aroostook county 2012
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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) 874-7720info@discovermainemagazine.com
www.discovermainemagazine.com
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
fundy67@yahoo.caChristine 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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— Aroostook County —Discover
Maine4
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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)
— Aroostook County —
DiscoverMaine 5
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Main Street, Washburn. Item #102846 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and
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— Aroostook County —Discover
Maine6
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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
— Aroostook County —
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
(Continued on page 8)
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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.
— Aroostook County —Discover
Maine8
Oakfield Railroad Museum
Tours for groups &charter busesavailable by priorarrangement
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serving the woods Industry with alltypes of logging Trailers andHeavy Duty Cab Guards
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Tel. 532-9253
Old Grand Lake Dam (Matagamon) ca. 1900. Detail of item #8268 from the collections of the
Maine Historical Society and www.VintageMaineImages.com
— Aroostook County —
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.
DiscoverMaine 9
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(Continued from page 8)
Other businesses from this area are featured in the color section.
— Aroostook County —
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
For more information contactTHE gREATER HOuLTON
CHAMbER OF COMMERCE
207-532-4216E-mail: chamber@greaterhoulton.com
www.greaterhoulton.comLocated in the Downtown Historic District
109 Main Street • Houlton, ME 04730
Hunting • Fishing • CampingBiking • Hiking • Snowmobiling
Canoeing • ATV TrailsAntique & Other Unique Shopping
in Historic Market Square
Looking for something to do?
The Greater Houlton area is an all-season vacation spot
More than 12 events scheduled each yearSouthern Aroostook Trade Show • Band Concerts inthe Park • Midnight Madness • 4th of July Fireworks
Craft & Agricultural Fairs • Annual Bed RacePumpkin Fest & Fall Festivals • Chamber Members’
Giant Yard Sale • River Canoe RaceSoap Box Derby • County Open Golf Tournaments
& many more not listed yet!
SStt aarrdduusstt MMoott eell
1-800-437-8406 • 207-532-6538 • Fax 532-4143
• Phones• Full Bath• satellite TV • air Conditioning
Just off Interconnected Trail system (ITs ) #83. easy access from the trail to the parking lot.
Clean comfortable rooms• refrigerator• smoking rooms available• Ionic Breeze air Purifiers
672 north street, Houlton, maine 047302 miles north of I-95 on Us route 1
www.Yorksofhoulton.com
315 North St., houlton
1-800-427-9675
“YoU DeServe The BeST!”
& Ford L & J Recycleowned & operated by the Wood family
for over twenty Years
Cars (we pick up)
We Accept:Appliances
MotorsScrap Iron
Propane Tanks207-757-7800
LJrecycle@fairpoint.net
2.5 miles out372 thompson settlement rd. oakfield, me
by Christine Laws
Little HouseIn LinneusLocal Maine writer remembers
her move to the County
View at Linneus Corner. Item #112843 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
— Aroostook County —
DiscoverMaine 11
Cozy CornerQuality Brand NameConsignment Clothing
Gift Items
Men’s • Women’sChildren’s
We are the best kept secret in Houlton...Maple Syrup Candles!
81 Main Street, Houlton • 521-0025Open Mon. - Fri. 10-4 • Sat. 10-2
Patty Schools: Owner
Offices - Houlton, Lincoln, Hampden,
Sherman Mills, Caribou, Presque Isle,
Mars Hill, Calais
1-800-287-2291
Family Owned & OperatedSince 1967
Donahue’sMaintenance & Masonry
Matthew Donahue
Plowing, Sheet Rock
Vinyl Siding
Chimney Cleaning & Lining
Chimneys Re-topped
Insulating & Roofing
(207) 538-6345Cell 538-6346 • Houlton, ME
donahuem29@yahoo.com
Free Estimates • Fully Insured
~ Seed Potatoes ~
~ Processing ~
~ Table Stock ~
532-6714
3 Sugar Loaf Street Houlton
Indulgences for all gift needs
66 Main St. • Houlton
207-532-9119
Photography • Paintings • Books Woodworking• Jewelry • Cards • Pottery
Stained Glass • Glassware • Fiber Art
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?
Other businesses from this area are featured in the color section.
