2022 Aroostook & Northern Penobscot Counties by Discover Maine Magazine

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Maine’s History Magazine Volume 31 | Issue 1 | 2022

15,000 Circulation

Aroostook & Northern Penobscot Counties

St. Agatha’s Service A town’s sacrifice to the great war

The 1838 Battle Of Caribou Black bear plays key part in the conflict

Houlton’s Alton Kelley Artist of the 1960s rock counterculture

www.DiscoverMaineMagazine.com

Aroostook & Northern Penobscot Counties

Inside This Edition

Maine’s History Magazine

3 It Makes No Never Mind James Nalley 4 A Winter Saturday In The Wilds Snowshoeing fun in Houlton D.A. Savage 6 Aroostook Ultima Thule Northern Aroostook County’s beautiful scenery Charles Francis 14 St. Agatha’s Service A town’s sacrifice to the great war David Raymond

Aroostook & Northern Penobscot Counties

Publisher Jim Burch

Editor

Dennis Burch

Design & Layout Liana Merdan

Advertising & Sales Dennis Burch Ryan Fish Tim Maxfield

Advertising & Sales Manager

18 An 1863 Visit To The St. John Valley Acadians mostly on their own Brian Swartz 22 The 1838 Battle Of Caribou Black bear plays key part in the conflict John Murray 26 Presque Isle’s Fiery Problem Fires often plagued the downtown area Brian Swartz 30 Houlton’s Alton Kelley Artist of the 1960s rock counterculture James Nalley 34 Presque Isle Goes To War Not all casualties occurred overseas Brian Swartz 40 The Lincoln To Houlton Road The laying out of the Military Road Charles Francis

Tim Maxfield

Field Representative Don Plante

Office Manager / Billing Liana Merdan

Contributing Writers Charles Francis John Murray James Nalley

David Raymond D.A. Savage Brian Swartz

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Front Cover Photo:

The Fort Kent Hotel in Fort Kent. Item # LB2007.1.100829 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

All photos in Discover Maine’s Aroostook & Northern Penobscot Counties 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.

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It Makes No Never Mind by James Nalley

t the time of this writing, Mainers will be slowly planning their Thanksgiving menus and discussing the Christmas holiday season. Being that potatoes are a staple of the former, regardless of whether they are baked, au gratined, or mashed, it is important to remember that they are Maine’s largest farm crop, followed by milk, eggs, and blueberries. As for a brief history, although early 18th-century settlers cleared out forests to make way for potato crops, it was not until the railroad arrived in Aroostook County in the late 1800s that Maine’s “Potato Empire” was established. According to Jim Gerritsen from the Wood Prairie Farm in Bridgewater, “Through the early 1950s, the annual crop of almost a quarter million acres made Maine the leader in U.S. potato production.” However, Gerritsen also stated that over the last 50 years, this empire has seriously waned, due to various factors such as shifting consumer preferences (e.g., frozen/processed potatoes vs. fresh), competition from the American West, and decades of low farm gate prices. Despite the decline, Aroostook County still produces more potatoes

than any other county in the U.S., even though production is just a quarter of its peak. Meanwhile, the area still maintains a potato-based culture in which former farmers/non-farmers schedule vacation time to help family members harvest their crops by hand. It is also one of the last areas in the U.S. where schools are still closed for Harvest Break. This is refreshing in light of the fact that increased potato mechanization has greatly reduced the opportunities for such hand work. Regarding other potato-related facts, Aroostook County Tourism stated that “Approximately 25% of Maine’s potato production is for seed to supply the East Coast, while another 45% is used for french fry processing, 20% is used for potato chips, and 10% is used for home, restaurant, and institutional raw potato use.” Moreover, the potato industry’s impact on Maine’s economy includes sales of more than $540 million, with total employment of 6,150 jobs. Finally, regarding the ongoing debate of Idaho vs. Maine potatoes, in 2018, a taste test was conducted at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Specifically, the taste testers included

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two Maine natives, two Idaho natives, and two out-of-staters. At the conclusion of the test, four students selected the Idaho potatoes and two students chose the Maine potatoes. In this case, the two who selected the Maine potatoes were both from Maine. At this point, let me close with the following potato-related jest: In the middle of the night, three thieves broke into the storage area of a potato farmer’s house. After hearing some noise, the farmer woke up and headed to the building to check what was happening. With no options left, the three thieves did the only thing that they could: hide in three different potato sacks. When the farmer arrived, he took a pitchfork and poked the first sack. The first thief said “meow” like a cat. The farmer said, “You moron! Cats don’t hide in potato sacks, after which he caught the first thief. Then, the farmer poked the second sack. At that moment, the second thief barked like a dog. The farmer said, “You idiot! Dogs don’t hide in potato sacks, after which he caught the second thief. Finally, the farmer poked the third sack. This time, the third thief, believing that it would be the smartest thing to do, screamed “Potato! Potato!”

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Aroostook & Northern Penobscot Counties

A Winter Saturday In The Wilds by D.A. Savage

Snowshoeing fun in Houlton

hooss! Whooss! Whooss! Bob was breaking trail as we snowshoed through the newly fallen blanket that we had received the night before. We had gotten about eight to ten inches of dry powdery snow that had covered the landscape in a beautiful white wilderness. And the cloud in front of our face was our labored breathing. It was still cloudy with a few flurries and the wind was picking up, but we were dressed for the 20-degree temperature as we made our way from civilization to the “back country” — just a couple of boys looking for adventure. If the sun had been out, we would have been seeing snow crystals floating in the air.

The late January Saturday had begun when Bob called me at around 8 a.m. about going snowshoeing for the day. Bob lived just 3 houses away. I

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had a sandwich or two, a cookie or two and a metal or plastic cup in my boy scout pack as did Bob. Since we had done this a few times before during the winter, we knew what was needed to spend the day out in “the wilds” of Houlton. Spring Street was our jumping off point. We then proceeded to the area behind Madigan Hospital between an apple orchard in the cow pasture and Chadwick’s Florist’s forest, where they grew trees to be replanted but had not taken many out over the years so the trees were of a substantial size. Our usual path was to meander into “the forest” looking for animal tracks, mostly rabbit or mice, in the new snow. It

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com was warmer, or seemed to be. I had my dad’s snowshoes which were long and narrow and excellent for going through a tree growth. They were Paris snowshoes with leather straps manufactured by the Paris Manufacturing Company in South Paris in the late 1930s. Once we left our little forest, we were out in open country where it was colder and we proceeded to what is now Hillview Avenue, a dead end street in the early to mid-1950s. The Canadian Pacific Railroad had a passenger station here along with the Atlas Plywood Mill. We had been told many times by our parents to stay away from both because of the dangers of each enterprise. From here, it was a short walk to “4th Hill” but because of the steep climb, we had to skirt around the hill in order to get to the top where there was another large growth of trees that had been harvested over the years. This is where we would set up camp

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and have lunch under some trees providing warmth and protection from the wind. Bob always brought tea and an empty can to boil water from the available snow. He also had some material to start a fire with. We did have to find some dead branches to use as firewood but that never seemed to be a problem. We would usually pick up some on the way or sometimes try to find something to burn at the back side of the pulp yard at the Atlas Mill. After lunch, we would explore the top of the hill and check out the panoramic view of Houlton. It was much warmer as long as we stayed in the tree growth out of the wind. The return trip home was usually the hardest because it seemed that we were always walking into the wind. Often we would not get home until after 4 p.m. and it was usually getting or was dark at that time of day but our parents did not seem to worry about us because that was a way

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of life for a couple of pre-teen boys in Aroostook County. In the spring, Bob would tap several maple trees near Hillview Avenue. We would take my toboggan with some large buckets on board and sometimes travel by snowshoe to fetch the syrup from the pails that Bob had attached to the trees. They were usually overflowing when we got there. Many were the times that we would drink much of the raw syrup before we got home. By the end of the season we would have accumulated enough so that Bob’s mother would process it into maple syrup. I was always invited to a pancake feed with the little bit of home processed syrup we had gathered that spring. Carefree childhood experiences like this are cherished memories when we become older.

