Volume 26 | Issue 5 | 2017
Maine’s History Magazine
FREE 15,000 Circulation
Midcoast Region
Bath Built Is Best Built
Bath Iron Works during World War II
Bristol’s Julia Lane
Folk singer resurrects Civil War poems and songs
Damariscotta’s James A. Hall He was a Cool Hand Luke on the battlefield
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Midcoast Region
Inside This Edition
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I t Makes No Never Mind James Nalley
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Brunswick’s John Stevens Cabot Abbott Congregational minister was also a prolific author Brian Swartz
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Bath Built Is Best Built Bath Iron Works during World War II James Nalley
12 Hallowell’s Granite Company Quarry Its desirable stone used for national monuments Jeffrey Bradley 16 Horatio Dresser’s Religion Of Healthy Mindedness Yarmouth son influenced New Thought movement Charles Francis 20 Jackson’s Store Sagadahoc memories Karen Scanlon 24 A Wartime Celebration In Phippsburg A delicious chowder wowed the crowd in 1862 Brian Swartz 27 Plant Memorial Home In Bath Celebrates Its Centennial Brian Swartz 32 Augusta’s Giant Oxie Company History of a Maine medicine business Charles Francis 38 Fishy Damariscotta Mills Alewives contribute mightily to the environment Jeffrey Bradley 42 Bristol’s Julia Lane Folk singer resurrects Civil War poems and songs Brian Swartz 46 S ailor Blinn Curtis Of Owls Head - Part 2 He survived a slave mutiny Brian Swartz 50 Memories Of Camp Tanglewood Special friends and experiences were found in Lincolnville Sandy Rose Thomas 53 Civil War Soldier Enoch Robbins A Georgia murder led to a promotion Brian Swartz 57 Damariscotta’s James A. Hall He was a Cool Hand Luke on the battlefield Brian Swartz 61 The Mountains That Walk In Stone Age Maine sometimes the hunted became you Jeffrey Bradley
Maine’s History Magazine
Midcoast Region
Publisher & Editor Jim Burch
Layout & Design Liana Merdan
Advertising & Sales Manager Tim Maxfield
Advertising & Sales Julian Bither Dennis Burch Tim Maxfield
Office Manager Liana Merdan
Field Representatives Jim Caron Dale Hanington George Tatro
Contributing Writers Jeffrey Bradley Charles Francis | fundy67@yahoo.ca James Nalley Karen Scanlon Brian Swartz Sandy Rose Thomas 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 © 2017 CreMark, Inc.
SUBSCRIPTION FORM ON PAGE 66
Front Cover Photo:
Spectators at the launching of the MARY GRACE at Snow’s Shipyard in Rockland. Item # LB1998.34.142 from the Atlantic Fisherman Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org All photos in Discover Maine’s Midcoast edition show Maine as it used to be, and many are from local citizens who love this part of Maine.
Photos are also provided from our collaboration with the Maine Historical Society and the Penobscot Marine Museum.
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It Makes No Never Mind by James Nalley
A
mong the iconic images of World War II are the photographs of squadrons of Army Air Force B-17 bombers dropping their payloads onto strategic military targets in Germany. In fact, according to Richard Overy in his book titled, The Air War, approximately two million tons of bombs were dropped on Europe between 1941 and 1945. However, people tend to forget that (for the most part) such bombing raids were not haphazardly conducted by simply opening the bomb bay doors and “letting them fly.” Actually, it took months of practice. As Nancy Masters stated in Training Planes of World War II, “Some bombardiers practiced bombing in wide-open locations, such as Kansas and the Southwest, and they used 100-pound practice bombs that were actually bags filled with sand that were dropped on makeshift targets thousands of feet below.” Over time, the bombs became more sophisticated and realistic. In some situations, the devices were outfitted with detonators and live charges that would “explode” upon impact, thus making it easier for the evaluators to spot the bombs and provide
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their scores for the bombardiers in training. It is somewhat surprising to know that locations, such as Kansas and New Mexico, were not the only places where future bombardiers practiced their techniques. For example, according to the Bangor Daily News, in November 2011, the Brunswick (Maine) Police received a call after a rusted, two-foot long bomb was found in the vicinity of the Mere Creek Golf Course. Upon arriving on the scene, Brunswick Police Sgt. Russ Wrede determined that, even though it was inert, it could still have a detonator that could explode. So, the police “turned the area over to the certified explosive ordinance disposal contractors already at the former Navy base.” According to Mike Braun of the Navy caretaker site office, “One of the experts evaluated the device and said that it was a World War II-era sand-and-water bomb designed to simulate a 100-pound bomb.” Although this “bomb” did not turn out to be a major problem, one thing is certain — where there is one practice bomb, there are probably more out there just waiting to be found. Depending on the circumstances, this can either be good or
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bad. So, be careful out there. Well, on this note, let me close with the following jest: A former World War II pilot was asked by a middle-school history teacher to speak to his class about the war and his experiences in the Army Air Force. “In 1942,” he stated, “the situation was really tough. The Germans had a very strong air force with some of the best pilots.” He continued, “I remember, one day, I was protecting the B-17 bombers and suddenly, out of the clouds, these Fokkers appeared out of nowhere.” At that point, several of the students started to giggle. “I looked up, and right above me was one of them. I got him in my sights and shot him down. They were swarming everywhere. Then, I realized that there was another Fokker behind me.” Again, the students started to giggle, with a few boys laughing out loud. Slightly embarrassed about the lack of respect, the teacher stood up and said, “Excuse me students, but I would like to say that ‘Fokker’ was the name of a German-Dutch aircraft company.” “That’s true,” said the pilot, “but these Fokkers were flying Messerschmitts.”
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Men unloading boxes of crabs with a wheelbarrow at Hilton Bros. in South Freeport. Item # LB1995.72.87 from the Atlantic Fisherman collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
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Brunswick’s John Stevens Cabot Abbott Congregational minister was also a prolific author
by Brian Swartz
F
ighting raged on distant battlefields, and the fate of the United States hung in the balance when a Congregational minister born in Brunswick wrote The History Of The Civil War in America. With its index, illustrations, and maps the book ran to 507 pages — and gazing across the war-torn nation from his home in New Haven, Connecticut in December 1862, John Stevens Cabot Abbott knew that this book would not be his last about the war tearing his country apart. Technically a Massachusetts resident at birth, Abbott first saw the light
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of day when he was born to Jacob and Betsey Abbott in Brunswick on September 19, 1805. A literary gene apparently ran in the Abbott clan, but through which side remains unknown: John, older brother Jacob (born in Harpswell in 1803) and younger brother Gorham Dummer (born in Harpswell in 1807) would become authors in their own rights — but none as prolific as the fact-focused John Stevens. Known as Squire Abbott, John’s father relocated the family to Harpswell by 1807 and sometimes took his sons along during inspections of his vast woodland tracts in northern Franklin
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County. Then the elder Abbott moved his family to Brunswick in 1819 so his younger sons could attend Bowdoin College, from which Jacob had just graduated. “John entered college in the famous class of 1825,” wrote Reverend Horatio O. Ladd in his 1878 A Memorial Of John S.C. Abbott, D.D. “The names of Longfellow, Hawthorne, Cheever, and Abbott achieve a national reputation,” noted Ladd, “and have been entered upon the lasting memorials of American literature.” With classmates like Nathaniel
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(continued from page 5) Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, how could John S.C. Abbott not become a writer? After graduating from Bowdoin in 1825, Abbott became the principal at a school in Amherst, Massachusetts. Each class day opened with prayer, preferably delivered by the principal. Raised a Christian, Abbott took up the morning prayer, found his religious interests whetted, and joined the local Congregational church. In September 1826, Abbott launched his ministerial studies at Andover Theological Seminary in Newtown, Massachusetts. After graduating in 1829, he ministered at the Central Calvinistic Church in Worcester. Its members ordained and hired him in early 1830, and that September Abbott married Jane Williams Bourne, the daughter of a Brunswick textile-mill manager. Ordained at the Central Calvinistic Church in Worcester, Abbott began “al-
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most simultaneously with his ministry … that career in authorship” that ultimately made him famous, Ladd noted. The young minister often spoke “on parental life and duties” to women’s groups in his church; mothers shared their experiences and advice with Abbott, and in 1833 he released his first book, The Mother at Home. “Few books were printed in those days,” according to Ladd, but Abbott’s family-oriented book exploded in popularity, with more than 10,000 copies sold domestically. John S.C. Abbott ventured into a second career; that same year he published The Path of Peace, and 1834 saw him release Fireside Piety and The Child at Home. A prolific author, he published at a Stephen King pace, sometimes more than one non-fiction title per year. In 1872 he released American Pioneers and Patriots and Daniel Boone, The Pioneer of Kentucky. The next year saw
Abbott releasing Christopher Carson, Familiarly Known As Kit Carson and Ferdinand De Soto, The Discoverer Of The Mississippi. Abbott brought his family to Brunswick in 1853 so his oldest surviving son, Waldo, could attend Bowdoin. Called to pastor the Howe Street Church in New Haven in 1862, Abbott was best known at that time for such titles as Life of Napoleon and History of the French Revolution. Likely prior to his arrival in New Haven, Abbott started writing a comprehensive history of the first year of the Civil War. He already possessed a historian’s research skills and an abolitionist’s dream to abolish slavery. Where other Northerners saw the war as being fought to save the Union, Abbott grasped a broader conflict: “We have here, simply the repetition of that great conflict, which, for ages, has agitated our globe — the conflict between
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aristocratic usurpation and popular rights,” he explained in the preface written in December 1862. An avowed Unionist, Abbott had “a story to tell of infamous crime, and of noble virtues.” There was no doubt as to which side he referred; “on the one side there is freedom … sustained by free speech, a free pulpit and a free press,” while “on the other side there is slavery” and “the pulpit, the press and speech, all being gagged by the most unrelenting despotism.” The first volume of The History Of The Civil War in America quickly sold more than 100,000 copies. As the war dragged to its completion, Abbott wrote a second volume, published in 1866. Ironically, like similar histories (often of specific campaigns) published during or immediately after the war, Abbott’s incredible History has faded to obscurity, except among serious historians.
Abbott went on to publish many more books, all targeted for a broad audience. “Mr. Abbott wrote for the people and easily commanded their attention” by thinking of his typical reader as being “someone who fairly represented the intelligence and honest character of the households throughout the land,” Horatio Ladd explained. And Abbott could have produced more books, but was unable fully to meet the requests of publishers for his writings,” Ladd noted. John S.C. Abbott fell ill in 1876; his health so rapidly declined that, while bed-ridden, he dictated his last book to a woman who sat beside his bed and wrote furiously as Abbott spoke. His wife, Jane, and a daughter cared for him at the family home in Fair Haven, Connecticut, until he died in the wee hours of Sunday, June 17, 1877.
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Bath Built Is Best Built by James Nalley
Bath Iron Works during World War II
S
ituated on the Kennebec River in Bath is one of the most important shipbuilding sites in the country, if not the world. Although shipbuilding became a mainstay of the city from the mid-18th century on, its production numbers dramatically increased after the Civil War, as fleets were developed for trade with Europe and the Caribbean as well as with major southern ports in the United States. In fact, by the 1860s, Maine was producing more than half of the sea-going vessels in the country, with Bath itself building approximately half of that number. In 1884 Civil War General Thomas Hyde, who envisioned the numerous advantages of combining iron and steel hulls with steam propulsion, established Bath Iron Works (BIW,
currently known as General Dynamics BIW or GDBIW). After winning its first contract with the U.S. Navy for two iron gunboats, BIW would eventually become a vital resource for U.S. naval forces during World War II. Upon closer examination of the production numbers of BIW, the findings are staggering. For instance, from the mid-1930s to the end of World War II, BIW built a total of 83 destroyers and destroyer-minelayers, which was the largest destroyer output of any of the shipbuilders in the country. In addition, the fastest record from laying the keel (the ship’s main structural element) to commissioning was the U.S.S. Knapp (a Fletcher-class destroyer) at 191 days. During its peak production period,
which was from 1943-1944, BIW actually launched a completed destroyer every 17 days, and it produced 20% of the destroyers for the U.S. Navy, which was approximately 30% more than the total output of all of the shipyards in Japan. In order to keep up with such numbers, approximately 15,000 workers were rotated in three shifts (one of which was the “graveyard” or “lobster shift”), regardless of the typical winter weather conditions. During shift changes, a common sight was to see buses lined up and down the street offloading a diverse labor force consisting of males and females, both young and old, who were eager to do their duty for the war effort. Amidst the frenzied activi-
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com ties, many stores and businesses stayed open all night to take advantage of the workers who had more money in their hands and to support their daily needs. Local lodging particularly supported the third-shift or “graveyard shift” workers by posting signs that stated: “QUIET PLEASE. WAR WORKER RESTING.” Despite the tens of thousands of eager workers showing up for all three shifts, there was a critical problem — the shortage of trained workers. In fact, all experienced and skilled workers in the area were already employed by the shipyards before the war. Thus, rapid training of the new workers was necessary, despite the constant need for ships. According to the book Build Ships! Wartime Shipbuilding by Wayne Bonnett, “Years of training and experience necessary to make a journeyman shipyard worker could not be condensed into a matter of days or weeks, yet the war would wait for no one. The
solution was to break the complex job of building a ship into the smallest possible components, train workers to do that specific task, and let them gain experience through repetition.” In this regard, it was common to see various classrooms filled with new workers learning everything from welding to studying the most intricate parts of a ship. Despite the high production rate and rapid training processes, quality and superior toughness had become synonymous with BIW, thus producing the catchphrase “Bath-built is best-built.” In regard to this slogan, Jerry Steiner of the General Dynamics BIW Strategic Planning Department stated, “the origin of this phrase is undoubtedly related to the quality and durability of the Bath-built wooden sailing ships launched from the ‘long reach of the Kennebec’ during the 18th and 19th centuries.” Given the significant achievements of BIW, Steiner also mentioned
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that “the ‘best-built’ reputation, first earned in the 19th century, was adopted by the appreciative U.S. Navy crews.” Meanwhile, with Bath’s growing reputation as an important and vital shipyard, the possibility of attack by the “enemy” was at an all-time high. In this regard, security signs were posted throughout the facility notifying the workers of so-called “dim-out areas,” where headlights and other illumination were banned to prevent the location from becoming a possible target. In general, coastal cities were under stricter regulations, due to their visibility from the sea, which required the windows of businesses and households to be either blacked out or covered with drapes at night. Such regulations also banned fires, bonfires, flashlights, and lanterns. Needless to say, everyone in Bath was involved in the war effort, at some level. Overall, Maine’s shipyards produced (continued on page 10) Visit Maine’s premier historic two-foot narrow gauge railroad museum operating on the original right-of-way.
