Maine’s “Real” Halloween Stories

 

It’s Halloween and it’s time to bring forth the scary stories. Maine sure has its own share of unsolved mysteries. They may not have happened on Halloween, but they sure make good campfire stories.

The king of fictional ghoulish mayhem is of course the great Stephen King. However, for real stories of real murders, we have to credit our own special librarian down in Bucksport, Emeric Spooner. He is our very own historical mystery writer. Even his name sounds like a mystery writer.

Some of the stories coming from Bucksport were mentioned in last year’s blogs: “The Witch of Bucksport” and “Other Weird Stories of Bucksport and Bucksport History” can be found in the July 2011 archives.

The Maine Supernatural site at:

http://home.myfairpoint.net/espooner/id57.html.

is the place to go to find out about Emeric and all of his books up to the present time. I will mention some of them here, but because of copyright issues I can’t bring you excerpts. I will give you an overview however and let you explore the site on your own if you wish. I did find it fascinating.

Bucksport has long been known, as Spooner says, as the supernatural or paranormal center of Maine’s most famous mysteries. He tells of other mysteries that come from Maine also. Here are some of the highlights of those books:

The Boston Strangler From Maine

In this book, Spooner suggests that the series of murders known as those of “The Boston Strangler” really began in Maine and spread to the Boston area. He includes a poem written by Albert DeSalvo, accused and convicted of being the “Boston Strangler.” It was written before he was murdered in prison.

Here is the story of the Strangler, yet untold,

The man who claims he murdered thirteen women,

Young and old.

The elusive Strangler, there he goes,

Where his wanderlust sends him, no one knows

He struck within the light of day,

Leaving not one clue astray.

Young and old, their lips are sealed,

Their secret of death never revealed.

Even though he is sick in mind,

He’s much too clever for the police to find.

To reveal his secret will bring him fame,

But burden his family with unwanted shame.

Today he sits in a prison cell,

Deep inside only a secret he can tell.

People everywhere are still in doubt,

Is the Strangler in prison or roaming about?

We’ll probably never know whether he was just telling tales or if he was being truthful. Maybe he never told us the whole story.

In Search of Melissa Thayer

This book investigates the “Trim Murders” which took place south of Bangor and north of Ellsworth on October 13, 1876 (Yes, it was a Friday.) Three members of a family died in mysterious fires. A paranormal vision of the tragedy by a witness before it happened is also included.

Return to Smuttynose Island and Other Maine Axe Murders

One of the stories included in this book is the “Purington Massacre” which happened in Augusta on July 11, 1806, before Maine was even a state. Captain James Purington murdered his wife, six children, and then himself.

Also in that book is the story of “The Thorndike Slayer,” or John True Gordon, of Thorndike, Maine. On June 19, 1873, he killed his brother and sister-in-law and their baby girl. At the Maine Supernatural site there are videos about some of these murders. This story was made into a song by Johnny Cash, called “Hung my Head,” which you can hear on the site. News Channel 7 has videos here that are also interesting.

At the same time as the Thorndike slayings, a man named Wagner killed two Norwegian women with an axe.

Both men were hung at the Thomaston State Prison on the same day, June 19, 1873.

In Search of Maine Urban Legends

This book includes a story called “The First American Serial Killer.” Spooner researches the historical origins of Maine’s urban legends.

Maine Gravestones & Flags Honoring Our Heroes

From the Maine Sun Journal, December 4, 2010, Spooner says:

“You may be asking yourself what a book on Veterans and the battles they fought bravely in and in some cases died for our freedom might have to do with a website focused on Maine Mysteries? One of the greatest mysteries I have ever come across is why are these men forgotten? Why are their stones abandoned, broken, or discarded? Why in all the attention I have tried to draw to this incredible loss, does it still continue to occur?
I think it is a cause worth fighting for. I believe they fought for our freedom, so someone should fight for their memory.”

Well said, Mr. Spooner.

Visit:

http://strangemane.blogspot.com for Halloween events in Maine.

 

Favorite Halloween TV Shows

 

Some shows on TV have a special Halloween episode every year. Some of the more well known and some of my favorites as well are as follows. The first video is the original pilot for “The Munsters” which never aired. This was a weekly show, not just for the Halloween season. There is a revival of this show on now called “Mockingbird Lane” which I watched. Very different take, but still enjoyable.

 

 

I always enjoyed the show “Roseanne” put on every year. Here’s one of the episodes.

 

 

“The Simpsons” always have a Halloween special too. Here are clips from “The Treehouse of Horror.”

