Aroostook County 2012 by Discover Maine Magazine

DISCOVER

MAINE Volume 9, Issue 1

Maine’s History Magazine Aroostook County

Free 2012

www.discovermainemagazine.com The Wilders Of Washburn Known as Aroostook pioneers

Aroostook’s Lady Historian: Stella King White Author’s best works are difficult to find

Allagash High School Girls Basketball Bobcats dominated in the 1970s

Discover Maine

— Aroostook County —

~ Inside This Edition ~

The Wilders Of Washburn Known as Aroostook pioneers Charles Francis

Deep Woods Alcohol “Rotgut” almost killed a Piscataquis County logger in 1911 Ian MacKinnon

10 Little House In Linneus Local Maine writer remembers her move to the County Christine Laws 12 William Howard Taft Pays A Visit Former president was sent to the County to drum up support for the war effort Charles Francis 16 John Crowley’s Little, Big Book honored on 25th anniversary Charles Francis 20 Travels With Charlie: Day Trips Through Maine History Along the Maliseet Trail Charles Francis 24 Aroostook’s Lady Historian: Stella King White Author’s best works are difficult to find Charles Francis 28 Houlton’s Henry C. Merriam Leader of the Union Army’s first African-American Regiment James Nalley 32 Selling Fords In Caribou Since 1912 Dealership close to 100th birthday Ian MacKinnon 35 Allagash High School Girls Basketball Bobcats dominated in the 1970s Ian MacKinnon 38 An Acadien Odyssey: The Martin Saga A history of the Martins of Madawaska Charles Francis 43 Scripture Cake Topped With Burnt Jeremiah And Other County Delicacies Aroostook County is rich in traditional foods Charles Francis 46 Alice Rowena (Lunney) Gregory Life-long resident of Westfield remembered Timothy Lunney 47 Directory Of Advertisers See who helps us bring Maine’s history to you!

Discover Maine Magazine Aroostook County Published Annually by CreMark, Inc. 10 Exchange Street, Suite 208 Portland, Maine 04101 (207) 874-7720 info@discovermainemagazine.com

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Publisher

Jim Burch

Designer & Editor Michele Farrar

Advertising & Sales Manager Tim Maxfield

Advertising & Sales Kelly Collins Chris Girouard Tim Maxfield Craig Palmacci

Office Manager Liana Merdan

Field Representatives George Tatro Dave Strater

Contributing Writers

Charles Francis fundy67@yahoo.ca Christine Lawes Timothy Lunney Ian MacKinnon James Nalley

Discover Maine Magazine is distributed to fraternal organizations, shopping centers, libraries, 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 © 2012, CreMark, Inc.

SubSCRIPTION FORM ON PAgE 36 Front cover photo: Fire Engine “Chemical #1” in Fort Fairfield from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org All photos in Discover Maine’s Aroostook County 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.

— Aroostook County —

Discover Maine

Notes From The Fayette Ridge by Michele Farrar A few years ago my old friend Bob, who lives up here on the ridge, decided to finish his semi-finished basement. His nephew Ralph was attending college in Farmington, and Bob figured his basement would make a great apartment for Ralph, whose finances didn’t mesh with the price of room and board at school. Bob hired a contractor who tore down the paneling and put up insulation and drywall. He painted the basement floor and purchased a rug from the salvage room at Marden’s. They hung a drop ceiling and installed lights with dimmer switches. The laundry room was upgraded to a bathroom with a shower and a toilet that each had to be built on a two-foot platform so they would drain down. (The grandkids love this as the toilet sits like a throne “way up high.”) With all of the renovations complete, Ralph moved in at the end of December. The only heat source in Bob’s basement is a Russian fireplace. This is a centuries-old design of bricks and chambers, where it takes all day to heat up the mass of bricks, but then it radiates heat out for the next three days. Bob figured Ralph could learn the basic skills required for the fireplace. The concept is this: you open up the flues and build a gigantic, hot fire.

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Once that burns down, you close the flues and the heat circulates through the chambers, heating the exterior bricks, which warm the room. Ralph ordered wood from a friend, stacked it neatly outside, and began the task of heating the basement. He got the fire going, let it burn to coals, shut the flues, and headed out to school. He came home that night and was mildly disappointed by the fact that he could see his breath while standing in the middle of his living room. Bob set him up with a couple of portable electric heaters, figuring Ralph would get better at gauging when the flues should be shut on the Russian fireplace. Since Ralph seemed content, Bob assumed everything was fine. Bob respected Ralph’s privacy, and they saw each other occasionally when Ralph would come upstairs for dinner. After the first month, Bob noticed an increase in his electric bill, which he had expected since there was another person living in the house and more lights were being used. Plus, there were the two portable electric heaters to consider. The next month Bob got an electric bill for $700 — for one month. He knocked on the basement door and went downstairs to have a chat with Ralph. Apparently Ralph had picked up several more portable electric heaters from family and friends, and he was running them constantly in

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every room. He sheepishly explained that he never quite got the hang of running the Russian fireplace, and the friend who sold him the firewood had delivered two cords of wet, green wood. Bob and Ralph had a heart-to-heart discussion about how it’s always better to “man up” and admit your mistakes as opposed to creating a situation that doesn’t present itself until much later (i.e., the gigantic electric bill). Then Bob gave Ralph another lesson on operating the Russian fireplace, using his own wood which was seasoned and dry. A week later, Bob took a trip to the Home Depot and came back with a kerosene heater. If you light it outside and then bring it in, it doesn’t smell. It doesn’t cost much to use, and it heats the basement quickly and comfortably. Ralph lived in that basement apartment for two years, and he and Bob became very close. Bob was happy to have the company, and I’m sure Ralph heard all of Bob’s best stories, which were probably more educational than most of what he learned in college. Bob rented out the basement apartment the next year to a “hippie couple” who helped him with his garden. They stayed for two years, and after they left in the early fall, Bob was curious why their favorite variety of tomato plants never actually produced fruit. 

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— Aroostook County —

The Wilders Of Washburn Known as Aroostook pioneers

by Charles Francis hen Vernum Wilder of Washburn died in 1926, he was eulogized in part with the following words: It is not only a distinct loss to his immediate community, but to the county as a whole, whose strength is in the citizenship of such men and which is made the poorer by the loss of such useful and high-minded lives. These are heartfelt words. However, they in no way reflect the impact of the death of a man who did much for Aroostook County as a whole, or his immediate family and friends. Yet, they do say something of Vernum Wilder’s place in the county he and the Wilder family helped pioneer. The Wilder name is a well-known one in Washburn. The fact that the home another Wilder, Benjamin, built is part of a museum — the Benjamin Wilder Home-

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stead & Aroostook Agricultural Museums — speaks to this fact. Local histories like that of Washburn as well as neighboring Crouseville also speak to the fact in chronicling the role various Wilders played in their development. In a sense the Wilder family serves as a In a sense the Wilder family serves as a prototype of the early settlers of Aroostook County who came in the first decades of the nineteenth century from southern and eastern Maine and New Brunswick and stayed on to continue building Aroostook into the next centuries.

prototype of the early settlers of Aroostook County who came in the first decades of the nineteenth century from southern and eastern Maine and New Brunswick and stayed on to continue building Aroos-

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took into the next centuries. They are prototypes in that they were willing to take chances and in that they were workers. Most of the early Wilders to venture into the Aroostook region came from Perry, Dennysville and Pembroke in Washington County. Isaac Wilder, the first of the family in the Aroostook region, was from Washington County. So, too, were Isaac’s brothers, Benjamin and Robert. Intriguingly, Vernum and a number of his siblings were born in New Brunswick. Their father Robert, the son of the first Robert, moved there for a time. Most likely the younger Robert Wilder had pioneering visions of his own. Vernum Ellsworth Wilder (his name also appears as Vernon) was born in 1874. He was the son of Robert and Amanda (Brown) Wilder. Robert Wilder was the (Continued on page 6)

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— Aroostook County —

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Main Street, Washburn. Item #102846 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

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(Continued from page 4)

son of Robert Wilder of Washington County. Isaac Wilder came to what would become Washburn in or just before 1840. In doing so, Isaac was joining the two earliest settlers of the area, Nathaniel Churchill and Thomas McDonald, who had moved there from New Brunswick. Vernum Wilder was a member of the fifth generation of the Wilder family to make Washburn their home. As was typical of the time, Vernum Wilder’s formal education ended with the common schools of Washburn. This did not mean, however, that Vernum’s education ended. From that point on, he stands as an example of a self-educated man and all that someone with that type of education can accomplish. Accounts of Vernum Wilder’s early life — before he moved into the public eye — indicate that he lived on the family homestead, making it into one of the most productive farms in Aroostook County. In doing so he seems to have made himself into a pillar of the community and be-

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— Aroostook County —

came a recognized expert in the raising of seed potatoes and Jersey cattle. He also went into the fertilizer business. As would be expected of a businessman-farmer whose prosperity depended on getting his goods to market, Vernum Wilder was keenly interested in issues of transportation and the development of Aroostook County’s infrastructure as a whole. This led to his involvement with and support of one of Aroostook County’s great developers and political leaders, Senator Arthur Gould. Vernum Wilder was one of the first and strongest supporters and promoters of the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad. In fact, Senator Gould and various members of the Burleigh family — who were among its chief financial raisers — as well as Wingate Cram, the railroad’s great technical architect, said that it was “Wilder’s strong influence that was one of the important factors that made the building of the road a success.” Another of Vernum Wilder’s great interests was the Northern Maine Fair. He

was a director of the fair for years, and in the early decades of the twentieth century was considered to be its “moving spirit.” It was at this time that the fairgrounds in Presque Isle were expanded with larger buildings, and as patronage increased, the Northern Maine Fair became the foremost agricultural fair in Maine. Back in Washburn, Wilder was a backbone of the community. Besides holding a variety of municipal offices, he was one of the prime movers in the founding of the volunteer fire department. He was also active in a large number of service groups ranging from the Grange to the Washburn Baptist Church, where he organized the Men’s Bible Class. Given that Vernum Wilder was such a bulwark of his community and county it was only fitting that the eulogy on his passing also included what follows: The sudden and untimely death of Mr. Wilder is a great shock to his family, to a very large circle of friends, and is a distinct loss to the community... where he had lived his life so cleanly, usefully and worthily.

