the United States in 1888, was the owner of a substantial farm which he operated with his second wife, Mary. The National Cooperative Store, the “Co-op,’’ was organized in 1923 by seven people under the leadership of the West Paris Finnish Church’s (Continued on page 45)

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

(Continued from page 43)

minister, Eino J. Hamalainen. The reasons given for forming the store were the high cost of feeds and grain, economics and language, according to Duane C. Hayes, who wrote a brief sketch of the cooperative for a modern history of Paris. The store became a noted landmark and the focal point for retail business in West Paris for generations to come. It closed in the fall of 1974. Among the many prominent Finnish who settled in the West Paris area were families named Hamalainen, Immonen, Larson, Polvinen, Mustonen, McKeen, Tamminen, Tikander, Koskela, Huotari, Heikkinen, and Korhonen. In the early days of the community Lauri Immonen, a fluent English speaker, was one of its successful leaders. As Laila Suomela wrote about the Finnish enclave, “The natural independence and unretractable nature of Finnish people caused divisions among them. They tended to settle into two groups — the ‘church’ Finns and the ‘Free Thinkers,’

who were either rightist (socialist) or leftist. The leftists were very small in number, although they held their own dances every other Saturday night, and the other Saturdays the rightists held their dances’’ (see Paris, Maine — The Second Hundred Years, 1994). John McKeen, son of Jacob and Mary, was a 1919 graduate of Bates College, county commissioner, state representative, past master of West Paris Grange, a member of the Paris school board, and president of the Maine Pomological Society. He was the “foremost apple grower in Oxford County,’’ according to Suomela. John built an apple cold storage plant, accompanied by a store on Route 26 in West Paris known as Wesso Orchards. This was a highly successful endeavor, and by the early 1990s had become Cooper Farms. The Finnish American Heritage Society of Maine was founded in 1982 by several concerned Finnish-Americans who included Raymond and Eva Hilden of South Paris, Taisto and Eleanor Koskela of Woodstock, and Ena and Katherine

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Heikkinen of Falmouth. After the group’s first meeting on January 17, 1982, it was officially organized with 138 charter members. Within ten years the society had a membership of almost 300. After the Ring-McKeon American Legion Post in West Paris was dissolved, the F.A.H.S.O.M. purchased the building in 1990 and thus was born the Finnish American Heritage Center. The F.A.H.S.O.M. continues as a “nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving Finnish heritage, celebrating Finnish culture and educating the community about Finnish customs,’’ according to their website at www.mainefinns.org. One of their most recent events was a public supper held in October 2010, with almost 100 people in attendance. The society is also on Facebook. For more information, contact them online or write to them at PO Box 294, 8 Maple Street, West Paris, Maine, 04289.

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Discover Maine 46

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Sportsmen’s Paradise The Rangeley Lakes “by the book” by Matthew Jude Barker ountless guide books have been published on the famous Rangeley Lakes region of western Maine. There have been so many that it is difficult to choose which ones to read to help one explore this beautiful locality. Some date from the 19th century and are of interest to the historically minded. Others were published in the mid-20th century and are still somewhat reliable and relevant. And still others are up-todate and cover a wide range of topics, from the history of the region to the type of fish and game one can catch. One of the earlier, more popular guides was published in Boston in 1885 and took advantage of the great increase in visitors to the region at the time. This book’s title was typical of the era, and it is absurdly too long: “Sportsmen’s and Tourists’ GUIDE BOOK to the Dead River Region of Maine, Including a Description of Tim, Seven, Chain, Alder Stream, Flagstaff, Jim, Spectacle, King and Bartlett, Spencer, Carrying Place, and other ponds, Rangeley Lakes and Lakes Megantic and Spider in Canada. Also contains the Only Correct Map of the Region, Drawn expressly for this work, together with ‘’Hints on Camping,’’ Routes, Hotels, Guides, Game and Fish Laws of Maine, and Much Other Valuable Information.’’ While the guide’s cre-

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ators went crazily overboard with the title, the book is nonetheless filled with fascinating information. The Rangeley Lakes are composed of seven lakes, known in 1885 as “Lake Umbagog,’’ “Lake Welokennebacook’’ “Lake Molechunkamunk’’ ‘’Lake Mooselucmaguntic,’’ “Cupsuptic Lakes’’ “Kennebago Lake,’’ and “Oquossoc or Rangeley Lake,’’ as well as a pond named “Little Kennebago.’’ Some of this Algonquian Indian nomenclature was later changed to English names. The guide book stated that the lakes were “noted throughout the United States as a famous resort for trout fishing.’’ The guide book then describes all seven lakes, along with information on hotels, the kind of fish one can catch, the availability of hunting lodges and camp sites, and other useful data for sportsmen and tourists. Lake Umbagog, a large part of which is in Coos County, New Hampshire, was a great place to catch pickerel and trout. A worthy hotel named ‘’The Lakeside’’ stood on its shores, and a steamer called the ‘’Parmachennee’’ plied its waters every day, leaving the boat landing near the hotel at 7:30 a.m. (Continued on page 48)

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207.364.8748 Whether you are relocating to The River Valley or traveling through for a day trip be assured you are in good hands. Med-Care Ambulance proudly holds the designation of a HeartSafe and Risk Watch Community. For more information about Automated External Defibrillators within the community or becoming trained in CPR or First Aid, stop by or visit us on the web.

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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Discover Maine 48

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

(Continued from page 46)

made about it. Also called the Great Lake, it contains several islands including Toothaker or Big Island. Besides a number of private camps, a camp open to the public was situated near the mouth of Bemis Stream. It contained a community camp building and many log cabins that tourists could rent at $2 a day. Again, steamers plied these waters. Cupsuptic Lake, the smallest of the lakes, is situated to the north of Mooselucmaguntic, and home to a number of Maine guides. One Capt. Barker operated a steamer from Indian Rock across the lake to a nearby river, and up the river to waterfalls that were connected by tote road to Lincoln Pond. Rangeley Lake (Oquossoc) is the most eastern of the group. Near a boat landing stood the Mountain View House, where one could hire a carriage to make the trip to Rangeley Village, about seven miles away. Once again, a steamer was available to take visitors from this area to “Rangeley City’’ and “Greenvale.’’ “The sail across the lake is charming, the steamer

Lake Welokennebacook, also known as Lower Richardson Lake, lies five miles east of Umbagog, and contained many private camps, as well as the Middle Dam Hotel, which “commanded a fine view of the lakes.’’ This area was a “favorite resort for sportsmen, as it is centrally located.’’ Two steamships plied these waters twice daily. Lake Molechunkamunk, or Upper Richardson, is five miles long and “one of the most beautiful lakes in the group.’’ A first-class hotel called the lake home, as did many camps with such colorful names as Aziscohos, Whitney, Prospect, and Bellevue. A group of hiking trails extended a mile to the north and northwest, to Richardson Pond and Beaver Pond respectively. These ponds were well stocked with trout and waterfowl, moose, bear, and deer were prevalent in the area. The next lake, Mooselucmaguntic or Mooselookmeguntic, is famous throughout Maine, especially for the many jokes

skirting along the northern shore for six miles until it makes its first landing at Rangeley Lake,’’ the guide book declared. Kennebago Lake is eleven miles from Rangeley Lake, and for $2.00 a day visitors could rest their weary bones at the Forest Retreat House. Tourists could leave this boarding house and travel in a relatively short time to another hotel, the Rangeley Lake House, in Rangeley. At the extreme western edge of the lake was “Crosby’s Camps.’’ A group of coves were “the best places for fly-fishing, and the northern shore is a good trolling ground.’’ The pond known as Little Kennebago was an excellent fishing spot, and the Seven Ponds could be reached easily from this point. Thus ends our 1885 tour of the Rangeley Lakes. An overriding theme of this tour, besides the great fishing, is the interconnectedness of this entire region. By steamboat, by carriage, or on foot, sportsmen and tourists could enjoy all of the Rangeley Lakes in a matter of a week or two. One frequent Boston visitor, Robert G. McClung, published his own guide in May 1925 and nicely summed up the lakes: “Of all our American lakes, the Rangeley Lakes, situated in the western part of Maine, near the Canadian line, are the most interesting and the most beautiful. The trout and salmon fishing has made these lakes famous...’’ Many thousands of visitors to the region would probably agree with Mr. McClung. To this day it remains a popular destination for sportsmen and tourists alike.

