Nov. 3. Wind WNW and temp. 54. Cory Alley has painted his island truck in a most patriotic manner, with lots of stars and stripes.
Tuesday, Nov. 13. A waning moon in the east at 5 a.m., temp. 38 at noon, wind W at 12 knots. Today started off early for me with a most interesting dream just before dawn. For some time now I have been trying to locate a little black booklet I have had for many years on “fishing marks.” I had recorded many that Dad had given me, some handed down for generations. They told you of places and objects on the land that from your boat at a distance off, on a clear day, you could line up or group together from your position. When this was done properly, you would be on a good shoal to catch fish. These shoals or areas had names such as Mont’s Shoal, Poge’s Piece, The School House Ground, The Lurvey Ground, The Moose Ground and one where there was a fierce ebb tide. This one was called The Old Root. In my dream I was a young man again of 19 years working on a full time summer job at Acadia Pier, Seal Harbor, on Mount Desert Island about two miles north of Islesford. Uncle George Hadlock owned this pier and had a restaurant and dock there with several party boats for hire…. To get back to the dream: in it I was preparing to take out a fishing party but couldn’t remember the marks I wanted (not all were committed to memory). An impulse, a “genie,”or whatever it was in that dream told me to look in the little diary book I was keeping then, in 1941. The first thing I did when I awoke and came downstairs was to locate that little book that I still had kept all these years, and there were my missing marks! I had forgotten that I had put them there originally before transferring them to the black booklet. I am grateful to that dream – it certainly was a quick help!
I must tell of another incident concerning this long-ago summer of 1941. At this time there was a carnival active near Seal Harbor. Carnivals would come occasionally, set up for a few days and then move on. They would have a Ferris wheel and other attractions and this one had a large tent with a roped off ring outside and a tough-looking guy billed as their wrestling champ. The carnival would offer any man in the crowd a money prize to take him on and pin him down, and for a while, the few who tried could not. Over on Islesford at this time, our Coast Guard station had many newly recruited young men. This was just before we entered World War II and things were beginning to indicate that we would be into it soon. It had already seen, one day, while out with a fishing party east of Bakers Island, many Navy ships low on the SE horizon, and found out later that this was part of the famous Atlantic Conference held by our president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain. One of the new recruits at Islesford Coast Guard Station then was a strong young fellow who loved to wrestle and had done so professionally. His name was Elmer Jackson and we had become friends. I decided to phone the station and ask him to come over one night and wrestle the carnival man. Elmer liked this idea and the skipper in charge there agreed to let him go. I went over and got him in the EVANGELINE, and we went to the carnival. I was his manager and carried his coat and a towel, so they let me into the tent free. My sister Clarice happened to be in the crowd and some misinformed soul told her that her brother Ted was going to wrestle the carnival champ! “No he is not!” she screamed and came running up to find me. But I quickly informed her that I was only Elmer’s manager.
Well, the bout didn’t last very long. Elmer quickly pinned his opponent to the mat and for good measure grabbed the referee and put him on top of the ex-champ. Then he reached out for the poor old timekeeper, who was trying hard to get away, but he was grabbed by the ankle and added to the pile of humanity. And Elmer then proudly sat on the three of them, while the crowd roared with delight.
Elmer’s wrestling reputation was made here that night, and he later took on various opponents at nearby Bar Harbor. There was one ugly-looking professional wrestler who came to Bar Harbor that summer, known and billed as “The Angel.” I never heard if Elmer ever came to grips with him or not, but I can always remember that interesting and fun-filled summer of 60 years ago.
Nov. 22, Thursday. Wind SW 12 knots and temp. at noon 45. Another “Thanksgiven” is upon us again. We had a quiet one at home. Ted Jr. brought us a jar of lobster stew for a side dish. Evelyn Boxley, from Roanoke, Virginia, who recently bought the Jerry Fernald house nearby, invited some of her island neighbors to have Thanksgiving dinner with her. She has had several of them working for her, as well as a crew from off island. She is renovating the house and plans to have it ready for a bed-and-breakfast stopover next summer. That will make two here, as Franny Jo Bartlett has another not far away called The Braided Rugs Inn. Evelyn may call hers The Islesford House.
