aroostook county 2012

Volume 9, Issue 1

Maine’s History Magazine

The Wilders Of Washburn

Known as Aroostook pioneers

Aroostook’s Lady Historian:

Stella King White

Author’s best works are difficult to find

Allagash High School Girls Basketball

Bobcats dominated in the 1970s

FreeFree

DISCOVERDISCOVER

MAINE2012

Aroostook CountyAroostook County

www.discovermainemagazine.com

— Aroostook County —Discover

Maine2

~ Inside This Edition ~

4 The Wilders Of Washburn

Known as Aroostook pioneers

Charles Francis

7 Deep Woods Alcohol

“Rotgut” almost killed a Piscataquis County logger in 1911

Ian MacKinnon

10 Little House In Linneus

Local Maine writer remembers her move to the County

Christine Laws

12 William Howard Taft Pays A Visit

Former president was sent to the County to drum up support for the war effort

Charles Francis

16 John Crowley’s Little, Big

Book honored on 25th anniversary

Charles Francis

20 Travels With Charlie: Day Trips Through Maine History

Along the Maliseet Trail

Charles Francis

24 Aroostook’s Lady Historian: Stella King White

Author’s best works are difficult to find

Charles Francis

28 Houlton’s Henry C. Merriam

Leader of the Union Army’s first African-American Regiment

James Nalley

32 Selling Fords In Caribou Since 1912

Dealership close to 100th birthday

Ian MacKinnon

35 Allagash High School Girls Basketball

Bobcats dominated in the 1970s

Ian MacKinnon

38 An Acadien Odyssey: The Martin Saga

A history of the Martins of Madawaska

Charles Francis

43 Scripture Cake Topped With Burnt Jeremiah

And Other County Delicacies

Aroostook County is rich in traditional foods

Charles Francis

46 Alice Rowena (Lunney) Gregory

Life-long resident of Westfield remembered

Timothy Lunney

47 Directory Of Advertisers

See who helps us bring Maine’s history to you!

Discover MaineMagazine

Aroostook County

Front cover photo: Fire Engine “Chemical #1” in Fort Fairfield

from the Eastern Illustrating & PublishingCo. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

All photos in Discover Maine’s Aroostook Countyedition 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 collaborationwith the Maine Historical Society and the

Penobscot Marine Museum.

Discover Maine Magazine is distributed to fraternal organizations, shopping centers, libraries,

newsstands, grocery and convenience stores, hardwarestores, lumber companies, motels, restaurants and other

locations throughout this part of Maine.

NO PART of this publication may be reproduced without written permission

from CreMark, Inc. Copyright © 2012, CreMark, Inc. SubSCRIPTION FORM ON PAgE 36

Published Annually by CreMark, Inc.

10 Exchange Street, Suite 208Portland, Maine 04101

(207) [email protected]


PublisherJim Burch

Designer & EditorMichele Farrar

Advertising & Sales ManagerTim Maxfield

Advertising & SalesKelly CollinsChris Girouard Tim MaxfieldCraig Palmacci

Office ManagerLiana Merdan

Field RepresentativesGeorge TatroDave Strater

Contributing WritersCharles Francis

[email protected] LawesTimothy LunneyIan MacKinnonJames Nalley

— Aroostook County —

DiscoverMaine 3

Notes From The Fayette Ridgeby Michele Farrar

A few years ago my old friend Bob, who lives up

here on the ridge, decided to finish his semi-fin-

ished basement. His nephew Ralph was attending

college in Farmington, and Bob figured his base-

ment would make a great apartment for Ralph,

whose finances didn’t mesh with the price of room

and board at school.

Bob hired a contractor who

tore down the paneling and put

up insulation and drywall. He

painted the basement floor and

purchased a rug from the salvage

room at Marden’s. They hung a

drop ceiling and installed lights with dimmer

switches. The laundry room was upgraded to a

bathroom with a shower and a toilet that each had

to be built on a two-foot platform so they would

drain down. (The grandkids love this as the toilet

sits like a throne “way up high.”)

With all of the renovations complete, Ralph

moved in at the end of December. The only heat

source in Bob’s basement is a Russian fireplace.

This is a centuries-old design of bricks and cham-

bers, where it takes all day to heat up the mass of

bricks, but then it radiates heat out for the next

three days. Bob figured Ralph could learn the basic

skills required for the fireplace. The concept is this:

you open up the flues and build a gigantic, hot fire.

Once that burns down, you close the flues and the

heat circulates through the chambers, heating the

exterior bricks, which warm the room. Ralph or-

dered wood from a friend, stacked it neatly outside,

and began the task of heating the basement. He got

the fire going, let it burn to coals, shut the flues,

and headed out to school. He came home that night

and was mildly disappointed by the fact that he

could see his breath while standing in the middle

of his living room.

Bob set him up with a couple of portable elec-

tric heaters, figuring Ralph would get better at gaug-

ing when the flues should be shut on the Russian

fireplace. Since Ralph seemed content, Bob as-

sumed everything was fine. Bob respected Ralph’s

privacy, and they saw each other occasionally when

Ralph would come upstairs for dinner.

After the first month, Bob noticed an increase in

his electric bill, which he had expected since there

was another person living in the house and more

lights were being used. Plus, there were the two

portable electric heaters to consider.

The next month Bob got an electric bill for $700

— for one month. He knocked on the basement

door and went downstairs to have a chat with

Ralph. Apparently Ralph had picked up several

more portable electric heaters from family and

friends, and he was running them constantly in

every room. He sheepishly explained that he never

quite got the hang of running the Russian fireplace,

and the friend who sold him the firewood had de-

livered two cords of wet, green wood.

Bob and Ralph had a heart-to-heart discussion

about how it’s always better to “man up” and admit

your mistakes as opposed to creating a situation

that doesn’t present itself until much later (i.e., the

gigantic electric bill). Then Bob gave Ralph another

lesson on operating the Russian fireplace, using his

own wood which was seasoned and dry.

A week later, Bob took a trip to the Home Depot

and came back with a kerosene heater. If you light

it outside and then bring it in, it doesn’t smell. It

doesn’t cost much to use, and it heats the basement

quickly and comfortably.

Ralph lived in that basement apartment for two

years, and he and Bob became very close. Bob was

happy to have the company, and I’m sure Ralph

heard all of Bob’s best stories, which were probably

more educational than most of what he learned in

college.

Bob rented out the basement apartment the next

year to a “hippie couple” who helped him with his

garden. They stayed for two years, and after they

left in the early fall, Bob was curious why their fa-

vorite variety of tomato plants never actually pro-

duced fruit.

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The Wilders Of WashburnKnown as Aroostook pioneers

by Charles Francis

When Vernum Wilder of Wash-

burn died in 1926, he was eu-

logized in part with the

following words:

It is not only a distinct loss to his immediate

community, but to the county as a whole, whose

strength is in the citizenship of such men and

which is made the poorer by the loss of such use-

ful and high-minded lives.

These are heartfelt words. However,

they in no way reflect the impact of the

death of a man who did much for Aroos-

took County as a whole, or his immediate

family and friends. Yet, they do say some-

thing of Vernum Wilder’s place in the

county he and the Wilder family helped

pioneer.

The Wilder name is a well-known one

in Washburn. The fact that the home an-

other Wilder, Benjamin, built is part of a

museum — the Benjamin Wilder Home-

stead & Aroostook Agricultural Museums

— speaks to this fact. Local histories like

that of Washburn as well as neighboring

Crouseville also speak to the fact in chron-

icling the role various Wilders played in

their development.

In a sense the Wilder family serves as a

prototype of the early settlers of Aroost-

ook County who came in the first decades

of the nineteenth century from southern

and eastern Maine and New Brunswick

and stayed on to continue building Aroos-

took into the next centuries. They are pro-

totypes in that they were willing to take

chances and in that they were workers.

Most of the early Wilders to venture

into the Aroostook region came from

Perry, Dennysville and Pembroke in

Washington County. Isaac Wilder, the first

of the family in the Aroostook region,

was from Washington County. So, too,

were Isaac’s brothers, Benjamin and

Robert. Intriguingly, Vernum and a num-

ber of his siblings were born in New

Brunswick. Their father Robert, the son

of the first Robert, moved there for a

time. Most likely the younger Robert

Wilder had pioneering visions of his own.

Vernum Ellsworth Wilder (his name

also appears as Vernon) was born in 1874.

He was the son of Robert and Amanda

(Brown) Wilder. Robert Wilder was the

In a sense the Wilder family serves as aprototype of the early settlers of AroostookCounty who came in the first decades of

the nineteenth century from southern andeastern Maine and New Brunswick and

stayed on to continue building Aroostookinto the next centuries.

(Continued on page 6)


DiscoverMaine 5

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son of Robert Wilder of Washington

County. Isaac Wilder came to what would

become Washburn in or just before 1840.

In doing so, Isaac was joining the two ear-

liest settlers of the area, Nathaniel

Churchill and Thomas McDonald, who

had moved there from New Brunswick.

Vernum Wilder was a member of the fifth

generation of the Wilder family to make

Washburn their home.

As was typical of the time, Vernum

Wilder’s formal education ended with the

common schools of Washburn. This did

not mean, however, that Vernum’s educa-

tion ended. From that point on, he stands

as an example of a self-educated man and

all that someone with that type of educa-

tion can accomplish.

Accounts of Vernum Wilder’s early life

— before he moved into the public eye —

indicate that he lived on the family home-

stead, making it into one of the most pro-

ductive farms in Aroostook County. In

doing so he seems to have made himself

into a pillar of the community and be-

came a recognized expert in the raising of

seed potatoes and Jersey cattle. He also

went into the fertilizer business. As would

be expected of a businessman-farmer

whose prosperity depended on getting his

goods to market, Vernum Wilder was

keenly interested in issues of transporta-

tion and the development of Aroostook

County’s infrastructure as a whole. This

led to his involvement with and support

of one of Aroostook County’s great de-

velopers and political leaders, Senator

Arthur Gould.

Vernum Wilder was one of the first and

strongest supporters and promoters of

the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad. In fact,

Senator Gould and various members of

the Burleigh family — who were among

its chief financial raisers — as well as

Wingate Cram, the railroad’s great techni-

cal architect, said that it was “Wilder’s

strong influence that was one of the im-

portant factors that made the building of

the road a success.”

Another of Vernum Wilder’s great in-

terests was the Northern Maine Fair. He

was a director of the fair for years, and in

the early decades of the twentieth century

was considered to be its “moving spirit.”

It was at this time that the fairgrounds in

Presque Isle were expanded with larger

buildings, and as patronage increased, the

Northern Maine Fair became the fore-

most agricultural fair in Maine.

Back in Washburn, Wilder was a back-

bone of the community. Besides holding

a variety of municipal offices, he was one

of the prime movers in the founding of

the volunteer fire department. He was also

active in a large number of service groups

ranging from the Grange to the Washburn

Baptist Church, where he organized the

Men’s Bible Class.

Given that Vernum Wilder was such a

bulwark of his community and county it

was only fitting that the eulogy on his

passing also included what follows:

The sudden and untimely death of Mr. Wilder

is a great shock to his family, to a very large cir-

cle of friends, and is a distinct loss to the com-

munity... where he had lived his life so cleanly,

usefully and worthily.

(Continued from page 4)

History withthe click of

a mouse

www.DiscoverMaineMagazine.com


A“dead man riding” saved a “dead

man freezing” north of Mount

Katahdin in late December 1911.

During the winter of 1910-11, Edward

Parent of Boston had harvested wood in

northern Piscataquis County for the Ban-

gor Timberland Company. In his mid-20s,

Parent earned decent money that winter

before returning home.