— Aroostook County —
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
DiscoverMaine12
keVin carmicHael
masonry• Residential
& Commercial• Fireplaces• brick Veneer• Structural block
Over 25 YearsExperience
532-7522PO box 673 • Houlton, ME 04730
RiveRS BenD SeRviCe, llC
Todd Williams
(207) 538-5777
ServicingHot Tubs • Pellet Stoves • Swimming Pools
SalesParts • Pools • Chemicals
431 Bangor St. • Houlton, ME118 North St. • Houlton, ME
(207) 532-9468
“Home style care for your pet while you’re away”
Lucky DogBoarding House
Kate Pyle ~ 207-538-9637Conveniently located just 10 minutes off I95
Route 1 in Houlton
By the Day, By the Week, By the Month Cageless, stress free home Lots of love and attention Special needs and geriatrics welcome Fully Insured
Maine State License
F1152
Vacationing in the County? Horse Accommodations Available!
Dunbar Construction
Dunbar Equipment
Bill Dunbar: Owner• General Contractor• Excavation• Septic Systems• Slabs
Quality used construction equipment from large to small”
Littleton, Maine
538-9877 • 694-0540
Al’s DinerHome Cooked Food
Since 1936
~ Daily Specials ~Homemade breads, Desserts & Rolls
Plenty of Parking
Open Mon-Thurs, 5am-8pmFri & Sat, 5am-9pm ~ Sun, 6am-8pm
207-429-8186Your hosts: Jay & Melissa Peavey
87 Main Street, Mars Hill, Maine
William Howard taftpays a Visit
Former president was sent to the County
to drum up support for the war effortby Charles Francis
— Aroostook County —
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
(Continued on page 14)
scovIlaPartMents
Presque Isle, Fort FairfieldMars Hill and Bridgewater
P.O. Box 220 • Blaine, Maine 04734
Phone the office for information
425-3192
SCovilBuilding Supply, Inc.
Dalton Scovil, Prop.
425-31924 Libby Rd. • Blaine, ME
“See Us First orWe Both
Lose Money”
northeast
ap
plicators llc
The County
Your Quality Applicator for
Potato Sprout Inhibitor
Covering All of Maine
P.o. Box 660 • 16 industrial st. • mars hill • maine
Phone 429-9449
Cell 694-1452
ashley Brewer: area representative
Shaw Financial Services
429-950053 Main Street, Mars Hill, ME
Ryan.Shaw@vinsonassociates.com
•Asset Management
• Financial & Investment Planning
• Life, Disability & Long-term Care Insurance
HubER ENgINEERED WOOD, LLC
EASTON, MAINE
207-488-2051
County Super Spud
Processing Potatoes
Mars Hill, ME
(207) 429-9449
Frederick A. Powers
— Aroostook County —
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.
DiscoverMaine14
(Continued from page 13)
general contractorcommercial • industrial
36 years experience
all phases of Buildingconstruction
concrete foundations
phone &fax 764-7574
presque isle, maine
Snowmobile & ATV RegistrationsHunting & Fishing Supplies/Licenses
191 parsons rd. • presque isle
768-3181
Ben’s trading post, llc
“Your Out Doors Headquarters”
We Buy, Sell & Trade GunsJohnson Wool • Gamehide Clothing
LaCrosse Footwear • Wolverine FootwearGuns & Ammo • Buck KnivesLeatherman Tools • Live Bait
McGlinn’sPlumbing& HeatingSteve McGlinn, ownerOver 30 Years Experience
769-6941Residential & Commercial
Contracting & Service WorkEstimates • Insured
Presque Isle, Maine
• Custom Printed Hats
• Jackets • T-Shirts
• Specialty Items
Check out our website:
www.CushmansEmbroidery.com5 Maple Street, Presque Isle
207-764-3833
Other businesses from this area are featured in the color section.
— Aroostook County —
DiscoverMaine 15
• Remodeling of all Types• custom Built cabinets
• Home construction • ceramic Tile• Hardwood Floors installed & Refinished
• Paradigm Windows - Replacement or new construction
• custom Wood Shop & Wood Repair
Alan ClairBuilding ContraCtor
Since 1979
34 Park St., Presque Isle • 551-5831• retirement apartments with
all the amenities
• Comfortable & secure assisted
living Center
• adult Day Care services are available
by the Day, week or month,
or as long as you need it, 24/7.
