T I D E S

D u s t i n G r e e n

f a m i l y

Map by Philip Mobley

T I D E S

Dustin Green

f a m i l y

Published by Islander Press283 Lobster Lane.Ellsworth, ME 23942

© 2010 by Dustin GreenAll rights reservedPrinted and Bound in America

No part of this book may be reproduced or used without permission from the publisher or author.

Library of CongressGreen, Dustin. Family TidesIncludes bibliography referencesISBN

Editor: Nicole Palmby

A c k n o w l e d g m e n t sSeveral people have contributed to Family Tides. It wouldn’t have been possible without the input of the Edwards and Green families. Many thanks go to Lea Edwards, Stuart Edwards, Alan Green and Richard Nugent, who answered many interview questions. Adam and Stuart Edwards provided many of the photographs. Another special thanks goes to Lea Edwards and Nicole Palmby who collaborated on and edited the book, making sure the context matches the inspiration of Bip and Mary Edwards to buy an island and spend so much family time there. I also thank the authors of two books about Winter Harbor, Maine: Nathalie White Hahn and Allan Smallidge, whose research expanded our appreciation of the community.

I n t r o d u c t i o n

M aine islands have a mystique about them. They seem timeless. Living on them is stepping into a different way of life. For a few

weeks at a time, the Edwards family vacationed on Crow Island, a very small island with no advantages of our modern world. They learned how to simply enjoy the rugged environment, appreciate the view, the blue sky, the wind and water changes, the rhythms of nature, and get-ting back to basics. This book provides a collection of first and second generation family experiences and stories that have become the heri-tage of owning an island. It includes information about how the island was created, how Winter Harbor developed as a small Maine coastal town, and how the Edwards family made it work as an outdoor vacation.

Crow Island is a small island located in Frenchman Bay off the coast of Grindstone Neck. It is considered part of Winter Harbor, Maine. It is about two acres at high tide and grows to about ten acres at low tide. The tides rise and fall about 12 vertical feet. The tidal areas of the island are covered by rocks, barnacles, seaweed, snails and muscles. The area above high tide has a dirt like peat moss, 40 – 50 pine trees, several types of bushes, including raspberries, and grasses. There’s no fresh water. Stuart Edwards says:

“I always think of Crow Island as a self-contained microcosm of all the things that are unique to the Maine coast. It is so close to the shore but far enough away to be remote. We have our own little forest, our shoreline, our clam bed, our cabin, and everything we need in a neat little package”22.

Next to Crow Island is a small land mass with just rocks and some moss growth. Officially it is called “Little Crow” or Crow Ledge. Little Crow has a bleached clam shell beach. At low tide the area between Crow Island and Little Crow is a clam bed. At high tide it is covered by six to seven feet of water.

Crow Island and Little Crow are among of the “Grindstone” islands. The other islands nearby are: Heron, Flat, Mark, Ned, Spectacle, and Turtle.

The islands vary in size and some have been year round homes. Ironbound, sitting in the middle of Frenchman Bay, is the largest island that belongs to the Town of Winter Harbor. Crow Island is one of the smallest, and is about a quarter of a mile off shore. A small road from the center of Grindstone Neck leads visitors to a west side turn around with spectacular view of Crow Island and behind it Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park. At one time there was a dock by this turn around with a ferry that took people back and forth to Bar Harbor.

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Winter Harbor islands formed from glacier movement.

I c e A g e

1

C row Island, the other islands off Grindstone neck, and the harbors of the Gouldsboro area, Winter Harbor and Schoodic Peninsula, all

formed as the glaciers receded. Until 35,000 years ago, all of Maine was buried under ice to a depth of one and a half miles. Ice sheets, also called glaciers, are made of crystallized snow and as large masses can move over huge areas of land and ocean. Global changes across the Northern Hemisphere caused the glaciers to repeatedly expand and contract. Sea levels dropped as these frozen blocks of water became bigger. About 35,000 years ago, the Maine’s Ice Age Trail reports, the ice started to ad-vance in a southeast direction.7

The last North American glacier was called the Laurentide Ice Sheet. All the islands and bays of the Downeast coastline were created by this glacier. The weight of the ice sheet caused depressions in the earth’s crust. When it moved, sea water flooded into the depressions. Maine’s Ice Age Trail reports, “Global sea level had been depressed about 300 feet lower than the present during the greatest extent of the ice,…This lin-gering depression enabled an arctic sea to flood low areas in the coastal

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Family tides

Maine…”16. The shoreline became jagged and irregular as the glacier moved across the terrain. The moving glacier created scratches or striations on rocks and carried ridges of sand and gravel (eskers) within its ice tunnels. Gradually it washed large flat top bodies of sand and gravel (deltas) into the sea. The glacier path created mountains, deltas, moraines, and marshes. It stopped at the Gulf of Maine 25,000 years ago.

Moraines are ground sediment left by melting water at the margins of a glacier. They are “a random mixture of rock and mineral fragments ranging from clay to boulder size,” adds the Maine’s Ice Age Trail.10 End Moraines are a specific type formed when the glacier is shoved against a ridge or as ice melts on the back end of the glacier. Scientists found these sediments in places where the glacier terminated.