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(continued from page 9) a total of 1,358 ships during World War II for the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Maritime Commission, including 64 destroyers, 71 submarines, and 234 Liberty ships. Although the number of workers has significantly dropped since then, Bath-built ships have continued to play an important role in the country’s defenses. As stated in the book Bath Iron Works by Andrew Toppan, “Today, Bath Iron Works continues a shipbuilding tradition that began nearly four hundred years ago when the first ship built in America was constructed just a few miles downriver from Bath,” and its long list of ships brings to life its proud history, which should never be forgotten.
Bath built U.S.S. Nicholas, which holds the U.S. Navy record for battle stars with 16 from World War II, 5 from the Korean War, and 9 from the Vietnam War.
Discover Maine Bath-built U.S.S. Strong during operations in the Solomon Islands in July 1943
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Early view of the Lithgow Library in Augusta. Item # LB2007.1.110977 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
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Hallowell’s Granite Company Quarry Its desirable stone used for national monuments by Jeffrey Bradley
G
ranite quarrying in Maine has long been a staple commercial enterprise. In the early 1800s the rock was used primarily for doorstops and as the sturdy foundation of buildings, but during the 19th and 20th centuries the state furnished granite for building the many public libraries, post offices, court houses, museums and statuary then springing up all along the east coast and up and down the Mississippi River as far north as Canada. For the next 100 years following the Civil War, fine Maine granite-built lighthouses and breakwaters, capitol domes, the decorative façades of buildings, and
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placed headstones and paving stones all over America. Many of the quarries landed profitable government contracts, and even into the 1950s more than 200 Maine firms sold some form of granite product. Granite is a quartz volcanic rock that forms under tremendous pressure in deep underground chambers called “plutons.” Here the molten rock solidifies into arresting shades, patterns and textures that determine its value and depend upon the amount of time that it takes to cool (faster cooling produces a finer texture). Composed mostly of compressed silica and shot through
with darkling mica, sparkly feldspar, or a salt-and-pepperish hornblende, the stuff forms in outcroppings that appear over time at or near the surface where it is extracted from shallow pits, or quarries. The crystals of quartz may be milky, smoky or clear. Renowned for a durable elegance, Maine’s granite was easily mined and shipped from its many deep-water ports. Timber was king in the Pine Tree State, true, but granite quickly burgeoned into an industry mainstay. And these little seaside communities managed to hold onto a near-monopoly until the coming of the railroads made
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com hauling the substance from inland sites profitable and cheaper. Stronger materials like steel and reinforced concrete began to appear after World War II. Certain regional characteristics were prized and preferred. The Rockland Sprucehead Quarry, for instance, furnished a coarse, slightly pink medium-gray stone streaked with a startling black mica; some fine examples being the post office and customhouse in Atlanta. Vinalhaven’s Bodwell Granite Company provided the famously stupendous — some weighing 90 tons — “Bodwell Blue” sanctuary columns for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. And Mt Waldo Granite Works of Frankfort supplied the patchy, mottled, coarse-grained granite found in the Maine State House. Maine’s granite industry in 1890 was ranked first among the states with a total business of $2,500,000! Hallowell granite, fine-grained and light, was especially desirable, and the
U.S. government favored it for building the national monuments. White as marble, nearly, it was easily quarried, dressed and polished till the surface glittered like diamonds. Excellent examples include the Plymouth pilgrim statue in Massachusetts, the outstanding statuary in Yorktown, Gettysburg and New York City’s Central Park, and the Pullman Monument in Chicago. The Hallowell Granite Company has loomed over that scenic and storied town that’s perched on the banks of the Kennebec River for well-nigh two hundred years. Now, where the old quarry’s cutting sheds once stood, is the site of the Savings Bank of Maine. But moving all that heavy stone around Lithgow (now Granite) Hill could pose certain problems. A route along Outer Winthrop Street traversed a bog before climbing up a very steep grade. The heavy blocks damaged the road to the point that the company was obliged by contract to maintain it. Descending
winding Winthrop Hill meant putting teams of horses at both ends of the weighty load to control it. A local resident recounted during the 1960s the carnage she witnessed as a young girl when horses got mangled as the wagons occasionally broke free. Between 1829 and 1831 Hallowell’s quarries furnished material for constructing the original Maine State Capitol building. Oxen hauled the huge slabs to the site on Weston Hill. In the 1870s the industry began to organize, with the first meeting of the Granite Cutters Union agitating in St. George “to improve the condition of the trade.” Quarries were often little more than ledges of surface rock but the work was nonetheless hazardous. Initially “rising wedges” would be placed in holes drilled into the rock by hand to split and displace the granite along natural fault lines in the grain. Manageable (continued on page 15)
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MAINE ON ON GLASS
The Early Twentieth Centur y in Glass Plate Photography W. H. Bunting, Kevin Johnson, and Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr. Published with the Penobscot Marine Museum
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com (continued from page 13) pieces were then lifted by rope or block and tackle onto a sturdy “galamander” wagon to be maneuvered creakingly through town and down to dockside to await shipping. The work also meant dodging dangerous dynamite blasts and highly-stressed steel cables, let alone the cave-ins. Even inhaling the rock dust over time could cause a debilitating lung disease known as silicosis. Later, the drills and derricks were powered by steam which placed holes for enabling the “feathered wedges” to split the rock perpendicularly, and then moved the heavy blocks up and out of the quarry. Pneumatic equipment supplanted steam during the 1890s, and most quarries today use water-enhanced “jet” drills and saws with industrial-grade diamond-studded “teeth” to bite through the rock. Immigrants from Sweden, Finland,
Scotland and Ireland came to the quarries to work as rock-breakers, stonecutters, wedge-drivers and skilled carvers breaking the granite free, then shaping and polishing and sculpting it. Specialized laborers in stone cutting arrived from the northern region of Cantabria, Spain in 1877, and Italians, also, especially skilled in the dressing of stone. It was expert carver Archille Falconi of the Hallowell Granite Company, in fact, that sculpted the artistic fruit statuary that adorns the entrances to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in all its swirls and ruffles and flourishes. Today, only a handful of quarries survive to supply stone to the housing market in the form of countertops, landscaping, and the occasional building façade
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Horatio Dresser’s Religion Of Healthy Mindedness Yarmouth son influenced New Thought movement
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by Charles Francis of Dresser’s powers, James eventually credited her with helping him. In fact, he wrote that Dresser put him to sleep during sessions. Of James, Dresser said she “never saw a mind…so agitated, so rootless…” Annetta Dresser wasn’t a hypnotist or (as she would have been known in that time period) a mesmerist, though that’s where her roots were. Dresser’s approach to a patient’s or client’s problems was to deal with their way of thinking, their attitude, their mindset. Today we might call the approach that of positive thinking or reinforcement.
n the late 1880s a self-designated mind-cure doctor named Annetta Seabury Dresser attracted a good deal of attention among the intellectual set of Boston. Harvard professors and similar notables turned to Dresser when they had problems sleeping, working to capacity or simply dealing with the day-to-day tedium of getting on with their lives. Oliver Wendell Holmes may have turned to Dresser; William James certainly did. The man who is called the father of modern American psychology went to Dresser because he was an insomniac. Initially a skeptic
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com Annetta Dresser was a proponent of the program for healthy living developed by Phineas P. Quimby. Annetta’s husband Julius was, too. Julius and Annetta Dresser were from Yarmouth. They were among the earliest of Phineas Quimby’s students, studying with him when he practiced in Portland in the late 1850s and early 1860s. Mary Baker Eddy was another of Quimby’s pupils during this period. Julius and Annetta Dresser are usually cited as the founders of the New Thought movement. Their son Horatio took New Thought to such heights that some historians identify his work as producing the first unique American school of philosophy. Though today New Thought is something of a catchall term, as an umbrella designation it can be said to encompass elements of the spiritual, the metaphysical, and the philosophical. It may be religious and it may be secular or a combination of both. In the nineteenth century New
Thought was sometimes viewed as synonymous with mind-cure and with New England transcendentalism. Today it is often associated with New Age movements and cults of the Orphic variety most commonly found in California. Modernism as a movement of the arts also falls under the umbrella, in that subjects are taken from contemporary life in order to reflect a failure of or function as a criticism of a society and culture dominated by industrialism and technology. Horatio Dresser, the first definer of New Thought, was born in Yarmouth in 1866. His early education was an on-again, off-again affair at North Yarmouth Academy. Due to the vagaries of the peripatetic nature of his parent’s lifestyle, Dresser didn’t enroll at Harvard until he was twenty-four. Two years later he dropped out when his father died. Eventually, however, he went on to earn a Harvard doctorate, in 1907.
Two major points of influence mark Horatio Dresser’s early life. In his teen years his father became embroiled in a heated controversy with Mary Baker Eddy. The founder of Christian Science claimed Phineas Quimby stole her ideas in developing his mind-cure. Julius Dresser, because of his and his wife’s earlier association with Quimby, denied the possibility. Julius Dresser’s argument involved the fact that Quimby was in no way a religious prophet. The second important influence in Horatio Dresser’s early years involved his membership in the Boston- based Metaphysical Club. He became active in the club in 1895. Late in his life Dresser would call the Metaphysical Club “the first permanent New Thought Club.” The Metaphysical Club was largely the creation of Charles Sanders Peirce. Peirce was a Harvard- educated logician. His has been called the most brilliant and deeply original Ameri(continued on page 18)
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(continued from page 17) can mind of the nineteenth century. He has also been called “strange and eccentric.” An apt twentieth century comparison would be to Curt Godel, best known to the educated public as a subject for the bestselling nonfiction work Godel, Esher, Bach. The only individual Curt Godel found as a congenial companion during his lifetime was Einstein. Like Peirce, Godel was a logician. Charles Peirce had an innate scorn for American philosophy. In 1866 he said “No American philosophy has been produced.” In explaining his personal views, he used a phrase from his mathematician father “…that nature and the mind have such a community as to impart to guesses a tendency toward the truth, while at the same time they require the confirmation of empirical science.” This could be said to be the credo of the Metaphysical Club. The club would give birth to two distinctly
American approaches to philosophy: Pragmatism and New Thought. There is a third influence in the life of Horatio Dresser. That influence is Swedenborgianism. In 1919 Dresser became a Swedenborgian minister. In fact, he returned to Maine to serve as minister of Portland’s Swedenborgian church. It is possible because of the Dresser family’s association with Phineas Quimby and the Mary Baker Eddy controversy to look at Horatio Dresser’s conversion to the sect founded by Emanuel Swedenborg as reactionary. Both Christian Science and Swedenborgianism have been called harmonial religions. Scholar Sidney Ahlstrom describes harmonial religion as “encompassing those forms of piety and belief in which spiritual composure [and] physical health…are understood to flow from a person’s rapport with the cosmos. Human beatitude and immor-
tality are believed to depend to a great degree on one’s being ‘in tune with the infinite.’” Both Christian Science and Swedenborgianism emphasize health. Mary Baker Eddy’s road to health was with an exercise of will, pure will. For Emanuel Swedenborg health was to be realized in being in tune with the infinite. There is a strong case for making a direct comparison of Swedenborgianism and Phineas Quimby’s mind-cure. This latter happenstance speaks directly to Horatio Dresser’s conversion. It is not the intent of this essay to present a discussion of Swedenborgianism and Christian Science, but rather to present some of the influences on Horatio Dresser. Suffice it to say Dresser is in the tradition of harmonial religion. That is the opinion of scholars like Sidney Ahlstrom and William James. In fact, James included Dresser in his lecture, The Religion of Healthy-Mindedness. The lecture be-
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com came a chapter in his Varieties of Religious Experience. Horatio Dresser was prolific author. His works are still influential today. Dresser titles such as A Physician to the Soul, The Philosophy of the Spirit, Spiritual Health and Healing and Health and the Inner Life enjoy brisk sales to this day. A recent trade magazine review stated that “No name stands out more prominently in the history of the New Thought movement than that of the Dressers. Horatio Dresser, son of Julius and Annetta Seabury Dresser, was perhaps the most prolific writer yet developed within the movement.” It would seem Yarmouth-born Horatio Dresser casts a long shadow, one that grows ever longer in, this, the information age.