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— Aroostook County —

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Deep Woods Alcohol “Rotgut” almost killed a Piscataquis County logger in 1911 by Ian MacKinnon “dead man riding” saved a “dead man freezing” north of Mount Katahdin in late December 1911. During the winter of 1910-11, Edward Parent of Boston had harvested wood in northern Piscataquis County for the Bangor Timberland Company. In his mid-20s, Parent earned decent money that winter before returning home. In early October 1911 he signed on with the Finn Labor Agency (located on Boston’s Hanover Street) to work for Bangor Timberland during the winter of 1911-12. Manager John Kelley remembered Parent as a smart and hardworking man and approved his hiring; Parent immediately shipped north by train. Recently separated from his wife, Parent had apparently suffered ill health that summer; how his deteriorating physical

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condition escaped detection at Finn Labor remains a mystery. When he arrived at Bangor Timberland’s woods camp in Each winter in Maine, loggers worked long hours while felling trees with crosscut saws and broad axes. Bundled against the plummeting thermometer and wind-driven snow, hardy men suffered injuries and endured illnesses that would hospitalize city folks.

Township 9, Range 4 — a sprawling forest southeast of Masardis in mid-October, Parent already felt ill. Each winter in Maine, loggers worked long hours while felling trees with crosscut saws and broad axes. Bundled against the plummeting thermometer and winddriven snow, hardy men suffered injuries

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and endured illnesses that would hospitalize city folks. Bangor Timberland sent Parent and other loggers to a harvesting operation based at the company’s Webster Brook Camp in northern Piscataquis County. Rising at Webster Lake in Township 6, Range 11, Webster Brook flows across northwestern Baxter State Park — not yet on Percival Baxter’s political horizon in 1911 — before reaching Grand Lake Matagamon. Each spring during the early 20th century, fast-flowing Webster Brook carried harvested logs downstream to Grand Lake Matagamon, from which loggers could “work” the logs south along the East Branch of the Penobscot River. No logs float on Webster Brook today, of (Continued on page 8)

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— Aroostook County —

Old Grand Lake Dam (Matagamon) ca. 1900. Detail of item #8268 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com

Oakfield Railroad Museum Tours for groups & charter buses available by prior arrangement admission to the museum is free. However, donations are appreciated. The museum is open from memorial Day through labor Day, on saturdays and sundays, and is wheelchair accessible.

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— Aroostook County —

(Continued from page 8)

course, but a circa-1900 photo of Webster Brook Falls shows a sluiceway aimed downriver beneath the falls. Loggers would “sluice” logs around waterfalls to avoid damaging or losing precious logs, which represented income to timber company investors. Edward Parent worked in the Webster Brook forests for several weeks until contracting pneumonia. He died at Webster Brook Camp on Sunday, December 17. Meanwhile, a North Attleboro, Massachusetts logger named William White worked either at the Webster Brook Camp or at another logging camp located farther to the east. Possibly the day that Parent died, White and a Bangor logger named Joe Nolan left their camp and went on a bender, patronizing North Woods bars while walking east along the Sebois tote road. White carried $6 in cash and a $23 money order. At Bangor Timberland’s Webster Brook Camp, the manager told a tote driver on Wednesday, December 20 to hitch up a

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team and transport Parent’s body on the Sebois tote road to a Patten funeral home. Miles east of the woods camp, the tote driver later discovered White sprawled frozen and “dead” on the snow-covered road. Lifting the “corpse” into his wagon, the tote driver soon realized that White still breathed! Fortunately for him, he had collapsed about a half mile from a main road; the tote driver quickly reached that highway and lashed his team to a Shin Pond camp. There a telegraph operator summoned help, and Bangor Timberland Co. quickly sent a doctor to examine White. The physician discovered that White suffered from extreme frost bite, especially in his hands and feet; he would lose some fingers and toes before he recovered. The tote driver and his team plodded southeast to Patten, where a funeral director placed Parent’s frozen corpse in a local cemetery’s receiving tomb before notifying his family about his death. As for White, an investigation revealed

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that he and Nolan had consumed rotgut alcohol during their “toot” across northern Piscataquis County. White’s empty pockets attested to his missing cash and money order, but an inquest ruled out robbery. The highway-robbery prices that loggers paid for moonshine liquor likely consumed White’s $6, and he probably dropped the money order somewhere in the North Woods. Although Piscataquis County technically was “dry,” lawmen seldom disturbed the illegal bars that fleeced the hard-working and hard-drinking loggers. Prices per shot could run from $1 to $5; with money in their pockets and little entertainment other than a good woods camp brawl to divert their attention, too many loggers wound up drunk and frozen, just like William White. Such loggers often wound up dead, too, just like White, but he was saved by a “dead man riding” to Patten.  Other businesses from this area are featured in the color section.

York’s Bookstore 19 Market Square, Houlton, ME 04730 Tel. (207) 532-3354 Paperbacks • Hardcovers Special Orders • Best Sellers Gifts For All Occasions Hallmark Cards Russell Stover Candies Open All Year

Discover Maine 10

— Aroostook County —

by Christine Laws ad glanced at the house photo I had shown him. “Where is that place?” he asked, with as much interest as a lobster has in a pot of hot water. “Aroostook County.” I said. “Hundred miles north of Bangor.” “Oh, you don’t want to live up there.” Dad shooed away an invisible blackfly. “Every winter would be like the Blizzard of ’78.” Well, I was sure I did want to live up there. They say Aroostook County is the way Maine used to be, a place where folks wave to you whether you know them or not. Some call it God’s country — that sounded good to me. What better place to live than that? So after a few visits, we found a little house in Linneus. I gave Mom and Dad the new address, leaving out the fact that it had once been called Poverty Road. They had enough misgivings about our income potential as it was. That winter even I had some misgiv-

Little House In Linneus Local Maine writer remembers her move to the County

View at Linneus Corner. Item #112843 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

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Looking for something to do? The Greater Houlton area is an all-season vacation spot Hunting • Fishing • Camping Biking • Hiking • Snowmobiling Canoeing • ATV Trails Antique & Other Unique Shopping in Historic Market Square More than 12 events scheduled each year Southern Aroostook Trade Show • Band Concerts in the Park • Midnight Madness • 4th of July Fireworks Craft & Agricultural Fairs • Annual Bed Race Pumpkin Fest & Fall Festivals • Chamber Members’ Giant Yard Sale • River Canoe Race Soap Box Derby • County Open Golf Tournaments & many more not listed yet!

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— Aroostook County —

ings. We’d driven four hundred miles north to drop off some of our furniture and to check on things, since we couldn’t move until spring. When we pulled up to where the house was supposed to be, all we saw was a mountain of snow towering over our truck. So, a little bewildered, we scrambled up the snowplow pile and trudged to the house. Then we contemplated how twenty below zero really feels. We got the woodstove going and soon forgot about the cold since it started raining in the living room. Later we learned about ice damming, but at the time I supposed the house we’d just bought needed a new roof that we couldn’t afford. By moving day, though, I was thinking more positively, partly to counteract Mom and Dad’s doubts. But they smiled and waved good-bye, even though what they really wanted to say was, “You are out of your minds! Don’t go there. This is stupid.” Moving day had been in May, so Dad conceded that there might not be any blizzards for at least a month, maybe two. And we really did have good weather, until

October when we got a foot of snow. I remembered Dad’s dire prediction then, but I still doubted the winter would be all that bad. And it wasn’t. Not that year, anyway. Nor was the job scene as bleak as they’d predicted, at least not to our way of thinking. My husband worked at a potato farm for a time, then got a job making fencepost caps at a mill. And later he built sheds. We scraped by, but the County had benefits worth more than money. For instance, we had fresh vegetables from our garden and fruit from a few apple trees in the yard. We made applesauce, though it was pretty chunky since we didn’t have a mill. But it was good, and so was the well water. It was head-aching cold even in July. Even Mom and Dad admitted they liked the water. They drove up now and then to see us — in the warm months, of course. And although they’d rather have seen shopping malls and chain restaurants instead of potato fields and evergreen trees, they were at least relieved to see that

Discover Maine

the house we’d bought wasn’t nearly as dilapidated as they’d imagined. We had running water, after all, except when the pipes froze. And the mice usually stayed in the attic, at least during the day. The back bedroom got pretty drafty, but that was a good thing in the summer months. One time a neighbor who’d helped build the place confessed that, “Mistakes were made.” But it was our house, mistakes and all. And it was in a little town where you can still pay a small amount of money for a huge amount of food, that even Dad marveled at. Where you can order a pile of deep-fried pickles, red hot dogs with a side of homemade fries, and whoopie pies for dessert, while feeling good about it — at least when Mom’s not in town. That’s the way Maine used to be, the way it still is in the County. What better place to live than that?  Other businesses from this area are featured in the color section.

Cozy Cor ner

Patty Schools: Owner

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Discover Maine 12

— Aroostook County —

Former president was sent to the County to drum up support for the war effort by Charles Francis n May 11, 1917 the Bangor & Aroostook deposited a very special passenger in Houlton. That passenger was none other than the portly William Howard Taft, former President of the United States. Taft descended the train to be greeted by a throng of well-wishers and formally welcomed to Aroostook County by the almost as portly Frederick A. Powers, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Maine and life-long stalwart of the Maine Republican Party. The fact that the only American President to finish third in a bid for re-election would be greeted in Aroostook County with almost complete approbation on the part of county residents serves as an example of how political sentiments may change with circumstances. Five years earlier Taft might just have descended the train to a totally different sort of welcome. The station platform could have been empty or nearly so, or those there might have welcomed him with protest banners and booing. William Howard Taft’s visit to Aroostook County was made in an official capacity — or at least a quasi-official capacity. Just one month earlier President Woodrow Wilson had asked Congress to declare war on Germany and Congress had complied. Now Wilson was sending out a hand-picked cadre of nationally known

William Howard taft pays a Visit keVin carmicHael

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431 Bangor St. • Houlton, ME

Dunbar Equipment

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Your hosts: Jay & Melissa Peavey 87 Main Street, Mars Hill, Maine

— Aroostook County —

Discover Maine

figures as his representatives to drum up support for the war efHoulton was a natural stopping place for one of President fort and the former President was one of this chosen group. Wilson’s chosen representatives to visit in order to garner supIn 1918 President Wilson would name Taft to chair the pow- port for the war effort, though William Howard Taft may have erful National War Labor Board, the agency seemed an odd choice as one of Wilson’s repempowered to arbitrate disputes between manresentatives. agement and labor. In 1917, however, Taft was As President and then in the years immedivisiting the country’s producers — manufacately following his unsuccessful bid for re-electurers and farmers — at Woodrow Wilson’s betion, Taft had advocated world peace through hest to ensure their support as the country arbitration. His ideas for maintaining world geared up for war. Aroostook County was impeace are sometimes credited with serving as portant to the war effort because of its agrithe inspiration for the League of Nations, the culture. failed model for the United Nations. In 1914, Back when William Howard Taft had been the year that war broke out in Europe, Taft elected President in 1908, Aroostook County founded the League to Enforce Peace. When had voted for him in landslide fashion. Back the United States entered the Great War, as then Taft had been the hand-picked successor World War I was then known, Taft came out in of Theodore Roosevelt, and Roosevelt, who favor of conscription and for an all-out effort visited the county often, was immensely popurather than fighting what he called a “finicky” lar there. In 1912, however, the New York Times war. Frederick A. Powers reported Aroostook farmers “so incensed with As to why Houlton was a good stopping President Taft over the proposed reciprocity measure that the place for one of President Wilson’s representatives, this had to Democrats believe they will capture hundreds of votes.” Reci- do with the attitude of Houlton and county residents as a whole procity angered Aroostook farmers because it meant Canadian toward the war, and to one man in particular — Colonel Frank products like potatoes competing in the United States market tar- M. Hume. (Continued on page 14) iff-free.

