Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

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Volume 12 | Issue 2 | 2014

Maine’s History Magazine

Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

The Lewiston-Auburn Shoe Strike Of 1937 We will earn a living and not simply an existence

The Flying Yankee

Yankee ingenuity successfully tackles adversity

The Flood Of 1927 Back-to-back thunderstorms pounded Waterville

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Inside This Edition

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

3

I t Makes No Never Mind James Nalley

4

Maine Ice Cream Bars A tradition that began in Turner Charles Francis

8

The Lewiston-Auburn Shoe Strike Of 1937 We will earn a living and not simply an existence James Nalley

13 Oliver Otis Howard Paid The Warrior’s Price At Fair Oaks Adapted from Maine At War

Brian Swartz 18 The Flying Yankee Yankee ingenuity successfully tackles adversity

Jeffrey Bradley 23 Lenny Breau Auburn’s forgotten genius

James Nalley 32 The Tragedy Of Jeanie Frost Poet’s sister a nine-year AMHI resident

Charles Francis 35 August 1905 Tragedies Still Remembered National attention drawn to Readfield and Winthrop

Dale M. Clark

Maine’s History Magazine

Kennebec-Androscoggin-River Valley

Publisher & Editor Jim Burch

Layout & Design Liana Merdan

Advertising & Sales Manager Tim Maxfield

Advertising & Sales Dennis Burch Ryan Fish Chris Girouard Tim Maxfield Esteban Pena Zack Rouda

Office Manager Liana Merdan

39 The Malta Revolt

The murder of China’s Paul Chadwick

Charles Francis

Field Representatives

44 When Good Will-Hinckley Was Chase Farm Maine state grange comes to the rescue Charles Francis

Contributing Writers

48 The Flood Of 1927 Back-to-back thunderstorms pounded Waterville

Brian Swartz 52 Israel Washburn’s History Of Livermore ...And the tragic death of Thomas Fish

Charles Francis 58 The Majestic Mt. Kineo A geologic wonder

Jeffrey Bradley 62 Palermo’s Moses Burleigh The saga of a Maine pioneer Charles Francis 66 Striking It Rich At Sucker Flat Clinton man pans for gold

Charles Francis 71 Harvesting Kennebec Diamonds Frozen river water becomes big business in Maine

Jeffrey Bradley 75 The Snow Frontier

Franklin County always gets hit hard

Charles Francis 78 Bingham’s Gulf Stream Trestle

Rides on the train could be a hair-raising experience

Terry Hamlin

George Tatro Mike Pagliaro Jeffrey Bradley Dale M. Clark Charles Francis | fundy67@yahoo.ca Terry Hamlin James Nalley Brian Swartz Published Annually by CreMark, Inc. 10 Exchange Street, Suite 208 Portland, Maine 04101 Ph (207) 874-7720 info@discovermainemagazine.com www.discovermainemagazine.com Discover Maine Magazine is distributed to town offices, chambers of commerce, fraternal organizations, barber shops, beauty salons, 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 © 2014, CreMark, Inc.

SUBSCRIPTION FORM ON PAGE 82

Front Cover Photo: Company A, 1st Regiment, Augusta, ca. 1892, Item #5450 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com All photos in Discover Maine’s Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys edition show Maine as it used to be, and many are from local citizens who love this part of Maine.

Photos are also provided from our collaboration with the Maine Historical Society and the Penobscot Marine Museum.

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com

It Makes No Never Mind

by James Nalley

T

he Kennebec and Androscoggin Rivers, 170 and 178 miles in length, respectively, cover a vast area of Maine, which also includes the eight-mile long China Lake and dozens of smaller lakes and ponds. Now, considering that you are reading this after the turn of the New Year, all of this water is either lightly frozen or heavily frozen. What this translates into is two words: ice fishing.

In Maine, ice fishing is a traditional winter activity and regardless of whether one considers it a hobby or a sport, the verdict among the public is clear: you either LOVE ice fishing or you LOATHE it.

Just to be clear, ice fishing is defined as the practice of catching fish with lines, hooks or even spears through an opening in the ice cut out by these so-called ice anglers.

Now, the concept itself is rather simple, but how it is performed is a bit more complicated. On the one hand, a typical image of an ice angler is a grumpy old man in flannel sitting on buckets for long hours until he

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brings home a string of fresh fish. On the other hand, modern-day anglers will show up in cabins that are pre-built and lowered onto the ice. In this case, it is the amenities that make it interesting. Typical amenities usually include some type of heating equipment for the angler, simple cots, and a stockpile of food and/or alcoholic beverages to stay “warm.” However, there is the other extreme. For example, an ice fisherman in Minnesota brought his usual jigging rods, reels, and auger (for drilling into the ice). But he also brought two, 32-inch flat-screen televisions, a poker table, and a blender for making daiquiris in his 30foot long, $44,000 custom-built ice shanty.

These are in addition to the sonar fish-finder, the underwater camera, the lake-mapping application on his smart phone, a couch that folds out into the king-size bed, a popup satellite dish, and a full bathroom with heated shower. Oh, I must not forget the “fireplace tucked in a cozy alcove between a set of bay windows,” just to give that per-

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fect glow on the cedar-paneled walls. The crucial fact that worries me the most is that this “shanty” weighs 6,200 pounds. Now THAT is a lot of trust in some frozen water and something for you to think about.

Well, if you want to try it yourself, then ice fishing season is open from January 1 to March 31. The state of Maine even offers two days each winter where you can ice fish for free (just to satisfy your curiosity or support the notion of a down payment on a state-of-the-art shanty). Until then, stay warm, and I will close with the following: Rob and John grabbed their poles and headed out to do some ice fishing. As they were cutting a hole in the ice, they heard a loud voice from above say, “There are no fish under the ice!” They moved 20 feet over and began cutting another hole.

Then the voice said, “THERE ARE NO FISH UNDER THE ICE!”They looked around, got on their knees, and humbly said, “Are you…God?” The voice shouted, “No you idiots! I’m the ice rink manager!”

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

Maine Ice Cream Bars A tradition that began in Turner

by Charles Francis

“

were chocolate-covered ice cream bars.

Nelson came up with the idea for them in 1920.

I-Scream Bars were an immediate hit. So much so that in 1921 Nelson and chocolate maker Russell C. Stover entered into a joint agreement to market and produce the product. It was decided the name would change from Nelson’s “I-Scream Bar” to “Eskimo Pie.” That’s the story of the creation of the famous Eskimo Pie. Or is it? There is a Maine twist to the take of the creation of the Eskimo Pie. Edwin Leavitt Bradford of Turner is also credited with the creation of the popular “Eskimo Pie.” Bradford was general manager and treasurer of the Turner Centre Dairying Association,

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!” We all know these lyrics. They come from a popular song of the 1920s of that name. The song continues on about a college band up in Eskimo land. The leader of the band has a “frozen face just like an Eskimo Pie!” The image of “Eskimo Pie” in the aforementioned ditty can’t be viewed as happenstance. Back in the ‘20s, just as today, Eskimo Pies were one of the most popular ice cream treats. Eskimo Pies are ice cream bars. One of the first mass-marketed ice cream bars went by the name of “I-Scream Bar.” I-Scream Bars were the creation of Chris Nelson, an ice cream shop owner from Onawa, Iowa. “I-Scream Bars”

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com also known as the Turner Center System. Back in the decades around 1900, the Turner Center System was the largest commercial creamery in Maine, and one of the three largest in New England.

Around 1900 the Turner Center System marketed 23% of all cream and 35% of all butter commercially produced in Maine. In 1917, it began producing ice cream. That’s when Edwin Bradford is supposed to have come up with the idea for the Eskimo Pie. It needs to be noted at this point that “Eskimo Pie” is a Nestle brand name.

H.P. Hood is New England’s licensed manufacturer of Eskimo Pies.

The above points being made, it now must be said that neither Edwin Bradford nor Chris Nelson can be credited as the inventor of the ice cream bar or sandwich.

A New York ice cream push cart operator by the name of Italo Marchiony may just have been the first to come up with the idea for the ice cream bar or sandwich. Some credit his develop-

ment as inventing the ice cream cone, but Marchiony’s invention was more along the lines of an open-face sandwich than cone.

Italo Marchiony sold homemade ice cream from a pushcart on Wall Street.

He dished up his ice cream in serving glasses. To reduce overhead from customers breaking or wandering off with his serving glasses, Marchiony began baking edible waffle cups with sloping sides and a flat bottom. He patented his idea in 1903.

Putting the development of the ice cream bar and Eskimo Pie aside for the moment, let’s take up ice cream itself.

Those devoted to the pursuit of history cite the likes of the Emperor Nero and the ancient Chinese as originators of ice cream. Nero’s ice cream was nectar, fruit pulp and honey mixed with snow. Marco Polo had ice cream or something close to it when he travelled to the Orient. As true ice cream connoisseurs know, the very best is made in a churn. A New England housewife

by the name of Nancy Johnson invented the hand-cranked ice cream churn.

That was in 1843. The first mass market ice cream came as an offshoot of the creamery. This brings us to Edwin Bradford and the Turner Centre Dairying Association.

The Turner Centre Dairying Association was started in 1882. (Some sources give 1884 as the date of its founding.) Edwin Bradford was associated with the Association in some aspect from its beginning and is identified as one of its founders.

Edwin Bradford was born in Turner Center in 1857. He was the son of Alfred and Flora (Leavitt) Bradford. The elder Bradford was a farmer. Edwin spent some twenty years as a teacher in both Turner and Hartford before devoting his full attention to dairy farming and the Turner Centre Dairying Association. Bradford is regarded as one of the leading factors in the development of Maine’s dairy industry.

Initially, the Turner Centre Dairying (continuted on page 6)

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(continued from page 5) Association concentrated on the making of cheese and evaporated apples.

Edwin Bradford is identified as adding butter to the Association’s products. In 1888, as the Turner Centre Creamery, the Association stopped making cheese to concentrate on butter. At this time the Association purchased a warehouse in Lewiston.

The name of the Turner Centre Dairying Association is significant. It was an owner-operated business, the only one of this particular makeup in New England. In 1907 the Association operated creameries in Auburn, Benton, Carmel, Jackson, Farmington, Richmond, Troy, Unity and Wiscasset as well as Turner Center. The Association was composed of some 600 members at this time. Though there is some argument over definition, the Association was essentially a co-operative, a highly successful one.

The growth of the Turner Centre Dairying Association parallels the development of Maine railroads. Without

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the railroad refrigerator car the Association would not have flourished as it did. The railroad and the refrigerator car made it possible for the Maine farmer to reach Boston markets. Farmers would load their raw milk at the farm and drive to the local creamery.

At the creamery, milk was separated into heavy and light cream, and pasteurized prior to shipment. Milk was loaded into cans for Boston, where it was bottled for direct retail sale or delivery. The cars using this service were

wood sheathed, insulated box cars.

The story of the Turner Centre Dairying Association ends in the postwar years. H.P. Hood and Company took over the Association around 1947.

Hood’s ice cream is well-known in Maine.

It is a natural development for a creamery to begin the manufacture of ice cream. Edwin Bradford was a canny businessman. That is obvious with the development of the Turner Centre Dairying Association. For Bradford, ice cream was another growth market.

There is something of a mystery in the development of Edwin Bradford’s Eskimo Pie, though. Where did the chocolate come from used to cover the ice cream? Another mystery involves the use of the name Eskimo Pie. Did H.P. Hood simply apply the name to an already existing product, the invention of Edwin Bradford? H.P. Hood and Company records don’t say. * Other businesses in this area are featured in the color section.

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The Lewiston-Auburn Shoe Strike of 1937

by James Nalley

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months of tension, the strike ended with a loss for the workers, which signaled the demise of the industry itself.

In 1836, after the Androscoggin River was exploited for its water power, the populations of Lewiston and Auburn, also referred to as the “Twin Cities,” increased dramatically as factories were built along the river. By the 1870s, Lewiston had become known for its five textile mills while Auburn’s 14 factories were churning out more than two million pairs of shoes per year.

Despite the success of the two industries, the workers, consisting of mostly French-Canadian immigrants looking to better their lives, faced certain hardships due to poor working conditions,

long hours, and low pay. From 1933 to 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” was enacted in response to the “Great Depression” and to provide relief, recovery, and reform.

This included shifting strategies to address the imbalance of power between corporations and unions, which was based on the assumption that unions (especially strong ones) would help speed recovery by increasing wages.

This led to the initial successes of the newly formed Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), which was a federation of unions that organized workers in certain industries. Naturally, union organizers with the CIO were attracted to Lewiston-Auburn since no

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“We Will Earn a Living and Not Simply an Existence.” These words, spoken by one French-speaking textile worker in Lewiston, summarized the mood of the thousands of shoe workers who walked off the job on March 25, 1937. Their long list of demands included higher pay, shorter work weeks, better working conditions, and most importantly, union representation. After the first month of failed negotiations, the strike turned ugly as picketers (including many women) and policemen clashed in what was later referred to by the press as “Red Wednesday.” Eventually, after an injunction was issued, the strike leaders were jailed in violation of the court order. On June 29, after three

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~ Lewiston factory around 1910 ~ unions existed there and the average wage was far lower than that of other northeastern states. However, on March 25, 1937, as stated by the Bangor Daily News, “The CIO’s advances to sit down with manufacturers were rebuffed, and the decision to strike came at a meeting in which nearly 3,500 workers packed Lewiston City Hall.”

Immediately after the strike began, the manufacturers proposed a 10% wage increase, which was subsequently refused by the approximately 5,000

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strikers. Although the Lewiston Evening Journal was generally against the union cause, it was somewhat charmed

by Powers Hapgood, the Harvard-educated CIO leader who was described as not being the typical agitator. According to the book, “From Harvard to the Ranks of Labor,” by Robert Bussel, “Hapgood’s demeanor won both him and the union credibility in an environment distrustful of outside influences that threatened to overturn local traditions.” Prior to his arrival, the union

had attempted to overcome such suspicion by bringing in French-speaking organizers and encouraging certain French-Canadians to assume leadership roles.

As thousands of striking workers took to the streets, the shoe manufacturers began hiring replacements to take their jobs. On March 30, Auburn police arrested 40 strikers for engaging in what the courts referred to as “concentrated efforts to break the peace of the community.” However, resistance to the (continued on page 11)

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com (continued from page 9) formation of a union remained strong.

As the Lewiston Daily Sun stated on April 3, “The people of these two cities ought to get together and give notice that they are not going to be bullied by any Hapgood nor any CIO.” In addition, the mayors of both Lewiston and Auburn denounced any “outside agitators” including the CIO itself.

On April 21, following an injunction to stop the strike, the workers heeded the union’s advice to defy it and marched to the bridge that linked Lewiston and Auburn. As fighting erupted between the workers and the police, Maine Governor Lewis Burrows sent the Maine Army National Guard to establish some type of order. According to Bussel, the workers then “sang the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ and hoisted Hapgood on their shoulders as he urged them to maintain their picket lines.”

At a mass meeting the following day, Hapgood referred to the strike as a “fight for liberty” and mentioned how

he “had never seen until yesterday in Auburn a place where officers would not permit citizens to exercise their rights under the U.S. Constitution.”

However, Hapgood’s sense of glory was short-lived. On May 6, Hapgood and seven other leaders were arrested for violating the injunction and sentenced to six months in prison. As the picket lines weakened in their absence, the CIO voted to end the strike, stating that “it is not our purpose to unnecessarily prolong a condition whereby manufacturers of shoes in Lewiston and Auburn may be unable to reopen their factories or their business be permanently injured.” But according to the Bangor Daily News, “many former strikers had no jobs to return to. Some had been replaced and were not welcomed back.” Although the strike end approximately three months after it began, the Lewiston-Auburn Shoe Workers Protective Association was resurrected and by 1938, the U.S. Congress

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passed the Fair Labor Standards Act, which established a minimum wage and a maximum number of work hours.

