The
Last South End Snow
(Former
police chief for Rockland, Bertram Snow, cousin to Richard Snow, still
maintains a home in the South End, which makes Richard one of the last Snows in
the South End.)
We said goodbye to Richard Maurice Snow, age 97, on October 8, 2013. He was the last Snow of the well-known Snow Shipyard fame to have a home in the South End, where that dynasty began in 1862.
My friend, Ruth Wade,
reminded me of his death of which I wasn’t aware when she commented on the
story I wrote last month, “Rockland’s Sea Captains: Hiram and Albert F.
Pillsbury. He was a good friend of Ruth’s.
Before we look at
Richard Snow’s life, I would like to give you an overview of Snow Shipyard and
the Snow family who had a family home on Mechanic Street in Rockland’s South
End. I have given you some references which you might want to look into further
if you are interested in this dynamic family.
From
Rocky Coast News, Oct. 2013
Old
Snow Shipyard Gallery
Doug
Mills
RCN
America network
“Rockland, Maine - The
old Snow Shipyard was started in 1862 and produced wooden boats on the south
side of Rockland Maine till the mid 1940's. Rockland Marine still
maintains a railway for repairs and refit. The rest of the property
houses the Sail, Power and Steam Museum, operated by Jim Sharp, a longtime
schooner captain on the coast of Maine.
Though there are no more ships being built here one can still see signs of the old railways that launched so many ships from the south end of Rockland, Maine.”
Though there are no more ships being built here one can still see signs of the old railways that launched so many ships from the south end of Rockland, Maine.”
You can find pictures of ships from
the yard here.
This picture comes from http://bookmanslog.blogspot.com and shows one of the wooden ships
that were built in the 1940s for the war.
From Greg Gibson on this
site:
“We used wooden ships
during WWII.
In 1940s: This is an archive of 400
photographs and construction records from Snow Shipyards in Rockland Maine. It
shows that they built any number of tugs, minesweepers, net layers and rescue
ships employing essentially the same wooden ship construction methods that had
been in use a century before.
Why? Because all these
vessels had to work safely in the vicinity of submarine mines, and hence could
not have metal hulls.”
There are 400 photos of
the yard on this site.
This picture comes from
the Rockland Historical Society Facebook Page: “A nice view of Rockland Harbor
and I.L. Snow & Co. shipyard taken on August 1894 from the home of Capt.
Richard K. Snow on Ocean Avenue in Owls Head. I.L. Snow & Co. (named after
the owner Capt. Israel Larkin Snow) built 13 vessels between 1886-1917.”
The odd part about this
picture is that there is no breakwater out in the harbor. It was just being
built at that time.
There are some genealogy
materials available if you search hard enough. Richard Snow did write some of
it for family use only. There is a lot of information on Shipbuilding and the
Snow’s part in it in Shore Village Story,
starting on page 125. Check with the Rockland Historical Society.
Below I have repeated
the information as reported by Austin Pillsbury Nagel, which came from www.mainemaritimemuseum.org. in last month’s blog:
“Captain Israel D.
(Dade) Snow, son of Captain Israel Larken Snow (1829-1899) and Luella Austin
Keating (1838-1920), was born on March 4, 1863 in Rockland, Maine. Capt.
I. D. Snow came from a long line of seafaring men. His great-great grandfather,
Capt. Elisha Snow (b. 1739) of Wessaweskeag in South Thomaston, Maine, launched
some of the first ships in that area. His great grandfather, Capt. Robert Snow,
commanded the schooner Barbados. Sadly, Capt. Robert Snow died of
yellow fever while aboard the schooner Barbados in 1803. His
grandfather, Capt. Israel Snow I, began the Snow shipyard business back in
1862. For clarity of lineage, below is list of the Snow men:
Capt. Elisha Snow,
(1745-1826) great-great grandfather Capt. Robert Snow, (?-1803) great
grandfather, commanded schooner Barbados Capt. Israel Snow I,
(1801-1875), grandfather, began Snow shipyard in 1862 Capt. Israel Larken Snow,
(1829-1899), father Capt. Israel Larken “Dade” Snow, (1863-1928), son
Capt. Snow started his
seafaring life at a very early age. When he was 15 years old, he was
aboard the 13-ton schooner "Willie" owned by his family. He
was often in the company of Albert F. Pillsbury who would later purchase Capt.
Snow's interest in the schooner Jennie Greenbank in June of
1882.”
