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Contact: Elaine Eadler, Project Director Department of Visual and Performing Arts University of Maine at Farmington Farmington, ME 04938 Phone: 207-778-7515 |
The cultural richness of Franklin County is immense. I think it is safe to say that, to a large degree, a community is defined by the human spirit that drives it. Local residents of a community often understand but do not articulate the dynamics of this spirit. The elements of traditional life that lie at the surface of a region are often seen by community members as simply just “how we live,” “nothing special,” or are even shrugged off with statements like, “we’ve always just done it that way.” A community can be best understood through the stories, oral accounts, or memories of these same individuals. For the residents of Franklin County, Maine, each person’s story is as important as the next and collectively these elements of oral history inform us of both the diversity and unifying nature of the cultural richness of this community. The ideas that drive the following overview of Franklin County come from a cross-section of residents sharing stories about their lives. These individuals are only a small sampling of a population that prides itself on a deep personal connection to the local landscape, abundant natural resources, and neighbors who live independently yet count on each other when needed. Interviewed over a period of twelve days, the following narrators talked about intimate aspects of traditional Western Maine life, shared personal stories about their families and their working lives. They retold memories of the past and shared their aspirations for the future. Although this collection of voices is only a sampling, as you read you will notice important traditional themes that occur again and again in the lives of many who call Franklin County their home. The cultural landscape and the physical landscape are one in the same. Franklin County is geographically unique when compared to the rest of the state. Historically, the county has been known as a “transition zone” in which the southern half has thrived as an agricultural center while the northern half has concentrated on logging and industries associated with the woods. For generations this has dictated that Franklin County residents need to be a grounded in both worlds. Whether I was talking to traditional quilt artists or oxen yoke makers or organic farmers nearly every individual relayed a current or past connection to making a living, at least part time, in the forest and on the land. The physical landscape of Franklin County – particularly the changing seasons – play a key role in shaping the cultural landscape. The ties between the seasons and the cultural of this community are strong. For the Mosher family of Temple, working with teams of horses and oxen hauling lumber out of the woods has evolved from a livelihood to a recreational outlet. As large mechanical skidder and bulldozers mechanized the logging process, three generations of this family keep the animal tradition alive by competing in pulling contests at several of the twenty-seven Maine fairs that take place throughout the state each summer. Buddy Mosher has early memories of working the woods with his father Herb.
Many long-held agricultural traditions are still embraced by generations of Franklin County residents who keep these family and community legacies alive. The production of sugar syrup has a long continuity that reaches back to American Indian tribes who taught early settlers the art of tapping maple trees. Throughout the years sap collection has moved from a system of hand-collected individual buckets to the nearly universal gravity feed system which ties the orchard together with a flexible network of plastic tubing. Today, maple syrup production remains both a major source of pride and livelihood for hundreds of families and small business owners throughout the region. The syrup production season runs from the end of February throughout the month of March and culminates with a state-wide celebration centering around this important agricultural commodity. Pete Tracy of Farmington, a member of the Maine Maple Producers, was part of the group who initiated this special springtime event:
Like many Franklin County residents the lives of Tracy and his family are shaped by the seasons in both an economic and social sense. Throughout the years Western Mainers have developed a prideful adaptability and a self-sufficient nature that certainly is a regional form of “Yankee Ingenuity.” What some have called Yankee Ingenuity many residents of Franklin County simply call “living.” This feeling stretches far back into history and can be seen more recently when an entire “back to the land” movement brought new individuals and families to the region in the 1970s. These were people in search of a greater level of self-sufficiency and a healthier lifestyle. For over 30 years these settlers and other newcomers have made their homes alongside local farm families with names like Tracy and York, both learning from these long established county residents and sharing their own thoughts and techniques on agricultural management. Karla Bock and Bob Basile, owner of Hoof ‘n Paw Farm Greenhouse and Harness Repair settled in the community of New Sharon 20 years ago. Although not part of the back to the land movement themselves, Bock and Basile came with ideas of living a more self-sufficient life. The couple began by planting a garden their first year. This grew into setting up a truck and selling produce at the Sandy River General Store their second year in the area. Since then Bock and Basile have continued to live a self-sustaining life on their own terms, working much of their acreage with horse-drawn implements, becoming increasingly entrenched in the organic food movement, and embracing the lifestyle provided by life in Western Maine. Like most residents, Bock and Basile do many different things to make a living. Bock is a licensed clinical social worker in addition to the many agricultural responsibilities she is involved in. Basile is the cornerstone of the farm day to day.