4-6 Dewberry DrivePresque Isle, ME 04769
Tel: (207) 764-7322
INSURANCE, FINANCIAL SERVICES & EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
207.764.563934 North Street, Suite 1Presque Isle, ME 04769
Also serving you from Scarborough
www.BarresiBenefits.com
Expertise with IntegrityCelebrating over 30 Years of Serving Maine
“We carry the largest inventory of
Exide batteries north of Bangor”
40 Houlton Road
Presque Isle, Maine 04769
Toll Free: 1-888-666-6343
764-4493
www.percysautosales.comChrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Mopar are registered trademarks of
Chrysler Corp., LLC
Early view of Main Street in Blaine. Item #114628 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.
Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
— Aroostook County —
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
DiscoverMaine16
clifford l. rhome
cPa, Pa
(207) 764-580034 North St., Suite 3
P.O. Box 1816Presque Isle, Maine 04769
specializing in individuals
and small businesses
More than just pizza
15 Different Specialty PizzasMade with our Special Secret Sauce
Serving Beer & Wine
Catering Available
We Deliver
764-6644
RRoosseellllaa’’ss
18 North St. • Presque Isle, Maine
Your Hosts: Danny & Sandy Collins
Celebrating Over 27 Years
Sleepy HollowStorage, Inc.
“An Extra Closet!”
Storage Located at 1022 Mapleton Road
Business Office at Aroosta Cast, Inc.
217 Parsons Rd., Presque Isle
207-764-0585
207-488-6954
• Bountiful Burgers• Prime Rib Special Every Friday & Saturday• Happy Hour 5pm-6pm Monday thru Friday
710 Main St. • Presque Isle, Me
764-5400
Open Mon.-Wed. 11am-9pm
Thurs.-Sat. 11am-11pm
John Crowley’s Little, BigBook honored on 25th anniversary
by Charles Francis
— Aroostook County —
counts for a good deal.
Harold Bloom is the foremost
literary critic today. In 2003, The
New York Times called him “the
most influential critic of the last
quarter century... [a critic with] a
kind of heart-relation to 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
(Continued on page 18)
764-4405120 Caribou Road • Presque Isle
www.TheriaultEquip.com
“Our service is what we stand by”
Richard M. Duncan • John R. JohnstonStephen Lunn
30 Church Street, Presque Isle 764-0625
8 Main Street, Mars Hill 425-5711
Duncan-graves Funeral Homes Inc.
BReAD oF liFeSpecialty
Store&
Gluten Free • Vegetarian • EthnicVegan • Organic
Bulk Spices!
207.768.7000769 Main Street • Presque Isle, ME
BulkFood
764-40241-877-432-7637
Or visit our websitewww.webxcentrics.com
422 Main Street
Presque Isle, Maine 04769
Northern Maine's Largest, Oldest,And Only Full Line RV Dealer
Parts & Service For:Sierra • Hornet • Salem • CherokeeGeorgetown • Cardinal • Sprinter
phone: (207) 762-1721www.mccluskeys.com
Houlton Road, P.O. Box 1616Presque Isle, Maine 04769
John Crowley
— Aroostook County —Discover
Maine18
Mechanic Street
Presque Isle
www.presqueisleforum.comIce Skating • Circuses • Trade Shows
Stage Shows • Family Fun • Etc.
207-764-0491
Archery
Shop
Parker, Diamond, Bowtech, PSE, Matthews
Crossbows • Zebra StringsAccessories • Repairs
207-764-4845 • 207-227-3209Glenn Daigle • 8 Elizabeth Street • Presque Isle
Underwood Electric, Inc.Locally owned &
operated byPete Underwood& Wayne Kaiser
Established 1973Fully Insured
Residential • CommercialIndustrial Wiring
764-0040Presque Isle, Maine
uei@atiwi.com
Industrial • Commercial • Agricultural
207-764-1857 • Presque Isle
BUCk CONSTRUCTION, INC.Design Build Systems
email:info@centralaroostookchamber.com
www.centralaroostookchamber.com3 Houlton road • Presque Isle, maine 04769
Ashland, Blaine, Castle Hill, Chapman, Easton,
Mapleton, Mars Hill, Masardis, Portage, Presque Isle,
OxBow, Washburn & Westfield
(207) 764-6561
Serving:
Aroostook’s Finest Supermarket
Owned and Operated by the Graves
Family for over 75 Years!