Richard Maurice Snow,
from
Richard Maurice Snow
is a good example of a Southender who has traveled “Beyond the Southend,” accomplished
many things, and then returned to Rockland to retire and share his experiences
and the knowledge he gained while he was away with us.
The following information
comes from Richard’s obituary. See the Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral
Home site for the full obituary. I have edited it for space reasons here.
ROCKLAND - Richard Maurice Snow, 97, died at his home,
Tuesday, October 8, 2013 at 6:55 am after a short illness.
Born in Rockland, March 2, 1916, he was the son of Maurice
and Stella Farnham Snow. He attended Rockland schools and was a 1934 graduate
of Rockland High School. Following graduation he worked at the former Snow
Shipyard, now Rockland Marine Corp in their yacht building endeavors until
entering college.
He earned a BS degree in Physics at Wheaton College in
Illinois. Following college graduation in 1939 he entered the Army Air Corps as
a Flying Cadet, earning his pilot’s wings and a commission as 2nd Lt. in 1940,
and was assigned to Kelley Army Air Base in San Antonio, TX, as a Flight
Instructor, Advanced Flying School. Later he was promoted to Captain and
commanded a Squadron at Kelley.
He married his wife, Carleen White, in 1940 while still
serving in the Army/Air Force. They had two children: David, born in 1943, and
Charles, born in 1945.
In 1951 he moved the family to Laconia, New Hampshire, where
he had his own practice for 30 years. During this period he was promoted to Lt.
Colonel in the Air Force Reserves, being a member and eventually commander of a
squadron at Grenier Air Field in Manchester. He retired from his military
career in 1967 after 28 years.
Following retirement in 1982 Dr. Snow moved with his wife to
Rockland, taking residence at the family homestead, his childhood home, on
Mechanic Street. They wintered in St. Petersburg Florida, for the next 15
years, where he volunteered his professional services in the Eye Clinic of the
Bay Pines VA Medical Center.
In retirement, Dr. Snow collaborated with his cousin,
Bertram Snow, in the research and recording of the Snow family genealogy and
history, including the Snow Shipyard and its fleet of sailing vessels over a 75
year period. They co-authored “An Adventurous History of the Snow Fleet of
Sailing Vessels of Rockland, Maine”, copies of which are in the Rockland Public
Library, Penobscot Marine Museum, and Maine Maritime Museum.
Dr. Snow enjoyed sailing on the windjammers Heritage and American Eagle out of Rockland several times each summer,
experiencing some of the seafaring life of his master mariner grandfather Capt.
Richard K. Snow and master mariner great-grandfather Captain I. L. Snow,
co-founder of the former I. L. Snow Co. shipyard, now the Rockland Marine Corp.
shipyard on Mechanic St.
The South End will certainly miss having a “Snow” presence
in their midst. However, the name will always be associated with the South End
and the fact that some of the best boat-building in the world has the name
“Snow” attached to it.
Our South End poet, Kendall Merriam, paid homage to Richard
on his 96th birthday in this poem which I now share with you:
THE PILOT
On
The Occasion of Richard Snow’s 96th Birthday
Tomorrow
you will be at Wheaton
Celebrating
among friends
You
have lived almost a century
Flying
from schooners
To
B-24s
Life
here in Rockland
Is
simple and quiet
No
one out today except plows
And
a few hardy travelers
I
just wonder how any ship
Would
make it into the harbor
The day you
were born
With a stiff
easterly
And ice on the
sails
So many ships
Were launched
on the Mechanic Street shore
And went on to
win fortune
Or meet dire
disaster
You were chosen
to survive
By God’s mercy
You still love
Rockland
With the smell
of the ocean
And the view of
the lights of Owls Head
It’s a good
place
And you are a
good man
Helping defend
your country
From the evils
of dictators
You try to
convince Phyllis and me
Of the
existence of Angels
But you come
closer to that
Than any
Heavenly spirit
From books and
Hymns
So we await
your return
To make the
street
With your tales
of the past
And your advice
on how to do good
As you do
And be happy in
this small town
Bounded by the
sea
From which all
life came
Kendall Merriam,
Home 3/1/12 9:28 PM
Listening to
Jean Sibelius “Symphony No. 2 & 7”
I hope you enjoyed this little bit of history from the South
End. Do you have a “Snow” memory you’d like to share with us? If so, email me
at southendstories@aol.com.
Thanks for listening.
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