2019 Western Lakes & Mountains

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Maine’s History Magazine Volume 28 | Issue 7 | 2019

15,000 Circulation

Western Lakes & Mountains

The Monumental Bronze Company Western Maine’s unique cemetery memorials

Greenville’s Chief Henry Red Eagle Maine guide extraordinaire

The Evans Rifle Goes To Russia A firearm mass-produced in Maine

www.DiscoverMaineMagazine.com facebook.com/discovermaine

Western Lakes & Mountains

Inside This Edition

2 3

It Makes No Never Mind James Nalley

5

The Monumental Bronze Company Western Maine’s unique cemetery memorials Brenda Seekins

10 Ice Fishing For Burbot Big Wood Lake a popular destination John Murray 16 Mayhem In Bethel New England’s last Indian raid Jeff Stern 22 Greenville’s Chief Henry Red Eagle Maine guide extraordinaire Charles Francis 28 Skowhegan’s Dean Flemming Sallying forth and braving the hazards James Nalley 32 Purple Panthers And Black Raiders Memories Waterville and Winslow sported some great teams Sandy Thomas 36 Farmington Enters The New Century Enjoying a pleasant prosperity Charles Francis 43 Lewiston Native Marsden Hartley The artist who painted Katahdin Charles Francis 48 The Miracle Of Norway’s Ordway Grove Home to New England’s tallest pine Jeff Stern 52 The Big Green Van A grandfather’s legacy C.J. Pike 58 Gardner Colby Goes To College The philanthropist from Waterville steps up big Jeffrey Bradley 62 The Evans Rifle Goes To Russia A firearm mass-produced in Maine Charles Francis 66 The Bear Trap At Gyger’s Orchard The sheep needed protection Franklin Irish 67 Windham’s Revolutionary Doctor Dr. Caleb Rea (1758-1796) Kay Soldier

Maine’s History Magazine

Western Lakes & Mountains

Publisher & Editor Jim Burch

Layout & Design Liana Merdan

Advertising & Sales Manager Tim Maxfield

Advertising & Sales Jennifer Bakst Dennis Burch Tim Maxfield

Field Representatives Matt Connolly William Landmesser James & Diane Nute

Office Manager Liana Merdan

Contributing Writers

Jeffrey Bradley Charles Francis | fundy67@yahoo.ca Franklin Irish John Murray James Nalley C.J. Pike Brenda Seekins Kay Soldier Jeff Stern Sandy Thomas

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Front Cover Photo:

View of Indian Store in Shaw Block in Greenville Item # LB2010.9.117991 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

All photos in Discover Maine’s Western Lakes & Mountains edition show Maine as it used to be, and many are from local citizens who love this part of Maine.

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

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It Makes No Never Mind

by James Nalley

I

t is widely known that the state of Maine, especially the Western Lakes Region, not only includes some of the largest bodies of freshwater in the United States, but also the purest. As a result, it offers some of the best freshwater fishing in the country. Among the numerous species of fish, such as the largemouth bass and the different types of trout, one is considered the “king” — the landlocked salmon.

This freshwater form of the Atlantic salmon, also known as Sebago salmon or Quananiche, averages between 16 and 18 inches in size. According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, “Adults are generally silvery with a slightly forked tail and small X-shaped markings on the back and upper sides, while juveniles have a dark red spot between each pair of parr marks (the dark bands on the side of young salmon).” In addition, “Salmon populations, prior to 1868, were only found in four river basins in Maine — the St. Croix, including West Grand Lake in Washington County; the Union, including Green Lake in Hancock County; the Penobscot, including Sebec Lake in Piscataquis County and

the Presumpscot, including Sebago Lake in Cumberland County.” However, present-day Maine includes one of the largest sport fisheries for this species in the world.

For example, salmon provide the main and incidental fisheries in 201 lakes and 103 ponds, respectively.

Although one can angle for landlocked salmon all year-round in lakes and ponds, all the rivers and streams are closed from October 1 to March 31. As for the optimal time to chase landlocked salmon, Mike Christy in New England Sportsman states that spring is the best, since “salmon can be taken by simply trolling steamer flies on top. Later, as the hotter months warm and stratify the water, anglers are forced to fish deeper with hardware such as spoons and wobblers on down-riggers or lead core line.” However, in the autumn, the water “turns over” and the salmon return to the top, after which surface fishing techniques can be resumed.

For those interested in angling for some salmon, there are two lakes worth noting.

First, there is Rangeley Lake, which is one of the tributaries of the Androscoggin River. Although it is known for landlocked salmon, it also offers lake trout, yellow

perch, and lake whitefish. Second, there is the Belgrade Lakes region, which consists of the East, North, Great, and Long Ponds as well as Messalonskee Lake. This lake chain is well known for its northern pike, largemouth bass, walleye, yellow perch, sunfish, brown trout, and of course, landlocked salmon. Just remember, a fishing license is required for anyone 16 years or older ($25 for the season).

Well, on this note, let me close with the following: A salmon fisherman was out on the ocean for his daily catch. However, his boat took on water and sank. Fortunately, he made it to a deserted island and survived on what he could find. When the U.S. Coast Guard found him, they noticed that there was a gutted California Condor and a fire pit. The leader then told the fisherman, “You know, it’s illegal to kill a California Condor. So, I will have to arrest you.” Although the fisherman protested, his claims fell on deaf ears. As the men headed toward the boat, one coastguardsman asked, “Out of curiosity…what did it taste like?” The fisherman replied, “Well, with a little salt and lime, it reminded me of Bald Eagle.”

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The Monumental Bronze Company Western Maine’s unique cemetery memorials

by Brenda Seekins

F

rom 1875 to 1912, the “Monumental Bronze” company had a good market in Maine cemeteries, some more than others. And the evidence remains today. It was never wasted money. They stand as a memorial to lost loved ones just as often as granite or marble. They’re hollow, and in some cases, they were do-it-yourself memorials…an economical attraction for New Englanders.

No doubt you’ve seen the bluegray metal memorials that stand out as ornate markers in many cemeteries in Maine. Venturing closer, you also learned, that’s not stone, but zinc…. and hollow.

Cheryl Patten, former head of the

Maine Old Cemetery Association, researched the markers and presented a report at a past meeting of MOCA. It’s known as “white bronze,” though it’s rarely white and definitely not bronze.

It’s often called the “genealogist’s friend” for the clarity of the printing cast into its plates.

Barbara Rotundo, a professor of English at the State University of New York – Albany, wrote about white bronze. Her work provides a good overview of the company and its white bronze markers. She wrote for Richard E. Meyer’s 1992 Cemeteries & Gravemarkers, in Voices of American Culture, which contains Monumental Bronze: A Representative American

Company.

Monumental Bronze Company, located in Bridgeport, Connecticut, created a large number of these ornate markers found in the cemeteries of Western and Southern Maine, no doubt because of a regional sales office or salesman.

The metal used in the monuments develops a protective coating of zinc carbonate (one source says zinc oxide) when exposed to the air. This protective coating makes the characteristic bluish-gray color.

Other manufacturers of that period also used “white bronze” as an appealing trade name for zinc. A Monumental Bronze catalog gives this explana(cont. on page 6)

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Western Lakes & Mountains

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tion: “The material (being of a light gray color) is more pleasing to the eye in the form of statues and monuments than is the dark or antique bronze ... and this improvement in color... entitle our goods to the trade name of white bronze.”

It seems zinc was around for many years and used for casting hollow statues and other decorations on a mass scale. It’s just timing that it ultimately made its way into the private memorial domain.

In the History of Bridgeport, published in 1887, the Reverend Samuel Orcutt reports the early information of the Monumental Bronze Company.

A man named M.A. Richardson, dismayed at the condition of many cemetery stones in his charge in Chautauqua County, New York, experimented with stone, china, and galvanized iron in his attempt to find a permanent and attractive material. Finally settling on zinc,

Daniel L. Steinke, D.D.S.

he took a partner, C.J. Willard, in 1873.

They contracted with two different foundries, but neither could produce a satisfactory product. They hired an experienced molder and built what they called a shanty white furnace. Inside of three weeks, they had produced models that met their standards. They were unable to attract the necessary capital so they contracted with W.W. Evans at a large locomotive company in Paterson, New Jersey. He requested exclusive manufacturing rights and agreed to sell his products to Richardson and Willard as agents at assigned prices. Evans soon gave up and early in 1874 sold his rights to Wilson, Parsons and Co. of Bridgeport, who were already in business as an iron foundry. The Bridgeport firm succeeded where others failed, and white bronze monuments had at last found a permanent home. From 1877 to 1879 the white bronze company was known as Schuyler, Parsons, Landon

and Company. Finally in 1879 it was incorporated as Monument Bronze.

It was Ralph Sperry who dissolved Monumental Bronze in 1939, asserting it was no longer profitable because of “the constantly increasing tax burden and government restrictions.” By that time the company had long ceased advertising white bronze monuments, and no field reports mention markers that would have been erected after 1914.

The plant had been taken over by the government during World War I for the manufacture of gun mounts and ammunition. Apparently after the war was over fashions changed and there was no demand for white bronze monuments and the firm turned to producing other castings, such as automobile and radio parts.

They continued however to cast the tablets that made it possible for additional family members to be added to the monument after their deaths. In

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fact, C.A. Baldwin, who was secretary of the company when it was liquidated, became president of the company, with a different address that continued to supply the tablet.

The first step in the manufacturing process was for the artist in Bridgeport to make a wax model, busts and bas reliefs from portraits or photographs that were offered as well as the more usual designs from their catalog. A plaster cast was made of the wax model to make a plaster duplicate ultimately turning into a sand cast that became the monuments. The final plaster cast was cut in pieces so that the white bronze pieces were comparatively small and simple, allowing each casting to have sharp details. The pieces were fused together, apparently an innovative technique at the time. Monumental bronze workers clamped the pieces together and poured pure hot zinc into the joints and they became inseparable. Usually

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the bottom section of the monument was cast with four inner tabs with holes in them. These tabs were supposed to have pegs through the holes, the other ends of the pegs being sunk into the cement or granite foundations.