— Presque Isle —
207-769-2181
Other businesses from this area are featured in the color section.
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
(Continued from page 17)
— Aroostook County —
DiscoverMaine 19
masardistrading post
general Store With good Food!
207-435-4040Route 11 ~ Masardis, ME
On itS 85
“You wouldn’t believethe stuff you’ll find!”
AshlandFood Mart, Inc.256 Presque Isle road • ashland
435-6451~ open 7 Days a week ~
Leon & Sheila Buckingham
timberlands, llcExcellence in PracticeA full-service, sustainable natural
resource management company.
10A Main St.Ashland, ME
207-435-4100
www.oriontimber.com
C&R Towing24 houR SERviCE
21’ Steel Flatbeddoug ChASSECell: 551-6594
(doug’s dumpster repair & sanitation)
rubbish removalashland, maine
cell/551-6594 home/435-6782
residential • commercial
Owners: Steve and Taunja Jandreau
Weekly and Monthly Rentals
Convenientlylocated to
ITS 85
Portage, Maine
Telephone (207) 435-7908
Mention DiscoverMaine Magazine for
your discount!
Winter on Exchange Street in Ashland. Item #100034 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.
Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
mcglinn electric
residential &commercial Wiring
~ Jerry McGlinn ~
office 207-764-1417cell 227-2057
PO box 266, Mapleton, ME 04757
Email: jmcglinn@ainop.com
inc
— Aroostook County —
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
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Travels With Charlie: Day Trips Through Maine History
Along the Maliseet Trail by Charles Francis
— Aroostook County —
portion of his 1985 work Indian Canoe
Routes of Maine to it. Reading what either
author has to say about the Fish River as
a Native American travel route gives one
a sense of how important the river was.
Nothing, however, equals traveling Route
11 with a perspective of stepping back
into a time before the first settlers came
to northern Aroostook County.
The Fish River section of the Maliseet
Trail actually encompasses a bare third of
the trail in northern Maine. In Aroostook
County the Maliseet Trail forms a circle,
beginning and ending — if one will — at
Fort Kent. From Ashland the trail goes
due west to the Allagash River. From
there it follows the latter river to the St.
John and then back to Fort Kent.
The full Maliseet Trail is much more,
however. Anthropologists and historians
have determined it ran all the way across
Maine from Fort Kent to New Hampshire
and Vermont, and then to Old Forge in
upstate New York. This is how it came to
be an attack route used by the Mohawk.
For purposes of a day trip back into the
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
(Continued on page 22)
Mike’sFamilyMarketFull Line of Groceries & Meats
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(207) 496-321111 Laurette Street
Caribou, Maine 04736
Plourde & Plourde, Inc.
Terry’sFixit Service
Specializing in residential repair
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453 Powers Road, Caribou, Maine
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207-498-8507Access Highway, Caribou, ME
Mark Nadeau,Owner
— Aroostook County —
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
(Continued from page 21)
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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.
— Aroostook County —
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
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(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
— Aroostook County —Discover
Maine24
Home town Fuels, inC.Locally Owned & Operated
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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
— Aroostook County —
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
(Continued on page 26)
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Echoes Press • PO Box 626, Caribou, ME 04736
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echoeSCelebrating
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New location at:Nylander Museum657 Main Street
Caribou, ME 04736207-498-6156
“Caribou Cares About Kids”
www.cariboumaine.net ~ cacc@cariboumaine.netContact 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
— Aroostook County —
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
(Continued from page 25)
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Rockwellp R O p e R t i e S
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— Aroostook County —
DiscoverMaine 27
First Class Lodging & DiningIncludes: Satellite TV w/HBO, WiFi,
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East Grand LakeSnowmobiling/XC Skiing/ Snowshoeing/Ice Fishing
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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.
Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
— Aroostook County —
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
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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
— Aroostook County —
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
(Continued on page 30)
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Members of the 1st Louisiana Native Guard
— Aroostook County —
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
DiscoverMaine30
(Continued from page 29)
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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
— Aroostook County —
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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Route One
Caribou
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Presque Isle
764-4129
www.griffethford.com
Unidentified family at their Park Street home in Presque Isle.
Item #102095 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.
Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
— Aroostook County —
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
DiscoverMaine32
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Selling Fords In Caribou Since 1912Dealership close to 100th birthday
by Ian MacKinnon
P.O. Box 621 - 56 Sweden StreetCaribou, Maine 04736
(207) 498-3093 • 1-800-201-3632FAX: (207) 498-6385
cqp@countyqwikprint.com
— Aroostook County —
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
(Continued on page 34)
Dominic, Gilbert & Jay LaJoie
WWW.LajoIEgroWErsLLc.coM
207-868-2937121 Ferry St. • Van Buren, ME
LaJoieGrowers, LLC
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Comprehensive environmentalSite assessment and
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countyenvironmentalengineering.com
Since 1991
— Aroostook County —
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
(Continued from page 33)
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Phone (207) 834-3607 • Fax (207) 834-6287
Mill scene at Ft. Kent. Item #100833 from the Eastern Illustrating &
Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
— Aroostook County —
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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(Continued on page 36)
— Aroostook County —
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
(Continued from page 35)
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— Aroostook County —
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.
Item #112281 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection
and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
— Aroostook County —
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
DiscoverMaine38
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Greater van BurenChamber of CommerceWe are a 4-season vacation destination
offering snowmobiling, snowshoeing, x-country skiing, hiking, atving, & other
outdoor sporting activities.
207-868-505951 main street • suite 101 • van Buren, me
email: vbchamber@gmail.com • www.vanburenmaine.com
Border Waters ice Fishing DerbyCraft Fair • Acadian village Fest
Muskie Derby • SummerfestMusee du Mont Carmel Fest
Christmas light Parade
Call fordetails!
2012 eveNTS
February 4, 5 & 6
april 30 - May 1st
august 11th - 15th
356 Main st. • Madawaska, ME 04756
Uscc snowmobilers raceFebruary 18th, 2012
Top o’Maine Trade showapril 28th & 29th, 2012
acadian Festivalaugust 9th - 12th, 2012
Madawaska’s7th annual art show
“MEET oUr coLors”august 10th & 11th, 2012
(207) 728-7000
An Acadien Odyssey: The Martin SagaA history of the Martins of Madawaska
by Charles Francis
— Aroostook County —
winter’s apples and vegetables, is now on
the Internet. It is the site of a geocache.
Geocaching is a twenty-first century
hobby. It came into existence with the 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
(Continued on page 40)
EvergreenTrading Co. LLC
EvergreenManufacturing
Allen MorneaultTruck Brokerage
Cliff CyrManager
791 Main StreetMadawaska, ME 04756
Tel. 207-728-4617Toll Free 877-416-9839
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255-11th Ave.Madawaska, ME 04756
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madawaska Pharmacy, LLC“Great Prescription Service is Our Business!”
Free Local DeliveryCall us to transfer your refills
(207) 728-7200877-499-7200
104 Main Street, Suite 101Madawaska, ME 04756
Mon-Fri 8am-7pm • Sat 9am-3pm
town of madawaskaeconomic & community
development office
Northeasternerly Most Town in the USA~ One of the Four Corners! ~
Planning And Creating
Strategies Through Public
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728-6351 328 St. Thomas St., Suite 101
Madawaska, ME 04756
www.townofmadawaska.com
LakESIdE PLuMBIng & hEatIng COMPany
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Fully Insured
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John D. Belanger
207-728-6547 • Cell 316-5648599 Main St. • PO Box 162 • Madawaska, ME 04756
Over 30 years experience
— Aroostook County —
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
(Continued from page 39)
your Hosts: bruce & Jean Ouellette
Snowmobilers Welcome• Telephones• Refrigerators Available• Remote Control Color TV• Complimentary
Continental Breakfast
martinsmotel.org
Hillside apartmentsone bedroom apartments for income eligible elderly, 62 years or older, or disabled. Private entrance from the
outside with a picturesque view of thevalley. monthly rent, including
utilities, is 30% of your adjustedincome. Cable TV at a low fee.