In early October 1911 he signed on

with the Finn Labor Agency (located on

Boston’s Hanover Street) to work for Ban-

gor Timberland during the winter of

1911-12. Manager John Kelley remem-

bered Parent as a smart and hardworking

man and approved his hiring; Parent im-

mediately shipped north by train.

Recently separated from his wife, Par-

ent had apparently suffered ill health that

summer; how his deteriorating physical

condition escaped detection at Finn Labor

remains a mystery. When he arrived at

Bangor Timberland’s woods camp in

Township 9, Range 4 — a sprawling for-

est southeast of Masardis in mid-October,

Parent already felt ill.

Each winter in Maine, loggers worked

long hours while felling trees with cross-

cut saws and broad axes. Bundled against

the plummeting thermometer and wind-

driven snow, hardy men suffered injuries

and endured illnesses that would hospital-

ize city folks.

Bangor Timberland sent Parent and

other loggers to a harvesting operation

based at the company’s Webster Brook

Camp in northern Piscataquis County.

Rising at Webster Lake in Township 6,

Range 11, Webster Brook flows across

northwestern Baxter State Park — not yet

on Percival Baxter’s political horizon in

1911 — before reaching Grand Lake

Matagamon.

Each spring during the early 20th cen-

tury, fast-flowing Webster Brook carried

harvested logs downstream to Grand

Lake Matagamon, from which loggers

could “work” the logs south along the

East Branch of the Penobscot River. No

logs float on Webster Brook today, of

DiscoverMaine 7


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

by Ian MacKinnon

Each winter in Maine, loggers workedlong hours while felling trees with cross-

cut saws and broad axes. Bundledagainst the plummeting thermometerand wind-driven snow, hardy men

suffered injuries and endured illnessesthat would hospitalize city folks.


Maine8

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course, but a circa-1900 photo of Webster

Brook Falls shows a sluiceway aimed

downriver beneath the falls. Loggers

would “sluice” logs around waterfalls to

avoid damaging or losing precious logs,

which represented income to timber com-

pany investors.

Edward Parent worked in the Webster

Brook forests for several weeks until con-

tracting pneumonia. He died at Webster

Brook Camp on Sunday, December 17.

Meanwhile, a North Attleboro, Massa-

chusetts logger named William White

worked either at the Webster Brook Camp

or at another logging camp located farther

to the east. Possibly the day that Parent

died, White and a Bangor logger named

Joe Nolan left their camp and went on a

bender, patronizing North Woods bars

while walking east along the Sebois tote

road. White carried $6 in cash and a $23

money order.

At Bangor Timberland’s Webster Brook

Camp, the manager told a tote driver on

Wednesday, December 20 to hitch up a

team and transport Parent’s body on the

Sebois tote road to a Patten funeral home.

Miles east of the woods camp, the tote

driver later discovered White sprawled

frozen and “dead” on the snow-covered

road.

Lifting the “corpse” into his wagon, the

tote driver soon realized that White still

breathed! Fortunately for him, he had col-

lapsed about a half mile from a main road;

the tote driver quickly reached that high-

way and lashed his team to a Shin Pond

camp.

There a telegraph operator summoned

help, and Bangor Timberland Co. quickly

sent a doctor to examine White. The

physician discovered that White suffered

from extreme frost bite, especially in his

hands and feet; he would lose some fin-

gers and toes before he recovered.

The tote driver and his team plodded

southeast to Patten, where a funeral di-

rector placed Parent’s frozen corpse in a

local cemetery’s receiving tomb before no-

tifying his family about his death.

As for White, an investigation revealed

that he and Nolan had consumed rotgut

alcohol during their “toot” across north-

ern Piscataquis County. White’s empty

pockets attested to his missing cash and

money order, but an inquest ruled out

robbery. The highway-robbery prices that

loggers paid for moonshine liquor likely

consumed White’s $6, and he probably

dropped the money order somewhere in

the North Woods.

Although Piscataquis County techni-

cally was “dry,” lawmen seldom disturbed

the illegal bars that fleeced the hard-work-

ing and hard-drinking loggers. Prices per

shot could run from $1 to $5; with money

in their pockets and little entertainment

other than a good woods camp brawl to

divert their attention, too many loggers

wound up drunk and frozen, just like

William White.

Such loggers often wound up dead, too,

just like White, but he was saved by a

“dead man riding” to Patten.

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Dad glanced at the house photo I

had shown him. “Where is that

place?” he asked, with as much

interest as a lobster has in a pot of hot

water.

“Aroostook County.” I said. “Hundred

miles north of Bangor.”

“Oh, you don’t want to live up there.”

Dad shooed away an invisible blackfly.

“Every winter would be like the Blizzard

of ’78.”

Well, I was sure I did want to live up

there. They say Aroostook County is the

way Maine used to be, a place where folks

wave to you whether you know them or

not. Some call it God’s country — that

sounded good to me. What better place to

live than that?

So after a few visits, we found a little

house in Linneus. I gave Mom and Dad

the new address, leaving out the fact that

it had once been called Poverty Road.

They had enough misgivings about our in-

come potential as it was.

That winter even I had some misgiv-

DiscoverMaine10

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More than 12 events scheduled each yearSouthern Aroostook Trade Show • Band Concerts inthe Park • Midnight Madness • 4th of July Fireworks

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by Christine Laws

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her move to the County

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


DiscoverMaine 11

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Hours: Tues.-Fri. Noon-5 • Sat. 10-2

ings. We’d driven four hundred miles

north to drop off some of our furniture

and to check on things, since we couldn’t

move until spring. When we pulled up to

where the house was supposed to be, all

we saw was a mountain of snow towering

over our truck. So, a little bewildered, we

scrambled up the snowplow pile and

trudged to the house. Then we contem-

plated how twenty below zero really feels.

We got the woodstove going and soon

forgot about the cold since it started rain-

ing in the living room. Later we learned

about ice damming, but at the time I sup-

posed the house we’d just bought needed

a new roof that we couldn’t afford.

By moving day, though, I was thinking

more positively, partly to counteract Mom

and Dad’s doubts. But they smiled and

waved good-bye, even though what they

really wanted to say was, “You are out of

your minds! Don’t go there. This is stu-

pid.” Moving day had been in May, so Dad

conceded that there might not be any bliz-

zards for at least a month, maybe two.

And we really did have good weather, until

October when we got a foot of snow. I

remembered Dad’s dire prediction then,

but I still doubted the winter would be all

that bad.

And it wasn’t. Not that year, anyway.

Nor was the job scene as bleak as they’d

predicted, at least not to our way of think-

ing. My husband worked at a potato farm

for a time, then got a job making fence-

post caps at a mill. And later he built

sheds. We scraped by, but the County had

benefits worth more than money.

For instance, we had fresh vegetables

from our garden and fruit from a few

apple trees in the yard. We made apple-

sauce, though it was pretty chunky since

we didn’t have a mill. But it was good, and

so was the well water. It was head-aching

cold even in July.

Even Mom and Dad admitted they

liked the water. They drove up now and

then to see us — in the warm months, of

course. And although they’d rather have

seen shopping malls and chain restaurants

instead of potato fields and evergreen

trees, they were at least relieved to see that

the house we’d bought wasn’t nearly as di-

lapidated as they’d imagined.

We had running water, after all, except

when the pipes froze. And the mice usu-

ally stayed in the attic, at least during the

day. The back bedroom got pretty drafty,

but that was a good thing in the summer

months. One time a neighbor who’d

helped build the place confessed that,

“Mistakes were made.”

But it was our house, mistakes and all.

And it was in a little town where you can

still pay a small amount of money for a

huge amount of food, that even Dad mar-

veled at. Where you can order a pile of

deep-fried pickles, red hot dogs with a side

of homemade fries, and whoopie pies for

dessert, while feeling good about it — at

least when Mom’s not in town. That’s the

way Maine used to be, the way it still is in

the County. What better place to live than

that?



On May 11, 1917 the Bangor & Aroostook deposited a

very special passenger in Houlton. That passenger was

none other than the portly William Howard Taft, for-

mer President of the United States. Taft descended the train to

be greeted by a throng of well-wishers and formally welcomed

to Aroostook County by the almost as portly Frederick A. Pow-

ers, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Maine and life-long

stalwart of the Maine Republican Party.

The fact that the only American President to finish third in a

bid for re-election would be greeted in Aroostook County with

almost complete approbation on the part of county residents

serves as an example of how political sentiments may change

with circumstances. Five years earlier Taft might just have de-

scended the train to a totally different sort of welcome. The sta-

tion platform could have been empty or nearly so, or those there

might have welcomed him with protest banners and booing.

William Howard Taft’s visit to Aroostook County was made in

an official capacity — or at least a quasi-official capacity. Just one

month earlier President Woodrow Wilson had asked Congress to

declare war on Germany and Congress had complied. Now Wil-

son was sending out a hand-picked cadre of nationally known

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William Howard taftpays a Visit

Former president was sent to the County

to drum up support for the war effortby Charles Francis


figures as his representatives to drum up support for the war ef-

fort and the former President was one of this chosen group.

In 1918 President Wilson would name Taft to chair the pow-

erful National War Labor Board, the agency

empowered to arbitrate disputes between man-

agement and labor. In 1917, however, Taft was

visiting the country’s producers — manufac-

turers and farmers — at Woodrow Wilson’s be-

hest to ensure their support as the country

geared up for war. Aroostook County was im-

portant to the war effort because of its agri-

culture.

Back when William Howard Taft had been

elected President in 1908, Aroostook County

had voted for him in landslide fashion. Back

then Taft had been the hand-picked successor

of Theodore Roosevelt, and Roosevelt, who

visited the county often, was immensely popu-

lar there. In 1912, however, the New York Times

reported Aroostook farmers “so incensed with

President Taft over the proposed reciprocity measure that the

Democrats believe they will capture hundreds of votes.” Reci-

procity angered Aroostook farmers because it meant Canadian

products like potatoes competing in the United States market tar-

iff-free.

Houlton was a natural stopping place for one of President

Wilson’s chosen representatives to visit in order to garner sup-

port for the war effort, though William Howard Taft may have

seemed an odd choice as one of Wilson’s rep-

resentatives.

As President and then in the years immedi-

ately following his unsuccessful bid for re-elec-

tion, Taft had advocated world peace through

arbitration. His ideas for maintaining world

peace are sometimes credited with serving as

the inspiration for the League of Nations, the

failed model for the United Nations. In 1914,

the year that war broke out in Europe, Taft

founded the League to Enforce Peace. When

the United States entered the Great War, as

World War I was then known, Taft came out in

favor of conscription and for an all-out effort

rather than fighting what he called a “finicky”

war.

As to why Houlton was a good stopping

place for one of President Wilson’s representatives, this had to

do with the attitude of Houlton and county residents as a whole

toward the war, and to one man in particular — Colonel Frank

M. Hume.

DiscoverMaine 13


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Frederick A. Powers


When Congress declared war, Houlton

area men immediately stepped forward to

enlist in the Maine National Guard, 2nd

Maine Infantry. The 2nd Maine Infantry

was commanded by Frank Hume. Colonel

Hume was a Houlton man. Early on

Hume called on area men to enlist, and he

was heeded.

Former President Taft toured Houlton

in an open car. Pictures from that era

show Taft and Frederick Powers sitting

side by side at the rear of the car. The car

appears to be riding lower that it normally

would. A picture of the car with Taft

standing shows a definite list to the pas-

senger side — Taft’s side. Frederick Pow-

ers does not appear in the least

diminished when compared with the 300-

plus pound Taft. Nor does Powers appear

in any way less dignified. It is as if the two

were hewn from the same block of gran-

ite. And perhaps they were.

Frederick A. Powers could best be de-

scribed as rock solid Republican. It is

doubtful if any other Houlton resident

equalled him as far as community standing

was concerned.

