My mom and dad bought our camp on beautiful Lake Meddybemps Maine in 1946. They bought our camp (which are called cottages in Downeast Maine) from "Donkey " Smith Calais. It was just our camp and Tommy Denyer's Beach Cottage by Reynolds. Dad painted our place, "Red", and since then we were known as "red camp" near the beach. Cliff Reynolds-owned beach, but our families had beach rights. Mr. Reynolds also owned camps on our right side, and he rented them all during the summer. Cliff had a lot of work with a beach, campsites and his boats for rent. He had a place for people to get a tent and camp in his field opposite the beach along with a hand pump to draw the water, a snack bar and a place to launch boats. I used to jump our dock growing up there in front of our red camp, and I'd swim diagonally all the way to the beach raft. It is usually crowded on that float, especially on a hot summer day. It was fun as a kid in those days. Dad worked in paper mills (Paper Co. St.Croix) in the vicinity of the "forest" in Baileyville, Maine. When school let the forest for the summer vacation, we Sprague kids and our mom would be right to move there and stay until Labor Day.
I could swim all day, fish and go boating. I guess I never realized how happy I was at that moment. I could jump on board and ride to the town dock. I would tie the pier and walk to the store Palmeter. They sell gas there and I could get candy and ice cream or a little food. Palmeter families are always friendly. It was Curtis "chub" Palmeter and his wife, Alberta, daughter Betty, Maxine and Myrtle, and son Curtis. Charlie Bridges worked there and was a good guy. The shop is a gathering place Meddybempsters and summer campers. There are guides and educators, such as Cecil Ward and Ronald Cousins. I enjoyed watching Howard Allen here and sometimes I would visit him at his home nearby. I hung around with Mark Ketchum, Jeff Orchard, Dale Sherrard, Johnny Hanson, Roger Holst, Jon Mahar and several others. Sometimes, mom would make me run errands.
I'd sometimes go to the post office which is just a short walk from there across the bridge Harry Smith Dam and Lottie shop by the Lombards, who was at home Everett Gillespie. Once in awhile, I'd get an insight into his beautiful daughters, Nancy and Frannie. Subsequently moved further down Route 191 and Lottie in the store was closed. I still remember all the baskets hanging in there and smell different from those Indian Sweetgrass baskets. Palmeter, a trade remains a friendly part of the last day on the lake. After my chores, I'd head back to the dock right past a small white church, bubbling brook and back to my boat. Dad has always had a motor boat to use when growing up and I got a little older, I built my hydroplane I enjoyed skimming across the water. Kip Keneap had hydroplace too, but it is much faster than mine. Another was owned by Ronnie Denyer.
Since we had only one car in those days, Dad would bring bags of food bought by the Coulter at the store in Woodland after work. On the weekend, we could go to Calais shop or get food from M & A or IGA. My favorite shop was the Western Auto and Todds hardware, but there is a 5 and 10, WT Grant, Woolworth's, Fishman's, Bernadine's peanuts (they had great hot peanuts and cashews, which were greasy in a brown bag), Downeast TV and several other places we liked to go. They were so good peanuts, rarely does it all the way back to camp. We ate them. Sometimes dad would mom, me and my sisters of St. Croix Valley drive-in theater. I remember we always burned wick circular green spots on the car dash. were so many mosquitoes and black flies.
In those days, the speakers on a pole. You can put it in the window. That was before you set the specific frequency on the radio. several times we went to the cinema in St Stephen, New Brunswick at the Queen Theatre. Canadian border was only about 16 miles from our camp. Since the State Theatre burned down, Calais was no cinema. The last film he played was "a Hot Tin Roof ". How ironic. It was a good life when life was simple. We had a company up to all summer cottages plus Cliff's brought a lot of friends to play. Many of his camp had the same tenants from year to year. Most spent two weeks at a time. In late summer, I had my "Ham"radio equipment and my sister had a boyfriend. We played cards on rainy days, water skied on hot days and swam every day. They thunder and lightning storm on the lake were memorable. Bolts of lightning hit the lake to load noise, white hats streamed down the lake. It was a pretty sight. Once, I remember the lightning came in the window and bounce off the black kitchen stove. several campers were scared, but it's equally exciting for me.