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Discover Maine 14

— Aroostook County —

(Continued from page 13)

doubtful if any other Houlton resident equalled him as far as community standing was concerned. The Honorable Frederick Powers was a lawyer and politician as well as a judge. His legal career began when he formed Powers and Powers in Houlton with his brothers Llewellyn and Don A. H. Powers. Llewellyn went on to serve as Maine Governor and Don to hold numerous influential positions. Frederick Powers was a state representative and senator and Maine Attorney General. Late in life he was an unsuccessful candidate for United States Senator. He served as president of Houlton’s Farmers National Bank. Did William Howard Taft’s visit to Aroostook County have any real influence on the attitude of county residents regarding the war? One suspects not. At the most, the visit probably changed area farmers’ opinions regarding Taft. He was viewed as just another patriotic American, not as the President who had wanted to make it difficult for Aroostook crops to

When Congress declared war, Houlton area men immediately stepped forward to enlist in the Maine National Guard, 2nd Maine Infantry. The 2nd Maine Infantry was commanded by Frank Hume. Colonel Hume was a Houlton man. Early on Hume called on area men to enlist, and he was heeded. Former President Taft toured Houlton in an open car. Pictures from that era show Taft and Frederick Powers sitting side by side at the rear of the car. The car appears to be riding lower that it normally would. A picture of the car with Taft standing shows a definite list to the passenger side — Taft’s side. Frederick Powers does not appear in the least diminished when compared with the 300plus pound Taft. Nor does Powers appear in any way less dignified. It is as if the two were hewn from the same block of granite. And perhaps they were. Frederick A. Powers could best be described as rock solid Republican. It is

compete in an open market. In August of 1917 the 2nd Maine Infantry, along with members of National Guard units from other New England states, became the 103rd Regiment of the famous Twenty-Sixth Division. Colonel Frank Hume was the 103rd Regiment’s commander. The regiment was in the forefront at the battles of the Marne, St. Mihiel and the Argonne. When the armistice ending the Great War was declared, Houlton celebrated by roasting a Peace Ox. In 1921 William Howard Taft was named Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. On that occasion many Houlton area residents remembered Taft’s May 1917 visit and his tour with Frederick Powers. Judge Powers died in February 1923.

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

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— Aroostook County —

Discover Maine

Early view of Main Street in Blaine. Item #114628 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

Alan Clair

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Discover Maine 16

— Aroostook County —

John Crowley’s Little, Big Book honored on 25th anniversary by Charles Francis

t is not often that an author has a work brought out in a 25th anniversary edition, especially when it is a work of fantasy. Presque Isle-born John Crowley had that unique experience, though, in 2009. The title of the work is Little, Big. “John Crowley?” you say. “Just who is John Crowley and just what is so remarkable about his book Little, Big?” Little, Big —the complete title is Little, Big: or The Fairies’ Parliament — has been called “A neglected masterpiece. The closest achievement we have to the Alice stories of Lewis Carroll.” The individual who said this is Harold Bloom. Bloom’s comment — there will be more on him — just begins to touch on the uniqueness of Little, Big and John Crowley. Little,Big came out in 1981. The next year it won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel and the Mythopoetic Fantasy

Award. So what! you may think, those are genre awards. Genre awards don’t mean anything in the broader arena of serious literature! But hold on! John Crowley received a serious award, too — the Academy of Arts and Letters Award for Literature. When Crowley received the prestigious award, Little, Big and a four-volume fantasy work, Ægypt, were cited. It would seem that Crowley was regarded as a serious author and Little, Big as serious literature even given the fantasy genre. But just how serious? Do they meet the ultimate test? The test of the literary critic? Do they come up to the standards of the refined academic? For that we will turn to Harold Bloom again. Harold Bloom regards Little, Big as one of the five best novels by a living author. Bloom also calls Crowley his “favorite contemporary author.” And Harold Bloom’s opinion counts for something — in fact, it

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— Aroostook County —

counts for a good deal. Harold Bloom is the foremost literary critic today. In 2003, The New York Times called him “the most influential critic of the last quarter century... [a critic with] a kind of heart-relation to literature.” The Times went on to say in describing Bloom’s own writing that “A critic who writes this well has a right to instruct us.” Harold Bloom is Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. Before that he was Charles Eliot Norton Professor at Harvard. He is a respected religion critic. The latter term is used in a manner similar to that of literary critic. Bloom is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Belles Lettres. He has some thirty books to his credit, many of which have topped the New York Times best seller list like Genius. Other Bloom

“Our service is what we stand by”

John Crowley works include How to Read and Why and The Western Canon. In a generic sense, Western canon is used to denote those examples of literature, music and art that have been most influential in shaping western culture and

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Discover Maine

civilization. It references the “greatest works of artistic merit.” The Western canon is the chief determining factor of “high culture.” The subject of Harold Bloom’s The Western Canon is literature alone. Bloom includes John Crowley’s Little, Big as he also does Crowley’s four-volume Ægypt series in his compendium. John Crowley was born in Presque Isle in 1942. His father was stationed there in the Army Air Corps. Crowley lived in Vermont and Kentucky in his later adolescent years. He studied literature at Indiana University. The influence of New England and Maine are clear in some of his most notable work, especially Little, Big. He wrote two fantasy novels before his third, Engine Summer, was nominated for the American Book Award in 1980. Then came Little, Big, the book (Continued on page 18)

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Discover Maine 18

— Aroostook County —

(Continued from page 17)

buildings and emotional states. Some of the idiom used in the work is downeast Yankee. Some might even find tinges of Aroostook County. While there are fairies in the tale, they are a part of a deep background, something simply there, like the north woods. Sometime after the publication of Little, Big, Crowley began a correspondence with Harold Bloom. This eventually led to Crowley joining the faculty of Yale in 1993. As of this writing he is still teaching there — courses in screen and fiction writing and in Utopian fantasy. Altogether John Crowley has some fifteen fantasy novels to his credit. He and his wife Laurie have a production company, Straight Ahead Pictures, which specializes in films on American history and culture. When one pictures fantasy novels for sale, the image is of racks of paperbacks with lurid covers. The books don’t stay on the racks long. The reason for this is that

that fantasy maven Ursula K. Le Guin said “all by itself calls for a redefinition of fantasy.” The setting of Little, Big is clearly New England. Those who know northern New England, especially Maine, cannot but sense the ambiance of the region. The plot centers around the Drinkwater family. That name in itself spells northern New England. Intertwining Drinkwater familial relationships give the work even more of a sense of northern New England. Everything in Little, Big speaks to John Crowley’s deep appreciation of a unique people and place, from the huge size of the Drinkwater family to the role the changing seasons play in their lives. The title itself refers to the fact that what can be found inside a seeming small facade can, in fact, be a great deal larger. The theme is a recurring one, one that relates to physical objects as well as personalities,

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

Underwood Electric, Inc.

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publishers opt for short runs. The books have limited appeal to a limited audience. John Crowley’s work is different. Its audience is those who Samuel Johnson, the first great literary critic, described as “common readers.” Common readers for Johnson were literate men and women. John Crowley’s work, especially Little, Big and Ægypt, is deeply engrossing. It stands the test of rereading and then reading again. As to whether it will stand the ultimate test alongside the work of a Melville or a Dickens, only time will tell, time and future generations of common readers. Perhaps in the publication of the 25th anniversary edition of Little, Big there is a hint 

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— Presque Isle — 207-769-2181

— Aroostook County —

Discover Maine

Winter on Exchange Street in Ashland. Item #100034 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

masardis

trading post general Store With good Food! “You wouldn’t believe itS 85 the stuff you’ll find!” On

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Ashland Food Mart, Inc. 256 Presque Isle road • ashland

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Portage, Maine

Telephone (207) 435-7908

Discover Maine 20

— Aroostook County —

Travels With Charlie: Day Trips Through Maine History by Charles Francis oute 11 in northern Aroostook County is a busy, much traveled road. From Ashland it runs in a northwesterly direction to Fort Kent on the St. John. Along the way it passes through the appropriately named Portage, Winterville, Eagle Lake, Wallagrass and Soldier Pond. While few today realize it, Route 11 is a very old road. Long before settlers from southern Maine made their way to Ashland and the other communities along Route 11 — even before the Acadians came to the St. John Valley — what was to become Route 11 was well-traveled. Or at least the river it parallels, the Fish, was well-traveled. The earliest to travel the Fish River as it makes its way from what is now Fort Kent

Along the Maliseet Trail to Ashland were, of course, Native Americans. The Native Americans who traveled the Fish River did so by canoe in the warm months and snowshoe in winter. Those who knew it well were Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Micmac and

Maliseet. Of them, the Maliseet knew it best, for the Fish was one of the chief rivers of the region where they made their home. Unfortunately for these four tribes that

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knew the Fish River well, other tribes also knew it. One of those tribes was the Mohawk. The Mohawk of what is today upstate New York used it when they went on the warpath. In fact, their depredations on the four above-named eastern tribes, who used it for peaceful purposes like trade, fishing and trapping, were so great that no name was more feared among them than that of Mohawk. Today there is still a vital oral tradition in which the name Mohawk strikes twinges of dread among those attuned to the tales of legends of their past. The Fish River is a part of what is still known as the Maliseet Trail. Fanny Hardy Eckstrom wrote about the Maliseet Trail in her 1920 book Indian Trails of Maine. More recently, David Cook devoted a