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Aroostook Ultima Thule Northern Aroostook County’s beautiful scenery by Charles Francis

here are those who say the further north you go in Aroostook County the more beautiful the scenery. It’s a matter of opinion of course, one only the most devoted and knowledgeable of Aroostook residents are qualified to assess. One suspects, however, that rivers play an important role in such a subjective judgement, and in discussing rivers you must consider the St. John. Many have written on the scenery of Aroostook County. Many have expressed their love of “The County.” And, of course, there have been many who have been and are experts on mat-

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ters pertaining to the Aroostook region. In this writer’s opinion one stands out above all others past and present, Edward Wiggin. Back a bit before 1890, Edward Wiggin wrote that Aroostook County was “full of grand views and beautiful landscape pictures, but nowhere are they more beautiful than upon the Upper St. John.” For Wiggin, the Upper St. John began about three miles above Fort Kent. This means St. John Plantation, opposite or a bit below Savage Island. Let’s consider Wiggin’s statement a moment. What exactly did he mean? Edward Wiggin may have meant

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that all of the Upper St. John is equally beautiful. He may have meant that the further one travels above St. John Plantation along the river or on it the more beautiful it becomes. One can argue the perspective and one can argue just what Wiggin meant. He did offer a viewpoint, though. For Wiggin one particular area was “the Ultima Thule of Aroostook settlements upon the St. John.” This raises a question. Just what did “Ultima Thule” mean for Edward Wiggin? You can find a variety of definitions, descriptions and designations for Ultima Thule. As a physical location Ulti-

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com ma Thule has been identified as Greenland, Norway, the Orkney Islands and somewhere north of Scythia above the Black Sea. A northerly direction seems the key here, and certainly, Wiggin, in citing the beauty of the Upper St. John, is talking about northern Aroostook County. “Thule” is classical Greek. It means a region in the far north. In medieval geographies Ultima Thule denoted any distant place located beyond the “borders of the known world.” Ancient geographers would seem to have accepted the designation to mean “The farthest of all, which are known and spoke of, is Thule....” Edward Wiggin had a particular location in mind for the Aroostook Ultima Thule. He said so. He called “Seven Islands the Ultima Thule of Aroostook settlements upon the St. John.” At the time Edward Wiggin wrote what he did regarding Seven Islands or just before that, Seven Islands was

an organized plantation. This means the community had an official voting station for state and national elections, and that it had municipal officers such as assessors and a town clerk and treasurer. Seven Islands Plantation had the distinction of being of the furthest removed or most isolated of all municipalities in the State of Maine. In writing of the Ultima Thule of Aroostook County Edward Wiggin used the genre most commonly identified as that of travelogue, the journeyers’ tale. Wiggin began his journey at St. John Plantation and moved upriver. As he traveled he described settlements, important facets and individuals of those settlements and what was to be seen along the river. Seven Islands was a climax to the journey. There was nothing more to Aroostook County beyond Seven Islands but forests and a road leading to the Canadian border, to Quebec. This is how he could call Seven Islands the Ultima Thule of Aroos-

took County. It was “the farthest of all.” Seven Islands is approximately eighty miles above Fort Kent on the St. John. The origin of the name Seven Islands relates to that number of islands in the river. It was first used as the name for a farm owned by timber baron Shepard Cary. Grain and hay were grown there and horses and oxen were kept there. It was a supply center. And it was needed. At times Cary had upwards of 300 men in his employ. The men, like the horses and oxen, had to be fed. There is little doubt as to the nature of Edward Wiggin’s writing of the Upper St. John. It is a travelogue intended for perspective visitors. Wiggin mentions sites such as churches, streams, and falls as well as farms and businesses. He particularly mentions fine homes and “estates.” It is the kind of writing designed to interest those who are drawn to out-of-the-way places, those who would be attracted by the use of a (cont. on page 8)

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Allagash River. Above Allagash Plantation on the St. John, Wiggin mentions Big Falls. Then it is on to Seven Islands. About the only negative thing Edward Wiggin has to say about Seven Islands is that the farm that once belonged to Shepard Cary is now in the hands of other than an American. Otherwise what he describes is decidedly idyllic. He talks about the size of the farm house, the wonderful meals served there, the barns, the fertility of the soil and the fine-blooded horses that were raised there. In writing of Seven Islands Edward Wiggin leaves the reader with the distinct impression that once one has been here there is nothing left, there is nothing more to experience — at least as far as traveling the Upper St. John. As to Wiggin’s conjecture that the Upper St. John is the most beautiful region of Aroostook County, that is a matter for those who know it or visit it.

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term like Ultima Thule. Wiggin spends time describing the community of St. Francis, opposite where the St. Francis River empties into the St. John. It is here that the St. John ceases serving as the boundary between Maine and Canada. Tradition has it that when Daniel Webster and Lord Ashburton stopped at St. Francis on their excursion to set out the international line of separation, locals plied them with liquor so that they didn’t realize they were being taken up the St. Francis instead of the St. John. The mistake cost Canada vast stretches of valuable timber land. What assures us that Wiggin is leading us on to Seven Islands is the fact he barely mentions Allagash Plantation. Instead he jumps some three miles up the Allagash River to the mouth of the Little Black before returning to continue on up the St. John. His chief interest seems to be in describing the flat-bottom, horse drawn river scows of the

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St. Agatha’s Service A town’s sacrifice to the great war by David Raymond

ver since the 1800s European nations had lived in suspicion and fear of each other, which resulted in massive growth in their armies. At the dawn of 1914 two great alliances had been formed and European nations were on the brink of war. One alliance was called the Triple Alliance which comprised the countries of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. The other was the Triple Entente, made up of France, Great Britain, and Russia. Each country in each alliance had pledged military support to one another in case of aggression from a country of the opposing alliance. The United States had not committed itself to any side, but by

1914 felt the strain to do so. On June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated in Sarajevo by a Serbian nationalist. Austria declared war on Serbia which had ties to the countries of the Triple Entente. This began a chain reaction. Germany declared war on France and before the year was over, Europe was engaged in a bloody struggle that became known as The Great War. The people of St. Agatha were well aware of the war in Europe. Some people in town subscribed to the newspaper Le Madawaska, published in Edmundston, New Brunswick that carried

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many accounts of the war since Canada had entered the war in support of Great Britain in 1914. Occasionally, Le Madawaska printed letters from local men fighting in Europe. Because of the close family ties between the people on both sides of the St. John River, people in St. Agatha may have read a letter from a relative which made the war across the ocean much more real and personal. The parish priest, Fr. Raoul Bourbeau, also informed people of the war. A native of Victoriaville, Quebec, Fr. Bourbeau kept very current on the war. Before the days of weekly parish bulletins, parishioners were informed of parish and community events from

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com announcements made from the pulpit by the parish priest before the Sunday Mass. Fr. Bourbeau kept meticulous notes of these announcements in an announcement book. On Sunday, November 15, 1914 he appealed to the people of the parish for a railroad carload of potatoes for the people in Belgium who had been ravaged by the German invasion of their country. People responded generously to his appeal. By Christmas, Fr. Bourbeau announced that only fifty barrels were still needed to fill the railroad car. On April 4, 1917 the U.S. Senate voted to declare war on Germany. On May 18th, Congress passed the Selective Service Act which required all men between the ages of 21 and 30, later extended to age 31, to register for military service. Those who registered were placed in five categories headed by able-bodied single men without dependents. Of course, men could volunteer. If the number of volunteers was

