2023 Western Lakes & Mountains Region

5

Publisher

Jim Burch

Editor

Dennis Burch

Design & Layout

Liana Merdan

20

Field Representative

Don Plante

Contributing Writers

Jeffrey Bradley

Charles Francis

Dwight Mills

James Nalley

Brian Swartz

chambers of

financial institutions, fraternal organizations, barber shops, beauty salons, hospitals and medical offices, 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 © 2023, CreMark, Inc.

SUBSCRIPTION FORM ON PAGE 62

Front Cover Photo: Goat team at Grants Camps in Rangeley. Item #LB2007.1.100925 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

All photos in Discover Maine’s Western Lakes & Mountains 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.

It Makes No Never Mind

by James Nalley

At the time of this publication, summer in Maine (along with its crowds, peak prices, and weather) will be winding down. As for the Western Lakes and Mountains region, it naturally brings in both residents and tourists aiming to enjoy the outdoors. However, there is still a quiet serenity to the area, with a small-time feel that differs from the busier coastal cities. For those who want to experience something extra in the region, there are several sights and events to consider.

First, no Maine region would be complete without a good old-fashioned country fair. In this regard, this region offers one of the oldest and best: the Fryeburg Fair. Held annually at the end of September/early October, it the largest in the state and second in New England. This eight-day fair hosts more than 3,000 animals, including prize-winning draft horses, racing horses, oxen, dairy and beef cattle, etc. Of course, there is food and entertainment (both day and night), with fun events such as the skillet and anvil throw, pig scrambles, and rides. This year’s event will be October 1-8. More information can be found at www.fryeburgfair.org.

Second, for something a little quieter, there is the McLaughlin Garden

and Homestead in South Paris. Named “Maine’s Loveliest” by Coastal Home Magazine, it began in 1936 and is full of wildflowers, perennials, and approximately 200 varieties of lilac, making it New England’s largest collection. It offers year-round educational programs and events and welcomes more than 10,000 visitors annually. According to the foundation that manages it, “It is primarily a wooded oasis in the middle of an otherwise concrete and asphalt strip. Just as urban parks play a significant conservation role in cities, the McLaughlin Garden offers a similar, essential resource to our rural community.” More information can be found at www.mclaughlingarden.org.

Third, for something a bit different, the town of Bryant Pond is particularly proud of a fun fact: They were the last people in the United States to use handcranked telephones. If you thought that hand-cranked telephones went out with silent movies, Bryant Pond used them until 1983. To celebrate such pride, they unveiled a 14-foot-tall, jet-black candlestick telephone with a large crank. Weighing 3,000 pounds, it was built by local sculptor Gil Whitman and unveiled in 2008. It is located on the south side of Hwy 26/Main St., just

west of the post office. It also stands only a couple of blocks away from the town’s three-story outhouse (obviously superior to the two-story model), indicating that the town enjoyed pushing technological boundaries as well.

At this point, let me close with the following jest: A young man wanted to invite his girlfriend to their farm, but was embarrassed by the old-fashioned outdoor toilet. He kept bickering his father for a modern, indoor one, but he refused. Out of sheer desperation, the young man slips out at night, places dynamite behind the toilet and blows the entire structure up. The next morning at breakfast, his father asks him if he was the one who destroyed the toilet, while reminding him of the story of George Washington, the cherry tree, and honesty. “Yes, Dad, it was me,” sighed the boy. “I’m glad you are so honest,” said his father. “Now as punishment, you have to start digging a new pit by hand and build a new one immediately.” “But Dad!” protests the boy, “when George Washington admitted it was he who cut the tree, his father didn’t punish him!” “Yes, you’re right,” said his father. “But George’s father wasn’t in the cherry tree when he cut it down!”

In Memory of Charles Francis October 1, 1942 - June 10, 2023

Charles "Charlie" Laurance Humphrey Francis, age 80, of Lower Wolfville passed away June 10, 2023, in the Valley Hospice, Kentville. Born October 1, 1942, in Portland, Maine, USA; he was the son of the late Henry Russell Francis and Marguerita (Woods) Francis.

Charlie was first and always a teacher. He grew up in the Unitarian Church. He was also a voracious reader in the fields of science, theology, literary critique, and popular history. Genealogy was a strong interest. He became a regular contributing writer for Discover Maine Magazine, sharing articles on the popular history of Maine for over 20-years until his death.

Charlie earned degrees from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, where he obtained a degree in Canadian Studies; and University of Maine at Orono, where he earned a Master of Science Degree in Education. After his studies, Charles taught first in Mars Hill, Maine, USA. He then continued teaching at NYA in Yarmouth, Maine, USA, and at Searsport District High School where he taught history and English, was involved in curriculum development and coached cross-country.

Following retirement in 1990, Charlie moved to Monroe, Maine, USA, where he served as Chair of the Selection Board. In the early to mid-1990s, he served aboard the light ship “Nantucket”. His interest in the history of his community was shown in his leadership in restoring the Civil War statue in Monroe. His fascination with Canadian history led him to Halifax and his Howe family connection.

Charlie fell in love with his wife’s country and became a proud and fervent citizen of Canada in 2002. Together they were the owners of his “Shangri-la” near Annapolis Royal. He delighted in living in the heart of Canada's birthplace. Nature and the environment were his sources of spiritual connection. Gardening, daily runs, which in later years became daily walks, fed his joy.

Charlie is lovingly remembered by his wife, Mary Lou Rockwell of Wolfville; daughter, Sarah Francis of Gray, Maine, USA; grandchildren, Curtis Austin and Margaret (Maggie) Austin of Gray, Maine, USA; special first cousin, Jack Woods, Peapack, New Jersey, USA; and Jetta the Cat of Wolfville. Cremation has taken place and in accordance with Charlie’s wishes, there will be no service. Memorial donations may be made to the Valley Hospice in Kentville or The Lodge That Gives in Halifax (1-888-939-3333). Arrangements have been entrusted to Serenity Funeral Home, 34 Coldbrook Village Park Dr., Coldbrook, NS, B4R 1B9 (902679-2822).

Courtesy of Serenity Funeral Home

Lakes Region’s Historic Blacksmith Shop Restoration by the Raymond-Casco Historical Society

by Brian Swartz

Aided by strong private and public support, the Raymond-Casco Historical Society has restored the William Watkins Blacksmith Shop, a rare Sebago Lakes Region commercial building dating to at least the mid-19th century.

In 1824 blacksmith John Stackpole deeded to William Dingley a blacksmith shop located near where the Quaker Ridge Road intersected the Portland-to-Bridgton road in South Casco. Although the RCHS cannot accurately date when the existing smithy was built, ownership of the property passed from Dingley to others before

the Fickett brothers — Daniel Jr., William, and Seth — ran the smithy by the 1850s.

According to RCHS member David Allen, William Watkins was born in the 1840s and apprenticed at the blacksmith shop during the 1850s, most likely with Daniel Fickett. Taking over the smithy in March 1865, Watkins operat-

ed it for the next 70 years.

In 1922 he and his son, Albert, appeared in the silent film Timothy’s Quest, based on a novel by Kate Douglas Wiggin, a Hollis summer resident who wrote Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. The Timothy’s Quest scene featured William and Albert using an ox sling and a forge to shoe an ox. The scene revealed much of the shop’s interior, from the ox sling and its stall to the forge and its chimney.

The smithy survived the transition from horses to automobiles, but the last owners “walked out of it” by the 1940s, said RCHS President Frank McDer(cont. on page 6)

(cont. from page 5)

mott. The derelict smithy slipped into obscurity.

Meanwhile, Ernest Knight started the RCHS in the early 1970s. A Raymond native, Knight “was incredible” in his passion for preserving Casco and Raymond history, said McDermott. The society also received vital support from Skip Watkins, a Casco resident “very interested in preserving the local history,” McDermott said.

Watkins, who owns the historic Watkins Farm, built the RCHS’s museum there, donated the land upon which it stands, and leased to the society his barn, located across the access driveway from the museum on Route 302.

Steve Linne of Blacksmith Winery in Casco contacted McDermott in October 2021. Linne owned the deteriorating Watkins Blacksmith Shop, which he needed to move or demolish by July 1, 2022. Would the RCHS be interested in the building? he asked.

McDermott and Allen quickly visited the smithy. “We were aghast at what we saw,” McDermott said. The building’s interior was piled high with blacksmith tools, metal parts for horsedrawn carriages and automobiles, and other abandoned items. The brick chimney had collapsed onto the forge.

Only a tin roof had kept the elements from destroying the smithy altogether. McDermott contacted Dr. Robert Schmick, museum director at Orrington’s Curran Homestead. Arriving at the smithy, he “went in and poked around and said, ‘This is an absolute gem. This is history,’” recalled McDer-

~ Restored Watkins Blacksmith Shop ~

mott. Greg Plummer, an RCHS member descended from William Watkins, remembered Schmick finding an oak quenching trough, in which William Watkins cooled metal items created on his forge. Schmick indicated the wooden trough was extremely rare. The RCHS launched a fund-raising campaign to save the smithy. Norway Savings Bank contributed, as did many other businesses and individuals. Saco River Community TV of Bar Mills sent former WCSH-TV reporter Susan Kimball and a cameraman to film the blacksmith shop and then created a 3½-to4-minute video for the RCHS to show on its website. The towns of Casco and Raymond appropriated $25,000 apiece to help move the smithy and restore it. “It was a difficult move,” Allen said.

Limington riggers Kerry Tottle and his son, Kerry, and Bridgton restoration carpenter Ed Somers all examined the smithy. “The Tottles’ decided they could move it and put it back up,” Al-

len said. After Skip Watkins approved siting the building on his land next to the RCHS’s museum, the Tottles’ built a full frost wall on which to set the 20-by-30-foot smithy. Its split-stone foundation was reassembled atop the frost wall.