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Jackson’s Store by Karen Scanlon
Sagadahoc memories
W
hen I’m out on a weekend afternoon, I make it a point to stop in at a country store. I have to admit, I find them much more interesting than “quick stops” with silver urns of gourmet coffee lined up in a neat row, glass-front coolers with fifty varieties of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream on display, and twelve gas pumps outside. The stores I like sell steamed hotdogs, shoelaces, ax handles, and homemade whoopee pies. Behind the counter are nice people who seem interested in you. ‘‘Where are you from? Where are you going?” These places remind me of the store I could see from the kitchen window when I was growing up.
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The two-story, gray-shingled cape was filled with treasures and treats; everything a growing family could ever need. From darning needles and thread to gas for the Chevy, George Jackson had it all. He and his wife Ruby were known to everyone in our small town. They made their home in the cozy rooms above the store with its red-lettered sign that boldly spelled out “Jackson’s.” The windows displayed orange hunting vests, pink ceramic poodles, and boxes of Tide detergent. The porch was where neighbors congregated on a hot summer’s day to “shoot the breeze,” as my father would say, and where tourists frequently stopped for a cold bottle
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of Orange Crush and directions to the lake. When I entered this cornucopia, stepping softly so the worn wooden floor boards didn’t creak too loudly, there was Ruby in her threadbare easy chair behind the counter, thumbing through a National Enquirer. I could always tell when she was reading something really juicy because it took her a few minutes to notice me. Even the bell over the door hadn’t distracted her. Most times, though, she stood right up and greeted me with a smile. She was round and jolly and wore her sparse silver hair in pin curls day and night. My sister Dee and I often discussed Ruby’s hair. We couldn’t figure
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com out why she never removed the bobby pins. It was cause for considerable concern. We wanted to ask her about it but didn’t dare. We still haven’t figured it out to this day. Ruby also wore at least a half bottle of “Tabu” and flowered housedresses that clashed merrily with her flowered aprons. While we counted our sweaty pennies out on the glass counter, she gave us advice on how much candy we could buy for fourteen cents, or whatever amount we happened to have. There was such an array of sweets to choose from it was really hard to decide, and it was difficult to not get distracted by Ruby’s stream of questions — ‘‘Did that yellow thread you picked up yesterday match the material for your Easter dress? Is your father still working overtime? Tell him we got in his Swisher Sweets yesterday. I saw your grandmother at church last Sunday. Did she get a permanent wave? Haven’t seen Billy in a few days. He must be due for
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another haircut by now. “George!” she yelled, making us jump, ‘‘Isn’t Billy due for a haircut?” ‘‘By gosh, I believe he is,” said George, not taking his eyes from the black and white television that droned continually. He and his customer in the barber’s chair in the back of the store were thoroughly enjoying the Red Sox beating the tar out of the New York Yankees. Dee and I gave each other a look. Neither one of us wanted to be the one to tell him that Mom had no intention whatsoever of bringing our brother back for a haircut. Just the other night she had complained to Dad at the supper table that she would have to take Billy into town as “George can’t stop watching the television long enough to give Billy a decent crew cut.” She added, “It’s a wonder he doesn’t nick somebody to death with those clippers.” That remark made us glad we went to Laura’s Beauty Shop the next town over. She didn’t have a television,
only a hi-fi that churned out lonesome country western tunes. I wasn’t fond of country music, but listening to it was better than worrying about getting “nicked to death” by George’s clippers. It was enough to give a little kid nightmares. After we had selected our candy, Ruby would always put it all in a tiny paper bag and throw in a few extra pieces of Bazooka bubble gum for free. We loved her for that and for the fact that she didn’t mind at all if we hung around for awhile poking through the displays. There was a dusty array of greeting cards, glossy magazines, crochet hooks, fishing line, a refrigerator holding live bait. I liked to browse through the dress patterns and stand on a wooden stool to get a closer look at china vases and porcelain figurines. In a discreet corner of the store were drawers filled with nylon stockings and silky slips. (continued on page 22)
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(continued from page 21) There were boxes of nails and a squeaky display rack holding postcards on one side and packets of garden seed on the other. The best thing of all was the red cooler stocked with vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream. and exotic flavors like lemon sherbet or fudge ripple. There was almost nothing better than Mom handing me two quarters just before supper was put on the table and saying, “Go over to Jackson’s real quick and get a half-gallon of ice cream to go with the pie tonight.” The only thing better were those times when she used the store’s frozen treats to bribe us on a sultry summer’s day. “Let’s make a deal,” she’d say with a smile. “Stay outside and play for one hour then I’ll give each of you a nickel to take to Jackson’s.” We played on the swing set and rode our bikes while Mom watched As The World Turns and Password. The sec-
ond her programs were over, we were in the house for our money and off we ran with Mom calling after us, ‘‘Look both ways when you cross the road!” Dee, Billy and I each had a nickel and had discussed at length whether we were going to buy a Popsicle, a Fudgie, or an Eskimo Pie. We had two extra nickels, one for our baby sister, Corinne, and one for our mother, of course. I’m sorry to say Jackson’s is no more. The gas pump is gone; the shell that once held all those goodies is boarded up and slants dangerously to the right. (It drives Mom nuts to have to look at this ‘eyesore’ from the window while she does the dishes.) Shortly after I grew up and moved away, Ruby Jackson died. George carried on for another ten years, still cutting hair while watching T.V., now in color. If he ever “nicked anyone to death,” it was kept out of the papers. The sad thing was, when I went back for a visit
with my own small children, he didn’t remember me, and when I told him who I was, he tried to arrange his face into a smile, but never quite made it. One Saturday morning in 1982 my dad walked across the road to buy his Swisher Sweets, and found George slumped in Ruby’s worn-out chair behind the candy counter. His spirit had simply floated away to be with his pincurled bride. I was living in Bowdoinham at the time, hours away, and didn’t go to the funeral, but I had the urge to go to the country store down the street. I simply drove to the country store and poked around for awhile. On my way out, I bought a Popsicle.
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A Wartime Celebration In Phippsburg A delicious chowder wowed the crowd in 1862 by Brian Swartz
T
he wartime news going from bad to worse could not stop a celebration in Phippsburg on Friday, August 29, 1862. The bloody (and for the Union, disastrous) battle of Second Manassas raged in northern Virginia as people converged on “the mouth of the Kennebec river, on the spot anciently called the peninsula of Sabino” to observe “the 255th anniversary of the planting, by Sir George Popham and his associates, of the first European Colony in New England,” announced the weekly
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Maine Farmer on Thursday, September 4. Editor Ezekiel Holmes knew how to tie 1607 with 1862. “Now known as Hunnewell’s Point,” the Sabino Peninsula was “the site of the Fort now in process of construction by the United States Government,” he told readers. “This Fort has been appropriately named in honor” of Sir George Popham. The England-born Popham skippered the ship Gift of God, bringing colonists and supplies in 1607 from
Plymouth in Great Britain to the region that would soon become New England. Popham was charged by the Plymouth Company to establish a colony in the region of the North American coast stretching from approximately Chesapeake Bay to the Hudson River. The Maine coast would suffice, however. With Robert Davies as its captain, the ship Mary and John rounded out Popham’s expedition. The Gift of God reached the mouth of the Kennebec River in mid-August, the Mary and
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com John soon sailed into sight, and the colonists went ashore and started building a fort. Various factors, including a horrible winter, led the colonists to abandon Popham in 1608. The late August 1862 observance offered everything that people still love about a Maine summer. The “historical event” was important, “to say nothing of the magnificent weather … and the anticipated ‘chowder’” that would be doled out by the bowlful helped attract “a large gathering of people,” Editor Holmes noted. The local railroads and steamboat lines offered “low fares” to attract travelers now staying closer to home due to the war. People packed “the trains from Augusta and Portland, and the steamboats and barges upon the river were taxed to their utmost capacity in the conveyance of passengers,” Holmes wrote. All the hoopla actually focused on
dedicating “a memorial stone in honor of Sir George Popham,” Holmes pointed out. Event organizers had figuratively rounded up the biggest guns to participate in the formal ceremonies, held on the Fort Popham parade ground. Former congressman Charles J. Gilman of Brunswick served as the ceremonial marshal; the Right Rev. George Burgess, D.D. — the bishop of the Diocese of Maine — handled the religious services. The president of the Maine Historical Society, William Willis, then spoke briefly about the historical significance of Sir George Popham. The officiants proceeded as if the dedication of Sir George’s memorial stone was not a done deal. Stepping to the lectern, Brunswick College President Leonard Woods Jr. represented “the Standing Committee of the Maine Historical Society”; he “solicited the consent of the State and of the United States to permit the erection” of the Popham memorial stone, which was al-
ready in place. Abner Coburn, the Republican candidate for governor in the upcoming state election, “responded for the state.” President Abraham Lincoln being more than a little bit busy at the moment, Captain Thomas L. Casey,” an Army engineer involved with the Fort Popham construction, responded “for the United States,” Holmes noted. J.H. Drummond, grand master of the Grand Lodge of Maine, conducted the Masonic ceremonies that had been requested to complete “the erection of the Memorial Stone.” At select points during the observance, a band from the Portland-based 17th U.S. Infantry Regiment (not to be confused with the 17th Maine Infantry Regiment, then forming in the Portland area) “greatly enlivened” the crowd with “excellent music,” noted Holmes. After Drummond concluded the Masonic ceremonies, orator John A. Poor (continued on page 26)
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(continued from page 25) of Portland stepped to the lectern. His lengthy speech “was a production of much ability and eloquence, evincing a varied and discriminating acquaintance with the early incidents of American settlement and colonization,” Holmes wrote. He commented that Poor’s oration “was listened to with much attention and interest.” There was a reason why: the crowd was hungry. Within minutes of Poor finishing his stem-winder, “a large portion” of the crowd “marched in procession to the mammoth tent, pitched at a convenient distance inland, where an excellent chowder had been provided for their entertainment,” Holmes recalled the delicious meal. The main dish was likely a fish chowder; Holmes did not specify the main ingredient. He noticed that “toasts, speeches and music” accompa-
nied the meal; people patiently waited in long lines while volunteers ladled out the chowder and diners found places to sit. Few people paid particular attention as more “principal speakers” addressed the crowd. Bishop Burgess spoke, as did Thomas D’Arcy McGee, “President of the Executive Council of Canada.” Given the current political tension between Britain and the United States, McGee’s presence was important. Other speakers included ex-Governor Emory Washburn of Massachusetts, John J. Day of Montreal, and F.O.J. Smith and J.W. Thornton of Boston. Editor Holmes reported that “the occasion passed off without accident or disturbance, and was, on the whole, a successful celebration.” But not all went well, as he admitted. The boats and barges transporting people on the Kennebec River were packed to the gills, and some issues in-
volving “close stowage, detention and swindling” took place aboard ship, Gilman had learned. Then there was “the unnecessary dulness (sic) and prolixity of the ceremonies of commemoration,” Gilman noted the painful experience of listening to the speakers (especially John Poor) droning on and on. Reading the Maine Farmer on September 4, readers not present at Phippsburg understood that the speeches had been neither interesting nor short. And Gilman noticed as August 29 crept along that there was a “lack of adequate accommodations at the Fort for the tired and hungry crowd in attendance.” Modern visitors to Fort Popham State Historic Site can appreciate the issues affecting the 1862 crowd; there was not much space for a lot of people then, and there is not much space for parking cars beside the fort now. (continued on page 28)
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Plant Memorial Home in Bath celebrates its centennial by Brian Swartz Although self-made millionaire Thomas Gustave Plant moved from Bath in the 1880s, he left as a legacy the Plant Memorial Home, which has benefited area residents for 100 years. Born in 1859 to French-Canadian immigrants living in Bath, Plant developed a strong work ethic by cutting ice on the Kennebec River, making cordage for ships, and working in a shoe shop. After launching a shoe-manufacturing company in Massachusetts in 1891, Plant did well financially until late in life. Though he never again lived in Bath, he never forgot the city or its hardworking residents. “This is a man who came from very little. He made his mark in the world. He gave back to the community” by establishing the Plant Memorial Home, said executive director Kristi Hyde, RN, BSN. During the 1910s, Plant purchased 24 waterfront acres encompassing two headlands (including Hospital Point) in southern Bath. “He bought it solely for building a facility on it for serving the aged” lacking sufficient finances or a place to stay in their declining years, Hyde said. Plant oversaw the construction of a three-story, wood-framed building with formal rooms on the first floor and residents’ rooms on the upper floors. Each room had
running water and a sink, but the residents shared men’s and women’s bathrooms. A matron, a cook, and a maintenance man lived at the Plant Memorial Home. There was only one kitchen, and the residents all ate in the dining room. Plant envisioned his home as a place for low-income people to live. “This home is founded on my sincere belief that those who have lived honest, industrious lives and are without means or friends to take care for them, have earned the right to be cared for. Only through the labor and expenditures of others is it possible,” he explained. Drawn from Bath and surrounding towns, the residents met with the home’s directors, who “made a determination whether they could come and live there or not,” said Tracy Coombs, director of dietary services. Plant sited the home to overlook Georgetown across the Kennebec River and to capture the natural light. In use to this day, the formal dining room faces east and west, with the windows gathering the morning light on one side and facing the day’s end on the other. Plant endowed the home with $400,000, roughly equivalent to $30 million today. The home opened in October 1917; among the initial 28 residents was a centenarian born in 1812. A three-story addition featuring one-bed-
room apartments with kitchens and bathrooms opened in the early 2000s. According to Hyde, “we renovated the original living arrangements” in the 1917 building into similar apartments “so that everybody had a private bathroom and a kitchen.” The Plant Memorial Home now has 37 apartments. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Morse High School vocational students designed and built five duplexes, each with two apartments with two bedrooms. Located near the river on Orchard Lane, the duplexes are named The Cottages. In 2016, the Plant Memorial Home directors approved a project that extended Orchard Lane, added two more duplexes to The Cottages, and constructed three duplexes along a new road named Thomas Lane. The 10 duplexes “are all independent living cottages,” Hyde said. Many residents are from Bath, and when they were young, some visited their relatives living at the Plant Memorial Home. Some people moving to the home from out of state have ties to the Bath region. Ironically, Plant died destitute after his investments failed. “He actually could have qualified to live here” in his later years, Hyde said.