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insufficient, the deficiencies were to be made up by the draftees. On Sunday, May 27, 1917 Fr. Bourbeau announced that a meeting would be held on June 5th to explain the rather complicated selective service process. The government developed a lottery system to determine which registrants would be called. Each registrant was assigned a number. The State of Maine was divided into districts. St. Agatha was in district number 2 which included all towns north of Presque Isle. The induction office was located in Fort Fairfield. When men were needed, each district was assigned a quota of men to fill. The local draft board had the responsibility to draw the draft numbers and fill the quota. The first call for men came in early August of 1917. Nine of St. Agatha’s young men were inducted at this time. Four men had already enlisted. According to the Adjutant General’s Report of the State of Maine, a to-

tal of fifty-four men from the Parish of Ste. Agathe were eventually inducted into military service. These men gave their place of residence as either St. Agatha, Sinclair, or Cleveland on their induction papers. Some men who were born and raised in St. Agatha had since moved to other communities and were not listed under St. Agatha’s listing in the Adjutant General’s Report. Ten of the fifty-four men were inducted in September and October of 1917, seventeen from March to June of 1918, and twenty-three from July to October of 1918. The primary mission of the soldiers was either to help France stop the German advancement on the Western Front or to protect the United States shores from possible German attack. Twenty of our fifty-four inductees served overseas in France. In March of 1918 the Germans launched a major offensive in France. By May they were approximately fifty

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(cont. from page 15) miles east of Paris. The Germans had crossed the Marne River, a river that empties in the Seine River in Paris, and France was on the verge of capitulating. The American troops launched a successful offensive of their own at Belleau Wood on June 3rd. On September 12, 1918 the Americans launched a fierce attack at St. Mihiel, a town on the Meuse River near the Belgium and German border. This was the first battle of the war carried out by a completely American army under its own command. Eight men from St. Agatha were listed as present at this battle — Donat Boucher, Damase Bosse, Henry Bourgoin, Remie Daigle, Onezine Michaud, Eddie Plourde, Joseph Raymond, and William Raymond. Several other St. Agatha men were in France at this time and may have fought in this battle but unfortunately, the Adjutant General was not specific as to their location. In the wake of the Battle of St. Mihiel, American operations shifted

westward and down the Meuse River through the Argonne Forest toward the city of Sedan. This military operation became known as the Meuse-Argonne offensive. Eddie Plourde lost his life during this campaign. He was the only St. Agatha soldier not to return to his loved ones alive. Eddie was born on February 22, 1896, the second child of Joseph and Modeste (Ouellette) Plourde. He was inducted into the army at Fort Fairfield on October 2, 1917, and assigned to the 38th Co. 151 Depot Brigade until November 11, 1917. He was then transferred to Co. F, 327 Infantry, 82nd Division. He served in France from April 22, 1918, until his death on October 15, 1918, only twenty-eight days before the armistice was declared. He took part in the Battle of St. Mihiel on September 12th and 13th. In fact, the 328th Infantry of the 82nd distinguished itself during the battle.

According to the account found in the book, A Guide to the American Battle Fields in Europe, the 82nd Division was located near the Moselle River about twenty-five miles east of St. Mihiel in late September. Their mission was to help penetrate the “Hindenburg” line, a heavily fortified system of German trenches, and capture the town of St. Juvin. The initial attack began at 2:30 a.m. on September 26th. Despite the deep ravines, the networks of wire, dense forests, shell craters, and inclement weather, the offensive went satisfactorily. In four days the army had penetrated four miles into the heaviest fortified area in the Western Front. On October 7th the 82nd struck the Germans at the towns of Châtel-Chéhéry and Corney near the Argonne Forest, approximately forty miles northwest of the French town of Verdun. It was near the town of Corney that Corporal Alvin York of the 328 Infantry, 82nd Division displayed

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com the great heroism that earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor and the French Croix de Guerre. For the next two days the 82nd pushed the Germans to the northwest toward the small town of Marcq and captured it on October 10th. On the following day, they captured the town of Sommerance. On October 14th, the 82nd broke through the Hindenburg Line and weakened the German hold on the town of St. Juvin but could not drive the Germans out. They were joined by the 77th Division later in the day. It was probably during these hours that Eddie Plourde was killed. On October 15th, St. Juvin was taken and the 82nd continued northward and arrived at the town of Champigneulle on the 16th without Eddie. No one will ever know what exactly happened to Eddie. According to family tradition, Eddie was shot while returning to his trench with a bucket of water that he had filled at a nearby well. It is not known exactly when Eddie’s

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family received the news of his death. The great numbers of casualties and the slow communications system of the era hampered quick notification. Fr. Bourbeau announced news of his death on December 22, 1918, making an announcement prior to Sunday Mass. His body arrived home early in February. His funeral was held on February 12, 1919 in the Ste. Agathe church and he was buried in the parish cemetery. In 1935 the American Legion Post #145 was dedicated in his honor along with Denis Cyr of Frenchville who died of disease at Fort Devens, Massachusetts in 1918. World War I was supposed to be “the war to end all wars.” But, as we are well aware, this was not the case. Twenty-one years later, Europe was embroiled in another vicious war which eventually carried American youths to the four corners of the world.

Aroostook & Northern Penobscot Counties

An 1863 Visit To The St. John Valley by Brian Swartz

Acadians mostly on their own

he St. John Valley in northern Maine is a beautiful place to visit, as a Portland writer calling himself “P.” learned during a spring 1863 excursion through Aroostook County. Most Portland-area residents then looked south toward Boston, not north toward Augusta, Bangor, or (heaven forbid) the thick forests stretching away to the New Brunswick border. The southern Maine legislators waging a political war to move the state capital from Augusta to Portland (its original site) in 1863 cared not a whit how far their northern Maine counterparts must travel to conduct the people’s business. While the Military Road (modern Route 2A) connected Houlton with Bangor, St. John towns lay anoth-

er day’s or two days’ travel beyond the Shiretown. A lack of good roads reaching either Van Buren or Fort Kent meant Valley residents and travelers relied on the St. John River, no matter the season. “Our lumbermen on the head waters of the St. John, have a … more direct and shorter road, by which their supplies are brought into camp from Quebec,” but “then they have the St. John itself—the highway to their natural seaport, the city of St. John,” New Brunswick, P. explained to readers who may have never seen the Androscoggin or the Kennebec. “Thus, they are isolated in a business point of view from the southern slope, and the principal cities of Maine,” he

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wrote. Trying to delineate the Valley’s geography for his readers, P. explained to that the Madawaska Territory — or “the district formerly bearing this general designation” — took its name from the Madawaska River, “which flows into the St. John [River] on the northern or provincial side. “The plantation known to our maps and State [news]papers as Grand Isle is properly [called] Grande Isle; so, named from a large and fertile island in the St. John river, near the heart of the Madawaska territory,” he wrote. P. had already traveled up the Valley and met its original white inhabitants, the Acadians. “The settlers of this territory were originally French,”

