Tributes - Some Special Memories of Maine Folks
QUOTE: In Maine we have a saying that there's no point in speaking unless you can improve on silence.
Edmund Muskie
Edmund Muskie
There are some unique people in this world, for whom actions speak louder than words. They're not the kind to blow their own horn, but rather, by their work ethic, kind ways and with a wise grin and a well-told joke, make everyday life a little easier for everyone else, and they make a distinct impact on the lives around them.
Here are a few such people.
Here are a few such people.
LAUREL (POP) JOHNSON - Patten, Maine
"Pop" Johnson, as he was known in Patten, was the father of four daughters and lost his only son Glenn to cholera in the 1960s. The personification of hard work, Pop put in long days at the Great Northern paper mill in Millinocket, and would wash his car everyday in the winter after his long drive to avoid rust from road salt. Pop always had a kind word and a shy smile for you. Pop, with his wry sense of humor, even named a loud yowling cat after his daughter Laurie's friend.
Laurie Johnson Libby posted Jan 15, 2014 that she had found found a letter from her father Pop he had written at age 18 to his brother Frank while Frank was overseas during WWII, and the letter was dated Aug 9, 1943. This is a section of it below.that mentions the death of Wesley Porter and the manhunt.:
"Junior Porter is home for a short leave from Fort Adams, RI. He has been taken out of the light duty men and is going to move somewhere when he goes back. Chub Foster and Clint caught the man that shot Wes. He is French-Canadian draft dodger. Chub shot him in the hip and due to loss of blood and he was weak condition he died in the hospital. The write up in the paper said he admitted shooting Wes, but he did because he was so hungry. He only meant to scare Wes out so he could steal some food."
"Pop" Johnson, as he was known in Patten, was the father of four daughters and lost his only son Glenn to cholera in the 1960s. The personification of hard work, Pop put in long days at the Great Northern paper mill in Millinocket, and would wash his car everyday in the winter after his long drive to avoid rust from road salt. Pop always had a kind word and a shy smile for you. Pop, with his wry sense of humor, even named a loud yowling cat after his daughter Laurie's friend.
Laurie Johnson Libby posted Jan 15, 2014 that she had found found a letter from her father Pop he had written at age 18 to his brother Frank while Frank was overseas during WWII, and the letter was dated Aug 9, 1943. This is a section of it below.that mentions the death of Wesley Porter and the manhunt.:
"Junior Porter is home for a short leave from Fort Adams, RI. He has been taken out of the light duty men and is going to move somewhere when he goes back. Chub Foster and Clint caught the man that shot Wes. He is French-Canadian draft dodger. Chub shot him in the hip and due to loss of blood and he was weak condition he died in the hospital. The write up in the paper said he admitted shooting Wes, but he did because he was so hungry. He only meant to scare Wes out so he could steal some food."
Mel Craig - Patten, Maine
Mel was well known around the town of Patten, one of the hardest working men you'd ever meet. He was one of the last woodsmen to still use a team of work horses to haul lumber out of the woods in winter, wearing his recognizable hat and his boiled woolen mittens. Mel always had a kind word, a grin, and a joke.
Mel's home was struck by lightning during a vicious thunderstorm, and according to local Patten legend, his son Woody who was sleeping in a metal was violently thrown out the window, and Mel's son and his brother Ike suffered severe burns.
Glenn Lyons of Patten relates:
"When Dad was workin' for Huber sometimes I'd go in with him and hang out with Mel . At one time he had two little Boston Terriers in there . He'd say, "watch this young fella". "GAME WARDEN!!!".
Those little buggers would go nuts lookin for the warden. He'd laugh and laugh at 'em . I think he had his horses at one time in a hovel across from Fifield's store."
Many Patten youngsters have fond memories of feeding apples to Mel's work horses.
Mel was well known around the town of Patten, one of the hardest working men you'd ever meet. He was one of the last woodsmen to still use a team of work horses to haul lumber out of the woods in winter, wearing his recognizable hat and his boiled woolen mittens. Mel always had a kind word, a grin, and a joke.
Mel's home was struck by lightning during a vicious thunderstorm, and according to local Patten legend, his son Woody who was sleeping in a metal was violently thrown out the window, and Mel's son and his brother Ike suffered severe burns.
Glenn Lyons of Patten relates:
"When Dad was workin' for Huber sometimes I'd go in with him and hang out with Mel . At one time he had two little Boston Terriers in there . He'd say, "watch this young fella". "GAME WARDEN!!!".
Those little buggers would go nuts lookin for the warden. He'd laugh and laugh at 'em . I think he had his horses at one time in a hovel across from Fifield's store."
Many Patten youngsters have fond memories of feeding apples to Mel's work horses.