The Tottles’ took the smithy apart in nine sections and moved it in June 2022. The videos that Plummer shot during the move are available on the RCHS website, too. He, McDermott, Allen, and other volunteers spent the summer helping the Tottles’ and Somers reassemble the smithy, which was opened in time for an August 9 blacksmith demonstration held outside the building.

“Our whole concept was to keep the inside the way we found it” while upgrading the smithy’s exterior, Allen said. Except for some floorboards too damaged to reuse, “the boards on the inside are original,” as are the beams and the windows (which volunteers are

restoring inside the RCHS museum).

The society installed a new metal roof and sided the outer walls of the smithy to make it weather-tight, then covered the walls with cedar shakes, Allen said. Some original bricks were reused when the forge’s chimney was rebuilt to match the chimney seen in Timothy’s Quest. The ox sling and stall and stone forge are original to the smithy.

Hancock Lumber has generously provided materials at cost for the project, which spurred renewed interest in the Raymond-Casco Historical Society. “It’s been a community effort,” said Allen.

The RCHS will schedule on-site blacksmithing demonstrations held outdoors with the blacksmith shop as a backdrop. McDermott envisions the society also holding lectures and other programs in the adjacent Friends School, a replica of an 1849 school that was located on Quaker Ridge.

Louise Dickinson Rich

The lady who took to the woods

by Charles Francis

Possibly the most famous book about the Maine woods is We Took to the Woods by Louise Dickinson Rich. The book describes the author’s life during the late 1930s and early 1940s at Middle Dam on Lower Richardson Lake in the Rangeley region, was a national bestseller and was one of the sparks that set off the back-tothe-land movement of the 1950s. Rich went on to write some thirty books, many of which evidenced her great love of Maine. She was not, however, a native Mainer.

Louise Dickinson Rich was born in Huntington, Massachusetts in 1903. When she was two, the Dickinson family moved to Bridgewater, Massachu-

setts. Rich attended Bridgewater public schools and Bridgewater State Teachers College where she trained to be an English teacher. She then went on to teach high school English and endured a short unhappy marriage.

The turning point in Rich’s life occurred in 1933 when she took a canoe trip on the Rapid River in western Maine. The Rapid River empties into Lower Richardson Lake at Middle Dam. It was at Forest Lodge at Middle Dam where she met Ralph Rich. It must have been love at first sight, for Louise was to make Middle Dam her home until Rich’s death.

Today we would use the term ‘dropout’ to describe Louise and Ralph Rich. In fact, they had more in common with the flower children of the 1960s than with their own contemporaries. Ralph Rich had been a successful Chicago businessman who opted to make his living catering to the sportsmen who

came to Rapid River for its famous salmon and ten-pound trout.

Louise and Ralph were unconventional in another way. They never formalized their union. It was Louise’s publishers who were responsible for the propriety of the public misconception that the two were married. In fact, the two could not even claim a common law marriage as Maine does not recognize that type of union.

The chief spur to Rich’s writing career was economic necessity. As the Depression worsened, fewer and fewer sportsmen came to Rapid River, so to earn an extra dollar or two, both Louise and Ralph began writing for magazines. In doing this, Louise was following in the footsteps of her more-famous cousin, poet Emily Dickinson. Then, in 1942 Louise published We Took to the Woods

It was the perfect time for the book. The country was exchanging the bleak-

ness of the Depression for the horrors of World War II, and was ripe for an idyllic work like We Took to the Woods. Its descriptions of the life Louise, Ralph, and the guides, loggers, sportsmen, and other residents of the Middle Dam area led was wonderful escapism for readers caught up in the day-to-day changes the country was undergoing at a lightning rate. Rich’s tales of log drives, record fish, and mail deliveries by boat created a world that was both pristine and orderly and was a much-needed respite from reports from the war front. In addition, the proceeds from the book provided the family, which now included a boy and a girl, with its first financial security.

Louise Dickinson Rich and her two children left Middle Dam in 1945 when Ralph Rich died. Again, it was economic necessity which spurred Louise to write. She returned to Bridgewater where she lived for most of the 1950s.

Here, she wrote several other books based on her experiences at Middle Dam, including My Neck of the Woods. In addition, she began a series of children’s books, several of which, like The Kennebec and Star Island Boy, had Maine settings.

In the late 1950s, Rich moved to Gouldsboro in Downeast Maine. Out of her experiences there came The Coast of Maine and her second most popular book The Peninsula

Louise Dickinson Rich, the lady who took to the woods, died in 1991. While several of her books are now out of print, We Took to the Woods continues to hold the imaginations of countless numbers of readers who wish for the idyll of living on a lake far from the hustle and bustle of the world.

Farm workers lined up in the field at Jewett Farm in Norridgewock, ca. 1913. Item # 1045 from

collections of the Maine Historical Society and

Rumford’s Frank Churchill

Disney’s film composer and songwriter

by James Nalley

In 1937, the animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Based on the German fairy table by the Brothers Grimm, it was not only the first full-length animated film, but also Disney’s first animated feature film. Despite initial doubts from the film industry, it was a critical and commercial success. Part of its success was its musical score, which included well-known songs such as “Heigh-ho,” “Someday My Prince Will Come,” and “Whistle While You Work.” Interestingly, these catchy songs were written by a Rumford-born man, who went on to write songs for other full-length ani-

mated films such as Dumbo, Bambi, and Peter Pan.

Frank Edwin Churchill was born in Rumford on October 20, 1901. After moving to Southern California with his family at the age of four, he eventually learned the piano. Inspired by classical music, he became proficient enough to accompany silent films at a local theater in Ventura, California. At the persistence of his parents, he began pre-med studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). However, after one year of study, he chose to pursue a career in music and dropped out. Subsequently, he played piano in bars in Tijuana, Mexico, followed by an orchestra job in Tucson,

Frank Churchill at the piano (courtesy of Doyle)

Arizona. Despite his lack of formal musical education, Churchill found work as an accompanist and soloist at the Los Angeles radio station KNX (AM) in 1924.

In 1930, Churchill got his big break when he joined Disney Studios. There, he scored approximately 65 animated shorts, including the song, “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf,” for The Three Little Pigs (1933), which was a huge commercial success. As stated in his biographical article by Walt Disney Archives, “This song raised the spirits of countless Depression-weary audiences who adopted the song as a resilient national anthem of hope. Frank spoke of the song’s surprising success when more than 39,000 copies of sheet music sold within three days in New York City alone: ‘It seemed to be on every phonograph record…and practically every orchestra in the country was featuring this number.’”

As Disney Studios built up its reputation, Churchill was naturally chosen by Walt Disney to score the studio’s first full-length animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). As stated by Disney Archives, “Tall, slender, quiet, and reserved, Churchill worked from a mere idea, story sequence, or character to develop such classic Disney songs as “Heighho” and “Whistle While You Work,” which played a large part in the film’s success.” Meanwhile, “Someday My Prince Will Come” became a popular jazz standard performed by Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans, Miles Davis, and Keith Jarrett, among others. As for the film itself, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs became the first American film to have a soundtrack album. Before this film, a soundtrack recording was unheard of and had little to no value to a film studio.

In 1942, Churchill and fellow com-

poser Oliver Wallace won an Academy Award in the category for “Best Original Score” for their work in Dumbo (1941). According to the book Walt Disney: An American Original (1976) by Bob Thomas, “Dumbo proved to be a financial miracle, compared to other Disney films. The simple film only cost $950,000 (equivalent to $17 million today) to produce, which was half the cost of Snow White and less than a third of the cost of Pinocchio Dumbo returned a profit of $850,000.” Churchill and Washington’s work on the song “Baby Mine” also earned a nomination for “Best Original Song.”

In 1942, Churchill, elevated to music supervisor at Disney Studios, was in the early stages of working on the scores for Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), and Peter Pan (1953). However, the same year, two of his closest friends and fellow Disney orchestra members had died within (cont. on page 16)

(cont. from page 15)

a month of one another. This affected Churchill after which he became deeply depressed and started drinking heavily. On May 14, 1942, Churchill had been working at the studio and told his colleagues that he was returning to his ranch (in Newhall, approximately 40 miles north of Los Angeles) “for a rest.” Later that afternoon, authorities were called to the house, where his wife Carolyn found him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was at the piano with a rifle, a rosary, and a suicide note that read, “Dear Carolyn, my nerves have completely left me, please forgive me for this awful act, it seems the only way I can cure myself…Frank.” He was only 40 years old. He was subsequently buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. This was also where Walt Disney himself was later buried.

One can only wonder where his career would have gone and what songs

he would have produced if he had lived longer. In 2001, the Walt Disney Company honored Frank Churchill posthu-

mously with the Disney Legends Award under the category of music.

The Disney music room in 1931 (courtesy of Doyle)

Chansonetta Stanley Emmons Part of the talented Kingfield family

by James Nalley

In the late 19th century, a Kingfield-born woman who studied art and painting went into photography, as one of the relatively few women in this burgeoning field. What made her more unique was that she depicted scenes of domestic life, especially in rural northern New England. After honing her skills, she eventually produced captivating pictures of people at work, families at home, children at play, and farmers in Maine and other parts of the country. Although she considered herself as sympathetic to the poor and uneducated, she lived a comfortable life as an old-fashioned Victorian lady, due to the ongoing financial support of her twin brothers, Francis and Freelan Stanley. Although the brothers made a for-

tune (in the millions) from the invention and manufacture of photographic plates, they are best known as the inventors of the Stanley Steamer (the popular steambased automobiles from 1902–1924).

