In The Penobscot Bay

By: Patricia Perry Maclean
Corner 2

North Haven Island Mansion

Here on the east coast in the Penobscot Bay, I was born in the smallest city in the state of Maine called Belfast. Although living on the Atlantic Ocean all my growing years, the first memory I have of actually being on the water is a time when my Dad asked me to go on a trip with him to an Island. I was about 13 years old and he also told me I could take a friend with me to help occupy my time for a long weekend out to North Haven Island off the coast of Rockland.   Dad worked for the Lawrence family who owned the Sardine factories on the coast of Maine between the years 1936 to 1965. The factory in Rockland, Mr. Lawrence inherited from his father, and received the opportunity to purchase the factory in Bath in1945 located at the mouth of the Kennebec River on the rock bound coast of Maine.  Mr.& Mrs.Glenn Lawrence, living in Belfast; decided to build his own factory, located under the Belfast bridge at the end of the Pasagasqwake River as it feeds into the Penobscot Bay and my father was put into the superintendents position in this cannery, and my uncle Norman, Dads brother; married one of the Lawrence daughters there-for Dad became a friend to the Lawrence family. He also got to do other types of work for them, like being a care taker of their property’s, this brought him extra funds and one of his great loves is landscaping at his convinces, so he was asked to go to North Haven Island and open up and prepare a newly purchased mansion that was bought from a Mr. Hersock, that had been a stock broker from New York city, and get this ready for the Lawrence family to use for the summer months. For this reason, I got to go on my first excursion on the Penobscot Bay. We took a ferry out of the Rockland Ferry terminal, as we headed towards our destiny we approach another Island first, called Vinal Haven, there are; about 2000 Islands off the coast of Maine, but before I got to see North Haven Island, I remember the water being rough and riding the waves on such a large vessel was such a thrill I never did feel any fear. All of a sudden there was this large Island before us, I can still see the boat landing straight ahead as we pulled up to the ferry dock. Dad walking in front of me, I followed off the ferry up towards a large parking lot, where people would leave their vehicles as they come and go, on and off the Island. Dad made a comment that rather surprised me that Mr. Lawrence had left a jeep for us to use and as we approach it, I saw in the ignition; were the keys that were left for the next family member, who came to the huge summer estate; on an Island where everyone is trusted. Such a special place crossed my mind, as we were riding along a road winding up a hillside; glancing through the thicket of trees trying to get first glance of this mansion by the sea. Dad commented as the mansion came into sight, that it has been empty for 10 years and I became anxious to see what condition it would be in after so many years. We pulled up to the front entrance and we were now under a over hang that was attached to the structure of the house and it was certainly appreciated for it was raining and so much to carry in, groceries, cloths, roller-skates and other supplies we needed for a week-end in a mansion by the sea. As I passed through the foyer straight ahead was a lobby; this room had a large fieldstone fireplace that had over stuffed furniture that was of a very masculine material that appeared to be of either leather or naughanhyde. To the left side of this spacious lobby, I saw a billiards room, as I stepped into this room I noticed a huge painting on the wall of the civil war, mentioned to Dad what a beautiful job someone had done of this particular scene in our history and he replied that Mr. Hersock had painted it himself, I was impressed; coming back to the lobby, I found a set of French doors that opened into one of the two living rooms and this one had wicker and rattan furniture, the furniture appeared to be very old , the covers on the cushions were of an era gone by, made of raised  brocade pattern; worn and certainly had seen its use,  but some how gave it a warm friendly feeling that people had enjoyed their home here, high above the waves that pounded the shores. But still my arms full of groceries for the long weekend that was promised my friend June and me, turned in Dads direction and asked which way to the kitchen and we started to descend down halls and June and I counted 10 before we reached the kitchen (remembering how great the halls would be, to skate in.) and we had brought our roller skates with us just incase we could find a place to use them.

As we entered the kitchen I stopped to look it completely over, I think because of its size; I noticed the wood cupboards appeared to be of the same tongue and groove pinewood, as was on the hall floors; that we had just passed through but with glass fronts and you could see through to the fully supplied dishes of old white ironstone china and as my eyes gazed over to more cupboards and sported another complete set of cobalt design of flow blue coloring   with scalloped edge of wonderful pieces of soup tureens and large water pitchers and serving bowls that indicated to me that there had been a lot  of entertaining and probably a lot of people at a time, maybe whole families would come for holidays. Off to the left noticed a wooden sink and draining boards that had a look of years gone by to my eyes, remember Dad had said that this mansion had been empty for 10 years; so had no idea when it had been built. The stove had a name engraved on the fount of it that read  (Glenwood Stove) I thought that curious for Mr. Lawrence who had bought this estate, first name is Glen, it was a soft green in color and it was a combination of wood and gas. In the middle of the kitchen floor was a large wooden table, the cook used to cut up the vegetables and to make the pastries on. At the very end of the north wall there was a butler’s pantry, then my eyes caught sight of a small dining room, and Dad informed me that was specifically for the kitchen help and any other that would be employed, like possibly a gardener.  This dining room had small pains of glass windows on three walls and peering out I could see a court yard and paths made of small flat stones with ever green trees on the sides were now blowing in the soft summer rain and the wild rose bushes that live by the sea, were now getting a drink of fresh water.   As we were putting our supplies away, Dad beckoned us on to see more of this wonderful place sitting on a cliff over looking the huge waves splashing against the rocks below. I was anxious to move on and explore, we started back to the many halls and exited into a circular hall with beautiful oriental rugs scattered about and entered another dining room, I was staring at this huge room, and looked at the largest table I had ever seen, with eight chairs on each side plus one at each end, 18 people seated at one setting, but then I was thinking our table at home would seat all of us at once and there are 10 at this time.   As my eyes gazed the room there was one wall done all in glass, walking over to look out of this fascinating view for it looked straight out across the water and as I looked down on the other side of this view; there laid a huge sun deck that ran the whole length of the dining room and laying on this sun deck was a canvas that covered the complete floor and I knew now I had found a place for June and I to roller skate this weekend. Still so much more to see, turned to Dad; we will follow, lead us on; so back to the halls then he proceeded to what he called a chart room, because Mr. Herzog owned a yacht, beside the chart room; I could see a small library, it was still full of books just as if no one had ever been away from home .It had a long library table up under some shelves against a wall and in the middle of the room were two davenports, an English regency in a rosewood with black silk covering horse hair upholstery, another done in a brocade material. Turned to Dad and mentioned how it looked like people were living here, and he replied he had been here before to prepare it fore the summer, I guessed this time; maybe he didn’t want to come alone. I certainly found out why as we started up a staircase, it reminded me of an English cottage staircase because of the landing and turns as opposed to the traditional straight up to the second floor, as we rounded the corner we were at the end of this amazing looking hall with doors that lead, either to one of the 10 bedrooms or 8 bathrooms and several linen closets. Peeking in the bedrooms I discovered that all the beds were made and had white chenille bedspreads on them as if every bed were slept in every night, each room either had a commode with a set of pitcher and bowl placed on the top. I think for a nostalgic decoration, because of the 8 baths rooms they certainly were not needed, some rooms had some kind of a bureau that matched the bed or I also remember seeing a couple of rooms had a cedar chest and wardrobes.  The view from the west wing was of the sea but June and I selected to sleep together in a room that had a window view of the balcony below us off from the dining room and talked Dad into sleeping in the very next room to ours, so he was good and close during the night in that wondrous house in the Penobscot Bay.