Midcoast Region
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(continued from page 26) But what Holmes did not reveal was that event organizers had planned for far fewer than the 5,000 to 7,000 people who turned out. Imagine that many people packing the shore at Fort Popham today; the scene would be incredible. All told, despite all these problems, “the occasion was one of much interest and enjoyment,” Editor Gilman wrote.
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The S.S. State of Maine, ca. 1892. Item # 6154 from collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com
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Captain Donald Baxter MacMillan on board his schooner BOWDOIN in 1925 departing for an Arctic voyage. Item # 12592 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society/Maine Today Media and www.VintageMaineImages.com
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Augusta’s Giant Oxie Company History of a Maine medicine business by Charles Francis
T
he Giant Oxie Company sold patent medicine. There were Giant Oxie pills and plasters to name two of the company’s products. Giant Oxie was a Maine company. Its headquarters was Augusta. Even though the company’s name is a bit out of the ordinary, one that appeals to the imagination, you are unlikely to find anyone who can tell you much of the company. The exception to this statement is if you happen to be talking with an antiquarian, particularly a bottle collector. Bottle collectors are quite familiar with Giant Oxie. Magazines devoted to bottle collecting often advertise Giant Oxie pill bottles. Bottle descriptions read something like this: Bottle, 2”
Old Oxie pill bottle
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high; Front: Oxien Tablet Pills, the Giant Oxie Co., Augusta, ME, Sole Proprietors; Back: a giant swinging a club. One advertisement for a Giant Oxie pill bottle suggested the “giant” was the source or symbol for the company. Careful examination of the “giant” suggests he is otherwise, however. That may be why another advertisement for a Giant Oxie pill bottle called the figure on the back “a witch doctor.” The figure on the back of the Giant Oxie pill bottle is certainly large, not large enough to be called a giant, though. There was never a giant named Oxie anyway. The name does not feature in any mythology of note, be it classical or primitive. Nor does the figure in any way resemble the traditional image of a witch doctor.
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com The Giant Oxie company was the most successful patent medicine company in Maine. In fact, it was successful on a national level. The reason for this was advertising. Giant Oxie was a Gannett Company. This is the same Gannett as the Gannett Corporation, publishers of USA Today. You can find references to the effect that the Gannett Corporation and USA Today owe their existence in part to the patent medicine industry of turn of twentieth century America. The Gannett of the Giant Oxie Company was William Gannett. William Gannett was also the founder of the Comfort magazine. Gannett founded the magazine as a vehicle to sell “Oxien,” his patented nerve tonic. Comfort was a phenomenal success. Established in 1888, it had a circulation of over a million by 1900 and topped out at over three million. In a sense, the magazine was something of a mail order catalogue. It offered farm wives
and rural families access to products they would otherwise have found inaccessible. Comfort circulation grew because subscribers earned premiums by getting others to take the magazine. In 1895 the magazine began printing in color, a circumstance that added to its marketability. The chief ingredient of Giant Oxie pills was Oxien. Oxien may have been unique in the annals of patent medicine, as it had some real health-giving properties. In some respects Oxien was in no way different from hundreds of other patent medicines. At least it was in no way different as far as the claims for its wonder-giving benefits. Oxien was supposed to “relieve and cure nervous prostration, starved nerves, indigestion, dyspepsia, constipation, and other stomach disorders, bronchitis, colds, coughs, catarrhal affections, palpitation of the heart, kidney and liver diseases, rheumatism, neuralgia, scrofula, defect
in hearing, smell or taste, sick-headache, general debility, chills and fever, malarial troubles, irregularity and la grippe.” Advertisements also touted the fact that “[It] was the only pill that acts promptly and beneficially upon all the organs, purifies without weakening, and cures one disease without creating another.” Oxien entered the patent medicine market at a time when most “miracle cures” were presented as pain killers. The pain killers were invariably liquid in nature. The liquid most likely included alcohol and morphine or cocaine. Arsenic was a common pain relief for toothache. It should be noted that patent medicines were not patented. Patent medicines were for the most part trademarked medicines. No patent was involved. The word was given to a variety of medical compounds sold under various names and labels. In (continued on page 34)
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Midcoast Region
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(continued from page 33) the last few decades the term has become particularly associated with the sale of drug compounds during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Many flouted colorful names and boasted even more attention-grabbing claims. What was unique regarding Oxien pills was that the main ingredient came from the fruit of the baobab tree. The fruit of the baobab is described as nutritious. It may have more vitamin C than oranges. The calcium content can exceed that of cow’s milk. Also known as “sour gourd” or “monkey’s bread,” the dry fruit pulp separated from seeds and fibers is eaten directly or sometimes mixed into porridge or with milk. The fruit pulp of the baobab makes a nutrient-rich juice. Of course, none of these health-giving baobab properties played a part in Oxien advertising. The Giant Oxie Company also put out an almanac. It was marketed as the Oxien Almanac and Home Library
of Facts. Its contents included the expected phases of the moon, sunrise and sunset time and weather forecasts. In addition, there was information on gardening, cooking and the treatment of illness.
All Giant Oxie products came out with the company’s trademark club-wielding chimera. So why this particular trademark or sign? Signs are sometimes placed in three broad classifications. There are natural signs. Clouds are a sign of rain. Stripped bark on a tree may be a sign of deer. Then there are iconic signs, which signify by resembling their subjects. Sculptures are an example. So
too are maps whose markings are fixed by convention. These signs help one interpret features. Finally there are symbols. Words are symbols. So too are uniforms and stop lights. Like iconic signs, symbols are determined by convention. However, they do not operate by having any resemblance to their object. Here we have the Giant Oxie chimera. The eye-catching trademark was designed as a sales gimmick. Given the popularity of Giant Oxie products, it worked. The patent medicine market dried up in the United States in the early twentieth century with the advent of pure food and drug laws. William Gannett magazines did not fade away, though. Comfort continued on to the early 1940s. So did a lot of other Gannett publications. Perhaps the most remarkable fact of the Giant Oxie Company is not the fact that it really had a health-giving product, but rather the company’s marriage with the publishing industry.
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Firearms used in the Spanish-American War stacked in front of a barracks in Augusta, with soldiers resting nearby. Item # 1041 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com
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Governor Carl E. Milliken signing the Woman Suffrage Proclamation in his Augusta office in 1917. Item # 5471 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com
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Early view of Main Street in Damariscotta Mills, ca. 1922. Item # 26119 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com
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Midcoast Region
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Fishy Damariscotta Mills Alewives contribute mightily to the environment
by Jeffrey Bradley
B
efore Europeans arrived, there was no stream anywhere in the Gulf of Maine without a profusion of seething alewives. These anadromous (sea-run) migratory “river herrings” live mostly in the ocean but return each spring to spawn like salmon in fresh water. Way back when, the rivers, streams, and tributaries teemed with numbers so vast they say you could’ve walked across over their backs… without getting your feet wet! Only the thunderously impassable falls prevented them rendezvousing in the ponds and lakes of deep interior Maine, or clustering in masses so thickly that an early naturalist marveled, “They were crowded ashore by the thousands.”
Damariscotta may or may not be Abenaki for “the river infested with fishes”— that’ll be alewives — but there are many interpretations. But wait; both Native American and settler came to depend on this annual bounty to the point that when a dam imprudently appeared to block the flow of fish things could turn ugly. Fast. “It was difficult to persuade the aggrieved people to forbear using violence to open a passage for ye fish,” one chronicler lamented; “the cry of the poor every year for want of the fish is enough to move the bowels of compassion in any man that hath not a heart of stone.” Following one such hue and a cry in 1809, selectmen in Benton ordered the de-
molishing of a mill dam preventing the spring run of alewives and shad on the Sebasticook River. Powerful fish, these, to have the means of calling down a wrathful torchlit mob bearing oaths and pitchforks! Silvery alewives ready to spawn usually go less than a foot in length and weigh maybe a couple of pounds, but crowd upstream in astonishing numbers. Juveniles heading back down to the sea begin passing through Damariscotta Mills sometime around July. Damariscotta Mills may possibly hold the honor of being Maine’s oldest, most productive alewife fishery. And the fishway — an improbable tumble of chutes, steps and collecting pools
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com called ‘weirs’— was built to circumvent the early mill dams checking the fish from advancing to upstream tributaries. Constructed under orders of the state to provide them an alternative route, Nobleboro and Newcastle complied by installing their now-famous fish ladder in 1807. Two centuries of hard usage later, and the fish can barely manage to wriggle up the chute or, worse, get stuck and turned back with often disastrous results. In response, the Nobleboro Historical Society spearheaded a restoration drive designed to address the vexing problem, and in conjunction with the two towns, which took their time-honored tradition dating back to the 1700s — seriously balancing conservation and economic goals. A means was struck for ensuring the critical stocks of alewives stayed healthy and viable. Now they scoot up the chute and cascade down in a scaly torrent. Nearly 1,500 linear feet of stone lines the chute walls containing some
hundred stepped pools where fish gather before further ascending the ladder stepwise. Most folks consider the project’s $1 million cost a wise investment; today funds for harvesting the alewives help support the ongoing maintenance and restoration efforts. Alewives contribute mightily to their marine and freshwater water environments. Unfortunately, damming, pollution and overfishing have plummeted numbers to the point that many Mainers have never seen an alewife run, impressive or otherwise. And it’s a plain fact that Alewife Brook contains not so much as a single alewife. Luckily, they aren’t persnickety and don’t need much of a helping hand. A pastiche of federal, state and local entities acting in concert and some alarm, put into place over time a myriad of interconnected passageways that now whizzes better than 250,000 fish along on their dizzying way between the Gulf of Maine and freshwater spawning
grounds. Some Mainers still grumble over the alewives supposedly out-consuming year-round freshwater native species, or that the phosphorus left behind ruins many a favorite fishing hole — even if scientific evidence debunks these as just, well more fish stories. If anything, evidence suggests that the crappie, perch, walleye, pickerel, pike, catfish and sucker populations sharing a pond with the alewives are exceptionally robust. Large schools of wriggly alewives also provide vital cover for vulnerable salmon smelts heading down for the sea, and even lobstermen have come to favor the travelers as an excellent bait fish. As forage, alewives indisputably benefit freshwater populations of large and small-mouth bass, lake and brown trout immensely, and salmon too. In the estuaries and ocean striped bass, cod and haddock also benefit. (continued on page 40)
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(continued from page 39) Almost anything on, in or near the water, including ospreys, otters, bluefish, weakfish, tuna, halibut, the American eel, seabirds, bald eagles, great blue herons, gulls, terns, cormorants, seals, whales, weasels, mink, fox, raccoons, skunks and turtles — whew! — eventually feasts on the alewives. Even the lowly floater mussel, a truly hapless mollusk, finds the alewife useful; it’ll cling to the squishy, squiggly fish to hitch a ride about the lakes and streams of coastal Maine. Absent this busy alewife, and the mussel population must need crash or, perhaps, float away into oblivion. The takeaway lesson is that by encouraging the alewives’ contributions of providing important forage and vital nutrients, Maine’s many watery places continue to benefit immeasurably. As, for instance, in keeping the fish ladders of Damariscotta Mills fixed.