The Honorable Frederick Powers was a

lawyer and politician as well as a judge. His

legal career began when he formed Pow-

ers and Powers in Houlton with his broth-

ers Llewellyn and Don A. H. Powers.

Llewellyn went on to serve as Maine Gov-

ernor and Don to hold numerous influ-

ential positions. Frederick Powers was a

state representative and senator and

Maine Attorney General. Late in life he

was an unsuccessful candidate for United

States Senator. He served as president of

Houlton’s Farmers National Bank.

Did William Howard Taft’s visit to

Aroostook County have any real influence

on the attitude of county residents re-

garding the war? One suspects not. At the

most, the visit probably changed area

farmers’ opinions regarding Taft. He was

viewed as just another patriotic American,

not as the President who had wanted to

make it difficult for Aroostook crops to

compete in an open market.

In August of 1917 the 2nd Maine In-

fantry, along with members of National

Guard units from other New England

states, became the 103rd Regiment of the

famous Twenty-Sixth Division. Colonel

Frank Hume was the 103rd Regiment’s

commander. The regiment was in the

forefront at the battles of the Marne, St.

Mihiel and the Argonne.

When the armistice ending the Great

War was declared, Houlton celebrated by

roasting a Peace Ox. In 1921 William

Howard Taft was named Chief Justice of

the United States Supreme Court. On that

occasion many Houlton area residents re-

membered Taft’s May 1917 visit and his

tour with Frederick Powers. Judge Powers

died in February 1923.

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It is not often that an author has a work

brought out in a 25th anniversary edition,

especially when it is a work of fantasy.

Presque Isle-born John Crowley had that

unique experience, though, in 2009. The title

of the work is Little, Big.

“John Crowley?” you say. “Just who is John

Crowley and just what is so remarkable about

his book Little, Big?”

Little, Big —the complete title is Little, Big: or

The Fairies’ Parliament — has been called “A neg-

lected masterpiece. The closest achievement we

have to the Alice stories of Lewis Carroll.” The

individual who said this is Harold Bloom.

Bloom’s comment — there will be more on

him — just begins to touch on the uniqueness

of Little, Big and John Crowley.

Little,Big came out in 1981. The next year it won the World

Fantasy Award for Best Novel and the Mythopoetic Fantasy

Award. So what! you may think, those are genre

awards. Genre awards don’t mean anything in

the broader arena of serious literature!

But hold on! John Crowley received a serious

award, too — the Academy of Arts and Let-

ters Award for Literature. When Crowley re-

ceived the prestigious award, Little, Big and a

four-volume fantasy work, Ægypt, were cited. It

would seem that Crowley was regarded as a se-

rious author and Little, Big as serious literature

even given the fantasy genre. But just how se-

rious? Do they meet the ultimate test? The test

of the literary critic? Do they come up to the

standards of the refined academic? For that we

will turn to Harold Bloom again.

Harold Bloom regards Little, Big as one of

the five best novels by a living author. Bloom

also calls Crowley his “favorite contemporary author.” And

Harold Bloom’s opinion counts for something — in fact, it

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John Crowley’s Little, BigBook honored on 25th anniversary

by Charles Francis


counts for a good deal.

Harold Bloom is the foremost

literary critic today. In 2003, The

New York Times called him “the

most influential critic of the last

quarter century... [a critic with] a

kind of heart-relation to litera-

ture.” The Times went on to say in

describing Bloom’s own writing

that “A critic who writes this well

has a right to instruct us.”

Harold Bloom is Sterling Pro-

fessor of Humanities at Yale Uni-

versity. Before that he was

Charles Eliot Norton Professor

at Harvard. He is a respected re-

ligion critic. The latter term is

used in a manner similar to that

of literary critic. Bloom is the re-

cipient of numerous awards, in-

cluding the Academy of Arts and Letters

Gold Medal for Belles Lettres. He has

some thirty books to his credit, many of

which have topped the New York Times

best seller list like Genius. Other Bloom

works include How to Read and Why and

The Western Canon.

In a generic sense, Western canon is

used to denote those examples of litera-

ture, music and art that have been most

influential in shaping western culture and

civilization. It references the

“greatest works of artistic merit.”

The Western canon is the chief de-

termining factor of “high culture.”

The subject of Harold Bloom’s

The Western Canon is literature

alone. Bloom includes John Crow-

ley’s Little, Big as he also does

Crowley’s four-volume Ægypt se-

ries in his compendium.

John Crowley was born in

Presque Isle in 1942. His father

was stationed there in the Army

Air Corps. Crowley lived in Ver-

mont and Kentucky in his later

adolescent years. He studied litera-

ture at Indiana University. The in-

fluence of New England and

Maine are clear in some of his

most notable work,

especially Little, Big. He wrote two fantasy

novels before his third, Engine Summer, was

nominated for the American Book Award

in 1980. Then came Little, Big, the book

DiscoverMaine 17


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that fantasy maven Ursula K. Le Guin said

“all by itself calls for a redefinition of fan-

tasy.”

The setting of Little, Big is clearly New

England. Those who know northern New

England, especially Maine, cannot but

sense the ambiance of the region. The

plot centers around the Drinkwater fam-

ily. That name in itself spells northern

New England. Intertwining Drinkwater

familial relationships give the work even

more of a sense of northern New Eng-

land.

Everything in Little, Big speaks to John

Crowley’s deep appreciation of a unique

people and place, from the huge size of

the Drinkwater family to the role the

changing seasons play in their lives. The

title itself refers to the fact that what can

be found inside a seeming small facade

can, in fact, be a great deal larger. The

theme is a recurring one, one that relates

to physical objects as well as personalities,

buildings and emotional states. Some of

the idiom used in the work is downeast

Yankee. Some might even find tinges of

Aroostook County. While there are fairies

in the tale, they are a part of a deep back-

ground, something simply there, like the

north woods.

Sometime after the publication of Little,

Big, Crowley began a correspondence with

Harold Bloom. This eventually led to

Crowley joining the faculty of Yale in

1993. As of this writing he is still teach-

ing there — courses in screen and fiction

writing and in Utopian fantasy.

Altogether John Crowley has some fif-

teen fantasy novels to his credit. He and

his wife Laurie have a production com-

pany, Straight Ahead Pictures, which spe-

cializes in films on American history and

culture.

When one pictures fantasy novels for

sale, the image is of racks of paperbacks

with lurid covers. The books don’t stay on

the racks long. The reason for this is that

publishers opt for short runs. The books

have limited appeal to a limited audience.

John Crowley’s work is different. Its audi-

ence is those who Samuel Johnson, the

first great literary critic, described as

“common readers.” Common readers for

Johnson were literate men and women.

John Crowley’s work, especially Little,

Big and Ægypt, is deeply engrossing. It

stands the test of rereading and then read-

ing again. As to whether it will stand the

ultimate test alongside the work of a

Melville or a Dickens, only time will tell,

time and future generations of common

readers. Perhaps in the publication of the

25th anniversary edition of Little, Big there

is a hint



DiscoverMaine 19

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Route 11 in northern Aroostook

County is a busy, much traveled

road. From Ashland it runs in a

northwesterly direction to Fort Kent on

the St. John. Along the way it passes

through the appropriately named Portage,

Winterville, Eagle Lake, Walla-

grass and Soldier Pond. While

few today realize it, Route 11 is

a very old road. Long before

settlers from southern Maine

made their way to Ashland and

the other communities along

Route 11 — even before the

Acadians came to the St. John

Valley — what was to become

Route 11 was well-traveled. Or at least the

river it parallels, the Fish, was well-trav-

eled.

The earliest to travel the Fish River as it

makes its way from what is now Fort Kent

to Ashland were, of course, Native Amer-

icans. The Native Americans who traveled

the Fish River did so by canoe in the

warm months and snowshoe in winter.

Those who knew it well were Pas-

samaquoddy, Penobscot, Micmac and

Maliseet. Of them, the Maliseet knew it

best, for the Fish was one of the chief

rivers of the region where they made their

home.

Unfortunately for these four tribes that

knew the Fish River well, other tribes also

knew it. One of those tribes was the Mo-

hawk. The Mohawk of what is today up-

state New York used it when they went on

the warpath. In fact, their depredations on

the four above-named eastern tribes, who

used it for peaceful purposes like trade,

fishing and trapping, were so great

that no name was more feared

among them than that of Mo-

hawk. Today there is still a vital

oral tradition in which the

name Mohawk strikes twinges

of dread among those attuned

to the tales of legends of their

past.

The Fish River is a part of what is still

known as the Maliseet Trail. Fanny Hardy

Eckstrom wrote about the Maliseet Trail

in her 1920 book Indian Trails of Maine.

More recently, David Cook devoted a

DiscoverMaine20

(207) 473-40975 McGillan Drive

Fort Fairfield, ME 04742

Fred McGillan, Sr. & Fred McGillan, Jr.

Serving you for 3 generations

Giggey’sAuto Repair

“Serving Ft. Fairfield for 39 years”

Gary Giggey, Owner

• Cars, trucks, farm equipment

• Front end alignments

• Wrecker Service

Specializing in computer diagnostic services

133 Presque Isle Street • Ft. Fairfield, Maine

473-7269

Giberson-DorseyFuneral Home

144 Main St., Fort Fairfield, ME

472-4731Aaron M. Giberson, Director

RendezvousRestaurant

• Fine Food• great Service• Low Prices• Snowmobilers

Welcome!• Open Tues.-Sun.

328-7211 or 328-7812Off ITS 90 or Route 89, Eastgate

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Carvings by CoteThomas L. Cote, Master Carver

[email protected]

207-325-4258

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Travels With Charlie: Day Trips Through Maine History

Along the Maliseet Trail by Charles Francis


portion of his 1985 work Indian Canoe

Routes of Maine to it. Reading what either

author has to say about the Fish River as

a Native American travel route gives one

a sense of how important the river was.

Nothing, however, equals traveling Route

11 with a perspective of stepping back

into a time before the first settlers came

to northern Aroostook County.

The Fish River section of the Maliseet

Trail actually encompasses a bare third of

the trail in northern Maine. In Aroostook

County the Maliseet Trail forms a circle,

beginning and ending — if one will — at

Fort Kent. From Ashland the trail goes

due west to the Allagash River. From

there it follows the latter river to the St.

John and then back to Fort Kent.

The full Maliseet Trail is much more,

however. Anthropologists and historians

have determined it ran all the way across

Maine from Fort Kent to New Hampshire

and Vermont, and then to Old Forge in

upstate New York. This is how it came to

be an attack route used by the Mohawk.

For purposes of a day trip back into the

days when Native Americans traveled the

Maliseet Trail in northern Aroostook

County, or when the Mohawk used it to

spread fear and dread, it is enough to fol-

low Route 11 between Ashland and Fort

Kent. The more adventurous can, how-

ever, take the American Realty Road from

Ashland west towards the Allagash. This

old logging road parallels streams and

lakes like Big Machias and Musquacook.

In 1694 French Canadian Governor

Villebon gave the homeland of the

Maliseet as covering a territory roughly

encompassing the valleys of the St. John

and the Riviere du Loup. (The latter is in

Quebec east of the St. Lawrence.) The

“Malecite” [sic] Villebon said ranged to

the coast of what is now downeast Maine.

Maliseet (no matter what spelling is

used) is different from the name the tribe

originally used for itself. That has been

variously presented as Wolastoqiyik, Wu-

lustukieg and other spellings. Its meaning

is often given as “beautiful river.” Very

early maps of northern Aroostook

County have the St. John River as the Wal-

loostook or Maine St. John. We can see

Walloostook as an English language ver-

sion of a form of the Maliseet’s own

name for themselves. Madawaska, once

the name for the region which includes

Fort Kent, is also Maliseet in origin.