Clay formed when the sediment left by the glacier mixed with mud. Sometimes it encapsulated fossils. Blue clay is a specific kind of moraine, which Maine’s Ice Age Trail says “…covers much of the coastal and central Maine”9. Its formal name is Presumpscott Formulation because it was found along the Presumpscott River Valley in Portland. The fusion of clay, silt, and sand particles formed rocks in the glacier tunnels and would cause “…large and small boulders [to] randomly occur [on the sea floor]”9. The boulders that were unweathered preserved fossils of organic remains of pre – Ice Age whales, walruses, seals, and snails. According to the Maine's Ice Age Trail, the clay is can be used for making bricks and pots but is too porous to support moving automobiles.9

Temperatures started to rapidly rise 21,000 years ago, and the glacier began to move again. The glacier reached its final destination between 18,000 and 17,000 years ago. The Maine's Ice Age Reports that, “About 12,900 years ago the shoreline fell to around 180 feet below present

3

Ice Age

level”16. It rose back up 3,000 years later to its present position and the sea water receded.

Native Americans in Maine

As temperatures rose, so did the expansion of forests. The rising of tem-peratures, caused “…the northern migration of a cold northern forest, which in turn was replaced by the forest of today”16. The areas south of the ice sheet were inhabited by mammoths, rhinoceros, reindeer, musk, ox, and bison. Between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago, nomadic Paleo-Indians began moving into the area.

The melting of the glacier and rise of the sea over the last millennia pro-duced Salt Marshes. Maine’s Ice Age Trail says, “Salt Marshes are large and widespread in many coastal areas of Maine and…[vary] by the salinity of the water”11. Scientists can observe the changes in water levels as well as signs of Native American life over the years by the grasses and struc-tures built around the salt marshes. The Maine’s Ice Age Trail indicates that, “Many such structures that were originally at (or slightly above) sea level are now partially or wholly submerged during high tide…Measuring the amount of salt marsh peat, allows us a direct measure of how much sea level rise has taken place since construction”11. Dikes and Drainage were built in these marshes to lower the salt level for farmers to grow and crop hay for animal feed. The Maine's Ice Age Trail adds, “The dikes themselves were made by the laborious task of excavating and stacking blocks of salt marsh peat”11.

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2W i n t e r H a r b o r H i s t o r y

W inter Harbor was originally called Musquito Harbor (sometimes spelled Mosquito Harbour). It is an area of water between

Grindstone Neck, a small peninsula on the west side, and the Schoodic Penninsula on the east. The harbor opens to the south. The town that grew up there is south of the Gouldsboro area. Winter Harbor became a town in 1895, when it separated from Gouldsboro.

The Schoodic Peninsula is the land jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean on the east side of Winter Harbor and Frenchman Bay. Today at the southern tip is the Schoodic side of Acadia National Park, and for most of the 20th Century, the United States Navy had a small facility on Big Moose Island at Schoodic Point.

Musquito Harbor was part of a Gouldsboro land grant to Nathan Jones, Robert Guild, and Francis Shaw in 1764, to create settlements in the area. Nathalie Hahn, who wrote A History of Winter Harbor, says that, “The venture for exploring and establishing a town was financed by Thomas Frazer of London,… However, in a court action in the early 1790s, their lands were seized and divided”6. William Shaw became the owner of the southwest section, which included Musquito Harbor, Grindstone Neck and Schoodic Peninsula. In 1796, Shaw sold his section to William Bingham, a senator from Philadelphia.

Bingham with the help of his agent, David Cobb, divided up the land into lots. Then he offered them for either five dollars (if settled by 1790) or 25 dollars (if settled by 1800). According to Hahn, “David Cobb…

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Family Tides

hoped to found a city in Gouldsboro… [and] that the crews of men that he brought into the wilderness to cut roads and build homes, would stay on and settle, but few did remain… Most of the road and home building under Cobb’s direction took place in Gouldsboro; Mosquito Harbour was not then (1796) in the plans for development”6 .

Thomas Frazer was the first recorded settler in the 1790 Census. He was a “free” African American settler and it is thought that he adopted the name of Thomas Frazer of London who provided the 100 acres of land for him.6 He created a settlement with a family of nine by Frazer Creek, which is on the east side of Musquito Harbor, also called “Lower Harbor.” He supported his family by producing salt for preserving fish and other foods. Today there is a small park by Lower Harbor and Frazer Creek called Frazer Point.

Settlement in the Musquito Harbor area was sporadic, and mostly unrecorded. In 1803, those who owned land lots started to pay taxes on them; however, Hahn says, “…there were still no permanent set-tlers”6. While some people were buying land lots, others were clearing land and building small houses. Hahn mentions that, “To clear land for a home and garden was difficult with crude implements… [and] roughly built houses sheltered large families”6.

Joseph Bickford established a home on 100 acres of the east side of Musquito Harbor prior to 1803. After Mr. Bickford’s sons and daughters started marrying locally, the town population started to develop. Hahn adds, “It is said that when Stephen Rand arrived in 1820, there were six families at Mosquito Harbour… [while some] Gouldsboro inhabitants were looking at this area with a view to moving”6.

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Winter Harbor History

During the 1820s, the population doubled. According to Hahn, “The Bingham land tracts began to sell more rapidly to serious colonists”6. People built mills and sea related businesses. The sea became the way of life. Musquito Harbor was a safe and sheltered harbor and very appealing. Hahn describes that, “Some men fished from small boats, rowing or sailing to local waters… Others sailed larger schooners… to more distant fishing grounds”6. Large catches were brought to the towns of Rockland and Portland to be sold and the profits carried home. Besides the sea, families also raised cows, chickens, and gardens in order to sell and store food for the winter ahead. Hahn says, “Those who found farming profitable raised huge gardens, as well as beef, hogs, and fowl, trading or selling their products”6.