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Bristol’s Julia Lane Folk singer resurrects Civil War poems and songs by Brian Swartz
C
ivil War songs unheard in several generations are reaching modern ears, thanks to the dedicated research of folk musician and history buff Julia Lane. She and her husband, Fred Gosbee, live in Bristol. “We are musicians performing folk music as the duo Castlebay,” Julia said. “I play the Celtic harp, he plays the guitar and fiddle.” The folk-music genre led Fred and Julia to become “interested in New England music” and learn that “the traditions are the same” as folk music found elsewhere in parts of the United States and Canada, she said. These traditions are based on the British Isles (including Ireland) and encompass folk songs and “folk ways,”
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When Julia was about age 5, “there was a lot of folk music in my house. I realized as I got older [that] these songs contained stories. Around age 10, I was aware these stories were from people’s lives. Fred learned songs from his grandfather who worked in the logging camps in the woods,” Julia said. Well into the 20th century, loggers and sailors alike often worked in isolation, loggers deep in the North American forests and sailors on ships lacking communications with the outside world. To entertain themselves, loggers composed music that enlivened cold winter nights at remote logging camps. In the age of sailing ships, sailors sang sea chanteys to ease the monotony
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com of ship-board living. Such music gained wide-spread exposure during the era of Hollywood swashbucklers; pirate-imitating actors performed Blow the Man Down and similar chanteys in the sea yarns of the 1930s and ’40s. The “Pirate Festivals” sprouting recently along the Maine coast sparked some interest in “pirate songs,” often sea chanteys set to new verses. In researching the historical roots of New England folk music, Julia learned, “It’s all vernacular … [and] generally not written down.” In time, many songs based on oral traditions transitioned to the printed page so literate musicians could perform such music without memorizing it. According to Julia, the written word also transitioned to folk music. In the 1700s and much of the 1800s, people often advertised businesses, political philosophies, and upcoming events by posting “broadsides” on building walls. Broadsides were sheets of paper usually larger (and thicker) than a mod-
ern broadsheet newspaper page. Julia explained that a broadside often “had a story.” The literate person would read it, would memorize it, would tell it to the non-literate. “In addition, music was a great vehicle for passing information,” she said. A musically inclined person might set a broadside’s message to music, often by adapting the words to an existing tune. Throughout the 19th century, people of all economic classes would perform music — instrumentally or vocally — “live” in homes or public places. A particular event could inspire a song, which a savvy printer would publish and distribute to earn money. Sheet music allowed musicians to play anywhere — and people hearing or singing particular songs mentioned them in their diaries and letters. “You find references to these songs in journals,” Julia said. “Maybe it was reference to a song, maybe a verse, sometimes the whole song. The fact
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that people took the time to write them in their personal journals tells me the songs had particular importance to them.” Not all songs appeared in print; especially in rural areas, people lacked the money (and a good reason) to publish cherished folk music. They continued to sing the songs to their friends and family members, who learned them and, in turn, passed them along. Electronic media like the radio began to interrupt this tradition, but with the invention of the phonograph (also known as the gramophone) circa 1880, the ability to record music helped save much folk music for posterity. Julia explained that “in the early 20th century, people began to understand the cultural value of the songs and started going out and capturing them. It was largely women doing this collecting.” Working in the Bangor-Brewer area, Fannie Hardy Eckstorm, Mary Smyth, and Susie Carr Young collaborated in (continued on page 44) LIGHT TO HEAVY DUTY TRUCK & TRAILER REPAIR & PARTS
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(continued from page 43) the 1920s to collect and publish British Ballads from Maine. This music included “the ancient ballads that showed up here” in Maine, Julia said. One such ballad was Billy Broke Locks, based on the tune Archie Campbell, written about a jail break in the Scottish borders. The words were rewritten “for the New England location and political situation,” Julia cited one example. In addition to rewritten ballads, Eckstorm, Smyth, and Young “found a lot of other self-composed songs using older melodies for completely new lyrics,” Julia noted. The Civil War spawned countless songs; poets and soldiers often set their thoughts in words that musicians adapted to existing tunes or set to newly composed songs. In an effort to find a broader understanding of history, Julia often researches poems and verses published in period books, journals, and newspapers. Sometimes a reference mentions the tune to which the words have been set; if not, she will review the music popu-
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lar at the time to find an appropriate vehicle for the words. Among the war-related songs set to modern music is The Last Charge at Fredericksburg, sent to Eckstorm in January 1934 by Pearle Crory of Portage. The ballad focused on two soldiers: “one had blue eyes and curly hair,” and “the other was tall, dark, stern, and grave.” Published as At Fredericksburg in Harper’s Weekly in February 1863, the poem did not languish in obscurity, unlike many contemporary songs. The 1960s’ rock group The Grateful Dead incorporated the last half of the 19-verse poem into Blue Eyed Boston Boy; the modern version has also appeared as Two Soldiers. Julia particularly “connects” with the Fredericksburg poem, which identifies the blue-eyed soldier as “Charlie,” age 19. Among her Maine ancestors were brothers Charles “Charley” (age 18) and Monroe Lyford (age 17), who charged with the 16th Maine Infantry during the December 1862 battle of Fredericksburg. Charley died
on the muddy fields south of the town, and Monroe carried his body off the battlefield. Julia has compiled many Civil War poems and songs from different sources. Among the titles are Maine Battle Flags, written by Moses Owen of Bath in 1866; The Cumberland, a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; Company K, published in the Boothbay Register in January 1877; and The Cumberland Crew, published by Roland Palmer Gray in his 1924 Songs & Ballads Of The Maine Lumberjacks. Other poems and songs await discovery. The Maine Historical Society’s Collection of Civil War Letters includes letters written on the backs of songs which the writer hoped the receiver would sing,” Julia said. “It really touches people, the Civil War. The songs provide a window into the emotional life of the people and connects with them in an intimate way,” she said. “My goal is to make this material accessible.”
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Sailor Blinn Curtis Of Owls Head by Brian Swartz
A
He survived a slave mutiny
fter seizing the New Orleans-bound Creole late on Sunday, November 7, 1841, mutinous slaves seeking their freedom knew they could not sail the ship into an American port. They also realized they could not the sail the brig to a neutral port without help from its white crewmen, including sailor Blinn Curtis, an Englishman who had emigrated to Maine before finding himself caught up in the successful 1841 mutiny. Tension ran high as the Creole steered toward Nassau in the Bahamas on Monday, November 8. As Second Mate Lucius Stevens walked across the quarter-deck about 8 p.m., mutineer
Part 2 (part 1 in Midcoast 2016) Ben Blacksmith fired a pistol at him. Stevens “heard the ball whistle past,” then First Mate Zephaniah Gifford ordered him “to go up the mast-head and look for the Abaco light.” Stevens climbed as high as he could to get “out of the reach” of the armed mutineers below him. Armed slaves kept close watch as crewmen went about their on-deck duties. Three slave traders — John R. Hewell, Thomas McCargo, and William Henry Merritt — had sailed aboard the Creole; the mutineers had killed Hewell during the initial stages of their uprising, but McCargo and Merritt still lived.
In fact, Merritt was helping navigate the brig to Nassau. Closely watched by the mutineer named Dr. Ruffin, Merritt took a sun sighting and marked the information on a slate. Afraid the crewmen might plot recapturing the ship, the slaves had forbidden the sailors to write down any words or to speak with each other. As Merritt wrote on the slate, Ruffin told him “to rub out the words … and make only figures and marks … for fear that Gifford and Merritt might communicate secretly by that means,” Gifford observed. He then spoke to Merritt about the navigational reckoning; mutineer Morris told the two men not to talk “to each other,” or “one or both would be thrown
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com overboard.” According to Gifford and other witnesses, only 19 slaves participated in the mutiny, and the other slaves aboard the ship did not. The mutineers avoided the other slaves when “frequently closely engaged in secret conversation,” Gifford noticed. The other slaves “remained forward of the mainmast” while the mutineers “took possession of the after part of the brig.” Ringleaders Ben Blacksmith, Elijah Morris, Dr. Ruffin, and Madison Washington “kept their knives out the whole time,” and other mutineers also “had knives,” Gifford observed. The crewmen spotted Abaco lighthouse around 10 a.m. on Tuesday, November 9. The mutineers tossed their weapons overboard, and the pilot boat came out to meet the brig. “The pilot was acting under the legal authorities of the island,” snorted Gifford, who watched the black pilot and his crewmen, who “were [all] ne-
groes,” climb aboard the Creole. Mingling with the slaves, the Bahamians learned about the mutiny. The pilot told the slaves “that they could go on shore and never could be carried away from there,” the disgusted Gifford noted. British quarantine officers soon boarded the Creole, spoke with crew and slaves, and brought the angry Gifford ashore. A British official escorted him to see American Consul John F. Bacon. Gifford spilled the detailed beans about the mutiny, and Bacon hustled him to see Sir Francis Cockburn, “the Governor of New Providence and all the other Bahama Islands.” Gifford told Cockburn what he had told Bacon, who asked that guards be placed on the Creole “to protect the vessel and cargo.” Cockburn ordered a white officer and 24 black soldiers “with loaded muskets, and bayonets fixed, in British uniforms” to board the brig.
The soldiers did so on Wednesday, November 10. Fraternization soon occurred between the soldiers and the slaves, especially the female servants, but the mutiny’s ringleaders were tossed bound into the Creole’s longboat and kept under guard. The injured Captain Ensor was allowed ashore to seek medical attention, but most whites trapped aboard the brig were kept there by the soldiers. At 9 a.m. on November 10, three civilian magistrates boarded the ship “and commenced examining all the white persons on board” as a clerk took notes and the fuming Bacon watched. Not in any hurry, the magistrates wound up their investigation on Friday. Then the white attorney general, G.C. Anderson, came aboard and ordered the soldiers to separate the 19 mutineers from the other slaves. Blinn Curtis watched as, according to Gifford’s deposition, “about fifty boats … all filled with men from the (continued on page 48)
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(continued from page 47) shore, armed with clubs” and under overall command of Anderson, surrounded the Creole. Neither Curtis nor the other crewmen knew what was happening. Then Anderson declared that the 19 mutineers must be imprisoned until Her Majesty’s government in London decided “whether your trial shall take place here or elsewhere.” The other slaves aboard the brig could go ashore as free people. Now in command of the Creole, Gifford protested to Anderson, who warned the first mate to “make no objection … for if he did there would be blood shed.” Minus five slaves who hid aboard the Creole, the other non-mutineers poured overboard into the smaller boats. His boat maneuvering among those watercraft, Anderson shook hands with the freed slaves, a barge put out from shore to retrieve the 19 mutineers and the sol-
diers, and First Mate Gifford gnashed his teeth at the scam pulled by the British authorities. Anderson later sent a customs officer and his men to liberate the slaves’ belongings from the Creole. A scheme concocted by Consul Bacon and U.S. Navy Captain William Woodside to liberate the brig failed, and Blinn Curtis and the Creole finally sailed from Nassau on November 19. So badly injured that he could not survive the voyage to New Orleans, Captain Ensor remained with his family at Nassau. At 7 a.m., December 2, a steam-powered pilot boat took the Creole in tow across the sand bar at the mouth of the Mississippi River. The brig arrived at New Orleans later that day; Gifford, Curtis, and the other crewmen immediately boiled ashore to give their collective testimony to Notary Public William Young Lewis.
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Eight sailors signed Lewis’s report. Curtis, Gifford, and Stevens wrote their own names; the others made the appropriate Xs beside their names. Believing the escaped slaves to be stolen property, U.S. Secretary of State Daniel Webster protested vociferously to London. A serious international incident might have occurred, but diplomacy won out. The freed slaves were not returned to their owners, and a court fight resulted in Britain paying the owners $100 for their “property.” Blinn Curtis returned to South Thomaston and built a house on Ash Point overlooking Ballyhac Cove on the Wesawesgeag River in 1847. The house now stands in the village of Ash Point in Owls Head, which separated from South Thomaston in July 1921. Curtis married Sarah Bryant Robinson in January 1846. They had several children; Sarah gave birth to a son, Harrison Robinson Curtis, in late March 1856, a month after Blinn died.
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com He was buried in South Thomaston. Working as a boat builder and river pilot, Harrison Curtis married Elvie Cram Miller in 1883. They lived in Blinn’s house and had eight children, including daughter Irene Gould Curtis Adolphsen. Her son, Arthur Adolphsen of Hope, has intensively researched the story of Blinn Curtis and the Creole. Arthur provided Discover Maine with the historical material upon which Blinn’s two-part story was based. This material included the American and British testimony published in Parliamentary Papers, House of Commons and Command, Volume 59, William Clowes and Sons, London, 1843.