Fort Kent, where this day trip either be-

gins or ends, was said by Edward Wiggin

to be “full of grand views and beautiful

landscape pictures.” In fact, Wiggin said

nowhere in the Aroostook “are [views]

more beautiful than upon the upper St.

John.” Perhaps this is why the Maliseet

chose to call themselves “beautiful river.”

Beyond Fort Kent on Route 11 lies Sol-

dier Pond. It takes its name from the days

of the Aroostook War. It is a wonderful

spot for a picnic. Soldier Pond is in Wal-

lagrass Plantation, an early Acadian settle-

ment.

The Fish River is in part formed by

chains of lakes and ponds. For this reason

it is often referred to as the Fish River

Chain of Lakes. Eagle Lake is one of the

bodies of water that forms the chain.

DiscoverMaine 21


Mike’sFamilyMarketFull Line of Groceries & Meats

Megabucks & Powerball

Beer & Wine • Full Service Deli

Hardware Items, Tools & Accessories

207-325-4767Limestone, Maine

oPEn 7 days!

www.limestonemaine.org • email: [email protected]

Sales • ServiceClothing

Authorized State of MaineSnowmobile Registration Agent

Open Mon-Sat 7:30-5:00

(207) 496-321111 Laurette Street

Caribou, Maine 04736

Plourde & Plourde, Inc.

Terry’sFixit Service

Specializing in residential repair

• Refrigerators• Air Conditioners• Laundry Appliances• Cooking Appliances• LP Appliances

Licensed & Fully Insured

453 Powers Road, Caribou, Maine

498-3507

Locally owned & operated by Terry O’Donal

Mark’s Towing Service

& Auto Repair24 Hour Wrecker Service - Statewide

used auto parts

snowmobiletransportation

you call... We’ll Haul!

207-498-8507Access Highway, Caribou, ME

Mark Nadeau,Owner


Its name comes from the eagles that sol-

diers coming north for the Aroostook

War saw here.

Beyond Eagle Lake lies Winterville.

Here one encounters beautiful St. Froid

Lake. It and other ponds and streams of

the region are a fisherman’s paradise.

Then comes Portage.

Portage is the end of the Fish River

Chain Canoe Trip that begins at St.

Agatha. The Portage area is a thickly

forested region still filled with beaver

dams as it was in the days when the

Maliseet were the only people to make

their home here.

At Ashland one can either end this day

trip following the Maliseet Trail, or travel

west towards Big Machias Lake and the

Allagash River. A quick side trip on Route

227 takes one to 1341-foot-high Haystack

Mountain with its view over the land that

once knew the footstep of the Maliseet as

well as their dreaded foe, the Mohawk.

DiscoverMaine22


Consumer

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Doors • Windows • Cabinets • PlumbingHeating • Electrical

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Doug Cell207-227-7747

74 York St. • Caribou

For all your electrical needs.

Residential • Commercial • IndustrialVoice • Data • Fiber Optic Installation

Core Drilling • Pole SettingHigh-Voltage Work

Aerial Bucket Truck • Digger Truck

John P. laJoie

207-498-8231 • Cell 207-227-3211Fax: 207-498-8719

PO Box 954, 17 Birdseye Ave. • Caribou, ME 04736email: [email protected]

Fully InsuredDependable

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lAw OFFiCESHugh S. KirkpatrickPatrick R. Bennett

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Downtown Mall • PO Box 26 • Caribou, ME 04736

(207)-498-8711 • Fax: (207) 498-8712

lancaster MorganF u n e R a l h O M e

Compassion is our passion.

11 Clover Street • Caribou(207) 492-2171

www.lancastermorgan.com

BaconAuto & Truck CareGlass Speciaist and Collision Repair

We Will Pay $100 Deductible on any Repair

We Do Commercial Vehicles!

207- 496-3394

207-227-2573

173 Washburn Street

Caribou, ME 04736

Noon lunch at Eagle Lake, 1911. Horace A. Bailey, left, and Henry L. Withee,

photographed themselves at a lunch break on Eagle Lake as part of their nine-day

canoe trip from the tip of Moosehead Lake to Fort Kent. Detail of item #17553 from

the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.comOther businesses from this area are featured in the color section.


DiscoverMaine 23

Cheney Real Estateoffers a complete range of services to meet your

needs. Let us assist you in listing or buying.

(207) 492-1012 • Home (207) 764-4991

www.cheneyrealestate.net181 High Street, Caribou, ME 04736-1837

Residential • Commercial • LandLakeside Property

Cheneyreal estate

Cindy’s Sub ShopHomemade

Dailyspecials!

Soups & Desserts, Party Platters, Finger Rolls

Let us help you with your busy schedule!

Call and order today.

(207)-498-6021264 Sweden Street • Caribou, Maine

Cindy Johnston, owner

custom cakes

T.W. Willard, Inc.“Your snowmobile repair specialists

in Aroostook County”

Reggie Thibodeauowner

207-493-4507

862 Sweden Road • Caribou, ME 04736

Celebrating Over 75 Years

Still Locally Owned & Operated

207-496-3011

Asbestos AbatementEnvironmental Services

(207) 498-2709

529 Main Street

Caribou, Maine

(207) 947-4035

739 Odlin Road

Bangor, Maine

established 1987

Caribou High School. Item #115381 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and

www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org


Maine24

Home town Fuels, inC.Locally Owned & Operated

• 24 Hour service

• cash discounts

• senior discounts

• burner service

• lock ins/budgets

day: 325-4411 or 325-4634nights: 325-4150

13 access Highway, limestone

Dana’s Carpentry

496-8131 • Caribou, MaineDana Haney, Owner

Call Us Now for

Quality Interior Craftmanship

We Specialize in Complete RemodelingKitchens • bathrooms

Roofing • Siding

AROOSTOOk ROOFING & SHEET METAL, INC.Commercial, Industrial & residential roofing

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• Soprema SBS Modified Asphalts• FiberTite PVC by Seaman Corp.• Carlisle EPDM (Rubber) TPO• Duro-Last PVC

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Serving Northern & Central Maine

PO BOX 603 • Caribou, Maine 04736

caribou

Theatres

66 Sweden Street • CaribouFor More Information: (207) 496-FLIK

www.cariboutheatres.com

All Shows$5

2 Shows Each NightSaturday & Sunday Matinees 2pm

Over 35 years servicing the county!

24 Hour towing

Major & Minor Repairs

StAtE inSPECtiOn

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Reasonable Rates

Gas & Groceries

Cold Beer

328-7645 • 800-564-5724Corner of Sawyer Rd. & Access Highway

Caribou

C&J Service Center

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

by Charles Francis

Stella King White dearly loved her

home state, Maine. In like manner

she loved her home county, Aroos-

took. There is ample evidence to back this

up. As a guiding light of the Book Publi-

cation Committee of the state’s most

powerful women’s organization, the

Maine Federation of Women’s Clubs,

White did much to encourage writers of

Maine history by helping them see their

work put into print. In like manner, White

contributed to the preservation of Maine

history and traditions with her own work.

Today it is difficult to find examples of

Stella King White’s published work. What

is currently available appears most often

as quotes and citations in recently pub-

lished local histories. This is true of her

best known work, Early History of Caribou

Maine.

Aroostook County has been and is for-

tunate to have a number of dedicated and

highly competent writers to compile

county history. To name just a few, Ed-

ward Wiggin and Clarence Day are the

best of the early ones. Donald Cyr, the

great Acadian chronicler, is contemporary.

Wiggin and Day are late-nineteenth cen-

tury. Stella King White occupies some-

thing of a chronological middle ground,

separating Wiggin and Day and Cyr. She

also occupies something of a cultural mid-

dle ground among the grouping.

White became active with the Maine

Federation of Women’s Clubs’ Book Pub-

lication Committee in the second decade

of the twentieth century. Her most signif-

icant work, the Early History of Caribou

Maine, was published in 1945.

In at least one respect, all four Aroost-

ook writers have a dominant theme to

their lives and work. The theme is ac-

tivism. Edward Wiggin was firstly a

farmer. He was active in the Grange. He

was also an outspoken advocate and pro-

moter of Aroostook settlement. Clarence

Day was an agriculture expert associated

with the University of Maine and the Ex-

tension. Day’s activism was primarily as-

sociated with improving farming

methods. Donald Cyr is a professor at the

University of Maine at Presque Isle. Cyr’s

activism involves cultural preservation.

As an activist Stella King White was, in

part, responsible for inducing Maine local

historians to publish. White was one of

the members of the Federation of

Women’s Clubs who persuaded the Lewis-

ton Journal to run a contest for Maine

women writers. The contest was limited

to stories by women which had to relate

in some way to state history. It was also

limited to members of clubs that


belonged to the Federation. For the most

part, the latter limitation was a means of

ensuring as many women writers across

the state as possible knew of the contest.

The Journal published the winners of the

contest in 1916 in book form as The Trail

of the Maine Pioneer.

The publication of The Trail of the Maine

Pioneer was a new venue for many of the

contest winners, some thirteen to be

exact. Of those thirteen, all continued to

submit to local and statewide periodicals

and collections and to be published.

As for Stella King White herself, a good

deal of her work appears in collections

sponsored by another organization she

belonged to, the Maine Writers Research

Club. This organization was, in part, re-

sponsible for White’s first work to appear

in a published collection. The collection

was the 1919 School Reader. The work is

sometimes referenced as the Maine Writers

Research Club School Reader.

All the stories in the School Reader were

chosen by then-Maine State Superinten-

dent of Schools A. O. Thomas. The work

was intended as a school textbook de-

signed to interest young people in the

state’s history. It should be remembered

that just a year after the book’s publication

Maine celebrated its centennial. White’s

subject for the School Reader was “The

Bloodless Aroostook War.”

The School Reader was a first in Maine

secondary school history texts in that it

DiscoverMaine 25


Home Farm Kennels

vacation coming up?Make sure your dog or cat hasa nice place to stay whileyou’re away...

call today to make reservations.

498-8803

www.homefarmkennels.com

186 Old Washburn RoadCaribou

Owners: Thomas & Kelly Ridenour

Magazine

1 year (4 issues) - $20

2 years (8 issues) - $35

207-498-8564

Echoes Press • PO Box 626, Caribou, ME 04736

echoesofmaine.com

echoeSCelebrating

the heritage of northern Maine

WAshburn

Food MArt• Pizza •

• Hot & Cold sandwiches •• Beer & wine •

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northstar varietyDave & Sara Anderson, Propietors

• Ice Fishing Supplies

• Gas, Oil,Plugs forSnowmobiles

• Convenient to ITS Trails

Open 6am-8pm 7 Days204 New Sweden Rd., New Sweden

896-3239

Caribou Area Chamber of CommerceCaribou’s Visitor Center

Travel Info, Maps, Events & Lodging Info Available!

New location at:Nylander Museum657 Main Street

Caribou, ME 04736207-498-6156

“Caribou Cares About Kids”

www.cariboumaine.net ~ [email protected] us for travel packets!

McTrickey Cottage on Madawaska Lake, ca. 1915. Included in the pictureare Stella King White, Sim White, and McTrickey. Detail of item #13192 from

the collections of the Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com


was intended to appeal to young people’s

imagination rather than be a mere retelling

of dry events of the distant past. Popular,

best selling writers of the day like Hugh

Poindexter and journalist, novelist, film-

maker Holman Day were represented in

the collection. Former President

Theodore Roosevelt had a piece, “My

Debt to Maine.” William Widgery

Thomas wrote about the settlement of

New Sweden and Stockholm. In short,

Stella King White appearing in the School

Reader was in heady company.