In the White Bronze Advocate, James I. Young, characterized as a very successful sales agent, described the best way to mix cement to make a foundation for a monument. Perhaps

this answers the question of who put these monuments in place; if customers needed advice about pouring foundations, they probably put up their own monuments. After incorporation in 1879, there was a modification in the process that involved the treatment of the surface of the white bonze. The new production process involved sandblasting the fused cast, thereby causing the surface to resemble stone rather than metal, and it also lightened the color. Early markers sometimes have the name of the company Schuyler, Parsons, Landon and Company lightly etched on the metal base. After Monumental Bronze was incorporated, if the markers were marked the name of the company appeared in raised letters.

In 1881 they opened a subsidiary in Detroit. In 1883 they divided the United States — Detroit was given jurisdiction over Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and “all States west” — ex(cont. on page 8)

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cluding Texas. In an 1885 article in Scientific American there were “art foundries” in Chicago, Detroit, Des Moines and St. Thomas, Canada. St. Thomas White Bronze began production in 1883 and ceased about 1900. By 1887 Detroit was closed.

It is not clear but it is likely that all the artwork on the molds was done in Bridgeport and that the fusing and finishing was done in the subsidiary locations. Rotundo found a 120-page catalog, each page having from four to sixteen different models, with each coming in at least two sizes.

In 1886 the popularity of white bronze was reaching its peak.

A salesman or agent was all-important in the marketing of white bronze monuments. Neither the main plant in Bridgeport nor the subsidiaries sold to customers. The advertisement placed by the subsidiaries in the various city directories usually urged people to

Monumental Bronze Company poster ad

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from illustration in the catalogs. White bronze was listed as a product for everyone, with prices ranging from $2.00 to $5,000. Markers that could take a full name began at $4.00 with one for full name and date at $6.00. The catalog also reminds future agents that there will always be a market for white bronze so long as people continue to live and die. It appears that for most agents, selling these markers was not their full-time job — rather they were moonlighting. Rarely does a cemetery have as many as a dozen white bronze markers among the marble and granite monuments.

For the most part marble and granite dealers did not distribute white bronze markers although there were exceptions. There was a popular belief that Sears & Roebuck sold white bronze.

They did sell markers — but not white bronze.

These markers were convenient and

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com imitated all the popular styles that people would have seen in marble or granite. The markers were available with a variety of ornamentation including religious, military, and society emblems.

The base often imitated natural stone.

Vandals sometimes removed the tablets. These tablets were not fused to the monument because they had to be removable for the addition of names and dates as family members died.

Folklore says bootleggers stored their liquor in them. As far as acid rain and weather damage is concerned they have held up very well.

The greatest weakness is a tendency to creep or crack from top-heavy construction. White Bronze advertisements featured arguments favoring the choice of white bronze for its durability. But taste setters never accepted zinc as an artistic material. Some cemeteries passed regulations against metal markers.

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Western Lakes & Mountains

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Ice Fishing For Burbot Big Wood Lake a popular destination

by John Murray

I

ce fishing has been a winter event in Maine for hundreds of years. In the past, the Native Americans regularly harvested fish from beneath the frozen lakes. In the harsh winter of Maine, a meal of fresh fish would sustain the Native Americans throughout the winter months when other game was scarce or difficult to acquire due to deep snow and brutally cold temperatures.

When the ice turned solid from the frigid cold, a hole was chopped through the frozen ice. A bed of cut spruce branches was laid atop the ice alongside the chopped hole to provide an insulated barrier from the harsh chill of the ice, and the Native American would lay in a prone position upon this

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bed of spruce next to the created hole.

Then he would place additional pieces of cut spruce over his head to eliminate the glare from the sky, and this roof of shade would allow his eyes to adjust, and see into the dark water below.

Gripping a sharpened spear, the Native American fisherman would patiently lay still while looking into the depths of the water. When a fish was sighted below, the sharp spear was quickly thrust into the fish. As difficult as this ancient technique seems, the Native American fisherman was quite proficient with his spear, and ample numbers of fish were harvested from below the ice. Spearfishing did have limitations, and could only be used in

shallow water where the fish could be reached with the spear. Deeper water would require another ice fishing technique, and Native Americans fashioned sharpened hooks from bone. These bone hooks were often impaled with small pieces of meat bait or cut flesh from previously captured fish to attract larger predatory fish from beneath the ice. Baited hooks were lowered into the water after being attached to a line that was made from plant fibers, and the opposite end of the line was connected to a forked stick.

When the European settlers arrived in Maine, they would also experience the same difficult food harvesting conditions during the frigid Maine winters,

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com and settlers readily embraced the ice fishing techniques that were used by the Native Americans. As time passed, the resourceful settlers would develop more efficient techniques. The use of a spear was gradually discontinued, and hooks fashioned from bone were ultimately replaced with hooks that were forged from metal. During the early and mid-1900s, the fishing lines were dramatically improved, and the forked stick was replaced with the fishing rod and reel.

A typical fishing rod wasn’t very practical for ice fishing, and imaginative fishermen came up with the concept of equipment that was more suited for the rigors of ice fishing. This equipment included the tip up rig, and the shorter ice jigging rod. The tip-up rig was quite efficient for ice fishing. Basically a fishing reel spool which was attached to a vertical section of wood that was slightly lowered beneath a hole cut in the ice, this piece of wood was attached

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to another vertical section of wood that straddled the hole cut into the ice. A flag was attached to the above section of the rig, and when a fish pulled the line, the reel spool would turn and pop the flag up. The popped flag would alert the ice fishing angler to the activity of the fish below the ice, and the angler would set the hook.

Even the traditional act of chopping a hole into the ice was modified. Ice augers were designed that cut circular holes into the lake ice. Initially these were hand-powered augers, in which a handle was turned in a circular motion to turn the auger blade and cut a hole through the ice. With time came motorized augers, which allowed for relative ease in creating ice holes.

The township of Jackman has excellent fishing lakes, and these lakes contain dense populations of fish that can readily be caught using ice fishing techniques when old man winter pulls cold air down from Canada, and freezes the

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surface of the lakes. Not only do these lakes have populations of the popular salmon and lake trout, but some lakes contain a species of fish that is quite unique. This fish is the burbot. A member of the cod family, the burbot resembles the saltwater cusk, but these freshwater burbot are genetically different.

These burbot are an ancient species, and possess an almost prehistoric appearance when physically compared to other fish. The name is derived from the Latin name “barba” – which means beard. The burbot doesn’t actually have a beard, but it does have a long single barbel whisker protruding from the chin. The appearance of a burbot looks like a cross between an eel and a catfish, and its long serpentine body has lengthy but short fins along the top of the back and the lower length of the belly. With a large mouth and a voracious appetite, a burbot can prey on and consume other fish that match its (cont. on page 12)

Western Lakes & Mountains

12 (cont. from page 11)

own length. Long living, a burbot can achieve large body sizes. The world record for burbot is over twenty-five pounds.

Burbot are a cold water species, and require cold water to survive and breed.

These fish spend the majority of their time foraging for food in the deepest sections of the coldest lakes, and are especially active during the winter months. This winter activity makes the burbot a prime candidate to be targeted by Maine ice fishermen, and one of the most productive fishing lakes is Big Wood Lake. This deep lake has ample cold water depth, and has a rocky bottom that the burbot find appealing.

Ice fishing on Big Wood Lake became popular after World War II, and men returning home from military service were drawn to the tranquility and peacefulness of fishing. It was at this time that it was recognized that this deep lake contained a large population of burbot, which have an absolutely de-

licious white flaky meat. Many fish lovers compare the taste of burbot to cod, and as a testament to the good flavor, the burbot was called the poor man’s lobster.

Eventually the word spread throughout the Jackman area about the delicious burbot that became very active during the winter season. If the oncoming winter season generated ample surface ice on Big Wood Lake, it was often safe enough to walk on the surface by early December, and the ice would usually last until April. With the ice came the ice fishermen.

Ice fishermen are an ingenious group of savvy anglers. Winter conditions in Maine can be especially cold and inhospitable for anyone who ventures outdoors. To help deal with the frigid winter temperatures when ice fishing Big Wood Lake, ice fishermen would pull ice fishing shanties out onto the ice. During the 1940s it became popular to have a wood burning stove

inside the shanty, so the ice fishermen were comfortably warm. Many would cook and sleep in the shanty for the entire weekend. Ice fishing shanties can vary in size, but most are shed size and have enough room inside for a few ice fishermen. Holes are fashioned into the floor of the shanty so the occupant can remain inside the heated building while he fishes.

By the end of the 1940s it was a common sight to see dozens of ice fishing shanties set along the surface of the lake. The ice fishermen would leave them sitting on the lake throughout the winter season, and the surface of the frozen lake would take on the appearance of a small village. As the makeshift ice village grew in size, it was common for signs to be put up near the clusters of shanties — with names and arrows pointing the way to chosen shanties.

For residents in the Jackman area in the late 1940s ice fishing was looked

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com upon as a family outing. Everyone in the family would participate, and it was just as popular as going to a movie at the local theater. The Christmas season was especially active on the surface of the lake. Children were on holiday break from school, and spending a night sleeping in the ice shanty with their parents was a much-anticipated event. Never a complaint was uttered from any child about spending the entire evening on the frozen lake, and most were upset when it was time to depart for home.

Even today, Big Wood Lake is a popular location for ice fishermen that want to catch the coveted burbot. The burbot are still swimming beneath the ice, and Mainers patiently wait for the tug at the end of their fishing line.

The Margaret Chase Smith home in Skowhegan, ca. 1940. Item # 1425 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com

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Western Lakes & Mountains

16

Mayhem In Bethel

by Jeff Stern

New England’s last indian raid

A

ugust 3, 1781, dawned hot, hazy, and quiet in Bethel, then known as Sudbury, Canada, on the edge of the Western Maine frontier.

Settlers prepared for another long day of chiseling a town out of raw wilderness.