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Memories Of Camp Tanglewood Special friends and experiences were found in Lincolnville
I
by Sandy Rose Thomas
n the summer of my thirteenth year I had the privilege of attending a girl’s camp located in Lincolnville, Maine. It was called “Camp Tanglewood.” My parents felt it would keep me occupied for six weeks of the summer vacation. I was only eleven years old the first time I attended camp, and it was the first time I was ever away from home. Although in retrospect I have come to value and sincerely appreciate being given this opportunity, I remember feeling at the time that I was conveniently being placed at camp more for my parent’s convenience than mine. This was probably an ungrateful teenage attitude, which in time has obvi-
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ously been altered. The sweet memories of friendships made and challenges met will remain far longer and be more enduring than that negative teenage assessment. Some of the lessons I learned, such as how to be a team player, as well as the variety of activities offered provided an opportunity for me to learn about certain activities that I have enjoyed throughout my lifetime. It also helped me to conform to disciplinary actions dispensed by counselors and those who were in charge of the campers. Almost all of the counselors had nicknames, such as Skee, Lee and Canada. My cabin mates dubbed me “Boots.” To this day, I sing the camp songs
that we all sang around the campfire and cannot help but recall that spirit of togetherness I felt when the fireplace was lit up and we all held hands and each of us got to sing our favorite song. One of my favorites was “I’m a hayseed, my hair is seaweed, and my ears are made of leather and they flop in rainy weather. Gosh all hemlock, I’m tough as a pine knot, I’m from Tanglewood you see, tee hee.” One day while my husband and I were out riding he asked me if I would like to visit Camp Tanglewood. I said yes, that I would love to go back and visit, although I did not believe it would be familiar to me after so much time had passed. However, it turns out
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com that it has not changed all that much, and all the old memories came flooding back to me in a delightful ‘deja vu’ recollection. We took pictures that day that I treasure along with the postcard pictures from Tanglewood that I saved. I truly appreciate this thoughtful and loving gift from my husband who offered to walk back with me to a very special time in my life. Sundays were the best day of the week because our parents came to visit us, and we got to show them around camp and display some of the items that we made on crafts day. My Mom and Dad would take us all to the Lobster Pound in Lincolnville Beach for lunch. Here is the Dear Me letter that I wrote to myself dated August 16, 1951. From: Camp Tanglewood, Lincolnville, ME Dear Me, The best way to start this letter is to tell the kids in the Cabin. The first two
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weeks I was here there was Judy W., Joan S. Barbra T. and Sandra H. The first two weeks was filled with fun and everyone (I think) had a swell time. First of all we had a carnival, and we had popcorn, punch, hotdogs, ice cream cones, potato chips, and soda, and worse luck, it rained. P.S. we still had fun. We also had United Nations Week. We decorated the Dining Hall with all sorts of things, and for supper we had lots & lots of goodies. Mr. Webber talked to us about his travels, and we asked questions. Each Cabin had a country to represent. Cabin 2, (our cabin) represented France. The Skit that won first prize was Cabin 7, Senior Unit. The play we saw in Camden was “Goodbye my Fancy” and was very good. For classes we had our choice of tennis, badminton, canoeing, archery, softball (at nite) and crafts. I took badminton the first week, and archery the second, with crafts in the afternoon. In crafts I made a belt and a bowl. The Lobster Festival took place on a
Saturday afternoon. We had an especially wonderful time, and we ate our lunch & supper on Sandy’s front lawn. In the morning we watched the parade, and in the afternoon we went out to see the battleship, which we toured, and saw dozens of goodlooking sailors. The kids in my Cabin the last two weeks are Joyce L., Ruth B. & Sandra H. The first week for classes I had Canoeing and the last week canoeing also. The most embarrassing part of my stay at Camp Tanglewood was on a Saturday of my third week here. It all started when (the Senior Unit) were supposed to go on a 3 mile hike, (up & back) in the hot sun to Coleman’s Pond. Well, I had a sore foot & I could have had an excuse to stay, but my best pal, Sandy H. couldn’t stay, so I decided to go. After having the nurse bandage my foot I decided to be brave and go. Well on the way up from the nurse I met Cabin 4. And it seems they had started a petition against going to Coleman’s Pond. (continued on page 52)
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(continued from page 51) Well, I didn’t feel like going anyway and a chance not to go seemed a good one so I signed it. And that’s where the trouble started. Everyone but six people signed it, and that was a majority, twenty seven out of thirty-three, so we took it to “Skee” who was the planner of the trip and she said that if everyone in the Senior Unit signed it we wouldn’t have to go. So with great difficulty we convinced the last six to sign it but was awfully disappointed when “Skee” said to be ready to go by quarter of two. I was so mad when I came into the Cabin that I didn’t stop to think before I called the counselors liars. Well it happened that they heard me so a little later in came Lee & Skee, mad as old Harry. They started picking on me as if it were all my idea. So I started bawling and “Canada” came down and had a long talk with me. Well, after I settled down I decided I was wrong and thought I’d apologize to “Skee” for calling them names. Well, I didn’t go to Coleman Pond, but I was terribly ashamed
of myself, and after that I buckled down to being a good sport camper. The very last weekend we had a swell time. This is a list I had of the week: Monday, Canoeing Trip Tuesday, Wish Boat Ceremony Wednesday, Romeo & Juliet Thursday, Month Banquet Friday, Counselors Talent Show
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The experiences I had at Tanglewood during the three summers that I spent there, and the friendships made are a very special part of my youth. I will always feel privileged that I was able to attend.
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Civil War Soldier Enoch Robbins A Georgia murder led to a promotion by Brian Swartz
T
he post-Civil War murder of a Union soldier in Augusta, Georgia indirectly gained a promotion for Enoch Robbins of Swanville, who was 22 when he marched off to help preserve the Union. While Robbins was born in Swanville on March 21, 1829 to Jonathan and Thankfull (Ellis) Robbins, doubts as to his specific paternity exist, according to family lore. According to Enoch’s great-great-granddaughter, Cyndi Robbins of Northport, Jonathan Robbins denied the child was his and vanished into history after returning to sea. Identified as Enoch Ellis in the 1850 census, Enoch had changed his surname
to Robbins by 1861. He lived on a farm on the Mt. Ephraim Road in Searsport before enlisting as a private in Company H, 8th Maine Infantry Regiment, on September 7, 1861. Unlike the Maine regiments involved in fighting in Virginia, the 8th Maine literally “went South” by participating in the Union campaign to capture the Outer Banks of North Carolina that autumn. Various elements of the regiment served in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida; not until April 1864 did the 8th Maine arrive in Virginia to fight in the Petersburg campaign. In May 1862, Union Maj. Gen. David Hunter formed the 1st South Carolina Regiment, comprising former
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slaves from St. Augustine and St. John counties in the Palmetto State. The first official black regiment created for the Army, the 1st South Carolina, took shape particularly due to the efforts of Col. James Deering Fessenden of Westbrook, a Hunter aide. When President Abraham Lincoln learned about the regiment’s existence — and this months before he dared even unveil his Emancipation Proclamation — he ordered the regiment disbanded. Only one company remained in Union uniform. With a perceived federal victory at Antietam, Lincoln finally felt comfortable in declaring one war goal as being the abolition of slavery. In autumn (continued on page 54)
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(continued from page 53) 1862 the War Department authorized the creation of black regiments; the 33rd United States Colored Troops was formed around the surviving company of the 1st South Carolina Regiment. Army regulations mandated that black regiments must be led by white officers; this requirement created many new slots for officers, and ambitious men from the 8th Maine Infantry applied for the available positions with the 33rd USCT. A veritable stampede occurred as 11 men, including Enoch Robbins, transferred from the 8th Maine to the 33rd USCT, which was commanded by Col. Thomas Higginson. Robbins became the 33rd’s quartermaster sergeant; George Dolly, Levi Metcalf, James Rogers, and Joseph Thibadeau were other 8th Maine soldiers who gained officers’ commissions in the black regiment.
From Company B, 100th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment came Alexander Heasley, promoted to captain of Company E, 33rd USCT. In time Robbins was promoted to lieutenant with the regiment; he and Heasley stayed with the 33rd after the war, when Reconstruction duties saw some companies, including E, transferred to Augusta, Georgia. Federal policy initially placed Union troops in many Southern cities to ensure that surrendered Confederates did not rearm and reorganize to fight occupation forces or terrorize black civilians. Like the 33rd USCT, some black regiments performed garrison duty in the Deep South; the presence of armed black soldiers infuriated pro-Confederacy whites. Enoch Robbins left little commentary about his Reconstruction duties, but his promotion to captain was all but
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certain when Heasley announced his resignation, slated for July 20 1865 so that he could take a position with the Freedmen’s Bureau. Meanwhile, Heasley made a serious mistake; he fell in love with the wrong woman in Augusta. Another Pennsylvanian, Frank Hight, had moved to Augusta before the war. After serving in a few Georgia regiments, he was discharged for disability in 1863 and returned to Augusta. He later took a shine to Sarah Jane Blakeley, later described as “a beautiful mulatto woman.” Little else is known of Blakeley, who also accepted the attentions of Alexander Heasley. Hight was livid; after learning that Heasley wanted to marry Blakeley, Hight plotted a terrible vengeance. After dark on August 30, 1865, Hight went to Blakeley’s house (which
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he supposedly owned or rented) with Charles D. Watkins and Joshua J. Doughty, both ex-Confederate soldiers. After the trio burst into the house, Heasley ordered them to leave. Hight and Watkins opened fire with revolvers and put three bullets into Heasley; Watkins took a Bowie knife and stabbed him three times. Blakeley witnessed the murder; she never indicated that she tried to intervene. Heasley died almost immediately. Federal authorities questioned Blakeley, then arrested Doughty, Hight, and Watkins; searchers found a bloodstained Bowie knife beneath a pillow on Watkins’ bed. A military tribunal tried the three accused murderers, who were represented by local attorneys. The New York Times later reported that two-thirds of the tribunal found Hight guilty of murder and sentenced him “to be hanged by the
neck until he is dead, at such time and place as the Commanding-General may appoint.” The tribunal found Doughty innocent because Blakeley testified that Hight and Watkins did the bloody deed. All but two tribunal members wanted to convict Watkins, but the two holdouts felt he was innocent. Both holdouts rented rooms in the house owned by Watkins’s fiancee. Was an “innocent” verdict traded for sexual favors? So Hight was sentenced to 15 years at a federal prison in Auburn, New York. President Andrew Johnson pardoned Hight six months after he arrived in Auburn. Although Enoch Robbins was not involved in the scandal involving Heasley, he did benefit when the captain resigned from the 33rd USCT. Some officers were promoted and shuffled
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around to fill Heasley’s vacancy and possibly others. The Army promoted Robbins to captain of Company K, a position he held until the regiment was disbanded in late January 1866. Enoch Robbins returned home and later married Eliza Nickerson of Swanville. Their son, Horace Robbins, was the father of Arthur Robbins, and he was the father of Carl Robbins, who operated a funeral home on Main Street in Searsport for many years. Cyndi Dalton is his daughter. She indicated that Enoch Robbins suffered for some years from malaria that he had contracted in the South. He was an active member in a local chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic.
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The Fiske House in Damariscotta. Item # LB2007.1.105156 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
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Damariscotta’s James A. Hall He was a Cool Hand Luke on the battlefield by Brian Swartz
D
espite all the iron and lead whizzing and whooshing around him, Captain James A. Hall sat coolly in the saddle as his 2nd Maine Battery gunners steadily loaded and fired at Confederates entrenched outside Fredericksburg, Virginia on December 13, 1862. For all the excitement that Hall showed on that noisy and bloody Saturday afternoon, he could been out for a weekend ride in his native Damariscotta. When the War Department authorized Maine to raise six artillery batteries in autumn 1861, Davis Tillson of Rockland recruited men in various
Midcoast towns. A former Maine adjutant general, he made Hall his senior first lieutenant. Other men came from Boothbay, Bristol, Camden, Thomaston, Waldoboro, and Warren, plus a passel from Rockland, Portland, and elsewhere. Tillson found enough men to form Battery B, 1st Maine Light Artillery (soon known as the “2nd Maine Battery”) and to become its captain. Mustered into federal service on November 30, 1861, the 2nd Maine Battery camped at Augusta during the bitter cold and deep snows of winter 1861-62. Later transferred to Fort Preble in South Portland so his men could
practice with real cannons, Tillson did not take his battery south to the war until April 2, 1862. He was a talented individual who, while attending West Point, suffered an injury that would have sidelined most men during the Civil War. The 2nd Maine Battery had barely arrived at Washington, D.C. when the Army promoted Tillson to major and appointed him chief of artillery for an infantry division. James Hall moved up to captain. Perhaps for expediency’s sake, gunners often named their unit for their commanding officer, so the 2nd Maine Battery became Hall’s Battery, a name later immortalized in Maine granite (continued on page 58)
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(continued from page 57) at Gettysburg. While at Washington, the unit received six 3-inch, wroughtiron ordnance rifles, each weighing 820 pounds and capable of firing a 9½-pound projectile at least 1,850 yards. Including Hall, the battery had four officers and approximately 100 enlisted men. Seeing some combat in the Shenandoah Valley that spring, the 2nd Maine Battery fought at Cedar Mountain and Second Manassas in August, and at Chantilly on September 1. Early December found Hall and his men assigned to the 2nd Division commanded by Brigadier General John Gibbons. Also with this division were the 5th Maine Battery of Captain George E. Leppien (a New Yorker) and the 16th Maine Infantry Regiment commanded by Lt. Col. Charles Tilden of Castine. A few weeks earlier, Tilden had transferred some 30 enlisted men to re-
inforce Hall’s outfit, still under-strength after the recent battles. Hall knew he could lose other men to other causes; while camped at “Brooks Station” in Virginia on December 8, he and his four lieutenants signed a letter to Maine Governor Israel Washburn Jr. recommending an officer’s commission for Corporal Nathan Batchelder (spelled “Bachelor”) of St. George. The five officers knew Batchelder “to be a man of Excellent Moral Character and Good Practicable Ability.” Then off to Fredericksburg rumbled the 2nd Maine Battery, deployed on December 12 to the plain stretching southwest from Fredericksburg. Under orders, Hall had maneuvered his unit into a cornfield; his gunners pounded enemy troops dug in on nearby Prospect Hill, and the 16th Maine Infantry deployed nearby to protect the 2nd Maine Battery from Confederate infantry.
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“At this time the fire from the enemy’s artillery was accurate and well sustained, occasioning losses to this battery,” observed George Leppien, on that day the acting of chief of artillery for the 2nd Division. “A battery of the enemy” started “playing upon us, and did us considerable harm for a short time,” Hall commented. Billowing smoke revealed the enemy battery’s location “1,600 yards diagonally on our right flank.” Ordering his guns pointed to the northwest, Hall called the distance and elevation. His ordnance rifles fired one by one until the gunners settled into their firing routine. His view obscured by “considerable smoke” and thinning fog, Hall watched his gunners hurl shells at the distant Confederate battery. “They soon ceased firing, or turned their fire in another direction,” he realized. “It was difficult to tell the effect of our shots upon them.”