Over the years the Maine Writers Re-

search Club published a variety of collec-

tions, including Maine Past and Present.

White is well-represented in the pages of

the 1929 book. She has a monograph on

Aroostook County, and monographs or

profiles of a number of Maine towns in

Aroostook County and beyond.

Stella King White was more than a sim-

ple journeyman scribe. She wrote with

style, and her work is interesting. One has

a sense while reading White that she did

more than look up information of histor-

ical note — that she used her imagination

to enter into the minds and times of her

subject. Her monograph on Caribou

serves as a case in point. In reading it one

wonders if White was not already collect-

ing data for Early History of Caribou Maine.

If anyone is at all familiar with the work

of Stella King White, it is probably with

her short profile of Caribou’s court house.

This is the structure built in 1895. This

particular sample of White’s writing is

pedestrian. It is dry and not at all appeal-

ing to the imagination. To get a sense of

White as a writer one must look at her

telling of the origin of the name Caribou.

This is the famous story of how one of

the sons of Alexander Cochran shot a

caribou. The incident resulted in the nam-

ing of Caribou Stream, from which the

town takes its name, and would have oc-

curred around 1830.

In reading the tale of young Cochran

one has a sense of what it could have

been like for a youth off in the wilderness

with a gun. The Cochrans were the first

settlers of what would become Caribou.

The region was pristine wilderness. For a

young boy, one who would not have been

thinking of unspoiled nature but rather of

the great dark forest, the reader has a

sense of uneasiness and concern. White

ends the story with the comment that

even then the caribou was rare.

As of this writing, Early History of Cari-

bou Maine has not been reissued. On oc-

casion a copy may go up for auction. The

work is viewed as a rare book, as is White’s

The Makers of Aroostook and The Richmonds

of Maine, perhaps the rarest of all her

works. $125 and more is the usual asking

price for a White book. As price and de-

mand go hand-in-hand, the facts stand for

themselves as to whether or not Stella

King White’s books should be reissued. It

would seem — one hopes — only a mat-

ter of time until this once well-thought of

and influential Aroostook County histo-

rian was again on the shelves of local

Maine bookstores.

DiscoverMaine26


LOg HAuLINg C-T-L PROCESSINg

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Toll Free (In Maine):1-800-690-9094

207-723-9094207-723-9094

Love Maine? Love History?

Visit the Museum Store at the Maine historical Society and browse

our extensive selection of books onMaine’s people, places and past!

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www.karenrockwell.net


DiscoverMaine 27

First Class Lodging & DiningIncludes: Satellite TV w/HBO, WiFi,

Full Breakfast • Views From Every RoomLunch & Dinner by Reservation

Meeting/Conference/Retreat Facilities

East Grand LakeSnowmobiling/XC Skiing/ Snowshoeing/Ice Fishing

341 U.S. Rte. 1• Weston, ME 04424

Hosts Susan & Stephen Minewww.firstsettlerslodge.com

First Settler’s Lodge

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ThriftStoreThriftStore

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2 Pleasant St. • Houlton • 521-0230377 Main St. • Presque Isle • 764-1816

Houlton Band of

Maliseet Indians

Phone: (207) 532-4273Toll Free 1-800-564-8524

VISIT ouR WEBSITE FoR MoRE INFoRMATIoN

www.maliseets.com

the meduxnekeag river which flows through maliseet tribal Lands

Phone: (207) 532-4273Toll Free 1-800-564-8524

VISIT ouR WEBSITE FoR MoRE INFoRMATIoN

www.maliseets.com

the meduxnekeag river which flows through maliseet tribal Lands

Ouellette’s Store & Garage, Macawahoc. Item #101307 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.



On May1, 1862 Major General

Benjamin Butler arrived in New

Orleans to take official custody

of the city, which had surrendered to the

Union Army just days before. Instead of

offering themselves as prisoners of war,

the African-American troops of the 1st

Louisiana Native Guard were recruited to

serve for the Union Army. They were

mustered in on Sept. 27, 1862, making

them the first African-American regiment

to serve for the Union Army in the Civil

War. After the regiment’s designation was

changed to the 73rd Infantry Regiment in

April 1864, assuming command was

Henry Merriam from Houlton, who even-

tually led them in a valiant assault on Fort

Blakely, Alabama that earned him the

Congressional Medal of Honor.

Henry C. Merriam was born in Houlton

on Nov. 13, 1837. He attended Colby Col-

lege in Waterville, but volunteered for mil-

itary service after the outbreak of the Civil

War. He was commissioned as a captain

in the 20th Maine Infantry Regiment in

1862 and fought in the Battle of Antietam

in September later that year. After receiv-

ing a brevet promotion to the rank of

lieutenant colonel, he departed for

Louisiana in 1863 to help recruit African-

American troops for the Union’s newly

formed 1st Louisiana Native Guard. Due

to the prejudice at the time, the troops

were mostly delegated to perform mun-

dane duties that ranged from chopping

wood and gathering supplies to digging

trenches. But on May 27, the regiment had

its first chance at combat and fought with

distinction in the first wave against Port

Hudson, Louisiana. Despite the Union’s

DiscoverMaine28

JEI sports• Screenprinted

T-shirts & Sweatshirts

• Photo Mugs &Vinyl Lettering

• Show your supportof a local club or organization with acustomized t-shirt

• Licensed Ford,Chevy and MoparDesigns

no MInIMuM orDEr! 207-532-1577 [email protected]

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

by James Nalley

Major General Henry C. Merriam


victory due to their valiant achievements,

members of the regiment returned to

their lives of routine duties and prejudice.

On April 1, 1865 the regiment was offi-

cially called the 73rd Infantry Reg-

iment, and it arrived as part of a

larger Union brigade in prepara-

tion for an assault on strategic

Fort Blakely in Alabama. The

Confederate garrison, led by Gen-

eral F.M. Cockerel, consisted of

4,000 troops from Mississippi and

Missouri and the Alabama Boy

Reserves, named because it con-

sisted mostly of school-aged boys.

After eight straight days of divi-

sion attacks by the Union Army,

Merriam and his 73rd Regiment received

news about a line of Confederate troops

which had just escaped from their loss at

nearby Spanish Fort. According to the

History of 73rd U.S.C.T. by Camille Corte,

“Colonel Merriam reported, ‘The effect

upon us was very depressing… To me it

appeared that the escape of the garrison

out front also would be simply disgrace-

ful.’ Merriam asked his Brigade Com-

mander, General William Pile, for per-

mission to capture the enemy’s advanced

line of works at once instead of waiting

for the cover of darkness.”

Pile agreed and sent Merriam and his

73rd Infantry as well as the 86th to lead

the Union’s front lines. According to

Corte, “So successful were they in attack-

ing the Rebels’ outpost that when Mer-

riam requested to attack the main works,

General Osterhaus refused, saying ‘I will

go and order the White troops up.’ Mer-

riam appealed to General Pile, ‘We have

already fought the battle, but unless we go

over the main works we will not get the

credit.’ Pile answered, ‘You are right,

Colonel.’ Merriam was then or-

dered to start an advance and

charge the main works.” But Mer-

riam later humbly claimed that he

was not “the first over the works

because my color sergeant was at

my elbow and entitled to at least

share the honor.” Despite his ad-

mission, his subsequent Congres-

sional Medal of Honor still read

that he “voluntarily and success-

fully lead his regiment over the

works in advance of orders and

upon permission being given made a most

gallant assault.”

After being honorably discharged from

the army in October 1865, Merriam (for a

brief period) began studying law. But his

thirst for action away from the law books

influenced his decision to return to the

military in July 1866 as a major in the 38th

DiscoverMaine 29


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Members of the 1st Louisiana Native Guard


Infantry Regiment. During the following

two decades, his impressive list of high-

risk posts included leading expeditions

against Native Americans in Kansas, com-

manding Fort McIntosh on the Texas-

Mexico border (where he crossed the

border to rescue a kidnapped United

States commercial agent), and managing

the newly created Native-American reser-

vations in Idaho and Washington states.

In 1874 Merriam, thinking of the wel-

fare and comfort of his soldiers, designed

a new knapsack that he felt would revolu-

tionize the way they would travel. Ac-

cording to the book U.S. Infantry

Equipments 1775-1910 by Philip Katcher,

after the Civil War had ended, the army

was in a constant search for better infantry

equipment. Merriam’s knapsack was even-

tually tested widely throughout the army.

The results were (optimistically speaking)

mixed. “Solders unfamiliar with it called it

the Merriam pack while those intimate

with it, the Murdering pack.” Private

Charles Post of the 71st New York In-

fantry Regiment described wearing it in

1898:

Its center was a canvas box about the size of

the Civil War knapsack, which would hold just

about a quart bottle comfortably with some space

left for socks, shaving materials, and a deck of

cards or so. The blanket was formed into a long

roll across the top of the pack and down each

side… Incidentally, the Merriam pack had two

hickory sticks at each side fastened to the two

upper corners of the pack… The Army believed

that took the load off a soldier’s shoulders. We

carried the Merriam packs on our kidneys, and

the leverage of the sticks pulled our shoulders

back so that we were perpetually being pulled

back downhill with the swing of leverage in each

stride.

Needless to say, the Merriam packs were

abandoned and never officially adopted

for use by the U.S. Army (except for the

extras that were unfortunately assigned to

members of the New York National

Guard).

During the 1890s Merriam, despite his

30 years of military service, continued

serving in high-power posts throughout

the western seaboard. He was promoted

to the rank of brigadier general in 1897

and transferred to the Department of Co-

lumbia, where he oversaw military opera-

tions. After the outbreak of the

Spanish-American War one year later, he

was promoted to major general and

placed in command of the entire U.S. Pa-

cific Coast with primary duties that in-

cluded overseeing the training and

transportation of troop divisions headed

toward the Philippine-American War that

began in 1899. Merriam finally retired

from the army in 1901, only because he

had reached the mandatory retirement

age. In 1903 by a special act of the U.S.

Congress, Merriam was promoted (in re-

tirement) to the rank of major general. He

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In 1903 by a special act of the U.S.Congress, Merriam was promoted (inretirement) to the rank of major gen-eral. He died on Nov. 12, 1912, one

day before his 75th birthday


died on Nov. 12, 1912, one day before his

75th birthday, and was buried with full

military honors in Section 1 Lot 114-13 at

Arlington National Cemetery

It was the end of an incredibly colorful

military career filled with mostly triumphs

and a few failures. But as much as he

achieved, Merriam would never forget his

role leading the African-American troops

back in the Civil War. In a paper read by

Merriam on May 3, 1905 to the Military

Order of the U.S. Loyal Legion, he con-

cluded:

Thus ended the assault and capture of Fort

Blakely with its garrison of four thousand men

and forty heavy guns. It lost much attention and

public appreciation through the overshadowing

event transpiring in Virginia on the same day…

the surrender of Lee… but its place in history, as

the last assault of our great and bloody Civil

War, will always be assured.

DiscoverMaine 31

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Item #102095 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.



When the automotive craze

struck the United States in the

early 20th century, inquisitive

Mainers responded enthusiastically by

buying “horseless carriages” and running

them on roads that would remain unpaved

until the Depression.

Across Maine, businesses added new

cars and trucks to their retail inventory.

On Bangor Street in Houlton, the Fred E.

Hall Company started selling Buicks,

Dorts, and Franklins in 1918, and briefly

sold Cadillacs and GMCs in the early

1920s. After establishing Houlton Motors

in 1937, Max Etscovitz started Allied Sales

at 50 North Street in Houlton nine years

later and carried such lines as Cadillac,

DeSoto, Oldsmobile, and Plymouth. In

1949 Edward A. Grant opened E.A.

Grant & Son at 99 Military Street in Houl-

ton to sell Lincolns and Mercurys.