 

 

Haunted Houses in Maine

If visiting a haunted house on Halloween is a big thrill to you, check out these houses in Maine. Of course you may want to save this blog for next year as I don’t think folks up north are going to be doing much traveling this Halloween because of the Frankenstorm headed that way. I also have some video of the house in Lee, New Hampshire. For directions, times, etc, go to the site I found these videos on: www.hauntworld.com.

There are haunted houses in Lebanon, South China, Sanford, and Mechanic Falls, Maine. They looked like quite an experience when I checked out the videos. Have fun!

Here’s the video for “Haunted Overload” in Lee, New Hampshire:

 

 

This video comes from the haunted house in Lebanon, Maine.

 

 

                                 

 

Be sure to keep all this information handy for next year's Halloween fun.

 

You could also visit another site for Halloween events in Maine:

http://strangemaine.blogspot.com

 

 

Autumn Scenes…

Storm’s a Coming

 

As I share these pictures with you, a storm, maybe the storm of the century, named “Sandy,” is headed for New England. It doesn’t look like it will hit the Maine coast, but other areas of New England will most likely be hit pretty hard.

I’m not sure what I think about such a bad storm being named after me. If it’s as bad as Katrina was in the south, no one is going to want to name their kids Sandra or Sandy for a long time. That part of the event is fine with me. There are too many Sandras already I think.

My heart goes out to my great-nephew, Nicholas Ruddy, up in Connecticut. The storm will probably wash out his Halloween trick-or-treating for a second year. His mother says he is going to a Halloween party today, so at least he’ll have that way to celebrate the holiday every kid loves. (See Nicholas below.)

I have a question about the foliage up that way though. Not all of the leaves have turned yet and storm watchers say up to two inches of snow could fall in some areas. Snow usually falls after all the leaves have fallen from the trees. If trees that still have all their leaves on them get hit with heavy snow, the weight of that snow could bring the whole tree down. If the leaves on that tree haven’t turned color yet, there goes the bright, colorful foliage in that area for this year. That would be a shame.

With that scenario in mind I bring you fall pictures from two of my readers. Enjoy these at least and thanks for listening:

The first picture comes from Tim Sullivan. The view is at Beech Hill.

 

These four pictures come from Jean Rowling Monroe:

This is the only trick-or-treating Nicholas, otherwise known as “The Nickelman” will have. Does he look happy to you? The second picture shows the family generator behind Nicholas which can run everything in the house if necessary, courtesy of Grandpa Jerry, the engineer.

 

 

If you have more fall pictures to share please send them along to me in an email to southendstories@aol.com.

 

(sorry about the extra picture below. Darn program won't let me delete it)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Free Lecture
New Time: 7:00 p.m.

at the Museum

Sail, Power & Steam Museum

Mechanic Street, Rockland

 

Friday, November 2, 7:00 p.m.

Hanging on to the Memories

 

My Rockland High School class of 1959 meets every month at the Brown Bag in Rockland. Whoever is home at the time tries to go and catch up with everyone’s lives. I have shown pictures of this lunch in the past. I always try to catch it when I’m home if it falls into the time period when I am there.

We met at the Brown Bag originally because two of our classmates worked within walking distance to it. We are all retired now, but we still meet at the same place. I can’t remember how many years we have done this to date, but it has been a while and it is always a fun time with everyone talking at once and lots of laughter. We share pictures of our grandchildren and other pictures of what is going on in our lives at the time.

This month the gang gathered again at the Brown Bag. Our classmate Jean Rowling Monroe, always takes pictures of the monthly event and posts them on Facebook. I really enjoy seeing everyone that way every month because I can’t be there in person.

This time she shot this picture of my good friend Sandra Sleeper Zimmerman in a Rockland High School jacket. It has 59 on the sleeve. I don’t know if that is a number for a team member or it represents our class. In any event, Jean tells me that Sandra found it at a garage sale. I am so jealous.

 

Seeing this jacket inspired me to write this “memory” blog for you. How many articles of memory can you put your hands on right now? The jacket Sandra has on was the typical snap up jacket of the times. Oftentimes, if you had a boyfriend on a team you could persuade him to let you wear it. It was always two sizes too big, but who cared?

Similarly, you could sometimes persuade your boyfriend to let you wear their class ring if he had one. We didn’t get our rings till senior year so it would have to be from a senior. Girls would either put layers of tape on it so it would fit on her finger or put it on a chain and wear it around her neck. If you were a freshman, wearing one of these rings was way cool.

How many other things did you have or still have that hold a lot of memories for you? I had many, but most have been lost either in the flood; or the time years ago here in Georgia, when my jewelry box was stolen from my apartment.