Like all weekends that you do not want to come to an end, this one did; it had cleared when we got up Saturday morning and we had the sun to do what we wanted for the day. Dad got to do everything that he had planned before making the ferry Sunday after noon and headed for the main land as we were crossing on the ferry Dad pointed out one of Mr. Lawrence’s three fishing vessels that were used to bring in the sardines to the canneries.  The Edward M this one he had purchased, another one was named for his two grand daughters the Glenn Geary and also bought a Yacht that he had made over into his third fishing vessel and named that after his lovely wife The Grace L so with four sardine factories and three fishing vessels working, making their way to the Islands where the fisherman would sane for the sardines or heron and fill there supply before heading for the factories.

In Belfast Bay

A long time went by before I ever got a chance to get back out on the Penobscot Bay In the year 1969, twenty years later my brother Dougie ask me if I would like to take my youngest child Robbie, that was with me that day,( while we were  visiting  grandma Clair) and his daughter Kim down to the wharf and put his boat in the bay, he said he heard the mackerel were running,( now the wharf was what we called it during the years that the chicken industry were still dumping their waste) from both Poultry Co’s   Maplewood, and Penobscot ; so because all this Industry run off, people who had sail boats and the fishing vessels, would not use the harbor, nor would the large Yachts come in and tie up at a slip at the marina, because the water had chicken feathers and red tide. There were always a few people that would use the bay for some reason or other even with its problems and this particular day with mackerel in the bay, this was my chance to catch my first fish, Doug said the children can fish as well, as he was rowing the boat over in the direction of the big new bridge built in the year 1963 we approached the mouth of the The Passagasawaski River, I turned to Dougie and asked where did the river get its name; he replied it was named, by the Penobscot Indians; and the name means, the place where the sturgeon fish are speared by torch light, I was very surprised , you mean the fish we get caviar  from. This bay had sturgeon fish before white man settled in Belfast, Maine. I asked what happen to them, Dougie said they got fished out, like today we have fished out the cod.

As we fished that day I dreamed of catching my first fish and was wondering what it would feel like to have something on the line and the excitement of bringing it in. As I looked up to the town, gazing around; so many memories started to fill my mind, the poultry Co’ Both of them sitting in my view, had provided so many people in this area, with a way to make a living for many years. My Mom had her own farm with a large barn but it would need to be renovated, she and her second husband inquired around looking for someone to back them in their new venture. There were two different men that wanted to get in on the financing of four floors of the barn, and so this was done with, Moms husband Roland and the two backers all signing documents on how this would be done, and one day when I got off the bus coming home from school, the fall of 1949, the yard was full of vehicles; and people at work, carpenters built 4 floors in our old barn and it looked entirely different then; when I was younger and Dad had the care of riding horses and sheep, on the first floor as you stepped through the big barn door to the left, where Dad had kept the saddles and bridals and the grain room, was now a large elevator to carry the feed and water to all the chickens on all four levels, a coal bin was built beside that, also they had put in a ventilation center with two big air shafts on each floor. Six double-framed windows were put on both sides of the huge barn. Then Roland received tiny baby chicks they called broilers and they were kept for eight weeks before taken to market and this is the way the chicken business worked at the farm until 1958. Now a new process was introduced for how he would be working with chickens, The Maplewood Poultry Co. became the world leader for special breeding stock for hens and their eggs, each hen was put in an individual nest, the hen was tagged with a number and wore a band on her leg, each hen had a history kept on it, the eggs; from the farm, were shipped to south America and Africa to use as there breeding hens. Roland would receive a check at the end of every week, and part of those wages would be taken out, to pay on the debt of the barn.  In the year 1972, Roland became ill and could no longer work, and one evening visiting Mom one of the two people that financed the barn renovation came to the door, and passed Mom these documents and asked her to sign them, so she asked what kind of documents are you asking us to sign and he replied because of Roland no longer able to work and the debt not being paid off he would have to take over her properties, she answered him because of this small debt you think you are able to take my home and land that my grandfather and father left to me, this man became very red faced and became very angry he started saying unpleasant things so Mom asked him to leave but he kept up a very mean demeanor  Mother walked toward him and encouraged him to leave and he just stood his ground, little did he know(how hard Mom had worked all of  her adult life raising nine children ) keeping this farm working for her to supply a living for all of us , she was born here, in 1911, in the year 1907 her father and grandfather bought the farm and had 150 head of cattle, milked around 100 daily and delivered milk all over the Belfast area,  Mothers Mom died when she was four years old and was raised by her grandmother and the two men. So now this man that had made loan to them decided because of a small debt he was going to take it all away, at this time Mom was all the way across the room approaching this man that would not leave, all of a sudden Mom put him up against the wall, I immediately ran to her side and encouraged her let him go and mentioned, you can seek a lawyer. This person moved out of the house very embarrassed and I’m sure very upset for he was sent on a mission and accomplished nothing but a fight on his hands. Mom set out to find a lawyer she thought she could trust, she found one in another town; and to make sure he could be counted on and told him the whole story; and yes he was going to represent them, one Sunday when she was singing at the Methodist Church in the choir, (Mother was very talented with a beautiful voice,  (and had used it  professionally for a living, in her teens and her late twenty’s; she was facing the congregation and saw her lawyer come through the doors and sit down in a pew, so assuming he wanted to speak to her after the service for she had never seen him there before and him being from Camden, so after the service was over, made her way in the direction that he had been sitting but he was not there and never answered any of her calls after that day, never an explanation. So she and Roland represented them selves before the judge at the hearing, the judge discovered in the documents, that had been filed through the process of the divorce from my father that it had been all verbal, pertaining to the disposition of her place and then when she remarried, Dad and Roland signed all papers in the changing of hands of the farm that actually the only person that should have been doing this was my Mother because she had inherited the farm from her father, there for; nothing was legal that had taken place with Roland and the loaners, and ruled that everything that the loaner was trying to do in court was illegal, and the judge told Mom and Roland to pay the debt off, to these people and that the farm would remain as it had been since her people bought it in 1907, to the right full owners, and it was done. Mom and eight of her children rallied together paid the debt and there fore we decided to incorporate, the farmland.  This had flowed around in my head as the afternoon sun was slowly dipping down behind the high hill, that the town of Belfast is built on; and suddenly I heard Dougies voice saying that we would have to head back and we had no catch for the day.

