WINTER, 1947-48 25 Cents Made, ^ S u (A privately supported, state-wide, non-partisan, non-profit organization for the promotion and development of Maine’s agricidtural, industrial and recreational resources). 1947-4 8 WINTER 1947-4U J n JL a cJaue: Page Come Back To Mount Desert...............W. H. Ballard 3 A Living Mo n u m en t...............Eleanor Dutton Martin 7 W inter W eekend A t Rangeley . .. William A. Hatch 14 Maine Communities: Rumford.................................... Richard A. Hebert 19 Minstrelsy of Maine .. Edited by Sheldon Christian 28 Around the Cracker Barrel . .. Elizabeth A. Mason 31 Made In Ma i n e .................................. William A. Hatch 34 Famous Maine Rec ip e s................... June L. Maxfield 38 The Maine Sc e n e ................................................................ 41 W hite Magic .... Albert Ralph Korn Inside Back Cover Maine Snow storm .............Inez Farrington Back Cover t h e p i n e c o n e WINTER, 1947-48 VOL. 3, NO. 4 Published Quarterly by THE STATE OF MAINE PUBLICITY BUREAU PORTLAND . YORK CORNER . BANGOR . NEW YORK Main Office: 3 St. John St., Portland, 4 Maine GUY P. BUTLER RICHARD A. HEBERT Executive Manager Editorial Manager PINE CONE SUBSCRIPTION: $1 A YEAR (Printed in Maine on Maine-made Paper) Come Back To Mount Desert A veteran photographer reports only a small section, most of it seldom seen by visitors, was affected by last October’s “big burn.” Here are names of many beauty spots on Mount Desert you may never have seen, but surely won’t want to miss. By W. H. Ballard f course the famous explorer, Bar Harbor. What is left of Mount O Champlain, was among the first Desert Island’s world renowned to take notice of Mount Desert Is­ beauty? ALMOST THE WHOLE OF land’s outstanding feature, its great IT! . hills, and because they appeared to As a photographer of this Island him to be bare rock, be gave the Is­ for fifteen years, the writer has land its name in 1604,—“ The Island of looked over his subject from every the Desert Mountains.” angle. No one feels more than I the In the three hundred and forty-four loss of a single spot of scenic beauty. years that followed, during which na­ Yet, I can agree with many others tions vied with each other for owner­ that at least 90 percent of the scenic ship of this unusual range of sea born spots which amounted to anything at hills, at one time dividing it between all are still here without change. The England and France, the forests in fire which swept through such a large the low valleys crept seed after acreage and did such tremendous struggling seed outward to the rock damage, was for a large part con­ shores and upward on the mountain­ fined within generally un-visited sides until they achieved the state of parts of the woodlands. This article, scenic perfection which was dis­ it should be noted, is concerned only covered by the first summer visitors with the natural attractions of the to arrive on the Island by boat from Island. Where scenic spots were Rockland. damaged, the area was concentrated No more beautiful combination of and such sections may, in large meas­ surf - beaten, ripple-c a ressed rocky ure, be avoided by visitors in pref­ shores, with cliffs rising out of the sea erence to othe'’ parts of the Island, beyond sheltered harbors and ever­ some being well-known and others be­ green-crowned headlands, and with a ing yet to be “ discovered” by the hinterland of eighteen rugged hills larger proportions of our visitors. rising as high as 1500 feet above the sea, cradling twenty-six lakes and Of t h e w e l l - k n o w n , it can be said ponds in their valleys, could be found that the seaward side of the entire within any other one hundred square Ocean Drive presents the same spec­ mile area, completely surrounded by tacle of rugged shore as ever, al­ the ocean. though the fire cut through some Last October, fire struck at these forest swaths on the landward side forests, burning out of control to of the road. The Cadillac Mountain reach a climax in leveling some out­ Road is similar in this respect, for fire lying sections of the famous town of remained almost entirely on one side WINTER, 1947-48 3 Bar Harbor Main Street, showing the business center of the town totally unaffected by the October fires—although everyone agrees it was a close call. and the Western slopes of the moun­ mountains and lakes, the harbors and tain are untouched. The great new other attractions of the vast western Hunter Beach Drive, and the Sea half of Mount Desert Island, much of Cliffs Drive were out of the burn. which is contained in the Acadia Na­ One may travel the trails of Pemetic tional