This was a spring of milestones for several island families. Josh Gray, from Great Cranberry Island, graduated from Colby College, Fritz Fernald graduated from Wheaton College, and Robin Fernald graduated from Goucher College. High school graduates were Marcus Fernald from the Baltimore Lutheran School, Meagan Blank from Freeport High School, Allan McCormick from Mattanawcook Academy, and Curtis Thormann from Mount Desert Island High School. In Northeast Harbor, Camden Fernald graduated from eighth grade, and on Islesford, Heather Spurling was the single graduate from the Islesford School. All but one of the graduates listed above have been students at one time or another in a Cranberry Isles school. All but two of them can claim a parent and/or grandparent who attended the Islesford School. For Heather’s graduation, the community came together to pack the Islesford Neighborhood House for a potluck supper followed by the graduation ceremony. It was a wonderful time for classmates and community members to recognize the accomplishments of the graduate, and for Heather to thank everyone for their part in helping her prepare for the variety of experiences she will face at MDI High School in September.
A happy milestone for the Hadlock family was the June wedding of Nanette Folsom and Roy Hadlock on the front lawn of the home built for Roy’s ancestor, Colonel William Hadlock, in 1872. Many friends and family came from off the island to attend the wedding, and there were many islanders there as well. It was one of the prettiest days we’ve had all spring, and the mosquitoes had not yet arrived.
The last milestone to report is a very sad one. Warren Fernald, age 77, passed away quietly on June 14, after losing his battle with cancer. He died in the early morning, his favorite time of day, surrounded by close family. In 1949, when he was home from the Navy on a 10-day leave, Warren married Anna Cameron of Bar Harbor. Five months later they settled into their home on Islesford where they raised a family of six children while Warren maintained a successful lobster fishing career. He was the last of his generation to continue fishing into his 70s. In the fall of 1969, when his sons Bruce and Mark were home for the weekend from high school at Lee Academy, Warren experienced the two best days of fishing he ever had. Bruce was with him when they hauled 160 traps for 950 pounds of lobster. They arrived at the dock with lobsters piled up on the floor of the boat. Mark was with him the next day as they hauled 137 traps for 1,263 pounds of lobster. Oddly, one of the traps that day had absolutely nothing in it. On one of his last days, as Mark and Bruce sat visiting their father in the hospital, he woke up and looked at Mark saying, “What about that one empty trap?”
Warren was a charter member of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, helping to develop conservation measures that are laws today. When he felt strongly about something, he did not shy away from using the telephone to voice his opinion, whether it was to the Commissioner of Marine Resources, his senator, or the president of a company. Early last winter, when Franco-American stopped making their spaghetti and meatballs in favor of “Spaghettios,” Warren called the company. He said, “I have been enjoying your product ever since I was a little boy, and now I can’t find it on the shelves. Do you mean to tell me that I have to start cutting up all those little O’s to put them in a line on my plate?” (He was reassured by the company that they still made the same product, but it now had a Campbell’s label.)
He loved his island home and he truly enjoyed working on the water. He shared his gratitude and love of nature easily with others. There was always room for another person at his dinner table, and numerous people boarded at his home over the years. Many people thought of him as their extra father or grandfather. He was happy to claim 44 years of sobriety and 14 years without cigarettes as two of his great accomplishments, but it was his six children and their families with whom he was the most satisfied. After a family dinner, a week before he died, he said to one of his daughters-in-law, “How proud I am of all of them — and they’re all so different.” Warren faced his illness with grace and courage. He maintained his sense of humor and his ability to make a wry comment until the very end. A generous man and a gentle spirit, he will be greatly missed and fondly remembered for years to come.
Islesford, June 16, 2005