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Giberson-Dorsey

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144 Main St., Fort Fairfield, ME

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207-325-4258

— Aroostook County —

portion of his 1985 work Indian Canoe Routes of Maine to it. Reading what either author has to say about the Fish River as a Native American travel route gives one a sense of how important the river was. Nothing, however, equals traveling Route 11 with a perspective of stepping back into a time before the first settlers came to northern Aroostook County. The Fish River section of the Maliseet Trail actually encompasses a bare third of the trail in northern Maine. In Aroostook County the Maliseet Trail forms a circle, beginning and ending — if one will — at Fort Kent. From Ashland the trail goes due west to the Allagash River. From there it follows the latter river to the St. John and then back to Fort Kent. The full Maliseet Trail is much more, however. Anthropologists and historians have determined it ran all the way across Maine from Fort Kent to New Hampshire and Vermont, and then to Old Forge in upstate New York. This is how it came to be an attack route used by the Mohawk. For purposes of a day trip back into the

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days when Native Americans traveled the Maliseet Trail in northern Aroostook County, or when the Mohawk used it to spread fear and dread, it is enough to follow Route 11 between Ashland and Fort Kent. The more adventurous can, however, take the American Realty Road from Ashland west towards the Allagash. This old logging road parallels streams and lakes like Big Machias and Musquacook. In 1694 French Canadian Governor Villebon gave the homeland of the Maliseet as covering a territory roughly encompassing the valleys of the St. John and the Riviere du Loup. (The latter is in Quebec east of the St. Lawrence.) The “Malecite” [sic] Villebon said ranged to the coast of what is now downeast Maine. Maliseet (no matter what spelling is used) is different from the name the tribe originally used for itself. That has been variously presented as Wolastoqiyik, Wulustukieg and other spellings. Its meaning is often given as “beautiful river.” Very early maps of northern Aroostook County have the St. John River as the Wal-

loostook or Maine St. John. We can see Walloostook as an English language version of a form of the Maliseet’s own name for themselves. Madawaska, once the name for the region which includes Fort Kent, is also Maliseet in origin. Fort Kent, where this day trip either begins or ends, was said by Edward Wiggin to be “full of grand views and beautiful landscape pictures.” In fact, Wiggin said nowhere in the Aroostook “are [views] more beautiful than upon the upper St. John.” Perhaps this is why the Maliseet chose to call themselves “beautiful river.” Beyond Fort Kent on Route 11 lies Soldier Pond. It takes its name from the days of the Aroostook War. It is a wonderful spot for a picnic. Soldier Pond is in Wallagrass Plantation, an early Acadian settlement. The Fish River is in part formed by chains of lakes and ponds. For this reason it is often referred to as the Fish River Chain of Lakes. Eagle Lake is one of the bodies of water that forms the chain.

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(Continued on page 22)

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Terry’s

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Refrigerators Air Conditioners Laundry Appliances Cooking Appliances LP Appliances

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Discover Maine 22

— Aroostook County —

(Continued from page 21)

Its name comes from the eagles that soldiers coming north for the Aroostook War saw here. Beyond Eagle Lake lies Winterville. Here one encounters beautiful St. Froid Lake. It and other ponds and streams of the region are a fisherman’s paradise. Then comes Portage. Portage is the end of the Fish River Chain Canoe Trip that begins at St. Agatha. The Portage area is a thickly forested region still filled with beaver dams as it was in the days when the Maliseet were the only people to make their home here. At Ashland one can either end this day trip following the Maliseet Trail, or travel west towards Big Machias Lake and the Allagash River. A quick side trip on Route 227 takes one to 1341-foot-high Haystack Mountain with its view over the land that once knew the footstep of the Maliseet as well as their dreaded foe, the Mohawk. Other businesses from this area are featured in the color section.

Noon lunch at Eagle Lake, 1911. Horace A. Bailey, left, and Henry L. Withee, photographed themselves at a lunch break on Eagle Lake as part of their nine-day canoe trip from the tip of Moosehead Lake to Fort Kent. Detail of item #17553 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com

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— Aroostook County —

Aroostook’s Lady Historian: Stella King White Author’s best works are difficult to find by Charles Francis tella King White dearly loved her home state, Maine. In like manner she loved her home county, Aroostook. There is ample evidence to back this up. As a guiding light of the Book Publication Committee of the state’s most powerful women’s organization, the Maine Federation of Women’s Clubs, White did much to encourage writers of Maine history by helping them see their work put into print. In like manner, White contributed to the preservation of Maine history and traditions with her own work. Today it is difficult to find examples of Stella King White’s published work. What is currently available appears most often as quotes and citations in recently published local histories. This is true of her best known work, Early History of Caribou Maine. Aroostook County has been and is for-

tunate to have a number of dedicated and highly competent writers to compile county history. To name just a few, Edward Wiggin and Clarence Day are the best of the early ones. Donald Cyr, the great Acadian chronicler, is contemporary. Wiggin and Day are late-nineteenth century. Stella King White occupies something of a chronological middle ground, separating Wiggin and Day and Cyr. She also occupies something of a cultural middle ground among the grouping. White became active with the Maine Federation of Women’s Clubs’ Book Publication Committee in the second decade of the twentieth century. Her most significant work, the Early History of Caribou Maine, was published in 1945. In at least one respect, all four Aroostook writers have a dominant theme to their lives and work. The theme is ac-

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tivism. Edward Wiggin was firstly a farmer. He was active in the Grange. He was also an outspoken advocate and promoter of Aroostook settlement. Clarence Day was an agriculture expert associated with the University of Maine and the Extension. Day’s activism was primarily associated with improving farming methods. Donald Cyr is a professor at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Cyr’s activism involves cultural preservation. As an activist Stella King White was, in part, responsible for inducing Maine local historians to publish. White was one of the members of the Federation of Women’s Clubs who persuaded the Lewiston Journal to run a contest for Maine women writers. The contest was limited to stories by women which had to relate in some way to state history. It was also limited to members of clubs that

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belonged to the Federation. For the most part, the latter limitation was a means of ensuring as many women writers across the state as possible knew of the contest. The Journal published the winners of the contest in 1916 in book form as The Trail of the Maine Pioneer. The publication of The Trail of the Maine Pioneer was a new venue for many of the contest winners, some thirteen to be exact. Of those thirteen, all continued to submit to local and statewide periodicals and collections and to be published. As for Stella King White herself, a good deal of her work appears in collections sponsored by another organization she belonged to, the Maine Writers Research Club. This organization was, in part, responsible for White’s first work to appear in a published collection. The collection was the 1919 School Reader. The work is sometimes referenced as the Maine Writers Research Club School Reader. All the stories in the School Reader were chosen by then-Maine State Superintendent of Schools A. O. Thomas. The work

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McTrickey Cottage on Madawaska Lake, ca. 1915. Included in the picture are Stella King White, Sim White, and McTrickey. Detail of item #13192 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com

was intended as a school textbook designed to interest young people in the state’s history. It should be remembered that just a year after the book’s publication Maine celebrated its centennial. White’s

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subject for the School Reader was “The Bloodless Aroostook War.” The School Reader was a first in Maine secondary school history texts in that it (Continued on page 26)

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— Aroostook County —

(Continued from page 25)

more than look up information of historical note — that she used her imagination to enter into the minds and times of her subject. Her monograph on Caribou serves as a case in point. In reading it one wonders if White was not already collecting data for Early History of Caribou Maine. If anyone is at all familiar with the work of Stella King White, it is probably with her short profile of Caribou’s court house. This is the structure built in 1895. This particular sample of White’s writing is pedestrian. It is dry and not at all appealing to the imagination. To get a sense of White as a writer one must look at her telling of the origin of the name Caribou. This is the famous story of how one of the sons of Alexander Cochran shot a caribou. The incident resulted in the naming of Caribou Stream, from which the town takes its name, and would have occurred around 1830. In reading the tale of young Cochran one has a sense of what it could have been like for a youth off in the wilderness with a gun. The Cochrans were the first

was intended to appeal to young people’s imagination rather than be a mere retelling of dry events of the distant past. Popular, best selling writers of the day like Hugh Poindexter and journalist, novelist, filmmaker Holman Day were represented in the collection. Former President Theodore Roosevelt had a piece, “My Debt to Maine.” William Widgery Thomas wrote about the settlement of New Sweden and Stockholm. In short, Stella King White appearing in the School Reader was in heady company. Over the years the Maine Writers Research Club published a variety of collections, including Maine Past and Present. White is well-represented in the pages of the 1929 book. She has a monograph on Aroostook County, and monographs or profiles of a number of Maine towns in Aroostook County and beyond. Stella King White was more than a simple journeyman scribe. She wrote with style, and her work is interesting. One has a sense while reading White that she did

settlers of what would become Caribou. The region was pristine wilderness. For a young boy, one who would not have been thinking of unspoiled nature but rather of the great dark forest, the reader has a sense of uneasiness and concern. White ends the story with the comment that even then the caribou was rare. As of this writing, Early History of Caribou Maine has not been reissued. On occasion a copy may go up for auction. The work is viewed as a rare book, as is White’s The Makers of Aroostook and The Richmonds of Maine, perhaps the rarest of all her works. $125 and more is the usual asking price for a White book. As price and demand go hand-in-hand, the facts stand for themselves as to whether or not Stella King White’s books should be reissued. It would seem — one hopes — only a matter of time until this once well-thought of and influential Aroostook County historian was again on the shelves of local Maine bookstores.