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Hall looked elsewhere for targets. Cannonballs suddenly struck around his battery as a Southern battery “700 yards directly on our left (southern) flank … opened with a rapid and well-directed fire of solid shot, which was very galling,” he noted. Adrian Root and Charles Tilden soon rode near the busy 2nd Maine Battery. “Captain Hall, sitting his superb horse as calmly as if on parade, was watching closely the work of his battery,” noticed 1st Lieutenant Abner Small of the 16th Maine, on that day a mounted aide for Root. “Now and then he (Hall) shouted a remark” to Tilden and Root as they rode near his guns; the officers bandied several comments until “a solid shot came hurtling between the captain and the colonels.” The cannonball “hit with a mighty thud a caisson … smashing it and exploding the magazine in a howling ball
of flame,” Small said. Dismounting, the “annoyed” Hall “walked over to one of his guns, and sighted it.” He raised, then dropped his hand; the No. 4 cannoneer yanked the lanyard, “and an iron missile sped for the mark,” the impressed Small followed the cannonball’s flight with his field glasses. “A crash and a roar, and in the midst of a rebel battery there was a sudden upheaval of bursting shells, wheels, splinters, and human flesh,” he reported. Satisfied, James A. Hall, remounted his horse, turned its head toward Tilden and Root, “and went on with the interrupted talk,” Small said. Discover Maine
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Early view of the Odd Fellows block in Warren. Item # LB2007.1.102833 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
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The Mountains That Walk In Stone Age Maine sometimes the hunted became you by Jeffrey Bradley
T
his is how a journey became a hunt and then a tragedy, set in a Maine that resembled the remoter reaches of the state today, only infinitely more so. The ice-shrouded peaks were beginning to thaw. Meltwater cascaded down the narrow defiles in thunderous flumes, while further below the land tapered off in a series of low, rolling hills crowned with larch and conifers, broken in places by patches of shimmering grass. These mini-savannahs, glades, really, of towering, waving verdure, were teeming with life and crisscrossed by a network of trails that led to a fen or a waterhole deep in some boggy de-
pression. Bizarre and colossal mammals roamed practically everywhere. Dire wolves as large as lions, and agile sabre-tooth cats vied with the short-faced bear, bigger and meaner than any grizzly, to make life perilous for the giant sloths and huge armadillos that ambled this weird tableau. Humpbacked hogs of astonishing size, with spiky, foam-flecked tusks and a vile temperament, snorted as horses and camels skipped nimbly over the plains. But over them all lorded the great woolly mammoth, heavy with muscle, imbued with near-unnatural strength, and at thirteen feet high at the shoulder half-again as big as their elephant
cousins today. Shaggy against the bitter cold, moving in herds that could cover the plains, and too ornery for most predators to handle, they even gave pause to the paleo-hunters. There was far easier prey than the beasts called the “Mountains That Walk.” Maine’s coasts were once much further out to sea. That is, all was land as far as Georges Bank — the Gulf of Maine was little more than a ditch before the glaciers arrived — because the great ice sheets locked up so much of the seawater. Now fathoms deep, that age-old terrain still contains artifacts. Storms and surging tides uncover bits and pieces in the shape of a bone or an (continued on page 62)
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of rockport “Choice of the Pros”
Sales and Installation Carpet • Ceramic • Wood Vinyl • Area Rugs
pro-rental
• CHAMBER • OF • COMMERCE • Serving the Inland MidCoast
www.unionareachamber.org members list ~ calendar of events information PO Box 603 • Union, ME 04862
See us for all your construction equipment needs! EQUIPMENT & TOOL RENTAL FOR CONTRACTORS & HOME OWNERS 440 West Street RT 90, Rockport
236-8803
prorentalofrockport.com
Midcoast Region
62
(continued from page 61) arrowhead; even remnant forests arise like gnarly ghosts from the sands. If the residents of Warren and Cushing could’ve looked out their windows during this period, the sea would have appeared like a thin blue line on the horizon. That prehistoric past is still occasionally pulled to the surface. Culled from the shoals and offshore banks, puzzling fragments have been variously labeled as evidence of long-lost slaughter pits, mass animal deaths, even clues to an ancient village. So far, nothing is certain. But it leads to our story, of which there is absolutely no proof at all that it actually happened, but then, there’s no proof at all that it didn’t. Maug, son of Maug, was part of a hunting band heading east on the trail of a wounded ‘Irish Elk’ — neither Irish nor elk, but a giant deer with 12-foot antlers — when the teenager
slipped from a log and plunged into a torrent of icy outwash. Swept away by the current, pummeled along the bottom, knocked about by mossy boulders, he at last came to rest in a backwater eddy. Dragging himself to the lee of a rock, he was overcome by the shivering sickness and lay racked and raving for days. Youth saved him; he finally awoke weak but alone. When he recovered, he set out gripping a rock-axe tied to the haft by sinew and willows. Everything else had been lost in that tumble. Now, utterly lost, he knew he had to head west. Somewhere, beyond the shadowy hills where the sun went down, lay his village. And so Maug, son of Maug, walked into the sunset, unwittingly going from the hunter to the prey. He traveled by day and slept in the branches of prodigious trees at night.
Murray Builders ~ Serving the Midcoast Region ~
•Fully Licensed & Insured •Renovation & New Construction •Caretaking
Brooks Monuments Memorials by Bob Williams ~ Serving Mid Coast Families since 1942 ~
Specializing in Free Form Garden Rocks MARBLE • GRANITE • BRONZE CEMETERY LETTERING & CLEANING
Les Murray
FRESH OFF THE FARM
“A FARMER’S MARKET UNDER ONE ROOF” ROUTE 1 • ROCKPORT 236-3260
Natural Food The largest selection in the area!
207-273-2981
557-4315
Most were festooned with those ropy lianas, which somehow made the travelling more sinister. Sabre-tooth cats, he knew, lay in ambush among the boughs and jumbled vines. He moved warily over a faint track through the forest, orienting himself by the sun. Eventually, he came to the edge of a grassy glade. This was disconcerting; he squatted, his brow furrowing over possible danger — yet skirting around would add days to his journey. He studied the grass. Who knew what lurked on those twisty trails? Still, he was Maug, son of Maug, a bold and great chieftain. He stood and exhaled. Then he stepped on the trail. But for those trails, the grass was nearly impenetrable. With feathery tips waving some twenty feet over his head, he kept to the main track, ignoring the smaller branching trails. Hefting his axe, he was moving swiftly down
Route 90 • Warren, ME
Native Products If it’s in season, we’ve got it!
Explore our extensive inventory of fabulous yarns and hand-crafted accessories. We carry traditional wools, alpaca, cashmere, and cotton, as well as
novelty and hand-dyed yarns. We provide warm, friendly service, and weekly knitting groups. Visit us in the shop or on the web.
The Cashmere Goat A Knitting Shop
Organic Fruit & Produce Huge Selection!
Maine Made Products Over 100 lines
Vitamins, Herbs & Homeopathics
open ‘rou year nd!
20 Bayview Street, Camden, ME • 207.236.7236 • www.thecashmeregoatknit.com
We’ve Been Local, Organic & Green Since 1987
We Special Order
Open Mon-Sat 8-7 Sunday 9-5:30
Open Year Round
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the sloping trail when a low rumbling sound halted his footstep. He listened alertly, but no danger materialized, so he began making his way down a side trail nearer the source of the sound. Here. He crawled through the crinkly tangle until at length he slowly and carefully parted the haylike curtain of grass to behold — the Mountains That Walk! Many, many more than could be counted on all the fingers and toes of his lost companions grazed while making that terrible sound. Transfixed, the boy knew real fear as a guardian bull, the biggest beast, ceased to feed and slowly turned in his direction. It raised a massive head with curled trunk to test the air for danger. The caveboy caught the gleam of gigantic, curved tusks as he began imperceptibly backing away when, underfoot, he stepped on a twig that went tik! Instantly, the bull’s small eyes reddened with rage as it stamped
and trumpeted a warning, then turned to attack. As one, the herd wheeled to his call and began humping forward. Whatever it was that lay in the grass — be it caveboy or be it cave tiger — would soon be a danger no more. The ground shook as the herd charged. Down those dark and limitless trails he fled, with the sound of the pounding mammoths behind him. The tall grass whiffled gently as he raced past and down a trail that ended abruptly on the cusp of a fetid swamp. He plunged in unhesitatingly, frantically wading toward the bog’s far bank. Thick, malodorous mud impeded his progress; it sucked at his legs and began pulling him under. Terror gripped him as the mammoths began splashing into the water. Panicked, he slogged nearer to a hummocky stand of cypress that reached out from the opposite shore. The mammoths, too, were beginning to
sink, but their rage and their fury, and the press of those from behind drove them forward. And it seemed they were running him down. For even as he clambered up the first knobby foot of the immense tree, the old bull was already hauling onto the hammock. Reaching out a slimy trunk, the mammoth meant to snatch him back into the bog, but the caveboy gave a cry and a leap, and grasped a branch, and then a liana. He hacked frantically at it as the tip of the old bull’s trunk found an ankle and began to pull him out of the tree. But with a final whack of that stone-headed axe, the liana parted, and the boy broke free of that deadly grip and went swinging away through the trees to safety. And Maug, son of Maug, never knew that the Mountains That Walk pulled down that giant cypress tree and trampled it into the mud or that, in their unquenchable fury, the entire herd (continued on page 64)
Gr
s n i f if
Open 7 Days A Week 9am-5:30pm
207-342-5872 368 Augusta Road (Rt.3) Belmont, ME
KEEPING YOU ON THE ROAD!
THE OTHER PLACE
Clothing & Accessories Hardware & Variety Goods ~ Blue Seal Feeds ~ “You Never Know What You May Find”
WEAVER’S
ROADSIDE VARIETY
COMMERCIAL & AUTO INSPECTIONS FULL SERVICE SHOP • RV SERVICE & TIRES
207-338-2300 97 CROCKER RD. • BELFAST, ME
Offshore Restaurant
Best in Local Seafood Daily Specials Lobsters • Clams • Scallops Haddock • Steamers Sandwiches • Burgers • Steaks Fresh Salad Bar with over 30 Items Prime Rib every Fri. & Sat. Cocktails • Children’s Menu Open Tuesday Thru Sunday Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Take out Available
~ Bakery & Catering ~ Gas • Full Deli Huge Beer Cave Agency Liquor Store
596-6804
We cater for any occasion and specialize in BARBEQUE
(across from Mini Golf)
342-5697
1386 Waterville Rd. • Waldo, Maine
Route One, Rockport
Air Conditioned
Midcoast Region
64
(continued from page 63) became mired and sank and died. Nor did he know that, eons later, scientists would dredge up a jumble of bones and ancient wood, not too distant from Friendship and Owl’s Head, and wonder how so many magnificent creatures came to die in one place, at one time, in such a profusion. But there are many interpretations.
Bucksport Golf Club
Longest Nine-Hole Golf Course in Maine Beautiful, well-maintained course with wide-open layout and characterized by spectacular views of hills and valleys.
Large Putting Green Chipping Greens • Driving Range 207-469-7612 • 397 State Route 46, Bucksport, ME
www.bucksportgolfclub.com
MAINELY POTTERY
Do You Enjoy Writing? Do You Love Maine? Do You Love History?
If so, give us a call. We Are Always Looking for history writers to contribute to our magazine!
Discover Maine Magazine (207) 874-7720 • 1-800-753-8684 BRYANT STOVE & MUSIC, INC. Come in and browse in the Bryant Stove Works Showroom. Visit Joe & Bea’s Doll Circus & Antique Museum
Antique Cars • Stoves Mechanical Music & Other Wonders
GENERAL STORE Pizza • Subs • Baskets • Cigs • Soda GAS • DIESEL PROPANE
OPEN 7 DAYS
207-568-3665
4 Pond Road • Burnham
B ryant St ove s.c om
Cold Beer • Deli Case
27 Stovepipe Alley • Thorndike, ME Just 4 miles from Unity on Rt. 220
Central Maine Maintenance & Builders Potter at work and works of 28 Maine potters
PATTERSON’S
207-948-3388
George Johnson Contractor Fully Insured
Plymouth, ME 04969
Open daily on Route 1 East Belfast
Residential ~ New Construction Renovations ~ Garages ~ Decks Additions ~ Kitchens Interior & Exterior Remodeling Roofing
207-338-1108
(207) 341-5120
MAINELYPOTTERY.COM
~ Over 35 years experience ~
Bucksport Hannaford 53 U.S. Route 1 Bucksport, ME 04416 207-469-3282
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The Phineas Heywood House in Bucksport, built in 1825. Item # LB2007.1.100344 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
Pet Friendly!
2076 Atlantic Highway, Route 1, Lincolnville, ME
Charming efficiency cottages with private decks and grills, all on three pine-covered acres. Studios, 1, 2 bedrooms, heat, AC, cable TV, Free WiFi, 1 with jacuzzi/fireplace. 4 miles from Camden, 2 miles to beach.