Chansonetta Stanley Emmons was born on December 30, 1858, in Kingfield. The only daughter of Apphia and Solomon Stanley, she was nicknamed “Netta,” since her French-inspired name (meaning “little song”) was too difficult for some people to pronounce. According to the article “The Life and Photographs of Chansonetta Stanley Emmons” (1977) by Marius Peladeau in Maine Antique Digest, “Apphia died when Chansonetta was only 16. After being educated in a one-room schoolhouse on Riverside Street near her

Chansonetta Stanley Emmons in the 1880s

home, she enrolled in the Western State Normal School in Farmington. However, upon completing her studies as a teacher, she quickly discovered that her love of art far outweighed her desire to become an ordinary schoolteacher.”

Accordingly, Netta left Farmington and moved to Boston, where she studied art with various artists such as J.G. Enneking and J.G Brown. She also met James Nathaniel Whitman, whom she married in February 1887 in Lewiston, Maine. In 1891, Netta gave birth to her only child, Dorothy Stanley Emmons, who would go on to become an accomplished painter, illustrator, and author. Although Whitman was from a well-established New England family, Netta’s brother Freelan felt that her family’s home was too small, after which he bought them a large house in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1895. This became the setting for many of her early photographs of home and family life.

In 1898, James died of blood poi-

soning at the age of 41, forcing Netta and Dorothy to leave Dorchester and move to Newton, Massachusetts. There, she raised seven-year-old Dorothy on her own. It was at that time that Netta used photography to supplement her income. As stated in her biographical article (2005) by the Dorchester Atheneum, Netta “actively participated in photographic competitions, camera club exhibitions, and lectures that featured her photography reproduced as hand-colored glass lantern slides.” These slides were projected through the so-called “magic lantern,” which was an early slide projector that used pictures, paintings, and photographs on transparent plates as well as different lenses and light sources to present the colored images on a screen.

According to the article “Chansonetta Stanley Emmons: Staging the Past” (2022) by the Maine Memory Network, “In comparison to today’s candid digi-

tal snapshots, photography in the glassplate era required extensive staging and patience. Chansonneta set her subjects in domestic interiors and agricultural landscapes, posing them in performative scenes reminiscent of 17th-century paintings.” Meanwhile, Dorothy became Netta’s constant companion, assistant, and frequent subject of her photographs, all under the constant financial support of her wealthy brothers. With such support and without being bound to commissions like commercial/professional photographers, Netta and Dorothy freely traveled the country and exhibited the glass lantern slides, all handpainted to project the colored images. According to the Maine Antique Digest, “Among her most noted pictures are those of rural people, including African Americans, in Charleston, South Carolina, taken in the 1920s.” Moreover, “Although hers was a conservative upbringing, her eye (cont. on page 22)

(cont. from page 21)

saw the reality of other situations, e.g., the primitive strength of Maine farming families, and the beauty and dignity of the Southern blacks. At times, there is a hurried look to her approach; spurred possibly by a sense of guilt at the abject poverty. But sympathy there is.”

Ever Netta’s close companion, Dorothy, after graduating from Wellesley College in 1914, returned to be with her mother. After Netta lost her hearing in 1920, Dorothy even conducted the presentations as Netta worked the projector from the back of the room.

On March 18, 1937, Netta died in her sleep at the age of 79. As for her legacy, although her works have been on exhibition by the Maine Historical Society in August 2016, with the most recent one ending in March 2023, the Stanley Museum in Kingfield owns the largest collection of her photographic prints and glass plate negatives in the world. Located on 40 School Street

in Kingfield, this museum has assembled a collection of many facets of the Stanley family. According to the museum, “Along with four Stanley Steamer automobiles, equally important are Chansonetta’s photographs depicting turn-of-the-century American life and

Dorothy’s paintings. All these collections illustrate the technical, artistic, social, and economic achievements of the Stanley family, and how these achievements relate to the past, present, and future.”

The Stanley brothers in one of their steam cars, ca. 1898

They once held sway over Norridgewock

by Jeffrey Bradley

Before 1763 England and France warred constantly over possession of North America. A welter of royally confusing alphabet wars — King William’s, Queen Anne’s, King Philip’s to name just a few — involving New France, New England, and the Abenaki homelands kept all frontier Maine in a turmoil. Battles, skirmishes, raids, and reprisals, with brief outbreaks of peace, waged between the English colonists and their Iroquois allies and the French colonists and their Abenaki allies in a decades-long cycle of mayhem and strife. Lasting from 1688 to 1725, the carnage left settlements smoldering, captives taken, massacres per-

petuated, and misery the lot of famished survivors. At times it seemed the whole region was ablaze, and before it was done the Abenaki nation had been torn to tatters.

The settlements of Norridgewock Village especially experienced this chaos. Tribes in Somerset County had previously coexisted, barring the occasional foray by warlike Iroquois. But all that changed with the Europeans, for the French proceeded to marry them, while the English pushed them away; and both had disastrous results for the Indians.

After first contact in 1524 epidemics, ill-treatment and warfare had by

the early 1600s already decimated indigenous populations. An Eastern Algonquian tribe and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy, the Abenakis occupied interior Maine near present-day Norridgewock, Starks and Madison. Warfare drew them in on the side of the French. And while there is some speculation over the origins of the term “Norridgewock” there is none whatsoever concerning the Native response to the English.

Having staked the Kennebec River as the western border of Acadia, the French had to contend with English claims that the line lay 40 miles east on the St. George River. What stood in be-

tween was contested territory containing the three Abenaki strongholds that at various times and places were considered Norridgewock settlements. In Madison the site at Old Point was the last. Collectively they are designated the Norridgewock Archaeological District, a National Historic Landmark. New France especially desired the boundary fixed on the Kennebec because from Quebec that river led straight to the heart of the disputed area in Norridgewock. Alarmed at English advances on what they considered their preeminent village, the French were precluded from hostile adventure by a state of peace that existed; instead, Jesuit missionaries were inserted into Abenaki encampments to counter the ominous threat. In 1694 Father Sébastien Rale arrived in Norridgewock Village expecting to end this unnerving Protestant presence.

A contemporary describes the vil-

lage as a square fort with 9-foot palisades surrounding sturdy log cabins, with each wall running 160 feet and containing a centered gate. Connecting streets formed a large central square where a prominent cross was erected. With dozens of canoes beached on the riverbank, and the spacious fields cleared for planting, this site, by any standards, was substantial.

Jesuits then were a militant arm of the Catholic Church, and with his matted beard, piercing eyes and black robes flapping in the wintry wind Father Rale had more than a touch of the zealot about him. Educated, charismatic, endowed with prodigious energy, the tireless priest took the mission promptly in hand, converted droves of adherents, established the first school in Maine, and built a church described as “a large handsome log building adorned with many pictures and toys to please the Indians.” He spoke fluent Abenaki, start-

ed an Indian alphabet, and immersed himself in their affairs. Rightly suspicious, the English would later accuse him of using “astonishing influence” to foment resentment against them.

Initially Abenakis became involved in the fighting due to their friendship with a French military officer who was also oddly an Indian chief. In 1703, tactics of strike and counterstrike were adopted when some 500 braves including the Abenakis under command of a French officer launched a successful attack against Wells. In reprisal, during the winter of 1705, the English governor dispatched 300 English colonial militia to seize Father Rale and sack the village. Forewarned, the good Father fled with his papers into the woods, leaving the frustrated raiders to settle for setting the torch. An uneasy peace ensued that left the Acadian boundary muddled, but the Abenakis willing to accept English trading posts on their (cont. on page 26)

Since 1970

(cont. from page 25)

land. Goodwill faded however, as their fortified blockhouses began to go up. Father Rale resumed his instigating by preaching on the evils of giving away ancestral land so freely while railing against the perfidious English heresy. In 1721, 250 warriors in 90 canoes delivered an ultimatum to the English governor at Georgetown demanding the total cessation of English encroachment and complete removal of every vestige of influence from all Native grounds under pain of severest penalty.

What happened next became known as Father Rale’s War, and it ended badly.

With a price put on Rale’s head, English militia in 1722 again descended on Norridgewock with orders to capture that elusive priest, pillage the town, and burn the church to the ground. Yet, once more, they came away empty-handed. The outraged tribe in response moved south to attack, overrun and lay waste

the town of Brunswick. In turn, the governor declared all-out war and on a hot afternoon in August of 1724 the final Battle of Norridgewock got underway. The English colonials attacked,

taking the now stockadeless village by surprise; they shot the place up, caused the women and children to flee in a panic, and chased and dispatched the Norridgewock sachem. Another sixty braves were killed or wounded, with Father Rale himself shot in the head during the melee. Scalps were taken, the village plundered, and everything else was burned or destroyed. A few stragglers lingered on, but most other survivors simply buried their dead and dispersed away north to Canada.

Like two chess grandmasters locked in titanic battle, England and France used the Native Americans like tactical pieces to further an overall strategy. In the end, the Abenakis were simply pawns to be played, sacrificed, then removed from the board and dropped in the box.

And in this way historical perspective becomes obscured by the mists of time.

Skowhegan: 474-6223

Dover-Foxcroft: 659-3642

Abenaki Couple, an 18th-century watercolor by an unknown artist. Courtesy of the City of Montreal Records Management & Archives, Montreal, Canada.

Fairfield’s Frank Bunker Gilbreth

Pioneer of time and motion study

by James Nalley

Before the turn of the 20th century, a Fairfield-born man graduated from high school and broke into the construction industry as a bricklayer. According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), “In the course of his work, he observed that each bricklayer approached his job differently, some seemingly more efficient than others. He then began analyzing their motions to determine which approach to bricklaying was the best.” Eventually, his expertise as an efficiency expert made him renowned in the field of scientific management (the theory of management that analyzes workflows to improve economic and labor efficiency). He also became a pioneer in

time and motion study. As for this field, time study focused on establishing standard times (i.e., the amount of time that should be allowed for an average worker to process one work unit at a normal pace), while motion study aimed at improving work methods. The two techniques were eventually integrated into a widely accepted method, which is still applied today in industrial and service organizations, including banks, schools, and hospitals.