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com he stressed, “as most of the inhabitants still are. “From the eastern line of the State, near the Grand Falls [in New Brunswick], these French settlements extend up the valley of the St. John to its junction with the St. Francis, a distance of about seventy-five miles,” P. noted. Under the Webster-Ashburton Treaty, the St. John was “made the boundary line between Maine and the British Provinces, thus dividing the Madawaska settlers between the two nationalities,” he wrote. That was about all the arbitrary border accomplished, however. The Acadians “are …. still united in origin, religion and language, and their general pursuits and interests remain very much as before” the treaty’s signing, P. wrote. “They are a people by themselves,” with little desire “to adopt the customs and language of outsiders. “The original settlers were Acadians, who fled first from Nova Scotia,

then from New Brunswick, and pitched their cabins in this valley, then remote from all other settlers, near the close of Revolutionary War,” P. reviewed Valley history for his readers. Many Quebecois later “joined them, and the two elements intermingled, although the lines of Acadian blood are still traceable in some families, who pride themselves upon their origin,” he wrote. Fluent in French, P. thought the Valley French was “somewhat purer French” than spoken in Quebec Province, “much nearer the Parisian standard than is often represented. With a few variations in the vowel sounds, the spoken French of the Madawaskans is essentially the same as that of France.” Valley “settlers are very industrious … peaceable, cheerful, and well disposed,” P. noted. Many families were large, “fifteen or twenty children,” and the 1860 census had reported 4,678 people living in “the ten townships”

along “the south bank of the St. John from Hamlin to St. Francis.” That number included 2,576 children ranging in age from four to 21. The surnames noticed by P. thrive in the Valley to this day. “We have for example the names of Daigle, Havier, Cyr, Firman, Souci, Vincent, Paradi, Violette, Michaud, Cormier, Plourd, Thibodeau, Sirois, and others,” wrote P., aware that many English speakers downstate butchered French words. “Our friend Sirois, a member of the last [Maine] House of Representatives, whose name was differently — and indifferently — pronounced by members at Augusta last winter, I found in his field at Dionne diligently sowing the good seed, wheat, barley or buckwheat, which will make due returns at harvest-time,” P. said. He noticed how the original Acadian farms occupied the St. John’s shore and later farms developed behind them. “The farms show long stretches of in(cont. on page 21)

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com (cont. from page 19) tervale and upland, entirely free from the stumps and burnt logs, which mark the face of the new [English] settlements in the Aroostook townships below them,” P. commented. “The soil is a rich loam, intervales or upland sloping gently back from the river on either bank,” he said. “As you pass up toward Fort Kent, the banks become steeper, and the hills approach the river more closely.” Returning to the St. John Valley’s poor transportation connections with the rest of Maine, P. opined that “a railroad up the Penobscot and down the streams emptying into the St. John, to some point at the banks of that river, is one of our political and military necessities.” A Portland newspaper ran P.’s column in mid-June 1863. Readers whose concept of Maine extended from Casco Bay to Kittery Point thus learned about far northern Maine and the Acadians living there.

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The 1838 Battle Of Caribou Black bear plays key part in the conflict by John Murray

remains of a large fallen tree. Upon settling within a crevice underneath the collapsed tree, the bear’s eyes were weary, and her urge to sleep was strong. It was nearing the end of December, and a typical black bear in northern Maine would have already settled into the long slumber of winter hibernation. Curled tightly up against her body was a cub bear, which the mother had given birth to during the last winter. The cub was one fourth the size of the mother bear, and the rapid continuous growth rate of the cub meant that the cub was always hungry. This insatiable hunger of the cub was directly linked to

uring the winter of 1838 in the forest landmass which would later become the city of Caribou, a verbal conflict had erupted between two groups of armed men. These armed men were loggers who were competing for timber territory. Unbeknownst to the men, a nearby bear would play a key part in the conflict that would be the catalyst for the Aroostook War. This bear was a female, and by all reported accounts was quite a large specimen. None of the involved men were aware that the female black bear had previously crawled underneath the

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com the delayed hibernation of the mother bear. Nature required her to build up a body mass of fat, which was necessary to sustain her throughout the long winter hibernation period. It was only recently that the mother black bear had finally accomplished this feat of acquiring the required body mass. The delay in hibernation occurred because the mother bear actually had the dual task of harvesting food for both herself and the dependent cub. A sudden sound of angry human voices startled the mother black bear from her drowsiness. Her sensitive ears twitched to locate the source of the nearby human presence. Raising her nose into the air, she sniffed her acute nose into the air above her. The scent of human was strong in the air, and she recoiled in fright. Previous encounters with humans solidified the fact that these smelly two legged creatures were a direct threat, and she knew that she had to rapidly leave the area. Emerging

quickly from underneath the fallen tree, she vocally huffed at her lingering cub, who was still underneath the tree due to confusion about the actions of the mother bear. The source of the human voices were emitting from the agitated shouts which consisted of two different groups of loggers. One group of loggers was from Maine, and the other group of loggers were from New Brunswick. Cutting timber was the lumberjack’s livelihood, and both groups were in direct competition for the valuable timber. To complicate matters, the lumberjacks from Maine and New Brunswick each considered the immediate area in Aroostook County to be their rightful property. Confusion of the disputed border between the two countries originated back to the American Revolutionary War, and the vague matter established by the treaty of Paris as to where the true border actually was between

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America and New Brunswick. The British would occupy the landmass in question and other areas along eastern Maine for nearly eight months during the War Of 1812, and were intending to permanently claim the area as British territory during this time. After the war of 1812 ended, the treaty of Ghent reverted back to the vague border established by the treaty of Paris. A language barrier between Maine and New Brunswick was further complicating matters between the competing lumberjacks and their dual claim for the disputed land. The majority of the lumberjacks from New Brunswick spoke French, and the Maine lumberjacks spoke English. Tensions were high, and each group of lumberjacks from the different borders had started to arm themselves with muskets after previous confrontations. On this fateful day of December 29, 1838, the tensions between the armed lumberjacks would (cont. on page 24)

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(cont. from page 23) boil over, and would be directly linked to the mother black bear, adding fuel to the fire. Upon their encounter in the woods, both groups of lumberjacks from the different countries were yelling verbal threats, along with pointing their muskets in a menacing manner to prompt the other men to leave the area. Historians speculate that neither group was likely to fire upon the other as these verbal challenges were made, but the mother black bear and cub would drastically change the equation. Upon emerging from underneath the fallen tree, the mother black bear broke into a run to put space between her and the encroaching human threat of the nearby New Brunswick lumberjacks. Fully expecting her cub to be following directly behind, the mother bear skidded to a dead stop, then rotated in reverse when she heard her cub cry out

in fear. Probably due to confusion of the mother’s sudden actions to bolt, the cub was left behind, and three of the New Brunswick lumberjacks had inadvertently approached the location of the black bear cub. Mother black bears are fiercely protective of their cubs, and this protectiveness is dramatically increased when the mother believes the cub is in danger. Instinctively, the mother black bear ran quickly towards the three New Brunswick lumberjacks who had mistakenly put themselves in the space between the mother and her cub in distress. Huffing loudly as a verbal threat to the New Brunswick loggers, the mother went into a full speed run and knocked one of the lumberjacks to the ground, then turned her rage towards the other two men. The New Brunswick lumberjacks were completely caught off guard by

the sudden attack of the angry black bear. Black bears were fairly common in the forested areas of the north woods, but they were never active during the winter months due to their need to hibernate. Both of the French speaking New Brunswick lumberjacks shouted “Ours!” in a frightened surprise — which translates to “Bear” in English — and unsuccessfully attempted to flee from the charging black bear. Another logger was pummeled to the forest floor by the raging bear and mauled. The third logger screamed “Ours!” again to alert the other New Brunswick lumberjacks, and fired his musket at the angry bear. Totally unaware of the black bear attack that was occurring nearby, the Maine lumberjacks heard the yells of “Ours!” — which they mistakenly assumed the New Brunswick lumberjacks were angrily shouting that the disputed

