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Volume 26 | Issue 7 | 2017/18
Maine’s History Magazine
15,000 Circulation
Western Lakes & Mountains
Maine National Guard’s Company E Skohegan’s high school squad in World War I
Farmington’s John Allen The best-known man in Maine
On Beyond Rangeley
Two-footer railroads brought prosperity
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Western Lakes & Mountains Region
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Inside This Edition
Maine’s History Magazine 3
I t Makes No Never Mind James Nalley
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Maine-ly Vanity What do those license plates mean? Sandy Rose Thomas
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Toothpicks Round And Flat Dixfield’s claim to fame Charles Francis
12 Ronnie A little friendly competition Dale Murray 17 Maine National Guard’s Company E Skowhegan’s high school squad in World War I Sally Nelson 22 On Beyond Rangeley Two-footer railroads brought prosperity Jeffrey Bradley 26 Back There, In The Woods Even the hardest men can turn superstitious Jeffrey Bradley 29 A Gift To Greenville Charles D. Shaw brings books to Moosehead Lew-Ellyn Hughes 32 Waterville Lawyer William Heath A Civil War Hero A Maine At War exclusive Brian Swartz 40 Chuck Wagon Restaurant Celebrates 50 Years in Livermore Falls Brian Swartz 44 Bates Mill In Lewiston Producing results in times of uncertainty James Nalley 51 T he Maine Legislature’s 1910 Tax Proposal Idea went over like a lead balloon at the Otisfield Grange Hall Brian Swartz 55 Farmington’s John Allen The best-known man in Maine Sherwood W. Anderson 59 American Legion Coombs-Montfort Post 158 Honoring three Lisbon brothers Brian Swartz 62 Auburn Actor Ned Shepard Local boy made good in Hollywood Brian Swartz 64 Major Of The Tenth Maine Beloved Newfie a prized mascot Charles Francis
Western Lakes & Mountains
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
Contributing Writers Sherwood Anderson Jeffrey Bradley Charles Francis Lew-Ellyn Hughes Dale Murray James Nalley Sally Nelson 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.
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Front Cover Photo: Saddleback Camps in Rangeley. Item # LB2007.1.102157 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org All photos in Discover Maine’s Western Lakes & Mountains 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
lthough the theme of this month’s writing should be about the vast Western Lakes and Mountains Region, it is important to note that, on June 29, 1941, 35 passengers (mostly from Rumford and Mexico) set out from lower Casco Bay for what was to be an enjoyable, round-trip excursion to Monhegan Island. However, the 44-foot cabin cruiser Don sunk off the coast of Harpswell with everyone on board. The last communication from the sinking vessel was the following radio distress call: “If I don’t get off of this boat, then somebody’s gonna get thumped!”With no survivors, numerous theories regarding the cause of the sinking appeared, including being sunk by a German U-boat to the captain attempting to cash in on an insurance scheme. By July 1, the bodies of five women were found, thus raising more questions than answers. According to the Portsmouth Herald on July 1, 1941, “The motor vehicle operator’s license of Ann Stasulis of Rumford, was found in the clothing of one of the bodies. The vessel was reported to have reached Monhegan safely, indicating that the cruiser was homeward bound, through fog-bound waters, when its party
Daniel L. Steinke, D.D.S.
met death. Miss Stasulis’s body was found in the waters of Jacquish Island, several miles seaward from Bailey Island.” The article also stated that “the sea had been calm, but the coast had been enveloped in a thick fog since Sunday night.” The watches found on two of the bodies both stopped at 11:40, indicating the time of the incident. Eventually, John Stevens, the State Fisheries Warden, stated that the vessel “carried 150 gallons of gasoline, some in cans on deck, and it was particularly topheavy.” He added that it was “inadequately equipped with life preservers and none of the first nine recovered bodies (two men and seven women) had life preservers when they were found along the shores of Casco Bay.” In total, fourteen bodies were recovered, including that of Captain Paul Johnson. Only a few pieces of the Don and its equipment were found. Eventually, the most persistent theory was that the vessel was top-heavy and there were too many passengers sitting on top of the cabin, causing it to capsize. According to The Telegraph on June 29, 1966, “Investigators surmised that the other 20 passengers, whose bodies were never found, had been trapped below
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deck.” In 1963, two fishermen dragged up a section of her bow around Round Rock in the eastern section of Casco Bay. Well, if this article has piqued your interest, then there is a 2011 documentary titled, “Gone: The Mystery of the Don Disaster,” which provides more clues into this maritime tragedy. Meanwhile, let me close this sea-inspired yarn: Late one foggy night, two boaters collided while attempting to navigate a narrow inlet. Both boats were badly damaged and slowly sinking. As they watched their vessels slip away beneath them, the first boater said, “You know, this is a sign that we should always live life to the fullest.” “You are right,” said the other boater, after which he pulled out a bottle of whiskey. “Let’s drink to living well for the rest of our lives!” Feeling thankful, the first boater took the bottle and drank one-quarter of it and handed it to the other boater, who immediately threw it into the water. The first boater yelled, “Hey, you didn’t take a drink!” “Naw,” said the other boater, “I’ll just wait for the Coast Guard to show up.”
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Baptist Church and Roxbury Road in Mexico. Item # LB2007.1.101392 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
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Maine-ly Vanity What do those license plates mean? by Sandy Rose Thomas
F
or an air of mystery and intrigue, or for just plain old communication — why does an individual want to own a vanity plate? One can request a lobster, a loon, or a University of Maine theme when they purchase a license plate. The first passenger plate was issued in 1905. The Lobster Plate was the first vanity plate issued in May 2003, and the Chickadee plate was issued in 1999. For an additional fee, one can use their imagination and combine seven letters and numbers, and pay an additional $25.00 to say what they please. It is also interesting to note that Veteran plates issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles offer, with a fee exemp-
tion, Purple Heart plates to a veteran who is the recipient of this prestigious honor, as well as other types of veteran’s plates. Personally speaking, I find it totally fascinating the way some of the vanities really speak to me. For example: “I AM FINE,” “BAD BOY,” “GOOD GIRL,” AND “BASHFUL,” are really quite clear to understand. What I mean is, it is fairly obvious that the owners are telling us a little something about themselves. Actually, there have been days when I have been quite entertained and amused by simply reading a vanity plate. While on my way to work one morning, a 20-mile trek one way to Augusta, I noticed the vehicle ahead
of me displayed a vanity plate which read “LUNCH.” I hadn’t had time for breakfast that morning, and for some reason, by the time I arrived at work, I was ravenous! A little subliminal suggestion, no doubt. Other vanities conjure up individual images, somewhat the same as word association in psychology. I’m referring specifically to a vanity plate entitled “WHIP.” Now, what comes to mind when you read that word? Maybe; smart as a whip. Whipper snapper. Whip into action. Cowboys. A cooking tool. The wind. It’s fun in an inquisitive way to try to figure out what the owner has in mind. A Bronco that parked at my work (cont. on page 6)
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Western Lakes & Mountains Region
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(cont. from page 5) place for a short while bore the license plate which read “ANDIOM” and every time I saw it, it puzzled me. I struggled with my curiosity for quite a while — until one day it struck me like a bolt of lightning, and I laughed out loud. “AND-I-0-M,” and I said, of course, “and I owe ‘em.” Finally, I mustered enough courage to ask the owner what the license plate stood for. She only commented that it was a joke between her and her husband. So, my smugness in figuring out the plate was short-lived. I later learned the true story of the plate. The owner’s husband admired the race driver Mario Andretti — but every time she tried to say the name, it came out ANDIO MADRETTI. Oh well, so much for my detective work. Quite frequently I would see the same vanity plate pass me at about the same time and in the same general area on the road during the morning com-
mute to work. After a while I had the distinct feeling that I knew this person. “GOLFA” really calls to mind a unique image — the guy in the blue Datsun is a golfer, I surmised. Well, “that’s nice,” I thought, “I love to golf too. I wonder if I have ever seen him on the golf course.” Then, suddenly, while I’m right in the middle of the rotary, a Jeep passes by with the vanity plate “HECTIC.” “Sure as heck is,” I think to myself, realizing the driver actually communicated something to me. “Hello, did you say it was “HECTIC?” “I couldn’t agree with you more.” “Gee, there’s ‘MCGRAM’ again,” I wonder how the grandkids are, I have a few of my own, sure is great being a grandparent,” and it seems like she feels that way too! Here’s an interesting one: “DUSSO”…wonder if that one means “does so.” Maybe every time someone says “No, it doesn’t, they disagree? I love
positive people. It’s hard to keep my mind from wandering when I read “0-NATURAL” on the plate ahead of me. Oops, sorry, it’s hard to keep a straight face on that one. Ah, there goes “TEDEBR,” a guy in a Toyota. Can’t miss the meaning there. This driver can’t be mean or spiteful if someone calls him “TEDEBR.” One day I passed a snazzy looking red Citation with the plate “KIT KAT.” My imagination said, “must be someone who loves cats, or she thinks of herself as a kitten.” Oh such sweet names — makes you feel warm all over. Of course, when I noticed the plate “LION,” I immediately feel a kinship because my horoscope sign is Leo the Lion. Visions of the jungle pass through my mind — elephants, giraffes, zebras, and wild boars, yet I am still on Route 201 heading for Augusta. It’s no wonder why I arrive at work to-
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tally worn out some days! I noticed a plate just the other day that really cheered me up. It said simply: “YEAH.” I had just been thinking of something very pleasant. How nice to get positive feedback on my thoughts. There is no doubt in my mind that Mainers are affected by the weather, especially when recently I noticed a vanity plate that read, “CABNFEVR.” I can’t be sure if that place came before or after the most recent Nor’easter. Also I must admit the following plates managed to stir a response in my mind: ‘’GROWF” makes you feel like you should growf back. “S.TRUE,” reminds me of “YEAH,” very positive point of view. “EEE BOY,” must be a favorite saying, come to think of it, I’ve used that one before too. “DOG GON,” “IDVLDOG,” “HUSKY,” and “PEE TOO,” sort of go together, don’t you agree? “MONI brings to mind it must
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be time to win megabucks.” “BRMSTK” is one of my favorites, because I know a few people who qualify and they act like they could really use one. Finally, “SKI ON” SKI BUM” “FLYE” and “CHARGERS” must be sports enthusiasts. “BIGSHOT” “PINASH,” and “XLENT,” may, however, only be totally in the opinion of their owners. And “STILKIKN,” is probably one we are all grateful for. “FORU2C2IT” tells me that we should all become proactive in our positive efforts. We hear a lot about road rage these days, and the havoc of these actions. If alternately, one observes the friendly and communicative side of fellow travelers, rather than focusing on their occasional driving mistakes, (who hasn’t made one) often unintentional, the roadways would provide a safer and more enjoyable environment for all commuters. I’m all for that, how about you?
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Toothpicks Round And Flat by Charles Francis
Dixfield’s claim to fame
M
ore toothpicks are made in Maine than anywhere else. A good many Mainers believed this once and a fair number still do. It’s wrong, though. It’s just one of the many misconceptions about toothpicks in general and Maine-made toothpicks. Here are a few more misconceptions about toothpicks. Toothpicks — most anyway — are made of birch. Toothpicks became popular because of a marketing ploy associated with the World’s Fair of 1939. Charles Forster of Maine invented the toothpick. Charles Forster also figured out how to make the first toothpick machine. All the above misconceptions about
toothpicks have something to do with Maine. One of the reasons for this is that Charles Forster of Buckfield had a lot to do with making toothpicks popular, and Forster mostly used Maine white birch for his toothpicks. Another of the reasons Maine figures prominently in toothpick lore must do with the fact that Strong was once billed as the toothpick capitol of the world. Wrapped up with this latter notion is the idea that the Maine toothpick history centers in Strong. It doesn’t. If you start researching the Maine toothpick in any real depth you keep on running across Dixfield. If any Maine town deserves to be called the birthplace
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of the toothpick, it’s Dixfield. There are those who will argue this, however. They point to the famous “World’s Fair Round” toothpick as originating in Strong. The World’s Fair being referenced here is the World’s Fair of 1939. The first World’s Fair round toothpicks were marketed in conjunction with the St. Louis World’s Fair of 1904. These “round” toothpicks were the brainchild of Charles Freeman and date to before the St. Louis World’s Fair. Charles Freeman became a business associate of Charles Forster just prior to 1870. Freeman was a machinist and in charge of toothpick production at several of Forster’s early plants.