The day’s principal task was to work the fields to prepare for the harvest.

There was no hint of the chaos soon to descend upon them.

Nathaniel Segar, one of the pioneers, came from Newton, Massachusetts. He served three tours of duty in the Continental Army and militia during the Revolutionary War. Nathaniel saw action at Bunker Hill and Ticonderoga, and in Vermont and Rhode Island. He survived a devastating bout with small-

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It wasn’t easy, but Nathaniel and his fellow settlers, three other single men along with five families, were making a go of it in Sudbury, Canada. By the summer of 1781, they had opened up land for farming, built houses, and enjoyed bountiful harvests.

The settlers’ success was buoyed in no small part by cordial relations with the Native Americans. Bands of Abenaki Indians occasionally roamed the Androscoggin Valley. The settlers traded corn to the Indians in exchange for furs and meat.

At the start of 1781, their mutually beneficial partnership seemed strong.

By springtime, though, Nathaniel no-

ticed a change. He writes in his memoirs, “In the first of the season, they [the Indians] appeared very friendly towards us, which we labored to cultivate, and they were pleased in trading with us. Afterward, they grew morose and surly…”

Historians speculate about the Indians’ change of demeanor. It might have been because the natives saw more and more incursion into the land they thought was theirs. In the Pejepscot Purchase of 1684, the boundary of the European settlement was drawn at Rumford Falls, which left the remaining country to the Indians. After the fall of Quebec in 1759, however, Massachusetts issued land grants in in-

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com terior Maine, one of which went to the descendants of an earlier expedition to Canada and was called “Sudbury Canada,” by 1770, one of four towns being settled above Rumford Falls.

In the spring of 1781, Abenaki resentment over the land grab may have reached a boiling point. Another possible explanation for their “surly” mood — settlers farmed sacred Indian burial grounds. Seeking to capitalize on the rift, the British offered an eight-dollar bounty for every American scalp or captive that was brought in.

The Indians who visited Sudbury Canada that spring acted in a manner noticeably more belligerent to the settlers. They donned war paint. Nathaniel Segar wasn’t worried, though. He trusted in the good will the settlers had built with the natives.

Brimming with optimism about the approaching harvest, Nathaniel and two others tended their fields on August

3. Suddenly, six Indians burst from the woods, painted and bristling with guns, tomahawks, and scalping knives. The three farmers, Nathaniel, Lt. Jonathan Clark, and Eleazer Twitchell, were forced inside Clark’s home and bound tightly. One of the captors was Tomhegan, an Indian that Nathaniel had entertained in his home during friendlier times.

The Indians ransacked the house and took sixteen dollars and several gallons of rum. Mrs. Clark hid her husband’s silver watch in the fireplace ashes and then somehow managed to escape into the woods, as did Eleazer. Meanwhile, Benjamin Clark, who had the misfortune of entering the village at that time, was captured.

So swiftly a hostage, Nathaniel was wracked with apprehension. “I had often heard of people being taken captive by the Indians,” Nathaniel writes, “and I now found myself in this dreadful sit-

uation, not knowing what evils would befall us, and whether we would ever see our friends again, whom we were now leaving in anxiety, uncertainty, and distress.”

The next day, after a nervous and sleepless night, the captors led their hostages west to Gilead, then on to Peabody’s Patent. The Indians killed and scalped James Pettengill. They ransacked his house and hungrily devoured the cream and sugar they found within. From there, the party continued west into Shelburne, New Hampshire, where, after a treacherous crossing of the Androscoggin River, the Indians plundered the Austin homestead. Mrs. Austin refused to surrender her wedding ring and nearly lost a digit for balking. The Austin’s ox was slaughtered and roasted.

Tomhegan shot and killed a man, Peter Poor, and took an African-American, known simply as Plato, as a hos(cont. on page 18)

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Western Lakes & Mountains

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tage. Lt. Clark was allowed to return home, which he did stealthily to avoid conflict with the rear guard of the Indian raiding party.

After looting the Shelburne home of Capt. Rindge, the Indians and their hostages headed north into the rugged Mahoosuc Mountains. Nathaniel recalls this terrifying moment, “Under the most gloomy apprehensions, we entered the wild, howling wilderness, with cruel and bloodthirsty savages, for Canada.”

Ever since the river crossing, the prisoners had been forced to haul the Indians’ heavy packs. Nathaniel, Benjamin, and Plato were exhausted and famished. In a meadow somewhere in the high Mahoosucs, the Indians broke into an impromptu victory dance, jumping from rock to rock with three scalps clenched in their teeth (those of James Pettengill, Peter Poor, and an

unidentified man killed before the Indians arrived in Sudbury Canada), wildly shaking their heads and whooping. For the captives, it was a chilling spectacle.

Under threat of death, Nathaniel was ordered to write a note on a strip of spruce bark warning potential rescuers not to give chase. This was in the vicinity of Old Speck Mountain, one of Maine’s tallest peaks. Descending precipitously to Umbagog Lake, the captors at last felt safe. But there was still a long way to go, and rations were lean even for the Indians.

Up the Magalloway River, cross-country through swamp and thicket, then down the St. Francis River, the captives staggered under their heavy loads. The meager game the party scared up went to feed the Indians. At one point, when the Indians threw their worn moose hide moccasins away, Nathaniel and his starving fellow hostages

retrieved, roasted and ate them.

Weak and exhausted from the twoweek trek, the party fell into an Indian encampment on the St. Francis. All were fed corn. It was a brief respite.

Plato, the African-American, was sold to a Frenchman. Nathaniel and Benjamin were hauled to Montreal and then farther up the St. Lawrence River where they were thrown into a squalid island prison with one hundred and eighty others.

Prison had its own horrors — sadistic guards, rats, lice, and, during winter, severe cold. Events were finally turning their way, though. British Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown in October of 1781. The Revolutionary War was effectively over, and the exchange of prisoners began. Still, it wasn’t until November 10, 1782, that Nathaniel and Benjamin sailed for Boston as free men.

19

DiscoverMaineMagazine.com Compared to other Colonist-Indian clashes along the frontier, the raid of 1781 resulted in minimal loss of life and property. Yet the raid had, for a period of several years, a chilling effect on settlement in Maine. Homesteaders fled to safety in established towns like Hebron, Fryeburg, and New Gloucester. The frontier collapsed.

Nathaniel Segar didn’t retreat, nor did Benjamin Clark or Plato, Nathaniel’s comrades in suffering. After a brief stay in his hometown of Newton, Massachusetts, where astonished family and friends were delighted to see him alive and nursed him back to health, Nathaniel returned to Sudbury Canada. So too did Benjamin Clark. There, both men married, raised families, and prospered. In 1796 the town was incorporated and renamed Bethel. Plato somehow found his way back to Shelburne, New Hampshire, where he lived the remainder of his days.

Gould Academy in Bethel, ca. 1903. Item # 23393 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com

Of his life on the frontier, Nathaniel writes, “I have undergone all the hardships and self-denials which are incident to those who are engaged in settling new countries; but have lived to see the town rise from a howling wil-

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Western Lakes & Mountains

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The Driftwood Lodge in Rangeley, ca. 1938. Item # 1389 from the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com

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Western Lakes & Mountains

22

Greenville’s Chief Henry Red Eagle

by Charles Francis

Maine guide extraordinaire

H

enry Perley of Greenville is one of the most remarkable figures in recent Maine history. Perley, who today is best known as Chief Henry Red Eagle, was, for want of a better term, a Native American activist.

In fact, he might be considered the first really important Indian activist of the twentieth century.

Perley, who was born in 1885 and died in 1972, is most often described as a showman. Probably this is due to his success as a Maine Guide at a time when the deep Maine woods was just beginning to attract sportsmen from the Boston and New York areas. He was much more than a showman, however.

He was an exceptionally literate indi-

vidual who wrote some five hundred articles as well as a book, Aboriginally Yours, with his niece Madelene Burnham. Burnham is, in fact, as unique a person as her uncle, and led almost as varied a life as he did in the Greenville area and elsewhere in Maine.

Perley’s career also included acting, as well as a collaboration with Holman Day, the first writer to popularize the Maine image. He even starred in a movie with Mary Pickford. In addition, he served as a guide for Warren Moorehead, the archaeologist who first identified the Red Paint People as a distinct prehistoric Native American culture.

Perley, or Chief Henry Red Eagle, has at times been identified as a Penob-

137 years of trusted service.

scot Indian. He was in actuality a Maliseet. He has also been called “the last full-blooded Algonquin Indian of the Maliseet tribe.” This is a misrepresentation which has, of course, added to some of his mystique. There are a good many full-blooded Maliseet today.

First and foremost, Henry Perley was a Maine Guide. Tradition has it that he received his license when he was just fourteen. The turn of the twentieth century, when Henry Perley began guiding, was the beginning of the era of the ‘sport,’ who really wanted to experience the Maine woods, which meant northern Maine. Over the years, Perley, as Chief Henry Red Eagle, did his part in meeting the demands of these

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com individuals and in promoting the north woods. At the same time, he did a great deal to change the popular image of the Native American.

The most consistent effort to promote tourism in Maine’s north woods was that of the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad. For almost all of the first fifty years of the twentieth century, the Bangor & Aroostook produced an annual publication titled In the Maine Woods.

It is still relatively easy to find copies of it. In the Maine Woods primarily promoted regions serviced by the Bangor & Aroostook. For sportsmen, this meant the Katahdin, Penobscot, and Allagash regions. The annual listed Maine Guides and featured hunting and fishing. On occasion, there were articles on camping and canoe trips. Perley is listed as a Maine Guide. There are also pictures of him taken by the Bangor & Aroostook’s official photographer, Bert Call. Perley also wrote some of the articles.

In the 1920s Perley accompanied Warren Moorehead of the Peabody Museum to the St. John region. Moorehead, the first archaeologist to do extensive research into the Red Paint People, was searching for Red Paint cemeteries. Perley was with him when he found the Cow Point Red Paint site along the Canadian border. Their trek along the upper St. John did not result in any discoveries. However, out of it came a collaborative narrative of the trip.