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Partial 1938 Highway Map of Androscoggin County Available at: www.Galeyrie.com

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

New Hampshire Took Some Acreage From Henry Young Brown Confusion on borders placed Maine land in New Hampshire by Ian MacKinnon

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lthough a boundary dispute between Massachusetts and New Hampshire cost Henry Young Brown some valuable acreage during the 1760s, he etched his name in Maine history. In the early 1760s, financially hardpressed Massachusetts lacked sufficient hard currency to pay cash to militiamen who, like Henry Young Brown, saw service during the French and Indian War. However, Massachusetts could offer its veterans another incentive: land galore in Maine, land awaiting a settler’s ax and plow. Now in their 20s, 30s and 40s, some veterans opted for land rather than cash. Henry Young Brown typified the upscale New England farmer. He was born in Haverhill in October 1730; other sources place his birth in Kingston, New Hampshire. Brown later married Elizabeth Lovejoy from Andover in Massachusetts. Possibly involved in fighting in Nova Scotia, he returned home, worked hard, invested wisely, and became a land proprietor in Maine. In May 1763 Brown petitioned “his Excellency Francis Barnard, Esq, Captain General and Commander in Chief ” and the “House of Representatives for said

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Province in General Court.” His eye cast on Maine, Brown informed Barnard that “there are a quantity of unappropriated Lands upon Saco River above Colonel [Joseph] Frye’s purchase belonging to the Province.” Brown referred to a large township granted to Frye on March 3, 1762. Evidently believing that Frye could not successfully “settle” the entire township, Brown informed Barnard that “your Memorialist, being desirous of purchasing a township there for immediate settlement, humbly begs he may be allowed that liberty.” The Massachusetts General Court quickly granted Brown his request — and more. In January 1764 he received “a Grant of a Township to be laid out on [the] Saco River” upstream from Frye’s township. Unlike many land-hungry veterans, Brown had some money; he issued two bonds that covered the township’s purchase and his intention “to perform the Settlement of the Town,” then “immediately proceeded” to build roads and bring “Twelve families in one year” to his township. Then in October 1765 Brown learned

“that New Hampshire Claimed the Greatest part” of his township. The Massachusetts General Court then sent Benjamin Lincoln “and others” to “view the foundation of the [border] dispute between the two Governments.” Based on Lincoln’s report, Massachusetts legislators initially decided that Brown’s acreage lay in Maine; within a year, about one-third of that land suddenly “moved” to New Hampshire as the two colonies sought to settle their dicey boundary issue. On June 25, 1766 the Massachusetts General Court awarded Brown 11,000 acres adjacent to his original grant. According to a General Court resolution, the “11,000 acres of land East of Saco River” were granted “in full Consideration of all the demands” placed by Brown “against this province” for his lands lost “by the Disputed lines between this province and the province of New Hampshire.” Brown then issued Massachusetts “a Quit Claim for all the Lands” he had purchased in 1764. Along the way, Brown also received a third land grant for 4,000 acres. He later petitioned the General Court to recover his expenses related to settling not only

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the original 8,544-acre grant lost to New Hampshire, but the 11,000-acre grant near “Pigwackett” (later Fryeburg). Two committees dispatched from Boston to “Take a View of what been done by him (Brown) and settlers” issued contradictory reports; the General Court rejected the initial report, and Brown rejected the follow-up report because Massachusetts had barred him “from making advantageous Terms with the Grantees under New Hampshire” to obtain financial reimbursement from that colony. And Brown claimed that “the Land (11,000 acres) proposed for him was not half so good as his first Grant (8,544 acres).” The Massachusetts General Court ultimately disagreed and decreed that the larger grant sufficed. Henry Young and Elizabeth Brown settled in their township downriver from Fryeburg. They had only one child, a daughter named Elizabeth who was born in April 1757. In that era, fecund colonists often sired multiple children; a single child might not survive infancy to carry the family name into another generation. Elizabeth would thrive until her death in June (Continued on page 54)

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Discover Maine 54

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

(Continued from page 53)

1775 that “there are five or six families of Indians hunting at Androscoggin, about twenty-five miles north of my house.” Survivors of tribes shattered during earlier wars, the Indians evidently worried settlers along the Saco River. Brown reported that “several of the [Indian] women and youngsters were at my house last week. One of them expressed much concern about the times,” a reference to the sudden American-British hostilities in Massachusetts. The Indian woman “said their men could not hunt, eat, nor sleep”; they kept “calling together every night … all night, ‘O strange Englishmen kill one, another,” Brown wrote. “One of the party is gone to [British] Canada,” and among those who visited Brownfield, “some of them were painted.” “As it was the first time they came in paint, it surprised some of our women,” he reported. “I thought it best you should know of their concern and uneasiness.” Worried about the Indians’ intentions — Canadian Indians later wreaked havoc in upstate New York and Vermont during General John Burgoyne’s 1777 invasion — Brown noted that “at this day it ap-

1790; she married a Haverhill militia colonel and bore him two daughters and two sons. In mid-June 1768 the Congregationalist minister Reverend Paul Coffin explored western Maine after riding out from his home. Traveling northwest along the Saco River, he encountered “Capt. H. Young Brown,” who “conducted us from Capt. Walker’s over the river N. Westerly to his house.” Mentioning Brown’s township “lying S. Westerly of Fryeburg,” Coffin noted that Henry Young Brown “appears a sober, religious man; of a good judgment in religion, loving rational and intelligible Christianity.” The Browns sheltered Coffin and an unidentified companion for the night; Brown “treated us not only hospitably but genteelly; has an amiable and accomplished wife and a pretty daughter of about twelve years, their only child,” Coffin recorded in his journal. During the Revolutionary War, Henry Young Brown remained loyal to the fledgling United States. Keeping an eye on suspicious neighbors, he wrote “to the Massachusetts Congress” on May 16,

pears to me to be necessary for every man to be supplied with arms … We have in this Town ten guns, shot, twenty pounds of powder, and half a hundred [pounds] of lead.” Brown dispatched his letter with James Holt, another French and Indian War veteran; “if he can be supplied [with munitions], we will stand accountable, and stand ready to serve our Country,” Brown informed Massachusetts legislators. Canadian Indians never attacked Brownfield Plantation, whose inhabitants petitioned the Massachusetts General Court to practice self-governance decades later. Bay State legislators granted their permission in early 1802, and on February 20, 1802 Brownfield Plantation became the Town of Brownfield, named for Captain Brown. The honor came too late for Henry Young Brown, who had died in October 1796.

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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Hotel Cumberland, Bridgton. Item #100307 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Mount Cutler House, Hiram. Item #101035 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

n April 1907 a small advertisement in the Outing Magazine stated, “The kind of vacation that does good. Mountain climbing, canoeing, fishing… the life a boy loves. Coaching trip through the White Mountains. Supervision and companionship of college-bred leaders and master. Tutoring if desired. Eighth season begins June 27th.” The four-inch ad was about a boys’ summer camp known as “Wildmere” in the Sebago Lake Region. It was one of hundreds of camps that were spread across the 80 square miles of lakes in western Maine’s Lakes Region. Twenty years earlier, only a few camps were available that served middle- and upper-class boys with nothing to do during the summers. But by the 1900s, after business-minded individuals expanded on the idea, summer camps had become both an important mainstay of American culture and a regular part of the summer landscape in the Lakes Region of Maine. During the 1880s the idea of the summer camp was in its infancy and limited to the privileged few who could afford it. The general idea was that young boys in the middle(Continued on page 58)

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This is one of the many summer camps in the Lakes Region of Maine where there are many lakes and ponds that allow for swimming and boating activities during the summer months. Here are young women enjoying the water and two in a canoe in the foreground at a camp in Naples. This photograph is part of the Wittemann collection which is a large set of photographs taken by members of the Wittemann family and made into postcards and sold in batches to businesses in Maine. Detail of item #6595 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com

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Discover Maine 58

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

(Continued from page 57)

The overall numbers were staggering. Paris adds, “During the last two decades of the 19th century, perhaps 25 private camps were founded, the great majority of these in New Hampshire, Maine, New York, Connecticut and Vermont. As late as the 1910s, when hundreds of camps were in operation, fully 90 percent were located in the Northeast.” The Lakes Region of Maine was no exception, mostly due to the number of remote locations and its more than 50 lakes, with activities ranging from hiking and camping to boating and swimming. Each camp (without regard to any specific group) functioned as a business and was funded by either a wealthy individual, large organization or by the tuition alone. Financially, many camps thrived (and still exist today) and many disappeared over time. Fortunately, the ones that have disappeared were replaced by new ones eager to continue the American mainstay. With names such as Wawenock, Takajo, Wohelo, Indian Acres, Wildmere and Pioneer, the original focus of the region’s

to upper-class required a regimen of moral and physical improvement from a single-summer session. According to a 2008 book called “Children’s Nature: The Rise of the American Summer Camp” by Leslie Paris, “The average private camp of 1900 charged about $150 for a ten-week session… Such a fee would have represented a considerable sum at a time when the average unskilled worker’s annual wage in the northern states was $460 per year.” So a new innovation emerged where organizational camps such as the YMCA would provide a working-class alternative to the selective and privileged private camps by charging less than $5 per week. Due to the affordability, hundreds of these camps soon dotted the landscape of every possible lake and park willing to take them. Adding to the popularity as stated by Paris was that, “The idea that adolescent boys required rugged peer-group experience came into vogue… organizations began to see camps as extensions of their year-round efforts to mold better boys.”

camps was primarily based on the belief that exposure to nature can heal. By the turn of the century, the camps ranged from health retreats for health-conscious adults to nature camps for inner-city single mothers and their underprivileged children. Even malnourished children were sent to camps (usually supported by a health organization or a philanthropist). Based on records, Nutrition Camps were held by the Cumberland Country Public Health Association in Casco as late as 1925. According to the Maine Historical Society, “Like more elite campers, they took advantage of the Maine weather and lakes for recreation. Their program featured good food as well as fresh air.” Until 1892 camps were mostly for urban, underprivileged young boys or upper-class sons who needed exposure to nature as well as moral or physical improvement. Camps for young girls then began to appear, mostly as short-term “trials” within boys’ camps. As stated by the Maine Historical Society, “In 1902, three girls-only camps were in existence,

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

including Camp Wyonegonic in Bridgton that advertised freedom from enervating luxuries.” Another example was the establishment of Camp Wawenock in Raymond. First introduced in 1910 as the Camp Wawenock for Boys by William Kendall, a naturalist who worked for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, a girls’ camp soon followed called Camp Owaissa. After the boys’ camp was discontinued in 1924, the girls’ division was renamed WawenockOwaissa. In the following years, the camp expanded in both numbers of campers and buildings under its great leaders who completely loved their work: Dr. and Mrs. Elroy LaCasce (1920 to 1929), Eloise Vest and Mary Parkinson (1929 to 1948), Lillian and Syd Ussher (1949 to 1997) and June Gray and Path Smith (1956 to present), and finally Andy and Catriona Sangster (2005 to present). Each of these devoted individuals focused on every aspect of camp life while following the camp motto of “Keeping the Dream Alive.” To date, Camp Wawenock has crossed the century mark and is still going strong. While the girls’ and boys’ camps were thriving, some camps focused on families. Much like the popular health-conscious adult camps, the family-group camps offered outdoor activities and healthy dining in a central building with separate living arrangements for quality time together. This differed from the communal arrangements seen in the typical children’s camps. One example was the Pioneer Camp in Bridgton. Founded in 1914 by Lotta Pike, the essence of the camp was (Continued on page 60)