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— Aroostook County —

Houlton’s Henry C. Merriam Leader of the Union Army’s first African-American Regiment

by James Nalley

n May1, 1862 Major General Benjamin Butler arrived in New Orleans to take official custody of the city, which had surrendered to the Union Army just days before. Instead of offering themselves as prisoners of war, the African-American troops of the 1st Louisiana Native Guard were recruited to serve for the Union Army. They were mustered in on Sept. 27, 1862, making them the first African-American regiment to serve for the Union Army in the Civil War. After the regiment’s designation was changed to the 73rd Infantry Regiment in April 1864, assuming command was Henry Merriam from Houlton, who eventually led them in a valiant assault on Fort Blakely, Alabama that earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor. Henry C. Merriam was born in Houlton

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on Nov. 13, 1837. He attended Colby College in Waterville, but volunteered for military service after the outbreak of the Civil War. He was commissioned as a captain in the 20th Maine Infantry Regiment in 1862 and fought in the Battle of Antietam in September later that year. After receiving a brevet promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel, he departed for Louisiana in 1863 to help recruit AfricanAmerican troops for the Union’s newly formed 1st Louisiana Native Guard. Due to the prejudice at the time, the troops were mostly delegated to perform mundane duties that ranged from chopping wood and gathering supplies to digging trenches. But on May 27, the regiment had its first chance at combat and fought with distinction in the first wave against Port Hudson, Louisiana. Despite the Union’s

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victory due to their valiant achievements, ful.’ Merriam asked his Brigade Com- riam appealed to General Pile, ‘We have members of the regiment returned to mander, General William Pile, for per- already fought the battle, but unless we go their lives of routine duties and prejudice. mission to capture the enemy’s advanced over the main works we will not get the On April 1, 1865 the regiment was offi- line of works at once instead of waiting credit.’ Pile answered, ‘You are right, Colonel.’ Merriam was then orcially called the 73rd Infantry Regdered to start an advance and iment, and it arrived as part of a charge the main works.” But Merlarger Union brigade in preparariam later humbly claimed that he tion for an assault on strategic was not “the first over the works Fort Blakely in Alabama. The because my color sergeant was at Confederate garrison, led by Genmy elbow and entitled to at least eral F.M. Cockerel, consisted of share the honor.” Despite his ad4,000 troops from Mississippi and mission, his subsequent CongresMissouri and the Alabama Boy sional Medal of Honor still read Reserves, named because it conthat he “voluntarily and successsisted mostly of school-aged boys. Members of the 1st Louisiana Native Guard fully lead his regiment over the After eight straight days of diviworks in advance of orders and sion attacks by the Union Army, upon permission being given made a most Merriam and his 73rd Regiment received for the cover of darkness.” news about a line of Confederate troops Pile agreed and sent Merriam and his gallant assault.” After being honorably discharged from which had just escaped from their loss at 73rd Infantry as well as the 86th to lead nearby Spanish Fort. According to the the Union’s front lines. According to the army in October 1865, Merriam (for a History of 73rd U.S.C.T. by Camille Corte, Corte, “So successful were they in attack- brief period) began studying law. But his “Colonel Merriam reported, ‘The effect ing the Rebels’ outpost that when Mer- thirst for action away from the law books upon us was very depressing… To me it riam requested to attack the main works, influenced his decision to return to the appeared that the escape of the garrison General Osterhaus refused, saying ‘I will military in July 1866 as a major in the 38th out front also would be simply disgrace- go and order the White troops up.’ Mer(Continued on page 30)

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— Aroostook County —

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fantry Regiment described wearing it in 1898: Its center was a canvas box about the size of the Civil War knapsack, which would hold just about a quart bottle comfortably with some space left for socks, shaving materials, and a deck of cards or so. The blanket was formed into a long roll across the top of the pack and down each side… Incidentally, the Merriam pack had two

Infantry Regiment. During the following two decades, his impressive list of highrisk posts included leading expeditions against Native Americans in Kansas, commanding Fort McIntosh on the TexasMexico border (where he crossed the border to rescue a kidnapped United States commercial agent), and managing the newly created Native-American reservations in Idaho and Washington states. In 1874 Merriam, thinking of the welfare and comfort of his soldiers, designed a new knapsack that he felt would revolutionize the way they would travel. According to the book U.S. Infantry Equipments 1775-1910 by Philip Katcher, after the Civil War had ended, the army was in a constant search for better infantry equipment. Merriam’s knapsack was eventually tested widely throughout the army. The results were (optimistically speaking) mixed. “Solders unfamiliar with it called it the Merriam pack while those intimate with it, the Murdering pack.” Private Charles Post of the 71st New York In-

In 1903 by a special act of the U.S. Congress, Merriam was promoted (in retirement) to the rank of major general. He died on Nov. 12, 1912, one day before his 75th birthday hickory sticks at each side fastened to the two upper corners of the pack… The Army believed that took the load off a soldier’s shoulders. We carried the Merriam packs on our kidneys, and the leverage of the sticks pulled our shoulders back so that we were perpetually being pulled back downhill with the swing of leverage in each stride. Needless to say, the Merriam packs were

abandoned and never officially adopted for use by the U.S. Army (except for the extras that were unfortunately assigned to members of the New York National Guard). During the 1890s Merriam, despite his 30 years of military service, continued serving in high-power posts throughout the western seaboard. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in 1897 and transferred to the Department of Columbia, where he oversaw military operations. After the outbreak of the Spanish-American War one year later, he was promoted to major general and placed in command of the entire U.S. Pacific Coast with primary duties that included overseeing the training and transportation of troop divisions headed toward the Philippine-American War that began in 1899. Merriam finally retired from the army in 1901, only because he had reached the mandatory retirement age. In 1903 by a special act of the U.S. Congress, Merriam was promoted (in retirement) to the rank of major general. He

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died on Nov. 12, 1912, one day before his 75th birthday, and was buried with full military honors in Section 1 Lot 114-13 at Arlington National Cemetery It was the end of an incredibly colorful military career filled with mostly triumphs and a few failures. But as much as he achieved, Merriam would never forget his role leading the African-American troops back in the Civil War. In a paper read by Merriam on May 3, 1905 to the Military Order of the U.S. Loyal Legion, he concluded: Thus ended the assault and capture of Fort Blakely with its garrison of four thousand men and forty heavy guns. It lost much attention and public appreciation through the overshadowing event transpiring in Virginia on the same day… the surrender of Lee… but its place in history, as the last assault of our great and bloody Civil War, will always be assured. Unidentified family at their Park Street home in Presque Isle. Item #102095 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

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— Aroostook County —

Selling Fords In Caribou Since 1912 Dealership close to 100th birthday by Ian MacKinnon

hen the automotive craze struck the United States in the early 20th century, inquisitive Mainers responded enthusiastically by buying “horseless carriages” and running them on roads that would remain unpaved until the Depression. Across Maine, businesses added new cars and trucks to their retail inventory. On Bangor Street in Houlton, the Fred E. Hall Company started selling Buicks, Dorts, and Franklins in 1918, and briefly sold Cadillacs and GMCs in the early 1920s. After establishing Houlton Motors in 1937, Max Etscovitz started Allied Sales at 50 North Street in Houlton nine years later and carried such lines as Cadillac, DeSoto, Oldsmobile, and Plymouth. In 1949 Edward A. Grant opened E.A.

Grant & Son at 99 Military Street in Houlton to sell Lincolns and Mercurys. Most early Maine car dealers eventually closed as the Depression killed sales and car manufacturers consolidated multiple dealerships within specific geographical areas. The Fred E. Hall Company lasted until 1937, E.A. Grant & Son sold its last car in 1971, and Allied Sales closed in 1984. Yet some 60 miles north on Route 1, a particular Ford dealer has thrived for 99 years. In Aroostook County the surname Collins is well known, as in the S.W. Collins Company (“the Pioneer Lumber Yard”) and Senator Susan Collins, born in Caribou in December 1952. Her greatgreat grandfather, Samuel W. Collins, founded S.W. Collins & Son in 1844 and

developed major lumbering operations in northern Maine. His son, Herschel, founded the Caribou Motor Company in 1912. Almost 100 years later that same Ford dealership still sells and services new vehicles, now called Griffeth Ford-LincolnMercury. Born in August 1860, Herschel Collins worked in his father’s various commercial operations. By the early 20th century America began its love affair with the automobile, then a transportation device reviled by traditionalists and adored by modernists, and Collins realized that cars represented potential business. S.W. Collins & Son started selling Fords in early 1912. The “car craze” had already reached Maine, where intrepid motorists

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ventured on cobblestoned city streets and rutted country roads. Seeking to regulate the noisy cars and their boisterous owners, the Maine Legislature had already enacted a law mandating auto registrations and license plates. In early 1912 the Legislature passed a law setting speed limits at 10 miles per hour in town and 25 miles per hour in the country. Motorists steered their cars far and wide across Maine, and in September 1914 an Aroostook County newspaper reported that an irritated moose, evidently mistaking a well-lit car for a romantic rival, had charged a car traveling at night in Fort Fairfield. Downstate newspapers picked up this story about the first time that a moose had “assaulted” a motorized vehicle in Maine. This moose-car incident would not be the last such encounter in Maine. Elsewhere in Aroostook County, automotive sales proved adequate at S.W. Collins & Son; as reported by The Aroostook Republican in May 1916, “so far this 177 Cyr Road Cross Lake, ME

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season” Herschel Collins had sold “21 Fords (primarily Model Ts), four Dodges, and two Hudsons.” Hardware, lumber and tools dominated retail activity at S.W. Collins & Son, however. Seeking to divest his automotive business, Herschel Collins sold the Ford dealership in November 1918 to Willis Oak, who had worked for many years at S.W. Collins & Son. Initially naming his dealership the W.L. Oak Company and basing it at 15 Sweden Street in Caribou, Oak incorporated the Ford dealership as the Caribou Motor Company in 1919. He sold the dealership to three local businessmen (including E.F. Shaw) in January 1921; Caribou Motor Company relocated to 398 Main Street, Caribou in 1939 and later became Caribou Ford-Mercury. Shaw’s descendants worked at the dealership, and on December 1, 1989, grandson Sheldon Scott sold Caribou Ford-Mercury to Griffeth FordLincoln-Mercury. (Continued on page 34)

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— Aroostook County —

(Continued from page 33)

Owner Neal Griffeth relocated the dealership to Route 1 in Caribou. Griffeth Ford-Lincoln-Mercury later expanded to Main Street in Presque Isle and added a Mitsubishi franchise in May 2007. Neal Griffeth recently acquired a Honda franchise in Presque Isle. If he could visit Aroostook County today, Samuel W. Collins would gaze proudly at the economic legacy his descendants created. The Collins family still owns and operates S.W. Collins Company, which supplies building materials and hardware at stores in Caribou, Houlton, and Presque Isle. And although Samuel died years before his son Herschel sold his first Ford Model T, the Collins-acquired Ford franchise lives on in Aroostook County as Griffeth Ford-Lincoln-Mercury. The Ford Motor Company has certainly enjoyed a long and successful run in Caribou. 