Despite these short- and long-term benefits, the industries of the Twin Cities began an unavoidable decline that has lasted to date.

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

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Oliver Otis Howard Paid The Warrior’s Price At Fair Oaks

by Brian Swartz

Adapted from Maine at War

D

uring a gunsmoke- and bullet-ridden fight west of the Chickahominy River in Virginia, a Maine soldier paid the warrior’s price for defending his country.

Born in early November 1830, Oliver Otis Howard grew up on a farm in Leeds, an Androscoggin County town bordering Livermore Falls and Greene. While a boisterous child, he was not physically rugged; later describing himself as “slender of build,” Howard acknowledged that when he assumed command of the 3rd Maine Infantry Regiment at Augusta on May 30, 1861, he was “hardly the man to

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be placed over strong, hardy fellows whose frames were already well-knit and toughed by work.”

A precocious student and a devout Christian, Howard graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1854 and served at various Army posts.

While teaching at West Point in spring 1861, he offered his military experience to Maine; initially balking at placing a regular Army officer in charge of rowdy Maine volunteers, Governor Israel Washburn soon realized that the state needed talented officers.

So Howard took the 3rd Maine to Washington, D.C. that June, moved up to brigade command in early July, (continued on page 14)

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

(continued from page 13) and led three Maine and one Vermont infantry regiments to a late-day mauling at Chinn Ridge near Manassas on Sunday, July 21.

Spring 1862 found him commanding the 1st Brigade in the 1st Division led by Brigadier General Israel Richardson. Howard’s brigade included four infantry regiments: the 5th New Hampshire under Colonel E.E. Cross, the 61st New York under Colonel Francis C. Barlow, the 64th New York under Colonel T.J. Parker, and the 81st Pennsylvania under Colonel James Miller.

The 1st Division was assigned to the 2nd Corps led by Brigadier General Edwin V. Sumner. For too many weeks that spring, the 2nd Corps had slowly advanced toward Richmond, Virginia during the snail’s-pace Peninsula Campaign conducted by General George B. McClellan.

His Army of the Potomac arrived on

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the east bank of the meandering Chickahominy River in late May. Finally deciding to attack Confederate troops defending Richmond, McClellan sent two Army corps across the river to occupy Seven Pines, a village located at the intersection of Nine Mile Road and Williamsburg Road (modern Route 60).

Howard described the Chickahominy as “no more than a creek with low banks, between which water and swamp varied in width from two to three hundred feet.” The river flowed from northwest to southeast, “right to left across our line of advance.”

Harvesting trees from the nearby forest, Union soldiers built rickety log bridges and crossed the Chickahominy on May 25 to capture Seven Pines and Fair Oaks Station on the Richmond & York River Railroad. That night Union troops camped about “five or six miles from Richmond,” Howard believed.

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com His 1st Brigade camped east of the Chickahominy. After dark on Friday, May 30, a wind-driven gale struck central Virginia; Howard discovered that “the Chickahominy, during the fearful succession of storm bursts, had risen and spread rapidly over all the low ground till the stream had become a broad river.”

On Saturday, with the high water almost cutting off the two Federal corps occupying Seven Pines, Confederate troops launched “an assault [that] was so abrupt and overwhelming” that many Union troops “scattered off to the rear,” according to Howard.

The fighting raged throughout May 31. Late-day orders came for the 1st Brigade to reinforce the hard-pressed Union troops; Howard and his men crossed the Chickahominy on a bridge “starting to float off with the water.”

His brigade finally “approached the front” as “a thick mist was setting and a dark, cloudy sky was over our heads,

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so that it was not easy at twenty yards to distinguish a man from a horse.” The 1st Brigade camped near Fair Oaks Station for the night.

“The first noisy collision” of battle occurred about 5 a.m., Sunday, June 1 as Confederates met skirmishers from the 5th New Hampshire. James Miller swung his 81st Pennsylvania into line and soon “saw through the trees the coming [enemy] troop,” recalled Howard.

Mistaking the Confederates for Yankees, Miller hesitated, then shouted, “Who are you?”

“Virginians!” the oncoming soldiers roared before unleashing a volley that struck Miller from his horse and left him dead among his many slain men.

Howard quickly advanced his two New York regiments and placed the 61st on the right and the 64th on the left.

Zipping through the trees, enemy bullets punched a hole through the shoulder of Howard’s brown horse and hit

many New Yorkers. Seeing their comrades fall, some inexperienced Empire State lads “were leaving their ranks,” Howard realized as he dismounted.

“I cried out with all my might, ‘Lie down.’ Every man dropped to the ground; then my staff and the field officers aided me in sheltering the men by forming line behind the railroad embankment,” he remembered.

An aide brought “my large gray horse.” Mounting, Howard “placed myself … in front of the” 64th New York; his younger brother, Lt. Charles Howard, placed his horse in a similar position by the 61st New York.

“Forward! March!” Oliver Otis Howard shouted. Officers echoed his commands along the lines, and “as I started, the Sixty-fourth followed me with a glad shout up the slope and through the woods. The Sixty-first followed my brother at the same time.

“We moved forward finely, taking many prisoners as we went and gaining (continued on page 16)

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(continued from page 15) ground,” according to Howard. Suddenly “a small Mississippi rifle ball” hit his right forearm. His horse already killed, Charles Howard “ran to me on foot … took a handkerchief, bound up my arm, and then ran back to the Sixty-first.”

The advancing New York regiments recaptured the Federal camps abandoned outside Seven Pines on Saturday. However, “behind those tents was found a stronger force of Confederates, kneeling and firing,” Howard noticed the ominous threat. Halting 30-40 yards away, the New Yorkers “promptly and efficiently returned their fire.”

As Howard rode behind the New Yorkers about 10:30 a.m., a bullet shattered his horse’s left fore leg. And here Oliver Otis Howard paid the warrior’s price for defending the United States.

“Though I was not aware of it, I had been wounded again, my right elbow having been shattered by a rifle shot,” Howard realized.

New York troops carried Howard to where Dr. Gabriel “was operating under fire beside a large stump.” While the surgeon “bound up my arm,” Howard discovered his brother was there, too; “shot through the thigh,” Charlie was “just able to limp along by using his empty scabbard as a cane.”

Grant dressed Charlie Howard’s wound and ordered him into a stretcher. “I preferred to walk,” Oliver Otis Howard decided. In growing pain, he walked north to a field hospital set up near Fair Oaks Station. Along the way Howard and another wounded soldier leaned against each other for support.

At the field hospital, “Dr. Hammond, my personal friend, met me” about 11 a.m. and examined Howard’s shattered right arm. Hammond reported that “the last ball had passed through the elbow joint and crushed the bones into small fragments,” according to Howard.

Consigned briefly to a bed in occu-

pied slave quarters, he listened as Hammond, a Dr. Palmer, “and several others … stood by my bedside in consultation.

At last Dr. Palmer, with serious face, kindly told me that my arm had better come off.

“All right, go ahead. Happy to lose only my arm,” Howard responded..

Not until 5 p.m. did Palmer appear “with four stout soldiers and a significant stretcher” on which Howard was placed. Palmer tightened a tourniquet “around the arm close to the shoulder … above the wound.”

What happened next shocked Howard. The stretcher bearers lifted him into “the amputating room, a place a little grewsome (sic) withal from arms, legs, and hands not yet all carried off and poor fellows with anxious eyes awaiting their turn,” Howard realized to his horror.

The orderlies set Howard on a long table, and he watched as “Dr. Grant, who had come from the front, relieved

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com the too-tight tourniquet.” Grant then administered “a mixture of chloroform and gas … and I slept quietly.”

Palmer amputated Howard’s right arm just above its elbow. “When I awoke I was surprised to find the heavy burden was gone, but was content and thankful,” Howard wrote.

On Monday, he and other wounded soldiers (including his brother) were evacuated in a freight car to White House Landing on the York River.

There the Union casualties boarded a Baltimore-bound steamer.

The one-armed Oliver Otis Howard briefly returned home to Maine. He could have stayed there with his beloved wife, Elizabeth, and their young children, but this warrior from Leeds insisted on serving his country.

He rejoined the ranks in August 1862 and fought for the rest of the war.

Howard in 1893 at Governor’s Island

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

The Flying Yankee Yankee ingenuity successfully tackles adversity

by Jeffrey Bradley

D

uring the 1930s, Art Deco style was all the rage. Not just in thearts, but fashion, industry, even really grand stuff like the Normandie cruise liner, the Chrysler Building and Hoover Dam reflected its sleek, modern designs. And exuberant glamour and a zestful faith in the future were motifs appreciated in an era caught between the Great Depression and a looming world war. Besides, people wanted to get places, and in a hurry. But always in style.

Enter The Flying Yankee. This shiny metal marvel was the epitome of Art Deco functionality, appearing in mo-

tion even when stopped to pick up passengers.

This was the coolest passenger train that ever rode the rails of the famous Pine Tree Route — the Maine Central Railroad — which included Augusta, Pittsfield, and Gardiner among its many

stops and stations as it wove through the timeless and picturesque Kennebec Valley. It also carried riders along the historic Boston and Maine Railroad to Winthrop, and the junction at Waterville. Back then, hard times were putting the squeeze on American railroads.

Ridership was down, equipment was rickety, and upkeep was anything but cheap. Something had to be done. What came off the drawing boards was an offbeat, custom-configured “trainset”literally redesigned from the wheels up.The innovative Budd Company, gambling on a sound but daring idea, came up with a novelty prototype “Zephyr” that (continued on page 20)

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

(continued from page 18) caused a public uproar. Unabashedly new, shockingly fast, radically different, nobody had seen anything like it.

Shrewd calculation in the front offices of the Pine Tree Route assessed potential; they put in an order immediately.

And the second streamliner to roll off the assembly line was the indomitable Flying Yankee.

And now for something completely different It’s an American axiom that in the face of adversity a new technology will arise. In this case, a paradigm shift in railed passenger transit. First, the traditional separate engine was detached and abandoned; then, the standard couplers were removed, and the trucks, or wheel bases, realigned. Instead, as if pulled from a magician’s hat, there stood in its place a three-unit “trainset” permanently fastened together, or “articulated,” using shared wheel sets called “Jacob’s bogies.” Lastly, a diesel-electric motor that provided traction to the front

•

The Flying Yankee was christened with a bottle of water from sebago lake, and running time between portland and boston was 51 minutes faster than today’s downeaster!

•

wheels was placed in the forward car and, voila, a streamliner!

But that was just the beginning.

Stainless steel is a lightweight, flexible metal that needs no painting, doesn’t rust and features a high-tech, glossy veneer. The problem lay in trying to affix large sheets of it onto the new structural configurations by means of heavy riveting. Unfortunately, this allowed the metal no “give”; it couldn’t handle the stress of curved track at high speeds.

Finally, trial and error revealed a method of joining form and frame using spot-welding without compromising the factors of weight and flexibility essential to the concept’s design. In short order, streamliners built for sprinting over the intermediate distances between major cities were appearing on American rails. The only limiting factor on just how fast they could go was the state of the railbeds, which were built for hauling heavy freightloads rather than high-speed passenger service.

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com The Flying Yankee was a train of many firsts: The first for mid-distance travel not powered by a steam locomotive The first with fixed windows and air conditioning throughout One of the first to offer plush seating, leg room and a view The first with no dining car; food was prepared in a galley and served on trays affixed to the seat in front like on airlines — except the food was reportedly better!

The first to eliminate mail and baggage service to accommodate more room for passengers In April 1935, this streamlined, gleaming tour-de-force, driven by an 8-cylinder Winton 201-A diesel electric motor, was ready for service on the Pine Tree Route. And what a route!

Portland to Boston to Portland to Bangor to Portland to Boston and back, late in the day, to Portland — 750 miles, 6 days a week, with Sundays reserved for

maintenance. It was an instant, smash success, and ridership jumped — so much so that other trainsets were soon appearing on the lines with names such as The Business Man, The Cheshire, The Minuteman, and The Mountaineer, which ran through Whitefield during the summer.

Not only was this streamliner fast, it had character. The one big headlight perched on the top, a wraparound windshield looking mildy “surprised,” and the V-shaped “smiley wings” attached to the front to prevent the buildup of snow gave the train a downright elfin appearance. Looking at photographs of it now is like somehow recalling the very fond memory of a very old friend.

The era of streamliners was brief but glorious. Following WWII, a modified continental version of super liners like The Super Chief, The City of New Orleans and The Twentieth Century Limited briefly kept the tradition alive. But by the late 1950s railroad passenger

numbers had declined, and the Yankee itself was growing old. It finally ran its last on May 7, 1957.

Over the decades the train deteriorated but avoided the breaker’s yard.

Eventually, it was moved to the shops of the Hobo Railroad, which refurbishes old railroad equipment. Now owned by the State of New Hampshire, the venerable Yankee is being restored with donated funds. The Hobo Railroad, actually two heritage railways, offers popular scenic destination tours.

So once more, in the not-too-distant future, The Flying Yankee will again be joyfully zipping riders up and down the splendid hills of New England.

Good to see you, old friend.

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com

Lenny Breau

by James Nalley

Auburn’s forgotten genius

O

the coroner that his death was “due to strangulation,” Jewel immediately went from being the sad widow to the prime suspect.

Leonard Harold Breau, more commonly known as Lenny Breau, was born on August 5, 1941, in Auburn, Maine. As the son of French-speaking, professional country music performers Harold “Hal Lone Pine” Breau and Betty Cody, Lenny grew up surrounded by music and talented artists. After picking up the guitar at the age of eight, his parents realized that Lenny had a natural affinity for the instrument. At 12 years of age, Lenny formed a small band, and by age 14 he had become the lead guitarist in his parents’ band, playing

n Sunday, August 12, 1984, a body was found in the deep end of a rooftop swimming pool in Los Angeles, California. Neighbors immediately realized that it was 43-year-old Lenny Breau, one of the foremost American jazz guitarists of his generation. According to the Montreal Gazette, “Breau’s body was found in a pool atop the Wilshire-area apartment building where he lived with his wife Jewel and daughter Dawn Rose Marie, 3.” As Jewel stated in a subsequent interview, “I was at church and he asked me to pray for him that day…he was swimming and the Lord took him.” After closer examination by investigators in the case and the determination by 325 Lisbon St. Lisbon, ME 353-4144 802 Sabattus St. Lewiston, ME 333-3214

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

(continued from page 23) everything from Chet Akins instrumentals to singing. One year later, Lenny made his first professional recordings in Westbrook, and many of these early recordings were posthumously released on the CD, Boy Wonder.

In 1957, the family moved to Winnipeg, Canada, where they traveled around the province as the CKY Caravan and gained widespread exposure on the radio. Two years later, Lenny abruptly left his parents’ band. According to Ron Forbes-Roberts in his book, One Long Tune: The Life and Music of Lenny Breau, “Lenny left his parents’ country band after his father slapped him in the face for using jazz improvisations on stage.” Soon after the incident, Lenny sought work elsewhere and began performing at venues such as Rando Manor and the Stage Door in Winnipeg. In 1962, Lenny moved to Toronto where he formed a jazz trio

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called “Three,” which included singer Don Francks and Eon Henstridge on acoustic bass. The trio’s reputation slowly grew, and eventually their music was featured in the 1962 documentary Toronto Jazz, after which they recorded a live album at the prestigious Village Vanguard in New York. After returning to Canada, Lenny performed regularly on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and even received his own show, the aptly named Lenny Breau Show.