Frank Bunker Gilbreth was born in Fairfield on July 7, 1868. When Gilbreth was three years of age, his father died suddenly from pneumonia. After his father’s death, his mother moved the family to Andover, Massachusetts.

~ Frank Bunker Gilbreth ~

According to the book, Making Time: Lillian Moller Gilbreth (2004), by Jane Lancaster, “The substantial estate left by her husband was managed by her husband’s family. By the fall of 1878, the money had been lost or stolen, forcing his mother to find a way to make a living…She opened a boarding house since the salary of a schoolteacher could not support the family.”

Meanwhile, Gilbreth was not a good student. After his mother homeschooled him for one year, he attended Boston’s English High School, and his grades dramatically improved, especially in math and science. Although he took the entrance examinations for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he decided to go to work, rather than attend college. As stated earlier, at the age of 17, Gilbreth became a bricklayer for the Whidden Construction Company, and gained an interest in finding the best way to execute the task. As stated by Lancaster, “He took night school

classes to learn mechanical drawing and advanced rapidly in the construction company. After five years, Gilbreth became a superintendent, which allowed his mother to give up her boarding house.” At the age of 27, Gilbreth was the chief superintendent. However, after the Whiddens chose not to make him a partner, he resigned and started his own company in 1895.

As a general contractor, Gilbreth built 90 large-scale projects across the United States, including full-scale factories, paper mills, canals, dams, and powerhouses. By 1908, he had become the inventor of 13 patents. In 1912, Gilbreth changed careers to efficiency and management engineering. This grew into a collaboration with his wife, Lillian Moller Gilbreth, after which they studied the work habits of manufacturing and clerical employees in many different industries to find ways to increase their output. In fact, he and Lillian founded a management consulting

firm, Frank B. Gilbreth, Inc., to focus on such endeavors.

In World War I, Gilbreth served as a major in the U.S. Army. His assignment was to find faster and more efficient means of assembling/disassembling small arms. However, he caught rheumatic fever and then pneumonia weeks into his service and spent four months in recovery prior to being discharged. However, Gilbreth managed to reduce all motions of the hand into a combination of 17 basic motions. He also used a motion picture camera that was calibrated in fractions of minutes to time the smallest motions of the hands. He also devised the standard techniques used by armies around the world to teach recruits how to quickly disassemble/reassemble their weapons, even when blindfolded or in total darkness.

As for scientific management, the work of the Gilbreths is often association with Frederick Winslow Taylor, who was widely known for his methods (cont. on page 30)

Hathaway Mill Antiques, a sister shop to Cabot Mill Antiques in Brunswick, is a 10,000 square foot multi-dealer quality antique shop featuring period furnishings to mid-century modern. Including furniture, textiles, books, jewelry, art, and general store displays.

(cont. from page 29)

to improve industrial efficiency. However, according to the Newsletter of the Gilbreth Network (1997), “The symbol of Taylorism was the stopwatch, which was used to reduce processing times. The Gilbreths, in contrast, sought to make processes more efficient by reducing the motions involved. They saw their approach as more concerned with workers’ welfare than Taylorism. This difference led to a rift between Taylor and the Gilbreths.” Interestingly, “after Taylor’s death, this rift turned into a feud between Gilbreth’s and Taylor’s followers.”

When conducting their motion studies, the Gilbreths found that to improve work efficiency, it was important to reduce unnecessary motions. They also found that such motions directly caused employee fatigue. As stated in the Newsletter of the Gilbreth Network, they focused on “reducing motions,

~ Frank Gilbreth in 1916 ~

tool redesign, parts placement, and bench and seating height. Their work also broke ground for the contemporary understanding of ergonomics.”

Unfortunately, due to heart damage from Gilbreth’s bout with rheumatic fever and pneumonia, he died of a heart attack on June 14, 1924. He was 55 years of age. As for their legacy, aside from their pioneering work in motion studies and efficiency management, they frequently used their large family in their experiments. Such exploits are detailed in the 1948 book Cheaper by the Dozen, written by son Frank Jr. and daughter Ernestine. This book inspired a 1950 film starring Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy, and a second (2003) and third (2022) film, which bear no resemblance to the first.

The Gilbreths also received a lifetime achievement award by the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers.

Cheaper by the Dozen was published in 1948 and written by Frank’s son Frank Jr. and his daugter Enrestine. The book inspired a 1950 film starring Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy.

Finally, as a fitting acknowledgement of his work, Gilbreth’s saying of “I will always choose a lazy person to do a

difficult job, because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it” is still commonly used today.

A second and third film followed in 2003 and 2022

The Genealogy Corner

Getting started tracing your family roots

by Charles Francis

At some point a fair number of us are bitten by the genealogy bug. Perhaps we come across a tidbit of information about an ancestor or relatives who went west and drove a stagecoach. Then again it may be simple curiosity as to who our grandparent’s parents were. Or, it may be wanting to draw up the family tree to give brothers and sisters at Christmas and needing to check out birth, death, and marriage dates. Regardless as to what stimulates our interest in genealogy, the question is how to begin gathering information.

Having the name of an immediate family connection is usually enough to get started. Then, before you even be-

gin to go out and research, check out your family to see what they might have or know about the individual in

question. It is surprising what sorts of things people squirrel away in the way of old albums, scrapbooks, or even old baby books. You might even find the guestbook signed by mourners at a funeral that can direct you to people who are still alive who knew the person you are researching.

Quite a number of years ago I was asked by Rosemary Verrill, the staff photographer of the University of Maine at Farmington, if I knew anything about a White family in Belfast. It seems that Ms. Verrill had discovered she had a connection to Henry Patterson White, who had owned the Franklin Journal and Farmington Chronicle.

She knew the Farmington newspaper owner had come from Belfast and that his father, Robert, had died there. As I lived in the Belfast area, she wondered if I could go to the local paper and check out the obituary.

Checking out obituaries is one of the first steps in genealogical research. Almost everyone has an obituary. Besides providing a basic history of the deceased, they almost always have information on the individual’s parentage and surviving family members. And the obituary should also tell you where the deceased is interred. You can then visit the cemetery and possibly come across the names of other family members who are buried there. You should call ahead to the newspaper to make an appointment to view their files.

Another immediate source of information for the beginning researcher is census records. Researching them, like checking out obituaries or visiting a

cemetery, requires legwork, however. You have to go to a library or other repository that has the Census data on record. In Maine that means the Maine State Library, Maine Historical Society, another large repository, or using the Internet, which can include an access fee. You should also be prepared to spend a fair amount of time, as one census record almost always leads to others. The best way to research census records is by working backward. Depending on the year, you should at least learn a person’s occupation and who was living with whom.

I did go to the offices of the Republican Journal in Belfast to see what I could find out about Robert White, the father of Henry Patterson White. There I discovered that Robert White was something of a person of note as far as the Journal was concerned. It seems that Henry Patterson White had followed in his father’s footsteps as a

journalist. Robert White had been one of the founders of the Republican Journal. Ironically, while Matt Groening, the editor of the Journal, knew a good deal about the history of his paper, he knew nothing of the White family connection to the Franklin Journal and the Farmington Chronicle

One should get some basic information about a person, especially where they were born or died or married. It is relatively easy to check out your findings. Legal documents like birth, death, and marriage certificates are all public record and can be acquired, often for a fee, from a town office. The same is true for military and veterans’ records, court records like wills, and social security records. Other sources of information can include church and school records, alumni lists, and the records of fraternal organizations.

All of the above sources taken together can provide quite a good picture (cont. on page 34)

(cont. from page 33)

of the person you’re researching. For example, Henry Patterson White married Grace Gould of Farmington. She was the daughter of Nelson and Hannah Gould. Henry White’s mother was Eliza Simonton. The Whites had three children, Robert, Isabel, and Florence. The family attended the Unitarian church. Henry White attended the Abbott School, and he was a founder of the Farmington Public Library Association. All of this information was part of his obituary.

Above all, the key for the beginning genealogist is to contact other family members to see what information they may have. While it is generally traditional that the oldest male child be given family records and memorabilia, there is no telling who has what and who may know what.

If you have lost track of relatives but have a general idea of where they live, a call to information is a simple way to locate them. Also, there are phone books for every locality on the Inter-

net. Contacting a long-lost relative can provide a good deal of pleasure as well as information. Another idea is to do a bulk mailing to family members and individuals who knew the person you’re researching. Make up a questionnaire to send out and see what you get.

The ideas suggested above are just the basic nuts and bolts of genealogical research. Once you get started, there are any number of good sources to look into for additional ideas. One of the best books for the beginning family researcher is Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources It is put out by Ancestry Publishing of Salt Lake City.

Once you get started on your research, you may be surprised at the connections you find, as I was when I discovered the connection between the newspapers of Belfast and Farmington.

Pass on a tradition that will last a lifetime.

Why Livermore Was Called Port Royal An early history of the town

by Charles Francis

When Livermore was incorporated as the ninety-ninth town in Massachusetts on February 29, 1795 it was named for Deacon Elijah Livermore, one of the first settlers of the township and one of its proprietors. That is a well-known and established fact. It is also fairly well-known that before its incorporation, Livermore was known as Port Royal. The details of the origins of that earlier name are, however, somewhat misunderstood and confused.

References to Livermore’s earlier name generally state that the name Port Royal relates to a battle fought at that

Acadian town sometime in the 1700s. Old histories of Livermore, such as the one found in Varney’s A Gazetteer of the State of Maine, say the expedition to Port Royal took place in the middle of the eighteenth century. Others are even less precise, stating that the name Port Royal was chosen because some of the early grantees of the township fought in the battle when Port Royal was taken from the French. The implication is that Elijah Livermore and other early settlers of the township like Major Thomas Fish or Isiah Manly fought at Port Royal.