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— Aroostook County —

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Allagash High School Girls Basketball Bobcats dominated in the 1970s by Ian MacKinnon

hen Congress passed Title IX to ban schools and colleges that received federal funds from discriminating against women in sports, the girls’ teams from eastern Maine high schools could finally play in a tournament — just like boys’ teams had since 1922. And no girls’ basketball team wanted to play as badly in a tournament as did the Allagash High School Bobcats. Allagash lies about 30 miles “up” from Fort Kent along Route 161, which parallels the St. John River before passing through Allagash and officially ending at Dickey. The St. John meets the Allagash River at Allagash, longtime home for tough Mainers who make their living from farming and forestry. The schools were the town’s pride 40 years ago, before dwindling numbers forced the town to bus students to Fort Kent. Yet when the 1974-75 basketball season got underway, the girls’ squad would make Allagash proud. Allagash High School enrolled 30-35 students in the mid-1970s — typically about two-thirds were girls. Many turned out for the prospect of playing in a bonafide tournament, and good talent took the Bobcats to Bangor’s tournaments that season. After surviving the quarterfinals, the Allagash Bobcats met the Greenville Lakers

at Husson College on Friday, February 7, 1975. Barbara Kelly scored 22 points while leading the Bobcats to a well-fought 46-40 victory against the Lakers. The next day the Allagash girls returned to Husson to face the East Grand Vikings in the Eastern Maine Girls’ Class D Final, the first such game played in Maine sports history. No two teams could travel farther to play in Bangor — located at Danforth in northern Washington County, the Vikings had to cross snowy, hilly terrain to even reach Lincoln, and the Bobcats had to travel 30 miles northeast before they could turn south on Route 11 at Fort Kent and head for Bangor. The Vikings had already trounced the Bobcats 43-20 and 52-21 during the regular season, but the Class D final remained in doubt until well into the fourth period.

East Grand triumphed, 43-35, and went on to defeat Richmond for the first Class D Girls’ State Final, played at the Augusta Civic Center on Saturday, February 15, 1975. The next season saw a revitalized Allagash girls squad reign undefeated in Eastern Maine Class D before breezing through the quarterfinals and meeting the Hodgdon Hawks in a Saturday, February 14, 1976 semifinal. Players like Bonnie and Darlene Kelly (the latter scored 25 points), Starr McBreairty, and Kadi O’Leary led the Bobcats to a 57-28 romp and to a rematch with East Grand. Both teams met in the E.M. Class D Girls’ Final, played at the “big time” — the Bangor Auditorium — on Wednesday, February 18. Unfortunately, a midweek (Continued on page 36)

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Discover Maine 36

— Aroostook County —

(Continued from page 35)

urday, February 26. Down by one point at the end of three quarters, the Bobcats ran off eight points to open the fourth quarter and battled Buckfield almost all the way to the buzzer to win the Class D gold ball by 57-43. Allagash finished the season undefeated at 14-0. The 1976-77 season again saw the Bobcats reach the Eastern Maine Class D Tournament. After winning their quarterfinal, the Allagash girls met East Grand yet again, this time in a semifinal played at Brewer High School on Saturday, February 24, 1977. The Bobcats dominated the game, extending their lead to 10 points before the Vikings rallied late to tie the game 40-40 with four minutes left in the fourth quarter. Led by Starr McBreairty and her five points, the Allagash girls outscored their Danforth counterparts 7-2 in the remaining minutes to win the game, 47-40. The next day the Bobcats traveled to the Bangor Auditorium to play the Greenville Lakers. The Allagash girls es-

game time and the lack of popularity for girls’ basketball teams saw only a small crowd turn out. And “small” must be compared to the thousands of fans who pack the venerable auditorium for today’s Eastern Maine Tournament girls’ games. During the 2011 tournament, fans often filled the seats halfway to the steel rafters during competitive (and sometimes less than competitive) girls’ games. The Bobcats immediately ran off 22 points to the Vikings’ 3, but no team ever eases up on an East Grand squad. The Allagash girls kept a respectable double-digit lead until the Danforth girls reduced it to five points with 2:03 left on the clock in the fourth quarter. Then freshman Kadi O’Leary scored a basket, and the Bobcats played tight defense while holding off East Grand to win the Eastern Maine Class D crown, 4641. That win propelled Allagash into the state championship game with Buckfield, played at the Bangor Auditorium on Sat-

sentially packed away the game during the first quarter and yet again during the third quarter and defeated Greenville, 49-35. Again the E.M. Class D girls’ champs, Allagash met Buckfield for the state Class D crown, playing before larger crowds at the Bangor Auditorium on Thursday, March 3. Now a sophomore, Kadi O’Leary scored 31 points, Darlene Kelly scored 20 points, and Allagash crushed Buckfield, 71-39. The 1977-78 basketball season saw the Bobcats reach the tournament again, where they breezed through the quarterfinals before meeting perennial opponent East Grand in an exciting semifinal played on Friday, February 24, 1978. Both teams fought long and hard — Allagash outscored East Grand 10-2 early in the fourth quarter, but the Vikings fought back desperately in the last 25 seconds. Allagash hung on to win, 48-47. But Greenville denied the Allagash girls a “three-peat” of the Eastern Maine Class D crown. The Lakers and Bobcats met at the Bangor Auditorium on Saturday,

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— Aroostook County —

February 25; shooting far better percentages from the foul line than did their opponents, the Greenville girls battled back from being down seven points during the third quarter and went on to defeat Allagash, 63-50, and take the regional championship. In the 1979 tournament, Allagash defeated Jonesport-Beals, 60-45 in the semifinals to advance to the Eastern Maine finals against — guess who? — East Grand. Memories of their 1978 loss to the Bobcats spurred the Vikings to trounce Allagash, 64-45, and claim the state title for Danforth. Even as school enrollment declined at Allagash High School, the girls’ squad still reached the tournament in February 1980, only to lose the semifinal game to East Grand, 55-43. The Bobcats came back to the Bangor Auditorium for the February 1981 tournament, and a strange incident probably foretold the team’s fate in a scheduled semifinal against the John Bapst Crusaders. The Allagash girls arrived at the auditorium, but their uniforms went to a restaurant where the Allagash boys were eating. The uniforms were hustled back to eastern Maine’s Basketball Mecca, as the auditorium has been called, and the Bobcats took to the floor only minutes before the game’s official start. John Bapst went on to defeat Allagash, 89-50. The 1981 tournament was almost the last one for the Bobcats. The team experienced some dark years through the 1980s before taking an 11-3 record to the Bangor Auditorium in February of 1989. Matched against the lower-seeded East Grand Vikings, the Bobcats encountered a full-court press that frustrated their offensive efforts. East Grand defeated Allagash, 46-28. Allagash High School would later close, with future students being bused to Fort Kent Community High School. But for a time during the mid-1970s, the Allagash girls’ team dominated Eastern Maine Class D basketball.

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Early view of Main Street, Eagle Lake. Item #100550 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

View at Wallagrass. Item #112281 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

Discover Maine 38

— Aroostook County —

An Acadien Odyssey: The Martin Saga by Charles Francis

A history of the Martins of Madawaska

n 1790 John Martin lived on the south bank of the St. John River, across from the mouth of the Green River. John wasn’t the only Martin in the area. Francoise Martin lived on the northern bank of the river. Francoise’s brothers, Joseph and Armand, lived in the upper St. John Valley, too. Francoise, Joseph and Armand were sons of René Martin. (It should be noted that John Martin’s name also appears as Jean in official records. Jean is without doubt the appropriate spelling.) The Martins were living in that part of the St. John Valley known as Madawaska. Today there is both a Madawaska, Maine and a Madawaska, New Brunswick. The St. John River, the boundary between the United States and Canada in this part of

North America, divides the two Madawaskas. The Acadien settlers of the Madawaska region begin arriving in the 1780s. In 1787, 1790 and 1794 Britain granted the Acadiens lots for homesteading. This was, in part, a response to Le Grand Derangement of 1755. Le Grand Derangement was the removal of the Acadiens from their lands in Nova Scotia. Martin is a common name on either side of the St. John, in both Maine and New Brunswick. Martins intermarried with Dumonts, Levasseurs and others, Acadiens and Quebecois. Francoise, who carried the mail between Halifax and Quebec City, married a Michaud from Quebec. A good number of the residents of the upper St. John Valley bearing the fam-

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ily name Martin are descended from René Martin. René Martin was last the Martin owning land in the Nova Scotia community of Belleisle at the time of Le Grand Derangement. Those of Acadien descent, whether their name be Martin or Levasseur or Michaud or whatever, who can trace their roots back to René Martin can claim Belleisle as their ancestral Nova Scotia home. In fact, if they are so inclined they can find the exact site of René Martin’s house. At least they can find the cellar hole where René’s home was on the bank of the Annapolis River. They can do this by using GPS satellite tracking. The cellar hole, which once served as the foundation of René Martin’s home and where he undoubtedly kept his

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— Aroostook County —

winter’s apples and vegetables, is now on the Internet. It is the site of a geocache. Geocaching is a twenty-first century hobby. It came into existence with the removal of selective availability from Global Positing Satellite (GPS) use in May of 2000. Since that time some three quarters of a million geocaches have been registered on the Internet. Geocaching is something like treasure hunting. The individual who leaves the cache — usually a trinket in a metal or plastic container — records the GPS coordinates on the Internet. The coordinates are a bit general. The idea is that the geocache treasure hunter will have to work a little to find the cache. John Rutledge left the geocache at René Martin’s old home site. Rutledge is a summer resident of Belleisle. His summer home is not all that far from René Martin’s former home. Rutledge is a retired professor of geology. He taught at the University of Toronto. He knew exactly what he was doing when he placed his geocache.