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Chow call: members of the Boy Scouts ready to serve a day's meal at a summer camp at North Sebago in 1921. Detail of item #23723 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society, Maine Today Media and www.VintageMaineImages.com The Naples Causeway is Open for Business

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

(Continued from page 59)

stead provides a number of lakeside cottages for a resort-style vacation. As stated by Sanctuary Cove, “It is the site of fond memories for many former summer guests and campers. Today the spirit of wilderness appreciation, recreation and camaraderie continues with families as fun-loving as the campers who used to romp below our ancient trees.” Another family camp that is still in existence is the Wohelo Camp in Raymond. It offers two weeks of Family Camp after the regular season is over. Much like the Pioneer Camp, families stay in rustic cabins and do a variety of activities with a common dining area. Today, the program remains popular, and as Camp Wohelo states, “Due to an almost 100-percent return rate, we have few openings each summer.” During the rest of the summer season the camp offers a well-known girls’ camp that was founded in 1907 by Luther Gulick. In the 1940s and 1950s society had become somewhat unsettled by the unstable environment surrounding World War II

described in the 1928 book “Maine: Resources, Attractions and Its People” by Harrie Coe, which stated, “Where You Rough it in Comfort… The buildings are log cabins… there are good-sized windows with muslin curtains and window shades and there are screen doors as in a city home. The beds are usually iron white metal, with National springs, first-class mattresses and clean. Because each family or party has the exclusive use of these cabins for living purposes, they provide the privacy of a summer house without the details of housekeeping, as all meals are taken in the central dining camp.” Lotta Pike managed the property for more than 50 years and sold the property to a New York City couple (Mary Ann and Michael Herman) who subsequently offered a folk dance camp. After Michael Herman’s death in 1997, the camp was sold to a company that managed a children’s summer camp for a brief period. Today, it is called Sanctuary Cove and it no longer offers a summer camp but in-

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and the Korean War. In response, 90-day summer camps had reached their peak of attendance due to the fact that each individual camp provided some level of stability. The Maine Historical Society states, “Campers were not just escaping, though. They learned about the outdoors, relationships, responsibility and healthy moral values. Some had — and still have — more specific purposes, ranging from specific religious beliefs to ecology.” With the stability came certain regimens and structure, such as strict schedules and uniforms. The majority of campers wore uniforms well into the 1940s, with girls wearing the typical dark-colored bloomers with sailor tops. In addition, the original focus on nature and its activities alone were replaced with an overall focus on team sports, good sportsmanship and conduct as well as loyalty, which is still apparent today. A good example is Camp Takajo in Naples. Founded in 1947 by Morton Goldman, the camp for boys continues to offer carefully-designed programs with a philosophy that focuses on individual growth and values. As stated by Camp Takajo, “An important goal… is to create a fun-filled, positive atmosphere in which youngsters can develop the many facets of their unlimited potential. The fundamental emphasis, brought home through sports, games… is on time-tested moral and ethical standards. Integrity, a sense of fair play, respect for one’s self and others, appreciation of nature — these are the most vital qualities.” Today, the shores of the Lakes Region are still dotted with hundreds of different summer camps with a wide range of tailored programs that include dance, music, religion, sports and recreation. The camps have come a long way from the original concept where upper-class boys were sent away from home to become “men” as they explored nature. But after the sporting events have ended, the campfire songs are sung, and the bags are packed, hopefully these young individuals will travel back home with an understanding of a vital message: how simple it is to make friends and to just get along in today’s world. 

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

The Ellis River Where past and future meet by Charles Francis oute #5 between Rumford and Andover is one of the most unique highways in the state of Maine. Newry Mine, long worked for its feldspar and other minerals and known for its watermelon tourmaline, is here. So, too, is Lovejoy Covered Bridge, the shortest covered bridge in Maine. Then there is the grave of Molly Ocket or Mollocket, the Pequaket Indian woman who made friends with early Ellis River Valley settlers as a midwife and healer. There is history here and there is beauty. Each summer tourists and campers are drawn to the Ellis River Valley to visit, and perhaps to picnic at Andover Falls, or make the Ellis River canoe trip, or hike the 900-foot trail to the peak of Plumbago Mountain, searching for some of the 107 different mineral types that are said to be found there. From many points off Route

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#5, one can view the breathtaking vista of the Aziscohos Mountains to the north of the Rangeley Lakes on the border with Quebec. And just off the highway one finds the oldest home in the area, the Ezekiel Merrill Homestead. Its huge chimney reads “E. M. 1791.” There is beauty and history along the Ellis River, and there is space-age technology. Just beyond the Ezekiel Merrill Homestead one finds the futuristic dome of the Andover Earth Station. It is still often referred to as Telstar, after the name of the satellite by local residents, in part, because that was the name given to the high school in nearby Bethel. The close proximity of the Ezekiel Merrill Homestead and the Andover Earth Station is a unique juxtaposition of past, present and future. Ezekiel Merrill was the first settler of the township that was to become Andover. The Andover Earth Station transmitted the first transatlantic television signal by way of the Telstar communication satellite. Today the Andover Earth Station serves as a stepping stone to the future of space-age communications, just as Ezekiel Merrill led the way to the founding of Andover. Ezekiel Merrill came to the Ellis River Valley from Fryeburg. He was — in the truest sense — a pioneer as well as Patriot. When the call to arms for the Battle of Lexington was sounded, Merrill responded. After his service there he moved

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to the wilds of New Hampshire and then volunteered his services again in defense of the Patriot cause. With the end of the war, Merrill decided to move further into the wilderness, this time well up the Saco River to what would become the town of Fryeburg. Still possessed by a desire for new frontiers, Merrill made one last move, this time as a representative of a company formed to settle a township on the Ellis River. The story of Ezekiel Merrill’s move to what would become Andover is actually a rather famous and well known one in Maine history. In 1789 or possibly a year earlier (there is a confusion as to the actual date) Merrill, along with his wife and children, left Bethel, where they had been staying, by canoe in the company of a group of Pequaket Indians. They paddled down the Androscoggin River to its con-

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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vergence with the Ellis, and then Pleumeur-Bodou, France. Just up Ellis River. Prior to that, one day earlier Telstar had been Merrill had cleared some land put into orbit from Cape and put up the log structures Canaveral (now Cape Kennedy) that would form the basis for in Florida. In 1969 the station the family’s new home. served as part of the communiBy all accounts, the Merrill cation systems for Neil Armfamily’s first years at their new strong’s historic walk on the home were less than easy. The moon. The Andover Earth Stanearest town with any store tion was also responsible for rewhere it was possible to trade placing the Andover area’s for any of the basic consumer hand-cranked telephone system goods of the day was Fryeburg, with the (then state-of-the-art) which could only be reached by dial system. Andover Earth Station a canoe trip to Bethel and then According to records of the by traveling 60 miles through the woods on horseback. Never- period, AT&T chose Andover for the site of its earth station betheless, Ezekiel Merrill made the journey a number of times with cause of the lay of the land and its particular geographic posiloads of furs he traded for with friendly Indians. His wife gave tion on the great circle path to Europe. While Ezekiel Merrill birth to at least one child in those early days with only Pequaket never knew of the great circle, he most likely was drawn to Anwomen to attend her. (Whether or not it was Molly Ocket is un- dover for some of the same reasons that the communications known.) In 1791 Merrill began construction of the home with giant was — location. One wonders, however, what Ezekiel Merthe chimney which still bears his initials. 170 years later, in 1961, rill would think if he were to return to his homestead and see AT&T began construction of the Andover Earth Station just looming over the trees the seven-stories-tall antenna with its gosdown the road from Ezekiel Merrill’s homestead. samer, globe-like, white, protective cover of Dacron. On July 11, 1962 the Andover Earth Station transmitted its Other businesses from this area history-making transatlantic television signal by Telstar to are featured in the color section.