What set Lenny apart from many of his generation’s guitarists was the fact that he used a fingerstyle technique (i.e., plucking the strings with the fingertips and fingernails) instead of plectrum style (using a flatpick), which opened up a world of melodic and harmonic possibilities. Moreover, he could effortlessly switch from playing jazz or country to classical or flamenco. His

harmonic sense was based on his country roots and his keen interest in classical, modal, Indian, and of course, jazz.

In 1967, Lenny’s recordings made their way into the hands of famed guitarist Chet Akins, known for his smoother country music style that appealed to wider audiences. After their initial meetings, the two formed a friendship that resulted in two wellknown RCA recordings: Guitar Sounds from Lenny Breau and The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau. Live!

Despite Lenny’s obvious talent, his recordings had little appeal for the record-buying public. Unable to deal with his financial struggles and the pressures of constantly performing, Lenny resorted to using drugs and alcohol. This habit would haunt him for the rest of his life. According to Lenny, “When I initially recorded, I didn’t feel ready…I wanted to practice for

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another 10 years. And then the records didn’t sell, because RCA didn’t get behind them. So, I got depressed, and after a while, I had a drug problem, which only added to everything.”

It would be nearly a decade before he stepped into the recording studio again.

Ironically, his self-removal from the recording world fueled rumors of either his demise or purposeful seclusion, which only enhanced his reputation as a talented artist. As he stated, “During that period, I learned about pain…I also became inspired by impressionist painters such as Renoir.” In 1978, Lenny emerged from obscurity and appeared in performance with the pedal steel master Buddy Emmons in Nashville, Tennessee. He would eventually record three albums in 1979 alone. In 1983, after spending time in Canada, Nashville, and Maine, Lenny settled down in Los Angeles where he began teaching privately and presenting semi-

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nars until his untimely death.

In regard to Lenny’s death, after receiving the official coroner’s report that he was strangled, the detectives pursued an investigation. According to Forbes-Roberts: [They] were determined that Lenny was killed in his apartment and carried up the flight of stairs to the roof… where his killer dropped his body into the pool’s deep end.

They initially examined the possibility that Lenny had been the victim of a drug deal gone bad.

However, it seemed unlikely considering that there were no signs of a struggle. The murderer, they posited, had probably been known to Lenny and may have murdered him in a moment of blind rage.

Eventually, the two investigators became aware of the volatile relationship between Lenny and his wife Jewel through numerous interviews

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with many of Lenny’s close friends.

As Forbes-Roberts stated, “It was at this point that the officers began to consider Jewel Breau as their prime suspect. Her well-documented history of spousal abuse and flaws in her testimony (which remain confidential in the unclosed case) convinced the investigators of Jewel’s guilt. They also requested that she submit to a polygraph test, but she balked at the last moment and refused to have further contact with the police except through her lawyer.” However, since the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office did not have enough evidence to go forward with a possible trial, Jewel was never officially charged with the crime and the case remains unsolved to this day. Lenny Breau was buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, and money to cover his funeral was raised through a memorial benefit at the Blue Bird Café in Nashville. (continued on page 26)

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

(continued from page 25)

Lenny Breau 1941-1984

In 1999, approximately 15 years after Lenny’s death, the documentary, The Genius of Lenny Breau, was produced by his daughter, Emily Hughes. It included candid interviews with Chet Atkins, Pat Metheny, and George Benson, to name a few. In addition, the aforementioned book by Ron Forbes-Roberts is considered as the definitive biography of Lenny Breau.

According to a January 2012 article in Guitar World, “Chances are, you’ve never heard of the late jazz guitarist Lenny Breau, but ask Pat Metheny or Tommy Emmanuel and they will surely say that he’s had a profound impact on nearly every guitarist who heard him play.” As Metheny stated, “He came up with a way of addressing the instrument technically that nobody had done before and actually, no one has done since.”Perhaps this is the main reason why Lenny is often referred to as “The Forgotten Genius.”

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Early view of Stony Brook Farm, a tourist home in Winthrop on Route 100. Item #LB2007.1.112756 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

The Sedgley Place

In an era of chain restaurants, all-you-can-eat buffets and drive-through windows, the world is full of forgettable meals. This is not the case at the Sedgley Place in Greene, Maine.

For over 25 years, Sedgley Place has focused on quality and commitment to seeking constant improvement. Such was the case 12 years ago, when the owners, Paul and Susan Levesque, started using vegetables grown on their organic farm. The farm is located a few miles from the restaurant in Leeds, Maine. In late May they start picking greens and tomatoes out of their greenhouses, and through late November produce is picked fresh daily for use in the kitchen. From eggs to eggplant, potatoes to tomatoes, the ingredients at Sedgley Place are always farm fresh.

Their farm has been certified organic by MOFGA for the last 17 years, which once again shows their commitment to quality, the environment, and the consumer’s health.

Sedgley Place’s owners pride themselves on having a limited menu that changes weekly, offering the customer a unique variety of tastes. This allows them to focus on excellence, not quantity. Their menu always includes a prime rib served au jus, a filet mignon, a poultry entree and a fresh fish entree. It also may include duck, lamb, shellfish, veal or perhaps some venison.

Generally their menu has six different entrees to choose from.

One of the unique things about the Sedgley Place, located on Sedgley Road in dining experience at the Sedgley Place is Greene, is housed in a stately federal home their inclusive pricing. For one fixed price that was built in 1786. you receive homemade cheese and crackers, homemade bread, and honey whipped butter. You also get your choice of an appetizer, choice of entree and choice of a homemade dessert. They also have a full bar and a diverse wine cellar which boasts 63 different wines from all over the world. The bar includes wines and microbrews from our own great state of Maine. Sedgley Place is a fine restaurant for those with hearty appetites. The multiple courses ensure that dinner guests never go away hungry.

Take time in your busy schedule to come relax and experience the ambiance of a stately federal home built in 1786 and enjoy one of the finest dining experiences in New England.

They are located 2 miles off of 202 in Greene, Maine, 45 minutes south of Waterville, 20 minutes south of Augusta, and 45 to 50 minutes north of the Portland/Falmouth area. The Sedgley With the help of the Levesques’ sons, Josh and Peter, vegetables are Place is reservations only. Please call 1-800-924-7778 or 207-946-5990. Also, visit them online at harvested daily from their MOFGA certified fields and greenhouses. www.sedgleyplace.com. You can also request the weekly menu at sedgley@sedgleyplace.com.

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

The Tragedy Of Jeanie Frost Poet’s sister a nine-year AMHI resident

by Charles Francis

I

n 1920 Robert Frost committed his younger sister, Jeanie, to a mental institution. Jeanie died there nine years later.

The above words relate to one of the saddest moments in the life of the man many consider among America’s greatest poets. In saying this I do not mean to belittle the tragedy of Jeanie Frost in any way. Her story is even sadder.

What makes it sad is not her commitment, but rather why her brother was forced to commit her. In more than one respect Jeanie Frost’s story is that of a lot of women, women who were unable to deal with issues surrounding their lives.

The institution Robert Frost agreed

to send his sister to was the state hospital for the insane in Augusta. The institution had had various designations. Perhaps the earliest is Maine Insane Hospital. It has also been called the August State Hospital. Most know it by the acronym AMHI for August Mental Health Institute.

The short version as to why Robert Frost committed his sister is this: Jeanie Frost was arrested in Portland for causing disturbances. Maine authorities declared her insane. The determination of her mental faculties would seem to have been based on the observations of a single physician.

Jeanie Frost was a precocious child.

She was gifted. Evidence of this is

found in the fact that, although younger than her brother by two years, she was advanced a grade above him in elementary school.

It needs to be noted at this point that Jeanie Frost was actually Jeanne Florence Frost. Popular writers generally use Jeanie rather than the formal Jeanne. This point being made, it is now necessary to explain why Jeanie Frost was in Portland, Maine. Part of the answer to this question has to do with the fact that the Frost family had distinct and important connections to Maine.

Robert Frost is usually thought of as a New Hampshire poet. While this is true to a degree, Frost was not born in

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com New Hampshire or even New England.

He was born in San Francisco. Robert Frost’s father, William, moved to California, possibly to shed some of his Yankee roots. Whatever the cause of the move, however, it is not our subject here, although it should be mentioned that William Frost suffered from depression-associated alcoholism, as it may relate to his children.

Notwithstanding Robert Frost’s identification with New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine can be looked upon as the true origins of the Frost family.

Robert Frost is buried in the Frost family plot in Old Bennington Cemetery in Bennington, Vermont. Another Frost homestead is in Eliot, Maine. Robert Frost’s grandfather, William Prescott Frost, was born in Eden, Maine. Today Eden is Bar Harbor.

Jeanie Frost was arrested in Portland when she became hysterically violent.

Prior to this she had suffered or experienced bouts of hysteria. For the last nine years of her life, when she was in

the Augusta State Hospital, it would appear she continued to be afflicted with instances of hysteria and violence.

Numerous Robert Frost authorities have written on Jeanie Frost’s commitment. There are, however, just three sources I think worth commenting on: Jeanie’s own words, those of her brother Robert, and the perceived place of women in the culture and society of the period. The first speaks to inherited traits, the second to the effect of World War I on Jeanie Frost’s mental state, and the third to a feminized morality that cannot accept the harshness of a world in which only the fit flourish.

Robert Frost placed the specific cause for Jeanie’s ultimate breakdown on World War I. He said “…it took the war to put her beside herself.” It was the war that showed her “what coarseness and brutality really were…”

He went on to say “I really think she thought in her heart that nothing could do justice to the war but going insane over it.” (continued on page 34)

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(continued from page 33) In the time period that Jeanie Frost found herself in the Augusta State Hospital, insanity was often explained as being a product of innate inferiority, particularly in the case of women. In The Female Malady Elaine Showalter speaks of the insane of the first decades of the twentieth century as characterized as evolutionary failures. The poor and the disreputable were such failures.

While there were those who felt the insane could be cured, others felt they should be segregated from society as a whole. Jeanie Frost was poor. This is why she ended up in a state-supported institution. Jeanie Frost was disreputable. This is why she was arrested in Portland. Jeanie Frost did not prosper in a world where only the fit prosper. Robert Frost described Jeanie as “antiphysical and a sensibilist.” The terms describe a feminized morality.

However, it must be noted that other

members of Jeanie Frost’s immediate family could be described as unstable. First there was her father. Robert Frost himself suffered from depression, something which is said to have run in his family. Frost would have to commit yet another loved one to a mental hospital in 1947 when his daughter succumbed to illness.

Jeanie Frost was committed to Augusta State Hospital because she was judged insane. Maine had no clear definition of insanity at this time. According to historian Harry Laughlin, “Maine law mentioned nothing about a jury to determine the question of insanity.”

In 1925 Maine passed a sterilization law. The law provided for the sterilization “for eugenic purposes or for therapeutic treatment on feebleminded and others suffering from certain forms of mental disease…” Eugenics was

once touted practice for enhancing the human species through artificial selection much as certain types of animals are bred. Was Jeanie Frost sterilized?

We don’t know. She would have fit the profile of those sterilized in Maine.

The group victimized most was females who were residents of a state-run institution.

Jeanne Florence Frost was born in 1876 in San Francisco. She died in 1929, a patient of the Augusta State Hospital. Her last resting place is not the Frost plot in the Old Bennington Cemetery where her famous brother rests. Is Jeanie Frost’s burial site an unmarked grave in Augusta? Does anyone care enough to try and find out?

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August 1905 Tragedies Still Remembered National attention drawn to Readfield and Winthrop

by Dale M. Clark

A

ugust, 1905 was not a particularly eventful month in most parts of the country. On August 5th President Roosevelt hosted the Russian and Japanese peace commissioners at his home in Oyster Bay, New York; on the 6th a record high rainfall occurred in Indiana; on the 24th the Chicago Cubs beat the Phillies 2-1 in 20 innings.

Nothing in particular made titillating headline news on the national level except for two tragic events that occurred in Readfield and Winthrop, Maine.

The stage was set when a young Readfield woman named Mattie Hack-

ett was murdered on August 17th. She had been a student at Maine Wesleyan Seminary and Female College (Kents Hill School) and was working at the Elmwood Hotel in Readfield Corner.

After supper that evening Mattie’s father found her near their farmhouse on P Ridge — lying in the road and gasping for air. After he carried her to the house he found a piece of rope wrapped around her neck but it was too late — she died minutes later.

A novice reporter was sent from the Kennebec Journal to cover the story but his editor soon realized he had

fodder for headline news and assigned an investigative reporter. Articles soon began to appear across the country with headlines like “ALL SHROUDED IN MYSTERY. NO CLUES IN MATTIE HACKETT MURDER.” In the days that followed all eyes were focused on small-town Readfield, Maine and details of every movement on or near the Hackett farm on Kents Hill gave rise to another news report.

By August 24th a suspect had been identified — Mrs. Elsie Raymond of Readfield Corner. Mattie worked with Raymond’s husband at the Elmwood, (continued on page 36)

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(continued from page 35) and investigators theorized it may have been a crime of jealousy. A guard was stationed outside Raymond’s home, and Maine’s Attorney General, Hannibal Hamlin, took personal interest in the inquiry. Townspeople were all abuzz, and emotions of fear and insecurity were running high.

Meanwhile, only two miles away as the crow flies, Maranacook Lodge was in full swing for the season. Guests had arrived by train and filled the hotel to capacity. It was exceptionally hot that summer. Starting in June, temperatures hit 100 degrees in New York, and New England, and stayed above 90 from then on. The lakeside resort gave blessed relief to the weary city dwellers. A Malden, Massachusetts resident — 17 year old Robert D. Boutwell — was among the employees at Maranacook Lodge that year. He was a well-fit student athlete who had worked there as a hotel clerk in 1904, when his strong

swimming skills were discovered by the hotelkeepers. So, upon his return in 1905, in addition to his duties as clerk, Boutwell was asked to ride on excursions when the 60-foot, 75-passenger steamboat, the Steamer Maranacook, set sail for sightseeing tours around the lake.

On the evening of August 25th, as they cruised near Craig’s Point (Tallwood), the Steamer Maranacook collided with a rowboat and its two passengers were thrown into the lake. One managed to swim to safety but as the other went down for the second time, young Boutwell sprung into action and saved her. He was hailed as a hero and a story appeared in newspapers the next day. “BOSTON GIRL SAVED

BY STEAMER PASSENGER.” Festivities were planned for the evening of August 27th when the hotel management would present Boutwell with a plaque and recognize him as a hero, but

it was not to be.

The evening of August 26th began uneventfully with dinner in the dining hall followed by adult conversation on the swings, in the lounge or on the croquet court. Mattie Hackett’s murder had to be fresh on the minds and tongues of these folks who surely thought they would be safe in Maine away from the throng of city life. They must have watched their children closely, for there was a murderer on the loose. Little did they know that hours later a perpetrator of another kind would invade their haven.

Most retired to their rooms at a reasonable hour, and all were asleep when sometime in the night Boutwell and another employee were awakened by the sounds and smells of fire. Boutwell immediately ran through the hotel pounding on doors calling “FIRE! GET OUT NOW!” With his hands, face and neck severely burned, he helped carry

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ladders and placed them as alternate escape routes. Guests fled down the stairs, jumped from the roof or windows and exited down the ladders. There were many injuries – three doctors were brought in from Readfield to attend those in need. Guest ledgers were destroyed, so there was uncertainty about whether everyone had escaped. It was not until the next day, when the rubble had cooled enough to sort through, that remains of a young family named Martin from Roslindale, Massachusetts – husband, wife and 7 year old son – were discovered.

Had it not been for the valiant efforts of the now second time hero Robert Boutwell, many more lives would have been lost. He did not know this because he had been transported across the lake to the Sir Charles Hotel (Tallwood Inn) where doctors were monitoring him closely for severe burns and inhalation of smoke and fire. The

outlook was grim and his father was summoned to come from Malden posthaste! Mr. Boutwell arrived in time to hear his son’s final words early the next morning - “Good bye father. God bless you and dear mother.”

