News Note – Summer, 2006

TRESCOTT HISTORICAL SOCIETY
                             … AND SOCIAL CLUB

Early in his first term President Roosevelt established the Rural Electrification Administration with the promise of “power to every farm in America by 1935”. The program worked, but marked the beginning of the end for an important downeast industry, as consumers across the country quickly realized that fresh fish from the new ‘electric’ ice box was far more versatile than the usual dried, smoked or salted varieties. – Ed. [Image from the THS Early Washington County Collection.]

Since our Fall, 2005 News Note we have hosted three programs, free and open to the public, followed by donated refreshments. Topics included: “the Future of the Blueberry Industry” by Zeke Gaddis; “Native American Stone Artifacts” by Phillip Avery; and “Local Real Estate Trends” by Debra Holmes.

At our annual December holiday party we had so many plentiful and delicious food choices that the left-overs were shared to take home for our families to enjoy. Let's hope this will be the start of another THS tradition. The decorations, music, traditional Yankee Swap, buffet and eggless egg nog were world class.

Our Sunday morning tours focused on the south side of town. We visited the former Lancaster and Jones farms and cemeteries at Haycock Harbor; the now Griggs (formerly Moores) place on Moose Cove; the Dunn and the Balch (Lew McFadden) cemeteries; the old Pressley homesite, along with its smokehouse and burial place of Mariner McFadden, 1889 – 1922.

We have continued this year to collect donations for the Food Pantry in November and April. The Pantry is now housed in the basement of the new Three Angels Church on Route 1 in Whiting.

Show and Tell on meeting nights had a few surprises. Among the unique and interesting old bottles and paper advertisements was a 12–pound cannon ball found by Wayne Jones, Sr. at the old Fowler/Fenwick place on Flagstaff Point at Haycock Harbor. Wayne remembered seeing several of them there when he was a young boy and returned, many decades later, to find one. Coincidentally, we had been contacted through our web-site, about a year earlier, by a professor at the New York Maritime Academy who was researching and documenting evidence of Haycock Harbor privateering skirmishes in the War of 1812. He suggested that we contact the Naval History Center in Washington, DC which we have done, forwarding a photo of the ball with its measurements.

Three members have agreed to serve as a Cemetery Committee to seek grants for restoring a number of our township's graveyards.

This past May we donated CD copies of the 1790 through 1930 U.S. Censuses for Washington County to the Lubec Memorial Library.

The THS web-site, created by member Erich Veyhl, has had forty-one hits [i.e., use of the contact form] to date. Many supplied us with photos and ancestor charts.

We thank Gladys Kelley, age 80, who mows the Wilcox Road cemetery; Lee Cleveland for his contribution to our upcoming August picnic; David Pressley for keeping the Dunn Cemetery tidy; and our officers and members, working to keep the THS alive and active.

Sadly we report the death of Ivan Gilpatrick, an avid Whiting town historian and original member of the Trescott Historical Society.

Members Carl and Kim Zils furnished the postage for this mailing.

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