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com land belonged to them, and then were shocked to hear the accompanying musket shot — that they rightfully believed was fired in their direction. In a defensive response, the Maine lumberjacks fired their muskets at the New Brunswick lumberjacks. With the combined chaos of the attacking black bear and the gunfire from the Maine lumberjacks, the entire group of New Brunswick lumberjacks retreated to safety. No one was injured by the resulting gunfire, but the two New Brunswick lumberjacks had sustained injuries from the black bear attack. In the aftermath, each group of lumberjacks informed their respective government officials with different versions of what had occurred, and a militia was rapidly formed by both countries. The events that had transpired would become known as the battle of Caribou. Shortly thereafter, the governor of

Maine ordered the arrest of the timber thieves from New Brunswick, and when the government land agent from Maine crossed the border in question to do this, he was taken into custody by the New Brunswick lumberjacks. This prompted an international crisis, and several more skirmishes occurred during the next year. The resulting confrontation was called the Aroostook War. Neither country wanted a war, as it would have dramatically impacted the blossoming trade between the two countries. Senator Daniel Webster was enlisted to settle the matter in a peaceful political matter. In 1842, the Webster — Ashburton treaty was signed, and that agreement formalized the borders that are still in effect today. Discover Maine

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Aroostook & Northern Penobscot Counties

Presque Isle’s Fiery Problem Fires often plagued the downtown area by Brian Swartz

hen a fast-moving fire annihilated the Gervais Block on State Street in Presque Isle on Saturday, March 16, 1963, old-timers probably ho-hummed and muttered, “Here we go again.” Disastrous fires had plagued Presque Isle since 1860. Whether it was a forest fire ripping through town or an inferno incinerating a downtown business, the problem simply refused to go away. Presque Isle recorded its first major blaze on Sunday, May 13, 1860. A wind-driven forest fire, feeding on drought-desiccated timber and underbrush, vaulted the Presque Isle Stream and knocked on most doors along the town’s northern approaches. Burning

nineteen buildings and causing some twenty-five thousand dollars in damages (about one-third of the local valua-

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tion), the fire roared on through and left Presque Isle residents to rebuild. The Aroostook County wind played a starring role in another local fire on Thursday, May 1, 1884. By then, Presque Isle had developed a cohesive business district centered on Main Street (Route One) and the adjacent streets just east of the Presque Isle Stream. Multistoried wooden buildings jammed their shoulders together in this so-called downtown. The effect, according to period photographs, resembled a raw western city. A fire broke out in the Johnson & Phair store on Main Street at 2 a.m. (other sources claim “the early morning”) that Thursday. The spring wind,

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com as usual, was barreling through Presque Isle. When the flames erupted through the store’s windows and roof, the wind simply fanned the fire and swept it into the nearby business blocks. Perhaps this fire predated that popular mid-20th-century public improvement project, urban renewal. “The citizens soon rallied from the shock of the great disaster,” wrote Edward Wiggin in his History of Aroostook, and “before the ashes were fairly cold, temporary places of business were erected, and trade was again resumed. In a remarkably short time... better buildings were erected, the streets were much improved, and soon everyone came to feel that on the whole, the fire was a blessing to the village,” Wiggin recorded. An unusual viewpoint, finding a blessing within a fire. Another towering inferno swept Presque Isle in the late afternoon on Monday, June 7, 1909. A strong northwest wind, apparently caused by the (cont. on page 28)

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(cont. from page 27) contrary and competing winds around a passing warm front and an approaching cold front, fanned the fire. It roared across more than forty acres and burned nearly one hundred structures, including homes and businesses. The Bangor & Aroostook Railroad transported firefighters to Presque Isle from Caribou, Fort Fairfield, and Houlton, but a shifting wind did more than those reinforcements could to spare from damage what little was left in Presque Isle. One man died from injuries received when his horse bolted during the fire and collided with an automobile. Presque Isle endured other fires, of course, until a particularly nasty blaze destroyed the Gervais Block in March of 1963. This time, the wind played no role, but a baby girl did. She saved lives. The infant, the daughter of Hans Baumgartner and his wife, kept her parents awake well past their usual bedtime on Friday, March 15th. Hungry,

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needing nourishment, she rousted them to feed her about 3 a.m. on Saturday. Intent on fulfilling their daughter’s wishes, the Baumgartners suddenly smelled smoke in their second-floor apartment. They cracked open their door, and to their horror discovered thick, oily smoke pouring along the ceiling. Grabbing their baby, the Baumgartriers bolted into the hall and pounded on their neighbors’ doors. “Fire! Fire!” they yelled. Sandra Carter, who had lived in the Gervais Block for some two months, awakened to the thudding on her door. Smoke was already spreading into her apartment. “I had been lying there, breathing the smoke in my sleep,” she told Presque Isle rescuers. “I put a housecoat on and ran about the hall in my bare feet before I ran back and grabbed a pair of boots and put them on.” The Baumgartners and Carter navigated through the murk, reached a

stairwell, and staggered downstairs. Sickened and confused by the smoke, Carter blundered into the shuttered front door. “While I was standing there, there was a terrific explosion,” she said, “and the door to the basement,” next to where she stood, “blew off into the street. Smoke poured out, and we could see the flames.” If the fleeing tenants deigned to plunge outdoors to safety, no one could blame them. A frigid Aroostook County night awaited them. The thermometer cowered around twenty-five degrees below zero, an unacceptable temperature for people wearing only their nightclothes. Presque Isle firefighters, led by Chief Cecil McCready and Assistant Chief Albert Johnson, had already arrived, responding to a phone call received about 3:15 a.m. The firefighters and Presque Isle police officers evacuated most refugees to the police station. Some went to the A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital for treatment for

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com smoke inhalation. Firefighters battled the blaze into a frozen County dawn. An adjacent wooden building escaped severe damage from the fire, despite the havoc wrought by the bitter cold. Spraying water froze on firefighters’ uniforms, and wherever water dripped from a hydrant or a hose connection, it froze hard, encasing equipment in ice. The inferno left fifteen people homeless and bereft of everything but the clothing on their backs. Philip Gervais, who owned the building, estimated damages at one hundred thousand dollars. After searching the wreckage on Sunday, March 17th, he ascertained the fire had started in the basement. Apparently “an older furnace had pumped approximately three hundred and twenty-five gallons of fuel onto the basement floor,” Gervais said. “The furnace became faulty and wouldn’t stop pumping when someone turned up a thermostat for more heat. It must Gary McCluskey

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have ignited and set the oil on fire,” he concluded. “The furnace was just like new. It had just been rewired and new plumbing installed.” A discouraged Gervais decided not to rebuild. The tenants, most of them uninsured, lost all their possessions. The Internal Revenue Service lost a district office that it had recently located on the first floor. Downtown Presque Isle lost a landmark. Sandra Carter lost the dress she had intended to wear to a sister’s wedding later that Saturday. She had grabbed the dress on her way out the door, but flying ashes had burnt holes in it. Her girlfriends rallied to her aid and took her on a shopping spree even as the ashes cooled. By the time her sister stepped down the aisle, a weary Carter was appropriately dressed for the occasion. Discover Maine

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Houlton’s Alton Kelley Artist of the 1960s rock counterculture by James Nalley

n late 1965, a Houlton-born man co-founded The Family Dog in San Francisco, a collective of like-minded hipsters and activists who frequently held psychedelic dance-concerts in the city’s major venues such as the Longshoreman’s Hall and the Avalon Ballroom. For such events, he created numerous promotional posters (26 in the first year alone) with bursts of Day-Glo paint and eye-catching lettering. Eventually, he paired up with fellow artist Stanley Mouse and created colorful works that caught the eyes of legendary bands such as The Grateful Dead (as seen in the well-known “Skull and Roses” image) and Journey (as seen in the wings and beetles artwork on all of