Deep Sea Fishing

Two years later my brother David called me one evening and said that three of my brothers were going on a deep sea fishing trip and wanted to know if they should include me also and to bring any of my sons that would in joy a big fishing trip, wow; this for sure was my chance to catch my first fish (every one) caught a fish on those deep sea trips, so that evening put everything into motion that had to be done, because we would have to be ready very early in the morning, had to see how many of my boys would be able to go and it ended up being my youngest Robbie, he would need a lot of watching but for sure, he would really have a great day, although he was 7 years old at that time, and found out his favorite cousin Scott was going and cousin Kim who was his age. Also had to plan what to pack us to nibble on all day, sandwiches cheese and crackers plenty of cookies, for I had found being out on the ocean water; especially if your in big swells, that if your nibbling on something and keeping food in your stomach, that it will keep you from getting sea sick at least it does me. Now had to find a road map of Maine to get the southeast route to Owls Head from Waterville where we lived. Not sure how much sleep I got that night but rose early to find that the weather did not look promising, so I called my brother David and he reassured me that the trip had not been called off and we should be at the fishing village at the same time planed. As we pulled into the parking lot at the fishing pier, saw my brothers arriving at the same time My brother Charlie and his wife Brenda, David and his son Scott and Dougie drove in the parking lot with his daughter Kim, all had driven from Belfast. As we gathered up what we needed approached one of them and mentioned that the weather wasn’t looking very good for 20 miles out deep sea but no one paid much attention to me and looking anxious to move on, and we were told where to board the vessel and we climbed aboard on to the deck, and claimed our own area and put down our gear in our space to fish and then we got to meet our Captain of the day and his name was Bill, my brothers had been out with Captain Bill before and I could remember how impressed with this Old Salt and how I thought he looked the part so well, so now ; I guessed he must know exactly what the weather would do and the sea as well, so trusting his judgment. I looked a round, everyone seemed to be comfortable I was figuring, because I had brought my youngest child I was being overly cautious, acting like a Mother hen, and had better settle down and leave everything to the experts and soon we were off, cruising out of the harbor heading for an Island, so we could deep sea fish off the Island of   Matincus, suddenly Captain Bill was passing by, my claimed fishing area; I asked him, what the marine weather forecast had reported this morning, he replied; the storm that had been moving around the area was heading for the the north and up towards the Maritimes but as we made our way out in deeper seas, the sky became black and kept increasing in clouds that swirled around and formed in very gray colors and although I was not a weather forecaster I could see that we were in the middle of a storm, once again I looked around at the others to see if I was the only one that was concerned , I was feeling the waves hit hard against the fishing vessel I became very anxious and noticed different ones starting to grab onto something to place them selves a little more sturdy and with time passing I started to hold on to Robbie, of coarse he did not like this for he feared nothing; and was having a great time, laughing and conversing with his cousins, as water was splashing across their faces; then suddenly David’s son became very ill and as David held him so he could be sick over board in the water another man grab a hold on my brother, now things seemed to be getting out of hand. It was rough and as the waves hit against the side of the boat the water seemed to be higher and more of it, and we were all getting very wet. I knew now I had to do something to make sure my son did not get hurt I pulled him up very close to me and securing him against his will, finally Captain Bill announced that the storm had turned back around on us and for all of us to hold on to something because he was going to turn the boat around (It’s hard to ex press what I was thinking) because we had all been holding on for dear life, what are we going to be encountering suddenly my eyes caught sight of a ladder that went up to the bulk head, took a hold of Rob real firm to establish who the parent was here, and pressed  his body up tight to the ladder and wrapped my self around him to reassure him that he could not be up and off before I could reach him, I knew he was not happy; but could not take a chance of him getting washed over board, as the boat was turning around, we did seem to bend deeper into the waves and was a bit rougher then it had been but we made it and remember thinking, thank God now we’ll head back to the main land; when Captain Bill tried to anchor the fishing boat, this made me even more frightened; we were being tossed and soaked by the sea, but as hard as he worked at it, the anchor would not grab hold, ( later that day my brothers told me why this was done, had the anchor grabbed; we would have had to put our fishing lines out so he could charged us for the fishing trip) but it would not anchor so finally the vessel headed toward the direction of the coast as I was saying a prayer and thanking God that we were still ok and thinking that was an adventure I never would forget. As I looked back my mind started to reminisce about my friends that had died in a storm right here on the rocks, off the Island of Matinicus in this vicinity; my memory took back to when we still lived in the Bangor area, where Robbie was born; but this particular day a friend from Brewer across the river from Bangor called me and wanted me to go with her to visit another of our friends and Shirleys best friend and said Sonia wanted to tell us in person some news, so sure enough Shirley pick me up, and we went to Sonny’s house for coffee, that was her nick name; even though we had been together at social events many times and seemed to in joy each others company, sent one another Christmas cards, this was the first time I had been in her home.  She started with her husband Dean and I have made a decision, we are going to sail down to Bermuda in our Sailboat and take another couple with us next spring, we will start out of Camden Harbor down to Boston, on down the east coast; then sail on over to Bermuda. Well about that moment my eyes caught sight of a little girl name Julie about six years old, then another girl around four and Sonny introduced us to a baby boy. As we sat talking and listening to Sonny tell us of their plans to sail to Bermuda, suddenly she began to express fear that she had, of not making it back; and that she had taken out another insurance on her and Dean just incase they didn’t make it back, Shirley was her best friend and she asked her why do you go if you fear for your life, Sonny hesitated, then replied that she would never be able to live with Dean if she did not do this sailing trip with him; he had talked about it for a very long time and now the plans  were being made. Little did I realize how well she knew, what she was talking about, one morning in our news paper, the Morning Sentinal;( where we had moved to the fall before shortly after my visit to the Footmans home) in Waterville on May 28,1970. Head lines read Ketch Wrecked, four sailing to Bermuda; heavy seas off Mass. Coast, must of made them turn back The Thalassa towards the coast of Maine (4) drowned, Charles Meyer a Doctor owner of the sail boat and his wife Sandy 35, of Orono; Dean Footman owner of Footmans Dairy in Brewer and his wife Sonia 28. Their bodies were found by Fisherman near the Island of Matinicus, three were found among the rocks and Dean was found tied to the mast, the skiff was found deep in the neck of the remote Island 12 miles off the coast between Boothby Harbor and Rockland, the wreck occurred at Lobster Cove on the ocean side of the rugged West Penobscot Bay, they were members of the Bucks Harbor Yacht Club and had long planned to sail to Bermuda, the Thalassa had left Camden Harbor some10 days ago, seas running 10 ft. high. Their bodies were taken to the Boothby Funeral Home. Suddenly I was looking towards the mainland. I begin to feel a little more confident about getting back to shore, although the storm was still upon us, I was able to put back in my memory of my friends that drowned; and I lost my fear of the sea once again. I wanted my child safe, this had not been a pleasurable fishing trip but it certainly had been adventurous. As we approached the Owls Head fishing wharf, my brothers took up a collection for the boat but we did not have to pay the regular fee, and I will have to remind you I still have not caught my first fish.