The capture of Port Royal took

place in 1710. Elijah Livermore was not present when the French fort there fell to forces from Massachusetts. He couldn’t have been. Elijah Livermore was born in 1731. The same is true of Fish and Manly. They were born after the battle occurred. There is, of course, a link between that 1710 battle in what was then the French province of Acadia and the township that was to become the town of Livermore.

Some of the early settlers of Port Royal, including Elijah Livermore, came from Waltham, Massachusetts. The link between Livermore, Maine, Waltham, Massachusetts, the township (cont. on page 36

(cont. from page 35)

of Port Royal and Port Royal, Acadia is that a good number of the soldiers who fought at Port Royal against the French came from Waltham.

In the spring of 1710, Colonel Francis Nicholson was placed in command of a force of fifteen hundred Massachusetts militiamen. Nicholson, who was regarded as one of the most able military commanders in New England of the period, was charged with taking the French capital of Acadia at what is now known as the Annapolis Basin in present-day Nova Scotia. The troops under Nicholson were augmented by some British regulars as well as a few marines. The force gathered in Boston and was transported downeast to Port Royal in a combination of British naval vessels and local merchant vessels. From the organization and numbers involved, it is clear that the expedition was an important undertaking, which it was. A

number of attempts had been made in the past to drive the French from their stronghold. The successful completion of the expedition is why the township that would become Livermore was granted to veterans who served at Port Royal.

Francis Nicholson’s force landed at Port Royal on October 5, 1710. Five days later the French surrendered. The name Port Royal was subsequently changed to Fort Anne to honor Queen Anne, the British monarch at the time. Port Royal would, however, live on in the District of Maine, at least for a time. This isn’t quite the end of the story, however.

Nicholson went back to Boston with the bulk of his forces. Four hundred and fifty men were left at Port Royal, or more properly, Fort Anne. The four hundred and fifty had an awful time that winter. They lacked proper cloth-

ing for the cold, had no money as their pay was in arrears and in many cases actually came close to starving as neither Boston nor London sent supplies and they couldn’t buy any from the locals without money. In part because of this, a grateful Massachusetts General Court awarded the township that would become Livermore to the Port Royal veterans. Some of their descendants were the ones who actually became the township’s early settlers and proprietors.

In the summer and autumn of 1772 Elijah Livermore, Ebenezer Learned, and Richard Woodward surveyed what would become the town of Livermore, dividing it into lots. It was the original proprietors who first chose the name Port Royal to honor the men who had fought and endured that battle and the following horrible winter.

The name Livermore was chosen

to honor Elijah Livermore, the most prominent of the township’s proprietors. Elijah Livermore was a member of an important family. A brother, Samuel, was Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court as well as a United States Senator, and two nephews were New Hampshire Supreme Court Justices as well as Congressmen.

As for Elijah Livermore, besides being one of the township’s proprietors, he was important in the township’s early development. Among other things, Livermore built the first mill in the community and helped raise money for the first church.

Celebration in Turner, ca. 1880. Item # 1207 from the collections of the Maine Historical

The Auburn Barnstormers

Roland Maheu and Robert St. Jock

by Charles Francis

The late 1930s and early 1940s were the heydays of the barnstormer. During that period daredevil pilots and stunt parachutists toured North America putting on air shows to appreciative audiences who first turned out because they expected to see crashes and loss of life, and who later came to see that flying was an art as well as a craft. Around 1940 Auburn-Lewiston Airport in Auburn became the home field of two of the foremost barnstormers in the country, Roland Maheu and Robert St. Jock. Maheu and St. Jock were larger-than-life figures performing stunts that won them national acclaim as well as countless trophies at air shows

around the country. Both, too, were much more than stunt pilots as they performed a vital service during World War II training pilots for the armed services.

Roland Maheu and Robert St. Jock were members of what could be called the second generation of barnstormers. They grew up watching the first barnstormers perform at fairs or farmer’s fields. The first generation of barnstormers was primarily made up of former World War I pilots. The 1920s was the low point for civilian and military aviation. Military pilots were forced to fly obsolete war surplus planes due to War Department budget cuts, and much of the aircraft airframe and en-

gine industry dried up. Former World War I pilots were reduced to flying mail routes or barnstorming. The first barnstormer to put on air shows in northern New England was Maine-born Merle Fogg. In the summer of 1923, Fogg put on shows from Bangor to Burlington, Vermont. Both Maheu and St. Jock attended his shows and it was perhaps by watching Fogg and his partner, wing walker and parachutist George “Daredevil” Sparks, that they first thought of becoming pilots themselves.

Roland Maheu was an Auburn native who had been born there in 1914. Robert St. Jock, while he was to be known as “The Mad Monk of Maine”

as well as “The Houdini of the Air” and was sometimes referred to as an Auburn native, did not move to Auburn until 1937. He was actually a Vermont native, having been born in Morristown, Vermont in 1910.

That Roland Maheu and Robert St. Jock would be rivals was a given. Both were precocious, being extremely quick learners, and both were astute businessmen. They were accomplished pilots before they got out of their teens. Both had become flight instructors at the age of twenty. Maheu had even opened up his own field at nearby Minot for instruction, in addition to operating out of Auburn-Lewiston Airport. St. Jock had started his flight instructing at Burlington Airport in Vermont, which would be his chief base of operations for seven years until he arrived in Auburn in 1937. In addition, both men were establishing a reputation as stunt pilots for their barnstorming exploits in

northern New England.

Robert St. Jock came to Maine to work for Henry Dingley’s Maine Air Transport Company. The company operated land and seaplane terminals at Bangor, Auburn, Portage Lake, and Moosehead Lake. St. Jock was the company’s chief pilot.

It was in the summer of 1938 that the rivalry between Roland Maheu and Robert St. Jock took off. After nearly a year with the Maine Air Transport Company, St. Jock had established himself enough so that he was able to take some time off to engage in his favorite activity, barnstorming. In August St. Jock helped organize the Maine Air Rendezvous. Besides bringing in some of his former student pilots from Vermont, St. Jock made himself the star of the air show. His patented “square loop,” which he executed three times in immediate succession, was the hit of the air show. In fact, no other pilot even

attempted it. From here, St. Jock went on to organize the Yankee Flying Circus, which put on shows in Vermont, New Hampshire, and even Nantucket Island. And, of course, there was a show in Auburn. By this time St. Jock was being referred to in the press as the foremost stunt pilot in the east. In 1939 St. Jock, as a warm-up to the New England Aerobatics Championship, put on a show with the Yankee Flying Circus in Bangor. The advertisements for the show promised “every thrill in the book,” and the show delivered. St. Jock stole the show with his final maneuver. His final maneuver, which probably helped earn him the nickname of “The Mad Monk from Maine,” started with him flying in over the field upside down. He then stalled the engine and flipping over, came down with a fishtail landing. Later that same year St. Jock went on to win the New England Aerobatics Championship.

(cont. on page 40)

(cont. from page 39)

While Robert St. Jock was preparing for the New England Aerobatics Championship, Roland Maheu was establishing himself as one of the premier flight instructors in the country. He was also preparing for the 1940 New England Aerobatics Championship as well as developing some of his own unique stunts, one which would put him in Ripley’s Believe in or Not

The way the story goes of how Roland Maheu developed his trademark stunt is as follows: One day Maheu had a student pilot up when the student asked what should be done when a plane stalls. Maheu calmly shut off the engine, got out on the landing gear and hand-cranked the propeller until the engine started. This stunt became his finale whenever he went barnstorming around New England and it was what got him into Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Maheu went on to win the 1940 New

England Aerobatics Championship, firmly establishing himself beside Robert St. Jock as one of the premier stunt pilots in the east. That same year, St. Jock won the Upside Down Aerobatics Championship in Cleveland as well as the National Aerobatics Championship. Both men seemed destined for a life in the national spotlight and they probably would have attained it but for World War II.

Auburn-Lewiston Airport, like the rest of Maine, had begun to feel the effects of the conflict in Europe well before 1940. As a matter of fact, Maine, like the rest of the country, had been preparing for conflict well before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, and one of the sites of preparation was the Auburn-Lewiston Airport.

At the northeast corner of the United States, Maine is the closest state to Europe. Therefore, it was considered vital

to the military defense as well as the offense of the country. Because of its long indented coastline and vast wilderness regions with few people, it was the perfect place for spies and saboteurs to enter the country. Small boats could easily come ashore undetected and planes could land in almost two-thirds of the state with no one being the wiser. In addition, Portland was the headquarters of the North Atlantic Fleet and every convoy heading to Europe passed through the Gulf of Maine. For these and other reasons, there was a crying need for air cover, and this meant having adequate airports.

Auburn-Lewiston Airport, like most of the airports in Maine, had been part of the work relief projects of the Depression. Starting in 1940 the War Department had begun prioritizing Maine airports as being essential to the national defense. While Auburn-Lewiston

Are you ready to start a new journey?

Airport was not at the head of the list with Brunswick, Portland, and Bangor, it was considered important. One of the reasons involved Roland Maheu and Robert St. Jock, both recognized as flight instructors par excellence. Another factor that made the Auburn-Lewiston Airport important was that it had an active CAA organization, which was headed by St. Jock. This latter group, a forerunner of the Civil Air Patrol, had already distinguished itself in several search and rescue missions in the Maine woods.

Roland Maheu became the first civilian flight instructor in the country to offer his services to the military. He first instructed pilots enrolled in the Navy’s Officer Candidate Program and later he became the first civilian pilot in the United States to train GIs to be pilots. Under Maheu’s guidance, several thousand men qualified to become

pilots and went off to serve their country in Europe and the Pacific. After the war a good many of these men went on to become commercial pilots. Robert St. Jock also answered the call to duty, however. He felt the need to make an immediate contribution to the war effort and he went to Canada, which was, in 1940 already a belligerent.