Alton Kelley in 1967

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their albums). Together, they emerged as one of the most popular artists of the psychedelic era. Born in Houlton on June 17, 1940, Alton Kelley initially studied industrial design at the Philadelphia Museum and College of Art, but later went to work as an aircraft mechanic in Connecticut. According to Kelley himself, “As a mechanic for Sikorsky Aircraft, I came, I worked, and I hated it.” However, after getting laid off and receiving word that a “cultural revolution” had emerged in California, he hitchhiked across the country to Los Angeles. Although he briefly found a job as a motorcycle mechanic, he moved to San Francisco, where he immersed himself in the

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— Grateful Dead skull and roses — (photo courtesy of Hannah Vettese)

and the Holding Company. As for their chemistry, Mouse stated the following in an interview, “We could work for hours in silence. We knew what to do. Kelley had the most impeccable taste of anybody I knew.” On the other hand, Kelley told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2007 that

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“Stanley and I had no idea what we were doing, but we went ahead and looked at American Indian stuff, Chinese stuff, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Modern, Bauhaus, whatever. We were stunned by what we found and what we were able to do. We had free rein to just go graphically crazy.” Together, Kelley and Mouse emerged as one of the most popular and renowned artists of the era. According to the biographical article of Kelley by Jason Ankeny, “Their success cemented in 1968, when they were invited to exhibit their work alongside that of Wes Wilson, Rich Griffin, and Victor Moscoso in a joint show that dubbed the group ‘The Big Five.’” Soon after, many of Kelley’s most memorable pieces were created for the Grateful Dead. In fact, he and Mouse inaugurated the “Skull and Roses” emblem used by the group for many years to follow, in addition to “designing a number of

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(cont. from page 31) album covers and images reprinted on countless t-shirts and posters.” Naturally, Kelley and Mouse’s work caught the eyes of the San Francisco-based band Journey, after which they were credited for all of the wings and beetles artwork on their albums. Even Paul McCartney became one their most prestigious clients. After sharing a 1979 Grammy Award with Mouse for their cover of the Steve Miller Band’s Greatest Hits collection, Kelley published the duo’s biography titled, “Mouse and Kelley.” In his later years, Kelley settled in Petaluma, California, and specialized in air-brushed paintings of hot rods and custom cars, which were then sold as fine art and reproduced on t-shirts and other related merchandise. He also created a limited-edition poster of Jack Kerouac, made as a favor to the writer’s widow. According to his biography (2008) in The Guardian, “Kelley continued to work manually, shunning

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the emergence of digital technology.” In 1996, he appeared in the film documentary The Life and Times of the Red Dog Saloon. In January 2008, Kelley and Mouse completed their last work together, a poster for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. On June 1, 2008, Kelley died peace-

fully in his home from complications of osteoporosis. He was 67 years of age. Regarding their legacy, perhaps the Bahr Gallery sums up their lives and attitudes the best: “The work of Kelley and Mouse has come to be recognized as a 20th century American counterpart to the French poster art of Henri de Toulouse Lautrec during the Belle Époque, although the two psychedelic artists never imagined at the time that they were creating anything of enduring value, anything more than another crazy poster for this week’s Avalon show.” Meanwhile, Mouse stated, “We were just having fun making posters. There was no time to think about what we were doing. It was a furious time, but I think most great art is created in a furious moment.” Discover Maine

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Presque Isle Goes To War Not all casualties occurred overseas

by Brian Swartz

When Presque Isle residents went to war on December 7, 1941, not all the military casualties occurred overseas. After Congress approved reopening Selective Service boards in late 1940, many Presque Isle men registered for the draft. The War Department was not interested in youngsters during that last year of American peace; only men from ages 21 to 35 need apply — and 1,072 Star City men did when the first draft registration took place in Aroostook County on October 16, 1940. A draft board in Caribou picked those lucky Presque Isle residents whom Uncle Sam sought to join his Army; on January 14, 1941, Donald

Moreau, Robert Nichols Jr., and Claude Paradis became the first draftees to leave Presque Isle for basic training. Other Presque Isle men soon followed, and so did many young women, and by war’s end, more than 1,100 from the County’s largest city had worn their nation’s uniform. Even as civilians departed Presque Isle to join the military, the Army Air Force came to Presque Isle. On July 29, 1940, the Army had designated the small airport at Presque Isle as the “northernmost Maine airport of military value,” according to the Presque Isle Star-Herald. Previous honors had gone to Westover Field in Massachu-

setts. The first soldiers assigned to the 94th Air Base Group moved into their barracks at Presque Isle Army Airfield on December 1, 1941. Most did not appreciate the cold Aroostook weather, but the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, news of which reached Maine in early afternoon on December 7, ended their complaints about wind-driven snow; living at a frigid airfield in northern Maine would surely be better than battling Japanese fliers over Oahu. At least the locals did not shoot at the Army men; the occasional fisticuffs broke out on Friday and Saturday nights, with young Presque Isle men not appreciat-

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com ing the attention paid to their ladies by the “out-of-town” soldiers. Pearl Harbor, blackouts, and wartime regulations soon ended antisocial contact between the young men in uniform or civilian clothes — and as 1941 faded into 1942, more Presque Isle men found themselves wearing uniforms in towns far from home. Meanwhile, Presque Isle men kept reporting for military duty. Battery A, 152nd Field Artillery Battalion, Maine National Guard, shipped out for Camp Blanding in Florida on February 24, 1941. Before they returned home in three to four years, the Star City soldiers would experience combat in the Southwest Pacific, and many would participate in the liberation of the Philippines. As the Army Air Force doubled, then redoubled its size in 1941 and 1942, flying accidents increased. With so many aircraft overflying Maine while en route to Europe, many planes

went down in the Pine Tree State. Wartime censorship limited the accident announcements to brief newspaper lineage; anyone caught asking too many questions about aircraft crashed in 1942, ’43, or ’44 might be run into jail on espionage charges. Even reporters knew when to close their notepads in those years when planes fell too frequently from County skies. On September 22, 1942, two army planes crashed in Perham and Parkhurst Siding, not far from Presque Isle, and 14 aviators died. On June 26, 1943, an Army bomber slammed into Parkhurst Siding in Caribou. The crash killed five aviators and four farmhands working in the fields around the siding. Just six days later, on July 2, 1943, another Army bomber went down on a farm in Mapleton. There were a few Presque Isle residents, according to an old-timer, who wondered if the Germans might have had a secret antiaircraft base in the region.