My First Fish

Finally again I was invited to go with my family, deep sea fishing off Owls Head, out 20 miles where the big fish are, I was told so; with this invitation could not pass up my chance to catch the big one thinking now the year was 1976 and at this time two of my sons Shawn who would be 14 and Robbie would be 11, but they were getting to be big guys so would feel a little more secure in there abilities to take care of them selves but was excited for them to have the adventure I was looking forward to. It was a beautiful day the sun was shining, it was broadcasted, to be great marine weather the wind would be in our favor, blowing at 15 knots and I was hoping to get the old salt Captain Bill and have a better experience then four years previous. So we packed our lunch consisting of sandwiches fruits, dessert, and plenty of water, so we could eat all day for this is one time you eat for your health. Finally arriving

At the Owls Head Harbor, everyone was gathering together; that would take this particular fishing boat and head out to deep waters, I love the feeling to look away from land and see nothing but water everywhere, the peace that over powers a person, it rests the mind, relaxes the body and you can get, far  away,  from all your responsibilities. Out we went and guess if you kept going, the first land you would see; would be England, but the Captain stop his vessel, and oh yes it was, the old salt; Captain Bill and I did want to forgive him for my previous trip, when we were caught up in a storm out this far in the Penobscot Bay. It was a perfect day to go deep sea fishing and finally Captain Bill anchored the boat and we got down to fishing, and we had all put money in a pool, and this meant, who so ever caught the biggest fish, would get to keep the money which would be a considerable amount because there were 20 people aboard; this was to be a fun day, so when we got the word over the side of the fishing vessel went our poles, and finally today would be catching my first fish; the big one, I had heard so much about. All of a sudden people at the stern, were pulling in a fish and then it seemed to continue on different areas of the boat and all around me, then I saw one person bring in his second fish; and more began to bring in their second fish, this was very disturbing then someone caught their third fish, so I spoke to the Captain and told him I have not caught a fish yet, why is that I asked; when some have caught two and three. His reply was, you will. He was calm and very reassuring and the morning wore on, my young sons had caught a couple of fish so knew we had some to take home, to help justify paying for a deep sea fishing trip. About noon I had reconciled the fact that I was not a fisherman. When all of a sudden Captain Bill screamed so load he scared me to death and this is what he said; everyone haul in your fishing lines, fast and then he said; whale, haul in your lines so the whale will not get caught up in them, everyone was bringing in their fishing lines, as fast as they could turn the real, there at the stern of the boat; something caught my eye, never did I ever imagine seeing a great gray whale, he came straight up very high I thought, for something that weighs tons, he was spouting water like a huge fountain he was strutting his stuff, this was something to behold for sure I was impressed, never did I think I would see a whale out in the Penobscot Bay, my day had been made. But once he went down he did not show himself again. I just stood there with a WOW. Then Captain Bill gave us the go ahead to put our fishing lines back in the ocean, then I got hit; hard and heavy and my line was slipping out of the pole fast; something had my line and I screamed out, I’ve caught the whale, I was struggling with the pole, by now; Captain Bill started over my way, and with a very calm voice he said no but you have caught your first fish, now everyone on the boat knew I didn’t have a fish, and I replied to the Captain but he’s so big I can’t bring him in, expecting him or one of my brothers to come to my aide, of coarse they were watching me, as Captain Bill said, if you don’t bring it in, no fish; guess there are  rules on a fishing vessel that I didn’t know about, by now I was holding on to the fishing line for dear life and just a winding and reeling, and thought, you know; this is going to get the best of me, what ever is on this line was big; as I barely could move the reel, not even an inch at a time, all of  sudden I saw him; I had worked him close enough to catch a glance at this fish I honestly thought was the whale, and then he came up out of the water into the boat and I was looking at my first fish 181/2 pd. Code, immediately thought of the pool and how much money might be in it, for sure no one had a fish of this size. As the afternoon wore on my chances looked better for the pool, then all of a sudden, a twelve year old boy, brought up a 22 pd. Pollock fish and I lost the pool money but still the day was special because I had seen a whale and had caught my fish, this was something I would never forget.

BELFAST Bay FESIVAL:

