Remembering Freeport’s Archie Ross

Master mariner and friend

by Charles Francis

The first time I saw Archie Ross was the summer of 1952 when I was nine years old. We were going to spend several weeks on Bustin’s Island in the eastern part of Casco Bay. I had been excited about the idea of an island vacation because the thought of being in a place that was totally surrounded by water was a new experience for me.

To get to Bustin’s at that time one drove to Freeport on Route One and then took the quiet Freeport Road to South Freeport and the Harraseeket River. Little did I know at the time that this would be a trip that I would make several hundred times and that the wharf at South Freeport would become one of the most familiar and welcome sights of my early life. One of the chief reasons for this pleasant set of circumstances was a man by the name of Archie Ross, who ran the ferry from South Freeport to Bustin’s Island for some fifty years.

On the day of my first trip to Bustin’s Island we unloaded our suitcases and bags at the wharf and parked the car at a rental space. About the time we finished doing that, a boat that looked like a cross between a lobster boat and a cabin cruiser pulled up to the float that was some fifteen feet below the level of the wharf as it was low tide. This was my first view of Archie Ross’ prized Marie L, the Bustin’s Island ferry. Much later I would learn that Archie had acquired the Marie L through the fundraising efforts of Bustin’s summer (cont. on page 32)

A Full-Service Restaurant with a Nice Family Atmosphere! More than just a pizza shop!

& the OAK HILL ROOM RESTAURANT

Open 7 days a Week Serving ’til Late Nightly

AFFORDABLE FAMILY DINING

FREE Wi-Fi

Appetizers, Soups & Salads • Signature Pizzas • Calzones • Dinners Hot Subs & Sandwiches • Cold Sandwiches • Full Bar Service

For Pat’s-To-Go call 883-8441 • US Route 1, Oak Hill, Scarborough Online menu: PatsPizzaScarborough.com

Save Time. Save Money.

“Make HOUR Glass Company Your Glass Company!”

- Family Owned & Operated 207-775-9915

www.HourGlassCompany.com 619 Main St. (Rt.1) • South Portland

Our 24th Anniversary Open 7 Days

(cont. from page 31) residents. In 1949 Archie, who was just three years into providing ferry service for Bustin’s, had lost his first boat, the Victory, in a storm while attempting to rescue another floundering craft. Archie, as was typical of most owners of working boats at the time, had not carried anywhere near enough insurance to cover the loss.

My actual introduction to Archie came when a man dressed in a white t-shirt and khaki Dickies rolled up to the knee ran up the steep ramp from the float to the wharf in his bare feet and introduced himself. Then, in short order, he carried all our bags in a single trip to his boat and stowed them on board. At the time I didn’t think too much of this. After all, Archie was an adult and I was a child. As the years passed, however, and I grew to adolescence I came to realize that Archie was a small man. In fact, he was barely 5’5” and for most of his life weighed less than one hundred and thirty pounds. For all of his lack of size, he was an incredibly strong man — of the sort that people say are possessed of a wiry strength. It was his size that made island children like me look upon Archie as someone special and as our own particular friend. For most of our growing up years, he was our size and, because he went barefoot most of the time as we did, he was one of us rather than one of those members of the adult world. Moreover, he almost invariably referred to our parents as Mr. and Mrs. while they simply called him Archie as we did. However, when we grew to adulthood, Archie still called us by our first names. In a way it was as if we grew up together. When I became an adult I came to believe that Archie referred to our parents as Mr. and Mrs. not because he particularly respected them, which, of course, he did, or out of subservience, but because it was his way of keeping his own sense of self.

Archie Ross was a true old-time Maine master mariner. Born on Chebeague Island in 1924, Archie literally grew up on the water fishing and clamming. His first job was as a deckhand on the Nellie G, a ferry that served the cottage communities on Chebeague, Cousins, and other islands during the summer months. During World War II he worked for the boat pool which supplied various Casco Bay island military installations and helped train Navy personnel in handling small craft. After the war he became one of Casco Bay’s first passenger boat captains to earn his master’s license. He began his formal association with Bustin’s Island in 1946 when the island’s governing body offered him the ferry contract. It was an association that lasted until 1996.

Throughout my growing up years

Traditional Mexican Food

COMING SOON - Saco location! downtown @ 27 Elm Street, Saco

New Location Opening Soon!

60 Ocean Street South Portland

(previously at 119 Ocean St.)