Did you have some of the things I had? Like my stuffed tiger that sat on the back of my bookcase bed for many years. It was almost like the tiger they retired at the old high school. (See the archives, “Rockland Tiger Memorial,” June, 2011.)

I also had a necklace with the numbers 59 in a circle. My class ring was in the stolen jewelry box. My yearbook with everyone’s autograph and comments in it was lost in the flood. Jean has promised to copy hers for me which I look forward to. The only way I can remember all my classmates is to look at the newspaper clipping of our high school graduation pictures as they appeared in the Courier.

We all kept scrapbooks. I have many clippings from the paper in mine, which I still have. I did a blog on that scrapbook which is in the archives for June 2011 also.

Did you have one of those felt long triangular banners on your bedroom wall? It could be a team like the Red Socks or a high school banner. My mother would never let me thumbtack one on my wall. However, I have two in my scrapbook. One is of the naval academy in Annapolis and the other is one for the state of Virginia. I got both of them when our class took our senior trip to Washington, D.C.

Who remembers autograph books? It was a big fad for a while. We all had to have one. I had a few famous autographs, but they were on little scraps of paper. They were from actors in Peyton Place. See my separate memories of that movie in a separate blog.

For now I say, in the way of Bob Hope, a 50s favorite, “Thanks for the memories.”

And thanks for listening.

NOTE: If you are into collecting memorabilia from the 1950s, check out these sites:

www.etsy.com

ebay and amazon, also try craig’s list

www.ehow.com which has a great article called, “How to Collect 1950s memorabilia.”

Return to Peyton Place

Downtown Camden, Maine or "Peyton Place"
from theinterrobang.com

One of the most exciting things to happen in our area of Maine in the 50s was the making of the movie, Peyton Place. Grace Metalious’ book was our “Shades of Grey.” As teenagers we all read this scandalous book, and when we learned they were going to shoot the movie in our coastal local we were ecstatic. Everyone was abuzz with anticipation. Movie stars were coming from Hollywood. Maybe we could become extras and be in the movie ourselves. We all wanted a piece of the action.

I was 16, a sophomore at Rockland High School, when they shot the scene outside the courthouse in 1957 (could have been 1956). Some local people were extras and they all stood in period clothes along both sides of the sidewalk at the old courthouse. It was a bright sunny day as we watched the principal characters of the story emerge from the building.

Here came Lloyd Nolan, who played Dr. Matthew Swain; Russ Tamblyn, who played Norman Page; and the beautiful Hope Lange, who played Selena Cross. In the story, Selena was accused of killing her abusive step-father.

As they came closer to where I stood they all waved and smiled in character because Selena had been acquitted. It was very exciting.

Everyone was trying to get autographs as the scene broke up. I only had some small scraps of paper with me, but I did manage to get Russ, Lloyd, and Hope to sign their names for me. Mr. Nolan said, “How am I supposed to sign this, young lady?” I’m sure I turned ten shades of red, but I suggested he write using my back as a platform and he did. Hope was very sweet and so was Russ.

By the way, the one star we all wanted to see, Lana Turner, who played Constance MacKensie, never came to Maine. The scenes she was in were mostly inside shots and were all done on Hollywood sets.

Metalious’ book, Peyton Place, was published in 1956 and soon after she was wooed by Hollywood to make her book into a movie. Hollywood didn’t take her seriously though and she wasn’t happy about how they made the film, especially when it was suggested that Pat Boone play the part of Norman Page. She abandoned Hollywood altogether and returned to her home in New Hampshire.

The film was shot in Camden, Rockland, Belfast, and Lake Placid, New York. There was a premiere in Camden two days before its release to the rest of the country. It was the 2^nd highest grossing film of 1958. Ironically, a real-life situation which involved Lana Turner and her daughter, Cheryl, mirrored the story of Selena in the movie. Selena was accused of killing her stepfather and Cheryl was accused of killing her mother’s abusive lover in real life.

The sad event boosted sales for the movie, and although the coroner declared Cheryl’s case one of justified homicide, Lana was afraid that the bad publicity had surely ruined her career. However, she was cast in one of my very favorite movies in 1959, “Imitation of Life.”

I remember seeing the movie at the Strand Theater on Main Street in Rockland. The opening scene where the kids rode bicycles back and forth a hill was stunning. It hooked you from the very beginning. You wanted to know what happened in this beautiful small town in Maine.

The movie eventually became a soap opera. “Peyton Place” ran from September 1964-June 1969 on ABC; and “Return to Peyton Place” ran from 1972-74 on NBC. It was one of the most popular soaps of all time.