Belleisle, where René Martin had his home is sometimes identified as Granville, Nova Scotia. This is a bit misleading. Belleisle is a distinct community in its own right. While Belleisle is part of Granville township, it predates the formation of the township. In fact Belleisle may be the oldest Acadien place name in continuous existence. René Martin’s father Barnabé and his uncle Pierre were probably the first Martins in Nova Scotia. Records indicate Barnabé was living in Port Royal in 1671, the year René was born. Pierre Martin is sometime cited as being the first to introduce apples to North America. This might make Belleisle the birthplace of the North American apple industry, as this was where the Martins farmed. René Martin was one of the more prosperous farmers of Belleisle. His farm was located on an oxbow of the Annapolis River. The home site is almost directly across from that part of the oxbow the Acadiens called Pré Ronde. René Martin’s

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farm was situated where it commanded views of both the mountains that enclose the Annapolis Valley — North Mountain and South Mountain. René Martin’s everyday vistas — as they are today — would best be described as breathtaking. Census records for 1698 show René had 13 arpents of land under cultivation. An arpent, as used in this instance, is a little less than an acre, 0.84 acres to be exact. In addition, René had an orchard of some fifty apple trees. He had a herd of ten to a dozen cattle and hogs and sheep. He was a wealthy man. One of René Martin’s sons was named Jean-Baptiste. Jean-Baptiste may be the same John Martin or possibly the father of the John Martin who was granted a lot on the St. John in 1790. René Martin was one of some 300 Acadiens living in Belleisle who were forced from their homes in 1755 during Le Grand Derangement. The Belleisle Acadiens were alerted to (Continued on page 40)

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Discover Maine 40

— Aroostook County —

(Continued from page 39)

their impending removal by friendly Mi’kmaq. Most of the Acadiens fled up the Annapolis Valley to what is now the community of Morden. They wintered over there. Records indicate that some sixty to ninety of the original 300-odd made it through the winter. The survivors made their way across the Bay of Fundy to the mouth of the St. John River. From there they went upriver to the general area of what is now Fredericton, New Brunswick. René Martin was not one of the Belleisle Acadiens at Morden. He escaped the British to live out his days on Isle St. Jean, as Prince Edward Island was then known. René died barely a year after he fled his Belleisle home. None of the descendants of René Martin came searching for his home site at the time of the 2004 Congres Mondial Acadien, the 400th anniversary of the founding of Acadie. But then John Rutledge had not placed his geocache in the cellar hole of René’s old home then. Rutledge put his geocache there in 2005. Perhaps now that it is there, some of René Martin’s descendants will seek out their roots. They can stand on land that once belonged to their long-ago ancestor and look across the Annapolis River. They won’t be looking at Pré Ronde exactly, however. These days Pré Ronde is known as Pea Round.

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The Rectory at St. Agatha. Item #117311 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

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Discover Maine 42

— Aroostook County —

Convent at Upper Frenchville. Item #114411 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

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— Aroostook County —

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ake 1½ cups Jeretraditional. There was a miah 6:20, ½ cup time, however, and not Genesis 24:45 all that far in the past and ¼ cup Genesis 18:8. either, when Methodist Simmer and stir Jereand Baptist church miah 6:20 over low heat suppers in Aroostook until a deep golden County could be brown. Then add Gencounted on to have esis 24:45, stirring frescripture cakes sitting quently until smooth. on their dessert tables. Mix in Genesis 18:8 We all know of fast and allow to cool. The food and frozen food result is burnt Jereeven freeze-dried Aroostook County is rich in traditional foods and miah. Finally, and with food. They are coma grateful prayer and a mon to almost everyby Charles Francis thankful heart, dribble one’s experience. the burnt Jeremiah However, many tradiover your scripture tional foods are not. cake. Or at least we do not Recipes like burnt Jeremiah and scripBurnt Jeremiah is syrup. Burnt Jeremiah ture cake are traditional ones. There are think of some foods such as poutin or and scripture cake are traditional baking varying recipes for scripture cake. The in- poutine, the rich, onion-flavored and recipes reserved for special days. The gredients all come from certain biblical heavily spiced gravy mix you can buy in a recipes are derived from the Bible. The in- verses. You can find scripture cake recipes packet ready to mix with water, and a stagredients of burnt Jeremiah are sugar, in standard cookbooks. What those cook- ple among many of French extraction, as water and butter. The verses cited above books probably won’t tell you, though, is being traditional. Traditional foods are specifically mention sugar, water and the recipe’s history, for whom it is or was (Continued on page 44) butter respectively.

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Discover Maine 44

— Aroostook County —

(Continued from page 43)

a “bed lunch,” the snack one has before going to bed. Bed lunch is used in the St. John Valley and further north and east. One of the most expensive dishes in the fancy restaurants of the east coast is planked salmon. It is nothing new or unique, however. Native Americans living along the St. John River and elsewhere have eaten planked salmon from time immemorial. You can even find folk rhymes concerning food in the county. One which settlers from the coast imported is as follows: “Herrin’ and taters, the food of the land ...if you don’t like it, you can starve and be damned.” Venison and porcupine were two of the dietary staples of the first settlers of the Aroostook region. Both were considered food of the poor. Today, however, venison is regarded as a delicacy while porcupine is nothing more than road kill fit for crows. Then there are “ham and scallop” church suppers. Visitors from away often think this means they have a choice between meat and seafood, when in reality they will be served scalloped potatoes

dishes that are passed from one generation to the next through oral tradition. Technically — by those who make a formal study of them — they are referred to as ethnocuisine or ethnogastronomy. Aroostook County is rich in traditional foods. The chief reason for this is that there are a number of distinct and vital folk traditions here. The oldest are the folk traditions of the Native Americans. Then there are those of the Acadians, the first to bring European traditions to the region. Added to these two are the traditions of the first English-speaking settlers of the Aroostook, the Maritimers who came from Canada, and finally those of the settlers of southern Maine and later immigrants from places like Sweden. Aroostook County possesses a wide variety of food traditions. Everyone uses examples of food speech. There is “buttering up” someone or being “in a stew.” But go into a diner on the New Brunswick border and you can “Mug up,” a Maritime term for a light lunch and a cup of tea. Then, too, there is

with ham. The names of certain foods can tell something of the history of a particular group of people. Take, for example, the Acadian name for chicken: poule. In years past poule, which identifies a young hen, was used for chicken rather than the more general term poulet. A young hen or poule was seldom used for the pot because it was too valuable in that it could lay eggs. Old hens beyond egg laying days were the ones that were eaten. Poule, or tender young hens, were only for special occasions such as feast days. There can also be differences for a particular food name within the same cultural group or among people living in the same region. Dumplings are a good example of this. For most, dumplings are pastry made from dough. The Acadian word for dumpling is poutin. Poutin, however, can also be used for fresh curds, gravy and even fried potatoes. You can buy a packet of Poutine Gravy Sauce, a brand name marketed by the St. Hubert Company, for $1.33. For some, poutin means French fries drenched in gravy. Of course,

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— Aroostook County —

Aroostook County is famous for its potato dumplings. Moreover, dumplings are used in another traditional dish, “grunt.” “Grunt” is a dish made with poached dumplings and smothered in blueberry sauce. Some folk foods are referred to as calendar foods. This is because they are eaten at certain times of the year. One example is salmon and new peas on the Fourth of July. In some Acadian homes, pancakes — galette des roi — are the fare of the day on February 5 or Candlemas Day. One tradition has it that each person must flip their own pancake. Failure to do so can mean bad luck. Some cooks put a token or charm in the batter. Whoever gets the token will have good luck. This latter practice is similar to that of putting a coin in birthday cake batter. The person who gets the slice of cake with the coin is destined for good luck. Another traditional baking recipe similar to that of scripture cake, and like it reserved for special days, has decidedly non-biblical connotations. This is “sex in a pan.” This rich chocolate concoction

was once commonly served at bridal showers. However, when it was taken to a church supper, it went by the name “ecstasy in a pan.” Another tradition has it that the best cakes are made by pregnant women. She has to be sure, however, not to throw her egg shells in the fire before putting the

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cake in the oven. If she does, it is sure not to rise. This belief, of course, harks back to the days of the wood stove. Traditional foods serve two important functions. They help to bind a community together. Perhaps more important, however, is that so long as they are shared they help to keep the past alive.

Hospital at Eagle Lake. Item #100551 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

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DORIS’ CAFE

“The valley’s Finest home-Cooked Food”

Hours: monday-Friday 5am to 2Pm (serving Breakfast & lunch) saturday 6am to noon (serving Breakfast only) Closed sunday Linda Daigle, Proprietor

834-6262 345 market street • Fort Kent mills

• Free Estimates • All Work Done on contract • We are Fully Insured • We Do Driveways • recaps • Patches • Parking lots • Sealing • lawns Fort Kent, Maine

834-5751

D&L Driveway Sealing Patrick Caron 834-5751

L&S

firewood Inc. Palletized Firewood for SALE PICKUP ONLY

316-7368

Phones • air Conditioning Cable tv • Private Decks 2 & 3 Bedroom apts. hot tub suites •efficiencies in-room Coffee makers Continental Breakfast Boat rentals • tanning Bed Private Beach •Coin-op Laundry Complimentary Wireless internet Phill LeBoeuf

3232 Aroostook Rd. PO Box 347 • Eagle Lake, ME 04739 (207) 444-4535 mention Discover maine magazine Fax (207) 444-6133 and receive $5 off your next stay

overlookmotel.com

Discover Maine 46

— Aroostook County —

Alice Rowena (Lunney) Gregory Life-long resident of Westfield remembered Submitted by Timothy Lunney

lice Rowena (Lunney) Gregory of Westfield, Maine died on August 20, 2010 at the Dexter Health Care Nursing Home in Dexter, Maine at age 95. Her daughters Gloria (Gregory) Bridges and Amelda (Gregory) Ross were with her when she died. She was predeceased by her husband Donald Gregory and daughter Sharon Gregory. Alice was a beloved presence in Westfield, Maine, her life-long home. Alice’s house, next to the village post office, was the center of social life in the close-knit community of Westfield. She was everyone’s kind, generous and witty Aunt Alice. She was also a loving friend, daughter, sister, mother, aunt, grandmother, great grandmother and great great grandmother. Her extended family, from Maine to Florida to Alaska, all mourns her passing. She was an original Maine character, and she is missed. Alice was the daughter of Thomas Andrew

BALd EAgLE Manager: Tom Roy Owners: John Martin & gary Voisine

Lottery Tickets • MEgABuCkS grocery Items Soda • Beer • Wine Prepared Sandwiches Videos Propane • diesel • gas

The Consistent Store dAILy LunCh SPECIALS! FuLL SERVICE TAkEOuT 10AM-7PM Monday - Friday 5AM - 9PM Saturday 7AM - 9PM Sunday 7AM - 8PM