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com Their first factory was in Sumner. The Sumner mill burned in 1871. They then moved to Canton. In 1875 they moved to Dixfield. The first Forster and Freeman toothpicks were flat. These were marketed under the name “Ideal.” Because they were flat the ends splintered and broke easily. Freeman’s solution was to devise a machine process that produced compressed and rounded toothpicks. The new toothpicks came out before the 1904 World’s Fair. They came out at a time when a lot of new products were being touted as “new and improved World’s Fair,” hence the new toothpicks were tagged “World’s Fair” round toothpicks. It was Forster who patented the new toothpick. This meant he owned the rights to the creation and therefore had a monopoly on “round” toothpicks. These rights traveled with him and were a part of the trademarked Estate of Charles Forster, which operat-
ed a factory under that name in Strong. Forster’s first toothpick patent had come by way of the B. F. Sturtevant Co. of Boston. The B. F. Sturtevant Co. made wooden shoe pegs. Forster worked for B. F. Sturtevant. He saw that toothpicks could be made in much the same way as shoe pegs. Sturtevant set Forster up so that he could make toothpicks. However, toothpicks were just a sideline for the Sturtevant company. In the late 1860s Forster acquired the rights to the Sturtevant shoe peg-derived toothpick process. It was for the manufacture of “flat” toothpicks. The point to the above is that “World’s Fair” round toothpicks were marketed before 1910. The dates for the “World’s Fair” name in Strong run from 1910 to 2002. The “World’s Fair” name dates to Dixfield. This brings us back to some of the other misconceptions cited above. Un-
til very recently the largest toothpick maker in the world was Brazil. Today it is China. There was a time when Maine had the largest toothpick factory in the world: this was the Strong factory. White birch is the wood of choice for Maine toothpicks. Brazilian toothpicks are make of woods indigenous to that country. China likewise uses native woods, including bamboo. Charles Forster did not patent the first toothpick machine. J.P Cooley and Silas Noble patented the first machine specifically to manufacture toothpicks in 1872. The toothpick itself dates to prehistoric times. Dixfield more than any other Maine town is central to the history of the Maine toothpick. The mill Charles Foster opened after leaving Canton was on the Mexico side of Webb’s River. That mill has been described as “practically a Dixfleld industry.” In 1904 Charles Forster’s son Mau(cont. on page 10)
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(cont. from page 9) rice, along with John Harlow and George Merrill, began operating the Forster Manufacturing Company of Dixfield. The company’s chief product was toothpicks. It was one of the principal competitors of the toothpick plant operated by the Estate of Charles Forster in Strong. The Forster Manufacturing Company of Dixfield was succeeded by the Berst-Forster-Dixfield Company in 1916. It was in turn succeeded by the Diamond Match Company. The Diamond Match association with Dixfield-made toothpicks commenced sometime between 1945 and 1947. We now turn to a concise distinction in the manufacture of flat and round Maine-made white birch toothpicks. Dick Drummond was the long-time plant manager of Diamond Match in Dixfield. Here in part are Drummond’s words on the manufacturing of toothpicks at the Dixfield Diamond
plant. ‘‘Flat toothpicks are made from veneer-quality white birch.... Inside the mill, it is cut into 2-foot lengths and debarked. It is [then] delivered to the production department, where it is veneered into rolls of strips on a wood-turning lathe. The rolls are fed into choppers, which chop individual picks at very high speed from the strips. ...[Green] toothpicks are conveyed to a dryer and a rotary polisher. Defective picks are removed by screening equip* Other businesses from this area are featured in the color section.
ment as the toothpicks move through the polisher. Then the toothpicks are conveyed to packing equipment, where they are put into boxes and then into cases. Round toothpicks are made in almost the same way, except that before they reach the polisher, they go through a machine that puts points on both ends.’’ The above is rather vague as to the manufacture of round toothpicks. A more succinct way of describing the creation of round toothpicks is as follows: round toothpicks are stamped out of a slightly thicker sheet of wood before being passed through a machine called a “rounder,” which grinds them into round, tapered stickers. There is, of course, more to the history of the toothpick in Maine, including the decline of the industry. Our subject, however, has been the history and development of the toothpick in Maine. For that, one looks to Dixfield.
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Record’s Camps in Carrabasset. Item # LB2007.1.102354 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
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Western Lakes & Mountains Region
12
Ronnie by Dale Murray
A little friendly competition
R
onnie leveled the .22 carefully and squeezed the trigger. Unperturbed, the partridge pecked at the gravel along the side of Ragmuff Road that led us from the Great Northern camps at Caucomgomoc Lake back towards Greenville. Sitting beside my dad in the front seat of the car, I laughed inwardly, the laugh of the cocksure. The shot had not kicked up the dirt near the bird. In fact, it was so far off the mark there was no way to tell if it was up high, down low, to the right or to the left. I smirked to myself. Ronnie pulled back the bolt and drove in another round. I knew he felt the pressure of my presence behind him. How could he not? We were thirteen years old and
had grown up together. We had competed for bragging rights in everything we did for as long as I could remember. He usually won. I knew how much he wanted me to witness his shooting prowess. I knew how much he needed to be top dog. He wanted me to squirm again. I hoped just as fervidly that he would miss. I smirked again. After all, a leg of my first deer kill protruded from the trunk of the car. Although Ronnie had not witnessed the shot, he knew that the kill was mine because my dad had said so. In our town, nobody doubted the veracity of String Murray. Ronnie re-sighted, taking even more time to be sure of his shot, and he fired. The bird raised its head and stretched
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its neck as if to fly. Unable to make sense of the rifle’s report or the idling of the car, it relaxed and resumed its meal. Even with Ronnie’s dad in the back seat, I laughed out loud. Dad shushed a quick lesson in hunting etiquette. Ever swift to discern when he was serious, I stopped. However, my face masked my inner revelry as Ronnie prepared for a third attempt. I hoped he would miss again. How sweet that would be! What a story I’d share with all our friends. Imagine taking three shots at a partridge only three car lengths away and coming up empty. I prayed to the goddess of the hunt. And he did miss! I couldn’t believe it! He had missed three times in a row.
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STRATTON
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Life was good. Life was perfect. I had hit my deer on the run with Dad as my witness. Ronnie couldn’t hit a partridge standing perfectly still at thirty feet. Then Ronnie surprised me. He was usually very impatient, quick to give up. Both of us were. This time, however, he showed some fortitude. Without looking back at us, he loaded another round as he tentatively stepped a little closer to increase his odds. His boots crunched the crystallized gravel and the car’s engine knocked its irregular rhythm, but the bird kept feeding, oblivious to the threat. I marveled that it didn’t fly, and I’m sure Ronnie was puzzled, too. It didn’t even move into the taller grass only inches away. The cold November air had turned the reluctant flyer into a virtual sitting duck. Again, Ronnie took aim and fired, and again he missed. This time the bird didn’t even lift its head. My patience left me. Dad’s borrowed .32 Special rested between my
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legs, and I fingered it. I knew Ronnie was a good shooter because we had often shot rats together at the town dump. In fact, he was better than I was, but it was my deer in the back of the car so I boorishly wore my confidence right where everybody else had to deal with it. It didn’t occur to me that there might be a reason Ronnie was missing. I just wanted to jump out of the car, shove him aside and shoot that bird. I bit my lip as he set up for a fifth try. He still didn’t look back at us. All this time he had kept his eyes on the target, and he had wasted no time ejecting the spent shells and pushing in another. He aimed, leaned into the shot and let go again. Unbelievably, he missed again. This time I reached for the door handle to get out. I was sure I could do better even with the .32. After all, I had already nailed a running deer. How difficult could it be to hit a motionless bird? I had one foot on the road when I felt a hand on my shoulder.
“Stay put,” Dad said. “This is Ronnie’s turn.” “Come on, Dad. He can’t hit the planet,” I whined. Then, remembering the lore of the woods that I had heard often but had not internalized, I said, “If we don’t get it soon, it’ll take off.” “Dale, you got your deer. Give Ronnie a chance.” “He’s had five chances,” I complained. “You know I can hit it. I hit the deer on the run. This is easy.” Pleadingly, I looked into his eyes, but he was resolute. It was clear that my turn was over. “Even if he gets it, it won’t be the same,” Dad said. “Shooting a partridge is not the same as shooting a deer. You’ve already got bragging rights this weekend.” Dad worked hard to help me understand, but the lesson was lost to adolescent greed and ego. I closed the door and slouched back in my seat, chafing at the injustice of it all as Ronnie missed yet again. Inwardly, I groaned. Sure, (cont. on page 14)
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(cont. from page 13) I had had my opportunities during the weekend, but so had Ronnie who now had missed for an incredible sixth time. I was beside myself. How long did Dad intend to let this go on? It seemed he could care less if the bird escaped. Only years later would I understand his motives, his integrity. Only when I guided my own son towards his first kill would I value the basic truths that my dad stressed every time we entered the woods. Angry, confused, thirteen, I glowered at Ronnie. The afternoon waned with each of his fruitless attempts, and he wasted the little time that remained for locating more birds or even another deer. Uncharacteristically intent on his task, patient to a fault in my mind, he painstakingly prepared his next attack. Why couldn’t he finish it? Why didn’t he fly off into a rage of frustration and quit as he usually did? Why didn’t he throw a rock at it and stomp away? As the sun raced for its respite behind
the ridge tops, time stood still for me. I sulked. Without turning my head, I glowered at Dad, too. I damned his strict moral code and all the platitudes about sharing and enjoying a friend’s success. I weighed those tenets. None of them fit the circumstances. I had shared six times already. Was it somehow important that I agonize through six more attempts? In fact, Ronnie shot seven more times at that most unusual bird and missed seven more times. I don’t remember if the bird flew off or if it simply ambled into the alders. I don’t remember each shot or Ronnie’s demeanor as he returned to the car. I was beyond caring. Later that evening as we bounced our way past the Pittston Farm, Ronnie and I reviewed the weekend. Surprisingly, he was not angry or embarrassed that he had nothing to show for thirteen shots. He simply explained that he had missed so many times because he had been shooting at
the head, that ever-bobbing mini-target. It had not entered my mind that there might be a reason for his failure. I had been too intent on our competition and too caught up in my own success to appreciate any reasons so I barely acknowledged his explanation. Instead, to divert attention back to his failures, I feigned that I was a worthy partner by parroting some of Dad’s sage advice. I complimented Ronnie on a good try and told him that I wished he’d gotten the bird, but I didn’t really mean any of it. Inwardly, I glowered, not realizing then that Ronnie had grown up, that he had a taken a step towards manhood. I did not understand that he had discovered the secret of self-assurance that would serve him for his lifetime. I did not grow up that weekend. I simply gloried in the moment knowing that I would be the star at school for the next week, not Ronnie.
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Old freight house in Madison, ca. 1900. Item # 1448 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com
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Early view of Prospect Street in Skowhegan. Item # LB2010.9.121490 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
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Maine National Guard’s Company E Skowhegan’s high school squad in World War I by Sally Nelson
S
hortly after the United States entered World War 1 on April 6, 1917, eight Skowhegan High School students enlisted in Company E of the Maine National Guard. These students became known as the High School Squad. Company E, 2nd Infantry, Maine National Guard, was made up entirely of men from Skowhegan and the surrounding farms. At that time, it was customary for towns to organize their own National Guard units, much like the militia in earlier times. Led by Captain Roy L. Marston, the company
held drills and received high commendations from national officers. They were sent to Mexico in April 1916 to help quell the Pancho Villa expedition. When they returned, they continued to drill to be ready if called upon to enter the war in Europe. Captain Marston received a call from the Adjutant General early in the morning of April 13, 1917, and by 8 o’clock that morning all the whistles in town sounded on the agreed-upon signal calling the men to the armory. In 15 minutes every soldier living in the village was at the armory, and by noon the
men from the farms had arrived. Many more Skowhegan volunteers then joined Company E, the most famous being the High School Squad. Among the first to volunteer were eight young men from Skowhegan High School, including five seniors, just weeks away from graduation. Their names were Clyde C. Badger, Cassimir A. Bisson, Alvan W. Bucknam, John D. Emery, Ralph Merrow, Harry D. St. Ledger, Brooks Savage, and Carl W. Tobey. Company E was formally mustered into the U. S. Army on August 5, 1917. (cont. on page 18)
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(cont. from page 17) They joined other New England units to become the famous 26th or Yankee Division; specifically the 2nd Maine became part of the 103rd regiment of this division. The High School Squad and the rest of Company E were sent to Westfield, Massachusetts for more training and remained there until September 22nd. However, the five seniors were allowed leave to return to Skowhegan for their high school graduation. The Independent Reporter, a local paper, wrote, “It was indeed a touching sight to see the youthful patriots in khaki, stand together at the time of the awarding of diplomas.” Company E and the 103rd Infantry sailed for England in late September and then on to France in mid-October where they began training under the French. Sergeant Brooks Savage wrote to the Independent Reporter about their experiences: “After arriving in France
our division spent about three months in a training area centered about Neuf Chateau. Here we are instructed by the British and the French. The British showed us how to use our bayonets and the French instructed us on the use of grenades and the automatic rifle.” As Christmas approached, people in Skowhegan were very generous to their soldiers in Europe. The Class of 1918 at Skowhegan High School sent a package to their classmate Ralph Merrow who responded “Just a few lines today to say I received your nice package. Believe me, I was sure glad to get the candy as well as the cigarettes, for we cannot get either in this country. I would like to be back at school and enjoying the high school life, but I think my country needs me more at the present time, but I hope I will be back soon.” On February 6, 1918, Company E and the High School Squad moved to
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the front lines near Chemin des Dames on the Soissons Front. It was here that the regiment experienced its first combat, coming under artillery and gas attacks. On April 1, the 103rd transferred to the Toul Front which was threatened by a German offensive. The regiment remained at Toul for three months, experiencing heavy fighting. On June 16, the Germans launched a heavy raid against the 103rd at Zivray. Corporal Casimir Bisson and Corporal Ralph Merrow were both seriously wounded at Zivray. The next position held by the 103rd was on the Chateau-Thierry Front, where they took part in the assault on June 18th. Casimir Bisson described the scene in a letter printed in The Independent Reporter, “I can remember that the smoke was thick as fog among the trees and the air was full of the smell of gases and burned powder. Branches, and even trees, were falling all around
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com us, and big shells then would throw the boys over, even if they were some distance away.” Corporal Alvan Bucknam and Corporal Harry St. Ledger were both struck by machine gun bullets and killed during this siege and Corporal Cassimir Bisson and Corporal Brooks Savage were both wounded. After a brief respite, the 103rd went on the offensive again on August 12th on the St. Mihiel Front. Here Carl Tobey of the High School Squad received a severe shell wound in the arm. On November 8th, the 103rd took part in the great Allied offensive of the Meuse-Argonne. On November 10th, the day before the Armistice, Sergeant Brooks Savage was hit in the leg by high explosives. After the war ended, Skowhegan and Somerset County honored the returned soldiers with what the local paper called “one of the grandest and biggest public events ever held in the
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Members of the Skowhegan high school squad county seat, Skowhegan.” There was a huge parade which included about 500 soldiers in uniform, led by Lieut. Col. Roy L. Marston and Capt. John W. Healy. Wounded men of Company E were driven in a car. There were other decorated cars and floats from various
organization in Skowhegan as well as from the surrounding towns. The Independent Reporter published a picture of the eight men of the High School Squad as well as an article which said “These young men, although students, were among the first (cont. on page 21)
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gone fishing! MAY 27–OCTOBER 15,2017
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Route One, Searsport, Maine 04974 207-548-2529
Photo from Penobscot Marine Museum’s Carroll Thayer Berry Collection
21
DiscoverMaineMagazine.com (cont. from page 19) to volunteer when the call came and they have proven themselves men of finest qualities. Fighting shoulder to shoulder they have taken part in many battles, two of their number paying the Supreme sacrifice at Chateau Thierry.” The members of the High School Squad were identified in the picture. Reading from left to right, standing: Corporal Ralph Merrow, severely wounded; Sergeant Cassimir Bisson, severely wounded; Corporal Harry St. Ledger, killed in action; bugler Clyde Badger; seated, Sergeant Carl Tobey, severely wounded; Corporal Alvan Bucknam, killed in action; Sergeant Brooks Savage, severely wounded, and 2nd Lieutenant John D. Emery.