Park lands and easily ac­ Mountain, the west slope of Cadillac cessible by good roads and trails. Mountain, all over Day Mountain, The attractive little village of The Triad, Penobscot, Parkman, Somesville provides a gateway to this Norumbega Mountain, Asricou Hill, area, which was first to have summer and Sargent Mountain, with the ex­ visitors, church, hotel, telegraph, ception of its northeastern slope, steamboat service and automobiles, without encountering scars. and still retains all of its natural Jordan Pond, Bubble and Long charm and quiet. Ponds, Upper and Lower Hadlock The hills of Mount Desert are seen Ponds, Northeast Harbor, Seal Har­ at their best from Southwest Harbor; bor and Somes Sound, with its famous the only lighthouse on the Island may Sargent Drive, all on the eastern side be visited at Bass Harbor; real down- of the Island, were all unaffected and east fishing and boat-building villages out of the areas reached by fires. are there for the looking; the North­ Concentrated in all the above places east Harbor Fleet races its sailing are a very great percentage of the craft close by the Manset and Seawall best scenic spots on eastern Mount shores, and boats will take visitors Desert Island. to outlying islands or the fishing Not so well-known to the casual grounds. Seawall faces the Atlantic visitor, but due to become so, are the and is perfect for picnicking as well 4 THE PINE CONE The famous summer resort of Northeast Harbor is partly shown in this view across Somes Sound from Flying Hill. Islands in the distance are the Cranberry Isles. On the point in the loiver right foreground is the site of the early French Jesuit colony of Mount Desert Island. as for camping. The National Park Eagle Cliffs plunging down to Valley Service maintains a campground Cove; Acadia Mountain, with two there. summits; Beech Hill and its Beech Great Pond, Echo Lake, Somes Cliffs, with Beech Mountain above it; Pond, Seal Cove Pond and others can Western Mountain, consisting of two be visited; there are numerous coves peaks, Bernard and Mansell at an ele­ along the shore and roads lead to vation of 1071 feet. The trails on several points on Somes Sound where, Western Mountain are exceptionally at one spot, there was a French set­ interesting, and steepsided Bernard tlement over three hundred years can be surmounted in an hour. ago. With all of this to consider, it is easy to understand why we who know Many contend that the view from Mount Desert Island best can truly Beech Cliffs rivals that from Cadillac say that at least 90 percent of its Mountain, though on a smaller scale, scenic attractions are here for all to and certainly the scene of Echo Lake visit. below the cliffs is one to be remem­ bered. A road leads almost to the summit, which is then reached by an (Ed. Note: After the fire emer­ easy path. gency had passed last Fall, we made As for trails, nothing is lacking. a survey trip to Bar Harbor and Hikers will find a network of trails Mount Desert and found the situation leading to all points: Flying Moun­ exactly as presented above by Mr. tain; St. Sauveur Mountain, with its Ballard, who is familiar with nearly WINTER, 1947-48 5 every foot of the 100-square mile Service, but this has been progress­ island. ing all Winter. As Benjamin F. Had­ Bar Harbor had Christmas lights ley, park superintendent, told us: strung on the main streets and the “ Some of the plumage is gone, but only fire evidence was around the the body is still here, with all its western edge of the town. All agreed scenic beauty. From the top of that only a miraculous shift in the Cadillac Mountain a few smudge wind kept the damage from being- spots show, but the glorious pano­ much worse. Yet, unless one went rama is unchanged. Another Spring looking specifically for fire scenes, or two and much of the grass and they are scarcely evident along the plumage will return.” main roads. Bar Harbor and Mount Desert will see thousands of visitors again this Rehabilitation of 203 resident fam­ year. In some places the grass will be ilies has been going on all Winter greener for having been burned over under the direction of the American and, if you look for it, you will see the Red Cross and was completed a few fire scars, still something to see, even weeks ago. if tragic. While the acreage percentage fig­ Just to give an idea of how the ures on the area affected is some­ early fire reports were exaggerated: what misleading, we would say that The Town of Bar Harbor prints a the average visitor would estimate folder which includes 16 photos rep­ hardly five per cent of the total area resenting typical scenic spots on bears the scars of fire.