Cornelia Thurza "Fly Rod" Crosby (1854 - 1946)
Maine's very first registered Maine Guide
Did you know that Maine's first licensed Maine Guide...was a woman? That's right! On March 19, 1897, The Maine legislature passed a bill requiring hunting guides to register with the state. Maine registered 1316 guides in that first year.
In addition to being its first licensed guide, Crosby promoted Maine's outdoor sports at shows in metropolitan areas, and wrote a popular column that appeared in many newspapers around the country, but was nationally published in the magazine "Fly Rod's Notebook". She assumed the moniker "Fly Rod" initially because she didn't think men would read a sports column written by a woman.
It is rumored she guided Annie Oakley and President Theodore Roosevelt in Maine, and legend has it that she shot the very last caribou in Maine.
Her efforts helped to attract thousands of would-be outdoorsmen—and women—to the woods and streams of Maine. Crosby attracted generations of tourists and wilderness-visitors through her popular newspaper columns of her fishing and hunting tales in Rangeley Lake, Maine.
Crosby once stated, "I am a plain woman of uncertain age, standing six feet in my stockings...I scribble a bit for various sporting journals, and I would rather fish any day than go to heaven."
Fly Rod Crosby Wikipedia Listing
Fly Rod Crosby - Maine Guide
Fly Rod Crosby Book - The Woman Who Marketed Maine by Julia Hunter
Maine's very first registered Maine Guide
Did you know that Maine's first licensed Maine Guide...was a woman? That's right! On March 19, 1897, The Maine legislature passed a bill requiring hunting guides to register with the state. Maine registered 1316 guides in that first year.
In addition to being its first licensed guide, Crosby promoted Maine's outdoor sports at shows in metropolitan areas, and wrote a popular column that appeared in many newspapers around the country, but was nationally published in the magazine "Fly Rod's Notebook". She assumed the moniker "Fly Rod" initially because she didn't think men would read a sports column written by a woman.
It is rumored she guided Annie Oakley and President Theodore Roosevelt in Maine, and legend has it that she shot the very last caribou in Maine.
Her efforts helped to attract thousands of would-be outdoorsmen—and women—to the woods and streams of Maine. Crosby attracted generations of tourists and wilderness-visitors through her popular newspaper columns of her fishing and hunting tales in Rangeley Lake, Maine.
Crosby once stated, "I am a plain woman of uncertain age, standing six feet in my stockings...I scribble a bit for various sporting journals, and I would rather fish any day than go to heaven."
Fly Rod Crosby Wikipedia Listing
Fly Rod Crosby - Maine Guide
Fly Rod Crosby Book - The Woman Who Marketed Maine by Julia Hunter
ATTN PORTER FAMILY:: There is a distinct possibility that Wesley Porter may have been related to Cornelia "Fly Rod" Crosby.
Cornelia Thurza Crosby's mother's maiden name was Thurza PORTER, born 1820.
Cornelia Thurza Crosby Genealogy Record at Ancestry
Porter Family Genealogy at Damn Yankee Guide Service
Cornelia Thurza Crosby's mother's maiden name was Thurza PORTER, born 1820.
Cornelia Thurza Crosby Genealogy Record at Ancestry
Porter Family Genealogy at Damn Yankee Guide Service
FLY ROD CROSBY BALLAD AND FLY ROD CROSBY TRAIL
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The Ballad of Fly Rod Crosby
At left is a very entertaining video project by the High Peaks Alliance, "The Ballad of Fly Rod Crosby". The song was written by Bud Godsoe and performed by The Sandy River Ramblers, with some wicked awesome banjo, bub! |
The Fly Rod Crosby Trail in Maine
The Fly Road Crosby Trail is a 45-mile heritage hiking trail that when completed will wind its way in Maine from Strong to Oquossoc along the Sandy River, Orbeton and Hardy Streams across the Appalachian Trail and Rangeley Lake to the Sporting Heritage Museum.
Please visit MAINE TRAIL FINDER for a larger interactive map and description of the trail.
HIGH PEAKS ALLIANCE
The High Peaks Alliance works to ensure and enhance public access to recreation in Maine's High Peaks Region.
The Fly Road Crosby Trail is a 45-mile heritage hiking trail that when completed will wind its way in Maine from Strong to Oquossoc along the Sandy River, Orbeton and Hardy Streams across the Appalachian Trail and Rangeley Lake to the Sporting Heritage Museum.
Please visit MAINE TRAIL FINDER for a larger interactive map and description of the trail.
HIGH PEAKS ALLIANCE
The High Peaks Alliance works to ensure and enhance public access to recreation in Maine's High Peaks Region.