River Valley Grill

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Propane Refill Station & Full Service Gas Every Day 7am - 7pm 876 Route 2, Rumford, ME 04276 207-364-8984 Owners: Judy & Kenny Gill

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Discover Maine 64

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Walker’s boat landing, Peru. Item #100638 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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Peru’s Samuel Thurston Went West He made history and left his legacy in the Oregon Territory by Ian MacKinnon Go West, young man, go West,” Horace Greeley would allegedly implore economically destitute Americans seeking land, fame, wealth, or whatever the Far West could provide that an overcrowded East could not. Many Maine men shifted westward decades before Greeley uttered his famous quote; among them was Samuel Royal Thurston, born in Monmouth on April 17, 1815 and raised in Peru. He made history and left his legacy (and a broken bottle of vinegar) in Oregon Territory, then encompassing Oregon and Washington. Thurston attended Wesleyan Seminary and Dartmouth College before shifting to Bowdoin College in Brunswick. He studied law and graduated in 1843, the year that Americans muscling into the Pacific Northwest created a provisional govern-

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ment that ultimately intended to make Oregon at least a territory, if not a state. After marrying Elizabeth McLench, Thurston gazed westward beyond the Presidential Range and the Mississippi River to Iowa, where he arrived in 1845. After publishing the Iowa Gazette (a Democratic newspaper) for two years, Thurston purchased a wagon and oxen, purchased the necessary supplies, and with Elizabeth in tow, joined a wagon train headed west along the Oregon Trail. With them went a son, a toddler named George Thurston born in Burlington, Iowa in December 1846. The Thurstons arrived in Hillsboro in Oregon Territory months later. Samuel Thurston hung out a lawyer’s shingle and quickly plunged into territorial politics. Elected to the provisional legislature in 1848, he represented the Tuality District;

Oregon became a territory that year, and in 1849 the territorial legislature renamed Thurston’s district Washington County. That same legislature appointed Thurston as the Oregon Territory’s first representative to Congress. Just a few years after the Mexican-American War, Washington sought to solidify American claims to the resource-rich Pacific Northwest. Led by Hudson Bay Company adventurers, British interests in western Canada threatened to collide with America’s Manifest Destiny. A state or two legally established along the far-off Pacific coast would bolster American rights and deter the British, still considered a potential enemy after almost initiating a shooting war in Maine’s Aroostook County. Thurston’s selection as territorial

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Discover Maine 66

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

(Continued from page 65)

representative was not axiomatic. Writing in “Fifty Years in Oregon,” T.T. Geer recalled that “in 1849, I took an active part in bringing out Samuel R. Thurston for Congress. “I wanted to beat Jim Nesmith, who concluded that he would like to represent the new territory at Washington, and Thurston was the best timber we had to do it with, I thought,” Geer wrote. “He was nominated and elected and on the morning” that Thurston left, “a crowd of us had gathered on the bank of the Willamette [River] at Oregon City.” The previous day, Thurston had visited Geer at his store in Clackamas and had “bought a bottle of vinegar,” Geer recalled. “I furnished the bottle, and he promised to return it the next morning as he started to Washington.” This comment suggests that Geer wielded a sharp mercantile pencil. The crowd watched as Thurston “appeared and went down the bank toward the ferry-boat,” Geer wrote. Then a woman “with an umbrella in her hand”

confronted Thurston as “he started to board the boat.” Enthralled onlookers watched as Thurston and the woman “began a vigorous conversation, attended by a series of gestures which indicated a decided difference of opinion,” Geer gleefully wrote. “The argument didn’t last long, however, for the woman began to hunt for Thurston’s solar plexus with the point of her umbrella, and a broadside sent his hat to [the] grass, while the Congressman-elect grabbed her wrists and held her until her ire subsided and he was allowed to depart in peace. “The melee furnished our party a deal of fun,” Geer reported. When Thurston disembarked “on our side of the river,” he explained “that he and his antagonist had had some differences.” Then Thurston informed Geer that ‘“in the scuffle I dropped your bottle and it broke in a thousand pieces.” Thurston tried to pay for the vinegar, “but I told him to let it go as the fun [of watching Thurston and the unidentified woman] was worth the price of a full-sized demijohn,”

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Geer wrote. According to the Oregon History Project, the provisional Oregon government had authorized each settler — almost all Americans imported from the East Coast — “to claim a full section of land amounting to 640 acres.” For land-hungry (and often economically poor) men and women fleeing the East’s teeming cities, 640 acres of free land became a sufficient lure to abandon home and family for the Pacific Northwest. “When Oregon became a territory” in 1848, “Congress nullified the provisional government’s land grants,” the Oregon History Project reports. Men and women, farmers and merchants, even lawyers suddenly faced possible eviction from their property; Oregonians appealed to Washington, and to Washington Samuel Thurston would go to solve the problem. In Congress, Thurston eloquently discussed his constituents’ concerns and helped author the Oregon Donation Land Claim Act. Passed in 1850, the law let “an adult white male” already residing in Oregon “claim a half section (320 acres) for

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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himself and, if he were married, another half section in his wife’s name,” as long as they farmed the land for four years, the Oregon History Project notes. Apparently the law spurred “a steep, but temporary, increase in Oregon’s marriage rate” and also recognized existing land claims. A white settler arriving in Oregon Territory “after 1850 could claim a quarter section for himself and another quarter section for his wife,” according to the Oregon History Project. With the Oregon Donation Land Claim Act, Washington would transfer 2.5 million acres to white settlers by 1862, when the Homestead Act supplanted the Oregon-specific law. In 1850 Thurston also lobbied the territorial legislature to discriminate against free blacks, of whom few had already traveled to Oregon. Playing to the racial fears aroused during the Seminole Wars in Florida, he wrote legislators that allowing free blacks into Oregon would be “a question of life or death to us.” As runaway slaves had done after seeking refuge with the Seminoles living in the Floridian swamps, free blacks migrating to Oregon

would “associate with the Indians and intermarry … there would a relationship spring up between them and the different tribes, and a mixed race would ensure inimical to the whites … and long bloody wars would be the fruits of the co-mingling of the races.” Thurston’s appeal worked; the legislature barred free blacks from settling in Oregon. His work completed in Washington, Samuel Thurston sailed for Oregon in 1851 aboard the SS California, a steamer. Thurston took ill off the Panama Coast; he died as the California neared Acapulco in Mexico on April 6, 1851. Rather than bury Thurston at sea, his traveling companions convinced the California’s skipper to let them bring the body ashore for burial in Acapulco. On January 12, 1852, the Oregon Legislature named Thurston County for Samuel Thurston; later that year, the legislature also authorized exhuming his body for reburial in Oregon. Thurston was buried with honors in Salem. According to Geer, Thurston’s gravestone was inscribed, “Here rests Oregon’s

first delegate, a man of genius and learning, a lawyer and statesman; his Christian virtues equaled by his wide philanthropy. His public acts were his best eulogium.” In fact, Geer indicated that Samuel Thurston was so popular, “nearly every boy born in the [Oregon] territory in 1850 or 1851 has Thurston for either his front or middle name,” including T. Thurston Geer. George Thurston was only 4½ when his father died. After attending different Oregon schools, he became a surveyor and explored Oregon and Idaho. Owning a ranch and raising sheep did not satisfy him, so he became a lawyer, then returned to his ranch and resumed raising sheep. He married well and had three children. Today, the memory of Samuel Thurston lives on in Thurston County, Washington State. Only 774 square miles in size (the original county “birthed” several adjoining counties in the 1850s), Thurston County is home to Olympia, the Washington state capital. 

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When you need rehabilitation therapies, choose Sandy River Center for Healthcare and Rehabilitation in Farmington. With physical, occupational and speech therapists available seven days a week, you’ll get the recovery support you need without going to a different community By calling in advance of any planned surgery, you can reserve a spot in our separate rehab unit. Our open visiting hours and Genesis environment make visits from family, friends–even your dog–much easier! Call today for more information or a tour of our facility.

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Other businesses from this area are featured in the color section.

207-778-2452 (Home) 207-491-7314 (Cell)

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778-6591 www.sandyriverhealth.com Sandy River Center for Healthcare and Rehabilitation 119 Livermore Falls Rd., Farmington

Conveniently located across from Franklin Memorial Hospital

Discount Beverages and Tobacco Agency Liquor Store • Lotto Pizza • Deli • Snacks

Jon & Lois Bubier, Owners 144 Franklin and High Streets Farmington • 778-3344

Discover Maine 68

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Phillips street scene with buildings and horse and carriages. The large building to the left was built after the fire of September 3, 1872. It was destroyed in a fire in April 1971. Item #1197 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com

Sandy River Farm Supply Pizzas • Hot & Cold Sandwiches Baked Goods • Groceries Hunting & Fishing Supplies & Licenses Open Mon-Sat 6AM-9PM Sun 7AM-7PM

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Discover Maine

Early view of Broadway looking west in Farmington

WHITEWATER FARM MARKET Russ Dodge, Jr.

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Discover Maine 70

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

The Genealogy Corner Obtaining death certificates by Charles Francis eath Certificates are one of the most overlooked sources of family history and genealogy in the pursuit of building a family tree. While there is no single reason for this, some of the explanations may relate to deciding where to look for a particular certificate the further one goes back in time or the further away one goes in terms of geography. As a general statement, death certificates are found in central repositories. In Maine this means the Office of Vital Records in Augusta. For Massachusetts, where a good number of Mainers trace their roots, it is either the Registry of Vital Records or the Massachusetts State Archives. All states of the United States have central repositories like these. For a fee one can get a death certificate by contacting the central office. That is, if the date the individual in question died is not too far in the past. If it is, it may mean contacting the particular municipal office of the community where the individual

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lived. If you are trying to locate the death certificate of a person who died in another country, say Germany, that is another matter altogether. Let us take the example of Ralph D. Olfene, whose father Otto was born in Hanover in Germany in 1866. Ralph Olfene lived all of his adult life in Maine. He lived in Auburn. For fifteen dollars we can get a certified copy of Ralph Olfene’s Death Certificate by writing the Office of Vital Records. The address is 244 Water Street, Augusta, ME 04333-0011. The certificate tells us that Olfene died in October of 1979. It also has other information useful to the family history researcher. If we wanted a copy of Ralph Olfene’s father’s Death Certificate, we could get it in the same way. That is, if he died after 1892. If Otto Olfene died in Maine before 1892, we would have to contact the Town or City Clerk of the community in which he died. If Otto Olfene died in Massachusetts after 1911 we would

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

write the Registry of Vital Records there, and for twenty-eight dollars get a copy of his Death Certificate. The address is Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, 150 Mount Vernon Street, 1st Floor, Dorchester, MA, 02125-3105. For records between 1841 and 1911, we would write The Massachusetts Archives at Columbia Point, 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02125. For records prior to 1841, it is necessary to contact a particular municipality. Otto Olfene, the father of Ralph Olfene, came to Maine in 1871 when he was just five years old. His parents, William and Louise Olfene, brought him here. As a child, Otto lived with his sister Mary and her husband Henry Hacker in Lewiston. Henry Hacker gave his place of origin for official records as Saxony in Germany. By the time Otto was fifteen, he had dropped out of school to work in a Lewiston cotton mill. Obtaining information on the antecedents of the Olfenes who settled in or lived in Maine is nowhere as easy as find-