On the following day the Boston Globe, New York Times and other newspapers across the country printed headlines such as “HERO OF HOTEL FIRE SUCCUMBS” and “HERO’S DYING PRAYER.” The press coverage of the Mattie Hackett murder continued off and on for years. Elsie Raymond was brought to trial but found innocent. The crime was never solved.

Oral tradition has kept both stories alive over the years. A book titled In Search of Mattie Hackett was authored

by Emeric Spooner and published in 2011. Readfield musician Ellen Bowman recently wrote a ballad in memory of Mattie Hackett which, Bowman

says, pays long overdue tribute to Mattie’s memory. On July 22nd a cousin of Boutwell, Lois Buchan of Manchester, New Hampshire, visited Maranacook Lodge to share information about the young hero and to pay tribute to his memory. As others looked on she stood on the spot where young Boutwell had spent his last days and played Amazing Grace on her fife.

Mattie Hackett, Robert Boutwell and a young family died tragically that August long ago, before any of them could make their marks on the world.

But then, perhaps they did. One-hundred and nine years later they are still touching lives.

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com

The Malta Revolt The murder of China’s Paul Chadwick

by Charles Francis

W

indsor is one of Kennebec County’s old towns. It is old not so much in terms of incorporation but rather in terms of settlement. According to the Illustrated History of Kennebec County, the first settler of what would become Windsor was Walter Dockindoff of Bristol.

Dockindoff arrived around 1790. He was followed by others from the Bristol area, including Thomas Le Ballister, brothers Edward and Joseph Trask, Prince Keene, who was Le Ballister’s brother-in-law, John Lynn, Benjamin Hilton, Joseph Hilton, Joseph Linscott and Abraham Merrill.

The above mentioned settlers formed a close knit group. They did so

naturally, as they came from the same area. They did so because they worked together, helping each other build log homes and other tasks. They did so because they had something else in common: they were all squatters. Those that came immediately after them were squatters, too. They naturally became a part of the already bonded group of settlers.

What would become Windsor was incorporated March 3, 1809. It wasn’t incorporated as Windsor, though, but as Malta. It kept the name Malta for eleven years.

Malta is a memorable name in Maine history. It is a name with revolutionary overtones. It links to an epi-

sode in Maine history known variously as the Malta Revolt and the Malta War. The cause of the revolt or war has to do with a murder, the murder of Paul Chadwick of China.

Paul Chadwick was murdered by a party of squatters while employed

by Aaron Choate to assist Isaac Davis in surveying a lot in Malta. What followed was an uprising that brought out the militia. Here is the story as can best be pieced together at this late date.

Among other things, the Malta Revolt led to the election of Maine’s first governor, William King.

Land titles can be one of the most contentious issues a person faces in his lifetime. Neighbors, who have been (continued on page 40)

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(continued from page 39) good friends, may suddenly cease speaking to each other when one feels that the other has encroached on his property. There can be charges and counter-charges of moving boundary markers. In addition, there is the problem of someone appropriating someone else’s land for his own uses, such as timber harvesting.

These sorts of land title problems and others were an extremely serious matter in Maine just after the Revolution, when a large number of squatters moved onto the lands of the great landowners like the Kennebec Proprietors, who had been otherwise occupied by the conflict and its aftermath. Once the chaos of the war had finally been laid to rest, the great landowners turned their attention to their holdings, only to find clearings, homes, farms and other marks of development, where previously nothing but unbroken forest had existed. Often land agents and surveyor’s landowners sent out to deal with

the illegal squatters encountered resistance and even out-and-out hostility when they tried to fulfill their assigned duties. What happened in Malta in 1809 may be the most horrifying example of squatter defiance to have occurred in the then Province of Maine.

The first settlers of Windsor or Malta were part of Maine’s first real growth spurt. Few, if any, had money or any intention of paying for the land they settled willy-nilly wherever they found a likely spot. In fact, this was the situation for most of the towns back from the Kennebec. Political divisions that existed at the time were either plantations or townships of thirty-six square miles, some of which had been further divided into ranges and lots. These latter divisions existed only on paper.

Starting in the mid 1790s, the Kennebec Proprietors, who owned much of the region where Malta was, hired a land agent and surveyors to more clear-

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ly determine the boundaries of their holdings, identify squatters and either secure payment from them for the land they occupied or evict them. In theory, a squatter was supposed to be able to purchase his land at an unimproved price if he had been there for six years. (If he wished to sell it back to the proprietors, they were to pay a price consistent with the improvements.) Right from the beginning, there was a problem, however.

Most of the squatters had moved to their land when no agents were on hand to look out for the owner’s interests. When an agent did show up to try to collect payment from the squatter or move him to a surveyed lot, the squatter, often as not, chased him off at gun point. In more than a few cases, squatters dressed as Indians in imitation of the Sons of Liberty, who had dumped the tea into Boston Harbor. In Malta, squatters formed into an organized group. It must be understood that the formation of the Malta group and oth-

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com ers like it reflects more than a concern with land issues.

Part of the problem between the Malta squatters and the proprietors was one of social distinction. The squatters were a hardscrabble lot who made their living as farmers, eking out a handto-mouth existence and occasionally supplementing their meager income by cutting timber and selling it to mills in Augusta, where some of the proprietors lived in well-appointed homes along the Kennebec. Of course, most of the timber they cut and sold actually belonged to the proprietors. Representative of the elite of Augusta of the time was General Henry Dearborn of Revolutionary War fame, who represented the Kennebec District in the Massachusetts General Court.

Early in 1809, about the time that Malta was being incorporated, the group of four surveyors that included Paul Chadwick and Isaac Davis set out for the town. They were attacked by a

number of masked squatters disguised as Indians. Chadwick was shot and killed. However, before he died, he was able to name the attackers. Seven Malta residents were arrested and put in jail in Augusta, pending trial. This was just the start of things.

Back in Malta, tempers flared over the idea that the rich proprietors could have their way with land that Malta settlers had worked to improve. The result was seventy or more enraged settlers marching on the Augusta jail with the express intent of releasing their incarcerated neighbors. Augusta residents fearing for their lives and livelihoods with the outbreak of lawlessness prevailed on the Massachusetts General Court to call out several militia companies to put down the outlaws.

Troops were kept in Augusta for the six weeks prior to the trial in order to prevent further outbreaks of violence.

When the seven Malta men finally went to trial, however, they were found not

guilty. It had been impossible to identify the individual who had actually fired the shot killing Chadwick.

The cost to Massachusetts for maintaining order in Augusta during the Malta War was more than $11,000.

Another result of the outbreak was of far greater consequence, political consequence.

In part, because of the Malta War, the Maine branch of Thomas Jefferson’s newly formed Democratic Party took on the cause of squatters all across the state. William King, who would become the state’s first governor, and who led the movement for separation from Massachusetts, made the issue of squatter rights one of the party’s major causes. According to Maine historians like Ronald Banks, it was the squatter vote that was responsible for Maine voters choosing statehood over continuing as a part of Massachusetts.

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

The History Of Goudreau’s Retirement Community B uilt in 1964 as a “novitiate” training center for the Sisters of St. Joseph, the beautiful large building with all its 65 acres at 93 Halifax Street in Winslow Maine opened its doors to young women who would come from all over the United States and Canada to begin their studies preparing to enter into the religious life. The average age of these women would be around 18 to 20 years old and most would eventually become nuns and would travel and work throughout the world. As the sixties came to a close, less and less women were attending the novitiate due to all the new opportunities available for women. The building would soon open its doors to avail itself to local groups and gatherings around the community.

Over the next few decades, the building had transitioned into a boarding home for girls attending Mt. Merici High School, a daycare center, as well as a meeting place for Catholic groups like marriage encounter, pre-marriage encounters, as well as a place for AA meetings.

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By the 1990’s the building became a Retreat Center for various religious denominations and genders to attend.

People from all walks of life would come to reflect and enjoy the many acres of trails and natural beauty of the land. Some people would simply stay for a weekend while others would stay for up to 8 days and would participate in “silent contemplation.”

In the most recent years the retreat had opened its doors to school aged children interested in learning about nature and wildlife. Throughout the years the

large building set back on 93 Halifax Street in Winslow has been an important part of the Catholic community as well as the Central Maine community.

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

When Good Will-Hinckley Was Chase Farm Maine State Grange comes to the rescue

by Charles Francis

F

rom the time he was a boy growing up in Guilford, Connecticut native George Walter Hinckley had a dream. The dream was to provide a home for boys and girls who were growing up in troubled circumstances.

They were youngsters who might live in single parent homes or even be out on the streets, youngsters who might have been forced to leave school.

In 1889, when he was thirty-six, George Hinckley realized his dream when he founded what would become Good Will-Hinckley some six miles north of the center of Fairfield on the road to Skowhegan. That first

year three boys and a matron lived in what would become the norm for Good Will-Hinckley, the cottage. The cottage was situated on what was then known as the Chase Farm. In the years to come Chase Farm would be called Good Will Farm.

George Hinckley married Harriet Palmer. During the early years of the Good Will Farm the Hinckleys lived in Oakland, and that is where their daughter Faith was born. Faith Hinckley grew up in Oakland and married her childhood sweetheart, Lester Powley.

Faith Hinckley Powley knew her father as a dreamer. In fact, she once

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said that “as a boy he dreamed.” This was in the late 1920s when she wrote a description of the early days of the Good Will Farm for the Maine Writers Research Club.

The dream that George Hinckley had was of a home for boys or girls, who, through no fault of their own, were in need of assistance to secure an education. In her reminiscences of her father, Faith Hinckley Powley included two stories from George Hinckley’s childhood that provide insight into the character of the man who founded Good Will-Hinckley back in 1889.

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com friend who was sent away to a reformatory for stealing. What George Hinckley’s friend had stolen was food. The food had come from a worker’s dinner pail. The boy had committed his crime for the simple reason that he was hungry. His mother had not been able to give him his own lunch when he went off to school.

Faith Powley also told of how her father provided the first home for a needy boy. The boy, who was a friend of Hinckley’s, had no mother. When George Hinckley decided to go out into the world, he gave his own place in his father’s house to the motherless boy. Hinckley himself would go on to become a minister.

Faith Powley’s reminisces came at a time when some 2000 young people had been helped in some way by the Good Will Farm. Almost all of the 2000 went on to some form of higher education. 189 served in World War I. George Hinckley’s stated purpose for what would become Good

Will-Hinckley was the “good will idea.” The “good will idea” meant the complete education of the individual through “Home-Industry-Discipline-Recreation-Religion.” These precepts were almost the same as those of the Grange.

George Hinckley did not seek out public support for Good Will Farm.

One of the first organizations which helped George Hinckley realize his dream at Chase Farm was the Maine State Grange. One reason the Grange involved itself in Hinckley’s project had to do with the similarity of philosophies of the two. Another had to do with the fact that the educational program at the farm included agriculture.

In 1892 the Grange raised funds for the construction of the cottage at Chase Farm. Members of the Grange oversaw the construction of the cottage and the Grange donated the furniture for it. The cottage, which was known as the Grange Cottage, provided living accommodations for fifteen girls. Over

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the years the Grange continued its support of the farm.

In 1912 the Grange Cottage was destroyed by fire. Maine Grangers, however, quickly came to the aid of the farm and the cottage was rebuilt.

The Grange was also involved at the farm through 4-H. Granges were one of the chief supporters of the early 4-H Club movement, and local Granges sponsored 4-H clubs. Fairfield’s Victor Grange No. 49 was one of the Granges which sponsored a 4-H Club. A good many of its members came from the Good Will Farm.

At the time Faith Hinckley Powley wrote her reminisces of the early days of Good Will-Hinckley, a World War I memorial had been constructed and dedicated to those graduates of the Good Will Farm who had been in the Great War. Included in the 189 who had gone off to fight were fourteen who had died. The memorial was an arch, and situated not far from the bridge (continued on page 46)

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

(continued from page 45) over Martin Stream. Water from the Marne in France was brought especially for the dedication ceremonies. A steel box with all the letters Good Will Farm boys who had gone off to war had written to George Hinckley was sealed inside the arch. The story of the arch is just one of many of the early days of Good Will Farm when it was evolving from its earliest beginnings on Chase Farm to Good Will-Hinckley. As to just how much Good Will-Hinckley has changed since its founding in 1889, that depends on one’s perspective.

In 1987 the Grange Cottage was again destroyed by fire. And, again it was rebuilt through the efforts of the Grange. Given this example, perhaps it is possible to say that things haven’t changed all the much since George Hinckley took his first tentative steps to realize his dream and his daughter wrote of the dedication of the World War I arch.

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

The Flood Of 1927 Back-to-back thunderstorms pounded Waterville

by Brian Swartz

W

aterville and Winslow residents who lived through the Flood of 1987 will never forget what they saw as the Kennebec River started rising on Tuesday, March 31 and crested at 20 feet above flood stage on Thursday, April 2.

High water swept away Fort Halifax in Winslow; many original timbers washed up well down the Kennebec River. Streets and roads near the Kennebec River flooded from Skowhegan to Hallowell and points south.

People who watched the flood in Waterville and Winslow will always remember what they saw. Many memories are preserved in photographs, print,

and videotape; although the personal memories are fading as witnesses to the flood pass away, the archived material will ensure that the Flood of ’87 will not be forgotten.

Not so other disastrous weather-makers in the central Kennebec Valley, particularly the vicious thunderstorm — actually two — that wreaked havoc across Waterville and surrounding towns on Tuesday, July 12, 1927.

That summer had seemed particularly stormy, at least pertaining to rainfall. Most Kennebec Valley farmers had successfully planted their crops, and corn was growing well that particular Tuesday as a fast-moving cold front

swept across central Maine.

Atmospheric conditions perfect for slam-banger weather had set up in the region earlier that day. The thermometer had reached the mid-60s on Sunday, July 10; on Monday, the temperature topped off in the high 60s, a warmth level that many native Mainers would consider comfortable.

But the wind shifted to the south, then the southwest on Tuesday morning; the heat and humidity increased correspondingly, with the temperatures rising quickly. “First it grew warm, then warmer, then hot and finally hotter,” a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com registered the mid- to high 80s and even 90 degrees as the day wore on. So the particular cold front rolling through Maine on this Tuesday encountered warm and humid air; such diverse atmospheric conditions can presage an opportunistic weather-maker during a Maine summer.

Texans have a colloquial term for a strong cold front plunging into Lone Star State humidity: “blue norther.”

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In mid-afternoon on July 12, 1927, a

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strong cold front swept east across central Maine. This cold front did not drag a metallic blue sky behind it — but the storms riding from southeast to northwest along the front matched anything that a “blue norther” could do in Texas.

Spreading across an estimated 10 miles, the first storm sped across Vassalboro before reaching Winslow, Waterville, and Fairfield around 3:30 p.m.

Spewing lightning, thunder, rain, and hail, the storm knocked down trees and power lines.

After the storm passed, Waterville residents emerged from their businesses and homes to check out the damage.

This particular cold front packed a onetwo punch, however; hardly had the last thunder faded from the first storm when a second, more powerful thunderstorm walloped the region.

Large hail stones (some estimated as walnut-sized) pounded on metal roofs, vehicles, and the corn and other crops just setting up on local farms. Heavy

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rain fell; “lighting flashed almost continuously” a press account reported — and pealing thunder accompanied flashing lightning. Thunder constantly exploded over Waterville, Winslow, Benton, Fairfield, and other area towns.