On May 12, 1944, two Army pilots died when their plane crashed near Tompkins Road. In military aviators’ lingo, two Army pilots flying a Douglas C-52 Skymaster “bought the farm” when their transport crashed and burned on the Carmichael farm in Presque Isle. Not every crash could be swept under the federal bureaucratic rug. That twin-engine Army bomber that thudded from the County sky at 8:15 a.m., Saturday, June 26, 1943, left an incredible impression in Presque Isle history. Three men, two women, and a 9-year-old boy were working with a horse-drawn team at the Carl Rasmussen farm on the East Presque Isle Road. In a pastime common in County memory, they were picking rocks and removing them from the large potato field as the bomber swept toward them. Freeman Hitchcock, 48, was working along with 36-year-old Alfred Winter of Presque Isle, 23-year-old Anne (cont. on page 36)

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36 (cont. from page 35)

Theriault of Caribou, and 20-year-old Eloise Newton of Caribou. Winter had brought his 9-year-old son, Al Jr., along to keep him company. Piloting the bomber was First Lieutenant Bertrand Robertson, who hailed from Greenville Junction. He enjoyed his assignment, flying aircraft for the Ferry Command. His co-pilot was another Maine boy, Second Lieutenant Herbert Meyers of Portland. First Lieutenant Edwin Hankinson of Michigan, Technical Sergeant John Kuser of New York City, and Staff Sergeant William Jochim of Nebraska rounded out Robertson’s crew. Ironically, Robertson had once lived on the Rasmussen farm and was married to Rasmussen’s daughter. Stationed in Memphis, Tennessee, he had flown an aircraft into Presque Isle earlier in the week and had spent Friday visiting friends in Caribou. Perhaps he knew the people working in the Rasmussen

fields that fateful morning. Even if he did not, he probably decided to buzz the farm to say “hi” to his in-laws. Many aviators routinely flew low over their hometowns while in the vicinity. Witnesses reported the bomber approached the farm, perhaps wiggled its wings, and started to climb. Robertson may have pulled up too sharply. At higher altitudes, experienced pilots can safely handle the stalls common to steep climbs, but at low altitudes, with no height in which to recover control, stalls can kill. As the bomber’s nose rose skyward, the plane suddenly lost headway and sideslipped. Losing altitude, the bomber dove; the wing that struck the potato field became a rudder, propelling the plane into a cartwheel across the field and into the horrified civilians standing there. “Fragments of the plane were hurled all over the field,” the Star-Herald re-

ported, describing the disintegration that turned bomber and crew into detritus. The burning, exploding plane shattered the farm horses — and as Hitchcock desperately scrambled for daylight, killed the Winters, Theriault, and Newton. Hitchcock survived to tell his unbelievable story. Nine other people did not. An army investigation would determine that the pilot, Robertson, should not have flown so low or pulled up so sharply. That finding did not ease the grief suffered by his wife, who had to fly home from Memphis, and the Rasmussens. So as Presque Isle men and women headed for war, some neighbors became casualties at home. Not many people would forget the day an Army bomber went down in nearby Caribou, and that nine people died. Discover Maine

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Aroostook & Northern Penobscot Counties

The Lincoln To Houlton Road The laying out of the Military Road by Charles Francis

n March of 1827 Joel Wellington of Albion received a letter from Amos Nichols, Maine Secretary of State. The purpose of the letter was to inform Wellington that he had been chosen to survey a state road from Lincoln to Houlton. In part, the letter read as follows: I am directed... to notify you that you... have been appointed by the Governor... the Agent… (to lay) out a road to begin at the Matanacook, where it will unite with the road from Sunkhaze and extend thence to Houlton Plantation. The governor of Maine at

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this time was Enoch Lincoln, one of the major landowners in the Lincoln area and the man for whom the town of Lincoln would eventually be named. At the time, the future town of Lincoln was little more than a frontier outpost, the few settlers having arrived just two years earlier in 1825. The fact that the settlement would become the starting point for a road into the north woods would then have a major economic impact on a budding community, a fact that undoubtedly played a role in Governor Lincoln’s decision to push a Resolve through the Maine Legislature

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which would lead to the funding of Joel Wellington’s survey. It is doubtful, however, if even the persuasive and popular Governor Lincoln would have been able to get a bill through the Legislature to fund the actual construction of a road of the magnitude required. Maine politicians of the period were simply more interested in getting the state to spend money in their own districts. For them there was nothing of an immediate nature to be gained by building a road through the great north woods. Governor Lincoln would not have to butt heads with the

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com Legislature over construction, however. While the State of Maine would fund the survey for the road, it would be the federal government which would construct it. The road that Joel Wellington was commissioned to lay out was, of course, the famous Military Road. At the time Governor Lincoln persuaded the Maine Legislature to fund its survey, there was already a bill working its way through the houses of Congress for its construction. The bill had been placed there through the effort of Maine Senator John Holmes and Enoch Lincoln himself. (Lincoln had resigned from the House of Representatives to assume the office of Governor of Maine in 1827.) John Holmes and Enoch Lincoln were two of the more farsighted politicians Maine produced in its first years of statehood. Both looked at the state as a whole, and both wanted to further its settlement and development. More-

over, both saw that the state was in trouble because a large number of Mainers were leaving to seek their fortunes out west rather than seeking new lands in Maine itself. The construction of a road into northern Maine would then serve as an inducement to get settlers there. And starting its construction at Lincoln, as Governor Lincoln proposed in 1827, was logical, as there was already a road from Bangor paralleling the Penobscot to Lincoln. In the early 1800s the federal government had a program of road and canal development for the country. The purpose of the program was to open up frontier regions by making it easier for settlers to move westward. At the time the plan for the road from Lincoln to Houlton was presented to Congress, the federal government had already backed the construction of the National Road to Ohio and New York’s Erie Canal. The argument used by Maine’s federal (cont. on page 42)

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42 (cont. from page 41)

legislators for the federal government constructing a road into the Aroostook region was a simple one. It would serve to offset the British settlement of the region. (At the time, this section of northern Maine was claimed by both the United States and Britain.) Joel Wellington finished his survey late in 1827. In the spring of 1828 Joseph Houlton of Houlton Plantation received a letter from Maine Senator Albion K. Parris. (Parris had replaced Holmes in the Senate.) The letter was dated March 31. It read: “I have the pleasure of informing you that a bill has this day passed the Senate for making a Military Road from the mouth of the Mattawamkeag to Mars Hill, and authorizing the President to cause the United States troops that are to be stationed on that frontier to be employed thereon.”

The Lincoln to Houlton Road was completed in 1832. (The section from Lincoln to Mattawamkeag had been constructed by the state before troops had begun to move to the Maine frontier). The construction of the road allowed the federal government to rapidly move troops and supplies into the Aroostook region in the event of border friction. It also allowed Maine to encourage homesteading and logging in the region to offset migration out of the state. In addition, it had a major effect on the development of both Lincoln and Houlton, the two most important towns on the road. As for the road itself, one 1833 traveler described it in the following manner: It is “at best a rough thoroughfare full of bumps, holes, and beds of mud after rainfalls.” That traveler was James Audubon.

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BUSINESS

PAGE

A&L Construction Inc. ......................................................36 A.N. Deringer, Inc. ............................................................38 Acadia Federal Credit Union.............................................15 Adam Qualey Incorporated...............................................31 Alan Clair Building Contractor...........................................34 Annie’s Bake Shoppe.......................................................29 Aroosta Cast, Inc. ............................................................35 Aroostook Foam Insulation...............................................29 Aroostook Real Estate......................................................17 Ashland Food Mart, Inc. ..................................................36 B&C Pit Stop Inc. ..............................................................4 Babin Construction, Inc. ....................................................5 Barresi Benefits Group.....................................................25 Bean Maine Lobster.........................................................12 Bolstridge Building, LLC...................................................37 Bouchard Country Store..................................................18 Bouchard Family Farm Ployes.........................................18 Bouchard’s Seamless Gutters...........................................4 Bowers Funeral Home.....................................................38 Briarwood Motor Inn.........................................................32 Buck Construction, Inc. ....................................................37 CAM Manufacturing.........................................................35 Caribou Theatres..............................................................34 Caron’s Paving & Sealing.................................................16 Cary Brown Trucking & Excavating...................................32 Cary Medical Center.........................................................23 Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce......................28 Central Building Supplies, Inc. ..........................................9 Central Maine CBD..........................................................14 Cindy’s Sub Shop...............................................................9 City Jewelry & Loan..........................................................11 Coffin’s General Store......................................................36 Colin Bartlett & Sons, Inc. .................................................38 County Abatement Inc. ......................................................3 County Electric.................................................................23 County Stove Shop...........................................................25 County Truss....................................................................25 CountyQwikPrint.............................................................23 County-Wide Vacuum Service..........................................23 Cove Corner Kennels.......................................................15 Crandall’s Hardware.........................................................40 Crossroads Motel & Restaurant........................................40 Crosswinds Residential Care...........................................19 Cummings Health Care Facility, Inc. ................................33 Cushman & Sons Inc........................................................26 Daigle & Sons Logging.......................................................5 Desjardins Logging............................................................4 Dirigo Waste Oil................................................................14 Dolly’s Restaurant..............................................................4 Dr. Durwin Libby, D.M.D. .................................................33 Drinkwater Variety.............................................................41 Drinkwaters Cash Fuel.....................................................41 Dubois Contracting...........................................................17 Dubois’ Garage...................................................................5 Elwood Downs Incorporated.............................................41 Farms Bakery & Coffee Shop...........................................10 Fellowship Farm...............................................................25 First Choice Market & Deli................................................24 Forest Diversity Services, Inc. ........................................14 Fort Kent Powersports.....................................................16 Freeport Antiques and Heirlooms Showcase...................12 Freightliner of Maine...........................................................4 Full Bloom Cannabis........................................................19 G n R Heating...................................................................41 Gerald Pelletier Inc. .........................................................31 Gervais Fence....................................................................9 Giberson-Dorsey Funeral Home.........................................9