207.767.9055 www.taco-trio.com

TUE-SAT 11-9

You name it, we’ll do it! Yankee Yardworks DURHAM

Residential/Commercial

Reasonable Prices ~ Free Estimates ~ Insured

Fencing • Tractor Work • Tree Removals/Pruning Lawn Care/Installation • Firewood Green/Seasoned Landscape Design/Installation Driveway Sealing/Sweeping • Storm Cleanups Dan Bowie 207-353-8818 Cell: 207-891-8249 yankeeyardworks.com

A family owned classic country Inn & Restaurant

~ Supporting local farmers & growers ~

207.865.9377 162 Main Street • Freeport, Maine ~ Outdoor patio dining available ~ Featuring the Broad Arrow Tavern

on Bustin’s Island I was just one of the dozens of island children who looked upon Archie Ross as a friend. Though I and others like me did not think about it at the time, Archie had a special place in his heart not only just for us island kids but for all kids. Moreover, while we did not realize it, we also learned from him. This became clear to me in what I consider my second association with him.

In 1966 I took a job teaching at North Yarmouth Academy in Yarmouth. North Yarmouth Academy’s headmaster at the time was Jack Needham. I had known Jack Needham long before he had hired me because he had a summer place on Bustin’s. In fact, a number of Bustin’s young people, as well as South Freeport youth, attended the academy, and several that had grown up on the island besides me like David Pease were to teach at the academy.

One of my responsibilities at North Yarmouth Academy was coaching sailing. Most afternoons in the spring and fall I drove a group of students, which included Tommy Ring, whose father owned Ring’s LP Gas, and Crawford Taisey, a Bustin’s boy, to South Freeport to sail in the old Lightenings that had been donated to North Yarmouth Academy. Of course, often when we were sailing around the Harraseeket River and out beyond Pound of Tea Island, which marked the entrance to the harbor, we saw Archie Ross. Archie would always take time to speak to the students and give them pointers on sailing, especially navigating around Pound of Tea, which could be challenging as well as treacherous depending on how the tide was running. It was at that point that I came to realize Archie Ross had a special place in his heart for all kids not just those from Bustin’s. It was at that point, too, that I came to realize Archie was a natural teacher. This fact was made even clearer when I took some of my classes to his Even Keel Boatyard in Yarmouth. To watch and listen to Archie explain to a group of students what went into building a boat was to listen to a master teacher as well as a master mariner.

I left North Yarmouth Academy in 1969. It was not the last time I saw Archie Ross, however. When my daughter was born, we took her to Bustin’s for a weekend. My mother went along on the trip. To Archie, she was still Mrs. Francis. I, however, was simply one of the Bustin’s kids. Just a little older.

Archie Ross died on February 24, 2002. To me he will always be a friend of my childhood.

Discover Maine

WE HAVE ONE OF THE BEST SELECTIONS OF PERENNIALS IN NEW ENGLAND!

Visit our 2 great locations:

1640 Broadway • South Portland, ME 207-772-0415 • 1-888-772-7155 Fax: 1-877-382-2938

610 Bridgton Rd. • Rt. 302 Westbrook, ME 207-887-8010

Delivery Available

Fall Bulbs • Christmas Trees • Tropical Plants • Pottery Nursery Stock • Hanging Baskets • Growers of Annuals & Perennials bgperennials.com

Pass on a tradition that will last a lifetime.

The old Brunswick High School, built in 1935. A new high school was built in 1995 due to overcrowding. Item # LB2010.9.118828 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

MAKING PEOPLE HAPPY, THROUGH FOOD

MODERN AMERICAN FOOD ▪ LOCAL CRAFT BEERS ▪ EXTENSIVE WINE SELECTION ALL DISHES ARE MADE FROM SCRATCH ▪ WE USE LOCAL INGREDIENTS TAKE-OUT AVAILABLE WWW.FLUXNOMNOM.COM

207.407.4109 │ 12 MAIN ST. • LISBON FALLS

G&G CASH FUELS THE NATURAL CHOICE NO. 2 FUEL • K-1 PROPANE

268-3835 • 268-FUEL

490 Richmond Rd. • Litchfi eld, ME

St. Pierre Concrete Services

Brad St. Pierre

Concrete Floors, Foundations Side Walks, Trailer Slabs Patios, ICF and more....

Cell: 841-8339

Serving Topsham and surrounding areas

60 Maine Street Brunswick, ME 729-0546

Open 7 Days A Week Sandwiches • Vitamins & Herbs Fresh Bread Daily • Bulk Foods

Natural Suncare Products

Organic Fruits & Vegetables Organic Clothing

Organic Beers & Wine www.moglonf.com