During the era of the silent film, one of the first efforts to create a Maine film industry involved Holman Day, Blaine Viles, and William Williamson. One of the results of the effort was a production featuring Henry Perley and Mary Pickford. Perley had top billing.

Holman Day was a Lewiston newspaperman and writer, famous for his Up in Maine. Blaine Viles was Maine’s Forestry Commissioner. William Williamson was the president of the Au-

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(cont. on page 23)

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gusta Film Company. Starting in 1919, the group produced over thirty movies on the State of Maine, all of which were scripted by Day. A number of them featured Perley.

As an activist, Henry Perley was concerned about the image of Native Americans as presented in Hollywood movies. In particular, this meant the picture of the Indian as a savage predator. Later, when academics began to present Native Americans as victims of an unjust social system, he was equally concerned. In 1952 Perley wrote an introduction to a history of Maine Indians by the Maine Writers Research Club. In it, he said that “...the Indian of yesterday is gradually being replaced by men and women of the Red Race who are taking advantage of what modern civilization offers, that they may be able to take their place in [America].”

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Western Lakes & Mountains

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modern civilization had to offer was Perley’s niece Madelene Burnham.

Burnham, who was born in Greenville, graduated from Bliss Business College.

She then worked as a bookkeeper, and during World War II had a job producing submarine and airplane parts. Like her uncle, Burnham was an activist. In part, that activism is illustrated with their collaboration on Aboriginally Yours.

The lives of Henry Perley, Chief Henry Red Eagle, and his niece Madelene Burnham are truly remarkable.

Anyone wishing to learn more of them is encouraged to read their book. The current edition, Aboriginally Yours, Chief Henry Red Eagle, is edited by Eleanor Williamson and others.

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Christian Science Church in Dover-Foxcroft. Item # LB2008.19.116136 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

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Skowhegan’s Dean Flemming Sallying forth and braving the hazards

by James Nalley

A

mong the numerous bombers and fighters of World War II, one of the most iconic is the B-17, also known as the “Flying Fortress.” However, despite having onboard weaponry from every possible angle, they were relatively slow compared to the fast and agile German Luftwaffe fighters. As a result each bombing mission became treacherous for the pilots and crew. According to Eyewitnesstohistory.com, “The U.S. Eighth Air Force, which flew daylight missions over Europe, had a 19% death rate, and if you survived being shot down, you had a 17% chance of becoming a prisoner of war.” Moreover, prior to 1944 each B-17 crew had to complete twenty-five

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combat missions in order to be eligible to come home. Nevertheless, statistics at that time indicated that “each crew member had a 1 in 4 chance of making it through about 12 to 14 missions,” regardless of whether the member was a

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pilot, navigator or waist/tail gunner. In fact, a popular saying at the time was that “Flying in the Eighth Air Force was like holding a ticket to a funeral… your own.” Among those that did manage to come home was Dean Flemming from Skowhegan.

Born on June 23, 1920 in Millville, New Brunswick, Canada, Flemming graduated from Skowhegan High School with the Class of 1938. Like many young men at the time, Flemming joined the U.S. military after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States officially declared war on Japan and Germany. As for Flemming, he joined the U.S. Army Air Force and trained as an Eighth Air Force B-17

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com bomber pilot. He was subsequently assigned to the 709th Bomb Squadron, 447th Bomb Group, based at Rattlesden Air Base in England.

In December of 1943 the focus of the 447th Bomb Group was to bomb strategic sites in France, Belgium, and Germany that could weaken enemy forces. Flemming’s first mission, as a co-pilot to Lt. William McKay, was to Ludwigshafen, Germany on December 30, 1943. He would continue to serve as a co-pilot on various B-17s until February 28, 1944 when he was promoted to pilot. Lt. Lloyd Ittel became his co-pilot. Although he flew several B-17s, he was most associated with “The Marty.”

As stated earlier, the majority of bomber crews completed between 12 and 14 combat missions, with the goal of completing 25. However, Flemming managed to complete 30 missions, which had earned him a spot in the “Lucky Bastard’s Club.” Certificates of such an award included the follow-

ing: “On this (enter date) of nineteen hundred and forty four, the fickle finger of fate finds it expedient to trace on the role of the Lucky Bastard’s Club, the name of (enter name and position) for having this day achieved the remarkable record of sallying forth and returning no less than 30 times, for having braved the hazards of Hun flak, for bringing Hitler and his cronies tons of bombs, for bending the Luftwaffe’s back; all through the courtesy of the VIII AAF who sponsors those programs in the interest of liberty-loving people everywhere.” Although this award seems “tongue-in-cheek,” there was definitely an air of seriousness due to the numbers that never returned to the airfield in Rattlesden.

As for Flemming, flying the high number of combat missions did not always go smoothly. For example, on March 9, 1944 Flemming did what few Eighth Air Force B-17 pilots had ever done — safely perform a “dead-

stick landing” of a B-17; that is, landing the aircraft with no power from the engines. According to the Public Relations Office of the 447th Bomb Group at Rattlesden, “After he had dropped his bombs on the target, it became apparent that there would not be enough fuel to make it back to England. Lt. Flemming and his co-pilot 2nd Lt. Edward Stull decided to cut two of the four engines in an effort to cross the English Channel. Continuing on two engines, they crossed the English coastline and headed for the first airport that they saw.”

However, the control tower of the airfield told Flemming that another aircraft was taking off at that moment and it was impossible for them to land. At that time, the two remaining engines shut down and Flemming immediately “banked his aircraft in an effort to turn and come back on another runway, but he was too low. The only alternative was to land in a freshly plowed field. (cont. on page 30)

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With wheels down, he landed the aircraft in the field, skidded across some hedgerow ditches, and jolted to a stop.”

Flemming collapsed under the enormous strain and was administered first aid by the waiting ambulance crew.

According to tail gunner Staff Sergeant Leslie Orr, “Lt. Flemming’s skill really saved our lives. We didn’t have time to get into crash positions.” Flemming eventually received two Distinguished Flying Crosses and five Air Medals.

In April 1944, just one month after the “dead-stick landing,” Flemming and his crew were one of only two planes in his squadron to return from a bombing mission. However, due to damage from enemy fire, he was forced to ditch his aircraft in the North Sea. Amazingly, not one crewman was lost under his piloting skills. It is important to note, however, that Flemming’s brother, Neil, was killed in action in

Flemming and crew in February 1944 (courtesy of the 447th Bomb Group Association)

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com Germany in April of 1945.

After his discharge from the U.S. Army Air Force, Flemming began a long career with the U.S. Postal Service, first as a letter carrier in Skowhegan and then as a Postal Service Officer and District Manager in Washington, D.C. In 1978 he retired after 36 years of service.

On September 16, 2015, Dean Flemming died peacefully at the age of 95. Although he was a father of three sons and a high-ranking member of the U.S. Postal Service, he will always be remembered for his amazing piloting skills and his good fortune as a B-17 pilot during the European campaign of World War II.

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Purple Panthers And Black Raiders Memories Waterville and Winslow sported some great teams

by Sandy Thomas

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ccasionally an incident occurs that makes you wonder if some ethereal force is guiding you to help you discover real treasure. One such incident occurred while my husband and I were attending a basketball game to watch my grandson, Nicholas Elias, play in a basketball game at Waterville High School, which incidentally, is my alma mater. We were passing one of the many trophy cases when my husband stopped to point out to me something he had discovered earlier when he dropped Nicholas off for practice. Nicholas’ maternal grandfa-

ther was in a picture in the display case which featured the basketball and football teams of 1929-30.

As a young man attending Junior High and High School, Rickey Thomas participated in basketball and football. The Waterville High School 1929-30 Football Team consisted of the following players: William Dusty, James Coyne, Charles Stubbert, Ronald Brown, Coach Harry Newell, Louis Rancourt, Captain Frank Gaul, Rickey Thomas, Manager Keith Thomas, Roland Legendre, Paul Landry, Fred Lunt, Ralph MacDonald, Bernard Marsh,

Dick Johnson, Bob Larry, John Alden and additional players not present in the photo, Carroll Abbott, Adrian Violette, Joe Gurski, Louis Casey, Ed Mccarthy, Al Paganucci, Ralph Verzoni, and Foahd Salem.

“This team was undefeated and did not allow any points to be scored by their opponents. They were the Maine State High School Football champions with a record of 7 wins and 0 losses while scoring 241 points to their opponents 0. It is considered by many to be Waterville High School’s all-time best football team with several players

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com going on to play college football. The team captain, Frank ‘Touchy’ Gaul, played for Notre Dame and received all-star honors.”

Needless to say, I was surprised and decided to get copies of these pictures.

I had never been aware of their existence nor did I know about the extraordinary success of this team. My dad was not one to boast of his accomplishments. His name was Maroon Richard, but they called him Rickey. He was the son of immigrant parents who came to America from Lebanon.

He was very skilled at cooking and became a chef. He worked at various hotels in the State and eventually worked at Parks Diner, a noted landmark in the area. After a few years he opened his own business, “Rickey’s Hot Dog Stand” on Front Street in Waterville. “Rickey’s” soon became a popular eating place. Many would say, “we come to Rickey’s for the best hot

dogs around, and we especially love his crisp fried pork bits.” He operated the landmark eating place located next to City Hall for generations until he suffered a massive heart attack at age 63 at his place of business.

He was a commissioned reserve police officer for the City of Waterville and an active member of the Arnold Trail Sportsman’s Association. Gene Letourneau, a columnist for the Waterville Sentinel, wrote several articles highlighting Rickey’s first of the season trout catches. One article stated that “Maroon ‘Rickie’ Thomas dethrones Harry E. Green, getting the first catch of brook trout of the Maine fishing season.” Truly, fishing was in his blood as he loved the excitement of catching a fish, the beauty of nature, and the tranquility of rejuvenating mind and body.

He also loved and embraced the challenge.