Every summer as far back as I can remember they have had a big summer Festival, in the early 50’s they had what they called The Broiler Capital of the World, and this was because of the chicken industry that came into Belfast in the forty’s and that established a whole new inanity to the area, farms that no longer were using there barns; had lost their way of living because of the depression in 1929, so after the second world war in the late forty’s people got the opportunity to change their horse and cattle barns into chicken barns, there fore the chicken business was established in Belfast, this where my whole family lives even today, its where we all celebrate special occasions; birthdays, graduations all holidays and support one another, so with the bay being right there, two of my brothers getting ready to buy themselves some kind of a pleasure boat and go out on the bay, they both love to fish so aside for the pleasure of seeing some Islands, using them for evenings on the bay, they would be doing a lot of fishing. My brother David did get the first one and it was called a White, now those are made here in the state, in Old Town; nice sea worthy 21 ft. craft. Now on the Summer Festival in the month of July, they would start the week off by putting a carnival in the Belfast Park, they also would have many different types of activities places to eat, big chicken barbecue tent, hot dog stands, they had many programs for children, every year they would have the catch a pig contest; they would grease the baby pigs and put them into a penned area and when they blew the whistle the kids would jump in with them and try to catch there pig and in order to keep him, you had to hold him in your arms for a few seconds. There were other games and prizes, that were always put on by the different hard working organizations in town, they also had a mackerel fishing contest, this was created to encourage people to get out into the Bay and fish and this was the time of the year the mackerel are running  (what this means is they are coming in large amounts like in a school of fish) if you like fish these are salt water mackerel and they are good, so while the Belfast Bay Festival was going on, two car company’s in town would make a fun time of fishing by catching a mackerel or two or three, putting a tag on them with their names Ford and Chevrolet then releasing them back, into the ocean and if you caught one that had the car company’s name on it you got to win one of there new vehicles, this was all insured by The Lloyds of London because of the expense involved,  they also had a fishing contest of who had the biggest stripped bass fish would win money, at the end of the week, this was sponsored by the active organization called The JC’s in which my brother David was president that year, and I was there when the winner was announced and it was Davids youngest son Troy who had caught him a 12lb. striped bass and won. On Saturday they always have a big parade, in the middle of the week at the park; they would hold a beauty and talent contest and she would be named The Beauty Queen (in the year 1950 my best friend and I had been at her grandfathers camp at Half Moon Pond and in the eves of the camp we found two 1920 bathing suits Anita came up with the idea that we should put these suits on and go to the crowning of the queen; that year it was named The Poultry Capital of the world .as we were walking to the park in our  fashionable bathing suits, people started taking our pictures and have us pose more and more, by the time we reached the park, a gentleman approach us and ask if he could interview us on the stage, we agreed; and he used the microphone, and ask us to explain all about our outfits, and how we came up with the idea and encouraged us to have a great day, after we were on stage, they had a talent show; different people performed, then on came the girls, that were trying out, for poultry queen, I can remember the girl that won I was so impressed, she was a true Marilyn Monroe type. I had heard them say that she came from Lincohnville Beach area and was very poor, but she sure was pretty, she had a wonderful personality and deserved it. On that Saturday at the end of the week they always held the most wonderful parade; they went all out for flouts and the queen rode in a 1950 Chevrolet, and the Shriners performed on there horses, later years they used other things, but back in the fifty’s they rode beautiful horses, and aunt Mary ask us if we would like to ride in her second world war jeep with her two girls, Glenn and Gary so Anita and I got to ride in the Parade that year. In the summer of 1979 my brother David bought his boat The White, he invited, my family; and other family members who ever wanted to go, for the evening in the bay to watch the fire works from the water instead of going to the park, they always set off fire works to complete the weeks celebration of Belfast days.

ISLESBORO and BUTTER ISLAND

In 1980 Dougie invited me to go out in the Bay on a picnic said he had found an Island that he wanted me to see. I had recently got a divorce and Dougie was constantly in touch with me to how I would be getting a long and believe me I could use all the family outings and support that any of them could muster up, actually think he and his wife Dotty called or spent every weekend with us, us being Shawn and Robbie still were home with me, Shawn for one more year before he graduated from high school and then joined the army and went to Hawaii for three years and returned then went to Farmington University of Maine and studied business, Rob for three more years before he graduated from high school with honors and had his own band and sang and played the drums. Doug had bought his first sea worthy boat 18ft. Corson Craft and he and Dotty had been out in the Penobscot Bay looking at some of the Islands and had found a couple that so impressed him and wanted to share them with us , Brent was home visiting on leave from the Navy; and was able to go too, Dougie said bring the guys and we will spend the day out on the Bay what a thrill get back to riding the waves, as a couple of Dolphins came along side of the boat to precision  swim beside us, frolic and play. I just sat back looked up at the Sunday skies to see what they had to offer and become so relaxed all over, a day off from work; while Dougie was heading for the Island of Islesboro; the shore we were putting in; you can see from the town of Belfast but the Island runs for about 10 miles and on the other end, a ferry goes back and forth several times a day for the residents and tourist, there are some very famous people who have homes on it, like (Kirstie Alley) and the all time favorite as far as I’m concerned ( John Trovolta) they both have year round estates. At different times, John has been seen at the Belfast movie theatre running one of his movies for his family. But on this day was the first time I had ever set foot on this Island, so close to the shores I had grown up on. As we sat on the beach speaking of how close it was to Belfast Harbor we decided that we would return and explore the whole Island at another time (and we did just that several years later) and at that time Kimberly had her baby girl she named Kaily with us, and we got caught in a terrible thunder shower and had to wait the storm out in a museum, reading about the history of the Island telling about the first settlers, to visitors like Indians and pirates the English, just fascinating; as to who lived and settled those 2000 Islands off the coast of Maine, hundreds of years before our time. For now Dougie wanted to move on and take us to another Island he had found and couldn’t wait for us to see and we headed out to sea and finally we came upon the Island called Butter, as we approached this newly explored area for me, Dougie told us that he would have to anchor out in deeper water, and go into the beach with his small dinghy, so we began to pack everything we had for a picnic and swimming, this shore had a beautiful beach, that we were heading into, the closer we came to Butter I noticed we had it all to our selves, but as we climbed out onto the soft sand and got a chance to gaze around began to see evidence, that others had been here doing exactly what we had planned, a small camp fire had been burning possibly the night before, lobster claws on the sand and empty clam shells, Dotty and I got out the beach blanket and laid it down, then the  children’s  towels so they could get into the water, and we began to prepare for a much looked forward to, picnic (in the cold Maine winters that last almost forever, you dream of a picnic on the warm sand)  and as we sat there just relaxing , I started to feel great about our heritage, being born in such a beautiful state and loving the water as I do, now being able to get out on the Bay, and see exactly what is here off the coast, these Islands that were inhibited by humans that discovered  them, that came from all around the world ,lived on them, farmed the earth, raised their families, some traded their Islands for other things and finally people began to buy them. Suddenly Dougie spoke of us having something wonderful to see, so we cleaned everything up and packed it back into the dinghy, for Dougie wanted us to follow him towards a wooded area, and walked onto a path that took us slowly up, as we climbed we admired the foliage, and different flowers, the wild roses with the rose hips attached, I guess they love the sea air and the sandy soil for they grow in abundance, as we seem to get high on a hill side we stepped into a field following Dougie he crawled up onto a large boulder and took our hands and pulled us up to see the most spectacular view as my heart raced I felt like I was in the South Sea Islands for in front of me you could see for ever and there were many Islands just sitting out there in the Penobscot Bay. Amazing the beauty that you have in your own state, but we travel round other states and admire look and seek to see as much of the world as possible and all of a sudden you find that you may have a special little corner of the world yourself, but as we were sleeping in the Penobscot   Bay, the largest credit company in the world fund us and said perfect spot to put an extension of the MBNA Co. into, first they found beautiful little Camden, and in the town very close to there Bay, there laid an empty old woolen mill, they bought this and turned the building into architectural master piece, where they have a call center, and put 1,000 people to work and it became the talk of Maine, then they approached Belfast and told them they would like to come into their town also and Belfast  welcomed them into there sleeping village, and bring some clean industry in, for the town people and surrounding area would have a chance at earning a decent salary and have benefits and the economy could come back in this area .For the chicken business had left and moved south, left Belfast with out work like the shoe business had done, left the town with  buildings, that needed to come down, so MBNA bought several of these areas, one of the  poultry factories and an old grain storage facility, both were on the water front, had them removed they were such an eye sore to the town that was settled by the Irish in 1779, then they turned around and made a beautiful park, landscape; the area put in a special boat house with a community center and gave the whole thing back to the town, they have donated money to the library; and other badly needed help to organizations such as putting a base ball field, putting money into the YMCA and employed 2,500. Yes this co. has come in with pride and treated this area in the Penobscot Bay from Camden to Belfast as it should be, a special cozy corner where Yachts may come and go an air- port that has been in Belfast since the second world war which makes it easier for the Companys executive’s to come and go, as needed. So I believe MBNA has been the right business to of found a place, where they are happy; also improved an area that needed someone that could really utilize its potential.