Most early Maine car dealers eventually

closed as the Depression killed sales and

car manufacturers consolidated multiple

dealerships within specific geographical

areas. The Fred E. Hall Company lasted

until 1937, E.A. Grant & Son sold its last

car in 1971, and Allied Sales closed in

1984. Yet some 60 miles north on Route

1, a particular Ford dealer has thrived for

99 years.

In Aroostook County the surname

Collins is well known, as in the S.W.

Collins Company (“the Pioneer Lumber

Yard”) and Senator Susan Collins, born in

Caribou in December 1952. Her great-

great grandfather, Samuel W. Collins,

founded S.W. Collins & Son in 1844 and

developed major lumbering operations in

northern Maine. His son, Herschel,

founded the Caribou Motor Company in

1912.

Almost 100 years later that same Ford

dealership still sells and services new ve-

hicles, now called Griffeth Ford-Lincoln-

Mercury.

Born in August 1860, Herschel Collins

worked in his father’s various commercial

operations. By the early 20th century

America began its love affair with the au-

tomobile, then a transportation device re-

viled by traditionalists and adored by

modernists, and Collins realized that cars

represented potential business.

S.W. Collins & Son started selling Fords

in early 1912. The “car craze” had already

reached Maine, where intrepid motorists

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

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ventured on cobblestoned city streets and

rutted country roads. Seeking to regulate

the noisy cars and their boisterous own-

ers, the Maine Legislature had already en-

acted a law mandating auto registrations

and license plates.

In early 1912 the Legislature passed a

law setting speed limits at 10 miles per

hour in town and 25 miles per hour in the

country. Motorists steered their cars far

and wide across Maine, and in September

1914 an Aroostook County newspaper re-

ported that an irritated moose, evidently

mistaking a well-lit car for a romantic rival,

had charged a car traveling at night in Fort

Fairfield. Downstate newspapers picked

up this story about the first time that a

moose had “assaulted” a motorized vehi-

cle in Maine.

This moose-car incident would not be

the last such encounter in Maine.

Elsewhere in Aroostook County, auto-

motive sales proved adequate at S.W.

Collins & Son; as reported by The Aroost-

ook Republican in May 1916, “so far this

season” Herschel Collins had sold “21

Fords (primarily Model Ts), four Dodges,

and two Hudsons.”

Hardware, lumber and tools dominated

retail activity at S.W. Collins & Son, how-

ever. Seeking to divest his automotive

business, Herschel Collins sold the Ford

dealership in November 1918 to Willis

Oak, who had worked for many years at

S.W. Collins & Son.

Initially naming his dealership the W.L.

Oak Company and basing it at 15 Sweden

Street in Caribou, Oak incorporated the

Ford dealership as the Caribou Motor

Company in 1919. He sold the dealership

to three local businessmen (including E.F.

Shaw) in January 1921; Caribou Motor

Company relocated to 398 Main Street,

Caribou in 1939 and later became Caribou

Ford-Mercury. Shaw’s descendants

worked at the dealership, and on Decem-

ber 1, 1989, grandson Sheldon Scott sold

Caribou Ford-Mercury to Griffeth Ford-

Lincoln-Mercury.

DiscoverMaine 33


Dominic, Gilbert & Jay LaJoie

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Owner Neal Griffeth relocated the deal-

ership to Route 1 in Caribou. Griffeth

Ford-Lincoln-Mercury later expanded to

Main Street in Presque Isle and added a

Mitsubishi franchise in May 2007. Neal

Griffeth recently acquired a Honda fran-

chise in Presque Isle.

If he could visit Aroostook County

today, Samuel W. Collins would gaze

proudly at the economic legacy his de-

scendants created. The Collins family still

owns and operates S.W. Collins Company,

which supplies building materials and

hardware at stores in Caribou, Houlton,

and Presque Isle. And although Samuel

died years before his son Herschel sold his

first Ford Model T, the Collins-acquired

Ford franchise lives on in Aroostook

County as Griffeth Ford-Lincoln-Mer-

cury.

The Ford Motor Company has certainly

enjoyed a long and successful run in Cari-

bou.

DiscoverMaine34


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Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org


When Congress passed Title IX

to ban schools and colleges

that received federal funds

from discriminating against women in

sports, the girls’ teams from eastern Maine

high schools could finally play in a tour-

nament — just like boys’ teams had since

1922.

And no girls’ basketball team wanted to

play as badly in a tournament as did the

Allagash High School Bobcats.

Allagash lies about 30 miles “up” from

Fort Kent along Route 161, which paral-

lels the St. John River before passing

through Allagash and officially ending at

Dickey. The St. John meets the Allagash

River at Allagash, longtime home for

tough Mainers who make their living from

farming and forestry.

The schools were the town’s pride 40

years ago, before dwindling numbers

forced the town to bus students to Fort

Kent. Yet when the 1974-75 basketball

season got underway, the girls’ squad

would make Allagash proud.

Allagash High School enrolled 30-35

students in the mid-1970s — typically

about two-thirds were girls. Many turned

out for the prospect of playing in a

bonafide tournament, and good talent

took the Bobcats to Bangor’s tournaments

that season.

After surviving the quarterfinals, the Al-

lagash Bobcats met the Greenville Lakers

at Husson College on Friday, February 7,

1975. Barbara Kelly scored 22 points

while leading the Bobcats to a well-fought

46-40 victory against the Lakers.

The next day the Allagash girls returned

to Husson to face the East Grand Vikings

in the Eastern Maine Girls’ Class D Final,

the first such game played in Maine sports

history. No two teams could travel farther

to play in Bangor — located at Danforth

in northern Washington County, the

Vikings had to cross snowy, hilly terrain

to even reach Lincoln, and the Bobcats

had to travel 30 miles northeast before

they could turn south on Route 11 at Fort

Kent and head for Bangor.

The Vikings had already trounced the

Bobcats 43-20 and 52-21 during the regu-

lar season, but the Class D final remained

in doubt until well into the fourth period.

East Grand triumphed, 43-35, and went

on to defeat Richmond for the first Class

D Girls’ State Final, played at the Augusta

Civic Center on Saturday, February 15,

1975.

The next season saw a revitalized Alla-

gash girls squad reign undefeated in East-

ern Maine Class D before breezing

through the quarterfinals and meeting the

Hodgdon Hawks in a Saturday, February

14, 1976 semifinal. Players like Bonnie and

Darlene Kelly (the latter scored 25 points),

Starr McBreairty, and Kadi O’Leary led

the Bobcats to a 57-28 romp and to a re-

match with East Grand.

Both teams met in the E.M. Class D

Girls’ Final, played at the “big time” —

the Bangor Auditorium — on Wednesday,

February 18. Unfortunately, a midweek

DiscoverMaine 35

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game time and the lack of popularity for

girls’ basketball teams saw only a small

crowd turn out. And “small” must be

compared to the thousands of fans who

pack the venerable auditorium for today’s

Eastern Maine Tournament girls’ games.

During the 2011 tournament, fans often

filled the seats halfway to the steel rafters

during competitive (and sometimes less

than competitive) girls’ games.

The Bobcats immediately ran off 22

points to the Vikings’ 3, but no team ever

eases up on an East Grand squad. The Al-

lagash girls kept a respectable double-digit

lead until the Danforth girls reduced it to

five points with 2:03 left on the clock in

the fourth quarter.

Then freshman Kadi O’Leary scored a

basket, and the Bobcats played tight de-

fense while holding off East Grand to

win the Eastern Maine Class D crown, 46-

41.

That win propelled Allagash into the

state championship game with Buckfield,

played at the Bangor Auditorium on Sat-

urday, February 26. Down by one point at

the end of three quarters, the Bobcats ran

off eight points to open the fourth quar-

ter and battled Buckfield almost all the

way to the buzzer to win the Class D gold

ball by 57-43.

Allagash finished the season undefeated

at 14-0.

The 1976-77 season again saw the Bob-

cats reach the Eastern Maine Class D

Tournament. After winning their quarter-

final, the Allagash girls met East Grand

yet again, this time in a semifinal played at

Brewer High School on Saturday, Febru-

ary 24, 1977.

The Bobcats dominated the game, ex-

tending their lead to 10 points before the

Vikings rallied late to tie the game 40-40

with four minutes left in the fourth quar-

ter. Led by Starr McBreairty and her five

points, the Allagash girls outscored their

Danforth counterparts 7-2 in the remain-

ing minutes to win the game, 47-40.

The next day the Bobcats traveled to

the Bangor Auditorium to play the

Greenville Lakers. The Allagash girls es-

sentially packed away the game during the

first quarter and yet again during the third

quarter and defeated Greenville, 49-35.

Again the E.M. Class D girls’ champs,

Allagash met Buckfield for the state Class

D crown, playing before larger crowds at

the Bangor Auditorium on Thursday,

March 3. Now a sophomore, Kadi

O’Leary scored 31 points, Darlene Kelly

scored 20 points, and Allagash crushed

Buckfield, 71-39.

The 1977-78 basketball season saw the

Bobcats reach the tournament again,

where they breezed through the quarterfi-

nals before meeting perennial opponent

East Grand in an exciting semifinal played

on Friday, February 24, 1978. Both teams

fought long and hard — Allagash

outscored East Grand 10-2 early in the

fourth quarter, but the Vikings fought

back desperately in the last 25 seconds. Al-

lagash hung on to win, 48-47.

But Greenville denied the Allagash girls

a “three-peat” of the Eastern Maine Class

D crown. The Lakers and Bobcats met at

the Bangor Auditorium on Saturday,

DiscoverMaine36


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February 25; shooting far better percent-

ages from the foul line than did their op-

ponents, the Greenville girls battled back

from being down seven points during the

third quarter and went on to defeat Alla-

gash, 63-50, and take the regional cham-

pionship.

In the 1979 tournament, Allagash de-

feated Jonesport-Beals, 60-45 in the semi-

finals to advance to the Eastern Maine

finals against — guess who? — East

Grand. Memories of their 1978 loss to the

Bobcats spurred the Vikings to trounce

Allagash, 64-45, and claim the state title

for Danforth.

Even as school enrollment declined at

Allagash High School, the girls’ squad still

reached the tournament in February 1980,

only to lose the semifinal game to East

Grand, 55-43. The Bobcats came back to

the Bangor Auditorium for the February

1981 tournament, and a strange incident

probably foretold the team’s fate in a

scheduled semifinal against the John

Bapst Crusaders.

The Allagash girls arrived at the audito-

rium, but their uniforms went to a restau-

rant where the Allagash boys were eating.

The uniforms were hustled back to east-

ern Maine’s Basketball Mecca, as the au-

ditorium has been called, and the Bobcats

took to the floor only minutes before the

game’s official start.

John Bapst went on to defeat Allagash,

89-50.

The 1981 tournament was almost the

last one for the Bobcats. The team expe-

rienced some dark years through the

1980s before taking an 11-3 record to the

Bangor Auditorium in February of 1989.

Matched against the lower-seeded East

Grand Vikings, the Bobcats encountered

a full-court press that frustrated their of-

fensive efforts. East Grand defeated Alla-

gash, 46-28.

Allagash High School would later close,

with future students being bused to Fort

Kent Community High School. But for a

time during the mid-1970s, the Allagash

girls’ team dominated Eastern Maine

Class D basketball.

DiscoverMaine 37

Early view of Main Street, Eagle Lake.

Item #100550 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection

and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

View at Wallagrass.




In 1790 John Martin lived on the

south bank of the St. John River,

across from the mouth of the Green

River. John wasn’t the only Martin in the

area. Francoise Martin lived on the north-

ern bank of the river. Francoise’s broth-

ers, Joseph and Armand, lived in the

upper St. John Valley, too. Francoise,

Joseph and Armand were sons of René

Martin. (It should be noted that John

Martin’s name also appears as Jean in of-

ficial records. Jean is without doubt the

appropriate spelling.)