He was a team player as shown

by his athletic accomplishments, and many people recall his fine sense of humor and the twinkle in his eye. I will always lovingly remember this very special man I called Dad and will be proud to be his daughter.

There have been many other outstanding teams and outstanding individual players at Waterville High School since then, to name a few; Ted Shiro who earned 12 varsity letters in 3 sports and earned all New England honors 2 years in a row. He also was noted for setting scoring records at Colby College. John “Swisher” Mitchell who played basketball at Waterville High School and the University of Rhode Island, was Captain of Maine’s first New England Championship basketball team in the mid-’40s. He was a three-sport athlete in high school. Mitchell began a lengthy coaching career in 1954 at John Bapst High School with the foot(cont. on page 34) Prime Financial Inc. Financial Services & Insurance

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Western Lakes & Mountains

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ball, basketball and baseball teams. He also coached at Salpointe High School in Tucson, Arizona for two years before returning to Maine to coach at Waterville High from 1959 to 1964. He then coached Colby College freshman teams in three sports and served as Assistant Varsity Coach as well.

Another outstanding athlete, Harold “Tank” Violette, who was the youngest of 17 children, was active in athletics at Waterville High School and the Univer-

sity of Maine where he ranked among the top 100 Yankee Conference Football Players of the decade. After receiving his Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Southern Maine, he began a 39-year career as a teacher, coach, and athletic administrator. He coached football, ice hockey, wrestling, golf, and baseball. His Winslow High School football teams posted a record of 152 wins, 52 losses, and 2 ties, winning 5 state championships. His hockey

teams won 6 state championships. He was named coach of the year 3 times in football, and Hockey Coach of the year 4 times. And, he was a fellow classmate.

So the treasures I found the day we went to see my grandson’s basketball game are absolutely priceless to me. A history lesson at its best.

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Farmington Enters The New Century Enjoying a pleasant prosperity

by Charles Francis

T

hinking back to the near-hysteria with which we faced the turn of the millennium now almost twenty years ago, it leads me to ponder how different, really, were the early years of the twentieth century from what we are experiencing now? What, for example, was the town of Farmington like as 1899 became 1900 and time continued its inevitable march onward?

For most residents of Farmington, the dawning of the new century was of little consequence. The farmers in the outlying parts of town performed their chores as they had done for years.

They pitched hay for the cows, watered them, lugged in firewood, and then settled in beside the old Glenwood

range to smoke a “pipeful” and read the Farmington Chronicle or the Fireside Reader. For the laborer in the lumber mill or canning plant, it was much the same. He trudged off to work before dawn with his lunch pail in hand, returned exhausted, ate dinner, and then put his feet up and dozed until his wife told him it was time to go to bed.

In 1900 Farmington residents, like most Americans, looked on the future with confidence. They saw themselves entering an era of prosperity and security. They viewed their political leaders as practical men of affairs who believed that “business knew best.” William McKinley, a solid Republican, was in the White House and what did it matter

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that he was putty in the hands of Mark Hanna. Llewellyn Powers, another good Republican, was governor. And there was a certain comfortable rhythm to life in Farmington.

The horse and buggy were still the chief means of getting about. Horses drew pungs, sleighs, gigs, and wagons.

On cold winter days, people tucked themselves under a buffalo robe and rested their feet on hot soapstones. A trip to Waterville was an all-day expedition frequently made by rail. The town’s businessmen dressed in formal street clothes that were dark and stiff.

Even the farmer had one “best suit.”

Women wore long trailing skirts and shirtwaists with high collars. Under-

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com neath they wore a chemise, drawers, a corset, a corset cover, and at least two petticoats. All in all, Farmington presented a picture of small-town calm and detachment in 1900. However, the town had undergone transformations, which began to make it look something as it does today.

In 1886 a fire destroyed a major section of the downtown area, including the building that housed the Franklin Journal, which shut down. This area was rebuilt with brick and many of those structures still stand today. One of these was the Farmington Public Library which opened in 1890.

Farmington Normal School, the town’s teacher training school, was undergoing the changes that would make it the premier teacher training school in the state and one of the best in New England. Its principal, Wilbert Mallett, who was one of the most forward-thinking educators of the day, was, in addition to recruiting one of the foremost teaching staffs in the country,

well on his way towards acquiring state funding for new classroom buildings and a dormitory.

A glance at the stores and shops of Farmington at the turn of the century would bring forth incredulity today.

There might be a string of bananas hanging in the post office window. In the drug store, a glass case, where dozens of children’s grubby hands had rested, was a display of penny candy. It was not a hygiene-conscious time. In the general stores, crackers were in barrels and the hogshead of molasses could be found next to cans of kerosene. Dried cod and herring were piled on shelves, and dried apples were strung from the rafters, all of which collected dirt, in addition to being contaminated by pipe and woodstove smoke.

Though the nineteenth century came to a close on December 31, 1899, — or 1900, depending on your perspective — the death of President McKinley on September 14, 1901, marked the (cont. on page 38

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Western Lakes & Mountains

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real close, though only a few recognized it. In Farmington, the bells of the Congregational, Baptist, and other churches tolled for forty-five minutes, after which they tolled fifty-eight times representing McKinley’s age. In this manner the town revealed its grief.

Then Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, or T.R. as he was most generally referred, became the leader of the country and a new era began. Up to that time the government had not interfered with big business. There was no income tax.

The wealthy of Farmington, the owners of the lumber mills who speculated in timberlands, were worth several hundred thousand dollars. This was when the typical resident of the town had average annual earnings of between four and five hundred dollars. A laborer with a team of horses or a yoke of oxen working on a town road received $1.50 a day. However, there was reform in the air. Big business was being attacked by

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muckrakers like Upton Sinclair. Between 1903 and 1914, Congress and the Maine legislature passed bills curbing speculation and unfair business practices. Meanwhile, Farmington enjoyed a pleasant prosperity and lauded good old T.R. and his “Big Stick.”

From its incorporation in 1794 on, Farmington had been a prosperous town. The forests of the region provided an abundant source of timber, most of which stayed in Farmington to be used in constructing homes, farmhouses, barns, shops, and stores. The first businesses in town were sawmills. One of the first was built by Nathan Cutler who came from Milford, Massachusetts and settled in the northern part of town.

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sweet corn, beans, and apples, all of which could be canned and sent to market on the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad, which had its northern terminus in Farmington.

The farms and canning plants of Farmington continued to prosper in the early 1900s. In addition, new businesses opened in town. In 1911 Henry White reestablished the Franklin Journal. It would be so successful that it would absorb the Farmington Chronicle in 1919. White also opened a book and stationery store. In 1914 the Barker brothers, James and Walter, came to Farmington from Fryeburg and opened a Dodge automobile agency. Another new business was the photographic studio of Arthur Sampson. Around this period Farmington was becoming known as a resort area. People came for the healthy mountain air and water associated with Maine’s western mountains like Saddleback, Sugarloaf and Mt.

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com Blue, which would soon be the site of a state park. One of the individuals to see that Farmington would be the center for health resorts like Poland Spring, with its famous health-giving water, was Frank Knowlton. In 1915 Knowlton, fresh out of Bowdoin College, started the Knowlton Spring Water Company, which he saw as a means for making Farmington a rival to Poland Spring.

This was actually the beginning of Farmington as a four-season resort area.

Around 1911 or 1912 movies began to be shown in Farmington. The first projectors were gas powered. These first “Flickers” were not a success.

The early reels broke so frequently that audiences shrank away to nothing. By 1916 celluloid technology had improved and the gas-powered projectors were replaced by Bell & Howell projectors. Soon after this the first real movie house in Farmington opened.

Farmington residents now became familiar with the likes of Theda Bara, the “It Girl,” Mary Pickford, Buster Keaton, and Rudolph Valentino. On a Saturday evening in the 1920s, when The Covered Wagon was the most popular film in the country, the “tin Lizzies” of Farmington residents, who had come to see the new wonder of the age, could be found lining the downtown streets.

When “talkies” appeared in 1927, even more people made moviegoing a regular part of their lives.

There was also a rich cultural tradition in Farmington. While the public library opened its doors in 1890, its roots can be traced back to the Farmington Social Library, which was started at the instigation of Supply Belcher in 1800.

Belcher was also instrumental in founding Farmington Academy in 1807, one of the finest preparatory schools of the time. The academy would evolve into Farmington State Normal School, the

first normal school in Maine. Today it is the University of Maine at Farmington.

Belcher, who was known as the Handel of Maine and who was one of the state’s first real composers, if not the very first, was the beginning of Farmington’s rich musical tradition. Included in this heritage is Lillian Norton, the opera prima donna, who played to audiences from New York to Moscow and is better known as Madame Nordica. Today, the Norton family homestead is a museum dedicated to preserving the memory of one of the greatest divas of all time.

Over the years there were several music societies and bands in Farmington. The Farmington Choral Society, which was founded in 1869, sent a delegation of singers to the National Peace Jubilee. The first band in town, the Farmington Cornet Band, was organized in 1873. Its successor, Wheeler’s Band, which was under the direction of William Minor, the superintendent of (cont. on page 40)

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Western Lakes & Mountains

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schools, was one of the most popular bands in the state in the early part of the twentieth century.

Farmington also had one of the charter chapters of the Maine Music Festival. Herbert Rice and Mary Stackpole had been the driving force behind the establishment of the Farmington chapter. The Maine Music Festival held performances at Bangor and Portland every fall for thirty years starting in 1897.

The Farmington chapter choral group met weekly to rehearse under the direction of Professor George Purington.

In addition to taking part in the annual state festival, it was in constant demand to perform locally.

Farmington changed dramatically in the first decades of the twentieth century as America moved into a new age of industry and technology. As for the information age of the twenty-first century, one has but to call up the Farmington home pages on the Internet to learn more about this unique Maine town.