A lightning bolt nailed the Winslow garage owned by Robert Nivison; within moments, lightning struck and set fire to the house owned by Alec Hurd, another Winslow resident. Fortunately for him, the pouring rain wiped out the fire; the final damage to his home was estimated at some $400.

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

(continued from page 49) one in the house called the Winslow Fire Department.

The storm knocked down trees and, when it could not find an appropriate elm or oak or fir or pine, used its wind and hail to knock down tree limbs. Not satisfied with destroying crops and household gardens, hail merrily tapped on electric transformers and power and telephone lines.

As so often happens during a oncein-a-century storm (Maine seems to experience such 100-year storms at least every decade today), heavy rain flooded local gutters and streets and washed out too many culverts. Some streets and roads became impassable due to flooding; road crews kept busy for some days afterwards repairing the damage.

Later, after the second storm skipped away to tear apart the Belgrade Lakes, a 15-year veteran Central Maine Power Company lineman emerged from shelter to examine the damage in Waterville

and Winslow. He “stated that it was the worst storm in his experience,” according to a reporter.

After ravaging Waterville and Winslow, the second storm targeted Belgrade. Later, people living in lakeside cottages reported that during the storm, “lightning struck trees and furnished a display about the lakes that exceeded anything of its kind in many years.” The high wind raised whitecaps on the Belgrade Lakes, and the hail damaged whatever it could find.

Like similar storms that strike somewhere in Maine every summer, the two Waterville-area storms of July 12, 1927 soon receded into history. Although notable for their ferocity, these storms could not match the 1987 flood in creating memories of a lifetime.

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52

Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

Israel Washburn’s History of Livermore ...And the tragic death of Thomas Fish

by Charles Francis

T

homas Fish died in the wind and snow. Thomas Fish died icy cold.

Thomas Fish died with freezing hands beating an aching chest. He died drowsing a dream of death under a blanket of snow.

Thomas Fish died in 1781. He died after walking nearly sixteen miles in a blizzard. At times he plowed though waist deep and more drifts. He died after crossing an ice-thin Androscoggin and perhaps falling in. He died carrying a twenty-five pound pack made even heavier by the weight of ice and snow.

Thomas Fish died a widower. He died leaving a motherless child. He

died leaving a woman who loved him, and who would have married him. The death of Thomas Fish is one of the legends of Livermore and of the Androscoggin. You can find brief summaries of Fish’s death in history books. Even with the references in the histories it is best to remember the story as largely legend. That’s why some say Fish died in 1780 and others in 1782, not in 1781.

The first two lines of this piece present possible images of Thomas Fish’s death. These introductory four sentences paraphrase lines from a poem on the death of Fish. The poem is The Story of Thomas Fish by Elizabeth Akers Allen.

The poem The Story of Thomas Fish is a chapter in Israel Washburn’s 1874 Notes, Historical, Descriptive, and Personal, of Livermore. The chapter serves as a tribute to Fish. The poem speaks to Israel Washburn’s particular avocational interests, interests that extended beyond the writing of history and nostalgia.

The fact that Israel Washburn included The Story of Thomas Fish in his history of Livermore raises a number of intriguing questions. To begin with, there is the question of why Washburn used the Akers Allen poem. Then there are questions as to when and where the

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com poem was written.

Israel Washburn could have written a poem on the death of Thomas Fish himself. Washburn had an understanding and command of poetic meter. The fact that he co-edited a book of hymns speaks to this.

Elizabeth Akers Allen’s The Story of Thomas Fish is unique in her oeuvre. It is also her first and one of her very few ballads or story poems. Maine-born Akers Allen was a major nineteenth century poetess. During her lifetime she published at least nine collections of poetry as well as other work. She wrote for the Saturday Evening Post and Atlantic Monthly. The Story of Thomas Fish is one of Akers Allen’s important poems.

The only place it appears is in Washburn’s history of Livermore. The poem is the only Akers Allen work which has never been specifically dated. The best scholars have been able to say as to its date of composition is sometime in the early to mid 1860s, no later than 1866.

The Story of Thomas Fish may just

be the earliest poem to appear under the name Elizabeth Akers Allen. Forest Buds from the Woods of Maine, the poetess’s first book, was published in 1855 or 1856. At the time of the book’s publication the poetess, who was born Elizabeth Ann Chase, was working for a Portland newspaper and writing under her birth name. Forest Buds was published under a pseudonym, the name Florence Percy. In 1860 Elizabeth Chase married Paul Akers. Akers died the next year. In 1865 she married Elijah Allen. Akers Allen continued signing work Florence Percy after she married Allen. Poems written as late as 1874, the date for the publication of Washburn’s Notes, carry the name Florence Percy.

There is no question that Israel Washburn was familiar with Akers Allen’s work. There is a question of where the poetess wrote the Fish poem, though.

She married Paul Akers in Rome. After Akers died she moved to Boston, which is where she met and married Elijah

Allen. The poetess might have written The Story of Thomas Fish in Rome. If she didn’t, she wrote it in Boston. The generally accepted hypothesis is that the poem was written by request. Regardless, that Israel Washburn used the poem in his history of Livermore can only be viewed as a statement of respect on his part.

Israel Washburn is a significant figure in Maine history. He was a Livermore native and one of the famous Washburn siblings who have served as normative examples of exceptional parenting. The Washburn family home was Norlands, now Livermore’s living history center. Israel Washburn was a Congressman and Maine’s preeminent Civil War governor. He stands as one of the state’s great political figures and leaders. Washburn’s life extended beyond the realm of politics, though.

Israel Washburn was a religious man, a devote Universalist. He served as President of the Tufts College Board (continued on page 54)

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

(continued from page 53) of Trustees. He was asked, but declined, to be the college’s president.

Tufts was founded by Universalists.

In 1865 Washburn and Edwin Bolles co-edited and published Hymns for the Church and Home. Edwin Bolles was a Universalist minister and professor at Tufts. Their hymnbook was published by the New England Universalist Publishing Company. The company had connections to Akers Allen’s publisher.

Familiar as he was with hymns, Israel Washburn was more than knowledgeable with the dominant hymn structure of the day. This structure is generally referred to as hymn meter. The most famous practitioner of hymn meter was Isaac Watts. Though most likely unknown to either Washburn or Akers Allen, Emily Dickinson used variations of hymn meter. Hymn meter is looser in structure than the most commonly used meter of the day, iambic pentameter.

Elizabeth Akers Allen used her own variations of hymn meter on occasion.

She also used iambic pentameter. In addition, she used couplets and broken couplets. One of Akers Allen’s best known verses is a couplet. It reads: “Backward, turn backward, O time, in thy flight / Make me a child again, just for to-night.”

As mentioned above, The Story of Thomas Fish is a ballad or story poem.

This means it is similar to the border ballads of that region of the British Isles where England and Scotland border. Sir Patrick Spence is one of the best known border ballads. Keats’ La Belle Dame Sans Merci is written in the form of the border ballad. Many border ballads tell tragic stories. The form fits for Thomas Fish’s death. Did Israel Washburn ask Elizabeth Akers Allen to write a piece in the style of the border ballad? The assumption must be yes.

Sir Patrick Spence and La Belle Dame Sans Merci have supernatural elements. There is nothing supernatural in The Story of Thomas Fish. Rather,

the Akers Allen poem has elements that can only be described as originating with the New England or Yankee fascination with nature.

The Ballad of the Oysterman by Oliver Wendell Holmes, though written later, bears a striking resemblance to The Story of Thomas Fish. The oysterman died swimming dangerous waters to see his true love. Thomas Fish walked his sixteen miles in a blizzard after visiting his future bride. In New England, nature takes the place of the supernatural as a source for tragedy.

There is one thing that seldom changes in tragic ballads, be they British or Yankee. Thomas Fish, like the oysterman of Oliver Wendell Holmes, died because of his foolishness. Elizabeth Akers Allen captures Thomas Fish’s foolishness in walking sixteen miles in a blizzard. Perhaps this explains why Israel Washburn included the poem in his history of Livermore.

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

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If you have a health condition that requires prompt medical attention, but is not life threatening, please call the Franklin Physician Referral Service. We have four primary care medical practices and five specialty practices in the area. We'll find a provider who can fit you into the schedule.

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Early view of South Street in Farmington. Item #LB2007.1.100759 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

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58

Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

The Majestic Mt. Kineo

by Jeffrey Bradley

A geologic wonder

F

rom atop lofty Mt. Kineo unfolds an astonishing view of an immense isle-flecked lake, expansive conifer forests, steep-sided mountains and the deep ravines of a dramatic geologic landscape. The silhouettes of nearby peaks stud the skyline, while the vast blue lake seemingly spreads south forever before vanishing into the mist.

Far below, at the foot of the promontory, an opulent guesthouse once hosted the wealthy to celebrate nature in sumptuous style. But the true splendor of this region, in a part of the state referred to by Mainers as ‘Up North’, resides not in futile attempts in harnessing beauty but in the landscape itself, in the vertical drops and hanging valleys,

the pinnacles, ledges and endless woodlands that roll toward a far horizon. But to imbibe this magnificence fully means ambling the switchbacks and trails over an archaic terrain carved by ancient ice.

And so primal is this boreal realm that the paleo-Indians that once passed by on silent and moccasined feet would

still instantly apprehend it.

Here, land formed by fire and ice. Millions of years ago volcanoes dominating the area erupted and reshaped the terrain. Mt. Kineo itself is a remnant magma chamber, the “inner plumbing” of a dead volcano. Similar “hornfels” volcanoes also experienced stupendous explosions that caused lava to cool quickly into flint like rhyolite, an easily worked mineral that Native Americans found especially useful.

By contrast, the lava that belched from the Longfellow Mountains and Mt Katahdin, to the west and east, cooled far more slowly, producing sterner stuff.

Much of it hardened into greenish or pink-tinged, coarse-grained granite,

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59

DiscoverMaineMagazine.com which weathered upwelling, suffused with feldspar, turns golden in the pale luster of evening.

With the coming of ice, erosion bent to its task. Growling glaciers oozed frosty tentacles into chinks and crannies, rasping mountains and carving valleys, even gouging future Moosehead Lake from the living rock. For millennia the land lay locked in bluewhite hues of cold so deep that only the tallest peaks were warmed by the tinge of sunrise. Sloping precipitously from these craggy redoubts, a series of broken-back terraces and slides of scree appear juxtaposed as if by conscious design. Below, in the cirque basin, drumlins and eskers deposited by the glaciers are now innumerable islands in a very deep lake. On land the vanishing ice revealed summit scapes of krumholdz and rounded rock.

Spring’s onset brings a vertical flood. Everywhere staircases, chutes and side fissures gush torrents of melt

water. Thundering flumes of foam shuffle the cobbles like playing cards in drum-rolls of runoff that spoliates the jumbled boulders into imbricated, blocky chunks.

Hiking this other worldly terrain invokes musings. A ridge becomes a cliff that drops into a notch as the trail descends within tangled woods. Treetops rock in the wind; branches groan and twist as the grove fills with whispers — a talking forest. Vistas glimpsed from the transoms of rimrock intensify a sense of disbelief in a domain measured in geologic lifetimes, a landscape forever on the move. Leaf litter in buttery tones carpets the way, and rounding a bend may or may not reveal shattered, moss-covered boulders that jut from the loam like dragon’s teeth, clustered round by shivery beeches. In the slanting light, the cracked erratics, stippled with schist, assume dramatic overtones, reminders that here be an eldritch tableau ranked among Maine’s

best.

A true wilderness, the area bordered roughly by the Appalachian Mountains — the toughest part of the Appalachian Trail, the 100-mile Wilderness Trail, lies just north of here — the near impenetrable Great North Woods, and the innumerable kettles, lakes and bogs scraped by the glaciers extending further south even than the sandy beach of Pleasant Pond at Caratunk — also delineates America’s first real frontier.

It comprises some of Maine's finest landscapes; these rugged ravines, steep stone slopes and craggy cliffs — often traversed by rocky, rope-thin trails — offer unparalleled insights into complex geologic processes that in time formed fantastic natural formations.

And dropping from a rocky summit into a lee crest of fragrant pines with the soft sloughing of wind tossing the boughs at dusk is an encounter of the spiritual kind.

The Kennebec River, called “the (continued on page 60)

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

(continued from page 59) big still water” by the Abenaki, has headwaters located in Moosehead Lake. First curving east past ridges and woodlands, the river flows sometimes tumultuously before making a passage south. Initially, the great weight of the glaciers tipped volumes of icy outwash draining into the West Branch of the Penobscot River. Then a topographical “flex”, or ripple, diverted the flow permanently into the Kennebec. Traces of the switched shorelines and old abandoned outlet along Northwest Carry are still extant.

The ice also carved the basin that eventually became Moosehead Lake.

When it finally melted, rocky “till”— untold tons were carried along by the glacier — formed the lake’s many islands. The restless ice also plucked and scoured the hundreds of coves and inlets along the extensive shoreline. (At over100,000 acres, the lake is, in effect, an inland sea; certainly, the most impressive body of freshwater in all New

England.) But ice did more than harrow the bedrock. It leveled forests, widened valleys, flattened mountains, even bent the course of mighty rivers. Glaciers changed everything.

Today, Mt Kineo is ground zero for the best look at this change. Rearing nearly 300 feet from the depths of the lake, Kineo is a dramatic topographic expression displaying 800 foot sheer-sided cliffs surmounted by an unusually level platform. The surrounding landscape features, not quite as impressive, are discernible from its summit. For instance, the plateaus and ridges to the eastare sandstone “caps” on top of other rocky formations; the defiles and narrow valleys north and west denote an under lying shaly matrix. And the lowlands to the south are comprised mostly of dissolved limestone, which sinks. Unlike these subtle geologic inflections, the impact of the glaciersis more obvious in the jagged and broken outcroppings, the deeply

scored summits, the slides of raw talus heaped at the base of lesser peaks.

South of Greenville, past the peat bogs and a marsh, a rock-slippery stream in a narrow defile fills with turbulence during the spring thaw. Slate, plentiful in the streambed, glitters with iridescent flecks of mica. Graphite turns slate black, and a roof of the stuff quarried from nearby Monson can last for a thousand years! Similar metamorphic rocks may be found throughout the region up thrust and tilted by ninety degrees, testifying to the unremitting power of forces deep below ground.

Past Solon, on almost any ridge that ascends to the tree line traces of geologic history are found written in stone.

The round shields of granite capping the summits were once jagged outcroppings until broken off by a glacier and left smooth and exposed like the rocky bones of Earth. The polished slate, too, bears witness to the passage of ice in the grooves and notches. A short de-

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61

DiscoverMaineMagazine.com scent through scrub onto a riverbank near The Falls reveals an odd sandstone formation stacked like layers of a cake. Gritty and crumbly, and shot with coarse-grained quartzite crystals, it seems a puzzling substance to resist weathering. Yet, other mineral conglomerate shave leached away leaving the formation rippling at imprecise angles and showing that even stone itself can’t withstand the ravages of time.

When autumn’s mists shroud the brooding massifs that surround Moosehead Lake the region becomes more surreal. This mystic realm has always lured the wayward to wander its peaks and valleys; briefly, they imprint the land and are gone. But the spell continues to beckon, and others come for the ramble. So, climb the mountains. Appreciate the forests and deep ravines. Commune with nature. But remember that here the past is always just around the next bend.

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62

Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

Palermo’s Moses Burleigh The saga of a Maine pioneer

by Charles Francis

O

n August 17, 1814, the USS Adams ran aground on the Isle of Haute in Penobscot Bay. Severely damaged, the Adams managed to limp up the Penobscot River where she docked at Hampden only to be set afire by her crew when news arrived that a British fleet was following in her wake.