The Martins were living in that part of

the St. John Valley known as Madawaska.

Today there is both a Madawaska, Maine

and a Madawaska, New Brunswick. The

St. John River, the boundary between the

United States and Canada in this part of

North America, divides the two

Madawaskas.

The Acadien settlers of the Madawaska

region begin arriving in the 1780s. In

1787, 1790 and 1794 Britain granted the

Acadiens lots for homesteading. This was,

in part, a response to Le Grand Derange-

ment of 1755. Le Grand Derangement

was the removal of the Acadiens from

their lands in Nova Scotia.

Martin is a common name on either

side of the St. John, in both Maine and

New Brunswick. Martins intermarried

with Dumonts, Levasseurs and others,

Acadiens and Quebecois. Francoise, who

carried the mail between Halifax and Que-

bec City, married a Michaud from Que-

bec. A good number of the residents of

the upper St. John Valley bearing the fam-

ily name Martin are descended from René

Martin.

René Martin was last the Martin own-

ing land in the Nova Scotia community of

Belleisle at the time of Le Grand De-

rangement. Those of Acadien descent,

whether their name be Martin or Lev-

asseur or Michaud or whatever, who can

trace their roots back to René Martin can

claim Belleisle as their ancestral Nova Sco-

tia home. In fact, if they are so inclined

they can find the exact site of René Mar-

tin’s house. At least they can find the cel-

lar hole where René’s home was on the

bank of the Annapolis River. They can do

this by using GPS satellite tracking.

The cellar hole, which once served as

the foundation of René Martin’s home

and where he undoubtedly kept his

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winter’s apples and vegetables, is now on

the Internet. It is the site of a geocache.

Geocaching is a twenty-first century

hobby. It came into existence with the re-

moval of selective availability from Global

Positing Satellite (GPS) use in May of

2000. Since that time some three quarters

of a million geocaches have been regis-

tered on the Internet.

Geocaching is something like treasure

hunting. The individual who leaves the

cache — usually a trinket in a metal or

plastic container — records the GPS co-

ordinates on the Internet. The coordi-

nates are a bit general. The idea is that the

geocache treasure hunter will have to

work a little to find the cache.

John Rutledge left the geocache at René

Martin’s old home site. Rutledge is a sum-

mer resident of Belleisle. His summer

home is not all that far from René Mar-

tin’s former home. Rutledge is a retired

professor of geology. He taught at the

University of Toronto. He knew exactly

what he was doing when he placed his geocache.

Belleisle, where René Martin had his

home is sometimes identified as Granville,

Nova Scotia. This is a bit misleading.

Belleisle is a distinct community in its own

right. While Belleisle is part of Granville

township, it predates the formation of the

township. In fact Belleisle may be the old-

est Acadien place name in continuous ex-

istence.

René Martin’s father Barnabé and his

uncle Pierre were probably the first Mar-

tins in Nova Scotia. Records indicate

Barnabé was living in Port Royal in 1671,

the year René was born. Pierre Martin is

sometime cited as being the first to intro-

duce apples to North America. This might

make Belleisle the birthplace of the North

American apple industry, as this was

where the Martins farmed.

René Martin was one of the more pros-

perous farmers of Belleisle. His farm was

located on an oxbow of the Annapolis

River. The home site is almost directly

across from that part of the oxbow the

Acadiens called Pré Ronde. René Martin’s

farm was situated where it commanded

views of both the mountains that enclose

the Annapolis Valley — North Mountain

and South Mountain. René Martin’s every-

day vistas — as they are today — would

best be described as breathtaking.

Census records for 1698 show René had

13 arpents of land under cultivation. An

arpent, as used in this instance, is a little

less than an acre, 0.84 acres to be exact.

In addition, René had an orchard of some

fifty apple trees. He had a herd of ten to

a dozen cattle and hogs and sheep. He was

a wealthy man.

One of René Martin’s sons was named

Jean-Baptiste. Jean-Baptiste may be the

same John Martin or possibly the father

of the John Martin who was granted a lot

on the St. John in 1790.

René Martin was one of some 300 Aca-

diens living in Belleisle who were forced

from their homes in 1755 during Le

Grand Derangement.

The Belleisle Acadiens were alerted to

DiscoverMaine 39


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their impending removal by friendly Mi’k-

maq. Most of the Acadiens fled up the

Annapolis Valley to what is now the com-

munity of Morden. They wintered over

there. Records indicate that some sixty to

ninety of the original 300-odd made it

through the winter. The survivors made

their way across the Bay of Fundy to the

mouth of the St. John River. From there

they went upriver to the general area of

what is now Fredericton, New Brunswick.

René Martin was not one of the

Belleisle Acadiens at Morden. He escaped

the British to live out his days on Isle St.

Jean, as Prince Edward Island was then

known. René died barely a year after he

fled his Belleisle home.

None of the descendants of René Mar-

tin came searching for his home site at the

time of the 2004 Congres Mondial Aca-

dien, the 400th anniversary of the found-

ing of Acadie. But then John Rutledge

had not placed his geocache in the cellar

hole of René’s old home then. Rutledge

put his geocache there in 2005. Perhaps

now that it is there, some of René Mar-

tin’s descendants will seek out their roots.

They can stand on land that once be-

longed to their long-ago ancestor and

look across the Annapolis River. They

won’t be looking at Pré Ronde exactly,

however. These days Pré Ronde is known

as Pea Round.

DiscoverMaine40


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DiscoverMaine 41

engine machine shop

auto Parts & supplies

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Maine42

St. Agatha Federal

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Martin’s General storeFresh Meat

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Charette & Son DrywallSteve Charette: Owner

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Do you have agreat idea for a

story in Discover Maine?

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contact our office with the details

Email us:

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Write to us:

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Take 1½ cups Jere-miah 6:20, ½ cupGenesis 24:45

and ¼ cup Genesis 18:8.Simmer and stir Jere-miah 6:20 over low heatuntil a deep goldenbrown. Then add Gen-esis 24:45, stirring fre-quently until smooth.Mix in Genesis 18:8and allow to cool. Theresult is burnt Jere-miah. Finally, and witha grateful prayer and athankful heart, dribblethe burnt Jeremiahover your scripturecake.

Burnt Jeremiah is syrup. Burnt Jeremiahand scripture cake are traditional bakingrecipes reserved for special days. Therecipes are derived from the Bible. The in-gredients of burnt Jeremiah are sugar,water and butter. The verses cited abovespecifically mention sugar, water and butter respectively.

Recipes like burnt Jeremiah and scrip-ture cake are traditional ones. There arevarying recipes for scripture cake. The in-gredients all come from certain biblicalverses. You can find scripture cake recipesin standard cookbooks. What those cook-books probably won’t tell you, though, isthe recipe’s history, for whom it is or was

traditional. There was atime, however, and notall that far in the pasteither, when Methodistand Baptist churchsuppers in AroostookCounty could becounted on to havescripture cakes sittingon their dessert tables.

We all know of fastfood and frozen foodand even freeze-driedfood. They are com-mon to almost every-one’s experience.However, many tradi-tional foods are not.Or at least we do not

think of some foods such as poutin orpoutine, the rich, onion-flavored andheavily spiced gravy mix you can buy in apacket ready to mix with water, and a sta-ple among many of French extraction, asbeing traditional. Traditional foods are

DiscoverMaine 43


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Aroostook County is rich in traditional foodsby Charles Francis

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dishes that are passed from one genera-tion to the next through oral tradition.Technically — by those who make a for-mal study of them — they are referred toas ethnocuisine or ethnogastronomy.

Aroostook County is rich in traditionalfoods. The chief reason for this is thatthere are a number of distinct and vitalfolk traditions here. The oldest are thefolk traditions of the Native Americans.Then there are those of the Acadians, thefirst to bring European traditions to theregion. Added to these two are the tradi-tions of the first English-speaking settlersof the Aroostook, the Maritimers whocame from Canada, and finally those ofthe settlers of southern Maine and laterimmigrants from places like Sweden.Aroostook County possesses a wide vari-ety of food traditions.

Everyone uses examples of foodspeech. There is “buttering up” someoneor being “in a stew.” But go into a dineron the New Brunswick border and youcan “Mug up,” a Maritime term for a lightlunch and a cup of tea. Then, too, there is

a “bed lunch,” the snack one has beforegoing to bed. Bed lunch is used in the St.John Valley and further north and east.One of the most expensive dishes in thefancy restaurants of the east coast isplanked salmon. It is nothing new orunique, however. Native Americans livingalong the St. John River and elsewherehave eaten planked salmon from time im-memorial.

You can even find folk rhymes con-cerning food in the county. One whichsettlers from the coast imported is as fol-lows: “Herrin’ and taters, the food of the land

...if you don’t like it, you can starve and be

damned.”

Venison and porcupine were two of thedietary staples of the first settlers of theAroostook region. Both were consideredfood of the poor. Today, however, veni-son is regarded as a delicacy while porcu-pine is nothing more than road kill fit forcrows. Then there are “ham and scallop”church suppers. Visitors from away oftenthink this means they have a choice be-tween meat and seafood, when in realitythey will be served scalloped potatoes

with ham.The names of certain foods can tell

something of the history of a particulargroup of people. Take, for example, theAcadian name for chicken: poule. In yearspast poule, which identifies a young hen,was used for chicken rather than the moregeneral term poulet. A young hen or poule

was seldom used for the pot because itwas too valuable in that it could lay eggs.Old hens beyond egg laying days were theones that were eaten. Poule, or tenderyoung hens, were only for special occa-sions such as feast days.

There can also be differences for a par-ticular food name within the same culturalgroup or among people living in the sameregion. Dumplings are a good example ofthis. For most, dumplings are pastry madefrom dough. The Acadian word fordumpling is poutin. Poutin, however, canalso be used for fresh curds, gravy andeven fried potatoes. You can buy a packetof Poutine Gravy Sauce, a brand namemarketed by the St. Hubert Company, for$1.33. For some, poutin means Frenchfries drenched in gravy. Of course,

DiscoverMaine44


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Aroostook County is famous for its po-tato dumplings. Moreover, dumplings areused in another traditional dish, “grunt.”“Grunt” is a dish made with poacheddumplings and smothered in blueberrysauce.

Some folk foods are referred to as cal-endar foods. This is because they are eatenat certain times of the year. One exampleis salmon and new peas on the Fourth ofJuly. In some Acadian homes, pancakes —galette des roi — are the fare of the day onFebruary 5 or Candlemas Day. One tradi-tion has it that each person must flip theirown pancake. Failure to do so can meanbad luck. Some cooks put a token orcharm in the batter. Whoever gets thetoken will have good luck. This latterpractice is similar to that of putting a coinin birthday cake batter. The person whogets the slice of cake with the coin is des-tined for good luck.

Another traditional baking recipe simi-lar to that of scripture cake, and like it re-served for special days, has decidedlynon-biblical connotations. This is “sex ina pan.” This rich chocolate concoction

was once commonly served at bridalshowers. However, when it was taken to achurch supper, it went by the name “ec-stasy in a pan.”

Another tradition has it that the bestcakes are made by pregnant women. Shehas to be sure, however, not to throw heregg shells in the fire before putting the

cake in the oven. If she does, it is sure notto rise. This belief, of course, harks backto the days of the wood stove.

Traditional foods serve two importantfunctions. They help to bind a communitytogether. Perhaps more important, how-ever, is that so long as they are shared theyhelp to keep the past alive.