St. Jock’s first assignment in Canada was at the Royal Canadian Air Observers School in Chatham, New Brunswick. Here he instructed Canadian pilots to fly bombers. He was then promoted to Captain of the Royal Canadian Air Observers and stationed in Quebec where he trained future Canadian flight instructors. When the United States entered the conflict, St. Jock returned home to serve as a pilot in the United States Ferry Command in the midwest. He would never return to his beloved northern New England, how-

ever.

On one of his early barnstorming trips to the South, St. Jock had contracted malaria. So long as he stayed in the colder climates of the north it didn’t bother him. However, he had a flare-up while in the midwest. Given leave to recuperate, he took a part-time job crop dusting in Arkansas. It was here that the man who was perhaps the greatest stunt pilot the United States ever produced, died in one of those inexplicable accidents that come to even the greatest of pilots. Possibly, because he was still suffering from the effects of malaria, St. Jock misjudged his position in relation to a power line. He was killed when his plane struck it. He was just 32.

Roland Maheu died in 1999 having been an active pilot for sixty-four years. He continued to be a fixture at air shows throughout New England, deliberately stalling his plane and get(cont. on page 42)

(cont. from page 41)

ting onto the landing gear and cranking the propeller to start it again. He developed other unique stunts, too. One was landing his Piper J-3 Cub on top of a moving car and staying there until the car reached the end of the runway. How might the rivalry between Roland Maheu and Robert St. Jock have evolved if St. Jock had not perished at such an untimely age? One can only conjecture. However, perhaps it is more fitting to remember them as patriots rather than as stuntmen.

FUTURE STARTS HERE

Moses Crafts & Co. Shoe Factory in Auburn, ca. 1880. Item # 5771 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com

The man behind the naming of Bates College

by Charles Francis

Tradition has it that in 1863 Benjamin Bates did not know that the little college that had begun as a Baptist seminary and to which he had been giving money to through the Lewiston Water Power Company was undergoing a name change, that the Maine State Seminary was in the process of becoming Bates College.

What Benjamin Bates’ immediate thoughts were when he learned of the name change are a matter of conjecture. That he approved of the change is borne out by the fact that he continued to serve as the college’s first major benefactor.

Most who know anything of the

early history of Bates College know that the college owes much to Benjamin Bates. Yet they know little if anything about Benjamin Bates and Oren Cheney, the founder and president of the seminary that Cheney named in Benjamin Bates’ honor.

That Benjamin Bates was wealthy goes without saying. In today’s dollars Bates’ donations to the college that bears his name would exceed the million mark. That Benjamin Bates was a canny businessman also goes without saying. You make a lot of money by correctly interpreting trends and needs in the business world.

Benjamin Bates made a lot of mon-

ey during the War Between the States. Foreseeing the inevitability of war, Bates stockpiled southern cotton in Lewiston warehouses and then produced uniforms for the Union Army.

Cotton and Lewiston’s early prosperity go hand-in-hand. As early as 1820 cotton manufacturers or wouldbe cotton manufacturers saw that Lewiston Falls had the waterpower to turn the wheels of industry. Therefore, Lewiston became a cotton-mill center. The waterpower of the falls was augmented with the construction of a great canal — sixty-two feet wide and three quarters of a mile long. The first mill on the canal was Bates No. 1.

(cont. on page 44)

(cont. from page 43)

The history of the Maine State Seminary or Bates College goes handin-glove with the history of the development of Lewiston’s cotton manufacturing. Both were innovative and farsighted. Bates was the first coeducational eastern college in the country. (The first woman was graduated in 1869. She went on to teach at Vassar.)

The Maine State Seminary was founded in 1855. In 1863 it became a degree-granting institution. Its founder and president for thirty-nine years was Oren Cheney, a Free Will Baptist. Somewhat ironically, Benjamin Bates, the school’s first major benefactor, was a staunch Congregationalist.

One of the things — perhaps the most important thing — that Cheney and Bates had in common was the fact that both were temperance men. Both supported the Maine Law, the first successful temperance legislation in the United States.

Benjamin Bates made fortunes in Massachusetts as well as Maine. Bates got his start in business in dry goods in Boston. He was co-founder of Davis, Bates & Turner. When that firm dissolved in 1847, Bates had the wherewithal to become a power broker in several corporate areas including Boston’s First National Bank of Commerce and several railroads. He also served on the board of the Lewiston Water Power Company. This latter involvement led to his moving to the Lewiston-Auburn area and eventually to the founding of the Bates cotton mills.

Given the fact that the Maine State Seminary and its founder Oren Cheney represented and espoused a different religious sectarianism than Benjamin Bates, one wonders why Bates would support the institution even though he approved of the formers’ views on temperance. Perhaps a portion of the answer is found in the early makeup of

the school’s student body.

The bulk of the seminary’s student body came from Maine’s hinterland. The students came from farm families of rural Oxford, Androscoggin and Franklin counties. Benjamin Bates came from a similar background, having been born in the rural farming community of Mansfield, Massachusetts.

Benjamin Bates believed in personally involving himself in the community. This is seen in the fact that, even though he was a wheeler-dealer in the world of big time corporation, he taught Sunday school. In short, Bates probably saw his early contributions to the Maine State Seminary as supporting the larger community surrounding Lewiston. He came to Lewiston not simply to make money but to help its residents and the residents of surrounding communities better themselves.

Beyond the above-mentioned points, the Maine State Seminary was,

in a sense, nonsectarian. Oren Cheney’s philosophy regarding admission was that the seminary’s doors were open to all regardless of “wealth, gender, race or religion.”

Benjamin Bates intended that his beneficence regarding the college that bore his name be even more than what it was. Bates’ will bequeathed $100,000 to Bates. The will was probated in Massachusetts. Bates’ heirs fought the terms of the will. The college lost in the Massachusetts’ courts. One wonders if the result would have been the same had Bates’ will been probated in Maine. As for Benjamin Bates himself, he clearly regarded Maine as home. He is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Auburn, not all that far from the college named in his honor.

What’s going on in there?

The th ing about eye disease is, you may n o t know you have it. Some conditions are asymptomatic, and by the time symptoms do present we’re left with fewer options. An annual examination at GFVC can ensure that we diagnose any latent disease with cutting-edge technology. We’ll also check your vision and adjust your prescription. And while you’re here, you can check out the latest designer frames.

Poland Spring began in 1794, come learn all about our fascinating history, browse our exhibits, take a guided tour, visit our gift shop, art gallery and more! For more information www.polandspringmuseums.org or (207) 998-4142

The Greatest Generation Life in the early 1900s

by Dwight Mills

It seems plausible to me that my parents’ generation, the Greatest or G. I. Generation, saw more change during their lifetimes than any previous generation in recorded history. They literally went from the horse and buggy days to the digital and space age, seeing people walk on the moon. They just missed the Spanish-American War but had siblings around for that. Aviation was new, not yet used commercially or in the military, and automobiles and electricity were quite new and not seen much in rural Maine. Plastic had been invented much earlier but did not become economically feasible until Bakelite was developed in 1907.

Edward Lee Mills was born in a small farmhouse on Waterford Corner,

just above Norway Lake, in 1907. Theodore Roosevelt was then President. His father, Zenas, born before the Civil War in 1860, had helped build and was now the caretaker for the ‘laboratory’ home of C. A. Stephens, later the namesake for the hospital in Norway. He was then a non-practicing medical doctor and a well-known author.

Mary Agnes Martin was born at home in the Shadagee section of Greenwood in 1909, while her father was outside removing a dirt banking that had served as winter insulation around the perimeter of the house. William H. Taft was then President. The first Indy 500 was in 1911 and the Titanic sunk in 1912.

Both Mary and Lee attended one-

room schools that had one teacher and usually went up through the 8th grade. Around 1913, Mary’s older sister, Elvira, had her appendix removed on the kitchen table. Surgeon Wallace Webber came by car from Lewiston, picking up Dr. Bolster in Poland. Vi’s appendix had ruptured so they operated immediately, with assistance from a neighborhood lady with no medical training. Vi wasn’t expected to survive. Meanwhile, Vi’s father picked up a nurse, with a horse and buggy, at the train station in Locke’s Mills. When the nurse reached the home, the doctors had already left. She stayed a week and a half and Vi ended up living into old age.

In 1915 Lee’s family moved from

Norway to Albany in a two-horse buckboard. In those days neither family had electricity. Water was by hand pumps and toilets were outhouses. Television was non-existent. Mary’s family did have a crank phone. They had to call the home of Dan Cole and he would then connect them to the desired party. Laundry was done by scrub board and rope clothes lines. When Mary was about 8 she had a bad toothache. Her father took her to a doctor in Bryant Pond in a horse and sleigh. On the road between Lake Christopher and the railroad tracks the horse was spooked by a train, bolted, and ran, overturning the sleigh and occupants.

About that same time Mary’s grandmother’s funeral was held in the schoolhouse. The influenza pandemic occurred in 1918. While walking to school that year Mary heard distant church bells ringing in Bryant Pond. She later learned that signaled the end of WW1.

1919 found Lee traveling about two miles by horse and buggy to school in Mason. About that time Zenas bought his first car, a Model T touring car. Lee was a passenger when Zenas first tried driving. Suddenly, he lost control and was pulling back on the steering wheel and yelling “whoa, whoa.” They ended up crashing off the road.

In 1920 Mary’s oldest sister was playing piano for silent movies. Mary attended one that starred Gloria Swanson.

When Lee was 14, he broke his wrist starting his brother’s car with a hand crank. In the 20s Lee worked for his father in the woods, cutting trees with a crosscut saw, peeling off bark and sawing them to 4' with a buck saw. Later they stamped each piece with an “M” and hauled them by sled on snow to the Pleasant River. They ended up going down that river and the Androscoggin River to Oxford Paper Co. in Rumford. Lee also rolled snow on the

roads in Albany with a four-horse team.