Nov. 26. Wind SSW, light. Temp. is 49. Fog, drizzle and rain. The rain is especially welcome, as some of our dug wells have stopped giving. Ours is still obliging, but mighty low, 16 inches at last measure….
Nov. 30. Temp. 44 and wind ENE at 6 knots. Cloudy all day long. Bob Mailhot, one of the skippers on the mail and ferry boat SEA QUEEN stopped in early with a spoke from the boat’s steering wheel. He had asked me to put a Turk’s head knot on a spoke a few days ago, and I told him to fetch one in, and I would do it at home. The knot is partly for decoration and in the days before power steering it was handy to have to mark as a “king spoke.” You would have this spoke at the top of the wheel, when you were on a straight course with rudder amidships. It was a good guide spoke, so to speak….
Dec. 4, Tuesday. Wind NW 6 knots and temp. at noon 49. ‘Tis a nice day – sunny and very mild for our 12th month. We received our school newspaper today, “The Cranberry Press,” printed monthly.
Dec. 12. Temp. 38 and wind NE 6 knots. A silvery sliver of a waning moon seen in the east this early morn., just over the top of Warren Fernald’s workshop. I got a small Christmas tree today, found down near our salt marsh. It is the tip top of a large fir that had its lower branches chewed off by the island deer. They love cedar and fir but are none too partial to spruce growth, of which we have plenty to spare. Henry Grandgent is hard at work on Franny Jo Bartlett’s home, The Braided Rugs Inn. He is building her a large new front porch….
Dec. 19. Wind west at 25 knots and temp. at noon 35. Snow before dawn and Cory is out with the snow plow. The town dock is up for repairs or rebuilding before long. A big sign there now says “Only two vehicles allowed on this dock at one time and those to be at least 26 feet apart.” One lobsterman jokingly remarked, “and I can’t always remember to bring my tape measure!”
A Christmas program at the Neighborhood House tonight by the school children, an interesting play titled “A Rented Christmas.” Then Santa appeared with his presents for the children and refreshments were served….
Friday, Dec. 21. Temp. today 30 at noontime and wind north at 15 knots. A light dusting of snow early. Some Christmas carols were sung to us this morning by the school children, their two teachers, Rebecca and Tim, and several others. It was much appreciated and thanks to Tim for shoveling out our front walk too. Ted Jr. got his last load of lobster traps in today….winter begins at 2:21 p.m. today.
Sunday, Dec. 23. Cold and clear, temp. 20 at dawn, wind WNW 6 knots, temp. 30 at noon. A Christmas church service at 10 a.m., Rev. Doug Hare in the pulpit with wife, Ruth, at the piano and organ. A large attendance, good service and a nice choir. then we adjourned to Anna Fernald’s house for refreshments and a wassail beverage. A Christmas party was also held tonight at the Hathaways’ Dandylion House.
Dec. 25. Temp. 38 at noon and wind west at 8 knots. ‘Tis Christmas Day. Anna Fernald, our next door neighbor, phoned us early and told us that Katy and Courtney Chaplin had a baby girl, born at the Bar Harbor hospital. Little Louise is a Christmas Eve baby, born at 11:54 p.m., six minutes before Christmas! A sunny day today with some clouds. I took a walk around the waterfront. A lot of boats are hauled out, stored and covered on Lief land along with the floats and ramps for the Liefs’ own dock. A few folks have left to be with friends and relatives, and some have come to the island. It ofttimes seems to balance out.
Dec. 31. Wind W at 15 knots and temp. 32 on this last day of the year, and last night the full Long Nights Moon shone in our sky. Tonight, right on schedule, the sparkling ball of Waterford crystal slid down its pole in New York city to usher in the new year. May the memory of 9-1-1 help us to work toward a better and safer 2002. Happy and healthy new year to all.