Meddybemps Lake attracted a lot of people from Maine and other eastern states. The lake is pretty much an 8 km long, 7 miles wide with fifty two islands. Some had nick-named the lake for this calendar reason.There cottages are on most of these islands, and most of the big ships. I've always been a little jealous of the Islanders. One ship I remember as a child called "Dixie Clipper", owned by the Graham family. I had heard it has something to do with the Dixie Cup Company. It was never confirmed to my knowledge. One could equally well have been rumors, but that the family was quite well off just the same and had a great weekend, a mile of shorefront. Some of the boats on the lake were designed to use the ocean, I thought.
Meddybemps water is deep in parts, but it is also known for its many rocks. There were plenty of boats and engines were damaged in that body of water. I soon found out where the majority of the rocks were. Many of these bolders just below the surface of previously designated color or buoys, but every once in awhile, we realized that some of them are overlooked. I managed to shear a few needles or two over the years and had to fix an outboard motor several times. I remember Seaplanes to land on the lake, and sometimes we get to ride over the lake. Ed Ketchum had a plane and so was Ed Arba. Of course, so the fish and game warden, so we had to make sure we had our license with us, and measured the length of our catch. Dad loved to go fishing after work, and we generally like to have a fish fry 2 or 3 nights a week. We'd fry, bake and grill them.
I had the honor of cleaning and filleting perch, bass and pickerel on occasion. The latter type is usually completed in a fish chowder. Mama was a good soup maker, and dad was known for homemade clam chowder. Mama is also the creator of the expert asks. We ate on the lake. The berries were also numerous. We would pick wild strawberries and raspberries in July and blueberries in August they were good on cereal or in a large bowl with whipped cream. At the end of summer in this part of Maine blueberry fields had to rake and be winnowed, and then sends Stewart or Wyman's factory. There is much work for us kids for at least two weeks. We are able to earn enough money to buy their own clothes for school or anything else that we wanted. I usually will work for Howard Allen or forest path to Sadler on Conant's Hill. I was able to amass a lot of fruit, but my back is still sore at the end of the day. If you really want to clean the fruit, they are hand-picked elsewhere. Strawberry and blueberry sponge cake were my favorites.
Meddybemps on the lake, we had the best sunsets too. We have enjoyed many of them from our front shown porch.The sky is pitch black at night and you could see all the stars in the sky. In the end I had a telescope on the porch, but I must admit, it points to the beach in some circumstances. We rode bikes on the road camp and had a baseball game in Reynold's field. Tommy Denyer every summer to get a bunny rabbit man picked up in Charlotte. Nelson Tommy Craig will let them keep in cages in the back yard camp, and then return them at the end of summer. We children enjoyed those bunnies. They are all different colors. Gray, black, white and mixed.
Another interesting thing about Meddybemps Lake is that everyone waved to each other on the water, although we did not know most of them. It was just a friendly gesture we all did. The lake was pleasant, and even the elm trees were beautiful and welcoming around the village. Finally, the Dutch elm disease took its toll on these trees. Soon a bright street lights were placed around the coast and on the highway. After Cliff's death, his son built their new home at the beach.
Unfortunately, life does not stand still. However, I still suggested to my wife on the beach under the stars on a summer evening. Later we bought a red camp of my people. One of the first projects was to paint the camp a different color. It is now the blue camp. Everyone is now complaining that they missed the red camp. I have to add hot water and shower, which got the approval of the never-the-less. We did get good use of that place growing up in a nearby town. We could see the leaves in autumn. Dad will be there in November to catch his brothers and other hunters will stay right out there for a few weeks each year. In winter, we would drive out there to skate and play in the snow. Then we heated the wood stove and dine and drink hot chocolate. Spring will bring the ice in late April. Sometimes, we were there when the ice has disappeared and I hope left port on the coast. Many years we have had to repair or build new towers.
In the mid eighties, my wife and I moved to Calais from Massachusetts, started the job, and hoped to enjoy the camp as in the old days and my son could have an experience as I had. After self-employment business, unfortunately, does not always provide enough free time. This is the case for me, but my wife and son get to enjoy Meddybemps for several years. Nothing stays the same, of course, so I cling to those fond memories of long ago.