Do you remember these errors in the movie?

The archway they showed as you drove into Peyton Place with the name of the town on it, doesn’t actually exist.

When the bus to Boston with Allison MacKensie (played by Diane Varsi) aboard left Camden, it headed north instead of south where Boston really is.

One scene they shot where I think Selena is running through backyards doesn’t really sync with actual backyards. She started in Camden and ended up somewhere in Rockport. That’s a lot of backyards to run through.

The autographs I got that day were treasured for a long time. They have since disappeared into my past somewhere. Maybe someday when a family member is going over the effects of the old folks, they’ll find those scraps of paper with the famous names on them and wonder where they came from.

Even though the autographs are gone, I still have vivid memories of that day outside the courthouse. It was great fun. I tell people that my book, The South End, is a hybrid of Peyton Place and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which takes place in one of my other favorite places, Savannah, Georgia.

My friend, Paul Merriam, declares that my book is better than Peyton Place. I kinda doubt that, but it sure would be fun to see it on the screen like Peyton Place was back in the 50s. I sure don’t hear any movie moguls knocking on my door though.  My niece, Brenda, thinks Tom Hanks should play my lead character, Frank Crocker. What do you think?

A wonderful tribute to my cousin, Diane Hilton O’Connor, who passed away last November. See other stories about Diane and Bremen in the archives:  “A Tale of Twin Cousins,” “Memories of the Farm,” “Visit Bremen, Maine,” “Twin Cousins Photo Album,” all to be found in the November 2011 archives. For a slideshow of Bremen, go to: www.tidewater.net~bremen/

This article will appear soon in the Lincoln County News.

BCC set to Dedicate Bremen’s First Public Trail

The Bremen Conservation Commission would like to invite the public to join them on Sunday, October 28th at 1:00pm for the opening of Bremen’s first public trail. The trail will be dedicated in memory of Diane Hilton O’Connor and her tireless service and dedication to the Town of Bremen, local organizations and the Bremen Conservation Commission. All those interested in joining the BCC should meet at the Bremen Town House (560 Waldoboro Road) next to the Bremen Fire Station. Light refreshments and treats will be available.

The Bremen Town Forest (dubbed ‘47 Acre Wood’ by the BCC for its acreage) is a surprisingly unique and interesting property. With a hay field, stone walls, ravine, mix of old and new growth forest, wildlife habitat, saltwater marsh and meandering creek it is a great opportunity to enjoy 1.5 miles of marked trails complete with footbridges for easier access.

The property was purchased by the town in the early nineties at a bargain basement price. As a result the town selectmen appointed an ad hoc committee comprised of town residents to explore best uses for the property. The committee identified its location as central within Bremen and recommended that the property be utilized for relocating the Bremen Town House with expanded parking and outdoor event space, future town office, community playground and a nature preserve with walking trails. Unfortunately, none of the recommendations came to fruition until the BCC began looking for a venue to initiate its plan for a public trail system.

The Bremen Town Forest Trails Project was spearheaded by the late Diane Hilton O’Connor . Having spent 34 years of her life in Washington D.C. Diane returned to Bremen with a keen understanding for the need to conserve open space and provide public access in Bremen. In 2006 Diane sponsored an article in the town warrant to establish a conservation commission in the town of Bremen and to establish a Land Conservation Reserve Fund to make land conservation and future land acquisitions possible. She served as the commission’s first chair and was instrumental in writing the first conservation plan for Bremen and key to Bremen being the 2009 Sterling Dow State of Maine Conservation Commission of the Year award.

Diane held a strong conviction that Bremen must takes steps to protect its natural environment, rural character and resources that present and future generations would be able to enjoy. In 2011 Diane helped initiate a public forum to discuss conservation priorities seeking feedback from Bremen residents to provide direction for conservation work in Bremen. As a result the BCC realized that townspeople wanted greater access to fresh and saltwater and more opportunities to enjoy the outdoors in the form of nature trails and green space. Chairman of the BCC, Dennis Prior remembered, “Diane advocated the use of town owned properties to serve as working models to engage people in local conservation projects without significant costs to taxpayers. With a growing Land Conservation Fund and increasing public awareness Diane recognized that greater conservation projects could then be realized in Bremen. The Bremen Town Forest trails are the first completed projects by the BCC realizing Diane’s vision.”

Diane’s snow pictures of the farm. They were taken the winter of 2009 for each direction, north, south, east, and west on the farm in Bremen.

 

 

Fire on the Island!