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View of Main Street in Bethel, ca. 1935. Item # 6587 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com
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Western Lakes & Mountains Region
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On Beyond Rangeley Two-footer railroads brought prosperity by Jeffrey Bradley
S
eems like 1879 was a banner year for Franklin County. The trains arrived. And not your standard gauge 4-foot 8½-inch-wide rails, either, like Maine Central’s that terminated at Farmington. Pushing up the Sandy River valley past the natural obstacles then up and over the forest-crowned summits to Rangeley needed a special kind of railway. A miniature one. And so, the economical narrow-gauge railroads evolved that fit the bill exactly. Tracks just two feet wide carrying Disneyesque rolling stock not half the size of regular trains meant cheaper start-up costs and engines able to chug up steeper grades on tighter curves — and all of
it on a system much easier to manage — which made these half-pint systems ideal for penetrating the wilderness. “Two-Footer” railroads were a concept brought back to the States by an enterprising businessman after a visit to Wales. Only five uniquely-Maine narrow gauge common-carrier railroads (they hauled mail, freight and passenger service) were ever built. The Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad became the biggest, stretching for a lengthy 130 miles in Franklin County. Abandoned in 1935, one section of line morphed into a tourist excursion ride in 1970. Operating under the Phillips Histori-
cal Society, the train became a big hit. Why not? Rumbling through the scenic woods on those swaying vintage coaches with the wheels clickity-clacking along over the rails to the piercing shriek of the engine’s whistle transports just about anybody back to that glorious era of steam. The Sandy River Railroad (the SRR) began its 18-mile run between Farmington and Phillips via Strong in 1879. Strong also, in 1883, became the jumping-off point for railroads that headed due north. The first, the Franklin and Megantic Railroad, passed through Salem before terminating at Kingfield. From there, the line went as
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com far as Carrabassett via the Kingfield & Dead River Railroad before bending west to Bigelow. Passenger service was profitable, but the plywood mill at Carrabassett, Kingfield’s wood-turning mills, the big mill at Bigelow, and the toothpick and clothespin concerns at Strong really brought in the revenue. Meanwhile, back on the northwest corridor that branched out of Strong, where the SRR stopped at Phillips, the first leg of the Phillips and Rangeley Railroad (the P&R) was accomplished in 1890. From Reeds Mills, the train toiled 800 feet up a series of switchbacks and perilous grades through the nearly nine impassable miles of Orbeton Stream canyon between Saddleback Mountain and Mount Abraham before gaining the Redington sawmill perched on the summit of Sluice Hill. (These indomitable but miniscule trains even carried passengers over the spur to Barnjum during the winter!) Tracking the remaining 28½ miles through Eu-
stis Junction to Rangeley enabled the P&R to begin regular through service to Farmington just one year later. This “Rangeley Express” had to maintain a three-trains-a-day schedule to carry the crowds of “city swells” to that popular lakeside resort! The little network continued to grow. Nearly a half-mile of new track was added in 1906 to connect the lodge at Rangeley to a rustic stone station favored by tourists, while lines branched north and west from Madrid to harvest timber and serve mills like the one found at Toothaker Pond. Soon long freights began to emerge from the hills pulled by, at least according to dinky standards, large locomotives. Passenger traffic rose markedly too, as the once-isolated communities began to link up with the wider world. Eventually the activity turned Phillips into an important depot for repairing engines and constructing new freight cars, and Strong became a bustling passenger
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hub. Financially, everything seemed coming up roses. Yet, trouble was brewing. The light 35-lb steel rails used on much of the system were not capable of handling consistently heavy loads, and the branch lines began to close as the forests disappeared. And vehicular car and truck traffic made inroads despite the efforts to use “railbuses”— literally rail-modified city buses — to replace more expensive steam passenger trains. Declining revenue sent management into a tailspin. As lines became overextended, others would rush in to seize the defaulted bonds, form a subsidiary of some kind or another, put the forfeit properties into receivership, then sell everything off at an auction — to themselves! Lines were leased, merged, changed names, or outright disappeared, with management somehow seeming always able to make a profitable deal. (cont. on page 24)
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(cont. from page 23) To most folks it was all about as clear as Pluto on a cloudy night. In 1908 a banker from Gardiner finally stepped in to purchase a controlling interest and consolidate the whole shebang into the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad. But the heyday of the dinkies was over. Sadly, attempts to improve the remaining line only deferred the reckoning. Following its demise, the rolling stock was sold or burned, the locomotives scrapped, the rails ripped up and carted away… leaving behind only the long empty grades, the forlorn and weed-choked buildings, and the occasional boxcar or passenger coach parked forever on a forgotten siding. But for a half a century and more, the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad was the largest, best managed and most superbly equipped narrow gauge railroad line in America. And that’s saying something.
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Back There, In The Woods Even the hardest men can turn superstitious by Jeffrey Bradley
L
ogging camps in Maine during the 1800s attracted all kinds of characters. Maliseet Indians, British settlers, French-Canadians, Acadians, even unskilled laboring toughs from the teeming slums of the East Coast cities, all found reasons — a lot of them bad — to take up life as a lumberjack in the remote North Woods. Today, TV’s Deadliest Catch bills itself as “the most dangerous job in America.” Maybe. But pulling crab pots from the stormy sea is peanuts compared to what men faced who went into the forest to hew giants.
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An old black and white photograph shows five timber cutters seated some 30 feet in the air on a massive stump, legs dangling, while another depicts a logger dwarfed by a freshly-felled monster spruce posed in the same way as a big-game hunter with his trophy. Mostly, timber axes, crosscut saws, hand wedges and primitive jacks were used to topple these trees. That, and raw human power. Cold trees are easier to chop, so from sunup to sundown, six days a week, the arduous work was carried out mostly during the extremes of winter when cold kept the sap from run-
ning. This kind of labor required huge amounts of energy, and the men were fed well and paid well. They earned it. Swift death or injury could come in many forms: falling trees, falling from trees, runaway rolling logs, and axe accidents only name a few. Then there were those infamous log drives of spring when the boldest, most reckless men would ride the huge rafts of jumbled logs downstream to the waiting mills past thundering whitewater rapids made infinitely worse by the cascading flumes of meltwater that gushed from the hills. And when steam-driven tech-
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com nology arrived and shifted the industry into a global dominance, the possibilities of sustaining a life-altering injury increased exponentially. One of the reasons the loggers of Somerset County were known as “the manliest of men” was because the occupation took so many lives. So pervasive was this daily menace to life and limb that myths and legends arose to try and explain it. In towns like Jackman, Bingham, Caratunk and Moose River that dot the region, folklore still hints at the alarming propensity of folks over the years who simply vanished within these foreboding woods. Hazing may be behind some of these stories, or drinking, or attempts by rivals to ward off the competition from a vanishing resource. What can’t be explained, however, is why even the most trivial of camp occurrences became invested with such profound meaning. The gray jays, for exam-
ple, that followed the camp through the woods looking to pilfer practically anything that wasn’t nailed down, were strictly “off limits” to any kind of retribution — everyone knew that the noisy little birds were just the prankish spirits of departed woodsmen. And any white owl flying into camp was sure to cause a commotion, for the men would throw down their tools and walk off the job muttering that a site so obviously haunted by ghosts was no fit place to work. This confusing blend of swagger and belief in fairy stories left many men taking the bunkhouse tales of disaster always about to befall seriously because, after all, disaster was always befalling. And the strain seemed more than some could bear. At day’s end, after a hard bout of drinking, certain types were known to stand at the outskirts of camp and bellow the names of lost comrades into the night. It was said of
them that they drank and they brawled, and they brawled and they drank, and that they also tore down trees. It was also said that not even the most brazen among them would go in the woods alone after dark. And as the stands of timber dwindled, and camps were pushed ever deeper into the wilderness, the tales grew wilder still. Maybe because of what was whispered to be inhabiting the gloom. Will-am-alones, apparently, were evil little creatures that rolled poisonous acorns into the ears of sleeping woodsmen, who suffered serious headaches as a result (or was it that batch of illegal liquor consumed during the night?) Or the Wendigo, a shadowy Indian spirit with a voice that sighed like wind through the branches, which was known to leave huge moccasin prints in the snow that spelt doom for anyone foolish enough to cross them. And (cont. on page 28)
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(cont. from page 27) Ding-ball, a cougar-sized critter with a gnarly, hairless and club-like tail, supposedly used this weapon — after first luring unwary persons from their cabins at night by singing in a seductively human voice — to bash their skulls in and then eat them. Worst, perhaps, of all, was the Razor-shins. Quicker than a wildcat and meaner than any two wolverines, this horror possessed a razor-sharp pair of shinbones and an insatiable thirst for whiskey. Newly arrived “green-hands” were especially encouraged to buy a jug of whiskey and place it outside their tent at night. If pacified, Razor-shins just might reward the newbie by felling a tree with those extra-sharp shins of his; but woe to anyone failing to leave out the tribute jug; for they could just as easily be used to scalp a man with a single kick! Now, tell a motley crew of stressedout misfits — never the ones to pass up
a drink, either — over and over again that the only thing between them, the camp, and some howling nameless entity is a batch of illicit whiskey, is it any wonder, then, that many a greenhorn, and even a grizzled veteran or two, actually did go stumbling into the night in search of moonshine? Picture the scene. On a night that’s darker than the inside of your pocket a dismal fog arises while some poor drunken soul goes lurching down a logging trail and into the forest. Half-hidden rocks, vasty craters, and gigantic and twisty stumps seem oddly intent on guiding the wretch under the trees whose branches may or may not be swaying unwholesomely in the wind. A distant owl hoots, as from behind comes the distinct sound of a stepped-on twig going tik! A sudden shadow looms, monstrous and leering. Lightning flicks and thunder dooms as the bleary-eyed searcher peers into the dreadful murk,
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hoping it’s all just a ghastly joke. But then he appears to tread on some squealing, floundering white-thing that latches instantly onto his leg, chattering madly. With his last nerve shattered, he goes pitching headlong down the ever-narrowing path in blind panic while what sounds like a giant wet and sloppy sponge begins following. Peal after peal of his horrified shrieks pierce the clammy night air only to echo back hollowly off the now-mocking trees. Fear closes in behind him as he dashes deeper and deeper into this brooding madness, Maine’s remotest interior, the depths of the forest, the heart of darkness... And only God knows exactly what was lurking, back there, in the woods.
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A Gift To Greenville Charles D. Shaw brings books to Moosehead by Lew-Ellyn Hughes
T
he first settlers to the Moosehead Lake area were men and women eager to build a life by farming the rich soil and harvesting the plentiful timber. Those determined folks cleared tracks of land, built homes and laid foundations for the citizens who would follow. A number of civic-minded philanthropic followers built personal lumbering fortunes and public buildings that remain standing today, long after they have been laid to rest. Charles D. Shaw was one of those philanthropic souls. Born in Greenville in 1852, twelve years after his parents arrived in town, he would grow up to work alongside his father and brothers as they built a successful lumbering company. The Shaw men would be-
come Maine’s richest lumber barons. The Shaw family was active in the advancement of Greenville, the new, budding community they chose to call home. They established a stage line from Greenville to Kokadjo for mail and passengers. They are credited with important town developments such as the electric light, the water company and telephone service. The offices of these businesses were housed in Shaw Block, a family-funded building in the middle of town that continues to stand, an impressive Greenville landmark. In 1906 Charles and his son Henry separated from the family business and began producing lumber on their own under the name H.M. Shaw Manufacturing Company. To protect his in-
vestment in the vast forests that fed his business, Charles Shaw built the first fire tower in the state atop Squaw (now Moose) Mountain. Shaw also built a portable sprinkler system to spray winter logging roads, allowing for firmer travel and an extended hauling season. And so his fortunes grew, but his personal life would not be so fortunate, for all four of his children would predecease him, three as young children. Charles’ only child to reach adulthood would also die young, by his own hand at the age of thirty-nine. The papers of that era called his suicide a result of “temporary insanity” although his health had been poor and he suffered from insomnia and “a depressed spirit.” (cont. on page 30)
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(cont. from page 29) After the death of his son Henry the devastated elder Shaw sold the lumber business and retired. Out of the family tragedy of suicide came a blessing for the town of Greenville — a library. Henry was one of three citizens of the growing community who began the town library in 1910. He would stay involved in this quickly growing endeavor, and at the time of his death was a member on the board of trustees. Although it has not been put to paper, it was generally understood that Charles Shaw’s gift to the town of a library was in honor of his son. The Shaw family is identified with establishing the lumber industry in the area, but the Shaw Public Library is the legacy for which Charles Shaw is most remembered. Greenville’s library was like a growing, wandering child. It was born in 1910 in the village post office — a building that is no longer standing. It was open one night a week. By 1913 the library had outgrown that space,
and at the invitation of the Shaw family was moved to Shaw Block where, because of the generosity of the H.M. Shaw Manufacturing company it enjoyed “comfortable quarters with light and heat provided at no extra charge.” The library continued to grow in popularity and size and soon outgrew that provision as well. Because it was housed in the Shaw Block building where the family offices where housed, along with the offices of banking, real estate, public utilities companies (it was the first building in town to have electricity) a post office and the town’s first theater, Charles Shaw was aware of its continual special challenges. In 1924 Shaw began construction of a new brick building, and in 1925, amid considerable fanfare, gifted the town with a $25,000 library building — finally the “child” had a permanent home. This child is still growing and in 2009 a fund raising project began to build an addition: a children’s section that is today
a beautiful space. With the completion of the Davis Annex, the growth of this library has come full circle. Mr. Shaw was known as one who would rather give than receive, and his generosity continued after his death. His estimated $750,000.00 estate would be spread over a large group of people and several persons to whom he left monies were encouraged to “...share and share alike.” But in at least two cases, he did not follow his own advice. His second wife, Nettie Barbour, as the result of a prenuptial agreement, would receive nothing, as would the female graduates of Greenville High School. The male graduates would be gifted up to one-thousand dollars apiece to further their educations via Shaw’s “Worthy Poor Fund” (a scholarship that continues to provide graduating students with educational needs beyond the halls of Greenville High). This gift to the males was only simply a sign of the times, not the short-sightedness of the man who
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A view of downtown Skowhegan in the time of the trolley car, ca. 1930. Item # 6285 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com
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Waterville Lawyer William Heath A Civil War Hero A “Maine At War” exclusive by Brian Swartz
B
eing a lawyer was not a particularly dangerous profession in the Pine Tree State in summer 1862, so when disease struck down attorney Reuel Williams and old age claimed attorney James L. Child, members of the Kennebec County Bar planned to adopt resolutions honoring the two lawyers. But the Civil War struck violently close to home on Friday, June 27, as Confederate and Union divisions battled at an obscure Virginia landmark known as Gaines’ Mill. A bullet fired by a Confederate soldier struck its target, and suddenly the Kennebec County Bar
lost a third member, attorney William S. Heath of Waterville. He hailed from Belfast, where he was born to Solomon and Emily Heath in 1834. William was the only son among four children. Also living in the Heath household was Solomon’s 81-year-old mother, Abigail. Solomon Health was a successful lawyer with real estate worth $1,200. William picked up his father’s love for the law; the 1860 census found him living in Waterville in the house of widower Wyman Moor, a 47-year-old attorney with four dependent children.