People traveled mostly by boat. Hahn mentions that, “Local roads were mere paths, [some] traveled by foot. There were few wagons or carts in the early years, or horses to pull them”6. Initial plans for roads focused on a north to south section between the town of Gouldsboro and Musquito Harbor and a west to east section between Musquito Harbor and Birch Harbor. In 1822, a road was built between Birch and Musquito Harbor. Hahn reports that, “Benjamin Bickford was appointed surveyor of town and highways for Mosquito Harbour”6. “In 1846, legal action was taken against the Town of Gouldsboro by Mosquito Harbour residents because of local road conditions”6. Eventually, a new system for building and maintaining roads went into effect and all homes were connected.

With a growing economy came new businesses. Successful fishing and sea trading facilitated this growth. During the 1830s, John Frisbee started a fishing business with the help of local fishermen at Lower Harbor. Hahn says, “[He] owned part or all of several vessels and brought

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Family Tides

in new families to work in his business”6. Musquito Harbor became more active with sea activity. Ship voyages were made between various ports every day. By the 1850s, the population reached 311 people and the community began to shift the name to Winter Harbor. Hahn adds, “…[For 30 years, the] population from year to year, slowly [increased] until 1880 when 400 persons dwelt here”6.

A new phase in the Winter Harbor community began in 1887, started by Edward C. Hammond, a Boston businessman, who wanted to develop a summer community. He began with the Beacon Hotel, which ac-commodated 150 people. It was successful for two seasons but went under in the third season. Hahn explains that a competing effort, “…the Gouldsboro Land Improvement Company bought Grindstone Point and successfully interested wealthy families in starting a summer community to rival the popular Bar Harbor”6.Today, Grindstone Neck remains the summer home for many prominent Philadelphia and New York families.

Due to the increase of wealthy summer residents, new stores and seasonal job opportunities opened up. Hahn explains that “Jobs were available for skilled tradesmen and laborers alike building the roads, homes and buildings which were planned for the enterprise… The town offered several country stores, a drug store, two blacksmith shops, one livery stable, two carpenter shops, one paint shop, a boat building yard, a coal wharf, meat and provision markets, a Union Church, the Channing Chapel, a public library, and nearby grist and lumber mills”6. Grindstone Point required new water treatment facilities and sewer systems and new office buildings. The Gouldsboro Land Improvement Company lobbied for separation of Winter Harbor from Gouldsboro, in

9

Winter Harbor History

order to keep tax revenues in the local area to fund government and benefits. Winter Harbor became a town in 1895. Hahn says, “Progress reached an all time high in the new century”6. The population reached 571 in 1900.

The events of the 20th Century influenced Winter Harbor like any more isolated community. Of special note was the Great Depression. Jobs disappeared and prices dropped. Hahn adds, “Every family suffered to some degree, but unlike in cities, people in coast towns have sea food, wild game and the garden to supply basic needs”6. Eventually jobs re-opened but the economy had shifted from fishing to “lobstering.”

Another high impact was installation of a United States Navy facility on the Schoodic Peninsula in 1933. Schoodic Point extends further into the Atlantic Ocean than any point on our East coast. Navy personnel and their families doubled the year round population to 1,000. According to Allan Smallidge in his book Musquito Harbor: A Narrative History of Winter Harbor, Maine 1790 – 2005,“ most personnel felt that Winter Harbor was a good place to live and to raise their children in an environment where everyone could participate in school activities, and where each child and parent could be an important part of the whole”15. The Navy facility closed in 2002, and the buildings were given to the Schoodic side of Acadia National Park. The civilian housing has been renovated and sold to both year round and summer residents.

In an interview with Stuart Edwards, he observed that:

“thirty years ago Winter Harbor was a fishing village with hard-working trades people. It managed to survive side by side with Grindstone Neck’s vacationing gentry and the Navy personnel and

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Family Tides

families. Now Winter Harbor has morphed into more of an artisan community with art galleries, craft stores, fine restaurants, and Espresso shops. On balance I think Winter Harbor has made an interesting transition from working class fishing village to a more contemporary town while retaining its rustic Maine charm”22.

Grindstone Neck

Grindstone Neck or Point is a small peninsula that juts out into Frenchman Bay on the Western side of Winter Harbor. Hahn adds, “It is said that a ship loaded with grindstones foundered off the point, or perhaps it was from the immense deposit of amorphic or siliceous slate, excellent for making grindstones, from which the Point got its name”6. The first owner of this peninsula was Stephen Rand who bought 120 acres of land on the East Side of Sand Cove to raise a family. The Joy family built their family home nearby. Other early residents include the Grover family that settled on the hill above Sand Cove and the Nathanial Stover family who stayed briefly and sold their land to Mark Bunker. Since then, Stover’s land, Hahn says, “…has passed through many hands and undergone many additions and changes...[until it became]... known locally as the Mohr Farm”6.

The summer community project initiated by the Gouldsboro Land Improvement Company competed with Bar Harbor’s summer com-munity. The influx of wealthy families from Pennsylvania and New York resulted in rapid physical and economic growth. Hahn notes that, “For nearly one hundred years the small [Winter Harbor] community had grown slowly and modestly. Now drastic changes took place”6.

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Winter Harbor History

The blueprint for this project was called the Barretts Survey. The design involved a Main Street from the Point to the center of the peninsula. A series of ovals were laid out for lots and building facilities. According to Hahn, “…the central [oval would be used] primarily for cottage lots”6.

There were separate facilities for stables and carriages. Eventually, new facilities were added to accommodate laundry and staff. The Grindstone Inn was built at the center of the ovals. In 1956, disaster struck and the resort inn was burned down. Two churches stand in the center where the main facility used to be. Some of the entertainment facilities still exist, which included golf course, summer pool, tennis court, and yacht club. The regular activities offered were canoeing, yachting, and sailing. The resort also owned steamers and maintained summer schedules for taking people to and from Bar Harbor.