THE SALMON POOL:

In the summer of 1982 Dougie and Dotty were planning a trip by boat up the Penobscot River and asked me if I would like to go and anyone else in my family that would be interested, they also commented that it would take us a full day and plan to spend the night at their home; it worked out that my oldest in son Jeff could do the trip with us, he was back in the Waterville area after serving three years in the army and was now attending the State Police Academy in town, this would give us the opportunity to he spend some special time together and one of  Jeff’s favorite leisure activities is fishing.  As we climbed aboard the Perry’s pride at the Marina in the Belfast Harbor, I started thinking of the first time Doug took me out in the bay in sail boat he had home made and now we were in a big Chriscraft, this is when he started exploring the Islands out in the Bay, they stretch from Appledore off the shores of New Hampshire to St. Croix, near the Canadian border. Many of them are so small, that they seldom appear on maps, yet; each one has its own sovereign importance, its memories and exciting history. Since the first European explorers sailed along the Maine coast early in the 1600’s, the Islands have seen battles, shipwrecks; Indian massacres and more peaceful interludes of fishing and farming.  Millionaires, artists and missionaries have settled on the Islands and pirates have made port there. Dougie had been exploring from Camden to Bar Harbor, and this particular day he wanted to head up the Penobscot river to fish in the salmon pool in Bangor, it was a beautiful day, the skies were clear and it was very warm, I was filled with great enthusiasm, I remember the turn as we came out of the Atlantic Ocean and headed up the river, under the Bucksport bridge and passing by the historical fort Knox, this was the scene of naval battles during the war of 1812, for a time the cities and towns along the Penobscot  as far up as Bangor were virtually in possession of the British, but had won our independence, and I couldn’t help but feel the majesty of her strong hold to keep free, and show we will be revolutionized and were. But soon the river and the scenery took my mind off the men and women that fought and died so we could be doing exactly what we were up to, looking for adventure, and ours was heading for the salmon pool, as the morning moved on suddenly I saw a small harbor ahead and asked what harbor is this; funny how land marks look so different, in the water then from the towns I had driven through all my life, on the highway. Then Dougie answered that this was Winterport Harbor as we motored up to the dock, and said this is a fine place to take a break and have our lunch and talked of how different it felt to see another side of a town or city and spoke of why we could never get Dad to go with us on one of these boating excursions, he will come down to the marina and see us off but will not go out in the ocean waters with us, little did we know that particular trip how bad we would need him from the land side, on our return trip. We casually made our way up the Penobscot River seeing the sights that look so different from the water side of the view that I had always seen from land, looking up at cliffs and trees climbing up hillsides making everything so majestic and high, such a   wondrous feeling riding along knowing that one time Lumber kings worked this water way, two tugs would tow as many as 27 lumber schooners, lashed in groups of three abreast; down river to the open sea. As we came into Bangor, the big tankers came into view and the new bridge that was used to go from Bangor to the Brewer side, for there was another; we had to pass under referred to as the old bridge, to get to the salmon pool, ahead of us was the big dam that jets out from the land that holds the Eastern Maine General Hospital, so here at the bottom of the dam, is the Salmon Pool is located and has taken half the day to reach, where the mysterious salt water fish that makes its way to fresh water, as so it can spawn; just one fish was all I was asking for, the thrill of catching a salmon but this never happened; didn’t get the chance to catch and release, and brag how I caught a salmon in the salmon pool, when suddenly Jeff looked up at the sky in the direction, of where we had come and had to return; which was south, he spoke to Dougie about the  black horizon and ask what was the marine for cast this morning and Doug replied not that, and added everyone gather up your beach wares and fishing gear and load the boat and we headed back towards the dark sky. As we weaved the boat down the Penobscot and passed under the two bridges, I remembered once reading, the broad deep waters of the river could not only float millions of logs from sawmills up river but were navigable to large freighters, for some years; Bangor many miles from Belfast was the busiest lumber export center in the world. As we were going past the big oil tanks I also remembered reading, that during the 1860’s as many as 250 vessels, schooners square riggers, down Easters have been in port at one time. Also before the bridge was built between the two cities you could walk across the boats and ships to the other side for they were so thick. Now I can see we are approaching the Hampden line, this for sure brought back memories for this was where we were living when Robbie my 4th son was born (now as an adult he likes me to call him Rob) Robbie seem to fit him perfect, when he was born he had red hair, and a clear white complexion and the pinkest checks, he certainly looked different then my three sons before him, Shawn had a mass of dark hair, and his complexion looked like he had tanned, either in the sun or a tanning booth, Jeff my oldest son was born at Ft. Monmouth New Jersey in 1955 and was 10 when Rob was born, Brent my second child was born in Karlsrhue Germany in1958 while we were in Europe, doing a three year tour for the army and he was 7, years old when our youngest was born, so I was rather busy with four sons, when we lived in Hampden; but the friends we made have lasted a life time. Janet Bowler, was such a special friend, she was generous and kind even though she had 3 children, she reached out and helped me, with mine; she was very wealthy in her own right, her parents had been very successful and