The up-and-coming William Heath was by now an “Atty at Law,” according to census taker Robert W. Pray. Heath and his 22-year-old wife, Maria, had two young children: 3-year-old Ethiel and 10-month-old Sidney. The Wyman Moor household must have been a busy place, to say the least. Before settling in Waterville, William and Maria Heath had lived a while in Minnesota; Ethiel was born there, but the family had returned to Maine in time for Sidney’s birth. William Heath was the picture of health and respectability by the time
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com that Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumter. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion and stood 5 feet, 8¾ inches tall. With a young wife and two young children, Health could have declined to go to war. Perhaps after some discussion with Maria, he enlisted in the 3rd Maine Infantry Regiment on April 25. Named the captain of Company H, he officially mustered into the Army on June 4 and received his combat baptism at Bull Run just 47 days later. Heath evidently displayed a knack for leadership; on September 24 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the 5th Maine Infantry Regiment. He was second in command to Colonel Nathaniel Jackson, a no-nonsense officer who demanded much of his men. They gave it, and so did Heath. From the day the 5th Maine went ashore on the Virginia Peninsula and started marching toward Richmond, Heath was a familiar sight as he rode
his horse alongside the marching men and ventured toward the sounds of the guns when fighting erupted. On June 27, 1862, Jackson and the 5th Maine Infantry crossed the Chickahominy River with the 2nd Brigade of Colonel Joseph J. Bartlett. Confederate divisions were pounding the Union troops holding a disintegrating line at Gaines’ Mill, and Bartlett’s brigade was among the reinforcements rushing to help. Accompanied by the 16th and 27th New Yorks and the 96th Pennsylvania, the 5th Maine marched up a hill on the eastern edge of the Union lines. “Death’s winged messengers flew fast and thick,” remembered 1st Lt. George Bicknell, and William Heath rode his horse amidst the whizzing bullets and cannonballs. Orders summoned Bartlett to deploy his regiments immediately. Out went the 16th New York; as the 96th Pennsylvania faltered under intense enemy
fire, Bartlett rode back through the bullets and brought up the 5th Maine. The men had been lying down, out of the direct line of fire. “On,” Jackson ordered. “Up rose every man,” said Bicknell, standing as “the air was full of bullets.” Forward marched the regiment, with Jackson and Heath high in their saddles. Bartlett watched while the “regiment … changed its front in the most soldierly manner, and under the sweeping storm of iron and leaden hail sent up their battle-shout and rushed upon the enemy.” He rode alongside the advancing 5th Maine. In the brief silences between enemy volleys, Bicknell could hear the swish, swish, swish as Maine men marched through growing hay. Bullets thudded into a Maine lad here and there, but the lines kept “on — now quicker — quicker still,” Bicknell said, keeping pace with his company. (cont. on page 34)
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(cont. from page 33) A bullet struck and wounded Jackson; Heath took command as the 5th Maine boys opened fire on the Confederates. Amidst the heavy shooting, he noticed that a farm house and outbuildings had separated four companies from the regiment’s other six companies. Riding up to the four companies, Heath ordered them to “move … to the left and perfect the line.” Suddenly “shot directly through the brain,” Heath fell from his horse “without uttering a groan,” Bicknell said. Comrades bore the dead Heath away. Left beneath a tree, the body was never recovered. On Wednesday, August 19, members of the Kennebec County Bar met at the Augusta law library and discussed how they would honor late bar members Reuel Williams, James L. Child, and William S. Heath. Five attorneys — one from Readfield, four
from Augusta — formed a committee to write resolutions that were presented in the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday, August 25. Each deceased attorney received a one-paragraph resolution. Heath’s was the longest: “Resolved, that this Bar cannot omit to place upon its records a merited tribute to the memory of … the gallant Lieut. Col. William S. Heath, who at the call of his country hastened forth among the first, to vindicate the honor of our insulted flag: and who heroically fell at the head of his Regiment … patriotically, nobly offering his life in defense of the Constitution and the Union.” Members of his profession had paid the gallant Heath their highest honor.
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Hathaway Mill Antiques, sister shop to Cabot Mill Antiques, opened July 22nd and is a 10,000 sq. ft. multi-dealer quality antique shop featuring period furnishings to mid-century modern. Including: Furniture, textiles, books, jewelry, art, stained glass, general store displays.
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Dr. Thomas A. Foster (1827-1897) , a widow and physician in Waterville, pictured with his two sons after his wife passed. Item # 51043 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com
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Early view of Broadway in Farmington. Item # LB2007.1.100741 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
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G & L CONTRACTING Lift Services Serving: Great and Long Pond, Messalonskee, and Cobbossee
207.495.9009 www.gandlcontractingmaine.com
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A postcard view of Farmington from Powder House Hill, ca. 1910. Item # 26138 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com
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261 Main Street • Farmington, Maine WWW.PETERBRODERICKCONSTRUCTION.COM
Western Lakes & Mountains Region
38
You’re going to feel great in
Greater Franklin County
But for those days you don't, there's Franklin Memorial Hospital and Franklin Health, a multispecialty group practice that includes primary care and specialty practices. Our highly specialized emergency department is designed to care for individuals suffering from serious medical problems who can't wait to be seen by a private physician. Our secure emergency department has nine treatment rooms including one designated trauma room. A physician is always on duty, along with specially trained registered nurses. If you have a health condition that requires prompt medical attention, but is not life threatening, please call the Franklin Physician Referral Service. We have four primary care medical practices and five specialty practices in the area. We'll find a provider who can fit you into the schedule. Franklin Memorial Hospital has an all-digital radiology suite, an advanced electronic health record, and computerized physician order entry. It is recognized as one of the nation’s most wired hospitals and has achieved The Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval for Accreditation, a sign of our commitment to the highest level of care for our patients. Welcome to Greater Franklin County; we're here for you if you need us!
111 Franklin Health Commons Farmington, Maine 04938 www.fchn.org
Emergency Department: 207-779-2250 Franklin Physician Referral Service: 1-800-450-2075
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Fairbank’s Mill in Farmington. Item # LB2007.1.100744 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
MT. BLUE DRUG Free Delivery to the Farmington/Wilton Area
John LaBrecque Master Electrician
RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • SERVICE CALLS ALTERNATIVE POWER • LIGHTNING/SURGE PROTECTION
(207) 716-6600 Farmington, ME
Jason A. Pratt • Kevin R. Holland Rob Witt • Jim Witt Registered Pharmacists
Hours: Mon.- Fri. 8:00a to 7:00p • Sat. 8:00a to 4:00p Sun. 9:00am-1:00pm
207-778-5419
Garage Slabs House and Basement Floors Trailer Pads • Patios • Pool Decks Concrete Staining
Fax: 207-778-5983
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Concrete Countertops • Vanities Fireplace Hearths and Mantels
Hot & Cold Sandwiches pizza • salads grilled & fried foods fresh Homemade desserts daily catering available
645-4100
1339 Main St., East Wilton
Paul Lalicata, L.D. Denturist Customized Dentures and Partials Lab on site
completedenturecenter@gmail.com
207-860-2781
107 Bridge St. • West Farmington, ME _________
207-735-3249
23 Spring St. • Dexter, ME
207.491.6191 marcogrimaldiconcretefloors23@yahoo.com
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Western Lakes & Mountains Region
40
Chuck Wagon Restaurant Celebrates 50 Years In Livermore Falls by Brian Swartz
L
ocated at the corner of Main and Depot streets in downtown Livermore Falls, the Chuck Wagon Restaurant celebrates its 50th birthday this year. Always owned and operated by the Paradis family, the restaurant opened as a franchise, part of a chain then expanding across Maine. That chain is gone, but thanks to hard work, delicious food, loyal customers, and very dedicated employees, the local Chuck Wagon Restaurant has prospered for the last half century — and the future of this local landmark business looks good. “The food business has always been a part of my life,” said Norman Paradis, who founded the restaurant. “When I
was 5 or 6 years old I used to peel potatoes” at Joe’s Place, the New Auburn restaurant owned by his parents, Joseph and Simone. After graduating from Edward Little High School and serving in the Army, Norman started working at the Chuck Wagon Restaurant that “Wild” Bill Dumais had opened on Sabattus Street in Lewiston. “Since the restaurant had a Western theme, the name was a good fit!” Norman recalled. He and his brother, Paul, later purchased the Lewiston restaurant and renamed it the Chuck Wagon Railroad Restaurant after placing three railroad cars on a railroad track installed beside it.
Dumais started opening other Chuck Wagons elsewhere in Maine. He and Norman opened a new Chuck Wagon Restaurant (a franchise) at 2 Depot Street in Livermore Falls in 1967. The local “economy … was on the up tick, and we thought this area would support another restaurant,” Norman said. The Chuck Wagon opened on July 10, 1967. That first day, Norman “learned how much power you use in a restaurant. We were open four or five hours. We were mobbed, ” and the power demand blew a nearby transformer. “We had to shut down about six o’clock” and wait for Central Maine Power to install a new, larger transformer, he recalled. Once the power
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41
DiscoverMaineMagazine.com was back, the restaurant resumed operations the next day. “We had a pretty much local crowd in those days,” Norman said. Working “long, long hours” seven days a week, he opened the Chuck Wagon early to serve breakfast. A Livermore Falls High School graduate, Marc Paradis “started working for the Chuck Wagon in 1972, part time, at the age of 10 on the weekend mornings to spend time with my father.” By 1976 he averaged 20 hours per week as an official employee, and while away at college in 1981 and 1982, he worked summers and vacations. “In the fall of 1982, I came back to work full time and have been here ever since,” Marc said. “In the mid- to late 1980s, I gradually started taking over some of the day-to-day management duties such as purchasing, staffing and bookkeeping. Norman eventually retired at the end of 2012.” Paul Paradis and two of his children
The Paradis family inside their Chuck Wagon Restaurant worked in the restaurant, as did “at one is now a shift manager, as is Ed Krupp. time or another, all of Norman’s sons Philip has had “a very similar experiand grandsons,” Marc said. “Wives, ence as to what I had, working with my brothers, nephews, and nieces: The en- father,” Marc said. tire family has chipped in at some point “It has been a family-owned and in time.” -operated restaurant in the truest and Marc’s son, Philip, started working purest form for 50 years,” he said. in the restaurant 11 to 12 years ago. He The original Chuck Wagon menu (cont. on page 42)
Jean Castonguay Excavating • Sand • Loam • Gravel • Septic Systems • Brush Chipping • Lots Cleared
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Western Lakes & Mountains Region
42
(cont. from page 41) featured house char-broiled burgers, rib-eye steak sandwiches, choice rib-eye steaks, haddock, fried Maine shrimp, scallops, broasted chicken, saddle tramps, cattle drives, and homemade onion rings. “Your customers are responsible for shaping” your menu, according to Norman. “Our older menus were simpler with fewer choices,” he explained. “Healthier trends have helped shape our menu in recent years. While customers will always come out for fried seafood, our famous Cactus Chicken Tenders, and delicious home-made desserts, we have had many customers ask for healthier alternatives. “Therefore, we expanded our menu” to include “more broiled seafood, broiled or grilled chicken, combination plates, and our Heart Healthy dinner salads,” Norman said. The original Chuck Wagon had two dining rooms, said Norman, who bought out Dumais’s share in 1969. “The front dining room was called The
Round Up Room, and our second dining room was The Red-Eye Lounge.” Business increased considerably, so in 1976 he expanded into the former Potter’s Jewelry Store and “named this third dining room The Gold Dust Room. We also added onto the existing kitchen.” Some years later the restaurant added “several private function rooms to accommodate parties from eight to 30 people” in size, Norman said. With the additional rooms, the Chuck Wagon is able to cater rehearsal dinners, (small) class reunions, and “a lot of repeat birthday parties,” Marc said. Committed to providing eye care and hearing aids for adults and children, the Livermore Falls and Jay Lions Club meets at The Chuck Wagon every first and third Tuesdays of the month at 6:00 p.m. The Chuck Wagon Restaurant “can seat 200 people comfortably” and up to 225 people “by using the private rooms,” Norman said.
Lizotte Construction Residential & Commercial
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Ricker hill orchards ~ 10 Generations - Since 1803 ~
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Norman and Marc credit their dedicated employees and loyal clientele for the restaurant’s success. “We have been very fortunate to retain very good employees who have been with us for many years,” Marc said. The restaurant currently has 20 employees, with half of them being part time. “We see a lot of locals, who have supported us all these years,” he said. “We also have loyal diners that are within a 25-mile radius of our restaurant,” from such towns as Farmington, Turner, Wayne, Wilton, and Winthrop. Other loyal customers travel “from as far away as the Augusta and Lewiston-Auburn areas.” The Chuck Wagon Restaurant will sponsor a Customer Appreciation Celebration in late September in honor of the restaurant’s 50th anniversary. During this celebration, they will offer several favorite menu items at 50 percent off.
Homemade Donuts ● Activities Country Store & Bakery
Prompt Service • Insured Bill Ethridge
207-946-7262 • 800-420-9569
Cell: 207-215-7707 | 207-547-2031 peter.lizotte@gmail.com
516 Sunflower Lane, Sidney, ME
624 Rt. 202, P.O. Box 509 Greene, ME 04236
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Kramers Inc.