The 1920s found Lee owning nine different motorcycles about the time that the Maine State Police was starting out and using motorcycles. Lee owned Harley Davidson, Indian, Ace and Henderson bikes.

1928 found Mary attending Farmington Normal School, forerunner of UMF, for six weeks to become a teacher. For eight years she taught at oneroom schools in Shadagee, Irish Neighborhood, and Mason. She received $13 to $14 per week with no summer pay. The only benefits were exercise carrying water and wood to light a fire.

During those years Lee mined at the Bumpus Mine with a hand drill and dynamite and later did road building across northern New England for the Civilian Conservation Corps, a government work program in reaction to the Great Depression. They married in 1936 and proceeded to witness many changes to all aspects of life. Movies

(cont. on page 48)

(cont. from page 47) had sound, radio had appeared, cars had improved, flight was very different, appliances were appearing to make life simpler.

My brother, Blaine, was born in 1939 and when I was born in 1944, they went to the hospital in Rumford. There was still no hospital in Norway. They had to cross the Androscoggin River on a ferry to get there. Mary spent 2 - 3 days in the hospital and I was there 10 days. The entire bill was $76.60.

In the late 40s and early 50s the Greenwood roads were cleared of snow by a huge, slow tractor that had a wing on each side. They didn’t start plowing until it was done snowing. It took three days to clear the roads.

By the early 50s Lee was moonlighting his industrial job with electrician work and he went to work for Cole’s Hardware in Bryant Pond. Gardner Cole had gotten a Motorola franchise

and Lee and two other men were busy installing TVs and antennas for the new technology soon to arrive. At home we watched a test pattern for Channel 6 for two weeks before programming began.

Both Mary and Lee made it into the 21st century and saw huge changes. Lee actually got to drive enclosed and heated vehicles and Mary had gone from the scrub board up through the wringer type washers to the modern type. She also got to use a dryer. Neither one got into computers but Lee, being an electrician who was entirely self-taught, and a two-way radio guy, was probably getting close to embracing the digital age.

Fryeburg Fair, established in 1851, will host its 173rd annual eightday Fair from Sunday, October 1st thru Sunday, October 8th, 2023. Tickets are $15/day and include the Night Show. Children under 12 are always free. Tuesday, October 3rd is Senior Citizen’s Day and our 65 & over friends are free. Tickets can be pre-purchased online or at the gate. Weekly passes (all 8 days) are $100 and must be purchased in person at the Fair. Gates are open daily at 7 a.m. and close at 10 p.m., give or take, depending on crowd size.

The 2023 Fryeburg Fair opens at 7 a.m. on Sunday, October 1st and highlights include the Firemen’s Muster, Sheepdog Trials, the first of four Pig Scrambles, Ox and Draft Horse Pulling, Flower, Poultry, Dairy Goat, Fleece, Fiber and Sheep Shows, Wreathmaking, Baking Contests, and the very popular Tractor & Big Rig Pull!

New this year on opening Sunday is the Open Youth Horse Show from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the grandstand. Jenn Coen, Superintendent of the event, assisted by her daughter, Chloe, says, “Our event is about horsemanship and

the relationship and teamwork between horse and rider. Horsemanship is way more than just getting on and riding. The entrants will paint their horses to start the day and we’ll have interactive games for the crowd to cheer on. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone!”

Woodsmen’s Field Day is on Monday, October 2nd starting at 9 a.m. and is the largest spectator woodsmen’s event in North America. Contestants come from all over the U.S. and Canada to compete in 28 woods skills events. This year we bring back the Tea Boil!

The Fair’s very popular tossing (cont. on page 52)

(cont. from page 51)

events, the Women’s Skillet Throw starts at noon on Monday followed by the Men’s Anvil Toss. Both events are open to members of the public who want to cast some iron thru the air! Sign up on Monday by 10:30 a.m. at the Livestock Office!

Want to show the world your masterful home skills and hobbies for ribbons and awards? The Agricultural Exhibition Center is for you! Enter your garden vegetables, baked goods, quilts, canned/jarred/preserved foods, photographs, artwork, oil paintings, plants, floral arrangements, crocheting, sewing (and so much more!) for judging and the all important bragging rights! Download your entry form at our website and return it by August 15th. Enter our amazing and competitive Baking Contests by 12:45 day of event. All rules and details of each contest are available at www.fryeburgfair.org.

New this year, the Agricultural Ed-

ucation Department will be offering a scavenger hunt for kids K-12. This activity focuses on the agricultural exhibit areas of the fair, such as our livestock, fiber center, garden center, etc. and is aligned with the committee’s mission of teaching people about the vast topic of agriculture and food production. Katherine Kugelman, Superintendent says, “Brochures and maps with all of the details can be picked up at our booth in the Natural Resource Center

or across the fairgrounds at the various agricultural exhibit areas. After completion, they will receive a small prize with the possibility of being entered into a daily raffle for a backpack full of ag-related goodies.” Coming up soon Fryeburg Fair’s website will also host a whole new section where you can access a list of just our agricultural demonstrations, shows, etc. happening across the fairgrounds throughout the week of the fair.

We’ve got some new upgrades to the Farm Museum area and we welcome our new curator, long-time Fair employee Erlon Jones. He’s following in his late parents’ footsteps; Ed & Diane Jones were the curators for 26 years.

As always, our food options are everywhere and awesome! Shopping, crafts, gifts, musicians, entertainers, flower arts, fiber arts, farm & history museums, two beer tents, 3,000 head of cows, horses, oxen, poultry, rabbits,

and more.

What does Fryeburg Fair’s Dairy Department do with all the milk collected during Fair week? Dave Richardson, Dairy Superintendent says, “Well, all the milk from last year’s Fair went to Pineland Farms and they made cheese out of it! It’s been aging all year, and this Sharp Cheddar will be for sale during this year’s fair. We’ll have 5,700 seven-ounce blocks for sale and the proceeds will benefit agricultural education. We haven’t set the price and the location of the sale yet. Stay tuned. This will be a very special product!”

Harness Racing changes a bit this year moving to a five day schedule running Tuesday thru Saturday with the first race at 1:30 as always.

Our Mechanical Pulls are big crowd favorites. We have the Tractor & Big Rig Pull on the first Sunday at 4 p.m. On Tuesday tractor pulls at the Swine & Goat Grandstand starting at 9 a.m. (cont. on page 54)

(cont. from page 53)

include lawn and garden size up to fullsize tractors. Tuesday is also Antique Tractor Show Day and they are displayed on the north side of the Swine & Goat Grandstand. The 4x4 Truck Pull is on the last Sunday, October 8th and great news - we’re starting at 3 p.m. Our Pull lineup is noisy, competitive and fun!

Dreamland Amusements brings back their most popular rides the Super Himalaya, Dream Catcher & Alien Invasion along with 27 others to choose from! Last year was an outstanding first show for Dreamland at Fryeburg Fair! They loved being in Maine for the first time. Dreamland’s commitment to the fairgoer experience means tickets can be purchased in advance online and credit cards are always accepted on site. Go to Dreamland’s website www.dreamlandamusements.com for ride & ticket info.

This year’s Night Show 2023 ros-

ter brings you 12 O/C (Maine’s very own-Country-Monday), The Marshall Tucker Band (from South Carolina-Southern Rock, Blues Rock & Country Rock-Tuesday), Niko Moon (Country Singer/Songwriter-Wednesday), The Great Escape (A Tribute to Journey-Thursday), Emily Ann Roberts (from The Voice!-Country-Friday, followed by our annual fireworks show) and Bad Habit (Rock-Saturday)!

The Grand Parade on Saturday, October 7th begins at 10 am. Grab your coffee and breakfast and don’t miss this narrated showcase of the Fair’s best livestock, floats, bands, businesses and antique cars.

Camping at Fryeburg Fair, Maine’s largest fair, is the greatest! With 3,000 campsites we’ve got one for you and all your family & friends. Call 207-9352912 or email camping@fryeburgfair. org.

Getting here - our rural roads mean

it’s best to have a good approach and takeoff plan as we wave you in. Here’s some insider tips! #1 - arrive early and stay late. Plenty of seating and resting spots at the Fair. Enjoy an easy day. #2 - Weekends and perfect fall weather days are busiest. Adjust your plans accordingly. #3 – come into the Fair arriving from the North and leave the same way if possible. Good news – our ticket lines move fast and even faster if you buy them online.

Our full program is available on our social pages, at www.fryeburgfair.org, and printed copies are on site.

Fryeburg Fair. A family tradition. Love it as a child and come back with your own children and grandchildren. We’ll be waiting for you.

4 miles from Waterville

The 1947 Fryeburg-Brownfield Forest Fire

Modern firefighting techniques paid off

by Charles Francis

It was another “yellow day” in south ern Oxford County. The pall of smoke that hung over Fryeburg and Brown field was so dense that cars had to use their headlights, even at midday. Most of these cars were filled with people fleeing before the racing walls of flame

that at times reached a height of three hundred feet. At one point the choking haze became so unbearable that the watchman at the Pleasant Mountain lookout tower abandoned his post for

It is 1947, the year that Maine burned, the year that countless small fires and four major ones caused the greatest damage the state had experienced to date. Two of the big ones began on October 17th — the York County fire and the Mt. Desert Island fire, and two on October 23rd — the Washington County fire and the Fryeburg-Brownfield fire. All told, two hundred and Knight and Welch Garage in North Waterford. Item # LB2007.1.101925 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

Mainely Puppies Plus, LLC

The 1947 Fryeburg-Brownfield Forest Fire

Modern firefighting

by Charles Francis

It was another “yellow day” in southern Oxford County. The pall of smoke that hung over Fryeburg and Brownfield was so dense that cars had to use their headlights, even at midday. Most of these cars were filled with people fleeing before the racing walls of flame that at times reached a height of three hundred feet. At one point the choking haze became so unbearable that the watchman at the Pleasant Mountain lookout tower abandoned his post for two days.