Once the Great Depression hit, some of the Grindstone grandeur faded. Many families have handed down their properties and the new genera-tion has kept the “colony” going. They make the expected renovations, yet the old aesthetics remain.

"I remember that our first landing on Crow Island was actually in the little inlet to the left of where we have always landed since then. I felt like Christopher Columbus arriving at the Promised Land."—Stuart Edwards

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3A c q u i r i n g t h e I s l a n d

T he first question many people ask the family is “How do you go about buying an island?” The answer is being in the right place at

the right time! Crow Island seems to be an island oasis that was waiting to entertain a family who likes the outdoors.

The ownership of Crow Island has gone through many changes. There is a reference in Allan Smallidge’s book Musquito Harbor: A Narrative History of Winter Harbor, Maine 1790 – 2005, of Crow Island being owned by Dr. Almena Guptill Baker Flint. According to Smallidge, when she passed away in 1911, her holdings were “bequeathed to various individuals and family members”.15 Between 1911 and 1938, Crow Island became the property of the town of Winter Harbor.

The following summary of the ownership of Crow Island comes from the Deed of Distribution recorded in Hancock County, Maine. The town of Winter Harbor sold Crow Island to Aime Eugene Desestrait, April 20, 1938. This owner conveyed the island to Lloyd and Elizabeth Beatty on August 23, 1939. The Beatty’s sold the island to Mary and Walter Edwards

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Mary and Bip in Winter Harbor.

FAMILY TIDES

on October 9, 1958. Lea and Stuart Edwards, children of Mary and Bip, inherited the island on January 25, 2005.

Buying the Island

Mary and Walter “Bip” Edwards, grew up in scouting. Bip became an Eagle Scout and had done a lot of camping, canoeing, boating, was a camp counselor, and adult volunteer with several Boy Scout troops. Mary was one of the last Girl Scouts to receive the national Girl Scout Eaglet Award, a similar recognition as the Eagle Award is today. She was a camp counselor, and Girl Scout troop leader and trainer. Since they were from Georgia and Florida, acquiring an island in Downeast Maine was very unusual.

At the time of purchasing the island, Mary sang in a church choir in Wilmington, Delaware. She often sat in the back row next to the church organist, Betty Beatty. One day, Mrs. Beatty asked Mary if she knew any-one interested in purchasing an island in Maine. Bip and Mary jumped at the opportunity. In the summer of 1957, Mary and Bip initiated the first trip to Maine. Stuart was 11, Lea was 7, and Lynn (aka Cookie) was 9 months old. After this summer, all of their late summer vacations were at the island until 1996.

15

Old Crow Island in the mid 1950s.

Aquiring the Island

1957 Shakedown Trip

The first shake down trip to Crow Island was during the Summer 1957. The family uses the term “shake down” for any first experience, or pilot effort. According to Lea, the trip consisted of three days of driving to Winter Harbor, with each night camping in a different place.19

Through referrals, the Edwards family found Blanche Gossler, who lived in Birch Harbor, five to six miles from the island. She was a widow who owned several rental cottages and a gardening business. She offered the family to camp a few nights while they figured out a plan. Since it was August, the family pitched their tents in Mrs. Gossler’s blueberry patch.

Mrs. Gossler became a regular part of the trips to Maine for many years. While they never stayed in her little cottages, they visited regularly for afternoon chats. Mrs. Gossler had a huge garden of vegetables and flow-ers that she sold all season. During the winter she made dolls that she sold to summer tourists and at craft fairs. She seemed to know everyone on the Schoodic Peninsula.

When the Edwards family arrived, Bip and Stuart set off to find a small boat that they could rent. Few boat stores or marinas would rent boats,

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FAMILY TIDES

however, to complete strangers. Stuart remembers:

“The first year we went to Crow Island, some family friends of my parents were vacationing at a lake near Ellsworth. We stopped by their cottage and arranged to rent a rowboat from the owner of the cottages. We took that rowboat to the turn around and launched for Crow Island. The rowboat weighed a ‘ton,’ and it was all we could do to get it into the water”22.

They did not have an outboard motor. Oars and oar locks were attached and the boat was launched with the next swells. Stuart continues:

“I remember that our first landing on Crow Island was actually in the little inlet to the left of where we have always landed since then. I felt like Christopher Columbus arriving at the Promised Land”22.

With three to four boat trips they conveyed all necessities, camping equipment, food and water to the island. The first priority was shelter, so they searched for flat ground to pitch tents. At the time, the island had only six to seven well developed trees. Bip started transplanting trees, which have now reached full maturity. Since it rained the first night, the family ate cold baked beans for dinner. Cookie was the driest because she could sleep in a portable crib a few inches off the ground. The next day, according to an interview with Lea, the island won them over:

“with the crisp refreshing air, fabulous Downeast scenery, and quick drying of all the wet cloths and sleeping bags”19.

A few traditions and stories emerged from this first trip. Parking the car and trailer at the turn around became the standard practice until they were able to motor back and forth to the marina in Winter Harbor. The

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Aquiring the Island

signal from the turn around to Bip on the island to come over for a pick up became the letter “B” for Bip in Morse Code, i.e., one long car horn honk followed by three shorts. It “always” rains on the first night of the journey to the island is a family joke. And nine trips out of ten, it does rain the first night. They just expect it.