Since 1966
Full Line Of Equipment, Parts, Service & Accessories Route 104, Downtown Sidney
547-3345
www.kramersinc.com
207-225-5552 295 Buckfield Road • Turner, ME
www.rickerhill.com
MCNAUGHTON CONSTRUCTION
Sidney, ME
EXCAVATION DEMOLITION SAND LOAM & GRAVEL
207-441-4567
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~ Motorcycles parked outside the Chuck Wagon Restaurant ~
G&G
CASH FUELS THE NATURAL CHOICE NO. 2 FUEL • K-1 PROPANE
268-3835 • 268-FUEL 490 Richmond Rd. • Litchfield, ME
Langlois’
Auto Body & Auto Sales “Family Owned & Operated for Over 35 Years”
“Marcel, Mike, Dave, Scott and Jim look forward to serving you today”
784-0550 1305 Sabattus St. • Lewiston, ME
AFFORDABLE WELL DRILLING EXCAVATION & FORESTRY
STARTING AT $4995 for a Complete Well* (Most Jobs) • Hydrofracturing to Increase Flow • “Down The Hole” Camera
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Poorly fit or broken dentures On-site, same day service (in most cases) Affordable Dentures & Partials Assistance with Dental Insurance Forms We’ll Give You Something To Smile About!
Greenwood Orchards ~ Est. 1965 ~
Farmstand & Bakery Our own apples locally grown in Buckfield & Turner Native Produce • Full Bakery Our Own 100% Pure Cider ~ Open Daily - 7 Days A Week ~
514-0660 • 801 Webster Street, Lewiston Joe Adkins, Licensed Denturist • Mon-Thur 8-4
8am-6pm
207-225-3764 • 174 Auburn Rd. • Rt. 4 • Turner, ME
Western Lakes & Mountains Region
44
Bates Mill In Lewiston Producing results in times of uncertainty by James Nalley
A
mong the numerous mills and factories in Maine that once stood as a sign of prosperity for their respective communities, Bates Mill on Canal Street in Lewiston is one such example. Founded in 1850, this five-floor mill was once Maine’s largest employer and the business venture of Boston entrepreneur Benjamin Bates (1808-1878), who gained enormous wealth in the textile manufacturing industry. Although his success was based on producing the best results in times of uncertainty, such a perspective was subject to some criticism. However, along with other successful business-
men in the 18th century, such as Andrew Carnegie, Bates found ways to share his wealth in Lewiston. According to Bates Student: A Monthly Magazine by R.F. Johnnett, “I have frequently heard him say that he would not knowingly do anything against the interests of the people; and that he would sooner invest ten dollars in Lewiston than one dollar in any other place.” His initial donations provided the much-needed capital for the Maine State Seminary. Eventually renamed as Bates College in honor of his efforts, it is currently one of the top-ranking liberal arts colleges in the country.
,
During its first year of operation, Bates Mill employed approximately 200 workers, who earned roughly 50 cents a day producing cotton products in 12-hour shifts from Monday to Saturday. As stated in the book Historic Lewiston: A Textile City in Transition by James Leamon, typical notices were as follows: “The mill was start at 15 minutes past 6 a.m. and run till 12 noon. An intermission of 45 minutes will be given for lunch. After lunch, the mill will start at 15 minutes before 1 p.m. and run till 7 p.m.. On Saturdays, the time for stopping work will be 30 minutes past 6 p.m.” By 1860, the number of employees increased to TA K
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45
DiscoverMaineMagazine.com around 1,000, many of which included children, who helped bring additional income for their respective families. As stated by Leamon, “The most significant population change was the influx of French-Canadians. Like the Irish before them, the French-Canadians were attracted by the city’s opportunities. However, unlike the Irish, they were actively recruited by mill agents with whom the French-Canadians had a reputation for hard work and docility.” Although tension arose between the two factions, which occasionally fostered isolated brawls and violence, the Irish (through their resilience) continued to thrive in Lewiston’s changing society. According to Museum L-A (a museum that presents numerous exhibits on the region’s industries), one can still find buildings where “the fleur-de-lis is painted on one wall, while shamrocks are painted on another.” As the Civil War loomed over the
~ A child going to work in Lewiston in 1909 ~
(cont. on page 46)
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Driveway Paving • Camp Road Repair • Complete Houselots Demolition • Retaining Walls • Yard Maintenance • Septic Systems
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Fully Insured MeDEP Certified in Erosion Control
1331 Sabattus Street Lewiston, ME 04240
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 8am-6pm 38 Rocky Ridge Lane (Augusta Rd.) Bowdoin, ME 04287
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44 Hammond Street • Lewiston, ME 04240
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P. 207-784-4588 • F. 207-784-9307 HOURS: Monday-Friday 7:30 to 4:30
Western Lakes & Mountains Region
46
(cont. from page 45) country in 1861, Bates Mill, much like other factories throughout the North, had been receiving cotton that was cultivated by slaves in the South. As stated by Leamon, in anticipation of a dramatic shortage of cotton and a long war, Bates purchased as much cotton as possible at 12 cents a pound. By 1865, cotton was worth more than one dollar a pound. Meanwhile, “other mill managers gambled on a short war; and when cotton prices reached thirty cents, they sold their surplus stock at what they considered a huge profit. But as the war continued, they were trying to buy back at 90 cents, the cotton they had sold at 30 cents per pound. As a result, many mills were forced to shut down, while the Bates Mill netted more than $400,000.” In addition, due to this surplus of cotton, Bates Mill was able to produce the majority of the uniforms for the Union Army. As rumors had
spread about how Bates had amassed more wealth than the city of Lewiston itself, riots broke out in the area. Due to the public pressure and his tarnished image, Bates created the philanthropic arm of his company, after which he was advised to employ more people at the mills. By the turn of the 20th century, Bates Mill continued producing reputable cotton products (and even shoes) and it had expanded into more than 10 additional buildings for various needs. However, following World War I and II, cotton manufacturing significantly decreased, due to foreign competition, changing fashion trends, and the increased use of synthetics. Meanwhile, the mills in the southern states offered manufacturers lower costs, newer equipment, and better transportation, all of which negatively impacted Maine’s once-thriving mills, including Bates Mill. According
LIBERTE AUTO SALES & SERVICE 1803 Lisbon Rd. Lewiston, ME Travis J. LaLiberte
to Leamon, “Lewiston’s population figures demonstrate the changing conditions of most of New England’s textile cities. Between 1870 and 1910, Lewiston’s population had virtually doubled from 13,600 to 26, 247. However, from 1930 to 1960, the city increased from 35,000 to only 41,000. By 1970, Lewiston’s textile firms only employed 1,800 of the city’s 17,591 working population.” Despite the leadership of various individuals, all of whom attempted to take the industry in new directions, their efforts failed to overcome the changing times, and one-by-one, the buildings closed. In 2010, the Bates Mill complex, as the Bates Mill Historic District, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, thus preserving its future, at least as a historical location. Currently, the complex is the home of TD Banknorth, Fishbones Amer-
LEWISTON HOUSE OF PIZZA Eat-In • Take Out
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Building strong communities in the
greater Androscoggin area since 1868
62 Turner St. Auburn, ME 12 High St. Lewiston, ME
207-795-4095 | www.alymca.org
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ican Grill, Museum L-A (mentioned above), and The Lofts at Bates Mill (25 one-bedroom, 16 two-bedroom, and 7 three-bedroom apartments boasting 13foot ceilings with expansive views of Fountain Park and the Androscoggin River). Although the complex no longer focuses on mass-produced cotton products, it still stands as a reminder of more profitable times for the city of Lewiston. 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
Featuring The Best Brands In America! Over 35 years of experience
~ Birds-eye view of Bates Mill in Lewiston in 1915 ~
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REASONABLE RATES! Professional. Knowledge. Advice.
FIRESIDE STOVE SHOP AND FIREPLACE CENTER
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Residential Pick-up
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N’S THOMPSO ORCHARD ~ Family Owned Since 1906 ~
Xmas Trees • Wreaths • Apple Cider Donuts Pies • Jams • Jellies Full Bakery • Fresh Breads and more
207-926-4738
276 Gloucester Hill Rd. • New Gloucester, ME
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Mains
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_____ & _____ Construction, LLC Excavation • Landscaping Site Development Jarek Mains - Owner & Operator Fully Insured • Free Estimates 207-539-5040 • cell: 207-461-7599 mainsearthwork@gmail.com Oxford, ME
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AAA Roadside Assistance • 24/7 Flatbed Towing Local & Long Distance • Lock Outs • Jump Starts
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Western Lakes & Mountains Region
48
Early view of Main Street in Norway. Item # LB2007.1.101985 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
Benchmark Appraisal
~ Over 25 Years Experience ~
Rising Sun Cafe & Bakery
MARY M. BENSON
Certified Real Estate Appraiser Now Serving The Rangeley Area
HOMEMADE & FRESH Open Tues.-Sat. Michael Weiss - Owner/Operator
207-515-0505
www.weissdrywallandremodeling.com South Paris, ME
130 Main Street • South Paris, ME
207-743-7046 www.RisingSunCafeBakery.com We accept VISA │ MC │ Discover
Chris’ Electric Commercial & Residential
Hand Cut Choice Steaks • Fresh Seafood Catering • Weddings • Private Functions Catered Alcohol Bars
Chris Summers Owner
207-577-8476
Fully Insured • 23 Years Experience www.centralmaineelectrician.com
288 Lake Rd. • Norway, ME 04268 benchmarkmary@myfairpoint.net
Enjoy delicious continental cuisine in an elegant country atmosphere, at affordable prices!
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•Electrical Installation •Energy Efficient Audits •Security Lighting & Accent •Phone & Data Upgrades •Cable Lines •Pools & Hot Tubs •Service Upgrades
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SUN 11a-2p | CLOSED MONDAY TUES-FRI: 11a-1:30p & 4p-8p • SAT: 4p-8p
Smoke-Free Dining ~ Reservations Recommended ~ Take-Out Available
743-2532
|
www.mauricerestaurant.com
49
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Excavation • Land Clearing Wood Waste Recycling Aggregate/Mulch Retail Sales 91 Home Run Road, Bridgton
207-647-9500
RolfeCorp.com
APPRAISAL, INC. 566 Portland Road • Route 302 Bridgton, Maine 04009
FRED PACKARD
Early view of Main Street from High Street in Bridgton. Item # LB2007.1.100302 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
Oxford Hills
Taxi • Delivery • Airport Service • Long & Short Fares • 7 Day Service • 6 Seat Mini Van
743-7963 Owner: Terri Dunham
BOOS HEATING COMPANY
ME certified #232 • NH certified #475
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RUSSELL & SONS TOWING 24 Hour Emergency Service Breakdowns • Lockouts • Tire Changes Out of Gas • Junk Car Removal Ramp Truck Wheel Lift Capabilities Now Offering Medium-Duty Wrecker Services
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Brad Boos, President (MMA’88E)
boosheatingco@gmail.com
TREE SERVICE & LOGGING
Pruning • Tree Removal Hazard Trees • Brush Clean-up Chipping • House Lots Selective Cutting Fully Insured • Free Estimates Reasonable Rates Richard Barker - Owner │ Licensed Arborist
207-595-6355 Waterford, ME
Evergreen Valley Inn 82 Mountain Road Stoneham, ME
~ Serving the Lakes Region ~
BARKER
All units include kitchenette, cookware, tableware, glasses & utensils. Game Room • Free WiFi • Playground Close to hiking trails and swimming areas Borders White Mountain National Forest
Units starting at $125 per night
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Western Lakes & Mountains Region
50
LOGAN
HOME BUILDERS
No Job Too Big or Too Small General Repairs • Remodeling Roofing • New Construction Interior / Exterior Painting Mike Logan Over 15 Years Experience / Fully Insured Cell: 207-212-9769 • Fax: 207-452-2675
910 Pequawket Trail, Brownfield, ME • loganhomebuilders@gmail.com
View of the Old Stickney Tavern on Pequawket Trail in East Brownfield. Item # LB2007.1.100574 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
Richard Wing & Son Logging Inc.
Crooked River Resources Sand • Stone • Gravel • Loam Monday-Friday 8am-4pm • Saturday 8am-1pm
Tony Campbell - Owner │ Tony@AltusConstructionllc.com
Phone: 207.949.6837 • Fax: 207.510.8150 Plains Road • P.O. Box 385 • Harrison, ME 04040 Serving the Lakes Region and Western Maine, offering exceptional sweeps and honest service with your safety in mind!
~ In business since 1973 ~
Logging • Chipping Selective Cutting Land Clearing Trucking & Lowbed Services ~ Fully Insured ~
Also offering...
Chimney Inspections • Stainless steel liners Installation of wood, gas, and pellet stoves Oil flue sweeps and Inspections • Chimney Caps Top-mounted dampers
207.803.8195
_____________________
207-642-6181
Certification #6779
80 Fort Hill Road Standish, ME 04084
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The Maine Legislature’s 1910 Tax Proposal
Idea went over like a lead balloon at Otisfield Grange Hall by Brian Swartz
S
ome 200 people, including many farmers, listened intently on a cold January Saturday as Howard Davies, then representing Yarmouth in the Maine House of Representatives, explained why the state should establish an income tax. Standing at the lectern inside the Otisfield Grange Hall, Davies faced a cynical audience dominated by farmers (and their wives) from Harrison, Norway, and Otisfield. Already reluctant to spend money on frivolities, these people earned their cash the hard way — by the sweat of their brows. So why should they share their in-
come with Augusta? Davies explained why in a long-winded speech that possibly lured those people sitting nearest the Grange Hall’s glowing stoves into falling asleep. He opened by noting that legislators would soon decide “whether or not, we, as a state, favor or endorse a tax laid upon incomes. “This is a great question, the importance of which cannot be overestimated,” said Davies, his last word probably leading more than one flint-eyed farmer to wonder if legislators might overestimate what he, the farmer, should pay as a tax for the privilege of making a
living in Maine. Davies advocated strongly that people who earned money should divvy it with Augusta. “Each person must give some part of his property to the government that he may be secure and [then he could] enjoy the remainder,” he argued. That idea went over like a lead balloon with the crowd bundled up against the winter cold. In fact, Maine voters would not (through their elected representatives) approve a state income tax for years to come, because Howard Davies was well ahead of his time. He passionately presented his pro(cont. on page 52)
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(cont. from page 51) posal at the Otisfield Grange Hall on Saturday, January 10, 1910. Not until 1969, and then only under intense political pressure exerted by Governor Kenneth Curtis, would the Maine legislature establish a state income tax. The law went into effect that September, almost a half century after Davies voiced a principle that many politicians propound today: “Those of our citizens who enjoy the greatest measure of security in their property rights on account of large interests should bear a burden commensurate with their privileges, protection and power,” he said. In other words, the more money a taxpayer makes, the more money he or she should share (and has available to share) with Augusta or Washington, depending on a politician’s electoral status. “An exact equalization of the burdens of taxation is unattainable,” Davies opined, “yet who can deny that taxes should be apportioned according
to the benefits received.” He believed that “incomes should be made the basis upon which taxes should be laid.” Augusta should exempt “such sums as will enable the tax payer to support himself and family in a proper manner.” To listening Grange members, that sounded suspiciously like Augusta bureaucrats deciding what constituted “a proper manner” of “support” — and then keeping the rest of the taxpayer’s well-earned income. Knowing that his predominantly Republican audience would think this way, Davies referred to a December 4, 1906 statement made to Congress by President Theodore Roosevelt in support of a national income tax. Whether or not Congress could “devise a national income tax which shall be constitutional” was one “question,” Roosevelt had said. “And if possible it is most certainly desirable,” he had noted.