It is 1947, the year that Maine burned, the year that countless small

fires and four major ones caused the greatest damage the state had experienced to date. Two of the big ones began on October 17th — the York County fire and the Mt. Desert Island fire, and two on October 23rd — the Washington County fire and the Fryeburg-Brownfield fire. All told, two hundred and fifteen thousand acres of the state were consumed by fire. Property losses approached thirty million dollars. Nine towns were completely destroyed, and twenty-five hundred people lost their homes. Yet the destruction could have been worse were it not for

paid off

the foresight and preparedness of the Maine Forest Service, which had been closely monitoring conditions across the state since early summer.

The summer and early fall of 1947 were the driest in the history of Maine. For a one hundred and eight-day period, starting in mid-July, no appreciable rain fell. As the water table dropped, wells gave out, streams dried up, and the shorelines of rivers and lakes widened as water levels receded. Maine became a tinderbox. Hardwoods dropped their leaves early, leaves crumbled at the slightest touch, and the ground was

so dry that it sifted like beach sand. As the danger of forest fire rose from low in early summer through medium and high to extreme, the Maine Forest Service went on high alert status and made sure that newspapers and radio stations informed the public of the increased chances for major conflagrations.

The Maine Forest Service had its origins in a bill passed by the legislature in 1909. The bill established the Maine Forestry District, which was charged with providing fire protection in the unorganized townships in the eight northern counties of the state — an area of almost ten million acres. Overall supervision of the District fell under the jurisdiction of the Forest Commissioner headquartered in the State House in Augusta. The man who did the most to organize and modernize forest fire fighting in Maine was Neil Violette, who became Forest Commissioner in 1924.

Prior to Violette becoming commissioner, fires had been fought with the lumberjack’s double-bit ax, gunny sacks, shovels, and water buckets. Commissioner Violette saw to it that the Maine Forest Service was amply supplied with lightweight shovels specially designed for fire fighting, fire rakes, grub hoes, Pulaski fire axes, and Indian backpack pumps. Each chief warden and deputy warden was provided with a motor-driven pump and hose. In addition, by 1927 there were

sixty-eight tall, green fire towers strategically placed throughout the north woods, all connected to the outside world by phone lines.

The next major step Commissioner Violette made was to expand the responsibilities and jurisdiction of the Maine Forest Service to organized towns. To do this Violette secured federal matching funds through the United States Forest Service. The state was now able to provide fire wardens, trucks, and firefighting equipment from regional headquarters throughout the

state. In addition, more fire towers were built and the position of Supervisor of Forest Fire Protection in Organized Towns was created. The first supervisor, who was still in the position in 1947, was Austin Wilkins. Wilkins went on to serve as Forest Commissioner from 1958 to 1972.

Prior to October 17th, when the first of the major fires began, the Forest Service and local fire departments had successfully contained the nearly two hundred small outbreaks that occurred across the state. The Fryeburg-Brown(cont. on page 62)

(cont. from page 61)

field was a different story, however, due to its behavior.

The first report of the Fryeburg-Brownfield fire came from the lookout tower on Pleasant Mountain at 2:30 on October 21st. Local fire departments and firefighters from the Maine Forest Service were quick to respond. They used two techniques to fight the fire. Backfires were started along old logging roads, and where there were no roads, bulldozers dug wide fire lines. For a time it seemed that the fire would simply burn itself out. Then on October 23rd disaster struck.

October 23 was to be later called the day of the big wind. The winds started before dawn and grew in intensity. Suddenly, walls of fire came roaring up out of the valleys and over the mountains. As the velocity of the wind continued to rise, jump fires reached out ahead of the main conflagration. As soon as a new fire line was bulldozed to stop

the advance, a jump fire would crown further on. At times firefighters were in danger of being surrounded by competing walls of flame seemingly shooting to the sky.

As the fire neared Brownfield it found new fuel and picked up speed. Numerous areas had been cut over and were filled with piles of bone-dry slash. There were hayfields around farmhouses and barns that were filled with dry stubble. When the latter caught fire so did the foundation timbers of nearby buildings. As the flames approached the town, the evacuation began. Roads became crowded with cars carrying frightened families, and trucks filled with livestock. Altogether the fire traveled a distance of thirteen miles, pushed by the big wind of October 23rd.

By the time the Fryeburg-Brownfield was over more than seventeen thousand acres of timberland had burned and about three thousand acres

of farmland. Denmark, Hiram, and Cornish, in York County, were devastated. Supervisor of Forest Fire Protection Austin Wilkins called “The loss of the two communities of Brownfield and East Brownfield… tragic.”

Amazingly enough, there was no loss of life while the fires raged. In addition, one hundred and twenty million board feet of timber was salvaged. Modern firefighting training and techniques had paid off.

Today the Fryeburg-Brownfield forest fire is but a memory. The summer tourists drawn to the region’s lakes and mountains and the leaf-peepers of the fall are unaware that they are visiting the location of one of Maine’s worst disasters. The terrors of the Brownfield fire are largely forgotten. Perhaps time indeed heals all wounds, whether they be to nature or to the mind.

Enjoy Discover Maine All Year!

Discover Maine Magazine is published eight 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 eight issues mailed directly to your home or office. Mailings are done four times each year.

Name Address Phone

DIRECTORY OF ADVERTISERS

Rangeley Lakes Trails Center..............................................................8

Rangeley Region Sports Shop...........................................................8

Rangeley Saddleback Inn.................................................................19

Rare Woods USA...............................................................................17

RDA Automotive...............................................................................57

Record Building Supply, Inc. ............................................................58

Redington-Fairview General Hospital...............................................27

Richard Wing & Son Logging Inc. ..................................................50

Ricker Hill Orchards...........................................................................37

Rideout's Seasonal Services.............................................................23

Rita's Catering...................................................................................55

Robert W. Libby & Sons, Inc. ............................................................5

Rod's Cycle & RV...............................................................................24

Ron's Market.....................................................................................56

Ron's Transmissions..........................................................................58

Rottari Electric..................................................................................58

Route 26 Antiques & Flea Market.....................................................46

Rowell’s Garage Car Wash.................................................................11

Rowell's Garage Sales & Service.......................................................11

Rufus Porter Museum of Art and Ingenuity.....................................49

Russell & Sons Towing & Recovery....................................................46

S.A. McLean, Inc. ..............................................................................53

Sackett and Brake Survey Inc. ........................................................26

Saint Dominic Academy...................................................................40

Sarge's Sports Pub & Grub................................................................18

Sebago West Shore Cottages............................................................52

Shenn Corp Landscape & Hardscape................................................14

Smile Again Dentures, Inc. ..............................................................40

Smokin' Good Times ME...................................................................11

Solon Corner Market.........................................................................27

Sportsman's Kitchen & Keg..............................................................52

Sterling Electric................................................................................30

Stevens Electric & Pump Service Inc. ...............................................4

Strong Hardware & Building Supply..................................................8

Sturdy Hardware...............................................................................38

Styling Dog Grooming Boutique......................................................58

T&L Enterprises...................................................................................9

The Apple Farm................................................................................28

The Chapman House.........................................................................44

The Cote Corporation........................................................................44

Waste Oil...............................................................................29

Dyer Septic Service & Excavation.....................................................47

Ecopelagicon...................................................................................17

Ed Hodsdon Masonry, Inc. ..............................................................57

Ellis Variety.........................................................................................5

End of the Rainbow Alternatives......................................................31

Engstrom's Auto Service..................................................................23

EverClean Water Treatment Systems................................................28

Farmington Farmers Union & Union Rental...................................56

Fine Line Paving & Grading.............................................................23

Firefly Boutique................................................................................48

Five Fields Farm.................................................................................5

Franklin-Somerset Federal Credit Union............................................5

Freeport Antiques and Heirlooms Showcase...................................13

Fryeburg Fair....................................................................................51

Full Circle Artisans Gallery...............................................................50

G&G Cash Fuels................................................................................44

George's Banana Stand....................................................................27

Giberson Funeral Home...................................................................24

Gray Family Vision Center.................................................................45

Gray Shop 'N Save............................................................................45

Greenwood Orchards Farmstand & Bakery......................................36

Greg's Auto Repair...........................................................................54

Gridiron Restaurant & Sports Pub...................................................38

Grimaldi Concrete Floors & Countertops.......................................34

Griswold's Country Store & Diner.....................................................21

Guff's

The Meadows...................................................................................57

The Mercantile Gifts - Antiques - Décor.........................................31

The Sterling Inn................................................................................20

The SugarBowl Family Entertainment.............................................20

The Tribune Books & Gifts...............................................................59

The Village Donut Shop & Bakery..................................................59

The Wood Mill of Maine...................................................................55

Thompson's Orchard.........................................................................45

Tim Merrill & Co., Inc. .....................................................................22

Todd's Discount & Gift Shop............................................................14

Town of Carthage...............................................................................6

Town of Farmington.........................................................................34

Town of Mexico.................................................................................15

Trail's End Steakhouse & Tavern.........................................................9

Trailside One Stop.............................................................................21

Vicneires Elm Street Market..............................................................25

Vintage Maine Images........................................................................6

Wadsworth Woodlands, Inc. ...........................................................52

Western Maine Glass........................................................................60

White's Land Management..............................................................15

Whitewater Farm Market.................................................................55

Whittemore & Sons Outdoor Power Equipment................................25

Willie's Towing..................................................................................60

Wilson Excavating, Inc. ....................................................................59

Wilson Funeral Home.........................................................................4

Wilson Paving & Excavation LLC.......................................................46

Wilsons on Moosehead Lake.............................................................22

Winslow Supply, Inc. .......................................................................54

Winthrop History and Heritage Center..............................................36

Woodlawn Rehab & Nursing Center................................................27

Wood-Mizer of Maine........................................................................56