she was an only child, Janet died at the age of 45, before I truly got to know how much I valued her friendship, she had so many qualities that made my heart soar when I was in her presence, her memory has a burning light in my heart. Barbara Leavitte lived across the street from us, her husband Bud Leavitte was a sports columnist for the Bangor Daily News, Barbara and I became very good friends over the period of 5 years we lived there, Bud was so popular with famous sports people, one day she called me on the phone and invited us to bring the boys over to meet the Baseball hero of all times, Ted Williams, (so I asked my husband who is Ted Williams and he replied only the most famous baseball player ever, hu! I said I thought Joe Dimargio was, I had remembered him for he had been married to Marilyn Monroe; anyway this special Barbara was very talented and was always doing something creative and when we arrived she had blown up balloons to make the occasion festive and the boys got autographs from Ted, he had brought with him a vogue model who was outstandingly beautiful and later became the mother of Ted’s only son. And of coarse have to mention that Bud gave my brother Dougie his bird dog Jack, and Jack really got a break in life for Doug took great care of him. But how my mind was tearing at my heart as we sailed on passed Hampden descending down the river looking up to see long pastures rolled away to the rivers edge, each one was bounded by sturdy rock walls, all of a sudden coming up on our right was Winterport Harbor where we had our picnic lunch at noon, where we were relaxing taking our time but now we were trying to beat the storm at sea; as we came down by the fort at Bucksport it was still very dark looking towards the ocean where we had to go to head into the Penobscot Bay, as I looked up to the town of Bucksport, I remembered reading what an important role it played in the busy lumber transport scene, protected by fort Pownal (1759) the site of the present Fort Knox, more and more settlers moved into the Bucksport area, until; by 1776 there were some twenty seven families and an army of 14 soldiers. This army marched to Castine to join the unsuccessful Penobscot Expedition against the British. In reprisal, the ship of was Nautilius after the American retreat from the siege of Castine anchored in Bucksport Harbor and landed a crew of men who set fire to the town while the inhabitants fled through the woods But the area was resettled in 1784, and by 1801 Bucksport was one of the largest towns in the eastern section of Maine. Now as we were traveling under the Waldo Hancock Bridge looked up to see the huge structure that was started in 1920 and wasn’t completed until 1931 it was built so high so that the tankers could pass under. It was dark as we were passing by Verona Island, this Island has out standing history to it also, Dad was named after the Admiral Robert E. Peary who’s ship the Roosevelt, that he was navigating when he discovered the north pole; was built right here at Verona Island. In 1904 to 05 the company called Dix of New York, began building ships for the artic. The man that designed her, Charles Dix was not only a ship builder but a sea man himself, an artic traveler who new what a vessel should have in order to survive in the ice. He gathered his materials from as far as the Rio Grande. The keel was constructed of an oak wood, which had been soaked in ocean water for 25 years at the Portsmouth Navy Yard. She was covered with steel braced, trussed and bolted to the utmost. Her sides were about three feet thick. She had five watertight bulkheads and a deep well, that was so a diver; could go down to make repairs. The theory was that she would rise under pressure and not cave in. The Roosevelt was the last ship built at Verona Island. At least the Industry did not peter out miserably but went out in a blaze of glory. The history here on the Islands in the Penobscot Bay is of abundance. As we approach the turbulent ocean waters, out at the mouth of the river, and 8to 10 ft. waves are hitting the side of the haul of the Chriscraft, the Perrys Pride; was it up for this. I had all the confidence in the world in my Captain but it was reminding me of the deep-sea fishing trip a few years back. The waves were splashing and getting us wet, as I looked back and could make out the end of Verona Island with her precipitous wooded banks and us leaving the deep gorge far below, thinking perhaps we should not try for Belfast Harbor in this storm, Dotty was upset and frightened and I remembered that feeling; although I was not afraid, I think because I trusted Dougies judgment, and knew he would not put us in any danger, but the waves were hitting the boat hard, it just seemed like we were not making any head way, then he made the decision, we had better take the boat back to Bucksport Harbor tie it up to a mooring for the night and called Dad to come and pick us up instead of taking any chances, so he did just that; turned the boat around, had plenty of room, didn’t seem to be any one else out there in that vast ocean but us. The next morning Dougie went after his pleasure boat and almost made the mistake of his life, the weather for cast was a nor Easter; and that’s the kind of weather that fisherman have to get out of the water for; its so dangerous, the wind blows so hard, but Doug is not a fisherman; and believed he could bring the boat back to Belfast alright, but confessed to us, by not putting on his life jacket; when he first started on his return trip, out of the Bucksport Harbor, he found; after he got back out to the Penobscot Bay that the weather was totally different then it had been on land; the nor Easter was still there, the winds were very strong and it was very rough, and he was never able to leave the helm to grab the life jacket, there for; had the Perrys Pride gone over, like he thought it was going to do a couple of times, he told us that he would of never of made it. I knew then, he thought he had made a terrible mistake in ever thinking that he could take his boat back to the Belfast marina in that type of weather, and it was his first experience of seeing the dangerous ocean in her majestic power and knowing who is in command and a good seaman will learn that lesson, the hard way, but for the grace of God Doug lived to tell that story.