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ing information in Maine. To begin with, we must start with the place of origin. There is no central repository of family records in Germany for the nineteenth century. We must go to the Olfene family place of origin, Hanover, which is in Lower Saxony. Unfortunately, Hanover, which William Olfene gave as his birthplace, is a province of Saxony. We would have to have a particular town. Without the name of a town, we can go no further. Otto Olfene did not spend his life as a mill worker. He established the Olfene Public Market Company in Auburn. He did this when he was twenty-three and after he had returned to school and gone on to business college. The Olfene Public Market Company bought farm produce from outlying communities. It operated a store in Auburn. It was an incorporated business. Otto Olfene was president and treasurer. His son Ralph first served as company manager and vice president. Eventually Ralph Olfene took over the entire business. The family history of the Olfenes is one of

immigrants becoming successful and contributing community members. Death certificates in the United States have changed over the years. Today there is a standard Death Certificate for the entire country. It is the U. S. Standard Death Certificate. It was developed by the National Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. All states and American possessions use it. Some foreign counties like Canada, Mexico and even Cuba do, too. The U. S. Standard Death Certificate includes information like birthplace and date, marital status, veteran status, place and date of death, cause of death, occupation and, if an autopsy was performed, autopsy information. Among other things, the U. S. Standard Death Certificate is a valuable resource in providing information on inherited diseases. For this reason alone the Death Certificate of a close family member can be an important part of family documents. It may actually help save lives. Other businesses from this area are featured in the color section.

“...a dining experience that includes more than superior food preparation.”

he Village Inn, nestled between Great Pond and Long Pond in the heart of Belgrade Lakes Village, offers fine dining and guest rooms for both travelers and those that have the time to tarry a while and enjoy the local attractions, including the Belgrade Country Club.

lease join us for Waterside dining at its very best. During the Summer months we are open 7 days from 5pm. Spring and Fall enjoy our two fireplaces while your dinner is expertly prepared to your individual desires, Thursday through Sunday from 5pm.

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You can also enjoy our roast duckling at home by calling us or by email:

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ducks@midmaine.com

Belgrade Lakes, Maine Where memories last a lifetime

(207 ) 495-3553

Discover Maine 72

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Children playing on Pine Beach with women looking on from the porch, Great Lake, Belgrade, ca. 1910. Great Lake is now known as Great Pond. Item #7783 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com

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B’s Home Service

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207-397-2007 Rome, Maine

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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O God, in the dream the terrible horse began To paw at the air, and make for me with his blows, Fear Kept for thirty-five years poured through his mane, And retribution equally old, or nearly, breathed through his nose.

Louise Bogan The American poet from Livermore by James Nalley

That is what the American poet Louise Bogan wrote in her poem “The Dream” from the collection “The Blue Estuaries: Poems 1923-1968.” It was one of many somewhat disturbing and fascinating poems produced by this educated woman from Livermore Falls. Unfortunately, her creative works tended to reflect her actual life, where she constantly battled depression and struggled to find her own sense of happiness. Louise Bogan was born on Aug. 11, 1897 in Livermore Falls, where her father (Daniel Bogan) was employed as a supervisor in a paper mill. She spent her childhood moving to various mill towns in the Northeast, including the states of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Living in working-class boarding houses until the age of seven, she witnessed the stormy marriage of her parents as well as her mother’s affairs, which haunted Bogan throughout her life. Luckily for her, a female benefactor provided the financial support for Bogan to attend the prestigious Girls’ Latin School in Boston, which gave her a solid educational foundation. According to the “American National Biography” article entitled (Continued on page 74)

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Discover Maine 74

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

(Continued from page 73)

“The volume… was well received, although many reviewers found the poetry obscure… At this time she was seeing a psychiatrist to help her battle the depressions that relentlessly beset her and occasionally hospitalized her.” But as she desperately tried to piece her life together as a writer, several positive things occurred: 1) She found a thriving community of writers with names such as William Carlos Williams, Lola Ridge, and Edmund Wilson, to name a few; 2) Wilson became Bogan’s mentor who urged her to write reviews, which became a regular source of income; and 3) She met novelist Raymond Holden, whom she eventually married in 1925. But again, the combination of her past and depression slowly unraveled any of her successes. Overall, most of her productive work was achieved before 1938. It included “Body of This Death” (1923), “Dark Summer” (1929) and “The Sleeping Fury” (1937) as well as her appointment as the poetry editor for The New Yorker, which would last until 1969. But it all changed by

“Louise Bogan: Life and Career” by Wendy Hirsch, “She was already writing poetry…in 1912. While modernism in literature and the arts was gaining in momentum and shape, Bogan was quietly mastering metrics and defining her style.” She eventually attended Boston University in 1915 but withdrew by the end of the academic year to marry Curt Alexander, a young corporal in the United States Army. Unfortunately, the marriage was not a happy one, and the birth of their daughter, Maidie, only created more tension. They separated in 1918. Within two years, Bogan was forced to leave her child in the care of her parents without any reliable income. Perhaps in search of a happier life, she packed her bags for Vienna, where she spent a few years writing about her new identity and overall loneliness. After returning to New York City in 1923 she published her first book of emotional and dark poetry that was a sign of how life was going for her: “Body of This Death: Poems.” According to Hirsch,

1937 after her marriage to Holden failed due to Bogan’s jealousy. The emotional pain showed in her work during that year. As Hirsch states, “Her poem ‘The Daemon’ depicts her muse as a monster demanding revelations again and again. Much of her work, in fact, draws upon the themes of silence and language as well as upon the failure of love.” From then on, Bogan’s writing became emotionally painful and her poems were published on rare occasions. From the 1940s on, her professional career included teaching, critiquing and publishing collected poems. Her work also earned her several prestigious awards, including an appointment as the fourth Poet Laureate to the Library of Congress in 1945, a commission to write a short history of American poetry in the “Achievement in American Poetry, 1900-1950” (where she omits any mention of herself), a monetary prize from the Academy of American Poets in 1959 and a National Endowment for the Arts award in 1967. In her personal life, she remained incred-

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

ibly private, even to the point that many of her friends had no idea that she had a grown daughter. In late 1969 Bogan quietly ended her thirty-eight year career as the poetry reviewer for The New Yorker with a short, mysterious statement: “No more pronouncements on lousy verse. No more hidden competition. No more struggling

to be square.” Through the holidays, she stepped away from any social event and quietly kept to herself as she fought the familiar depression and paranoia that had plagued her most of her life. On Feb. 4, 1970 she died alone in her New York apartment of a heart attack. Perhaps Bogan had finally found some of the peace that she was searching for. Her

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yearning can be best summed up in the conclusion of “The Dream”: But, like a lion in a legend, when I flung the glove Pulled from my sweating, my cold right hand; The terrible beast, that no one may understand, Came to my side, and put down his head in love. Other businesses from this area are featured in the color section.

Early view of Broadway, Farmington

of Maine “From Our Forest to Final Form”

AUTHORIZED SALES CEnTER new Equipment Sales & Service Ross Clair, Manager/Sawyer (207) 645-2072 Fax: (207) 645-3786 541 Borough Rd., Chesterville, ME 04938

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Discover Maine 76

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Post Office, South Bridgton. Item #102490 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

Rick - Kevin Lewis

Moose Pond Harbor Marina & Garage

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Discover Maine

rancis Small, born October 6, 1625, in Bideford, Devonshire, England, was the first white settler in the Cornish region. Not a lot is known about Small’s childhood, but it is believed that he traveled with his parents to New England in 1632. As an adult, Small established himself as a respected merchant in the lucrative fur trade. Living in Kittery, he married Elizabeth Leighton in 1653 and they bore two sons, Francis and Daniel. In 1665 Small’s success enabled him to create his own trading camp at the confluence of the Saco River with the Ossipee River in what is present-day Cornish. The importance of this region stems from the fact that it was where three major Indian paths converged — those of the Pequawket, Ossipee and the Sokokis. The tribes had been involved in the fur trade for years, mainly trading with the French, and this region was ideal for a trading post. It was here that Francis Small made an important friend. Chief Wesumbe, better known as Captain Sandy (or Sunday), sagamore of the Newichawannock tribe, began dealing with Francis Small in 1668, obtaining goods on credit with the agreement that the tribe would repay their debt the following autumn in the

Cornish Purchased For Rum, Beads Trade agreement goes awry by Rev. Erick T. Gatcomb

(Continued on page 78)

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Discover Maine 78

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

(Continued from page 77)

form of furs. It is said that the following autumn came and certain members of the tribe felt that it would be easier to kill Small than to make payment. Captain Sandy learned of the plot and, powerless to intervene, warned Small of the impending attack. Small at first dismissed the threat but as night approached, he hid amongst the pines on a nearby hill and watched from afar. As dawn drew near, Small saw flames coming from his house and he allegedly ran all the way to Kittery. Feeling sympathy for Small’s loss, Captain Sandy followed him to Kittery and attempted to make reparations in the form of a land deal. The whole Ossipee Tract would be handed over to Small in exchange for two large Indian blankets, two gallons of rum, two pounds of gunpowder, four pounds of musket balls and twenty strings of Indian beads. Signed on November 28, 1668, it was the first purchase of land in the future state of Maine, and consisted of modern-day Cornish, Limington, Limerick, Parsonsfield, Shapleigh and Newfield. Small soon sold half the parcel to Major Nicholas Shapleigh and gave the remaining land to his son. For the next 100 years, the area would remain unsettled. In 1770 Small’s descendents

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Railroad station, Cornish. Item #105089 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org discovered the deed and retained attorney James Sullivan to pursue their claim in the court system. The descendents were granted possession of the town (and also Limington, Newfield and half of Limerick) and named it Francisborough and then Francistown. It was properly settled in 1782 by one Joseph Thompson and was incorporated on Febru-

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ary 27, 1794 as Cornish. The name was most likely derived from Cornwall, England, but some legends say that the town was named for its premier crop, corn, which grows well in the native soil. 