207.236.2929 info@pinegrovemaine.com www.pinegrovemaine.com
paul craig’s quality caring house painting
Jessica Vancil, O.D. Eye Health Examinations Diagnosis & Treatment of Eye Diseases Glasses • Contact Lenses Most Insurance Accepted
Accepting New Patients
207-469-3022
165 U.S. Route 1, Bucksport
VancilVisionCare.com
65 North Center Rd. Monroe, ME 04951
Andy’s Auto Repair Full Service Repair Shop
24 Hour Towing Home: 207-525-6648 Cell: 207-215-5678
Interior • Exterior • Fully Insured Reasonable Rates • Free Estimates
Andrew Webster-Owner
548-7277
Nights 525-4557
1 Back Searsport Rd. • Searsport, ME Open Mon-Fri. 7:30am - 5pm
Midcoast Region
66
Richard W. Feyler standing by his Feyler’s Sea Foods truck in Rockland, ca. 1959. Item # LB1992.301.307 from the Atlantic Fisherman Collection and www.PenobcotMarineMuseum.org
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DIRECTORY OF ADVERTISERS
BUSINESS
PAGE
3D Home Improvements ........................................................53 44 Degrees North Architects, LLC ...........................................39 A&G Fence ...........................................................................18 Advanced Quality Water Solutions ..............................................5 Alewives & Ales ........................................................................56 All-Seasons Automotive ......................................................37 Alpha-Omega Builders .........................................................48 American Awards Inc. ...........................................................34 AmeripriseAdvisors.com ...................................33 Andy’s Auto Repair ................................................................65 Armstrong Builders ..............................................................21 Atlantic Edge Lobster ...........................................................59 Augusta Tool Rental ...............................................................35 Austin Law Offices ...................................................................36 Bailey Island General Store ...................................................26 Balmy Days Cruises ...............................................................59 Bart Flanagan Tree Service ....................................................6 Belfast Area Chamber of Commerce.....................................52 Bennett’s Gems & Jewelry .....................................................54 BFC Marine .............................................................................8 Bill’s Driveway Sealcoating ....................................................58 Bill’s Garage ........................................................................26 Birgfeld’s Bike Shop .................................................................55 Bisson’s Center Store ...............................................................7 Black Bear Media Blasting & Construction ...........................54 Blood’s Garage .....................................................................50 Boothbay Harbor Chamber of Commerce ..............................41 Bowens Tavern .....................................................................53 Brooks Monuments ..............................................................62 Bryant Stove & Music, Inc. ....................................................64 Bucksport Golf Club .............................................................64 Bullwinkles Steak House & Bog Tavern ...................................44 C&J Chimney & Stove Service, LLC ...........................................3 C&S Market ..........................................................................11 C.Periwinkle & Co. .................................................................25 Cabot Mill Antiques ..............................................................21 Cahill Tire Pros .......................................................................29 Cameron’s Lobster House ....................................................23 Cantrell Seafood ...................................................................20 Canty Construction ..................................................................32 Cap ‘N Fish’s Whale Watch & Scenic Nature Cruises .........41 Capital Area Tree Service ........................................................10 Captain Mike’s ......................................................................6 Carl M.P. Larrabee Insurance ..................................................9 Cayouette Flooring, Inc. ..........................................................61 CCC Construction ................................................................33 Cedar Crest Inn .....................................................................50 Cedar Haven Family Campground .........................................18 Central Maine Maintenance & Builders ...............................64 China By The Sea ...................................................................57 China Rose of Freeport ........................................................19 Clark Auto Parts .....................................................................38 Clayton’s Cafe .....................................................................4 Coastal Maintenance Painting ...........................................41 Coggins Road Auto ..............................................................43 Come Spring Cafe ..............................................................48 Comfort Inn — Brunswick ......................................................22 Cornelia C. Viek, CPA .........................................................5 Creamer & Sons Landwork, Inc. .........................................29 Creative Catering ..............................................................55 Curtis Custom Meats ...........................................................45 Cushing Diesel Services .....................................................43 Daffy Taffy Factory & Fudge Factory ..................................41 Damariscotta Auto Repair ................................................56 Damariscotta Veterinary Clinic ..........................................56 Damon’s Beverage Mart ..................................................12 Dana Lawrence Tree Service .............................................11 Dan’s Towing ....................................................................52 Dave Blackwell Plumbing And Heating .................................20 Dave’s Diner ......................................................................10 David Murray Home Repair & Cottage Care .......................57 Davison Construction, Inc. ..................................................30 Day’s Crabmeat & Lobster, Inc. ..........................................16 Dews Door .........................................................................3 Don Harriman Plumbing & Heating .......................................51 Donald E. Meklin & Sons ....................................................61 Downtown Diner ............................................................12 Driscoll Tree Service ..........................................................24 Eastcoast Recovery & Road Service ................................58 Elmer’s Barn & Antique Mall .............................................10 Erica’s Seafood ..................................................................25 Evergreen Self-Storage ........................................................49 Fairground Cafe .............................................................21 Fat Boy Drive-In ..............................................................24 FishLips Take-Out .................................................................48 Five K-First Class Landscape Arborist ..................................38 Flagg’s Garage ...................................................................63 Fleet Service ..................................................................32 Freddie’s Service Center .....................................................13 Freeport Cafe ....................................................................4 Freeport Salon .....................................................................4 Fresh Off The Farm ...........................................................62 Gamebox Video Games & Comics .....................................19
BUSINESS
PAGE
Gardiner Apothecary ............................................................31 Gary Ladner Landscape Design, LLC ................................33 Gene Reynolds & Sons Paving Inc. ....................................31 Genuine Automotive Services ...........................................46 Georgetown Country Store ...................................................9 Georgetown Pottery .........................................................30 Giant Stairs Seafood Grill ..................................................29 Giles Rubbish ...................................................................57 Goggin’s IGA .......................................................................11 Goose River Golf Club ..........................................................49 Granite Hall Store ..............................................................42 Gray’s Homestead Ocean Campground ............................40 Griffins The Other Place ......................................................63 Gulf of Maine Books ...........................................................5 H.T. Jones Lawncare ..........................................................43 Haggett Hill Kennels ......................................................57 Haley Power Services .....................................................54 Hammond Lumber Company .............................................22 Hampton Inn - Bath .............................................................28 Hannaford — Bucksport ........................................................64 Harraseeket Inn ..............................................................17 Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster Company .............................19 Harry Doughty & Son Excavation .........................................26 Hatch Well Drillers ..............................................................56 Hawkes Tree Service .........................................................26 Hoppe’s Tree Service ...........................................................45 Houston-Brooks Auctioneers ...............................................3 Indian Trail Antiques ..........................................................39 Insulation Systems & Construction Services .......................20 Interstate Self Storage ........................................................4 J&H Marine ......................................................................60 J.Edward Knight & Co. ......................................................3 Jack’s Property Service ....................................................17 James C. Derby Housewright & Home Inspections ...............59 Jellison Traders ...................................................................13 Jensen’s Pharmacy ..........................................................48 Jess’s Market .................................................................48 John’s Ice Cream Factory ...................................................49 Joseph Andres Home Improvements ...............................10 Journey’s End Marina ........................................................46 K.V. Tax Service, Inc. ........................................................10 Katahdin Cruises ..............................................................16 Kirkpatrick’s Service & Repair ...........................................12 Knowles Mechanical Inc. ................................................36 Kokernak Generator Sales & Service ...................................32 Kopper Kettle ..................................................................20 L.R. Nadeau Inc. Excavation ..............................................32 Ladd’s Plumbing .............................................................33 Lake Pemaquid Campground ..............................................38 Lakeview Lumber Co. ..........................................................13 Lucas Construction ...........................................................50 Macomber, Farr & Whitten ...................................................13 Maine Foodie Tours ..........................................................48 Maine Historical Society .......................................................3 Maine Instrument Flight .......................................................35 Maine Lighthouse Museum ..................................................47 Maine Lobster Festival ...........................................................47 Maine Maritime Museum ...................................................30 Maine State Music Theatre .................................................23 Maine State Prison Showroom Outlet ...................................45 Maine Virtue Inc. ...............................................................60 Maine-ly Pawn Antiques, Furniture & More ...............................38 Mainely Pottery ...................................................................64 Mama D’s Cafe .................................................................41 Marine Parts Express .........................................................40 McNaughton Bros. Construction .........................................35 Metcalf’s Submarine Sandwiches .......................................38 Mid-Maine Construction ..................................................31 Milling Around LLC Antiques & Gifts .................................39 Mister Bagel — Yarmouth .......................................................16 Mobile Home Parts Unlimited ...............................................36 Monhegan Boat Line .........................................................46 Monkitree ......................................................................32 Montsweag Flea Market ....................................................29 Moody’s Diner ....................................................................43 Moosehead Marine Museum .............................................16 Morning Glory Natural Foods .............................................20 Morse’s Cribstone Grill ......................................................26 Morse’s Sauerkraut ............................................................59 Mount Battie Motel ..........................................................51 Mr. Tire & Company .............................................................44 Murray Builders ...................................................................62 Muscongus Bay Lobster ......................................................44 Oakland Park Bowling Center ...........................................49 Occupational Health Associates of Maine, PA ........................29 Offshore Restaurant .......................................................63 Park Street Grille ................................................................46 Pasta’z Italian Cuisine ........................................................32 Patterson’s General Store ..................................................64 Paul Craig’s Quality Caring House Painting .........................65 Peachey Builders ........................................................34 Pen-Bay Glass, Inc. ............................................................60 Penobscot Marine Museum ...............................................14
BUSINESS
PAGE
Perry’s Nut House ...........................................................53 Petrillo’s Food & Drink ..........................................................18 Phippsburg Shellfish ..........................................................8 Pine Grove Cottages ............................................................65 Pinkham’s Seafood ..........................................................58 Plant Memorial Home .........................................................27 Plumb Good Builders ......................................................23 Prock Marine Company ....................................................47 Pro-Rental of Rockport ...................................................61 Purse Line Bait ..................................................................7 Quahog Bay Inn .............................................................24 Quarry Run Disc Golf .......................................................11 Quick Turn Auto Repair & Towing .........................................40 R.J. Energy Services, Inc. .......................................................12 Raymond’s Barber Shop .................................................5 Red’s Automotive ...........................................................54 Red’s Eats ........................................................................31 Regional Rubbish Removal, Inc. ..........................................38 Reilly Well Drilling ..............................................................42 Relax Inn — Brunswick ........................................................6 Richard’s Restaurant & Edelweiss Lounge .............................7 Riverfront Barbeque & Grille ...........................................35 Rockland Mercantile Co. ...................................................61 Rocky’s ACE Hardware ......................................................26 Rocky’s Stove Shoppe .......................................................34 Rodeway Inn — Brunswick .....................................................25 Rolfe’s Well Drilling Co. .....................................................34 Sail Muscongus .................................................................40 Salt Cod Cafe ....................................................................7 Salt River Music Festival ......................................................57 Sarah J. Dunckel & Associates .............................................33 Sawyer Brothers Inc. ........................................................45 Scarborough’s Collision ..................................................39 Schooner Bay Motor Inn ..................................................49 Seagate Motel ..................................................................57 Sharp Landscape Construction & Snow Plowing ..................16 Shaw’s Fish & Lobster Wharf Restaurant ..............................43 Skip Cahill Tire Pros ...........................................................39 South Bristol Fisherman’s Co-Op ......................................42 Southern Midcoast Chamber of Commerce ...................19 Spinney’s Restaurant .....................................................28 Sprague & Curtis Real Estate ...............................................36 Sprague’s Lobster ........................................................30 St. Pierre Concrete Services ..............................................21 Steve Brann Building & Remodeling .....................................17 Strong-Hancock Funeral Home ......................................37 Tardiff Timber Sand & Gravel / Excavation .............................56 Thai Garden Restaurant ......................................................18 The Birches Resort ................................................back cover The Bradley Inn ...............................................................42 The Cabin ..........................................................................8 The Cashmere Goat ..........................................................62 The Chimney Doctor .........................................................5 The Cottages at Thomas & Orchard Lanes ....................27 The Country Inn ..................................................................50 The Driftwood Inn .............................................................25 The Gin Mill .......................................................................35 The Good Table ................................................................51 The Great Impasta ..........................................................22 The Miss Wiscasset Diner ...................................................31 The Salvation Army ............................................................46 The Sea Gull Shop ..................................................................58 The Southgate Family Restaurant .......................................9 The Tidewater Motel ..........................................................47 Thomaston Grocery ..........................................................44 Tim’s Heating & Cooling Sales & Service .............................9 Tom Finn Shoe Repair ......................................................11 Tri-State Staffing ...............................................................12 Uncle Gary’s “Stuff” ...........................................................12 Union Area Chamber of Commerce .................................61 Unique Spiral Stairs ........................................................52 Vail’s Tree Service ............................................................25 Vancil Vision Care ..........................................................65 Vasvary Electric .............................................................10 Vintage Barber Shop ..........................................................7 VintageMaineImages.com .....................................3 Waterfront Flea Market .....................................................5 Watson’s General Store .....................................................6 Wayne E. Johnston Trucking & Excavating, Inc. .....................37 Weatherbird .................................................................37 Weaver’s Roadside Variety ...............................................63 Weskeag Inn .................................................................60 Whitecap Builders ............................................................53 Wilson’s Drug Store .................................................................8 Winding Brook Turf ...........................................................15 Windsor Fair ..................................................................36 Windsor Preventive Dental Care .......................................37 Wiscasset, Waterville, Farmington Railway Museum ..........9 Woodard Tree Care ..........................................................54 Yankee Yardworks ............................................................18 Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce .......................................4 Yarmouth Clam Festival .......................................................4 Young’s Lobster Pound ....................................................52
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Midcoast Region