BUSINESS

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Giles Logging...................................................................22 Giles Logging...................................................................22 GJ Auto Body...................................................................11 GP Carpentry....................................................................14 Greater Fort Kent Chamber of Commerce........................7 Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce.........................39 Ground Perfection Specialists Inc. .................................34 Ground Tek Inc. .................................................................6 H.C. Haynes, Inc. .............................................................40 Haines Manufacturing Co., Inc. .....................................35 Hanington Bros., Inc. ........................................................41 Hannaford Supermarket & Pharmacy - Caribou ...............10 Haskell’s Heating LLC......................................................42 High Street Market............................................................42 Hillside Apartments............................................................9 Hogan Tire........................................................................39 Houlton Towing Auto Salvage & Repair..............................30 House in the Woods.........................................................32 Huber Engineered Wood, LLC.........................................25 Inn of Acadia....................................................................20 Installations Unlimited Performance Contractor................25 Irish Setter Pub.................................................................34 Irving Woodlands, LLC.....................................................17 J. McLaughlin Construction, LLC......................................30 J.R.S. Firewood..................................................................7 Jato Highlands Golf Course.............................................42 Jerry’s Shurfine................................................................40 JJC Tree Service..............................................................16 John’s Food Store..............................................................6 Katahdin Valley Motel.......................................................30 Ken L. Electric, Inc. ...........................................................5 King Construction.............................................................42 Kirkpatrick & Bennett Law Offices....................................11 Langille Construction, Inc. ...............................................25 Leisure Gardens & Leisure Village....................................28 Levesque Business Solutions..........................................21 Limestone Chamber of Commerce..................................10 Linda Bean’s Maine Kitchen & Topside Tavern.................12 Linda Bean’s Maine Wyeth Gallery...................................12 Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine Vacation Rental.....................12 Long Lake Camps & Lodge..............................................15 Long Lake Construction.....................................................8 Louisiana Pacific Corp. ....................................................30 M. Rafford Construction...................................................29 Macannamac Camps.......................................................31 Madtown Clothing.............................................................19 Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife......................38 Maine Historical Society.....................................................3 Manpower - Northern Maine..............................................26 Mars Hill Pharmacy..........................................................37 Martin’s General Store.....................................................15 Martin’s Motel...................................................................18 Martin’s Point Health Care - Caribou................................24 McCain Foods..................................................................30 McCluskey’s RV Center...................................................29 Mike’s Quik Stop & Deli....................................................24 Mockler Funeral Home....................................................10 Monica’s Scandinavian Imports.......................................23 Nadeau’s House of Flooring.............................................15 Nickerson Construction Inc. .............................................38 NorState Federal Credit Union.........................................22 North Country Auto...........................................................26 North Woods Real Estate.................................................31 Northeastern Supply Co. .................................................10 Northeast Propane...........................................................10 Northern Dispatch Energy................................................29 Northern Maine Surveyors.................................................8

BUSINESS

PAGE

Ogunquit Beach Lobster House.......................................12 One Stop...........................................................................11 Ouellette Cleaning Service.................................................6 Ouellette’s Garage..............................................................8 Overlook Motel & Lakeside Cottages...............................13 Paradis Shop ‘N Save Supermarkets................................17 Pat’s Pizza - Presque Isle.................................................28 Patten Hunting Lodge.......................................................40 Penobscot Federal Credit Union......................................33 Penobscot Marine Museum.................................back cover Percy’s Auto Sales...........................................................34 Presque Isle Inn................................................................27 Prodigal Excavation..........................................................42 R.L. Todd & Son, Inc. ........................................................11 Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. ........................32 Raymond’s Variety & Diner...............................................32 Reliant Repair...................................................................29 Ridgewood Estates...........................................................19 Riverside Inn Restaurant..................................................35 Robbie Morin Paving..........................................................6 Robert Pelletier Building Contractor.................................18 Robert’s Jewelry................................................................21 Roger Ayotte Electric, Inc. .................................................9 Rozco...............................................................................16 Russell-Clowes Insurance Agency, Inc. ..........................24 S.O.B. Oil & Earthworks Co., LLC.....................................42 Savage Paint & Body........................................................31 Select Designs & Embroidery...........................................42 Service First Automotive...................................................36 Shallie’s Place...................................................................37 Sleepy Hollow Storage.....................................................35 Sonny’s Gun Shop............................................................11 Spartan Arms and Ammo.................................................26 St. John Valley Chamber of Commerce and Tourism..........8 St. John Valley Pharmacy..................................................16 St. John Valley Realty Co. ..................................................6 St. Joseph’s Memory Care, Inc. ........................................19 STEaD Timberlands, LLC.................................................41 Storage Solutions..............................................................36 Straight Shooter Gun/Ammo Sales..................................39 Sullivan’s Wrecker Service...............................................33 Sylvio Paradis & Son Auto Parts / Auto & Truck Repair.....14 T.W. Willard, Inc. ..............................................................11 Tardif Machining and Welding............................................5 Tate Brook Timber Co., Inc. ..............................................41 Taylor’s Katahdin View Camps.........................................39 The Braden Theater..........................................................34 The County Federal Credit Union..............................28 & 33 The Old Maps of the 1800s..............................................13 The Pioneer Place, U.S.A. ..............................................39 The Salvation Army - Houlton...........................................30 The Swamp Buck Restaurant & Lounge............................5 Thomas W. Duff - Financial Advisors.................................32 Timberland Trucking Inc. .................................................40 Town of Enfield.................................................................42 Town of Fort Kent................................................................6 Town of Lincoln.................................................................33 Town of Madawaska.........................................................22 Town of Mars Hill.................................................................4 Trombley Industries..........................................................22 Tulsa, Inc. ..........................................................................7 Twin Rivers Paper Company.............................................21 Van Buren Hardware...........................................................7 Vintage Maine Images.........................................................3 Ware’s Power Equipment..................................................41 Wayne’s Body Shop & Service Center................................7 York’s of Houlton...............................................................39

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— 2022 Aroostook & Northern Penobscot Counties Aroostook & Northern Penobscot — Counties

Own a piece of history! Visit our collection online www.penobscotmarinemuseum.org Route One Searsport, Maine 04974 207-548-2529 www.penobscotmarinemuseum.org

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Articles inside

The 1838 Battle Of Caribou

It Makes No Never Mind

An 1863 Visit To The St. John Valley

St. Agatha’s Service