The family found that it takes 15 minutes to walk around the high tide line of the island. They began to take picnics to various parts of the island, including Little Crow, for lunch. The family calls Little Crow Island the “outer banks,” even though it only takes three to four minutes to walk over to it at low tide. They reassured themselves that the tide would not wash over them. No winter storms or hurricanes have caused the water to rise over the trees and grassy part of the island during the last 60 years.

"I would say that evenings [are a favorite time] when everyone gathers outside for dinner, with a backdrop of a spectacular sunset over Ironbound, while lobsters, cooked in a pot over the wood fire, is the main course. Back in the late 70s to early 80s, we would often sing Broadway show tunes while gathered around the evening campfire. Listening to the fire crackling and looking upward at the stars was magical."—Richard Nugent

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4C r o w I s l a n d L i v i n g

W hen the third generation visited the island with their parents and grandparents, the outdoor living seemed very systematic. They

didn’t realize the stages that Mary and Bip had been through to create almost seamless living arrangements. They made it look easy. It was a lot of work, however, to take over supplies and equipment. In Lea’s interview, she mentions that various work projects to Mary and Bip were just a form of entertainment. One day they would work on the patio, the next they would take a boat trip to Heron Island and pick raspberries.19

Richard Nugent writes:

“I have three favorite experiences. One is sitting on the sloping rock (facing the nearby island, Ironbound) that forms a natural seat, and reading while watching the flow of the tide just a few feet away. It is this spot that I envision when I imagine being on Crow Island. The second is my daily, or almost daily, clamming expedition when the timing of low tide makes it possible to walk out to my favorite clam or mussel beds. Finally, the preparation and consumption of meals takes on greater meaning while on Crow Island. Given the limitations, those cooking need to be more creative and resourceful while those eating are all the more appreciative. Mealtime is a special time”20.

Log Cabin Construction

Between 1959 and 1963, Bip and Stuart built a log cabin on the leeward side of the island by the best access cove. It was 8 x 14 feet and included

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Succulent lobsters cooking over a fire.

Family Tides

a loft where a couple of people could sleep. In the first year, they poured the foundations and built the flooring. In the second and third year, they constructed walls of drift logs. In the fourth and final year, they com-pleted the roof and weather proofing. In the interior, an alcove for stove and storage for pots and pans was constructed. In the back, they made a platform to fold up and down. It transforms between a make shift bench and a full size bed. Likewise, a table folds up and down. Windows are made from plexiglass, and are covered with plywood during the winter time. On the right-side of the cabin, as you are facing it from the front, is a patio built from clam shells and stones. Stuart built a fireplace and grill on the patio, which has lasted for many years. Also on the patio, but not there anymore, was a driftwood spool table for outdoor dining. As years passed, Mary and Bip reinforced the patio with concrete.

Island Survival

It takes real camping skills to make it in this neck of the woods. The cabin itself only holds three to five people before things get claustro-phobic. A platform, located in the center of the island, allows for tents to be pitched on a flat surface without the worry of having rain water seep in under the tent. It measures 20 x 20 feet. Bip had intended to build the platform into another cabin, but gradually gave up the idea. Tents can

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Crow Island Living

also be pitched on the ground, however, it’s hard to find a level spot. Twin size blowup mattresses allow for the most comfortable sleeping arrangements. During the wet and foggy weather, towels and clothes must be kept in the cabin in order to keep them dry.

Every two to three days, the family has to make trips to shore to buy supplies. To keep things cool, they use the old fashion ice and coolers. For many years, Mary and Bip used a propane refrigerator. For water, they fill up five gallon water jugs for drinking and “sun shower” bags for taking showers. (The sun showers heat up in the afternoon sun.)

The family cooks in the cabin on a multi burner propane stove and outdoors in the patio fireplace or on camping stoves (which they bring just in case all other options are not working). They also make drift wood fires on the rocks. Crow Island menu selections include: Lobster, Clam Chowder, Clam Spaghetti, Steamed Mussels, Mussels Pasta with wine sauce, and Mary Edwards' Wild Raspberry Glop with pancakes and French toast. Glop is something between syrup and jam.

For lights, the family uses gas lanterns and flash lights most of the time. For a long time, the family had no shore communication. Bip bought a generator and, for a few years, they had power for some TV news. Alan helped Bip wire the cabin for simple electric lights. In 2006, Adam Edwards brought a small generator so the family can charge cell phones and laptops. These old generators were noisy, however, produced unsightly exhaust and were definitely not in the “spirit” of roughing it. Currently, the family is researching how to find a small, but noise friendly, generator.

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Mary Edwards picking rasberries for her breakfast glop.

Family Tides

Bathrooms (i.e., outhouse facilities) and a place to showers are set up in the center of the island, hidden within the trees. Bip built an outhouse with a toilet seat and room for a bucket. In 2009, Alan brought up a marine toilet for extra accommodations. Both facilities have to be frequently emptied into a dirt hole and treated for reducing odor. The shower tent has a fixture in the center to hang a shower bag, which has been warmed by the sun during the morning to afternoon. The family still takes soap and shampoo and washes the island dirt off in the shal-low areas at high tide.

Mosquitoes are the major island pests. The only solution is to use loads of bug spray. Since Bip was a chemist, he experimented with his own oil based bug spray solution, which turned out to drown the bugs rather than get rid of them. He named it “Bip’s Bug Bouncer.” No one would touch it now.