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

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Kelly’s Killer Willard Mains Pitcher nicknamed “Grasshopper” was from Bridgton by Charles Francis hat sports team has the greatest name ever? Though The east side Reds didn’t get their moniker Kelly’s Killers to some might differ, Kelly’s Killers just might be the distinguish them from the west side Reds. In fact, the nickname choice to head a list of all-time great wasn’t used all that much back when the team team names. It has a ring to it: it’s because of was in operation. It’s used today, though. In the “K” sound. The hard, guttural “K” has a fact, there is a Kelly’s Killers Historical Society. snap to it. It speaks with authority. Then, too, The name Kelly’s Killers was used as a form the name projects a certain image, but you have of tribute to manager King Kelly. Kelly was the to know who Kelly was to appreciate that. most popular player of his time. He was the Kelly’s Killers was an American Association first real baseball star. He was as big in his day major league baseball team. The Killers were a as Babe Ruth was in his. In fact, that’s the best Cincinnati team. They took their name from comparison. No other does justice to explain player/manager Mike “King” Kelly. how popular a figure King Kelly was. In actuality Kelly’s Killers was a nickname. If you think for a moment, you may be able The team’s real name was the Cincinnati Reds. Reds manager King Kelly to link the name Kelly and baseball. Think of With this statement our story gets a bit comthe songs associated with America’s favorite plicated. Back in 1891, when Kelly’s Killers pastime. At least two should come to mind. played in Cincinnati, the city had two major league baseball There is “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and “Slide, Kelly, teams. One played on the east side and one played on the west Slide.” King Kelly is the Kelly of the latter ditty. “Slide, Kelley, side. Both went by the name “Reds.” The west side Reds was a Slide” was the very first pop music hit. It swept the country in National League team. (Continued on page 80)

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

per’s stats are respectable. In fact, Mains (Continued from page 79) 1893. Why that particular title? Mike Kelly was the team’s star, that is after King Kelly. was the first baseball player to make slid- This doesn’t mean that Mains went on to ing to the plate an art. People came to achieve anything more of note as a major baseball games just to see Mike Kelly slide. league baseball player, however. Mike Kelly was named manager of the Willard Mains broke into the majors in east side Cincinnati Reds at a time when it 1888 with the Chicago White Stockings. looked like the American Association was about to cash it in as a league. The Grasshopper Mains appears in major previous Cincinnati American Associaleague records as playing with tion team had folded in 1890. It was Chicago, Cincinnati and Boston. hoped that the popular Kelly would reHe had three years in the majors: juvenate the city’s league franchise. For 1888, 1891 and 1896. this reason Kelly was given broad latitude with the team. For instance, he could hire just about anyone he wanted. He was 1-1 with the pale hose. Where And one of the players Kelly hired was a Grasshopper played before being picked pitcher who went by the nickname up by Chicago is a mystery. There aren’t “Grasshopper.” any earlier stats for him. Nor are there any Grasshopper was Willard Mains. He stats for 1889 and 1890. Grasshopper made Bridgton his home for a good por- Mains would seem to have had a propention of his life. Grasshopper Mains sity for appearing for a season and then started 23 games for the Killers. He disappearing. One reporter compared him pitched in a total of 30 games and had a with the proverbial “bad penny.” The 12-12 record. Considering that the Killers thing is, Willard Mains wasn’t all that bad. had an overall record of 43-57, Grasshop- That’s why he was called up by the Boston

Beaneaters in 1896. This isn’t the place for a discussion of late nineteenth century baseball history and of how early teams evolved into modern day ones. Suffice it to say that the Boston Beaneaters became the Atlanta Braves we know today. Back in the late 1800s the Beaneaters were a dominant team, dominant like the Yankees of the era of Ruth and Gehrig. They won eight pennants around the turn of the century. Grasshopper Mains was called up by the Beaneaters to help them in one of their pennant drives. He pitched in eight games and was 3-2. Grasshopper Mains appears in major league records as playing with Chicago, Cincinnati and Boston. He had three years in the majors: 1888, 1891 and 1896. It is necessary to make one point here. Usually when you look at modern day baseball reference books for the American Association Cincinnati Reds of 1891, you find that team listed as CKK. The CKK stands for Cincinnati Kelly’s Killers. You will also find Willard Mains listed as pitching two

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

games for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1891. We will come to that latter point momentarily. The above brief discussion of Willard Mains’ history in the majors gives rise to the question “Where was the Grasshopper in the years from 1892 to 1896?” The answer to that is as much of a mystery as to where Mains was before he pitched for Chicago. The best answer is that Mains was probably in the minors, that after 1891 he played with minor league teams so far down in the baseball pecking order that their season records have been lost. Grasshopper did have a notable career in the minors from 1901 to 1906, though. Grasshopper Mains played in the New York State League from 1901 to 1906. He played one season with the Rome Romans and five with the Syracuse Stars. His sixyear pitching record was 101-63. The record tells us that the Grasshopper was a steady and reasonably accomplished baseball player, that he was a hard worker. Willard Mains’ baseball career can best be described as that of a journeyman.

That explains why he showed up with the major league teams that he did. A journeyman can be counted on to do good solid work. He isn’t flashy but he is reliable. Mains only broke out of this stereotype image once, when he played with Kelly’s Killers, which brings us back to that team of such memorable name. Kelly’s Killers was owned by Chris von der Ahe. Von der Ahe also owned the St. Louis Browns. The Browns were his real area of interest. In the middle of August of what was Kelly’s Killers single season as a major league team, the west side Cincinnati Reds gave von der Ahe $12,000 to move to the east side Reds. Von der Ahe didn’t move the Killers, though. He folded the team. Grasshopper Mains was then picked up by the Milwaukee Brewers. He pitched two games with them, going 1-1. Ironically the Brewers played out their season in the Killers’ Cincinnati stadium. The life of Willard “Grasshopper” Mains spans just fifty-four years. He was born in North Windham in 1868. His father Benjamin was a mill worker there.

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The elder Mains made staves. Willard Mains died in 1923. He rests beneath a simple stone in Bridgton’s South High Street Cemetery. The stone bears his name and the dates of his birth and death. There is an addendum to the story of Willard Mains. His son Jim was born in Bridgton in 1922, a year before Willard died. Jim Mains went to Harvard where he was a star baseball player — a pitcher. Jim Mains pitched one game in the majors, with the Philadelphia Athletics. The year was 1943. Jim Mains is one of just four pitchers of modern day baseball to have pitched a single full game in the majors. That single game was a loss. Jim Mains went on to found J. R. Mains Wood Turning Company in Bridgton. The com pany made souvenir Red Sox bats.

Other businesses from this area are featured in the color section.

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Discover Maine 82

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

The Morning Star Of Limerick Condemning slavery with eloquent and rousing rhetoric by James Nalley It was 1911, and as the final issue rolled off the press, erend Elias Libby of Limington, Maine, began to orthe editors smiled in satisfaction at each other knowganize a church here. It is the general belief that the ing that it was a job well done. In their hands was first church included about 30 members.” the last copy of The Morning Star. From its humWith the need for an official published voice of ble beginnings in 1826 in Limerick, Maine, it had the Freewill Baptists, Reverend Libby (with the seen the end of the Civil War, the assassination help of John Buzzell), published the first issue of of Abraham Lincoln, and the Industrial RevoluThe Morning Star on May 11, 1826. At the time tion, to name a few. Most importantly, it had seen there was a slow-boiling caldron about the pros the end of slavery, which it did not initially set and cons of slavery. Although the Constitutional out to achieve but ultimately aided. Convention of 1787 had set up the groundwork Back in the second half of the 18th century for the abolition of slavery, it had one major fault: much of New England (including Maine) was exthe Federal Government abolished the import of periencing a religious revival in the hands of George slaves but did not abolish slavery in the United States Whitefield. Upon his death in September that was already occurring. As The Morning 1770, Benjamin Randall continued WhiteStar continued its publications under the Rev. John Buzzell, field’s style of preaching in many different leadership of Samuel Beede, its focus reFree Baptist minister communities with the belief that “An indimained primarily on religious topics and vidual is saved by faith and kept by faith.” The Freewill Baptist concerns. When it did comment on slavery, it offered a consermovement had begun, and by 1781 there were nine churches in vative stance with articles that denounced radical abolitionists the area. According to the history of the Freewill Baptist Church and used safe phrases like “the exercise of moderation and charin Limerick, the church “had its origin in 1822 when the Rev- ity.” But after Beede’s death in March 1834, William Burr took

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

over as editor and the stance of the newspaper dramatically changed. Burr re-launched The Morning Star as a newspaper that aggressively campaigned for the complete abolishment of slavery. This change was daring, since many employers throughout Maine depended upon slave labor in the south. Naturally, it caused trouble for both the newspaper and for anyone reading it. As Louise Lamprey states in the “History of Limerick,” “The four-page Morning Star was one of the papers the mere possession of which, used to press botanical specimens in a traveler’s trunk would cause a man to be sent to jail, as in Washington, or dragged from his hotel and beaten, as happened in Nashville.” As the newspaper created more controversy, lawmakers tried to work around the freedom of the press and eliminate it. For a short period of time, they were successful. After the state legislature refused to grant an Act of Incorporation, publication was suspended temporarily and the future of the newspaper was not looking good. According to historians of the Free Baptist Church, “The church adopted a

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New Covenant around 1836 with only six members. It can therefore be assumed that slavery was having its effect even on the Freewill Baptist Church of Limerick.” After readership and sales dropped, the editor was criticized by delegates at the 1837 General Conference of Freewill Baptists. A motion was also put forward to cease the anti-slavery campaign. As records state, “To avert from the denomination the public odium heaped upon abolitionists, and to reconcile the disaffected members.” Fortunately, it was defeated and support began to return. As circulation figures grew along with public support, The Morning Star functioned in its dual role as an official church newspaper and staunch anti-slavery campaign material. This can be seen in an October 1853 editorial in which the newly-appointed editor Oren B. Cheney proclaims, “We shall speak against slavery, as we have hitherto done. We can find no language that has power to express the hatred we have towards so vile and so wicked an institution. We hate it. We abhor it. We loathe it. We detest and despise it as a giant sin against God, and an

awful crime upon man. Thus we feel ourself, and thus we teach our children to feel and dying we will teach them so.” The newspaper continued to divide the communities on a topic that could only be resolved in an eventual bloody war. But in the meantime, perhaps it did have an effect on major politicians. When Abraham Lincoln addressed a crowd in a campaign stop in Dover in 1860, sitting on the stage with local dignitaries was former editor William Burr. Within three years, President Lincoln stated, “And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.”