News of the Adams’ predicament and subsequent fate spread rapidly through the small farming communities of the Penobscot. It seems the Adams was nothing more than a subject of discussion to be commented on and then left behind as there were more important tasks like the upcoming fall harvest to be dealt with. In some towns, however, the fate of the Adams generated

a good deal more than simple conversation. One of those towns was Palermo, where community leader Moses Burleigh decided it was time to rouse the countryside to action lest the British extend their activities westward.

As a direct result of the loss of the Adams Moses Burleigh raised a militia company made up of Palermo residents and men from surrounding area towns.

As the company’s elected captain he marched the company to Belfast.

Burleigh’s action was, without doubt, timely. By the time he arrived in Belfast at the head of his company the British had won the Battle of Hampden, and occupied Bangor. Beyond that the Redcoats were looking westward. In

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fact, they marched down the bank of the river, through Frankfort, which then included Winterport and sections of Prospect, Stockton and Searsport, to the east bank of the Passagassawakeag River. There they stopped. One can picture the Redcoats looking across to Belfast at armed men looking right back at them.

The British made no attempt to occupy Belfast or any of the area east of the Penobscot below Bangor and Hampden. In fact, from the bank of the Passagassawakeag, they turned around and marched back to Bangor. While there are no records as to why they did so, one can conjecture that it was the fact that armed militiamen like those

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63

DiscoverMaineMagazine.com under the command of Moses Burleigh had mobilized.

Moses Burleigh’s ‘take charge character’ is typical of that shown by the Maine pioneers who helped create the State of Maine. Burleigh’s actions in raising the Palermo militia company in Augusta of 1814, however, are just a small part of the life history of this intriguing and relatively unknown figure in Maine history. Among other things, Burleigh went on to rise to the rank of colonel, became one of the few individuals to represent a town the size of Palermo in the Massachusetts General Court, and helped frame the Maine Constitution. In addition, he would have at least one more run-in with the British. It would occur while he was serving as a United States Marshal and as a Maine land agent in Washington County.

Moses Burleigh was born in Sandwich, New Hampshire in 1781. His parents were Benjamin and Priscilla

(Senter) Burleigh. Burleigh came to Palermo shortly after it was incorporated as a town in 1804. While he made his living as a farmer, Burleigh was by inclination a politician, having served in a number of local elected offices before raising the Palermo militia company that went to Belfast. Unlike many of the other militiamen of the period who only served short periods of time, Burleigh went on to secure a commission as captain in the 11th Division of the Massachusetts militia. In 1816 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel.

Also in 1816 Burleigh was elected to the Massachusetts General Court from Palermo. One of the unique aspects of his election was that he had to pay his own expenses while he served in office. These expenses included room and board in Boston. The same year that Palermo elected him to the Massachusetts legislature, it also sent him as a delegate to the Brunswick Convention of 1816. This convention represented

the first major effort to separate Maine from Massachusetts. While it failed, Moses Burleigh distinguished himself as a spokesman for Maine statehood.

In fact, he was largely responsible for delivering seventy-eight out of ninety-eight Palermo votes for separation.

Burleigh also represented Palermo at the Maine Constitutional Convention. He was one of the representatives that successfully fought for the inclusion of Sections 16 and 17 of Article I of the Maine Constitution. These sections relate to the right of citizens to bear arms and the ultimate authority of the state militia being in civilian hands. Burleigh went on to be elected to the Maine Legislature. He was also the first person to establish regular mail service by carriage from Bangor and what would become Waldo County to Augusta.

In 1830 Burleigh was appointed United States Marshal to overseer census taking in Washington County. At (continued on page 64)

Tom Roberts Construction ~ Over 30 Years Experience ~

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64

Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

(continued from page 63) this time Washington County extended northward into the disputed northern lands in the region of the Fish and Aroostook rivers. Part of Burleigh’s responsibility lay in determining whether an individual living in the disputed area was of American or British origin. While he was engaged in carrying out his duties the government of the Province of New Brunswick issued a warrant for his arrest. To the dismay of New Brunswick officials, Burleigh successfully eluded all attempts to take him prisoner. Burleigh then proceeded to raise the ire of New Brunswick officials in another capacity.

In 1831 Burleigh was appointed as an assistant Maine land agent. His responsibility in this position was to remove British squatters from disputed lands. This issue would later come to a head in the famous Aroostook War of 1839.

Moses Burleigh eventually moved

from Palermo to Linneus, dying there in 1860. He spent his last years as Linneus postmaster.

Moses Burleigh’s life is a remarkable one in that it covers the time period when local militia was an important fact of daily life, the period when Maine went through the issues of separation from Massachusetts and the northern boundary question. Moses Burleigh played a part in all of these.

Perhaps sometime someone will do an in-depth study as to how the life of Moses Burleigh provides insight into these particular aspects of Maine history. * Other businesses from this area are featured in the color section.

Discover Maine

Lakeview Lumber Co. Complete Building Materials & Hardware for the Homeowner and Contractor Great Arts & Crafts Department!

968-2498 Rt. 202, China Village, Maine

Rituals Hairstyling Salon Cuts, Styles & Colors Men • Women Children • Families Closed Sunday & Monday

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81 Clinton Avenue • Winslow, ME 04901

Come & Visit Our Bargain Warehouse!

Discover Maine Magazine has been brought to you free through the generous support of Maine businesses for the past 23 years, and we extend a special thanks to them.

Please tell our advertisers how much you love Discover Maine Magazine by doing business with them whenever possible.

Thanks for supporting those businesses that help us bring Maine’s history to you!

C.L. MCNAUGHTON Sand • Loam • Gravel Septic Systems Excavation Trucking - 20 Years Experience -

207-485-4192 Vassalboro, ME

Kim’s Garage

& 24 Hour Towing Service Serving the Community since 1973

• Auto Body Repair & Painting • Damage-Free Wheel Lift & Flatbeds • All Types of Automotive Repairs

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420 China Rd., Winslow, ME

Poor Bob’s Storage

SNOWMOBILES • BOATS • CARS • FURNITURE • ETC.

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453-7108

4 miles from Waterville 4 Poor Bob’s Lane (just off Unity Rd.), Benton

65

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Early view of an electric power dam in Winslow. Item #LB2007.1.102938 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

L.N. VIOLETTE CO., INC.

GENERAL CONTRACTORS SINCE 1923 HOMES • ADDITIONS RENOVATIONS KITCHENS • BATHS COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION COOPERATIVE LAND DEVELOPMENT LOTS AVAILABLE No General Contractor Markup On Materials We Stock A Complete Line Of Building Materials

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www.lnviolette.com

PO BOX 59 • 1 SAVAGE STREET • FAIRFIELD

Doug’s Garage Gravel • Loam • Sand • Site Prep • Septics Land Clearing • Ponds • Water & Sewer Lines Heavy Equipment Hauling Commercial Snow Plowing Salting & Sanding • Removal Enviro-Septic® (Septic Leaching Systems) Dealer

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Cell: 207-649-6988 • Fax: 207-238-9217 lenpoulin@prexar.com

159 River Road • Benton, ME 04901

Complete Car Repair Domestic & Foreign

Air Conditioning Service & Repair Exhaust, Brakes, Tune-ups, Shocks & Struts Tire Sales & Service • Computer Analysis State Inspections Open M-F 7:30am-5pm

453-7720

425 Albion Road, Benton dougsgarageinc.com

DAC DISTRIBUTORS, INC. Auto Parts & Accessories Domestic & Foreign Car & Truck

Radiators • Drums & Rotors Turned • We Make Hydraulic Hoses Bench Test Starters & Alternators • Most Parts Same Day Service

Open Mon-Fri 7am-6pm, Sat 7am-2pm 1153 Main Street, Clinton 426-8402

66

Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

Striking It Rich At Sucker Flat Clinton man pans for gold

by Charles Francis

W

illiam Lamb panned for gold at Rose Bar just one half day before quitting to work as a teamster. It was one of the better moves he made out West, though maybe not the very best. Nevertheless, it was a decision that helped Lamb make his fortune.

William Lamb was a Clinton man.

He was one of the thousands of Maine men bitten by the bug that came with the announcement of the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in 1849. Though Lamb didn’t head off for the gold fields immediately, he got there early enough — in January of 1853 — to experience all the wildness, rivalry and ribaldry that marked the first period of the California gold rush.

Rose Bar is in Yuba County. It was the first place gold was discovered on the Yuba River. When William Lamb arrived, Rose Bar was a thriving community with stores, hotels, a bakery, a couple of saloons and a blacksmith shop. Panning was over, though, so it’s hard to say why Lamb even bothered to look for glitter the few hours he did.

What William Lamb did when he summarily gave up prospecting was purchase a wagon and team and begin transporting goods between Rose Bar and Marysville, a distance of some eighteen miles. In January 1853 Marysville had a population of 10,000 and Rose Bar 2000: they were boom towns, which meant Lamb found plenty of work.

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McMann’s

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William Lamb was one of those rare men who made the journey to the California gold fields and returned showing a substantial profit. Lamb, like most of those who made a success of themselves out West in gold rush days, was smart enough to realize that the simplest and surest way of making money out there and back then was by providing miners with goods and services they wanted.

Hauling goods didn’t provide William Lamb with his greatest gold field success, though. That came with store keeping. And, although Lamb did have a store in Rose Bar, his most profitable venture was in the fancifully named community of Sucker Flat.

William Lamb came to the Yuba River region just as hydraulic mining

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67

DiscoverMaineMagazine.com was getting going. Hydraulic mining changed everything as far as mining was concerned. It was technology that ruined some towns and created others.

Rose Bar was one of the towns hydraulic mining ruined. Sucker Flat was one it benefited. By the time William Lamb left California, Rose Bar and the place he had operated his store was nothing but slag heap covered with tailings.

Sucker Flat, however, was the place where miners employed by the mining companies with the big hydraulic rigs lived. The community had three saloons, two boarding houses, from fifty to sixty miners’ cottages and the store that William Lamb sold for a profit in 1855, the store he sold so that he returned to Clinton a relatively wealthy man. This is, however, getting ahead in our story of William Lamb. First we need to introduce a bit of background as to the subject of this piece.

William Lamb comes as close as any to the image of the sagacious

Maine Yankee. This isn’t just because he went to the California gold fields and came back with more than he had when he left. It isn’t just because he already had a farm in Clinton, owned free and clear, when he left for California. It isn’t because he went on to increase his wealth and holdings when he returned to Clinton, that he did so in the lumber business and that he operated his own successful mill. It’s because of all these things taken together and more. It’s because William Lamb had the practical sense to demand things of himself, the sorts of down-to-earth things that often as not result in success.

William Lamb was born December 2, 1822. That makes him just days beyond thirty when he set sail for California on December 6, 1852. Without doubt, Lamb’s age says something as to why he didn’t waste his time in the gold fields seeking that all-elusive strike or vein.

William Lamb was descended of

pioneer farm stock. His grandfather James is numbered among the first settlers of Clinton. His father, James Lamb the younger, for the most part followed in the elder James’s footsteps. Both father and grandfather served in the War of 1812. Both provided an example of what hard work and attention to the future can accomplish. It says something as to why when William bought his first farmland on credit, he promptly paid it off.

Probably the roughest time William Lamb had in his entire life — except possibly for something that happened toward its close — occurred on the passage to California, specifically the crossing of the Isthmus of Panama and on the subsequent voyage up the Pacific coast. A significant number of Lamb’s party contacted cholera on the Isthmus crossing. Seven were buried in Acapulco, at the very beginning of the voyage north, on Christmas day 1852.

By the time the ship reached Sacra(continued on page 68)

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FAB Fair 2014 at SAHS

March

SACC Annual Dinner & Awards Night

May

Memorial Day Parade RBT Conference (Relevant Business Topics Con.) 20th HOG Rally (Harley Owners Group) RiverFest 2015 RiverFest– Moonlight Madness RiverFest– Golf Tournament RiverFest– Rotary Lobster Bake Skowhegan State Fair New Balance Tent Sale 2nd COTA (Celebration Of The Arts)

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68

Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

(continued from page 67) mento on January 6, 1853, thirty-seven more passengers and crew had been buried. Seventy-five more were in such a state that they were carried by ambulance and stretcher to the Sacramento hospital. The sickness and death says something as to why Lamb left Sacramento as quickly as he did, traveling up the Yuba River to Rose Bar. William Lamb’s teamster operation lasted till early fall of 1853. He then formed the first of several store partnerships. The first partnership operated a store in Rose Bar and one in Sucker Flat. Sucker Flat was just outside Rose Bar. It’s name came from the belief that anyone trying to make a living there looking for gold was wasting his time.

This was so until much of Rose Bar was taken up by the hydraulic mining operations and Sucker Flat became a sort of early version of a bedroom community.

Lamb went through several business partnerships. Then in December

of 1854 he sold out. In total, he realized $7000 for eighteen months effort.

It was a substantial amount to return home with at that time.

Back in Clinton, William Lamb married and settled down. In short time he was recognized as one of the most prosperous and respected figures in the community.

In 1867 Lamb bought a saw and shingle mill. Then he expanded, adding the manufacture of doors, sashes, and blinds. In 1887 he expanded again, manufacturing croquet sets. Throughout the late 1880s and early 1890s the plant averaged 12,000 croquet sets a year. On any given year Lamb’s business ventures would be found employing from a dozen to thirty workers.

These ventures included home construction. Reports indicate Lamb was known for drawing up easy home ownership terms for purchasers.

If it can be said that William Lamb

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struck it rich at Sucker Flat, then he did a good deal more than that back home in Clinton. Maybe it’s the old story of finding the greatest treasures right in your own back yard.

Sometimes even the rosiest of endings may have a down side. In the case of this piece, the downside is the fire at William Lamb’s mill. Lamb’s croquet plant, and associated mills along with their machinery, two long sheds and considerable lumber burned on December 22, 1904. The fire, which caused additional damage in town, is considered one of the worst disasters in Clinton history.

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

PAK LEE

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69

DiscoverMaineMagazine.com

Early view of the Kennebec River. Item #LB2007.1.103174 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

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Bakery • Deli Grocery • Produce Open 7 days a week • 8a-8p

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121 North Ave., Skowhegan, ME

georgesbananastand.com

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Tire Center

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474-9613

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www.CancunWaterville.com 414 Lakewood Rd, Rt 201 | Madison ME

70

Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

222 College Ave. 135 Waldo Ave. Waterville, Maine Belfast, Maine 207-872-5602 207-338-5160 Now serving Unity, Thorndike & Belfast

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Early view of Coburn Park in Skowhegan. Item #LB2007.1.111857 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

Lincoln Green is an established neighborhood of custom, high-end condo homes right in the heart of Waterville.

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71

DiscoverMaineMagazine.com

Harvesting Kennebec Diamonds Frozen river water becomes big business in Maine

by Jeffrey Bradley

H

arvesting Kennebec River ice in the dead of winter might seem as risky as rafting giant logs down the rapids, but Maine’s freezing, sub-zero winters create ice aplenty, and selling it for a great deal of money is an extraordinarily improbable but truthful tale.

Residents have long relied on the Kennebec for domestic refrigeration, a “benefit” of having deep winters.

Ice early on was considered a “liquid” asset by Mainers, with a value measured in thaw-time. In fact, before the mid-19th century, ice was mostly used as ships’ ballast in the form of heavy blocks stacked and covered with saw-

dust to help prevent melting. But unbeknownst, the first step in a brand new venture had just been taken.

When these ships arrived in the tropics their chilly ballast evaporated astonishingly fast, not because of melting but that the locals whisked it away. The prudent Yankee captains realized the ice had value, and it was soon being sold as a prized commodity. Especially in the faraway markets of Asia and South America, the demand for ice was fierce.

Ice first shipped from Bath around 1820, and the first ice house was erected in Richmond. A few decades later over 30,000 tons were taken, and pro-

duction of “Kennebec diamonds” was soon surpassing the million-ton mark.