Island Activities

Many activities are the same from year to year with every island trip. Much time is spent camping, cooking, clamming, cleaning up, making trips to town, and island exploring. Sometimes the family has visitors, who receive a tour around Crow and Little Crow islands. Everyone does

23

Crow Island Living

something to maintain the island or occupy themselves day to day. Everyone brings reading materials and has their favorite spots to read in the sun. Lea and Lynn (aka Cookie) did paint by numbers sets and made crafts from nature supplies, driftwood, pebbles, twigs, etc. In the evening after dinner, we might watch the fire and the sunset, and then play cards. Bip and Mary would conduct island improvements, such as planting more trees and building and maintaining the patio. Mary was a very creative cook and could come up with diverse ways to use crabs, clams, mussels, and raspberries.

There is always sitting and talking, meditating with nature, watching the sunsets, watching the tide shift, watching the lobster boats, appreciat-ing a sailboat tacking into the wind, even enjoying the dense foggy days and watching the sun burn it off or the wind blow it away. The natural changes of the wind, water and tides become fascinating and tend to slow down the pace of life.

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5F r e n c h m a n B a y B o a t i n g

F or Bip, traveling between the island and the shore worked best with a 14 foot aluminum boat and a nine horsepower motor. A

14 – 16 foot boat handles the ocean swells more smoothly while at the same time is flexible for landing on the rocks. The motor needs to have enough horsepower to handle the wave action, but not be too heavy to lift. In the early trips, Bip used a wooden boat which was very heavy. He learned that fiberglass scratches too easily on rocks.

Excursions

For almost every excursion, the family has a game plan. It seemed that Bip and whoever went with him knew exactly what they needed, where they were going and how much time they had. They had learned to do this planning to avoid wasted trips. During the first family trips, the family put the boat in by the turn around that is directly across from the island. Later Bip made arrangements to come and go from the local marina in east Winter Harbor. This reduces the stress of leaving the boat ashore. The travel time between the marina and the island is about 20 minutes. The routine is that some are dropped off at the turn around. They drive to the marina and meet those who went around Grindstone Neck. They reverse the process on the way back.

The 14 foot boat is big enough to explore nearby islands. Our favor-ite family excursions on calm days are to Heron Island, around Turtle Island, and along the shoreline. Sometimes Bip took an “adventure” to Bar Harbor. Trips across Frenchman Bay can only be done when the wind is light.

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Bip is pulling the boat in with the mooring system.

Family Tides

Boating Challenges

The boating challenges change from day to day based on the tide, weather, and wind. Because the tide goes up and down 12 feet, the boat has to be placed where it will still float at low tide or moved every 20 minutes. At the island we construct a rope and pulley system to secure the boat to a mooring. The mooring consists of a large anchor or weight made of cement material. It is dropped out in the water, 25 feet or so beyond low tide. The mooring is connected by a mix of chain and rope to a float, which is attached to the pulley. The rope is threaded through the pulley and then connects the boat to a stake in the rocks. When ready to set off for shore, someone pulls the boat to the rocks while the captain gets into position and prepares to paddle to a loading spot.

The breezes are usually light in the morning, with winds five to ten knots or less and calm seas. In the late afternoon, however, the wind can kick up to 15 to 20 knots, producing larger swells. The larger waves are not a problem for an experienced boater but the spray makes the ride wet and unpleasant. When the waves are higher right after a storm, the family avoids the turn around and goes directly to the marina.

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Bip pushing the boat away from the rocks.

Frenchman Bay Boating

Fog can reduce visibility 30 to 40 feet. It can stay around for two to three days but clear up at different times of the day. Since the family is familiar with the surroundings, and with a compass in the boat, they can go straight for the shore and then use it as a marker.

Boat Handling

When operating the boat to and from shore, the family follows National Coast Guard Safety Regulations. The boat is equipped with life jack-ets, oars in case the motor stalls, and filled gas tanks. They take water bottles on every trip and zip up their cell phones in a water tight bag.

It’s helpful to have a second person in the boat as a spotter, especially when going around the point of Grindstone Neck, to watch for lobster buoys that are scattered everywhere. The rope under the buoy can get caught around the motor and disable it. In rough waves, the captain has to keep the bow at a 45 degree angle to the waves and zig-zag when necessary to reduce ocean spray. When riding the waves, the captain must angle the boat so that the waves touch the stern at an angle. This improves stability and reduces the roller coaster effect.

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Family Tides

Holding the boat for people to get in and out can be tricky. Standing in the 55 degree water feels like ice cubes at first. When not used to the water or rocks, it’s easy to be knocked over or lose your footing. When dealing with the waves, the family points the bow outward so that it will lift up with the swell. Then water doesn’t crash over the stern and swamp the boat. This tactic also allows for easy launching because the retreating water can carry the boat out. Someone with an oar also pushes the boat out to deeper waters to start the motor.

Lea describes:

“Bip’s way of coping with the occasional stress of boating in windy weather was to call the adventure a ‘Nantucket sleigh ride.’ He took on the challenge of maneuvering each wave, knowing how his little boat would react. Getting wet was a minor nuisance. We all learned the art of boat handling day by day analyzing the conditions and deciding our approach. In this way, we never felt isolated or trapped on the island. The mainland was always just a boat ride away”19.

Swimming and Scuba Diving

Because the water is 55 degrees, only the brave ones enter the water. When the day is sunny, sometimes you can trick yourself to thinking that the water is warm and refreshing. Swimming is easier when it is high tide because of the rocks.

Stuart is the main person who went scuba diving. He dove off the island and a few places near the shore. He also went night diving. Bip and Lea did a little scuba diving, but eventually Bip only used the tanks to make

29

Frenchman Bay Boating

repairs on the mooring. The water visibility is around 25 – 30 feet. At low tide, down 20 – 30 feet below the surface, the bottom is sandy.

