Home»All Photographs»1963 June-Chesuncook Lake Canoe Trip

This is the only canoe trip I've had to cut short. It was June and on shore the black flies were more than some could bare. The participants were Bob,Nan,Scott,Marion,David,George, Perry, and Gail. Of interest is that wherever we went we could see Mt Katahdin in the distance (see Mt Katahdin gallery where Chesuncook Lake can be seen from one end to the other-approximately 20 miles).

A highlight of the trip was camping on Graveyard Point on the edge of abandoned Chesuncook Village. In more prosperous times it was a booming lumber town that is now partially underwater because of the flooding caused by the building of Rip Dam. On another occasion Nancy and I were camping at Graveyard Point when I noticed some smoke coming from one of the buildings. We went up and introduced ourselves to a young couple who were on their honeymoon. The man used to live in the area and had worked as a logger. While in the military he met his wife while stationed in Paris. He had spoken so highly of the Maine Wilderness that he convinced her to try living at Chesuncook Village in the middle of nowhere. At the time, people were speculating that he would be lucky if she lasted 3 months (till winter). When I returned many years later in the early 2,000's I was with my son, Ryan, on a canoe trip. I had told him about this couple and was anxious to see if they were still around. By then there were approximately 15 people in town and when I mentioned the couple I was told that not only did they stay but had successfully restored the village to a 5 Star international wilderness destination. It turned out that he had just died and she was busy in her cabin where she had retired. We spoke to several people about them and found that everyone seemed to have a personal story. It was clear that they were local heroes and were loved by all. Before we left Ryan and I went to his burial sight to pay our respects.

Another highlight of this trip was the honor of having Perry and Gail as participants. It was one of their first dates and led ultimately to a successful marriage that ended only recently with Perry's death.