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Lewiston Native Marsden Hartley The artist who painted Katahdin

by Charles Francis

M

aine, especially the coast of Maine, has long been known for attracting artists. Several internationally known painters built their reputations here. Among them are the Wyeths, N.C., Andrew, and Jamie, who did studies on Monhegan and in the Cushing area, John Marin, who spent summers at various coastal locations ranging from Small Point, near Bath, to Addison, and Winslow Homer, who maintained a summer residence at Prout’s Neck. Other major American artists spent time here painting Maine scenes. Among the more illustrious names are those of George Bellows, Edward Hopper, and Georgia O’Keeffe, all of whom applied their own unique

interpretations to such traditional Maine themes as lighthouses, the rocky coastline or cresting waves.

Few artists ventured inland to paint.

One who did was Marsden Hartley, who had spent some twenty years painting in the American southwest, Mexico, and Paris before establishing himself in the New York art world.

Hartley, who maintained a summer cottage at Robinhood Cove in Georgetown and spent a good deal of time painting in the Five Islands area, also painted in the Shin Pond region near Katahdin and, in the process, captured the image of the Maine lumberjack on canvas. Interestingly, Hartley, who had returned to Maine after discovering “primitive”

local artists painting on glass, and who did much of his important work in Maine in the 1920s and 1930s, considered himself the only Maine-born artist painting in the state.

While Hartley was not the only Maine-born artist painting here at the time (another was Waldo Pierce of Bangor), he was one of the most significant, and it was Hartley who did more than anyone else to immortalize Mt. Katahdin in oil. In addition, he produced paintings that were as interpretative of the nature of the State of Maine as any that had been done up to that time or have been done since.

Marsden Hartley was born in Lew(cont. on page 44)

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iston in 1877. His family moved to Cleveland, Ohio when he was a youngster. He did so well in the art programs of that city’s public schools that he was awarded a scholarship to study at the prestigious Cleveland School of Art. There he so distinguished himself that he was accepted as a student at the National Academy of Design in New York to study privately with two of the foremost art teachers of the day, William Merritt Chase and F. Luis Mora. Mora was a Mexican-American from Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was Mora that first interested the young man to landscape painting. Mora also encouraged Hartley to look for traditional art forms and occupations to use as his subject matter and to go to the southwest. Hartley, however, was first to travel to Europe.

While he was in New York, Hartley came to the attention of Alfred Stiglitz, the most influential art critic of the period, who was known for taking

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Marsden Hartley

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Stiglitz sponsored Hartley so that New York art patrons provided the funding for him to study in Paris. Here he associated with those American expatriates who called themselves the “Lost Generation.” These included people like Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzger-

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ald. More importantly, he was exposed to the innovative neoclassical artists of Paris who were rebelling against the realism of their predecessors. These included painters like Gauguin and Van Gogh who would use the natives of the south seas or laborers in the fields of southern France as their subjects.

Hartley spent 1918 and 1919 in Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Here he was captivated by the grandeur and severity of the landscape as well as the spirituality and simplicity of the folk art of the local Indians and Mexican-Americans. In this, he was much like Georgia O’Keeffe, the southwestern artist who also worked in Maine. From New Mexico, Hartley traveled into Mexico painting desert scenes and Indian ceremonies. However, he was about to be drawn back to his home state.

On a trip back to Maine, Hartley discovered local folk artists painting barnyard and village scenes on panes

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com of glass. Traveling the coast, he was, like so many other artists, taken by its austerity and potential for inspiration.

He then purchased a summer cottage at Robinhood Cove on the Kennebec and began painting coastal scenes. He was soon to be drawn inland to Katahdin and the Shin Pond region with its beautiful lakes and streams, a region which was just beginning to attract sportsmen from up and down the east coast.

Marsden Hartley was not the only artist to venture into the Shin Pond area. Frederick Church had preceded him and Carl Springhorn was there about the same time. It was Hartley, however, who captured the essence of the change that was occurring there.

I first discovered the paintings of Marsden Hartley when I went to an exhibit of Maine artists at Colby College in the mid-1960s. The paintings which first caught my attention were Hartley’s of the Shin Pond and Katahdin region.

coming modern methods for logging.

They show an older way of life that was being abandoned and suggest the first real changes in the Maine woods since the coming of the white man. In this, Hartley’s work represents one of the first true breaks with the realism that had characterized the artists that immediately preceded him. In another sense, it may speak to what he saw as the future for Katahdin.

Marsden Hartley died in 1944, leaving a legacy to and of the State of Maine. Various art museums in and out of Maine, as well as colleges like Colby, have done retrospectives of his work. All have featured his work from his period in the southwest and Mexico as well as at the Maine coast. However, it may be his paintings of Katahdin and the area around Shin Pond that best preserve the true nature of this Maineborn artist.

They captured, in a style that was both primitive and refined at the same time, the nostalgia of what the Maine woods must have been like as well as what it was becoming. The lumberjacks presented a demeanor which could only come from a period that has been lost.

The sportsmen, with their recently purchased outdoor clothing and gear, gave an idea of what was to come as recreation began to become an important economic factor in the region.

The backdrop of Katahdin was uniquely Maine. It gave a sense that only in Maine, and, perhaps only here, in the shadow of Maine’s greatest mountain, could such a transition occur.

Marsden Hartley’s best work utilizes a somewhat blunt and almost unfinished technique that seems to catch the true nature of the subject. The lumberjack and hunting and fishing scenes at Shin Pond are typical. The loggers are a mixture of traditional Maine and the

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The Miracle Of Norway’s Ordway Grove Home to New England’s tallest pine

by Jeff Stern

T

he forester gently taps his core sampler into the massive tree trunk. The sound breaks the morning stillness in the cathedral-like tract of giant pines. A squirrel launches a lengthy scold from a nearby branch.

Completely focused on the task at hand, the forester carefully extracts a core and begins counting the annual growth rings the tree has laid down since it was a sapling.

A few minutes of counting and then he steps back in awe, squinting toward the top of the tree which is barely visi-

ble gleaming in the sunlight high above the surrounding maples.

“This tree is three hundred and eighty-eight years old!” he stammers.

Only the squirrel and trees hear.

Such is the miracle of the Ordway Grove, a little-known, nine-acre wooded tract off Pleasant Street in Norway.

Scarcely five blocks from the town’s bustling business district on Route 118, the grove is an oasis of calm. Here a person can stroll beneath a rare patch of virgin white pine trees the likes of which once covered vast areas in

Maine.

Those who keep tabs on such things say the grove’s three hundred and eighty-eight-year old tree is New England’s oldest white pine. (The world record for white pines is four hundred and thirty-six years.) The tree is almost certainly New England’s tallest, rising above Maine’s previous record for white pines of 132 feet. What’s even more astounding is that Ordway Grove is home to almost seventy additional giant trees.

The stately pines probably got their

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com start after a blowdown ripped through an ancient forest long ago. Light penetrated the forest floor and stimulated the seedlings’ growth. White pines grow faster than shade-tolerant hardwoods, always one step above the reemerging forest canopy, always in the light.

Three hundred and eighty-eight years ago, in 1631, a tiny white pine took root in the grove’s lush soil. That was the year William Stoughton, who went on to become the judge and prosecutor at the Salem witch trials, was born. In 1631 Capt. John Smith, the co-founder of Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in North America, died. The thirty-year war raged in Europe. This was a complex political and religious upheaval fought mostly in German territory.

By 1681, the tree was a robust fifty-year-old. Back then, a human who attained fifty would have been considered ancient, but the tree was just getting started. Notable events of the year

included the public flogging of a London woman for the crime of dabbling in politics, Dodo birds were hunted to extinction, and William Penn was granted a charter for what would become Pennsylvania.

The tree reached the century mark in 1731. The spacing of its annual growth rings tells a lot. Rings spaced wide indicate years when conditions favored substantial growth — long growing seasons, and abundant moisture and sun. Rings close together speak of lean times, maybe drought. At one hundred years of age, the white pine was already an impressive specimen.

In 1789 Samuel Ames, one of Norway’s original settlers, acquired the woods. He appreciated the stately trees and protected them. Ames built the first residence in the village and the first grist and logging mill at the outlet of Pennesseewassee Lake.

Norway was incorporated in 1797 and Maine achieved statehood in 1820.

In 1852 Samuel passed the grove to his son Baker just three months before Samuel died. The grove remained in the Ames family until 1864. Sometime around 1860, the only known logging in the tract occurred — an oak was cut to provide the keel for the cargo steamer that plied Pennesseewassee Lake.

The white pine marked two hundred and thirty-three years in 1864. The United States was embroiled in its epic Civil War. The lumberman’s axe reduced Maine’s once vast pine forests to a few small relict populations. Ironically, many of the small pockets of uncut trees were near towns, not way off in the remote wilderness. The Ames family sold the woods to John Ordway in 1864, and it has been known as Ordway Grove ever since, even though the Ordways owned it for a scant seventeen years.

Henry Bearce, a Second Lieutenant in the 32nd Maine Regiment who sur(cont. on page 50)

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Western Lakes & Mountains

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vived capture by the South in Virginia, bought Ordway Grove in 1881. He became a distinguished attorney in Norway. Bearce kept the grove until his death in 1896. Francis Danforth of Rumford owned the grove for a short period in the late 1890s. Plans were made for logging.

By 1901 the tree was two hundred and fifty-years-old. Don Carlos Seitz bought the tract and spared it from the axe. Seitz had moved to Norway from Ohio with his parents in 1877. His father, Rev. J.A. Seitz, visited Ordway Grove often for inspiration to compose sermons. Don Carlos could not abide the thought of the tall trees being chopped down.

Rev. Seitz started publishing an anti-Republican newspaper. Shortly thereafter, he relocated to Conway, New Hampshire. (Was he run out of town?)

Don Carlos, meanwhile, graduated from the Norway Liberal Institute and

went on to write for prominent newspapers in New York City. He penned several books. But Don Carlos ran into financial trouble and the bank repossessed Ordway Grove in the 1920s.

The bank sold the grove to Ernest Hutchins in 1927, and once again the specter of logging loomed. Don Carlos Seitz, by 1930 back on his feet financially, offered to repurchase the grove if a suitable agent for preserving the tract would come forward.