When asked what it was like to scuba dive at the island, Stuart wrote:

“The first impression of scuba diving around the island is that while the water at the surface seems very clear, when you get down to 30 feet and below it becomes very murky. There is also not a lot of color to what you see below 15 feet. That is a big dif-ference between diving in Maine and diving in the tropics. Just as you see the many rock formations along the Maine coast with the sheer cliffs and rocky formations you encounter much the same underwater. So you can be cruising over what seems to be a flat bottom and all of the sudden it disappears for 30 to 40 feet. There are also very thick flat seaweeds that grow below 30 feet that you never see on the surface. However, the most amazing thing you see is when you dive at night. The lobsters come out of their lairs and all seem to be parading around the bottom with their claws held over their heads”22.

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6F a m i l y Tr a n s i t i o n

I n the coming years, Crow Island will pass on to the next generation. In this generation are Hanna, Adam, Elise, Dustin, and Lauren. As

children, they came to the Island with their parents and grandparents, Mary and Bip Edwards. After their last trip in 1995, the family visited the island for a few afternoons in 1996 to picnic and do some cleaning. For the next ten years, none of them went to the island because their family vacations took them in different directions.

In 2006, Adam camped on the island with a friend. Basically, it was a new “shakedown” trip. He took inventory of the cabin and equipment, initiating ideas for renovations so the family could plan future vacations. Bip had given his boat to Adam, and at the end of this 2006 trip, he arranged to have the boat stored with a local resident. This overcame one burden of hauling the boat back and forth from Virginia to Maine. Now the family can make arrangements to have the boat be put into the water and ready when they arrive.

2009 Family Trip

In August 2009, the family launched their own island adventure. This included: Stuart, Joanna, Adam, Hanna, Lea, Alan, Dustin, and two family friends. Adam, Hanna, Stu, Joanna, and Alex (a friend), arrived first and rented a “come and go” condo. They spent three to four days on the island and a couple more exploring Winter Harbor and the Schoodic Peninsula. Lea, Alan, Dustin, and Richard camped a few more days. They overlapped for a two days and attended the Winter Harbor Lobster Festival together.

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Family tides

The family started some maintenance efforts, and revived the “systems” for boating, camping and enjoying island activities. Adam and Stuart rented a chainsaw and used it to clear some old trees and undergrowth. This helps the new trees to develop. The Greens cleaned the inside of the cabin and made a few repairs. They renewed acquaintances with local residents who remembered Mary and Bip, and met new people such as the new owner of the marina and owners of a couple other islands.

From Lea:

“We used, on the island, all the lessons one learns from scouting, including the sharing of chores and watching out for safety, the seamanship, swimming and camping skills. Crow Island has been a unique aspect of my growing up family life. I think that I gained confidence in being able to take care of myself. I learned to be

“inventive” and to watch for ways to “help out.” We entertained ourselves without a television as well as coped with rain and mos-quitoes. The pattern of going to the island was a natural time to think about accomplishments of the year past and the dreams and plans for a new school year”19.

From Stuart:

“My Mom and Dad bought Crow Island because at the time it sounded like a great idea. It turned into a wonderful component of our lives. So whenever I am presented with an interesting, radical, new idea I often think of my parents’ immediate decision to buy Crow Island. That commitment to new adventures has influenced many other decisions I’ve made in my life”22.

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family transition

From Richard Nugent:

“Unlike the rest of my life, Crow Island itself has remained largely unchanged. Being there, or even imagining being there in my mind’s eye, is a grounding or centering experience: the billowing clouds, the ebbing and flowing of the tide, the view of Mount Desert Island. It’s as if stumbling over the rocks in Maine steadies my feet back home”20.

I s l a n d Ta l e s

W hen asked what they remembered most about Crow Island, Stuart replied:

“Some time early in our trips to Crow Island, my Mom convinced my Grandmother Walker to come with us for our summer vacation. Grandmother Walker had never camped before. The first night we got out to the island it rained for 24 hours. We pitched our tent and all went to bed. Unfortunately my Grandmother was sleeping at the low end of the tent that leaked all night long. She woke up in the middle of the night in about [four] inches of water. But she never said anything about it until morning when my Mom woke up and the water was [eight] inches deep. My Mom asked my Grandmother why she didn’t say anything. Grandmother replied that she thought this is what camping was all about”22.

From Stuart on the secrets to clamming:

“First, wear shoes that you will be comfortably working in while totally wet. Second, wear a good set of leather gloves. Third, learn to look for the air holes. They are often in the most unusual places such as around the bases of rocks covered with seaweed. Fourth, scrape about [four] inches of clamshells off the top of the air holes and see if there is any squirting. Fifth, if not, don’t be deterred. Continue to scrape the clamshells away until you are down about [eight] inches and now work with your hands to uncover the tops of those fat tasty clams. By now you should be seeing little baby clams. This is a great sign. Keep digging. Remember that the fat-test claims are down [12] inches. They have a way of seeming to be burrowing deeper as you’re digging. However, you will feel the

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Island tales

top edges of those shells and they have a firmness that is unlike any of the dead shells you have already encouraged. That is what you are after. Keep digging. Soon you will have one of those [six]-inch succulent clams. Now you have about [five]-dozen fat clams. Go down to the waters edge and rinse them [three to four] times to wash away all of the clam shells and let them sit in fresh water about an hour before steaming. Prepare massive quantities of lemon butter. Then prepare for a feast”22.

Richard says:

“I have three favorite experiences. One is sitting on the sloping rock (facing the nearly island, Ironbound) that forms a natural seat and reading while watching the flow of the tide just a few feet away. It is this spot that I envision when I imagine being on Crow Island. The second is my daily, or almost daily, clamming expedition when the timing of low tide makes it possible to walk out to my favorite clam or mussel beds. Finally, the preparation and consumption of meals takes on greater meaning while on Crow Island. Given the limitations, those cooking need to be more creative and resourceful while those eating are all the more ap-preciative. Mealtime is a special time”20.