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Discover Maine 84

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Albion P. Howe

The Standish connection to President Lincoln by James Nalley n the morning of April 15, 1865 tenant, he served in the 4th U.S. Artillery Abraham Lincoln’s flag-draped for two years followed by a three-year asbody was escorted in the rain tosignment as a mathematics instructor back ward the Capitol Building in Washington at West Point. But it became clear that he D.C. as the city’s church bells rang. His was better suited for the battlefield, with body would lay in state in the East Room brave actions during the Mexican-Ameriof the White House and the Rotunda becan War from 1846 to 1848, which infore traveling the long journey by train to cluded Winfield Scott’s advance upon his final resting place in Springfield, IlliMexico City, the Battle of Contreras and nois. Standing in the honor guard near his the Battle of Churubusco. His actions body was an officer from Standish, Maine, would award him a field promotion to the who not only proudly accepted the assignrank of captain in 1847, well before his ment, but days later sat on the military triofficial promotion to captain in 1855. Up bunal that sent eight assassination until the beginning of the American Civil conspirators either to their death or imWar, Howe balanced assignments between prisonment for life. the frontier in Kansas and teaching at Albion P. Howe was born in Standish, West Point. Albion P. Howe Maine, on March 13, 1818. After acceptAlthough he continued to serve ading the appointment to the United States mirably on and off the battlefield (which Military Academy at West Point, he graduated eighth in his class earned him two brevet promotions, with the last one to the rank in 1841 at the age of 23. As a newly commissioned second lieu- of brigadier general in the volunteer army), his contentious re-

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

lationships with his superior officers would eventually have them leaving him out of the war’s major battles either on purpose or by chance. As stated in the book “The Generals of Gettysburg” by Larry Tagg, “He was given Brig. Gen. John Peck’s brigade in the Fourth Corps… but was placed in a section of the line that was not seriously threatened. Afterwards, Howe’s brigade remained idle and held in reserve at Antietam. Howe may have had friends in high places, because despite his slim resumé, he was promoted to head the Second Division in November 1862.” Even during the following month’s Battle of Fredericksburg, his division (already in the center of the army’s primary line) was not required to engage the enemy. But it was the battle of Chancellorsville that would cause Howe some problems. In May 1863 he led his Second Division, Sixth Corps on a reconnaissance in Marye’s Heights, north of Fredericksburg, Virginia, as the high command of the Union Army tried to determine if the SERVICE MARSTON’S &TREE LAWN CARE h

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Army of Northern Virginia had moved out of its positions to begin an offensive elsewhere. As Howe’s division moved west towards Chancellorsville, they were engaged by the Confederate Army. Although the division did the best that they could, the battle ended with the Sixth Corps retreating across the Rappahannock River. According to Tagg, “The Maine native was commended in General Sedgwick’s report after the battle, but it was generally recognized that the Sixth Corps’ performance in the campaign was a disappointment.” Then one month later, the Battle of Gettysburg occurred, which only made things worse. For some unknown reason, Howe’s division was the last division of the Sixth Corps to arrive on the battlefield on the evening of July 2. Once he arrived, his two brigades were split and sent to opposite ends of the Union Army’s line and Howe found himself completely without troops to command. Tagg states, “He led two artillery batteries into position… on the left end of the line on the morning of

July 3. He was a forgotten man after the engagement, and is not mentioned in any battle reports.” Soon after Gettysburg, Howe was removed from his command. Despite the accusations of poor leadership that led to an appearance before the Congressional Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War (where Howe testified against Maj. Gens. George Meade and John Sedgwick), Howe quietly accepted the demotion and served in an ad-

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Discover Maine 86

— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

ments on the convictions of (Continued from page 85) ministrative position in the eight suspects (which inWashington D.C. for the rest cluded Mary Surratt). Even of the war. when members of the triAccording to the book The bunal petitioned President Union Generals Speak by Bill Andrew Johnson to comHyde, “Howe would largely mute her sentence to life in be forgotten today (like most prison instead of execution Civil War brigadier generals) by hanging, Howe’s signabut for two footnotes to his ture was not included. career. One was his assignHowe spent the remainment to the honor guard der of his career in assignthat stood watch over Linments in the East Coast to coln’s corpse. The second, as far west as the Presidio in and more controversial, was San Francisco. Howe retired his membership on the comfrom the army on June 30, mission that tried the Lin1882 and lived a relatively coln conspirators.” Both of quiet life after moving to these appointments strongly Cambridge, Massachusetts. suggest that Howe had He died from natural causes Soldiers of the Howe's Sixth Corps, in trenches before formed strong political conat the age of 79 on Jan. 25, storming Marye's Heights during the Chancellorsville nections while serving in 1897 in Cambridge and was campaign, Virginia, May 1863. Washington D.C. As Hyde buried in Mount Auburn states, “The selection to the felt he could be trusted.” Over the course Cemetery.  tribunal for the Lincoln conspirators also of the seven-week trial, Howe remained Other businesses from this area indicates that the Republican leadership silent and did not make any public comare featured in the color section.

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— Androscoggin/Oxford/Sebago Region —

Directory of Advertisers Business

Page

A Fine Kettle of Fish Catering . . . . .85 ABC Pool & Spa Center . . . . . . . . . .12 ABC Rubbish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 ABT Plumbing Heating & Cooling .49 Affordable Tree Service . . . . . . . . . .56 Andrew Ames Logging . . . . . . . . . . .23 Andrew Saunders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce . .9 Annie’s Variety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 Arbor Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Archie’s Rubbish Removal . . . . . . . . .64 Arkie Rogers Septic Tank Service . . .86 At Home Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 B.C. Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Baker Hill Builders LLC . . . . . . . . . .46 Baldridge Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 Barclay’s Skindivers Paradise . . . . . . .32 Beech Hill Farm Bison Ranch . . . . . .22 Belgrade Performance & Repairs . . .72 Bernard School of Hair Fashion . . .10 Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce . . .24 Betty’s Laundry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Big Fish Fence Supply Inc. . . . . . . . .85 Bill’s Carpentry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 Blanchette Moving & Storage . . . . . . .7 Blue Door Primitive Peddler . . . . . . .81 Bob Temple Well Drilling . . . . . . . . .34 Bookkeeping Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Books N Things - Norway . . . . . . . .18 Books- N- Things - Bethel . . . . . . . .24 Boomers Restaurant & Saloon . . . . .19 BRC Carpentry Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Bridgton Highlands Country Club . .78 Brill Lumber Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 B’s Home Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 Buddies Meats & Groceries . . . . . . .73 Bushido Karate Dojo & Fitness Center . .84 Café Nomad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Canine Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70 Casco Federal Credit Union . . . . . . .86 Cedar Mountain Cupolas LLC . . . . .58 Central Maine Community College . .3 Central Maine Pyrotechnics . . . . . . .36 Chandler Funeral Homes . . . . . . . . .17 Chris’ Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Cobb’s Pierce Pond Camps . . . . . . . .48 Coldwell Banker/Thomas Agency . .14 Collins Enterprises . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 Concrete Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85 Coos Canyon Campground . . . . . . . .63 Cote Crane Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Cottages at Orgonon . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Country Charm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 Craig’s Carpentry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70 Creaser Jewelers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 D&H Insurance LLC . . . . . . . . . . . .29 D&R Paving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82 D.B. Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 D.H. Pinnette & Sons, Inc . . . . . . . . . .5 D.A. Wilson & Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Daddy O’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Dave’s Garage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 Deerwood Farm & Gardens . . . . . . .41 Deer Farm Camps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Dicks Auto Body & Collision . . . . . .37 Duayne Maschino & Son . . . . . . . . .59 Dube Environmental Inc. . . . . . . . . .37