521 albert street • madawaska
728-4575monday - Friday 10am to 4Pm
g & r computer associatesGlenn Pelletier, owner
Sales
Service
Support
upgrades
virus Removal
207-728-7877262 Main Street, Suite 101 • Madawaska, MEwww.grcomputer.com
sales@grcomputer.com
Madawaska Co. Mill, Van Buren
Item #114565 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection
and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
do you love Maine like we love Maine?
Subscribe to Discover Maine MagazineSubscription Form on Page 36
Call 1-800-753-8684 • (207) 874-7720
www.discovermainemagazine.com
Other businesses from this area are featured in the color section.
— Aroostook County —
DiscoverMaine 41
engine machine shop
auto Parts & supplies
wrecker service
Transmission repair
Dupont automotive refinishes
sAndrA’s KItChen& PIzzA to Go
(207) 543-9369
GAry bAbIn’s
2-4 lb. Lobsters To GoFresh Lobster rolls
(207) 543-6901
358 main street • saint agatha, maine
~ Tanning Now Available ~
GroCerIes & MeAts
Transportation
Warehousing • Coal Sales
207-543-6607Mark • Dale
149 main st. • Po Box 188 • st. agatha, me 04772
R.F. Chamberland, Inc.
Baquacil • BaquaSpa • Chlorine
Nature 2 • Frog System
FranCine’s
207-543-5157Hours: Tues.-Fri. 10-6 • Sat. 8-12 • Or by appointment
Francine Lagasse • 183 Cleveland Rd. • St. Agathafrancinespools.com • email: francine@ainop.com
Doing business with you for 20 yearsCome in as a stranger, leave as a friend
Pools & sPas
“A family-style restaurant specializing in steaks & seafood”
* Banquet Facilities - Private Dining Room
* Cozy Atmosphere & Magnificent Views
* Open 7 Days A Week
9 Lakeview Drive (Adjacent to ITS 83)
St. Agatha, ME 04772 • 207-543-6331
Dick & Carol Derosier, Proprietorswww.lakeviewrestaurant.biz
The Rectory at St. Agatha. Item #117311 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection
and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
— Aroostook County —Discover
Maine42
St. Agatha Federal
Credit Union
207-543-7383315 Main Street
St. Agatha, Maine 04772
www.stagathafcu.org
Martin’s General storeFresh Meat
produce
Groceries
Diner Daily 8am-2pm
Gas state LiquorAgency
Dailyspecials
Gerry & Jennie Beaulieu247 Sinclair Road • Sinclair, ME 04779
Mon. - sat. 8am - 8pmsunday 8am - 6pm
207-543-6422
Fieldstone Cabins
& Rainbow Cove
RV Park
Access to ITS83Located on Madawaska Lake
• 5 Heated Cabins
• Satellite TV
• Pets Welcome
• Wireless Internet
Full RV Hookups • Boat Landing • Natural Beachfront
Anissa Levesque, Reservations
207-551-9319
kass815@yahoo.com
Roger Roy, Owner
207-768-1688
soucyroy@maine.rr.com
www.fieldstonecabins.com
Charette & Son DrywallSteve Charette: Owner
834-379526 South Perley brook Rd. • Ft. Kent Mills, ME
• Residential
• Commercial
• Sheetrocking
• Taping
• All Ceilings
• Licensed & Insured
nearly 30 years of experience
Convent at Upper Frenchville. Item #114411 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.
Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
Do you have agreat idea for a
story in Discover Maine?
If you would like to submit a story, just
contact our office with the details
Email us:
info@discovermainemagazine.com
Write to us:
10 Exchange Street, Suite 208, Portland, Maine 04101
www.discovermainemagazine.com
— Aroostook County —
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
(Continued on page 44)
Visit us online at www.fortkentchamber.com
j.r.S.
fIrEWooD834-4139 • 436-0841Seasoned wood cut to any length
or tree lengthfort Kent, Maine
j.r.S.
fIrEWooD
northern timbertrucking
834-6761or
834-2360
226 Market StreetFort kent Mills, Maine
scripture cake ToppedWith Burnt jeremiah
and other county delicacies
Aroostook County is rich in traditional foodsby Charles Francis
WHITE OAk, INC.Logging Contractor
156 main street, st. Francis, me
398-4131 • 398-4130mike nadeau, Vernal nadeau
NADEAU TRUCkING, LLC
154 main street
st. Francis, me
398-4130 • 398-3519
ground tek inc.