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If Roosevelt, the Republican chargeup-San-Juan-Hill hero, could support a national income tax, then Maine Republicans could support a state income tax, Davies let his listeners read between the lines. He made other points that would resonate in the State House in 1969. “No tax is fairer, none more equitable or just, none imposes so clearly a burden where it belongs,” Davies said. Such a tax would benefit lower income Mainers, whom he eloquently described as having “fingers which are cramped and twisted with the toil and drudgery of incessant labor.” Davies would never hear the phrase “1 percenters,” much bandied about in 21st-century America, but he had the concept in mind. A state income tax would place “the burden upon the purse which is swollen with the luscious fruits of gain, easily acquired, or made without work,” he told the Grange members.
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Davies played the economic class card well in his speech. He contrasted “the man who has by dint of struggle and self denial and unremitting effort from dawn to dark” purchased “a $2000 home” to “he who luxuriously loafs out [a] good part of his existence on a palatial yacht” and “maintains a city house in all the principal cities of fashion in the world.” Davies argued that “there is nothing new in the income tax.” Congress had established a national income tax in 1861, although the Supreme Court had declared the federal income tax unconstitutional in 1894. Britain and France and Germany and Spain and ad infinitum “all lay taxes upon incomes,” Davies said, so why should not Maine? Opponents of a federal income tax “to my mind, are men who are lacking in foresight,” he said, his subsequent arguments eerily presaging Capitol Hill (cont. on page 54)
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(cont. from page 53) discussions a century hence. “Every year our expenses as a nation are increasing very materially,” Davis explained. Defense spending was rising substantially, and in a little while “we are to be confronted with the question of raising more revenue. “Can we raise it by a further increase in our indirect taxes or are the burdens to be borne by those who are” filthy rich or “are capable of large earning capacity?” Davies asked.
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Farmington’s John Allen The best-known man in Maine by Sherwood W. Anderson
T
he best-known man in Maine was born in Farmington in 1795 in a log cabin, the eighth of ten children. His name was John Allen. Years later a woman told him, “I saw you when you were a baby, and I thought you the pettiest child I ever saw, but how you have changed!” He died on the East Livermore Camp Meeting grounds at 93. Over 3,000 were present at his funeral, the largest crowd ever on the grounds. The morning broad gauge trains to the East Livermore depot were all full, and carriages came in great number from Brunswick, Auburn, Yarmouth, Wilton, Leeds, Boston and elsewhere. The body was taken by train
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from East Livermore to the Farmington depot, where it was met by many people. He was interred in Farmington’s Riverside Cemetery. Soon after his birth his father moved the family to a plantation six miles north of Farmington, later organized as the Town of Industry. Here they cleared a farm. His father joined the Congregational Church in Industry, and for 30 years served as a Deacon. His son Harrison Allen graduated from Bowdoin College and Andover Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, and became a Congregational missionary to the Choctow Indians. One “scholar” proved to be as troublesome to Mr. Al-
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len as he had been to former teachers. Mr. Allen had three or four of the older boys put him out, sprawling in the mud. He attempted to return, but Allen forbade him, saying, “This is my castle. If you come in here, you are a dead man.” The scholar fetched his father who came in a rage, but Allen said, “Your son made some disturbance in school this morning, and we are not prepared for his company.” The man consulted a lawyer, who advised him to get a better teacher next year, but Allen was employed again, and with a better wage. John Allen married Annah H. Hersey of Farmington, where he established a clothier business. They had (cont. on page 56)
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(cont. from page 55) three daughters and a son. Their daughter Amanda Elvira Allen married Edward Norton, whose sixth daughter was Lillian Allen Norton. Later known as Madame Nordica, Lillian was a prima donna singing in the great opera houses of Europe and America. She was active the last eleven years of her grandfather John Allen’s life and several decades after. John had been a natural lead singer, not trained but never out of time or tune. John became a preacher without college or seminary instruction. He attended Farmington Academy, but only for a few weeks. His teacher Preceptor Hall told John’s father, “You will never make much of him, he is so full of the devil.” Nonetheless, John taught several winters in district schools, working on the farm and later in his trade as a clothier. He never served a church as pastor. Most clergy overlooked his lack of formal learning and accepted him
as one of their own. He heard a lecture against intoxicating liquor and signed a pledge not to use it anymore. He also read an essay that “a man could not be thoroughly temperate who was a slave to tobacco,” and he promptly emptied his pockets of that indulgence also. In 1825, at the age of thirty, the Farmington clothier attended “for a lark” a camp meeting on the eastern edge of Industry. Camp meetings were outdoor services lasting several days, attended by hundreds, sometimes thousands. The preachers stood on raised stands of poles and planks, with board backdrops for better sound. The people sat on boards fastened to logs. Dozens of cotton tents, stretched on frames, were used for lodging, meals and meetings. Camp meetings were held up and down the eastern seaboard, inspired by such gatherings in Scotland and England. John was to participate in 376 of them over his lifetime. There was ear-
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nest preaching, ardent prayer and songs of praise and thanksgiving. A preacher named “Father” Newell invited penitents to come forward, kneel at the altar and seek pardon. Though John’s sins could not have been many, he rushed up the aisle to find peace and deliverance. He said he went to the meeting “a blatant, rum-drinking, swearing sinner and came away a shouting Methodist.” Later, writing from the town of Phillips to his sister in Prospect, Maine, “It was at a camp meeting in Industry, Maine, that my mind was wrought upon in a wonderful manner. I found that unless I had religion, I must be eternally miserable . . .. I thought I would do anything the Lord would have me do, if I could not but receive pardon. And Oh! the wonderful seasons I have realized since that time, and even this day, in a meeting I was visited with Divine grace, which caused me to praise Him aloud in the
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com congregation.” His religious work was not altogether agreeable to Annah. She thought his zeal extravagant, and family friends generally agreed. She thought it preposterous for a man without education, at the age of 30 or more, to enter the ministry. He began as a volunteer preacher, holding meetings on Sundays and working at his trade weekdays to support his family. His ministry was gratuitous. In 1836 he became a member of the Maine Conference of the Methodist Church as a full-time circuit rider. Friends asked him about his compensation. “I receive half pay, and the people receive half preaching, so we come out even.” At an 1860 prayer meeting in Farmington news arrived that Lincoln had been nominated for the presidency. Allen spoke of the refreshing news as a cause of rejoicing. A man of the opposite party said it was a “privilege to
stand up and vote on the Lord’s side.” Allen remarked, “Before going to the polls to vote, we should be very careful to ascertain on which side the Lord is.” In 1863, amid the terrible Civil War, he served as a chaplain stationed at the Camp Stoneman Post Hospital in Washington. He wrote Annah, “I am well, with a continual round of duties, passing through the wards, looking after those who are very sick, encouraging them and writing their friends. Someone dies almost every day. I send the sad intelligence to their friends.” At all meetings for the Union and the denunciation of slavery and secession he was a welcomed speaker. Once asked as he was about to speak, “Are you a long preacher?” “Five foot seven inches” was the reply. John committed large portions of the bible to memory without studying it for that purpose, but by careful and frequent reading. He often recited whole
chapters at worship. “I fell in love with the bible,” he said. Many remarked of his eloquence, some thinking he composed it for the occasion. The manuscript autobiography he was writing was destroyed in the great Farmington three-day wind-blown fire of October 1886. It burned his house and dozens of others. Ninety-six families were made homeless. It took churches, hotels, the post office and forty businesses. John was seen standing by the ashes of his cottage, nothing saved but the clothes on his back, singing the Doxology. He went to Boston for a time to live with his widowed daughter Augusta Lothrop, and her two boys. He was a believer in the holiness doctrine of Christian perfection, especially after returning from a national camp meeting in Vineland, New Jersey, where he was “filled with the Spirit.” His wife, who knew of his past vacil(cont. on page 58)
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(cont. from page 57) lations, said, “John, I shall watch you now and see if your life corresponds with your profession.” Asked if he kept his temper, she replied, “Once while adjusting a stove and getting his toes badly hurt, I thought he stepped around a little more lively than usual, giving evidence that he was not as devotional as when leading a prayer meeting.” Even so he claimed, “I never did pretend to be much, but I never saw anybody I would swap with yet.” One time when helping his wife into the carriage, she said, “John, I ain’t so buoyant as when I was a girl.” “No,” said John, “and I ain’t so gallant as when I was a boy.” John was elected chaplain of the Maine House of Representatives in 1878 and 1880. He prayed for a Governor not of his own party, imploring the blessing of God upon “our Governor, that he might be guided aright in the
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discharge of his responsibilities, and if possible, that he might be the best Governor we ever had.” He also prayed that members of the House “might always be courteous in their debates, and know how to stop when they are done.” At the final adjournment of the state legislature after a long and stormy session, he recited a hymn which concluded, “The year of jubilee has come, return ye ransomed sinners home.” In later years, due to his age and usefulness, he was given free passes on railroads and steamboats. He asked for a renewal of his Maine Central Railroad pass to Mr. Lot M. Morrill its President (and former Governor). He replied,” Mr. Allen, you will probably get to the other world before I do. You will let me in, will you not?” “Certainly,” said John, “if you have a pass.” Once asked, “How are you at 92?” He declared, “I am beginning to feel as I see a great
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many old people act. My feet trouble me a great deal, but I presume I ought not to complain, for most people begin to die at the top.” It was said of John Allen, “His ingenuousness, wit, good nature, broad sympathy for all good things and people, his bursts of eloquence, his hearty songs of praise, his cheerful words in the dark clouds of great enterprises, his upright conduct, his evangelizing spirit and undeviating, unquenchable faith were to many a blessing and inspiration.” It is written, “The Lord made some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,” but there was only one Campmeeting John Allen.
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American Legion Coombs-Montfort Post 158 Honoring three Lisbon brothers
by Brian Swartz
T
hree Lisbon brothers who gave their all for the United States during World War II lent their names to an American Legion post established 71 years ago. Today more than 300 former servicemen and -women belong to American Legion Coombs-Montfort Post 158, according to post historian and Navy veteran Brian Govang. Founded on August 26, 1946, Post 158 was initially based at the Lisbon Fire Station. The post paid the town $1 for the former Lisbon grammar school at 10 Webster Road in 1949. Not until August 22, 1951 was the
post officially named American Legion Coombs-Montfort Post 158. The name was provided by brothers Ralph and Clarence Coombs and their step-brother, Robert “Bob” Mountfort. After America plunged into World War II, the three brothers all joined the military. The oldest of the trio, Bob Mountfort enlisted in the Marines at age 35. Serving with men almost half his age, he was stationed at different places before unfortunately drowning in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska on July 10, 1944, when he was 37. Born in October 1916, Ralph Coombs became an Army staff sergeant
and an infantryman with the 103rd Infantry Regiment, the direct military descendant of the 2nd Maine Infantry Regiment of Civil War fame. Coombs and the 103rd Infantry landed on Luzon Island in the Philippines on January 9, 1945. He was involved in heavy fighting. A Japanese sniper shot and killed him on January 16. The youngest of the three brothers, Clarence Coombs was 19 and an Army Air Force staff sergeant when his B-17 was shot down over Berlin in October 1943. He was the plane’s tail gunner. (cont. on page 60)
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(cont. from page 59) Perhaps the brothers came home to Lisbon after their respective deaths. Govang has lived in Lisbon for 45 years. “When I first came to Maine in the ’70s, I lived in the Coombs’ house, and I didn’t even know who they were,” he recalled. The Coombs brothers and Mountfort were possibly still in the house, though. “If you were in the house alone and doing the dishes and looking out the back window, you could swear somebody was watching you,” Govang explained. Sometimes he could hear the rocking chair “squeaking at night.” Wondering what was happening, Govang would step into the living room to see “the rocking chair was swinging back and forth.” His yellow Lab would be asleep on the couch, so Govang figured the three brothers might still be present. “You could tell this wasn’t a bad ghost,” he said. “These guys were really good.” Among other organizations based at American Legion Coombs-Montfort Post 158 are the American Legion Auxiliary, comprising the wives and daughters of post members, and a Sons of the American Legion squadron. Comprising the sons and grandsons of former military members who are eligible for membership in the American Legion, the Sons “can be any age,” according to Govang. “They generally don’t meet the requirements” to be a legionnaire.
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Also located at the Post 158 headquarters is Chapter 158 of the American Legion Riders of Maine, involved in charitable activities with similar chapters statewide. “They do all kinds of things around the state,” Govang said, adding that Chapter 158 “meets in the same building as us, but at a different time.” The members of American Legion Coombs-Montfort Post 158 meet at 5 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month. Two members are women who served in the military, and “we have several members that are just in their 20s,” Govang said. Glenn Simard is the post commander. Post 158 members provide a color guard for local parades, and some Legionnaires walk with the color guard during such parades. And each Veterans Day, Post 158 members visit the local cemeteries “and make sure there is a flag” on each veteran’s grave, Govang said. “We clean up the graveyards where the veterans are” buried in Lisbon and pay special attention to one particular cemetery, he noted. “There was a Revolutionary War veteran buried by himself out in the woods. We cleaned that cemetery up and put a fence around it. He was born in 1752” and died in the early 1800s. Among the graves tended by Post
158 members is that of Staff Sergeant Thomas Field, a soldier killed in action in Somalia. A member of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, he was the crew chief of a Blackhawk helicopter shot down over Mogadishu on October 3, 1993. Field survived the crash, but died during the subsequent fight that saw two soldiers (including Gary Gordon of Lincoln) rappel to the ground and battle a Somalian mob. The helicopter’s crash and the battle were depicted in the movie Blackhawk Down. Govang has belonged to Post 158 for a long time. When asked why he is a legionnaire, he replied, “The bonding with other members. “I was in [naval] aviation, so I did things in the airplane that most of these guys haven’t seen,” he said. “Consequently, the guys on the ground actually saw action. It is fascinating to talk to them. We have a member who was in World War II; just to talk to him is an experience. “That’s what I enjoy about the Legion, the comradeship,” Govang said. Members of Post 158 celebrated its 70th birthday on August 21, 2016. Discover Maine * Other businesses from this area are featured in the color section.