 

 

This Wednesday, October 17, is the 65^th anniversary of the terrible fire in 1947 on Mt. Desert Island and what would become Acadia National Park.

Weather patterns may seem strange today, but they were also weird in 1947. The spring rains we always look forward to, which bring forth the flora and fauna of our Maine summers, ended in June. No rain fell after that. Fields and forest became bone dry and were ripe for fire.

A woman called the Bangor Fire Department on October 17 and said she saw smoke coming from the cranberry bogs between her home and what would become Acadia National Park.

No one really knows what started the fire. It could have been cranberry bog workers who often smoked while they worked; or a dump fire gone wild; or any number of careless acts in such a dry area. One spark would be all that was needed.

The fire was contained to 169 acres for the first three days. Then on October 21 strong winds fanned the flames once again eventually engulfing 2,000 acres on the island. The map shows the area of damage.

In two weeks time the fire destroyed over 17,000 acres. 8,000 acres burned in Acadia National Park alone. Property damage exceeded $23 million by 1947 standards.

Fires occurred in other areas in Maine that summer. Over all, more than 200,000 acres burned. 851 permanent homes and 397 seasonal “cottages” were destroyed in “the year Maine burned.”

So what did this fire mean to the economy of that area and of Maine as a whole?

What once was a summer mecca and playground for the rich was no longer. The very rich who had summer homes on Mt. Desert Island included names like Rockefeller, Morgan, Vanderbilt, and Pulitzer. They had discovered the area in the last century and before income taxes and the great depression they built huge “cottages” on the island. These cottages could have as many as 100 rooms. That is a hotel by Maine standards at the time. They were hardly what we Maine people would call a cottage.

Whole families would come to these “cottages” for the summer. In the beginning when cars began to appear, they were not allowed on the island. For this and other reasons, the summer residents called themselves “rusticators” because they felt that they were living a rustic life. (I will write more about these “rusticators” at a later date.)

These wealthy summer people didn’t only live in the Mt. Desert and Bar Harbor area. There were other pockets of wealthy summer people up and down the coast.

In our own area we had the Samoset Resort where wealthy people came to spend the “summer season.”

My cousin, Gayle, who lives over on Cranberry Island was for many years assistant to Lady Astor, who summered in that area.

My great-grandmother, Rose Burns, was a laundress for some of them. She lived down on Dutch Neck. My Aunt Virginia tells me that she used to wash all those white linen clothes they used to wear then; hang them on the line to dry; and then iron them with one of those big heavy irons you had to heat up on the old wood stoves.

Virginia remembers calling these summer people, “summer complaints.” I also remember that phrase. They were so-called because they would come to Maine and complain about everything…the weather, their accommodations or any other number of things. However, as much as they complained, they always returned to Maine the next year. We must have been doing something right.

So what happened to our economy after the fire when all these wealthy people deserted the area, taking their money with them, never to come again? The result of the depression in the 30s and later on, the introduction of income taxes, didn’t make it possible for all these luxurious homes to be rebuilt. In 1947 cars became the main mode of transportation which allowed more leeway for summer people. They began to travel the country in the summer time, not staying for “the season” in just one place.

Maine took a backseat for a long time.  Who would want to visit such a devastated area as Mt. Desert Island and all of the area that would become Acadia National Park?

Think about it. Darkened stumps and what remained of the trees standing silent and dark. Scorched earth. No birds, deer, moose, and other creatures. Silence and gloom. My father took us down to see the devastation shortly after the fire. What should have been a blaze of glorious fall colors in the month of October was nothing but deathly dark devastation. To my six-year-old eyes, it was like stepping into the pages of a fairy tale with no happy ending as told by the Brothers Grimm. It was the worst sight I ever saw in my life.

Maine’s summer economy suffered for many years. I remember the 50s as a time when summer people didn’t come to stay in Rockland. They were only passing through. Things have changed now. We are enjoying a summer visitor renaissance. Once again you will find the wealthy coming to stay for extended visits.

A brick mansion called “High Seas” is one of the last remaining summer cottages in the area of the fire. It sits on a point overlooking Frenchman Bay. You can see it from Schooner Head. Today the mansion is surrounded by National Park land and is owned by Jackson Laboratories, which does biological and cancer research.

You can still see areas where the fire was the worst. There are barren slopes and new growth forest along the coast. Sixty-five years. It takes a long time to grow a tree after all.

Thanks for listening.

Note: I will bring you more history of Acadia National Park and the summer people who lived there in the summer as well as famous summer people in other parts of our coastal areas at a later date. For more information on this subject go to

 www.discover-acadia.com/bar-harbor-fire.html.