Already by 1886 there were nearly a dozen operations in and around Pittston. But too many businesses vying for a slice of the market upset the scale of economy, and in response the Knickerbocker Ice Company formed to snap up these small fry and stabilize prices.

In no time, a third of the Kennebec ice trade, some 60-odd companies, came under its aegis. The consortium became a monopoly in 1891 when practically all operations of the Northeast fell under the grip of Charles Wayne Morse, the “Ice King” of Bath.

By 1890 Maine had moved to the (continued on page 72)

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72

Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

(continued from page 71) forefront of ice production, employing 25,000 men to harvest the million tons of Kennebec ice sent south annually. To accommodate this demand, ice houses sprang up all along the banks of the river. One broker’s map of 1882 shows Randolph, West Bowdoin, Hallowell, Farmingdale and Augusta accounting for more than two-thirds of the 1.5 million tons harvested.

Backbreaking, difficult work A seven by 22-inch square block of ice weighs a hundred pounds, and they generally run bigger and heavier. Pulling the stuff from the river required the Kennebec be frozen to a depth of two feet to safely support the arduous work. The process began when snow was cleared off to allow teams of “canalmen” to trace the lines that the following horse-drawn scorers cut into furrows. Meanwhile, a second army was laboring hard at crosswise angles. Then came the sawyers in woolen shirts working their long-poled saws in

of Maine “From Our Forest to Final Form”

AUTHORIZED SALES CENTER New Equipment Sales & Service Ross Clair, Manager/Sawyer

unison, fifty pairs of hands creating a channel for floating the blocks of ice.

“Cakes” were split off with chisels, and the square blue blocks slued down the dark water passage to a point where men wielding cant dogs hoisted them glittering into the sun. Before they were moved they were planed to remove debris.

Hauled by hand or horse-drawn sledge, the steaming blocks were lined up in rows beside a cranky, steam-driven conveyor belt that fed them into the ice house at the top of the bank. (A steam scoop later relieved having to muscle the heavy blocks onto the belt.)

Here, sheer weight tipped them headlong down a chute where the thundering blocks were caught and switched in a choreographed whirl designed to stack them quickly while avoiding a shattering blow. Swiftly rose those gleaming walls of Kennebec gold that were taken and loaded aboard the waiting schooners and dispatched to the

Bear Mountain Repair

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Bernie Langlin Jr. -Owner

needy markets of the world.

By 1891 the ice harvests had reached a peak, yet in Bowdoinham the Consolidated Ice Company, noted for having teams of horses with spiked, “caulked” horseshoes, reported few mishaps concerning men or horses falling through the ice. Instead, most injuries were caused by the cumbersome cutting equipment or by frostbite. In the town of Skowhegan, where river ice was used in homes as late as the 1960s, the boast was how the entire world had come to depend on Kennebec ice — a substantial claim insofar as the local fisherfolk, farmers and the households that boarded the workers relied completely on this harvest to tide them over the winter.

All that glitters…

Prior to the Civil War ice was a luxury. But even as the foreign markets opened, domestic consumption of perishables had made the ice-box standard in most American middle-class homes.

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73

DiscoverMaineMagazine.com Kennebec diamonds were promoted as “the best ice,” and successfully, despite almost every body of fresh water in Maine having comparable flavor, and the crystal-clear product rapidly became the gold standard of ice. Accepting the concepts of purity and health benefits, the public willingly paid more to get it. (Of course, ice companies all over the world began to suddenly produce “Kennebec Ice.”) With the proximity of cost-cutting sea lanes, even the swells of New York and Washington, D.C. could toast themselves with the distinct clink of ice in their glasses.

These were the bountiful times, when Kennebec diamonds were worth more than the gold fields of California.

Unfortunately, there was a fly in the ointment. A combination of powerful forces — the weather, demand in the south, pollution — were elements that could not be controlled. And, the low startup costs and the possible profits attracted parvenus who dragged down the price of ice. Perhaps the heaviest blow

came by way of the Ice King himself, Charles Wayne Morse — that Donald Trump of ice cubes — in closing down the operations in Maine while keeping those on the Hudson River open.

It proved a stroke of good timing, too, as customers began turning away from possibly contaminated river ice for the product made mechanically in a warehouse. Finally, the advent of the home refrigerator during the 1920s ended for good the need of exporting ice. Yet, in returning to supplying only local demand the ice harvests of the Kennebec River had, in effect, come full circle.

The era of Maine’s “ice mania” contains some valuable insights on the nature of a “designer” business. While no doubt a definite boost to the local economy, seasonality, market irregularities and the hazards of unplanned obsolescence makes niche industries risky. But even as the ice harvests faded away, resourceful Mainers were finding new ways of making a living.

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American Legion building in Farmington. Item #LB2007.1.100762 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

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The Snow Frontier Franklin County always gets hit hard

by Charles Francis

F

or a good many decades it has been understood that there are two Maines. At least the concept has become popularly accepted in a political and economic sense as relating to those sections of the state divided by an imaginary line separating eastern and western Maine, a line bifurcating the state running somewhere between and somewhat paralleling the Kennebec and Penobscot rivers. This concept based on the relatively inexact disciplines of political science and economics and the even more inexact social science of sociology is actually a relative newcomer to the two-Maines doctrine.

The idea that there are indeed two Maines dates back to the late nineteenth century. It is based on observation and the recording of data, and is therefore a good deal more scientific than the more recent conceptualization. This older dividing of Maine into two distinct parts is based on snowfall. It dates back to 1888.

1888 is significant in the history of weather in the United States for two reasons. The Blizzard of 1888 has gone down in the record books as one of the worst ever. It shut down New York

City and other sections of the northeast. By the time the blizzard made it to Maine it has pretty well tapered off, however. The only region of the state that saw snow accumulation was the mountainous region of western Maine.

1888 was also the first year the Monthly Weather Review, the federal government’s official weather periodical, began publishing a national map showing snowfall depth. Today the Monthly Weather Review is published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). For most of its existence – from 1891 to 1966 – it was published by the Weather Bureau. Back in 1888 it was put out by the Army Signal Corps, which first – from 1872 to 1891 – had the responsibility for predicting weather.

Towards the end of 1888, Cleveland Abbe, editor of the Monthly Weather Review, decided he had enough data to draw up the first national weather map in the history of the United States. The first map, which was for November 30, showed scattered snowfall in the Rockies, Montana, the Appalachians, the Great Lakes and northern New England. The second map, for December

30, showed a continuous snow line running from Maine southward to New Mexico and Arizona and thence up to Washington. The map had patterns of lines with figures indicating varying snow depth. Maine had two lines of demarcation.

One of the Maine lines of demarcation was for five inches of snowfall or less. Roughly it connected Berwick in the west, Augusta in the central part of the state and a point around Lincoln in the east. The five inches of snow was found between this line and the coast.

The second Maine line of demarcation was for eight feet of snow. It began well up on the border with Quebec and dipped down into Franklin County and touched on Oxford County. The further north of the first line that ran through Augusta, the deeper the snowfall. In short, western Maine was snow frontier country.

Unlike today’s imaginary socio-economic and political line separating the two Maines, the snow line dividing Maine is real. It is perennial. It is laid down by nature. And in the nineteenth century (at least) it established where the Maine frontier began and where the (continued on page 76)

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

(continued from page 75) frontier was. It was in western Maine, primarily Franklin County.

A significant amount of the population of Franklin County is found in the Sandy River Valley. The first settlers of the Sandy River Valley region began arriving shortly after the Revolutionary War. They were a hardy, hard working people who came to make a new life for themselves in the wilderness of western Maine. They came to build mills, carve out farms and live life as they chose.

By 1800 or shortly thereafter, every township of the Sandy River Valley had incorporated. That this occurred so rapidly is an indication of the work ethic of these early settlers. Then in 1816, disaster struck and people began abandoning their farms and homes.

The summer of 1816 was one of unusually cold weather. The months of June and July had nights when the temperature dropped below freezing, and both months had hail and snow.

Because of the low temperatures crops failed.

The following story illustrates the plight of the wretched inhabitants of the Sandy River Valley that unbelievably cold year.

A respectable citizen of East Wilton walked into a store in Farmington. He settled in next to the wood stove and listened to the conversation which involved the weather and hard times.

Then someone asked him how things were out his way.

“Bad enough. About all we can do is keep from starving.”

“All poor? No one well-to-do there?”

“Well, yes. Squire Butterfield, now, he’s rich.”

“What do you mean by rich?”

“Well, Squire Butterfield can afford to have pork with his beans.”

1816 has gone down in the folklore of Maine’s western mountains as “The year of 1800 and froze to death.” 1816, like all the succeeding years up to 1888, are a part of the western Maine folklore of cold and snow. From 1888 on, all that is necessary to do to determine whether or not western Maine is indeed in the “Snow Frontier” is to check the archives of the Monthly Weather Review.

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Early view of office building at Crocker Lake Camps in Jackman. Item #LB2007.1.101096 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

Bingham’s Gulf Stream Trestle Rides on the train could be a hair-raising experience

by Terry Hamlin An interesting hike for those so inclined to venture into the Maine woods just north of Bingham off Route 16 is to follow the abandonded railbed of the old Somerset Railroad till you come to an impressive gorge. From the top of the gorge you can look down and see what is known as Gulf Stream.

Something else of intrest that you will also see some 115 feet below will be the cement foundations that once anchored the massive steel girders that supported Maine’s most impressive railroad trestle, The Gulf Stream Trestle.

Spanning the Gulf Stream at over 600 feet long and a height of 115 feet this railroad bridge, built by the Boston Bridge Company in 1904 for the Somerset Railroad, was certainly a marvel to behold. As the engines steamed north out of Bingham, they brought summer vacationers from Boston and New York to Maine’s largest lake, Moosehead. The trains would begin climbing an upgrade and the passengers in the luxurious Pullman cars would crowd the windows to take in the beauty of the rugged towering hills and the dizzying depth of the gorge. The trains would pass over the trestle head-

ed for either Somerset Junction, which was a switching point for passengers headed west. From there they would transfer to the Canadian Pacific Railway to continue west. Most passengers during the summer months were headed to the Kineo Station. From this point the passengers would embark on steam-powered ships that would take them to luxurious hotels and resorts that lined the shores of Moosehead.

One of these was the Mt. Kineo House owned by the Somerset Railroad on the shores of Moosehead Lake with fabulous views of Mt. Kineo.

The trestle was built for the sole purpose of spanning the Gulf Stream for the Somerset Railroad. In its heyday millions of logs headed over the trestle from various lumbering camps along the railroad’s line headed for paper mills and saw mills further south.

The railroad also transported grain, granite, passengers, and various other general commodities from the western states as well as Canada. Maine Central purchased the ailing railroad in 1911 and the line became known as the Kineo Branch line.

In the mid 1920s a terrible flood

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wiped out the rail lines in Vermont.

Subsequently, trains from the western states were diverted onto the Canadian Pacific Railroad and redirected into Somerset Junction near Jackman.

Trains from Maine Central Railroad took over at that point, and for several weeks the long passenger trains, mostly containing sleeper cars, passed south over the trestle in the early morning hours and continued on to Waterville where they picked up the main line and were sent on to Boston and New York. Maine Central continued to operate passenger trains to the Mt. Kineo Station till September of 1933 when the line north of Bingham was dismantled, and Mt. Kineo House was razed in 1938.

The trestle itself was not removed, however. Instead the bridge and the railbed were used as a highway of sorts by lumbermen, fishermen and hunters alike to traverse the Gulf Stream. The rails were removed and the steel plates were scrapped. The steel was replaced by sturdy wooden planks and trucks began to rumble across the breathtakingly high structure carrying pulpwood for the S.D. Warren

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Company and Great Northern Paper as well as lumber for the Augusta Lumber Company and Allen – Quimby Veneer, as well as several others.

Even after the massive pulp trucks stopped passing over the ailing structure it was still used by those seeking an easy access into the deep woods. For years sightseers and thrill seekers as well as hunters and hikers crossed the hair-raising expanse in order to avoid the much harder descent into the gorge and then back up the other side, but in the spring of 1976 the dismantling of the famed trestle began.

Now the only thing that remains of the massive structure are the cement footings, the barely visible path of the old railbed, and the ghosts of the thousands of passengers, lumberjacks and trains that passed through this beautiful section of the state.

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Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys

Moosehead Lake Carnival in January 1966. Girl with jigger is Elaine “Waynie� Estes, 16 year-old daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Robert Estes of Anson. Item #LB2005.24.19091 from the Boutilier Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

The Gateway to the Maine Woods Bingham Moscow Solon Caratunk The Forks West Forks

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Early view of Main Street in China. Item #LB2007.1.100409 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

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Bird’s eye view of the city of Lewiston & Auburn ca. 1976. Item #100353 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com