ExcavationConcrete Foundations/Slabs
Retainer Walls • Septic Sytems
Snow Removal • Demolition
Loam/Gravel Crusher Dust & Rip Rap Available
Bruce Plourde, President • fort Kent, maine
Over 15 Years experience & fully insured
207.316.3006
free estimates
— Aroostook County —
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
(Continued from page 43)
nadeaulogging, inc.
834-633818 First Avenue
Fort Kent, Maine 04743
207-834-2880
Your neighborhood drug storeCharles Ouellette, Owner/Pharmacist
182 Market Street • PO box 189Fort Kent, Maine 04743
571 Coldbrook Road, Exit 180Hermon, Maine
207-941-9600888-329-4950
PROuD TO BE A THIRD GEnERATIOn
fAMIlY-OWnED BuSInESS
www.daigleandhoughton.com
130 Market StreetFort Kent, Maine
207-834-6186800-638-8666
**SALES****PARTS**
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fort kent, maineSteven P. Pelletier, President
pelletierford.com
(207) 834-3173toll free: (877) 215-1760213 East Main Street • Fort Kent
FordCredit
RENT•ACAR
“Guiding your financial future”
9 east main st.
Fort Kent, maine
(207) 834-6167
90 main st.
madawaska, maine
(207) 728-4121
907 main st.
st. Francis, maine
(207) 398-3421
www.acadiafcu.org
herbert constructionand bear concrete systems
Residential & Commercial
Concrete work of all types
Jacking & Moving Buildings
1485 Caribou Road
Fort Kent, Maine 04743
Home 834-2347 • Office 834-4370
Cell 231-0059
— Aroostook County —
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
834-310335 west main street • Fort Kent, maine 04743
quigleysbuildingsupply.com
DORIS’ CAFE“The valley’s Finest home-Cooked Food”
Hours:monday-Friday 5am to 2Pm(serving Breakfast & lunch)
saturday 6am to noon(serving Breakfast only)
Closed sunday
Linda Daigle, Proprietor
834-6262345 market street • Fort Kent mills
caron & sonpaVing & sealing
• Free Estimates• All Work Done
on contract• We are Fully Insured• We Do Driveways• recaps • Patches• Parking lots • Sealing• lawns
lOrENzO cArON
834-5751Fort Kent, Maine
D&L DrivewaySealing
Patrick Caron834-5751
L&Sfirewood Inc.
Palletized Firewood
for SALEPICKUP ONLY
316-7368
Phones • air Conditioning
Cable tv • Private Decks
2 & 3 Bedroom apts.
hot tub suites •efficiencies
in-room Coffee makers
Continental Breakfast
Boat rentals • tanning Bed
Private Beach •Coin-op Laundry
Complimentary Wireless internet
Phill LeBoeuf3232 Aroostook Rd.
PO Box 347 • Eagle Lake, ME 04739
mention Discover maine magazine
and receive $5 off your next stay
(207) 444-4535
Fax (207) 444-6133
overlookmotel.com
Hospital at Eagle Lake. Item #100551 from the Eastern Illustrating &
Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org
— Aroostook County —
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
834-637710 Sly Brook Rd. • Soldier Pond
Kajais Redemptioncall for daily schedule
436-1297
7 Sly Brook Rd. • Soldier Pond, ME
Open Mon-Sat 5:30a-8:00p Sun 7:00a - 8:00p
BALd EAgLEManager: Tom Roy
Owners: John Martin & gary Voisine
Lottery Tickets • MEgABuCkS
grocery Items
Soda • Beer • Wine
Prepared Sandwiches
Videos
Propane • diesel • gas
The Consistent StoredAILy LunCh SPECIALS!
FuLL SERVICE TAkEOuT 10AM-7PM
Monday - Friday 5AM - 9PMSaturday 7AM - 9PMSunday 7AM - 8PM
3318 Aroostook RoadEagle Lake, Maine
444-5115Fax 444-4666
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!
— Aroostook County —
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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