444-5115

Fax 444-4666 3318 Aroostook Road Eagle Lake, Maine Convenient to ITS Trail

Lunney and Susan Martha (Taylor) Lunney and was born on May 15, 1915 at Easton, Maine. She married Donald Gregory of Westfield, Maine and had three daughters: Gloria (Gregory) Bridges, Amelda (Gregory) Ross and Sharon Gregory. Her father, Thomas Lunney, emigrated to Easton, Maine from Glassville, New Brunswick in 1900 and married Susan Martha Taylor in November of that year. They had a farm at Riviere de Chute in Easton for many years, but eventually moved their large family to Westfield. Alice’s grandfather, William Lunney, was born in Ireland in 1821, emigrated with his brother Thomas to Waterborough, New Brunswick in 1847, and later married Charlotte Drost and settled on a farm at Glassville, New Brunswick in 1872. Her Irish grandfather was a descendant of the chieftains of Muintir Luinigh in Tyrone, the lords of Magh Ithe in Donegal, the medieval kings of Aileach and the ancient high kings of Ireland. Alice’s mother, Susan Martha (Taylor) Lunney, was the youngest child of David Taylor and Martha (Stevens) Taylor of Smithfield and Easton, Maine. Both David Taylor and Martha Stevens were verified descendants of Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne and much of the royalty and nobility of medieval Europe. Alice’s grandfather, David Taylor, served in the Union Army during the Civil War and was a farmer at Easton. Her great grandfather, Isaiah Taylor, built the first schoolhouse in Smithfield, Maine. Her great grandmother,

Mehitable (Pattee) Taylor of Smithfield, Maine, was a descendant of Peter Pattee, who fought at the famous Battle of Black Point at Scarborough, Maine in 1677. Alice’s great great grandfather, Samuel Taylor, was the first Quaker minister in Belgrade, Maine and was a noted pomologist. Her great great grandmother, Elizabeth (Crowell) Taylor was a verified Mayflower descendant. Alice’s great uncle, Samuel Taylor of Belgrade, Maine, built what became the Maine Central Railroad, was its first president, was a noted champion of Native American rights and founded the Oak Grove Seminary. Her great, great, great grandfather, Elias Taylor of Winthrop, Maine, was a patriot of the American Revolution and died along with his eldest son John at Fort Ticonderoga, New York in 1777. Alice was also a descendant of Dr. Rowland Taylor of Hadleigh, England, a noted Protestant cleric and one of the martyrs of the Protestant Reformation, who was burned at the stake as a heretic by England’s Bloody Queen Mary on February 9, 1555. All of that family genealogy and history would have given humble Aunt Alice a good great laugh. The only thing that Alice knew about her mother’s Taylor family was that they were kind and generous Quakers. In August 2004, at age 89, Alice travelled with me and other family members to Ireland to visit the places where our Irish ancestors once lived. Her presence was our good luck charm, and blessed our journey in countless ways.

Lake Road

GROCERY

located • pizza on itS 83 • hot & Cold Sandwiches • gas ~ Beer & Wine 834-6377 • groceries 10 Sly Brook Rd. • Soldier Pond

Open Mon-Sat 5:30a-8:00p Sun 7:00a - 8:00p

Kajais Redemption

call for daily schedule

436-1297

7 Sly Brook Rd. • Soldier Pond, ME

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— Aroostook County —

Discover Maine

Directory Of Advertisers Business

Page

Business

A&L Construction Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Acadia Federal Credit Union . . . . . . . .44 Alan Clair Building Contractor . . . . . .15 Albert Fitzpatrick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Al’s Diner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Aroostook County Tourism . . . . . . . . .30 Aroostook Hospitality Inn . . . . . . . . . .33 Aroostook Milling Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Page

Business

Doris’ Café . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Duane Thompson’s Masonry . . . . . . . .29 Dunbar Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Dunbar Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Duncan-Graves Funeral Homes Inc. . .17 Echoes Magazine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Evergreen Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . .39 Evergreen Trading Co. LLC . . . . . . . . .39 Aroostook Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc. .24 F.A. Peabody Company . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Ashland Food Market, Inc. . . . . . . . . . .19 Fieldstone Cabins & Rainbow Cove RV . . .42 Avondale Kitchens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 First Choice Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Bacon Auto & Truck Care . . . . . . . . . .22 First Settler’s Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Bald Eagle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Fort Fairfield Chamber of Commerce 22 Barnes Law Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Fort Kent Area Chamber of Commerce . . .43 Barresi Financial, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Fort Kent Ski-Doo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Ben’s Trading Post, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Foss & Sons Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Bento’s Grocery Diner & Sports Bar . . .6 Francine’s Pools & Spas . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Bling! & Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Frank Landry & Sons, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . .7 Bouchard Family Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Frederick’s Southside Restaurant . . . . .23 Bread of Life Bulk Food & Specialty Store .17 G & R Computer Associates . . . . . . . .40 Brownlee Builders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Galeyrie Maps & Custom Frames . . . . .4 Buck Construction, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Garden Gate Fabrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Burger King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Gary Babin’s Groceries . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 C & R Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Gerald Pelletier Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 C&J Service Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Giberson-Dorsey Funeral Home . . . . .20 Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Giggy’s Auto Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Care & Comfort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 Graves’ Shop ‘N Save Superstore . . . .18 Caribou Area Chamber of Commerce 25 Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce . .10 Caribou Theatres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Greater Madawaska Chamber of Commerce . .38 Caron & Son Paving & Sealing . . . . . .45 Greater Van Buren Chamber of Commerce . .38 Carvings by Cote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Griffith Ford Lincoln-Mercury . . . . . .31 Cary Medical Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Ground Tek Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce 18 H&S Garage Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Charette & Son Drywall . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Haines Manufacturing Co., Inc. . . . . . .14 Cheney Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Hanington Bros., Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Cindy’s Sub Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Hebert Construction and Bear Concrete . . .44 Clifford L. Rhome CPA, PA . . . . . . . . .16 Hillside Apartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Clukey’s Auto Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Hillside IGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Colin Bartlett & Sons Inc. . . . . . . . . . . .7 Home Farm Kennels . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Complete Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Home Town Fuels, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Consumer Discount & Best Buy . . . . .22 Horten Building Supplies, Inc. . . . . . . .11 Country Cottage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians . . .27 Country Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Houlton Higher Education . . . . . . . . . .9 County Abatement, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Huber Engineered Wood, LLC . . . . . .13 County Environmental Engineering . .33 Irish Setter Pub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 County Qwik Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 J.R.S. Firewood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 County Super Spud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Jackett Enterprises/JEI Sports . . . . . . .28 Cozy Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Jerry’s Shurfine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Cushman’s Embroidery . . . . . . . . . . . .14 JSL Metal Recycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Daigle & Houghton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 Katahdin Valley Motel . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Daigle Property Maintenance . . . . . . . .29 Kevin Carmichael Masonry . . . . . . . . .12 Dana’s Carpentry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Key Realty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Dean’s Motor Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Kirkpatrick & Bennet Law Offices . . .22 Donahue’s Maintenance & Masonry . .11 L&J Recycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Page

Business

Page

Business

Page

L&S Firewood Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Rendevouz Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 LaJoie Growers, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 Retrax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Lake Road Grocery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Rivers Bend Service, LLC . . . . . . . . . . .12 Lakeside Plumbing & Heating Company . . .39 Riverside Inn Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Lakeview Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Robert Pelletier General Contractor . .34 Lancaster Morgan Funeral Home . . . .22 Rockwell Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Lane Construction Corp. . . . . . . . . . . .29 Rosella’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Lawrence S. Lord & Sons, Inc. . . . . . . . .4 S. Paradis & Son Garage . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Leisure Gardens/Leisure Village . . . . .15 Sandra’s Kitchen & Pizza To Go . . . . .41 Limestone Chamber of Commerce . . .21 Scovil Apartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Longlake Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Scovil Building Supply, Inc. . . . . . . . . .13 Lucky Dog Boarding House . . . . . . . . .12 Seven Islands Land Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 M. Rafford Construction . . . . . . . . . . .30 Shaw Financial Services . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Madawaska Auto Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Sitel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Madawaska Pharmacy, LLC . . . . . . . . .39 Sleepy Hollow Storage, Inc. . . . . . . . . .16 Maine Historical Society . . . . . . . . . . . .26 St. Agatha Federal Credit Union . . . . .42 Maine Solar and Wind . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 St. John Valley Pharmacy . . . . . . . . . . .44 MarCar Solar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Stairs Welding R.L., Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Mark’s Towing Service & Auto Repair .21 Star City IGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Mars Hill IGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Stardust Motel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Martin Builders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 STEad Timberlands, LLC . . . . . . . . . . .6 Martin’s General Store . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 T&S Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Martin’s Motel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 T.W. Willard, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Masardis Trading Post . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 TA Service Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 McCluskey’s RV Center . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Terry’s Fixit Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 McGillan, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 The Aroostook Medical Center . . . . . .28 McGlinn Electric Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 The Bradbury Barrel Co. . . . . . . . . . . . .3 McGlinn’s Plumbing & Heating . . . . . .14 The County Federal Credit Union . . . . .5 Mer & Boys’ Body Shop . . . . . . . . . . . .41 The Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Mike’s Family Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 The Par Grill Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Monticello Mini Barns . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 The Pioneer Place, U.S.A. . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Nadeau Logging, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 The Salvation Army Thrift Store . . . . .27 Nadeau Trucking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Theriault Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 North Maine Woods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Tobin Farms Velvet Antler . . . . . . . . . . .4 Northeast Applicators LLC . . . . . . . . .13 Town of Madawaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Northeast Packaging Company . . . . . .28 Triple M. Trucking Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Northeast Propane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Trombley Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Northern Door Inn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Tulsa, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Northern Lights Motel . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Umcolcus Sporting Camps . . . . . . . . . . .5 Northern Timber Trucking . . . . . . . . .43 Uncle Buck’s Archery Shop . . . . . . . . .18 Northstar Variety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Underwood Electric, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . .18 Oakfield Railroad Museum . . . . . . . . . . .8 University of Maine Fort Kent . . . . . .35 Oakfield Thriftway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Vacationland Estates Resort . . . . . . . . . .3 Orion Timerlands, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Visions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Overlook Motel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Washburn Food Mart . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Pat’s Pizza Presque Isle . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Web X Centrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Pelletier Ford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 Westford Hill Construction . . . . . . . . . .9 Penobscot Marine Museum . . . . . . . . .48 White Oak, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Percy’s Auto Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Willard S. Hanington & Son, Inc. . . . . . .6 Plourde & Plourde, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . .21 York’s Bookstore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Plourde’s Harley Davidson . . . . . . . . . . .5 York’s of Houlton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Quality Paving & Grading . . . . . . . . . .32 Quigley’s Building Supply . . . . . . . . . . .45 R.F. Chamberland, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Aroostook County

1877 map of Aroostook County Available at: www.Galeyrie.com