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Published: August 2nd 2011
Shabbat shalom from Sebec Lake
I sit on our back porch looking out at across the lake, a view that has been a part of my life since I was two years old. I am surrounded by memories. In no particular order they come to me. Aunt Bill helping us put together a skeleton of a small rodent we found under the porch, picking berries for pie, hoisting the flags in the morning and taking them down at night while singing "Day is Done", stubbing countless toes on the roots and rocks, taking pictures on the picture rock and on the back steps, watching the sunsets, dreaming about the castle across the lake, riding in the Mary B. across the lake, cleaning brush, sweeping floors every morning, doing dishes, running through the woods with older cousins chasing us. There are so many memories. Pitting all the mattresses in a pile and creating a show for our parents. Reading for hours on end, swimming whenever possible, walking to the other camps to visit and play cards, playing Pounce and Monopoly. Grandpa Doore takin us on nature walks, Uncle Obie drawing for us. Becoming and adult and learning to take care of Camp. Hearing voices and laughter from the past. Enjoying the serenity and calm that descends as soon as I arrive at Camp. Going to Big Beach to celebrate my Father's birthday and my birthday and family and friends coming to join us. Bats. Uncle Obie directing us in a molasses taffy pull and hiding the taffy for two years or maybe more. Aunts and Uncles watching as we San, the fiberglass canoe as they laughed at us. Being here with my niece. Trying to teach my Uncle George to eat sunflower seeds like I did. Trying waterskiing and deciding that it was not a sport I'd be taking up anytime soon but proud that I did get up on the skis at least once. Bringing my own kids here when they were small and regreting that i was not able to continue to bring them every other year. Taking down all the canoes and canoeing around the island.
I'm wishing I could find time to come up here and stay for an extended period of time, more than a few days, like my Father used to do when we were little. Maybe next year or the year after?
Before we arrived at Camp: My Brother and I left Boston on Tuesday and headed north. Every cemetery we stopped at we found what we were looking for except the Buck cemetery. It was locked up and we could not go in. It is locked up because of a story or legend of a woman accused of being a witch and in turn she cursed Jona Buck. (I have yet to read the whole story), to prevent people from going in and doing mischief it is locked up. We walked around the whole cemetery peering in to see what we could and if we could see Stephen
Brown's grave. The only one we saw was for a Stephen Badger who had the same date of death and the same number of years old as our Stephen Brown. A coincidence? Or a misprint?
The next day, Friday, we went to the Town Clerk who directed us to the library. There we spoke to a gentleman who had photographed each and every gravestone in the cemetery. He had put the photographs in a binder along with a list of the people buried there. In his list both a Stephen Brown and a Stephen Badger are listed. He said he got the list from a 1930's list and it was possible that since that time Stephen Brown's gravestone may have fallen down or decayed if it were made of wood. According to Jim it would have been a modest stone. We had to make do with that information and went our way.
After leaving Bucksport we made our way towards Bangor in search of more cemeteries. Up till we reached Dover-Foxcroft we had only seen relatives that I knew only by name from the family tree. In the Dover cemetery we visited graves of my Grandpa Doore, my uncles, George and Obie, Owen and my dousing Katy. All of whom I knew and loved.
After that we went on into Dover to see the mill, the old homes and then stopped for groceries at the Shop and Save before heading to the lake. It must have been the first time I had ever arrived before anyone else. Usually there are other cars ahead of me. This time no one. So we waited a bit, knowing that cousins would be by eventually. In the meantime we went to the little museum. Very little, owned by Tim Merrill. Lots of pictures and posters and memories and stories of everyone around Dover-Foxcroft. An old movie of the Wyman's fishing was fun to watch as their camp is the next own over from ours and so our camp can be seen in the movie. During our visit the Google street view camera car drove by. It will be fun to see the new pictures if that is in fact what they were doing. Heading back to the landing we saw Harold who was getting his boat ready to take other cousins up to Camp. Good to see him and then Alicia and Aunt Nancy drove up too. They were not going to Camp but bring life jackets for the little ones. We chatted and caught up with each other till Harold came back.
After the Camp meeting we all gathered on the front porch to remember Uncle George with different family sharing stories. Then some of the family had to leave and so we said our goodbyes for another year. Off to Big Beach for swimming. Saw an eagle fly overhead. Sunset on the front porch and that evening we sat around Tod's laptop to see photos he had scanned, from the 50's up to now. Saw pictures of my Mother in 1963 on my first trip to Maine along with many others. Such a good use of technology to share the past with each other. I do not believe I had seen the pictures before.
Before going to bed I went out on the dock to see the stars and the Milky Way. Then off to bed for a perfect night's rest. Leisurely breakfast on the front porch and then pack up to head to Waterford.
We stopped at four more graveyards before arriving in Waterford. I spent the evening with another cousin and her daughters and their new kittens. It was fun to catch up and laugh at the kittens antics. At one point one of the kittens while trying to catch the feather toy that was being dangled above his head jumped straight up and landed on the dog's back startling them both.
Morning came early with Nancy's cat coming in to meow for food, felt just like being home! No electricity so we went to a wonderful cafe, Melby's, just up the road. With electricians on the job, we might have power back on in a few hours.
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susan
non-member comment
Excellent, excellent, excellent!
Mare, Your descriptions makes camp come alive. Most excellent writing. Hugs and hellos to the cousins in W-ford. Safe travels Love, Suse