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Auburn Actor Ned Shepard Local boy made good in Hollywood by Brian Swartz
R
eturning home to Auburn after a year spent working in Hollywood, Ned Shepard found that local writer Eleanor Stone was quite interested in hearing about Tinsel Town when she sat down with him in spring 1920. Born, raised, and educated in Norway, Shepard had served in the Army during the Great War. He was the son of John C. Shepard, the Dingley-Foss Shoe Company superintendent in Auburn. The family was preparing to move to Auburn when the young Shepard ventured to sunny southern California in 1919. A letter of introduction to Los Angeles Times managing editor Harry S. Andrews opened the door for employment as an assistant technical director with the Selznick Company at its Brunton Studios in Los Angeles. Some major films were shot at Brunton, well equipped for almost every conceivable shooting situation. “The lighting apparatus is wonderful,” Shepard said. “Many of the daylight scenes are really made at night. “And some of the best cameramen get big money. A first-class cameraman
is always sure of a job,” he said. Even in 1920 fans realized that “a lot we see on the screen is really very different from what it seems to the trusting audience,” Stone commented. Shepard walked her through a plausible scene involving a wedding. After the technical director decided the scene “must take place in a little stone church with ivy clambering over and around” its walls. With this description in mind, the location man headed out “with his little old car and his trusty note book” and scoured the countryside around Hollywood and Los Angeles to find a suitable church. After finding out who had ultimate decision-making responsibility for the church, the location man negotiated a signed contract okaying the church’s appearance in the upcoming movie. With contract in hand, studio executives wasted no time filming around the church. Shepard said the studio would send the actors and actresses portraying “the bridal party,” along with cameramen and support crew, to the church the next morning to “make a couple of [exterior] scenes.” Production personnel would also
film or photograph the church’s interior, to be recreated on the sound stage during the next week. Attention was paid to detail (not that most movie fans would ever visit the particular church). “Of course, the audience sees the wedding party pour out of the church and the bride and groom escape with the usual business of rice and confetti throwing,” Stone said. “Who would guess that the ceremony which they have seen performed with all the fixings wasn’t in the church at all, but done on stage and sandwiched in where it belonged?” she asked. Like so many young people converging on LA, Ned Shepard hoped to break into pictures. He had “taken small parts” during his year in southern California, and he “hoped if he kept on with this work to get into that end of the game,” he told Stone. “It is a funny feeling one gets before the camera the first time,” Shepard admitted. It was “far worse” than stage fright, he confessed to Stone. “Why, I’ve seen them get so nervous they shook all over and did everything but the real thing. “It’s the camera that does it,” Shep-
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General Repairs Diagnostics All Makes, All Models 257 Washington St. • Auburn
207-784-9477
Robert Rottari Master Electrician
~ Over 25 Years Experience ~ Specializing in Electrical Repair, Service and Installation
207-653-9225 New Gloucester
RJROTTARI@MAINE.RR.COM
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com ard revealed. “It takes a hardened actor to totally disregard the presence of the camera.” “The regular way to break into the pictures is to register at one of the picture employment bureaus,” Shepard said. “Here is where they get their ‘extras,’ and there is quite a bit of money in it.” A young Shepard friend, Clyde Hibbert of South Paris, had traveled to LA a few years earlier. He “is working as an extra, and has made good at it,” Shepard informed Stone. Hibbert “plays all sorts of parts, from a butler to a lawyer,” and “the companies know his work, and he is busy most of the time,” Shepard said. Many lead actors “have started in this way.” Busy as he was, Shepard encountered different movie stars at various sets. Mary Pickford “certainly is a wonder,” he told Stone, particularly interested in the famous actress. “She was making a new picture at the time I left, which will probably be one of her best.” An Irish native, Owen Moore was another actor whom Shepard had met. In January 1911 he had married Canadian actress Gladys Smith. She soon adopted the stage name Mary Pickford. Then her career and fame outshone Moore’s; drinking heavily and committing domestic abuse, Moore all but drove his wife into the arms of actor Douglas Fairbanks.
He married Pickford in 1920, after her divorce from Moore became final. Aware of all this juicy gossip, Ned Shepard marveled at the professionalism of Pickford and Moore. “They are often in different sets on stage at the same time, which might be rather awkward, we’ll say, to any folks but actor ones,” he said. Shepard spoke with Stone about actors and actresses famous and less so, particularly those “we seldom see here, for some reason,” Stone observed. There was Harry Carey, the actor from The Bronx who was popular from “his western films,” both silent and sound. The idea that a flatlander from New York could land leading roles in Hollywood was not unusual; “it isn’t just the good looking ones who get by and are earning big salaries,” said Shepard. He talked about an ex-prize fighter “who had a smashed nose and a cauliflower ear.” Because “he is a wonder as a make-up man” and “with putty and grease paint … can look away way he chooses,” the former boxer was doing well in minor roles. Shepard was unsure as to whether he would return to Hollywood. “They are a fine bunch to work with, the movie people,” he assured Stone. “It is interesting work.” Southern California “is a wonderful country, but there is really no state quite like Maine,” Shepard said. * Other businesses from this area are featured in the color section.
Wilson Funeral Home “When Service Matters”
~ Family Owned Since 1927 ~ For Cremation Information Visit:
Offering Affordable Funeral CremationMaine.com Memorials and Direct Cremations
Jason C. Wilson
657-3204 24 Shaker Road • Gray, Maine 04039
wilsonfhllc.com
Major’s Heating, LLC Colby Major 68 Ledge Hill Rd. Hebron, ME 04238
(207) 966-3428 Home (207) 212-4002 Cell We Clean Oil Tanks!
Service • New Installations • System Upgrades
24 Hr. Emergency Service • Gas & Oil Master Licensed & Insured ~ SERVING WESTERN MAINE ~
Western Lakes & Mountains Region
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Major Of The Tenth Maine Beloved Newfie a prized mascot by Charles Francis
M
ajor was a dog, a well-loved dog. He was a Newfoundland or a Newfie cross-breed. He was a military mascot. If the story of Major was of World War I vintage or later, he would probably have become a film star much like Rin Tin Tin. Rinty was the shell-shocked German Shepard pup found by an American serviceman in a bombed-out dog kennel in Lorraine, France, two months before the end of World War I. In his day, Rinty gave Lassie a run for her money as a children’s favorite. Major’s exploits aren’t fictional the way those of Rin Tin Tin or Lassie are, though. Major attached – that seems the most appropriate term – himself to the Tenth Maine Volunteer Regiment on October 6, 1861. This was just two days after the regiment was mustered into service in Portland. The Tenth Maine was in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on the sixth. The Regiment’s train stopped there on its way to Baltimore, Maryland for active duty with the Army of the Potomac. Major followed Captain Charles Emerson of Company H into a
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railway car. There he was immediately adopted by the company, and given his name. Major was the mascot of Company H. He made that clear on his own. The Tenth Maine as a whole, however, looked upon the Newfie as something special. When rations were scanty, Major never lacked for a full meal, and when holiday bundles from home reached the front, major feasted upon the choicest of delicacies. The largesse of the Tenth was a good thing, too, as Major weighed in at 110 pounds. There were a lot of regimental and company mascots in the Civil War. The word mascot is used here rather than pet because of the term’s inherent meanings. Mascots help provide public groups with a common identity. A mascot is a symbol. A mascot is thought to bestow luck upon the group he, she or it is affiliated with. The Civil War saw a wide variety of mascots. Some of us today might look upon that as surprising. There was at least one Union Army pig, “Jeff Davis.” A Confederate regiment had a camel,
“Old Douglas”; a Wisconsin regiment, a bald eagle, “Old Abe.” Sometimes commanders’ horses were regarded as mascots. Robert E. Lee’s Traveller is an example of this as is Joshua Chamberlain’s Charlemagne. (Charlemagne was buried with full honors after living out his life on the General’s farm at Mere Point.) Cats served as shipboard mascots. Dogs, however, were the hands-down mascot of choice. Dogs provided soldiers with a means to express affection and tenderness even amid the most horrible of circumstances. Too, dogs were likely to return affection. That’s why many were left in the rear when their company or regiment went into battle. Not all were treated thusly, though. Some went into battle with their men. Major did. In fact, he was known for his ardent dislike of Confederates. This dislike extended to Confederate dogs. Major was at his fiercest when a Confederate dog tried to cross the Union line. The Tenth Maine would best be described as a western Maine regiment. Its origins can be traced back to the
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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com Norway Light Infantry. Its commander was George Lafayette Beal of Norway. The Norway Light Infantry was one of the very first militia companies to answer Lincoln’s earliest call for volunteers. It, along with nine other Maine companies, most of which were from Portland, made up the 1st Maine Infantry Regiment. The most notable thing about the First Maine, which was a three month company, is that a significant number of its members, including Beal, actually signed up for longer periods of time. In October of 1861, George Beal and a large number of the old 1st Maine became part of the 10th Maine. The 10th Maine was a two-year regiment. It took part in the second battle of Bull Run and the bloody fighting at Cedar Mountain and Antietam. Reorganized when two-year enlistments ran out, the equivalent of three companies of the Tenth went on to fight with the 29th Maine at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and elsewhere. To say that the men of the Tenth took part in the above-mentioned battles is to say that Major did, too. And he was never to the rear of the fighting. He was a leader. At Antietam and Cedar Mountain his place during all the charges was in advance of the front ranks. Only once did he fall to the rear. This happened when the dog simply couldn’t keep up with all the marching
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that went along with being in a Civil War infantry regiment. During the long retreat after the Battle of Winchester, Major was so crippled that he fell behind, losing contact with his regiment. As this story goes, Major had been scavenging behind Confederate lines for two days when he met up with a soldier from the Tenth in similar straits. Though the soldier was not of Major’s own company and previously unknown to Major, the two teamed up to find their way back, the soldier to Company F and Major to Company H. Major is said to have had one bad habit. Like many dogs he liked to chase things. Thought there were no automobiles back then, there were trains. Major particularly like to chase locomotives. This resulted in his being struck by an engine. He was tossed several feet into the air. For a time it was feared he was done for. He recovered, no worse for this mishap, though. Major was mustered out with the rest of the two-year men of the Tenth in May of 1863. At a special ceremony he was presented with a collar bearing his name, the leaf indicative of his rank, and a list of battles he had been in. Granville Blake took Major home to Maine with him. There the two enjoyed a brief respite from battle. Then Blake returned to the war as Captain of Company H of the 29th Maine. Major,
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of course, accompanied Blake. Major lost his life in Mansfield, Louisiana on April 8, 1864. A Confederate ball took him down. It has been said some are natural soldiers, that there are those born to the smell of gunpowder. The sentiment would certainly seem to apply to Major. It seems that before he joined up with the Tenth, the gallant Newfie served a three-month enlistment with the First New Hampshire. He had been wounded at the first Battle of Bull Run.
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L & L Day “All Good Wood”
Firewood / Snowplowing Fully Insured Reasonable Rates Lindsay & Logan Day
(207) 890-2764 Otisfield, ME
Western Lakes & Mountains Region
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Maple Lane Spring House in Norway. Item # LB2007.1.101980 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
Smedberg’s Farm Famous for Our Sweet Corn!
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Jam ~ Honey ~ Fresh Milk Our Own Maple Syrup Home-Baked Pies All Natural Home-Grown Beef, Pork & Lamb Produce in Season Christmas Trees & Wreaths “Everything in its Season” Open Year-Round Gift Certificates Available
207-743-6723
1408 Main St. • Route 26, Oxford, ME
Good Food!
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Good Friends! • Full service dining and bar on Norway Lake • Gorgeous view for all seasons • Come by boat or sled
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Haddock • Pasta • Salads Burgers • Pizza • Subs Open Mon. - Sat. 11-Close Sunday Noon - Close Our Own Famous BBQ Pork Family Owned & Operated since 1982 Norway Lake Road, Norway
743-8434
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Council of the Kinapik Tribe at Camp Kinapik in Lovell. Item # LB2007.1.101256 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
T
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Tim Murdough Owner
Free Estimates Fully Insured
Scoop & Gallery Ice Cream • UPS Handcrafted Home Decor Primitives & More ~ We are ATV Accessible ~
207-925-9005 • 426 Maine Street, Lovell
Land Clearing ▪ Selective Cutting Forestry Management
207-752-4771 murdoughlogging@hotmail.com
~ Serving Maine & New Hampshire ~
Maine’s first choice in excavating for nearly 50 years! dential & Commercial e Resi Site t e l Wo mp o rk C
Family business since 1968
Certified Septic System Installer Road Building Lot Clearing
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207.583.4632
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Wilson Excavating, Inc. Waterford, ME
Western Lakes & Mountains Region
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Early view of the grammar school building in Fryeburg. Item # LB2007.1.100872 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
Rick & Kevin Lewis Building & Remodeling
FRYEBURG
GLASS “We Keep it Simple”
New Homes • Cottages • Decks Renovations • Garages
Complete Auto & Home Glass Services Replacement Windows Shower Doors • Mirrors • Screens Custom Work & More!