Fortunately, there was just such a local agent. The Twin Town Nature Club was organized in 1923 to study nature and to share that knowledge with the community. The club held an emergency meeting. Through a series of transactions, the grove was deeded to the Twin Town Nature Club for use as a public park and nature preserve on May 5, 1931. What a wonderful birthday present the tree received as it turned three hundred!

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The Twin Town Nature Club’s deed states that, should the club disband, Ordway Grove will be turned over to the Town of Norway as a public park.

Today, as the big tree marks three hundred and eighty-eight years, the Twin Town Nature Club maintains a trail system in the grove and, true to its charter, continues to sponsor outings.

An educational kiosk designed by area sixth-grade students was installed in 2001.

The natural progression is being allowed to take its course. Over time the huge pines will succumb to wind, lightning, or rot, and will topple. Mixed hardwoods will grow to dominate the grove. Perhaps, sometime in the distant future, the hardwood forest will again open up, allowing white pine seeds to germinate. Such is the cycle of nature.

In December 1930, when Ordway Grove was threatened with logging, Maine Forest Commissioner Neil Vio-

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lette wrote a letter to Vivian Akers, a well-known Norway artist and member of the Twin Town Nature Club. Mr. Violette surveyed the grove “in order to ascertain accurately the amount of merchantable timber in this stand.”

After his study, Mr. Violette concluded, “The village of Norway is unique in having, within a few minutes walk of its business district, an undisturbed virgin forest which was sheltering the Indians a long time before the first white settler arrived. The present utilitarian value of this stand of pine in dollars and cents is in no way comparable to its value to the citizens of posterity as a representative of the past and as a haven for lovers of nature, [and] as a playground for their children.”

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Main Street in E. Brownfield with a view of L.R. Giles Co. in the foreground and the Grove Inn in the distance. Item # LB2007.1.100572 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

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Western Lakes & Mountains

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The Big Green Van A grandfather’s legacy

by C.J. Pike

M

y grandfather, Frank Pike, lived in Bridgton and raced horses for many years, starting in the mid ‘40s. His first horse was Bank Knight, and his first good mare was Princess Royal. He raised and trained her foals there at his 20-acre farm on High Street. He was very well known in the racing circuit in Maine and other tracks in New England. He was also well known at tracks in New Jersey, New York, and even California, where he raced in the mid-‘50s.

He retired from racing at the age of 78 and passed away at 83. He was one of the great ones in the world of horse

racing.

When he retired he passed his racing silks on to his grandson Kim, Frank Pike III. Kim collaborated on some of the facts of our grandfather’s racing history for this story and was also well-known during his many years of horse racing.

He trained with Gramp when he was in college and began driving on his own in the mid-1970s. Kim is, of course, my brother, who still lives in Bridgton.

I remember the days when we waited for Gramp to return home after a long year of racing horses. He drove a big green horse van, a good size for the

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horses and to store his racing gear. He didn’t return until mid-November, but we watched and waited for his return until the day when he would finally pull up to the barn on South High Street.

We waited and watched as he unloaded his six horses, taking each one to the pasture. Finally, as he closed the pasture gate, we all stood there watching as the horses enjoyed the green pasture and freedom. We helped him unload the van, as he lugged the heavier stuff and we took the smaller items into the barn.

Gramp made Bridgton a center of the Maine Horse World, according to

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com an article written in the Bridgton News many years ago. He had many winning horses over the years and brought home many trophies. He was one of the top horse racers in the state and beyond, and named his horses after his grandchildren. Some of the horses were: High Street Jeff, High Street Kim, Cyndy Royal, High Street Steve, High Street Frank, Debbie, and Heather Royal.

Other winning horses that he had in the stables were Miss Bridgton, Candy Royal, Star Royal, and Prince Volo.

There were many others as well.

According to the U.S. Trotting Association, he had four hundred and ten driving wins in his lifetime. He traveled to Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Canada, California, and many other places to race, and went to the post over 2,600 times with his horses and others that he trained.

His horses were in the top three places over 1,250 times and he was “in

the money” (the top five places) hundreds of more times.

High Street Jeff was one of his top horses, winning the New England Stakes with a purse of $1,808.62. He won the fastest mile for a three-yearold pacer.

My brother Jeff was tops with everyone he knew, and his namesake, rightfully named High Street Jeff, was tops, too. Both were winners.

And many of Gramp’s horses went down in harness racing history.

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Melvin Deguise and Frank Scruton with their horse team at the Fryeburg Fair, October 5, 1960.

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Gardner Colby Goes To College The philanthropist from Waterville steps up big

by Jeffrey Bradley

B

usinessman and philanthropist Gardner Colby concerned himself with benevolent causes. A Mainer born in 1810, he died in Massachusetts in 1879. Prospering in dry goods, this lifelong Baptist was successful in sundry businesses, including the manufacture of woolen products. He earned enormous sums in the Civil War as a contractor supplying clothing to the Union Army. Later he distinguished himself as the president of a Wisconsin railroad. And, he was especially noted for making generous contributions to the Baptist missionary union.

Colby always retained fond memo-

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ries of Waterville for having spent part of his youth there.

One faded photograph depicts an upright, stern self-made man rather typical of his day and age.

In 1813 the Baptist-founded Maine Literary and Theological Institution relocated to donated land in Waterville.

Classes commenced inside a vacant building under Reverend Jeremiah Chaplin, who had earlier helped the Colby family through difficult circumstances. When Maine became a state in 1820, the school’s charter was affirmed by the first legislature, with the proviso that students could no longer be barred

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com for their beliefs, and that the religious test formerly given to new board members be dropped. In 1821 the newly renamed Waterville College was awarded the authority to grant degrees. The first college-based anti-slavery society was formed in 1833, when the theological department was also abandoned.

A grainy daguerreotype taken in 1856 shows the original South College, North College, and Recitation Hall campus buildings.

During the Civil War when enrollment dwindled and hard times befell the college, Gardner Colby stepped in with key contributions. One, in 1865, was for $50,000, and shortly thereafter the school changed its name to Colby College. Some funding went to building Memorial Hall, which honors alumnae killed in that war.

Twenty-six Colby students died in the conflict.

Some students survived and served

THREE LAKES STORAGE

with distinction. One such luminary was Richard C. Shannon, who graduated from various Maine grade schools before attending the college. Enlisting in Company H, Fifth Regiment, Maine Volunteer Infantry, he was appointed a first lieutenant in 1861. Also an aidede-camp to General Slocum, he made adjutant general before being honorably discharged. Appointed secretary of the United States legation at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he served in that capacity until accepting the presidency of a Brazilian railway. He practiced law in New York City in 1883 before being named Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Costa Rica, then serving a term in the U.S. Congress.

Mainer Henry Clay Merriam also left Colby to join the army. Enlisting as a captain, he was promoted in 1862 for bravery displayed at the battle of bloody Antietam. Next, he recruited

and led a contingent of black troops against Confederate Fort Blakely in Alabama, which earned him the Medal of Honor inscribed with the stirring words “Volunteered to attack the enemy’s works in advance of orders and made a gallant assault.” His further exploits included a stint out West fighting Indians (he helped track the elusive Sitting Bull); skirmishing with Mexican desperadoes along the Rio Grande border; and serving in the Spanish-American War as a brigadier general. He also invented the “Merriam Pack” adopted by U.S. infantry and was buried at Arlington Cemetery just one day shy of his 75th birthday.

Unlike these stellar compatriots, the walrusy Benjamin Franklin Butler led a more checkered career. Graduating in 1838, “Ben” got himself mixed up in politics, first as a Democrat, then as a Republican, then as a Democrat again. (cont. on page 60)

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Western Lakes & Mountains

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The garrulous type, he enjoyed a reputation around campus as a prankster.

He was, in turn, a controversial lawyer, an astute businessman, an outspoken member of Congress, a major general in the U.S. Army, and the Governor of Massachusetts.

But things did not always turn out well. A political appointee, his generalship was marred by ineptitude, and he eventually got cashiered from the army.

Lacking not only in military skills but the social graces as well, when appointed the superintendent of occupied New Orleans his scandalous behavior — including shady financial dealings involving transporting cotton across enemy lines, refusing to return runaway “contraband” slaves to their rightful owners (thereby giving Lincoln political fits). He acted so inappropriate-

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ly and so offended the sensibilities of Southern belles that they took to calling him “Beast” Butler — and all of this, in the end, helped lead to his downfall.

(Even later as a member of Congress he became embroiled in the messy impeachment of President Andrew Johnson and continued to alienate political cronies.)

Even so, Colby College knew him for a hard-working student who conducted himself with aplomb as a member of the literary society. And for that he was placed on the honor role.

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Western Lakes & Mountains

62

The Evans Rifle Goes To Russia A firearm mass-produced in Maine

by Charles Francis

I

n 1878 two Maine men journeyed to St. Petersburg, Russia to peddle the Evans Military Musket, one of three types of long guns manufactured by the Evans Rifle Company. The men were Adna T. Denison and George F. Evans. Adna T. Denison represented the majority stockholder of the Evans company, the Denison Paper Manufacturing Company. George F. Evans was the designer of the musket.

The Evans rifle is well-known among gun collectors today. It has been called “the ultimate in frontier firepower.” Buffalo Bill had one, so did Kit Carson. Today Evans rifles in poor condition go for prices in the low thousands. If one is found in mint condition,

and there are a few, prices of $12,000 to $15,000 can be expected. The Evans Military Musket is an entirely different matter, however. At least that is the conclusion of this writer. I have spent a fair amount of time researching U. S. and Canadian sources for information on the Evans Military Musket, including writing to several authorities on nineteenth-century American weapons without turning up anything more than the weapon is “a cipher,” “an enigma.”

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have one and have never seen one. If there is one around, it’s likely the owner doesn’t know what he has. The few muskets that were sold in the United States were of limited runs. There were two of these runs of fifty and a hundred and fifty. Few of these sold.

You would think Evans would have given up on its Military Musket after the poor response to its initial offerings.

It didn’t though. The third run was of three thousand. These sold. To Russia!