Business

Page

Dutch Treat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 Eagle Eye Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . .40 Ed’s Grove . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 Ellis Pond Variety & Cabins . . . . . . .64 End of the Rainbow . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 Ervin H. Bean Forest Products . . . .54 Evergreens Campground . . . . . . . . . .8 Fairfield Antiques Mall . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Farmington Farmer’s Union . . . . . . .69 Farmington Save-A-Lot . . . . . . . . . .67 Fast Eddies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Fenimores Strawberry Farm . . . . . . .34 Fishbones American Grill . . . . . . . . .31 Footers Masonry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Four Seasons Realty . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Four Winds Too Lobster Co. . . . . . .50 Fox Small Engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Foxgloves & Daisies . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Franklin Health Dermatology . . . . . .68 Fraternal Order of Eagles . . . . . . . . .63 Fred O. Smith Manufacturing . . . . . .70 Frost Motor Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 Fryeburg Glass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79 Galen L. Burke Carpentry . . . . . . . . .78 Galeyrie Maps & Custom Frames . . .27 Gerry & Sons Snowmobiles . . . . . . .81 Gingerbread Farm Perennials . . . . . .53 Glen Luce Logging Inc. . . . . . . . . . .37 Glen’s Country Woodcraft . . . . . . . .65 Goings Electric Supply Inc. . . . . . . .69 Goss Berry Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 GPM Trucking / Landscaping . . . . .17 Gray Family Vision Center . . . . . . . .60 Graziano’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 Greater Bridgton Lakes Region Chamber 76 Gritty McDuff ’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Group Adams Propane Service . . . .74 H.J. Parsons Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Hammond Lumber Co. . . . . . . . . . . .54 Harvest Gold Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Harvey’s Sebago Lake Smokehouse .56 Henry’s Concrete Construction . . . .40 Hillside Homes, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Hilton Garden Inn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Hodgdon Well Drilling . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Holly’s Own Deli & Restaurant . . . .31 Howie’s Welding & Fabrication . . . .73 Hydraulic Hose & Assembly . . . . . . . .5 Imelda’s Fabric & Design . . . . . . . . .71 J & M Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 J&J Haines Excavation Inc. . . . . . . . .66 J.L. Brochu Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 J.T. Reid’s Gunshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Jason Stevens Excavation . . . . . . . . .72 Jean Castonguay Excavating . . . . . . .50 Jewell Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 JKR Builders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 John Castonguay Logging & Trucking .50 Jordan Lumber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 Jordan Tree Harvesters . . . . . . . . . . .81 Joy Valley Property Maintenance . . .83 Judy’s Variety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 Julian’s Wayne General Store . . . . . . .53 K & J Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86 Kasie - Jo Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 KC’s Village Smithy . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Ken’s Yamaha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Business

Page

Kettle Cove Marina . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85 Kitchen Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73 Knight Property Management . . . . .82 Koob’s Garage & Auto Body . . . . . .26 L.E. Taylor & Sons . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79 L.F. Pike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 L.P. Poirier & Son Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Ladd Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Lake Region Auto Supply . . . . . . . . .78 Langlois Auto Body & Sales . . . . . . .10 Larsen’s Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 Limerick Transmission Co. . . . . . . . .82 Lisbon Fuel Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Little Mountain Country Store . . . . .77 Littlefield Beaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Locke Accounting Services . . . . . . . .84 Longchamps & Sons Inc. . . . . . . . . .13 Loon Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 Lovewell Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74 Lyons Lakeside Cabins . . . . . . . . . . .43 M&J Maintenance & Construction . .49 M. Wahl Excavation . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 M.D. Mechanical Contractors . . . . . .57 Mac’s Grill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Maine Gro Compost . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Maine Historical Society . . . . . . . . . . .5 Maine Mineral Adventures . . . . . . . .18 Maine-ly Action Sports . . . . . . . . . . .20 Majors Heating Services . . . . . . . . . .16 Marco Grimaldi Concrete Floors . . . .4 Marston’s Tree Service . . . . . . . . . . . .85 Martell & Sons Tree Experts . . . . . .82 Maurice Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 McHattons Water Out . . . . . . . . . . . .55 McLucas Firewood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Med-Care Ambulance . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Melby’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Mexico Trading Post . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Mid Maine Equine & Therapeutics .54 Mike Wainer Plumbing & Heating . .52 Montello Heights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Moose Landing Marina . . . . . . . . . . .57 Moose Pond Harbor Marina . . . . . . .76 Morning Dew Natural Grocery . . . .76 Morrison Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Moulton Lumber Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Mountain Mechanical . . . . . . . . . . . .45 My Dad’s Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 Naples Campground . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Naples Marina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 Naples Packing Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Neil Ward DDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Niboban Camps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Nordica Homestead Museum . . . . . . .8 North Bay Estates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70 Northeast Paving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Oberg Insurance & Real Estate . . . .78 One of a Kind Stoneworks . . . . . . . .49 Ouellette’s Collision Center . . . . . . . . .9 Oxford Federal Credit Union . . . . . .40 Oxford Hills Chamber of Commerce . . .17 Oxford Hills Taxi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 P&D Handyman & Carpentry . . . . .16 Packard Appraisal Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . .55 Pamela Hedden Design . . . . . . . . . . .27 Papoose Pond Resort & Campground .41 Paris Appraisal Services . . . . . . . . . . .18

Business

Enjoy Discover Maine All Year! Discover Maine Magazine is published nine times each year in regional issues that span the entire State of Maine. Each issue is distributed for pick up, free of charge, only in the region for which it is published. It is possible to enjoy Discover Maine year ‘round by having all nine issues mailed directly to your home or office. Mailings are done four times each year.

Page

Pats Pizza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Paul Mason Jr. & Son . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Pejepscook Campground . . . . . . . . . .7 Penobscot Marine Museum . . . . . . .44 Peppers Garden & Grill . . . . . . . . . .14 Phin Enterprises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Pine Tree Fence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Pine Tree Orthopedic & Foot Care .52 Pine Tree Paving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Pines Market LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 Pleasant River Motel . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Plummer’s Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . .83 Plummer’s Supermarket . . . . . . . . . .83 Poland Spring Resort . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Polly’s Variety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Pool Tech Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Portland Pirates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Quickstream Construction . . . . . . . .79 R.E. Lowell Lumber Inc. . . . . . . . . . .38 R.H. Wales & Son Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . .78 R.W. Googins Electric . . . . . . . . . . . .86 Railroad Restaurant & Pub . . . . . . . .12 Rainbow Bicycle & Fitness . . . . . . . .32 Ralph Libby Chainsaws . . . . . . . . . . .16 Randy Jones Propane Tech . . . . . . . .16 Randy R. Thompson Carpenter . . . .65 Range Pond Campground . . . . . . . . .15 Rangeley Lakes Region Chamber . . .26 Rangeley Saddleback Inn . . . . . . . . . .88 Raymond’s Redemption . . . . . . . . . .14 RDA Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 RDM Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67 Rent It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 RHR Smith & Company . . . . . . . . . .83 Richard Gibbs Rototilling . . . . . . . . .50 Richard Sand & Gravel . . . . . . . . . . .36 Richard Wing & Son . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 Rick - Kevin Lewis Contractor . . . . .76 Ricky’s Diner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76 River Valley Chamber of Commerce 63 River Valley Grill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 Riverbend Campground . . . . . . . . . .13 RJP Remodeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Rob Elliott Excavating & Trucking .45 Robert W. Libby & Sons Inc. . . . . . .79 Rodney Ellis Construction . . . . . . . .54 Roland H. Tyler Logging . . . . . . . . . .65 Rolfe Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 Rolly’s Diner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Ron’s Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67 Roosters Roadhouse . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Rose-Beck Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Rottari Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 Saco Valley Sports Center . . . . . . . . .79 Sacopee Valley Eye Care . . . . . . . . . .81 Salem Stoneworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Samoset 4 Seasons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Sandy River Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67 Sandy River Farm Supply . . . . . . . . .68 Sandy River Farms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Sebago Lakes Region Chamber . . . .86 Selco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Shadowed Birch Kennels . . . . . . . . .82 SK Quality Fuels Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Small Engine Specialty . . . . . . . . . . .65 Smedberg’s Crystal Spring Farm . . . .21 Smile Again Dentures, Inc . . . . . . . . .9

Discover Maine

Business

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Snow’s Excavation Inc. . . . . . . . . . . .77 Somerset Stone Center . . . . . . . . . . .30 Sonny’s Sandwiches & Seafood . . . . .51 Spillover Motel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Spitfire Catering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 Spruce Mountain Pharmacy . . . . . . .74 Station House Grill . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 Stetsons Auto Service . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Steve Thomas Builders . . . . . . . . . . .70 Stevens Electric & Pump Service . . .13 Stevens Forest Products . . . . . . . . . .73 Struck Masonry Restoration . . . . . . .83 Sully’s Restaurant & Tavern . . . . . . . .35 Sunset Lakes Real Estate . . . . . . . . . .57 Sydney’s of Naples . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 Terry Canning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Thai Blossom Restaurant . . . . . . . . .61 The Birches Family Campground . . .34 The Bread Shack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 The Clipper Merchant Tea House . .56 The Daily Grind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 The First and Last Motel . . . . . . . . . .80 The Irregular . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 The Lost Gull . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 The Meadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 The Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 The Sunset Grille . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 The Wilhelm Reich Museum . . . . . . .26 Theater at Monmouth . . . . . . . . . . . .88 Tibbetts Excavation . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83 TJ’s Corner Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 Toddy Brook Golf Course . . . . . . . .59 Tom’s Bike Boutique . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Town of Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 TR & H Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Tranten’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 TRH & Sons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Tuxedo Tents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Twin Town Homes . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Tyler Foundation, Excavaton, & Construction 23 Upper Pond Stables . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 UPWI Plumbing & Heating . . . . . . .37 Valetone Cleaners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Vienna Garage Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Village Inn Belgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 W.L. Sturgeon Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 Waterman Farm Machinery . . . . . . .36 Watson Neal & York Funeral Home 81 Webbs Mills Variety . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 Webster’s Mini Excavation . . . . . . . .73 Western Maine Community Action . .7 Western Maine Screen Door Co. . . .49 Western Mountains Alliance . . . . . . .48 White Elephant Country Store . . . . .69 Whitewater Farm Market . . . . . . . . .69 Whitney Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 Whitney Tree Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Wilson Excavating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Wilton Printed Products . . . . . . . . . .66 Wood Mizer of Maine . . . . . . . . . . . .75 Wood’s Lawn Company . . . . . . . . . . .39

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