DiscoverMaine 45

Serving the St. John valley Since 1944

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Alice Rowena (Lunney) Gregory of

Westfield, Maine died on August 20,

2010 at the Dexter Health Care Nurs-

ing Home in Dexter, Maine at age 95. Her

daughters Gloria (Gregory) Bridges and

Amelda (Gregory) Ross were with her when

she died. She was predeceased by her husband

Donald Gregory and daughter Sharon Gre-

gory.

Alice was a beloved presence in Westfield,

Maine, her life-long home. Alice’s house, next

to the village post office, was the center of so-

cial life in the close-knit community of West-

field. She was everyone’s kind, generous and

witty Aunt Alice. She was also a loving friend,

daughter, sister, mother, aunt, grandmother,

great grandmother and great great grand-

mother. Her extended family, from Maine to

Florida to Alaska, all mourns her passing. She

was an original Maine character, and she is

missed.

Alice was the daughter of Thomas Andrew

Lunney and Susan Martha (Taylor) Lunney

and was born on May 15, 1915 at Easton,

Maine. She married Donald Gregory of West-

field, Maine and had three daughters: Gloria

(Gregory) Bridges, Amelda (Gregory) Ross

and Sharon Gregory.

Her father, Thomas Lunney, emigrated to

Easton, Maine from Glassville, New

Brunswick in 1900 and married Susan Martha

Taylor in November of that year. They had a

farm at Riviere de Chute in Easton for many

years, but eventually moved their large family

to Westfield.

Alice’s grandfather, William Lunney, was

born in Ireland in 1821, emigrated with his

brother Thomas to Waterborough, New

Brunswick in 1847, and later married Char-

lotte Drost and settled on a farm at Glassville,

New Brunswick in 1872. Her Irish grandfa-

ther was a descendant of the chieftains of

Muintir Luinigh in Tyrone, the lords of Magh

Ithe in Donegal, the medieval kings of Aileach

and the ancient high kings of Ireland.

Alice’s mother, Susan Martha (Taylor) Lun-

ney, was the youngest child of David Taylor

and Martha (Stevens) Taylor of Smithfield and

Easton, Maine. Both David Taylor and Martha

Stevens were verified descendants of Holy

Roman Emperor Charlemagne and much of

the royalty and nobility of medieval Europe.

Alice’s grandfather, David Taylor, served in

the Union Army during the Civil War and was

a farmer at Easton. Her great grandfather, Isa-

iah Taylor, built the first schoolhouse in

Smithfield, Maine. Her great grandmother,

Mehitable (Pattee) Taylor of Smithfield,

Maine, was a descendant of Peter Pattee, who

fought at the famous Battle of Black Point at

Scarborough, Maine in 1677. Alice’s great

great grandfather, Samuel Taylor, was the first

Quaker minister in Belgrade, Maine and was a

noted pomologist. Her great great grand-

mother, Elizabeth (Crowell) Taylor was a ver-

ified Mayflower descendant. Alice’s great

uncle, Samuel Taylor of Belgrade, Maine,

built what became the Maine Central Railroad,

was its first president, was a noted champion

of Native American rights and founded the

Oak Grove Seminary. Her great, great, great

grandfather, Elias Taylor of Winthrop, Maine,

was a patriot of the American Revolution and

died along with his eldest son John at Fort

Ticonderoga, New York in 1777. Alice was

also a descendant of Dr. Rowland Taylor of

Hadleigh, England, a noted Protestant cleric

and one of the martyrs of the Protestant Ref-

ormation, who was burned at the stake as a

heretic by England’s Bloody Queen Mary on

February 9, 1555.

All of that family genealogy and history

would have given humble Aunt Alice a good

great laugh. The only thing that Alice knew

about her mother’s Taylor family was that they

were kind and generous Quakers.

In August 2004, at age 89, Alice travelled

with me and other family members to Ireland

to visit the places where our Irish ancestors

once lived. Her presence was our good luck

charm, and blessed our journey in countless

ways.

DiscoverMaine46

Lake Road

GROCERY• pizza• hot & Cold Sandwiches• gas ~ Beer & Wine• groceries

located on itS 83

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Convenient to ITS Trail

Alice Rowena (Lunney) GregoryLife-long resident of Westfield remembered

Submitted by Timothy Lunney

Discover Maine Magazinehas been brought to you free through the

generous support of Maine businesses for thepast 19 years, and we extend a special thanks tothem. Please tell our advertisers how much you

love Discover Maine Magazine by doing businesswith them whenever possible.

They bring Maine’s history to you!


DiscoverMaine 47

A&L Construction Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Acadia Federal Credit Union . . . . . . . .44

Alan Clair Building Contractor . . . . . .15

Albert Fitzpatrick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Al’s Diner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Aroostook County Tourism . . . . . . . . .30

Aroostook Hospitality Inn . . . . . . . . . .33

Aroostook Milling Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Aroostook Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc. .24

Ashland Food Market, Inc. . . . . . . . . . .19

Avondale Kitchens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Bacon Auto & Truck Care . . . . . . . . . .22

Bald Eagle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Barnes Law Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Barresi Financial, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Ben’s Trading Post, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Bento’s Grocery Diner & Sports Bar . . .6

Bling! & Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Bouchard Family Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Bread of Life Bulk Food & Specialty Store .17

Brownlee Builders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Buck Construction, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Burger King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

C & R Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

C&J Service Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Care & Comfort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Caribou Area Chamber of Commerce 25

Caribou Theatres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Caron & Son Paving & Sealing . . . . . .45

Carvings by Cote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Cary Medical Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce 18

Charette & Son Drywall . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Cheney Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Cindy’s Sub Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Clifford L. Rhome CPA, PA . . . . . . . . .16

Clukey’s Auto Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Colin Bartlett & Sons Inc. . . . . . . . . . . .7

Complete Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Consumer Discount & Best Buy . . . . .22

Country Cottage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Country Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

County Abatement, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . .23

County Environmental Engineering . .33

County Qwik Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

County Super Spud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Cozy Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Cushman’s Embroidery . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Daigle & Houghton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Daigle Property Maintenance . . . . . . . .29

Dana’s Carpentry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Dean’s Motor Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Donahue’s Maintenance & Masonry . .11

Doris’ Café . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Duane Thompson’s Masonry . . . . . . . .29

Dunbar Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Dunbar Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Duncan-Graves Funeral Homes Inc. . .17

Echoes Magazine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Evergreen Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . .39

Evergreen Trading Co. LLC . . . . . . . . .39

F.A. Peabody Company . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Fieldstone Cabins & Rainbow Cove RV . . .42

First Choice Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

First Settler’s Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Fort Fairfield Chamber of Commerce 22

Fort Kent Area Chamber of Commerce . . .43

Fort Kent Ski-Doo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Foss & Sons Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Francine’s Pools & Spas . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Frank Landry & Sons, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . .7

Frederick’s Southside Restaurant . . . . .23

G & R Computer Associates . . . . . . . .40

Galeyrie Maps & Custom Frames . . . . .4

Garden Gate Fabrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Gary Babin’s Groceries . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Gerald Pelletier Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Giberson-Dorsey Funeral Home . . . . .20

Giggy’s Auto Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Graves’ Shop ‘N Save Superstore . . . .18

Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce . .10

Greater Madawaska Chamber of Commerce . .38

Greater Van Buren Chamber of Commerce . .38

Griffith Ford Lincoln-Mercury . . . . . .31

Ground Tek Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

H&S Garage Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Haines Manufacturing Co., Inc. . . . . . .14

Hanington Bros., Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Hebert Construction and Bear Concrete . . .44

Hillside Apartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Hillside IGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Home Farm Kennels . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Home Town Fuels, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Horten Building Supplies, Inc. . . . . . . .11

Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians . . .27

Houlton Higher Education . . . . . . . . . .9

Huber Engineered Wood, LLC . . . . . .13

Irish Setter Pub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

J.R.S. Firewood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Jackett Enterprises/JEI Sports . . . . . . .28

Jerry’s Shurfine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

JSL Metal Recycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Katahdin Valley Motel . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Kevin Carmichael Masonry . . . . . . . . .12

Key Realty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Kirkpatrick & Bennet Law Offices . . .22

L&J Recycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

L&S Firewood Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

LaJoie Growers, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Lake Road Grocery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Lakeside Plumbing & Heating Company . . .39

Lakeview Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Lancaster Morgan Funeral Home . . . .22

Lane Construction Corp. . . . . . . . . . . .29

Lawrence S. Lord & Sons, Inc. . . . . . . . .4

Leisure Gardens/Leisure Village . . . . .15

Limestone Chamber of Commerce . . .21

Longlake Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Lucky Dog Boarding House . . . . . . . . .12

M. Rafford Construction . . . . . . . . . . .30

Madawaska Auto Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Madawaska Pharmacy, LLC . . . . . . . . .39

Maine Historical Society . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Maine Solar and Wind . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

MarCar Solar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Mark’s Towing Service & Auto Repair .21

Mars Hill IGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Martin Builders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Martin’s General Store . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Martin’s Motel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Masardis Trading Post . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

McCluskey’s RV Center . . . . . . . . . . . .17

McGillan, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

McGlinn Electric Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

McGlinn’s Plumbing & Heating . . . . . .14

Mer & Boys’ Body Shop . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Mike’s Family Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Monticello Mini Barns . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Nadeau Logging, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Nadeau Trucking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

North Maine Woods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Northeast Applicators LLC . . . . . . . . .13

Northeast Packaging Company . . . . . .28

Northeast Propane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Northern Door Inn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Northern Lights Motel . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Northern Timber Trucking . . . . . . . . .43

Northstar Variety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Oakfield Railroad Museum . . . . . . . . . . .8

Oakfield Thriftway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Orion Timerlands, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Overlook Motel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Pat’s Pizza Presque Isle . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Pelletier Ford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Penobscot Marine Museum . . . . . . . . .48

Percy’s Auto Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Plourde & Plourde, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Plourde’s Harley Davidson . . . . . . . . . . .5

Quality Paving & Grading . . . . . . . . . .32

Quigley’s Building Supply . . . . . . . . . . .45

R.F. Chamberland, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Rendevouz Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Retrax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Rivers Bend Service, LLC . . . . . . . . . . .12

Riverside Inn Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Robert Pelletier General Contractor . .34

Rockwell Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Rosella’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

S. Paradis & Son Garage . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Sandra’s Kitchen & Pizza To Go . . . . .41

Scovil Apartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Scovil Building Supply, Inc. . . . . . . . . .13

Seven Islands Land Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Shaw Financial Services . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Sitel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Sleepy Hollow Storage, Inc. . . . . . . . . .16

St. Agatha Federal Credit Union . . . . .42

St. John Valley Pharmacy . . . . . . . . . . .44

Stairs Welding R.L., Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Star City IGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Stardust Motel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

STEad Timberlands, LLC . . . . . . . . . . .6

T&S Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

T.W. Willard, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

TA Service Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Terry’s Fixit Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

The Aroostook Medical Center . . . . . .28

The Bradbury Barrel Co. . . . . . . . . . . . .3

The County Federal Credit Union . . . . .5

The Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

The Par Grill Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . .32

The Pioneer Place, U.S.A. . . . . . . . . . . . .8

The Salvation Army Thrift Store . . . . .27

Theriault Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Tobin Farms Velvet Antler . . . . . . . . . . .4

Town of Madawaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Triple M. Trucking Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Trombley Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Tulsa, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Umcolcus Sporting Camps . . . . . . . . . . .5

Uncle Buck’s Archery Shop . . . . . . . . .18

Underwood Electric, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . .18

University of Maine Fort Kent . . . . . .35

Vacationland Estates Resort . . . . . . . . . .3

Visions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Washburn Food Mart . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Web X Centrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Westford Hill Construction . . . . . . . . . .9

White Oak, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Willard S. Hanington & Son, Inc. . . . . . .6

York’s Bookstore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

York’s of Houlton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

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Aroostook County

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