Hearing Aids, Repairs & Accessories Allison Wolfe
~ Hearing Aid Specialist ~
Gary Cassily
207-935-1210
Quality Craftsmanship since 1968 • Bridgton, ME
330 Bridgton Rd., Suite 3 • Fryeburg, ME
639 Main Street, Fryeburg, ME
Stacy’s Service Center
R. W. Day Logging
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207-935-1158
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Septics • Driveways • Lot Clearing Foundations
Richard Owner
9 Oxen Pull Road • Fryeburg, ME
207-890-3721
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View of Main Street in Cornish ca. 1929. Item # LB2007.1.100439 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
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~ Est. 1886 ~ 104 Towles Hill Road, Cornish, ME 04020
highlandshop@gmail.com ~ Serving Mainers for over 130 years ~ David Pike 207-239-2977
Chad Pike 207-272-5100
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414 Lakewood Rd, Rt 201 | Madison ME
Western Lakes & Mountains Region
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Farwell Street in Lisbon. Item # LB2007.1.101236 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
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DIRECTORY OF ADVERTISERS
Business
Page
A.C. Auto Sales.....................................................................7 A.E. Robinson Oil Co., Inc. .............................................29 ABC Pool & Spa Center ..................................................60 Above and Beyond, LLC ................................................44 Absolut Services Inc. Excavation .................................13 Absolut Services Inc. Repair Shop ..............................13 Advantage Insurance .....................................................23 Affordable Well Drilling Excavation & Forestry ......43 Altus Construction ...........................................................50 Ames Construction Inc. .................................................30 Andrew Ames Logging .....................................................3 Archie’s Inc. Rubbish Removal ......................................8 Athens Corner Store ........................................................12 B&M Auto Repair ..............................................................62 Barker Tree Service & Logging ...................................49 Bay Haven Two Lobster Pound Restaurant ...........53 Belgrade Regional Health Center ...............................4 Bell Farms Inc. ..................................................................62 Bemis Construction ...........................................................15 Benchmark Appraisal .....................................................48 Benny’s Barber & Style Shop .....................................52 Bessey Insurance ............................................................23 Bethel Family Health Center ..........................................4 Big Dawg Concrete .......................................................22 Bill’s Auto Transport ..........................................................42 Bingham Area Health Center .........................................4 Bissonnette’s Plumbing & Heating ............................59 Blanchette Moving & Storage Co. ...............................7 Bob’s Cash Fuel .................................................................15 Bolster Monumental Works ..........................................65 Bolt Fabrics ........................................................................53 Boomers Restaurant & Saloon ....................................66 Boos Heating Company ................................................49 Boothby’s Orchard & Farm Winery ..........................40 Borsetti Construction Inc. ............................................52 Bowley Brook Pure Maple Syrup .................................21 Bradbury’s Market & Diner ............................................9 Broderick Construction .................................................37 Central Maine Community College .............................4 Central Maine Disposal .................................................33 Central Maine Powersports ..........................................44 Central Maine Sandblasting .........................................17 Central Tire Co. Inc. .........................................................32 Chim Chiminey Chimney Sweep ................................59 Chuck Wagon Restaurant .............................................40 Cole Harrison Insurance ...............................................25 Complete Denture Center ............................................39 Connie’s Place ..................................................................10 Cooper Farms ..................................................................21 Cornerstone Plumbing & Heating .............................56 Cornish Denture Center, LLC .....................................53 Coulthard’s Pools & Spas Inc. ......................................22 Country K9 & Cats .............................................................18 Crooked River Resources ...........................................50 Cushing Construction ......................................................41 D.A. Wilson & Co. Excavation ........................................21 D.H. Pinnette & Sons, Inc. ...............................................4 Daddy O’s ...........................................................................64 Damboise Garage ..........................................................34 Damon’s Beverage & Redemption - Waterville ......19 Dave’s Appliance ............................................................58 Davis Concrete ...................................................................7 Devaney, Doak & Garrett Booksellers ..................56 Dionne & Son Builders ....................................................32 Dirty Bristles Chimney Sweep Inc. .............................50 Don’s No Preference Towing ......................................46 Dovey’s Kitchen ...............................................................56 Drummond Construction ...............................................14 Dunn & Pakulski Optometrists ......................................17 E&B Auto & Bike Repair ...............................................23 E.R. Palmer Lumber Co. ..................................................28 E.W. Moore & Son Pharmacy ........................................12 Echo Lake Lodge & Cottages .....................................41 Ed Hodsdon Masonry, Inc. ..........................................59 Edge of Maine Frame & Gallery ..................................50 Edmunds Market ...............................................................10 Elijah’s Apples ..................................................................69 Ellis Variety .............................................................................8 Eric’s Restaurant ...............................................................35 Evergreen Valley Inn ......................................................49 Evergreens Campground & Restaurant ...................13 Fairfield Antiques Mall .......................................................6 Family Pet Connection & Grooming ............................17 Farmington Fair .................................................................55 Farmington Farmers Union ..........................................57 Fayette Country Store ....................................................59 Fine Line Paving & Grading .........................................28 Finelines Auto Body ........................................................52 Finley Funeral Home ......................................................58 Firefly Boutique ..................................................................51 Fireside Stove Shop & Fireplace Center ..................47 Five Fields Farm ..................................................................6 Flagstaff Area Business Association .......................25 Flagstaff General ................................................................11 Floormaster North .............................................................31 Franklin Memorial Hospital ..........................................38 Franklin Savings. Bank ........................................................5 Franklin-Somerset Federal Credit Union ..................3 Frederick Heating ............................................................18 Fryeburg Fair ....................................................................54 Fryeburg Glass ..................................................................68 G&G Cash Fuels ...............................................................43 G&L Contracting Lift Services .....................................36
Business
Page
Generators of Maine ......................................................36 Giberson Funeral Home ...............................................26 Greenwood Orchards Farmstand & Bakery ..........43 Gridiron Restaurant & Sports Pub ............................44 Grimaldi Concrete Floors & Countertops ..............39 Hall & Smith ........................................................................26 Hammond Lumber Company .....................................36 Hardys Motorsports ........................................................18 Harris Drug Store ............................................................26 Hathaway Mill Antiques .................................................34 HealthReach Community Health Centers .................4 High Tide Low Tide Seafood ........................................28 Highland Farms Logging, LLC .....................................69 Hight Ford .............................................................................6 Hillman’s Bakery ...............................................................19 Homestead Realty ............................................................41 Houston-Brooks Auctioneers .......................................6 Hungry Hollow Country Store .......................................5 Hydraulic Hose & Assemblies .......................................7 Ideal Electric.......................................................................33 Image Auto Body ...............................................................15 J&K Sporting Goods ......................................................21 J.D. Logging, Inc. ................................................................15 J.E.T.T. 24 Hour Towing & Transport ...........................40 J.L. Brochu, Inc. ...................................................................11 Jean Castonguay Excavating ........................................41 Jimmy’s Shop ‘N Save .....................................................13 Johnny Castonguay Logging & Trucking .................40 Johnson Foundations ....................................................28 Jordan Lumber Company .............................................12 JS Chambers Custom Carpentry .................................28 JW Awning Co. ................................................................59 Keith Hadley Inc. .................................................................8 Kelley Petroleum Products, Inc. ...................................17 Kiesman Drywall, Inc. ......................................................53 Kimball Insurance, LLC ..................................................14 KMD Auto Repair ...............................................................16 Knowles Lumber Company .........................................58 Korhonen Land Care & Excavation ............................9 Kramers Inc. .......................................................................42 L&L Day Firewood & Snowplowing ........................65 L.P. Poirier & Son Inc., Exacavation ............................45 LaCasse Shoe Repair, Inc. ............................................16 Lake Region Paving & Seal Coating ..........................52 Lakewood Continuing Care Center ..........................34 Laney’s Pit Stop ................................................................32 Langlois’ Auto Body & Auto Sales .............................43 Lapointe Custom Construction ..................................55 Larsen’s Electric ..................................................................9 Larsen’s Jewelry ...............................................................19 Lavallee’s Garage ............................................................14 Law Office of Brian D. Condon, Jr. Esq. ...................41 Lewiston House of Pizza ...............................................46 Liberte Auto Sales & Service ........................................46 Linkletter & Sons, Inc. .......................................................5 Lisbon Community Federal Credit Union .................43 Littlefield Paving ................................................................19 Lizotte Construction .........................................................42 Logan Home Builders ....................................................50 Long Green Variety ........................................................58 Long Pond Camps & Guide Service .........................3 Lovell’s Guilford Hardware ..........................................27 Lovewell Hearing ............................................................68 Luce’s Meats & Maple ..................................................30 Madison Area Health Center ........................................4 Maine Family Federal Credit Union ........................61 Maine Forest Service ......................................................67 Maine Historical Society .................................................8 Maine-ly Foam ...................................................................53 Maine Maple Products Inc. ...........................................15 Maine Outdoor Learning Center .................................69 Maine Pellet Sales LLC ...............................................60 Maine Roof Solutions ......................................................30 Maine’s Outdoor Learning Center ...........................69 Mains Earthwork & Construction ...............................47 Major’s Heating, LLC .......................................................63 Mama Bear’s Den .............................................................27 Maple Leaf Self Storage ...............................................55 Matheson Tri • Gas .............................................................45 Maurice Restaurant .........................................................48 Maynard’s in Maine .........................................................27 McAllister Accounting & Tax Services ....................57 McNaughton Construction ..........................................42 Memco Supply .................................................................57 Memorial Guard LLC .......................................................40 Merle Lloyd & Sons Earthwork Contractors ............15 Mexico Trading Post ...........................................................9 Mike Wainer Plumbing & Heating .............................35 Ming Lee Chinese Restaurant .....................................34 Montello Heights Retirement Community .............44 Moosehead Lake Region Chamber .........................13 Moosehead Motorsports ..............................................27 Moosehead Sled Repair & Rentals, LLC ................26 Mother India .......................................................................45 Moulton Lumber ...............................................................52 Mt. Abram Regional Health Center ...............................4 Mt. Blue Drug .....................................................................39 Murdough Logging & Chipping ...................................67 Naples Packing Co., Inc. .................................................9 Niedner’s Floor Finishing .............................................58 North Camps ......................................................................23 Northeast Laboratory Services ...................................5 Old Mill Stream Ice Cream Shoppe ...........................59
Business
Page
Oquossoc Marine ...........................................................24 Otis Federal Credit Union .............................................57 Our Village Market ...........................................................11 Oxford Casino .................................................back cover Oxford Federal Credit Union ....................................22 Oxford Hills Taxi ................................................................49 Packard Appraisal, Inc. ...................................................49 Pat’s Pizza Auburn ...........................................................46 Penobscot Marine Museum .........................................20 Perkins Management .....................................................33 Phil Carter’s Garage ........................................................19 Pitcher Perfect Tire Service .........................................37 Poor Bob’s Storage .........................................................19 Prime Financial Inc. .........................................................33 Quinn Hardware ...............................................................16 R.E. Lowell Lumber Inc. .................................................47 R.F. Automotive Repair ....................................................16 R.W. Day Logging ............................................................68 Randy’s Full Service Auto Repair, LLC ......................31 Rangeley Family Medicine .............................................4 Record Building Supply, Inc. ........................................65 Redington-Fairview General Hospital ......................31 Registered Maine Guide School ..............................69 Richard Wing & Son Logging Inc. ..............................50 Rick & Kevin Lewis Building & Remodeling ............68 Ricker Hill Orchards ........................................................42 Rick’s Garage ......................................................................31 Rideout’s Seasonal Services ......................................28 Rising Sun Cafe & Bakery ..............................................48 River Valley Grill ...............................................................23 Riverside Realty ...............................................................10 Rob Elliott Excavation & Trucking ...............................24 Robin L. Day & Sons .......................................................35 Rocky Ridge Orchard ......................................................45 Rod’s Cycle & RV ............................................................30 Rolfe Corporation .............................................................49 Ron’s Transmissions .......................................................59 Rottari Electric ..................................................................62 Rowell’s Garage Car Wash ............................................14 Rowell’s Garage Sales & Service ................................14 R.T.D Excavation ...............................................................68 Russell & Sons Towing ...................................................49 S.A. McLean, Inc. ..............................................................52 Sackett & Brake Survey, Inc. .........................................17 Sanders Auto Service .....................................................10 Shelly’s Hometown Market .........................................39 Sillanpaas Trading Post & Outfitters .........................24 Smedberg’s Farm ..........................................................66 Smile Again Dentures, Inc. ...........................................43 Solon Superette ...............................................................25 Spillover Motel .................................................................25 Spruce Mountain Pharmacy .........................................57 Stacy’s Service Center ..................................................68 Steinke & Caruso Dental Care ........................................3 Sterling Electric .................................................................39 Stetson’s Auto Service ..................................................64 Stevens Electric & Pump Service Inc. .......................4 Strong Area Health Center ............................................4 Strong Hardware & Building Supply .........................11 Styling Dog Grooming Boutique ................................61 Summit Roofing ................................................................23 Taylor’s Drug Store ..........................................................30 The Country Crows ........................................................55 The Homestead Scoop & Gallery ...............................67 The Irregular ......................................................................24 The Korner Store & Deli ................................................35 The Little Red Hen Diner & Bakery............................22 The Looney Moose Cafe ................................................12 The Sterling Inn ...............................................................26 The Town of Carthage .......................................................8 Thompson’s Orchard .....................................................47 Thompson’s Restaurant ...............................................26 Tilton’s Market ..................................................................64 Tire King ................................................................................16 Town of Farmington ........................................................37 Town of Mexico ..................................................................9 Trailside One Stop ..........................................................26 Trash Guyz ..........................................................................47 Tuck’s Ale House ...........................................................56 Tuttles Auto Sales .............................................................37 Upton House .....................................................................21 Valley Gas & Oil Company ..............................................11 Vintage Maine Images.com ..............................................8 W.D. Bickford Machinery ...............................................33 Wadsworth Woodlands Inc..........................................53 Warren Brothers Construction .....................................55 Weber Insurance Group ..............................................23 Weiss Drywall & Remodeling LLC ............................48 Western Maine Family Health Center ........................4 Western Maine Pharmacy, Inc. ....................................24 Western Maine Towing & Recovery ..........................47 Whitewater Farm Market ...............................................56 Whittemore & Sons Outdoor Power Equipment ....32 Whittemore Pool & Spa Management .......................21 Wilson Excavating, Inc. ..................................................67 Wilson Funeral Home ....................................................63 Winslow Automotive & Tire ...........................................18 Winslow Supply, Inc. ........................................................18 Woodlawn Rehab & Nursing Center ........................32 Wood-Mizer of Maine .....................................................58 YMCA of Auburn-Lewiston ...........................................46
~ 2017/18 Western Lakes & Mountains Region ~ Western Lakes & Mountains Region
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Southern Maine’S CaSino 24/7 CaSino aCtion 26
Lewiston/ Auburn
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95 26
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EXIT 63 Gray
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The fun never stops at Oxford Casino! Over Oxford Casino is southern Maine’s 850 state-of-the-art home for wicked good fun! slot machines, 28 heart-pounding table games and delicious food, only minutes from Portland. Portland
Persons under 21 years of age may not enter the restaurant or casino unless licensed as employees. Gambling problem? In Maine, call 2-1-1 or (800) 522-4700 for help.
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