They were the weapon of choice of the Russian Flying Squadron, an elite cavalry unit. They sold because Adna T. Denison and George F. Evans went to Russia and put on an exhibition of the gun’s firepower before the Czar’s spe-

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com cial military commission.

The names Adna T. Denison and George F. Evans do not appear often in the available information on the Evans Rifle Company. What history of the company that exists seems to suggest that George Evans fell to managing the company when his brother Warren, the founder and designer of the first Evans weapons, lost interest. The suggestion is that George Evans not only took over management of the company but also ownership. The latter part of the suggestion is patently untrue. A reading of the company’s financial statements reveals that the Denison Paper Manufacturing Company owned Evans Rifle.

The fact that Adna T. Denison accompanied George Evans indicates that Denison paper was actively involved in Evans.

Note: I am using the name Adna T. Denison with the “T” to distinguish him from his father Adna C. Denison, the founder of Denison Paper as well

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as Poland Pulp and Paper and a number of other Maine businesses. It is also interesting to note that Denison Paper records of the mid-1870s list the manufacture of several thousand rifles and carbines. In short, Denison, whether it refers to the company or the father or the son, is very much a part of the story of the Evans Rifle Company and of the Evans Military Musket. This brings us to George Evans, his relation to his brother, Evans Rifle, and the Military Musket.

Warren Evans was a Thomaston dentist. With the help of his brother, he designed the first Evans rifle. The brothers’ manufactory was in Mechanic Falls. There were three Evans rifle models — a sporting model, a carbine, and the military musket. The first run was in late 1871. The musket was intended as the big seller. However, the musket failed to pass muster with the U. S. Army. The other two weapons showed marketplace potential.

With the first run of the Evans Rifle completed, George Evans becomes the dominant design force of the company.

Either at the end of 1872 or the beginning of 1873, Denison Paper became the majority stock owner of Evans Rifle. Evans Rifle needed an infusion of capital to continue production.

The first Evans run produced around five hundred rifles. The second run produced somewhere around fifteen hundred. The figures vary. The second run also included the Montreal Carbine, marketed in Canada. Gun collectors describe the weapons of the second run as refined editions of the first run. The refinements of the second run are those of George Evans. The financing of the second run came from Denison Paper.

The third run was completed in 1877. This is the run that produced the guns sold to the Russian military. The fact that Denison Paper carried three thousand guns on its inventory may

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Western Lakes & Mountains

64 (cont. from page 63)

have something to do with export laws.

Denison Paper would have been listed as the owner of the rifles on the export manifest, not the Evans Rifle Company.

This is getting a bit ahead of our story though.

First, we need to consider what it was like when our two Maine salesmen went to St. Petersburg. An imaginative soul might conjure up a picture of a Yankee trader in the person of Adna Denison and a squint-eyed marksman in the person of George Evans huckstering American rifles. They might see Russia as a backward European monarchy trying to update to the age of industry and technology. The real picture is something quite different, however.

Russian military officials knew they needed to update. Russia had been on the losing side in the Crimean War. It had been on the losing side in the Ottoman War. Russian military officials also knew that American military technolo-

gy, thanks to the demands of the War Between the States, was the best in the world.

Russian observers had visited Civil War battlefields. The same observers had visited American manufacturing plants, especially those devoted to armament production. In the late 1870s, Russian military representatives had been made aware of Evans Rifle. Adna Denison had seen to this. He had hired marketing specialists, Merwin, Hulbert & Company. In short, one could assume Denison and Evans expected to sell their musket. And they were right.

The Russian military commission that saw the demonstration of the Evans Military Musket advised the musket’s adoption.

Unfortunately, additional sales of the musket after the Russian success failed to materialize. Evans Rifle went bankrupt in 1879. Today one wonders why. Part of the reason may lie with

Adna T. Denison. He was taking more and more responsibility in the running of the family’s mills.

Today the Evans Rifle Company holds the distinction of manufacturing a firearm mass-produced in Maine. As to the place of the Evans Military Musket in that history, that is the mystery.

Records of the muskets used by the Russian Flying Squadron have yet to materialize.

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The Bear Trap At Gyger’s Orchard

by Franklin Irish

T

The sheep needed protection

his is about the old bear trap.

Now this story goes way back. A lot of it is hearsay, but I’ll give it my best. Colonel Perley and his brother, who settled in Naples, had grants from somewhere. I think maybe the old Perley place may have been a grant from the King. It’s not from the Governor of Massachusetts.

Anyway, the one I’m writing about must have been well-to-do for those times, because he cleared a large farm and raised beef and sheep (this is now Gyger’s Orchard in South Bridgton). He maintained quite a large crew. He had two houses, the one the Gygers are living in, and a large one on the other side.

It was still standing when the present Gyger’s grandfather bought the place.

He elected to use the small one, and the

big one was torn down. I bossed the setting out of the first five thousand trees, along with two or three old barns.

This is getting a little like a history lesson, and perhaps it is. Anyways, a bear got into the sheep and something had to be done. The woods must have been thicker then because they didn’t hunt for them.

They decided to build a trap. The south side of (then called) Fitch’s Hill seemed like a good spot. I’ve no doubt that a couple of men and a team of oxen built it in a day or two. There was a lot of stone split off from the ledges then.

They built a square trap about five or six feet by maybe three, and covered it all around with smaller rocks, which have pretty well been hauled off. In front they had four big stones on each side with

a slot between them, and they found a piece near a fit. Maybe it had to be finished a little to drop into the slots. It was the trap closure. A long pole was set on top of the trap, and the door was wired up to it. Then a rock was placed under the pole so it could be raised or lowered.

One end went over a small hole in the back end, big enough to shoot through.

The bait was wired to a short stick notched to fit over the pole. They pried up the door and fed the pole under the notch so if that bait moved, down came the door.

My father claimed they got at least one bear, and saved the sheep.

I understand Mrs. Monroe’s daughter has tried to buy or swap lots with whoever owns it, but with no luck. I understand it’s off limits now to every bear!

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Windham’s Revolutionary Doctor

by Kay Soldier

Dr. Caleb Rea (1758-1796)

F

rom the time of the settlement of New Marblehead in the mid1700s, people themselves took care of their medical problems. One can only imagine what this was like.

No doubt, one of the settler’s wives acted as midwife to the women of the community.

The times were such that superstition and belief in things unnatural caused many early pioneers to blame illnesses on ‘night air’ and ‘bad thoughts.’ This was common in Colonial times.

And so, the little settlement of New Marblehead doctored themselves with old remedies and herbs until the arrival of the first doctor came to town in 1783. At this time, the town was named Windham, but it was still part of Mas-

sachusetts.

In October of 1783, Dr. Caleb Rea was granted a license by the Massachusetts Court of General Sessions of the Peach, “to sell liquors in Windham.”

The reason for the liquor license was that ‘spirituous liquor’ was the only known anesthesia in those far-off days.

Imagine, if you can, a small settlement in the woods of Maine with muddy, dirt paths through the woods. With fields marked off by stone walls. A community like many others. Then imagine the arrival in this town of young Dr. Rea who was over six feet tall and weighed more than 250 pounds, or so the story goes.

Dr. Rea, whose father had also been a doctor from Danvers, lived in the

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southern part of the town in the area of the present Maine Correctional Center on what was then known as Lot One in the first division of one hundred-acre lots.

It is believed that his wife had inherited this land from her father John White, of Salem, Massachusetts. Prior to Rea’s arrival, Eli Webb had owned the property. An old building was on the place along with a barn. The doctor moved into this one-story house and stayed until five of their six children were born.

Dr. Rea traveled on horseback throughout his ‘rounds,’ with his saddlebags containing all the medical supplies he would need, including the ‘spirituous liquor.’ His area of practice

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workmanship, nevertheless, graced it both indoors and out, especially in the matter of details about the cornices and the paneling of the doors.” Dr. Rea, however, did not get to enjoy the house he worked so hard to build. While tending to a fever-riddled patient, he lay down to rest ‘on a floor near where the early wintry winds blew and caught the fever himself.’ He died on December 29, 1796, at the age of thirty-eight.

On January 1, 1797, he was buried near his new house, under a small oak tree. General James Irish of Gorham gave the eulogy at Rea’s funeral, which was attended by neighbors and friends.

His widow died in 1836 at the age of seventy-eight. His family continued to live in Windham.

In 1882 concern was raised that the old grave was becoming “obliterated,” so the remains of Windham’s first doctor were exhumed and moved to the Brown Cemetery on Chute Road, not too far from the original home. Other members of his family are also buried here, including his son, Col. Caleb, whose last name is spelled Rhea on his gravestone. Over the years, the surname has been spelled in various ways: Wray, Rea, Rhea, and Ray. One of Dr. Rea’s descendants became a well-known historian and writer, Attorney Fabius Ray. The site of Dr. Rea’s house on today’s River Road is not marked, but there is a marker for Lot One.

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was from Saccarappa, now Westbrook, to Flintstown, now Baldwin, up into the Naples area.

Through the woods he went, spending the night at homes along the way.

His prior medical experience had been during the Revolutionary War, where he treated friends and foes alike, much like any doctor whose prime concern is humanity and not politics. It is said that Dr. Rea, without any sort of modern-day equipment, once performed a trepanning operation, placing a silver plate in the top of a patient’s head. The patient outlived the doctor. Dr. Rea also performed amputations when necessary, without the benefit of ether. Perhaps he administered a quantity of that ‘spirituous liquor.’

After Dr. Rea had lived in the house on Lot One for thirteen years, he decided in 1796 to build a new home for his family. Staying on the same property, he hired his brother, Pierce Rogers Rea, to construct an ‘elegant structure’ behind the old house in which the Rea family had lived.

A newspaper from the 1800s gives this account of Dr. Rea’s new home: “This house is remembered by many people still living in Windham, a part of it having withstood the ravages of time until it fell prey to flames in the year 1890. It would not, if finished, have been an elegant structure, according to the modern idea, but much elaborate

T

(cont. from page 67)

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