Holbrook Island:  A young women and her baby left alone

A couple of years went by, before I was asked to go back out in my wonderful Penobscot Bay, I was seeing a man who I had met, 2 years after I was divorced; Kenneth Maclean and I were asked to go to an Island off the coast of Castine with Dotty and Doug, Dougie had been out to this Island and wanted us to see how pretty it was, so once we were in the Bay, we headed to Castine where the Maine Maritime Academy is located, from we headed to the Island that I had never seen and as the boat was sailing across the beautiful blue water we started talking about the saying (down east) and where it originated from, I said; I had read that even before Maine was declared a state and was still a part of Massachuetts, that the wealthy people of the Boston area, when they would take their passenger boats or sail their schooners to get away from the summer heat or go on a holiday, they would speak of going down east where it is cooler, actually the prevailing winds run up wards, therefore; its not correct, but it was referred to in that fashion, and caught on, to the point of it becoming a place where everyone knew that was the most easterly area, in our country; before you enter into Canada. I was looking forward to seeing the island Holbrook and the way Dougie had spoke of thick forest and salt water meadows and lots of wild flowers blowing in the wide open fields, laying flat to the sea; and that it had white sand beaches to come ashore on. Suddenly, I started to gaze over the blue waves and my memory took me to the day we were out celebrating my son Shawn’s 18th birthday, in asking him what he would love to do the most for his birthday, and he replied that a ride out in the Penobscot Bay, so I called Dougie and Dotty and said we would love to have a ride in the Perry’s Pride and they agreed and I baked a cake and we did, what Shawn wanted most for his birthday but it didn’t surprise me for, when he had his 12th birthday we had ask what he would most want to do for that birthday and he wanted a trip to Massachuetts, to Woods Hole; where they have the Marine Biology Laboratories, Shawn showed all the signs of wanting to study Oceanography, but after serving 3 years in the Army in Hawaii, he came back to Waterville, then he decided to go to University of Maine, Farmington; and there he majored in Business; but while running a business for a women who was  wholesaling  Maine products to Japan and Russia, was approached by the buyer from Japan and was asked if he was a diver and Shawn replied that he was; and was asked to dive for sea urchins and sell to him; and Shawn got his chance to work out in the ocean; just like he had always showed the signs of his future of making his living out in the Penobscot Bay, where today he is also a Lobsterman. It made me realize, as a child is growing and maturing and start to show a big interest in; is possibly what they will have as a career, and the type of work that will make them happy, when my oldest child was very young he always was playing with guns on his hips, so thought he wanted to be a cowboy, as such; but as he grew to be an adult, and severed in the army, where he got a lot of training with guns, he returned to Maine and received a Associates degree in Criminal Justice at the U.M. in Augusta. Then went to the Maine State Police Academy, because of being color blind; could not work for the state Police but became a deputy sheriff for Ellsworth, Maine and always remind in the reserves, first with the army national guard then moved on to the Maine coast guard, and got called back on active duty in Tampa Fl. after 9/11/01 and today is still packing guns on his hips. Brent my second son, as he was growing into 8th and 9th years, we began to see a philosopher always trying to explain how and why, he also showed a lot of interest in being in plays and was very good at it, he always was very active in the church and we joined the Methodist Church in Waterville in the year 1970, and gave the four boys a religious foundation but Brent always stayed with it faithfully, he joined the Navy right out of high school; served 4 years in the Mediterranean, based out of Norfolk Virginia, he had planed to attend the U.of M.in Orono, after he was discharged, but as he was driving up through North Carolina, stop in Ashville; fell in love with there Liberal Arts College, The Warren Willson; and enrolled in it for 4 years, their he did very well in plays; had the lead parts and later out of college wrote 2 screen plays for sure I thought he would pursue this avenue, in Ashville; Brent met his wife at the same college, and they had my first grandchild, my first girl; a red head baby girl; and they moved on down to Atlanta, where he got a job with a Company called Custome Inclosure, he was a designer and made blue prints. Brent also set up Drug and Alcohol Centers, through out the Carolina’s and Georgia, and was a councilor for years for them. Robbie my youngest son, was a very active as a child; he started to show his musical abilities at a young age and one night, we had friends come to the house; and bring their musical instruments and his fathers close friend Paul Barrows left his drum set in the area he had been playing and it was a week before he returned for them, Rob had crawled up onto the stool and it seemed, as though; Robbie never stopped playing the drums that whole week, it gave me the idea, if he got some drum lessons and he had his own drum set; I would know where he was most of the time; it would fulfill some of his anxieties and release some energy in a positive way, talking it over with his father we decided how good this would be for him and Robbie did play the drums very well and by the time he was a freshman in high school he auditioned for a country band and got the job, so he was out nights playing with bands, through out; all his high school years, his sophomore year he and two friends started their own Rock and Roll band went out and played for The Special Olympics at Colby College, and after graduating from high school, formed another Band; and gave up playing the drums, and did all the singing in this band and he named it Armed and Dangerous, but later gave up his musical talents and started his own business, out of his home, setting up Web Sites for Professional Business’s from Maine to Atlanta. I’m remembering back of how the boys had grown up and how often we had come to the Penobscot Bay or even the lakes of Maine, but for now Dougie was heading for an Island that he himself, explored, and now he wanted to share how remote it was; when suddenly he asked us in the boat, if we could make out that speck; far off on the horizon. Of coarse we were to far away and had to wait until we had gotten closer to make any kind of judgment, so instead of heading for the Island, Dougie turned the boat and we headed to the object that seemed to be setting against the horizon as we all began to investigate; then we got close enough to make out that it was flouting or drifting with the tide, all of a sudden we could make out someone on a wind surfer, as we got close enough much to our surprise, it was a 9 or 10 year old boy, he must have gone out a little to far, without any one to of noticed him in trouble, and the wind must of died down, and left him to the ocean tide and possibly not being very experienced, had no control of what was happening. Dougie spoke to him and asked if he was alright, but he didn’t seem to want to respond, then Doug and Ken conversed for a few minutes, and they decided to throw a rope for him to hold on to and we would just pull him along, to see how that would work, for he didn’t seem to want to come aboard with these strangers and already appeared to be in shock; so as to not frighten him anymore, Dougie asked, did he come out of Castine Harbor and he replied that he did, so Dougie turned the back in the direction from where we had come and slowly pulled the wind suffer, as we approached the harbor we could see that there were people in different areas around the dock, so we assumed he would be fine and we certainly didn’t want to embarrass him so we tried not to make anything of a scary rescue. As we started back towards the direction for Holbrook Island we spoke of why we had decided to go to that particular island and how grateful we were, that we found him; so now we’re back on track and I’m thinking that we will either go ashore, by tying the boat up at a dock or Dougie will have to anchor out and we will load up the dingy with our supplies and row ashore, we have done both exploring these islands in the Penobscot Bay. After our picnic on the beach we started to walk through the tall pines and we continued under them to the thick wooded area and into the black green firs, and we came upon fields of tall sea grass and in these fields were fringes of golden rod and queen Anne’s lace even the riots of short lived flowers and on the wind, you could hear the cries of gulls; as we entered into the thicket of willows, my eyes caught sight of a head stone, walking over in its direction I was feeling in disbelief, for I had not seen any homesteads or even the remains of at least a foundation that might of withstood the many generations of being abandoned, so I got up real close to read the inscription and it was a young women’s name and her new born child, suddenly I felt very lonely and sad; I guess a little over whelmed, this seems to be the only thing that has with stood the harshness of a small island that a family might of tried to home stead, over a hundred years ago, although I remember the head stone; I don’t remember her name or years that were on it. My husband and I have a pleasure boat now and I will try to get back to Holbrook some summer day, so I can finish researching, to find out who she was; I first went to the archives in Augusta and found the names of the different people who have owned the Island from 1892 to 1962 and the person who owns it today, lives in Castine ; for it is recorded in Hancock county Registry, where it also read; that Holbrook commonly known as westerly from Mautilus Island being the same Island now and for many years occupied in as a Homestead containing 100 acres more or less, so there was a foundation remains somewhere, so I will go back to Holbrook .