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DIRECTORY OF ADVERTISERS

Business

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3D Home Improvements ........................................................................40 3 Sons Firewood ...................................................................................40 A Heart’s Quality Cleaning Services ....................................................36 A+ Heating Service .................................................................................39 Abbott Trucking .....................................................................................39 Above and Beyond, LLC ........................................................................28 ABT Plumbing, Heating & Cooling .........................................................53 Ace Insulation ........................................................................................15 Alfond Youth Center ...............................................................................46 All-Seasons Automotive .......................................................................39 All-Things Landscape & Stonework .......................................................19 Alpha Video ...........................................................................................17 Alternative Sprinkler Fire Protection .......................................................22 American Antiques ................................................................................33 American Legion Bourque-Lanigan Post 5 ............................................48 Ameriprise Financial ..............................................................................34 Amici’s Cucina .......................................................................................70 Androscoggin Bank ...............................................................................24 Annabessacook Equine Clinic ................................................................14 Annabessacook Veterinary Clinic ...........................................................14 Apple Valley Golfers Club ......................................................................23 At Home Electric ....................................................................................52 Augusta Civic Center .............................................................................18 Augusta Tool Rental .............................................................................32 Austin Law Offices .................................................................................40 BN Bilodeau Logging .............................................................................73 Backwoods Snowboards & Skateboards ...............................................21 Bear Mountain Repair ...........................................................................72 Belgrade Lakes Marine & Storage, Inc. ................................................50 Bemis Construction ...............................................................................66 Bert’s Awesome Stuff ..............................................................................9 Bill Stevens Auto Sales & Body Shop....................................................12 Bishop Tree Service .............................................................................73 Blanchet Builders, LLC ........................................................................45 Blanchette Moving & Storage Co. ........................................................3 Bob’s Cash Fuel ..................................................................................76 Bolster’s Rubbish & Recycling ..............................................................66 Bookkeeping Plus ...................................................................................8 Boudreau’s Heating ..............................................................................41 Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Waterville ...........................................46 BRC Carpentry Inc. ..............................................................................15 Broderick Construction .........................................................................55 Brownie’s Auto Service ........................................................................77 Bryant Stove & Music, Inc. ..............................................................62 C&S Market ..........................................................................................18 C.Caprara Food Service Equipment ....................................................17 C.L. McNaughton ..................................................................................64 C.M.P. Doors and More ......................................................................13 Campbell’s Construction Co. ...................................................................41 Campbell’s Custom Carpentry ..............................................................27 Cancun Mexican Restaurant ................................................................69 Canty Construction ................................................................................37 Capital Area Tree Service ....................................................................19 Captain Bly’s Tavern .............................................................................15 Casey’s Redemption .............................................................................46 Cassiel’s Salon & Spa ........................................................................28 Cause 4 Paws Used Home Furnishings .................................................15 Cedric J. Collins Snow Plowing & Firewood ..........................................34 Central Maine Property Management, Inc. ...........................................10 Center Street Auto Service & Repair .....................................................8 Central Tire Co. Inc. ..............................................................................70 Chim Chiminey Chimney Sweep ............................................................13 China Area Wash & Dry and Self Storage .........................................40 Choppers Full Service Salon .................................................................38 CJ’s Appliances .....................................................................................73 Cobbossee Motel ...................................................................................32 Coldwell Banker / Thomas Agency ..........................................................16 Collins Enterprises ..................................................................................74 Colonial Valley Motel .............................................................................74 Complete Denture Center .....................................................................57 Concord Coach Lines ............................................................................33 Cushing Construction ............................................................................52 D&M Embroidery Plus ...........................................................................30 D.Roy & Son Fencing, LLC ..................................................................27 D.H. Pinnette & Sons, Inc. .....................................................................6 D.R. Salisbury & Son, LLC ................................................................59 D.S. Construction ...................................................................................24 DAC Distributors, Inc. ..........................................................................65 Dag’s Bait & Tackle .................................................................................8 Dagz Small Engine Services ...............................................................26 Daigle & Son Plumbing & Heating, Inc. ....................................................11 Damon’s Beverage Mart .......................................................................17 Danny Boy’s Irish Pub & Restaurant ....................................................12 Dan’s Lawn & Yard Service ................................................................66 Dave’s Diner .........................................................................................61 David Stevens Excavation & Septic Systems ........................................50 Dionne & Son Builders ..........................................................................44 Don’s Excavating & Logging ................................................................72 Don’s No Preference Towing ................................................................20 Doug’s Garage ......................................................................................65 Downtown Diner ....................................................................................17 Dunn & Pakulski Optometrists .................................................................69 E.H. Ward & Son Hardware & Millwork ..............................................76 E.W. Moore & Son Pharmacy ..............................................................78 Eaton Mountain Ski Area .......................................................................67 Ed Hodsdon Masonry ..........................................................................14 Edge Automotive ..................................................................................55 Elmer’s Barn & Antique Mall .................................................................61 Everclean Water Treatment Systems ....................................................35 Evergreen Dental Associates, LLC ......................................................35 Evergreen Self-Storage ..........................................................................39 Everything Warehouse ..........................................................................24 Family Pet Connection & Grooming ......................................................67 Farmington Farmers Union ..................................................................75 Fayette Country Store ...........................................................................71 Fine Line Paving & Grading ...............................................................57 Fireside Inn & Suites Auburn ..............................................................12 Fireside Inn & Suites Waterville ...........................................................47 Fireside Stove Shop & Fireplace Center ..............................................20 Flagg Financial .......................................................................................36 Fleet Service ..........................................................................................38 Foster Tree & Landscaping .................................................................50 Franco Center ........................................................................................24 Franklin Memorial Hospital ..................................................................56 Franklin Savings Bank ...........................................................................4 Franklin-Somerset Federal Credit Union .............................................7 Fusion Dining & Entertainment ............................................................27 Fyre Flye Creations ................................................................................49 G&G Cash Fuels ...................................................................................13 G3 Firearms ..........................................................................................52 Gamache & Lessard Window Decorators ..............................................21 Generators of Maine .............................................................................50 George’s Banana Stand .........................................................................69 Gilbert and Gilbert Contracting ..............................................................49

Business

Page

Goggin’s IGA ..........................................................................................61 Goudreau’s Waterfront Retirement Community ...................................42 Graf Mechanical ...................................................................................68 Gridiron Restaurant & Sports Pub .......................................................28 Griswold’s Country Store & Diner ..........................................................59 Hammond Lumber Company ..................................................................46 Hampton Inn of Augusta .........................................................................34 Harris Bros. Rubbish Removal ................................................................9 Harris Drug Store ...................................................................................60 Harris Real Estate ..................................................................................54 Head to Toe Physical Therapy ................................................................10 HealthReach Community Health Centers .................................................7 Heathco’s Pizza & Variety ........................................................................9 Hight Chevrolet / Chrysler Dodge Jeep / Ford ........................................5 Hillside Custom Woodworking ...............................................................44 Hilltop Store ...........................................................................................62 Holly & Doug’s Country Diner ...............................................................57 Hotham & Son’s Foundations, LLC .........................................................40 Hydraulic Hose & Assembly ....................................................................4 Image Auto Body ...................................................................................78 Indian Summer Tanning & Beauty Salon .................................................44 J.T. Reid’s Gun Shop ...............................................................................4 J.T.’s Finest Kind Saw ..........................................................................76 J.W. Builders ..........................................................................................32 Jackman Power Sports .........................................................................60 Jackman-Moose River Region Chamber of Commerce .........................81 James’ Eddy ...........................................................................................12 Jean Castonguay Excavating .................................................................52 Jellison Traders .....................................................................................16 Jewel of India Restaurant ........................................................................47 Jimmy Worthing Smelt Camps ..............................................................61 Jimmy’s Shop ‘N Save ............................................................................78 Jim’s Custom Sawing, Bush Hogging & Rototilling ..............................14 John Manning Contracting ....................................................................37 Johnny Castonguay Logging & Trucking ..............................................53 Joyce’s In Hallowell ...............................................................................16 K.V. Tax Service, Inc. ............................................................................61 KDT Towing & Repair ..........................................................................32 Kennebec Metal Recycling ....................................................................68 Kennebec Montessori School ................................................................43 Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce .............................................19 Keystone Masonry Inc. .........................................................................15 Kim’s Garage .........................................................................................64 Kokernac Generator Sales & Service ..................................................36 Kramers Inc. .........................................................................................51 KSW Federal Credit Union ....................................................................70 L.N. Violette Co., Inc. .............................................................................65 L.P. Poirier & Son, Inc., Excavation .....................................................23 L/A Luxury Limousine ..............................................................................9 La Fleur’s Restaurant ...........................................................................52 Ladd’s Plumbing .....................................................................................39 Lakeview Lumber Co. .........................................................................64 Lakewood Continuing Care Center ........................................................48 Laney’s Pit Stop ....................................................................................44 Langlois’ Auto Body & Auto Sales ......................................................10 Larsen Masonry ....................................................................................47 Larsen’s Jewelry ....................................................................................70 Lavallee’s Garage .................................................................................79 Law Office of Brian D. Condon, Jr. Esq. ................................................32 Leland’s Masonry ...................................................................................51 Len Poulin Inc. Excavation ...................................................................65 Lincoln Green Condo Homes ................................................................70 Lindy Bradford, Handyman ....................................................................8 Lincoln Green .........................................................................................70 Linkletter & Sons, Inc. ..........................................................................67 Lisbon Community Federal Credit Union .................................................23 Lost Valley Ski & Banquet Resort ........................................................11 Luce’s Maine-Grown Meats .................................................................58 Lunt’s Hill Garage ...................................................................................13 Lyn’s Spring Service, Inc. .....................................................................29 M. Thai Restaurant ................................................................................45 M.A. Grant Logging ..............................................................................40 M.A. Mathews Co. ................................................................................49 Macomber, Farr & Whitten ....................................................................18 Mac’s True Value ....................................................................................63 Madison Business Alliance ..................................................................58 Maine Historical Society .......................................................................6 Maine Instrument Flight Inc. .................................................................32 Maine Pellet Sales LLC ........................................................................11 Maine State Credit Union ......................................................................33 Maine Warden Service .......................................................................76 Major’s Heating, LLC ............................................................................15 Mama Bear’s Den ...............................................................................60 Maple Lane Builders, Inc. ......................................................................62 Marco’s Italian Restaurant ....................................................................27 Marc’s Auto Body ...............................................................................22 Marie’s Whole Foods ............................................................................51 Mason & Sons Yard Care .........................................................................41 Matheson Tri-Gas ...................................................................................29 McAllister Accounting & Tax Services .................................................73 MCM Landscaping ..................................................................................9 McMann’s Service Center & Auto Sales ............................................66 McNaughton Bros. Construction ...........................................................43 Memco Supply .......................................................................................73 Merle Lloyd & Sons, Earthwork Contractors ......................................77 Michael E. Witham Trucking Inc. .........................................................58 Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce ......................................................47 Mid-Maine Construction .........................................................................38 Mike Wainer Plumbing & Heating ......................................................49 Mike’s Auto Body .................................................................................67 Mill St. Cafe ...........................................................................................53 Ming Lee Chinese Restaurant ...............................................................48 Mirakuya ...............................................................................................70 Monkitree ................................................................................................37 Monmouth Federal Credit Union ..............................................................4 Montello Heights Retirement Community .............................................27 Moose River Campground & Cabins ....................................................81 Moosehead Motorsports .......................................................................59 Moosehead Sled Repair & Rentals, LLC .............................................60 Morin & Sons Drywall ...........................................................................9 Morrison Forest Products, Inc ...............................................................68 Morrison’s Garage .................................................................................68 Morrow’s Garage ...................................................................................49 Motor Supply Co. ....................................................................................6 Mount Blue Motel ..................................................................................74 Mountains of Maintenance Property Care ............................................43 Mr. Bill The Handyman LLC ...................................................................22 Mt. Blue Drug ........................................................................................55 Murray Energy / Murray Oil ..................................................................53 Nathan Brillard Logging .........................................................................39 Neves Painting & Carpentry ..................................................................37 New Beginnings Hair & Nail Studio ......................................................63 Niedner’s Floor Finishing .......................................................................66 Northeast Laboratory Services ...............................................................3

Business

Page

Old Mill Stream Ice Cream Shoppe ....................................................71 On The Money Builders, LLC ..............................................................36 Orr Excavation .......................................................................................55 Ouellette & Associates, P.A. ...................................................................23 Our Village Market ..................................................................................74 Pak Lee Chinese Restaurant ...............................................................68 Pasta’z Italian Cuisine ..........................................................................38 Pat’s Pizza Auburn ...............................................................................21 Penobscot Marine Museum .....................................................back cover Percy’s Hardware Co. ..........................................................................29 Perfecteau Paint ....................................................................................23 Perkins Management ...........................................................................48 Peter Swan & Sons Home Improvement & Building ...........................53 Phil Carter’s Garage ...............................................................................66 Pine Ridge Heating & Plumbing, Inc. .....................................................62 Pinkham’s Elm Street Market ..............................................................77 Pitcher Perfect Tire Service ...............................................................54 Pleasant Street Bingo Hall ...................................................................10 Plum Creek ............................................................................................41 Plumber MD ..........................................................................................13 Poor Bob’s Storage .............................................................................64 Potter Plumbing Co. .............................................................................51 Pressure Pro ..........................................................................................26 Prime Financial Inc. ................................................................................48 Quilt Essentials .....................................................................................22 Quinn Hardware ....................................................................................68 R.E. Lowell Lumber Inc. .......................................................................30 R.F. Automotive Repair ...........................................................................69 R.J. Energy Services, Inc. .....................................................................18 Ralph Libby Chain Saws .......................................................................30 Ramada Conference Center .................................................................27 Randy’s Full Service Auto Repair , LLC ...............................................45 Ray Corporation ....................................................................................10 Redington-Fairview General Hospital ..................................................46 Remco Radiator & Auto Care ..............................................................21 Rick’s Garage .......................................................................................58 Rituals Hairstyling Salon ......................................................................64 Riverbend Campground .......................................................................13 Riverside Kwik Stop ..............................................................................73 Rob Elliott Excavation & Trucking ............................................................57 Rocky’s Stove Shoppe .........................................................................35 Rolandeau’s Restaurant ......................................................................22 Rolfe’s Well Drilling Co. ........................................................................36 Ron’s Market .........................................................................................74 Rooper’s Liquor Stores & Redemption ...................................................25 Route 17 Auto Sales & Scrap Yard ...........................................................62 Russell’s Gems ......................................................................................16 Ryan’s Tractor & Tree Service ................................................................26 SR General Contractors .......................................................................26 S&L Upholstery and Auto Tops ..............................................................19 Sabattus Antique Mall ...........................................................................14 Sackett & Brake Survey, Inc. ..............................................................69 Sandy River Farm Market ...................................................................55 Sarah Frye Home ...................................................................................8 Sarah J. Dunckel & Associates .............................................................34 Shamrock Stoneworks & Landscaping, Inc. ..........................................51 Shorey’s Painting & Roofing ..................................................................63 Sidney Little, Farrier ...............................................................................40 Skier’s Edge ..........................................................................................20 Skowhegan & Waterville Tire Center ......................................................69 Skowhegan Area Chamber of Commerce .............................................67 Smile Again Dentures, Inc. ....................................................................26 Snow Plowing & Firewood......................................................................

Soil Builders, Inc. ..................................................................................22 Solon Superette .....................................................................................59 Sound Effects .........................................................................................7 Sprague & Curtis Real Estate .................................................................35 Spruce Gum Books ..............................................................................54 Stevens Electric & Pump Service Inc. .....................................................6 Stevens Forest Products ........................................................................51 Sun Auto & Salvage ..............................................................................75 Sweet Chilli Thai Restaurant ................................................................33 T&L Construction ..................................................................................63 T.N.T. Karate & New Beginnings Fitness Center .....................................16 T.W. Varney Excavation, LLC..................................................................72 Tangles Hair & Tanning Salon ...............................................................12 Tardiff Timber, Sand & Gravel / Excavation ..............................................62 Taste of Waterville ..................................................................................47 Taylor’s Drug Store ................................................................................57 TBM Inc. .................................................................................................28 The Auburn-Lewiston YMCA .................................................................20 The Belmont Motel .................................................................................44 The Blue Collar Painter ........................................................................71 The Formal Image .................................................................................10 The Framemakers .................................................................................48 The Korner Store & Deli ......................................................................71 The Meadows ........................................................................................14 The Sedgley Place ...............................................................................31 The Sensory Gym LLC...........................................................................36 The Shop ...............................................................................................29 The Sterling Inn .....................................................................................59 Thomas C. Goding Building Contractor ..................................................54 Tom Finn Shoe Repair ...........................................................................17 Tom Roberts Construction ...................................................................63 Top Dollar Coin & Currency ...................................................................59 Top Notch Fabrication LLC ...................................................................24 Town & Country Styling & Tanning Salon ...........................................63 Town Taxi ...............................................................................................55 Tuttles Auto Sales .................................................................................54 Upper Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce ................................80 Upper Kennebec Realty ........................................................................80 V&G Home Improvements, Inc. .............................................................30 Vallee Configurations ............................................................................33 Varsity Lettering Inc. ...............................................................................26 Village Market .........................................................................................43 Vintage Maine Images ..........................................................................6 Warren Brothers Construction ..............................................................71 Weber Insurance Group ........................................................................54 Weeks & Sons Well Drilling ....................................................................71 Wellness Connection of Maine ..............................................................37 Weston’s Meat Market ...........................................................................19 Whited Peterbilt / Whited Truck ............................................................20 White’s Auto ..........................................................................................38 Whynot Electric .....................................................................................30 Wildwood, Inc. ......................................................................................41 William’s Bike Repair & Tune-ups ............................................................49 Wings Hill Inn & Restaurant ...............................................................71 Wolf Creek Farm Store ............................................................................50 Wood Pellet Warehouse ........................................................................72 Woodlawn Rehab & Nursing Center .......................................................45 Wood-Mizer of Maine .............................................................................72 WOW 1 Day Painting .............................................................................38 YMCA of Greater Waterville ..................................................................46

84

~ Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valleys ~ & Androscoggin River Valleys Kennebec

www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

brings history to life!

Come see us a historic seaport village with sea cap-

tain’s house, small water craft, scrimshaw, fisheries exhibit and more, open Memorial Day through October, special events and exhibits year-round in our Main Street Gallery

Join us become a member and support educational programs and preservation of our maritime heritage

Penobscot Marine Museum 40 East Main Street P.O. Box 498 Searsport, Maine 04974 207-548-2529 www.penobscotmarinemuseum.org