B i b l i o g r a p h y

1. A Brief History Of Channing Chapel. Winter Harbor, Maine Public Library History. 13 Jul. 2009. 28 Dec. 2009. <http://www.winterharbor.lib.me.us/history.html>.

2. Acadia National Park on the Schoodic Peninsula. Schoodic Chamber of Commerce. 2008. 28 Dec. 2009. <http://www.acadia-schoodic.org/acadianationalpark.html>.

3. Chronology: Determining the Ages of Prehistoric Events. Maine’s Ice Age Trail, Downeast. Accessed on 30 Dec. 2009. <http://iceagetrail.umaine.edu/content/iceageinmaine/Chronology.php>.

4. Down East & Arcadia: The Sunrise Coast. Downeast. Online Posting. Newsgroup Accessed on 28 Dec. 2009. <http://www.downeast.com/region/downeast>.

5. Eskers and Deltas. Maine’s Ice Age Trail, Downeast. Accessed on 30 Dec. 2009. <http://iceagetrail.umaine.edu/content/iceageinmaine/EskersDeltas.php>.

6. Hahn, Nathalie, White. A History of Winter Harbor Maine. Nathalie W. Hahn, 1974.

7. Interpretation: An Abrupt Climate Change Event in Maine. Maine’s Ice Age Trail, Downeast. Accessed on 30 Dec. 2009. <http://iceagetrail.umaine.edu/content/iceageinmaine/AbruptChange.php>.

8. Kollmann, Peter. Maine’s Icy Past: Glacial History Revealed by Trail Map. Editorial. Out & About in Downeast Maine. Jul 2009: 9 – 10.

9. Marine Clay. Maine’s Ice Age Trail, Downeast. Accessed on 30 Dec. 2009. <http://iceagetrail.umaine.edu/content/iceageinmaine/MarineClay.php>.

10. Moraines. Maine’s Ice Age Trail, Downeast. Accessed on 30 Dec. 2009. <http://iceagetrail.umaine.edu/content/iceageinmaine/Moraines.php>.

11. Salt Marsh. Maine’s Ice Age Trail, Downeast. Accessed on 30 Dec. 2009. < http://iceagetrail.umaine.edu/content/iceageinmaine/SaltMarsh.php>.

12. Schoodic Scenic Byway: Map. National Scenic Byways. 2009. US Department of Transportation: Federal Highway Administration. 28 Dec. 2009. <http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/13792/travel.html>.

13. Schoodic Scenic Byway: Schoodic Scenic Byway History: Lighthouses and Fishing Villages. National Scenic Byways. 2009. US Department of Transportation: Federal Highway Administration. 28 Dec. 2009. <http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/13792/stories/73777>.

14. Schoodic Scenic Byway: Schoodic Scenic Byway Overview. National Scenic Byways. 2009. US Department of Transportation: Federal Highway Administration. 28 Dec. 2009. <http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/13792/stories/46973>.

15. Smallidge, Allan. Musquito Harbor: A Narative History of Winter Harbor, Maine 1790 – 2005. Maine: Ironbound Press, 2006.

16. The Ice Age in Maine. Maine’s Ice Age Trail, Downeast. Accessed on 30 Dec. 2009. <http://iceagetrail.umaine.edu/content/iceageinmaine/iceageinmaine.php>.

17. Winter Harbor Maine. Winter Harbor Lobster—Buy Maine Lobsters Winter Harbor Maine. 2010. Winter Harbor Lobster Coop. 28 Dec. 2009. <http://www.winterharborlobstercoop.com/seafoodshop/Winter%20Harbor%20Maine>.

18. Wright, Virginia. Schoodic: The Secret Side of Acadia. Downeast Aug. 2009. 28 Dec. 2009. <http://www.downeast.com/magazine/2009/august/schoodic-secret-acadia>.

Island Interviews19. Edwards, Lea. Personal Interview. 30 Dec. 2009.

20. Nugent, Richard. Personal Interview. 18 Jan. 2010.

21. Green, Alan. Informal Comments and Questions Interview.18 Jan. 2010.

22. Edwards, Stuart. Personal Interview. 10 February 2010

Photography23. Edwards, Adam.

24. Edwards, Stuart.

25. Green, Alan.

26. Monteith, Doug.

Maps27. Mobley, Philip. Winter Harbor Reference Map. Mar. 2010. 4 Apr. 2010.

C o l o p h o n

Book DesignerDustin Green

Editor Nicole Palmby

PaperCover paper: 80# Finch Opaque Vellum Cover Bright White. Text paper: 80# Finch Opaque Vellum Text Bright White.

Cover DesignPhotoshop layers, transparencies, opacities, and blending

BindingPerfect bound

Printer Chantilly Graphics and Printing

“I always think of Crow Island as a self-contained micro-cosm of all the things that are unique to the Maine coast. It is so close to the shore but far enough away to be remote. We have our own little forest, our shoreline, our clam bed, our cabin, and everything we need in a neat little package.”—Stuart Edwards

Family Tides explores the mystique of Maine islands. They seem to be timeless. Living on them is stepping into a simple way of life.

The Edwards family made Crow Island their annual vacation spot for many years. This book is a collection of family experiences, stories, and history that have become the heritage of owning the island. It presents information about how the island formed, how Winter Harbor became a coastal town, and how the Edwards family aquired the island.