The theme of ingenuity is a constant companion in Western Maine. For many this term is an embraced necessity that has carried them throughout their lives. Blacksmith Ray Tilton has spent a lifetime exploring his innovative craft with a growing passion. Starting out as an apprentice for local blacksmith Charles Purrington in the 1950s, Tilton has a long history as an industrial blacksmith and in working in ornamental design metal. Tilton sees blacksmithing as an art that is constantly evolving and presenting new challenges.
The ties of recreational traditions to the landscape In addition to providing an important livelihood for several generations of Franklin County residents, the forests, rivers, valleys and mountains have been a source for leisure time activities as well. As the working life of much of this region is dictated by seasonal change so are the recreational traditions that celebrate the abundant outdoor life of the region. For many, hunting, fishing, or traveling to the family camp on the lake are as second nature as the coming of the seasons themselves. Since the days before the automobile when the narrow gauge railroad system first brought tourists north to the vacation and camp communities in and around the Rangely Lake area, Franklin County folks have enjoyed and thrived in the outdoors and shared their precious natural resources with those from “away.” Many Maine Guides make their living leading visitors on fishing and rafting excursions and as a group these guides have formed their own unique culture.
A major part of the wintertime recreational life of the region has been the development, over time, of skiing as a sport. From Farmington’s Titcomb Mountain to the ever-growing reputation of Sugarloaf/USA Ski Area in the Carrabassett Valley in the north, the enthusiasm for this winter sport has its beginnings with adventurous individuals like Kingfield’s own Amos Winter. With a dream to share his passion with the kids of the town, Winter recruited young men like Stub Taylor to help him cut the first ski run on this well known mountain. Taylor would eventually go on to be Sugarloaf’s first Ski Patrol Director in 1955, a position he ultimately held for 42 years until his retirement in 1997. Taylor remembers well the exciting days of his youth when Franklin County ski culture was in its infancy.
The creative landscape: folk music and folk arts Franklin County has long been well known for producing and supporting talented musicians from the famous soprano Madame Lillian Nordica to the current local community chorus and orchestra. Equally important are the elements of traditional folk music that are brought to life by musicians like fiddler Hank Washburn of New Sharon, Fred Lager of Jay, and up and coming youth groups like the Franklin County Fiddlers. Led by talented fiddler and music mentor Steve Muise, The Franklin County Fiddlers are known for performing a variety of music emblematic of the traditional Franco-American and Celtic fiddling styles of the region. These young musicians share their talents with audiences around Western Maine and beyond and continue to explore, with the assistance of Muise, Maine’s Downeast fiddling styles. The Downeast style is French in origin and is currently being played by 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generations of the emigrants who first came down to Western Maine from southern Quebec looking for work in the mill towns throughout the area. As seen in the following example, traditional music does not hold itself to defined borders.
The variety of traditional creativity goes beyond music in Franklin County. Arbeth (Petie) Coffren of Salem began her life doing crafts at age six when she helped her mother make doll clothes out of the fur collars from “rich lady’s coats.” She then began patchwork quilting with her aunt at age eleven assembling the Nine Patch and Peony patterns which Maine quilters are known for. Growing up poor in the Depression, Coffren father worked for the WPA and the family had to live using all the resources available. Coffren continues today to braid and hook rugs from recycled wools, reclaimed skirts and pants, and the material from old suits. The natural environment also plays a role in Coffren’s versatile handiwork as she seasonally creates Christmas wreaths and ornaments from found objects, like pine cones and fir boughs, from the forest near her home. This traditional resourcefulness also takes the form of using plant knowledge to locate natural dyes for coloring wool and other textile work.
Within all these Franklin County voices there lives a
richness of community containing profound elements of individuality and
at the same time threads of a common experience driven by the cycle of
the seasons and a strong sense of place. Within these stories are the
memorable moments of perseverance over historical hard times and also
the belief in the power and creativity of self, family, and neighbors.
This handful of recorded memories is only a small, but poignant, group
of vignettes that embody our images of the people living in this special
place. These narratives of traditional life are part of an evolving history
that informs us both of the far and distant past, but also one that represents
the ingenious and self-sufficient spirit alive in Franklin County today.
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Buddy
talks about early days working in the woods with
his father, Herb Mosher
