Randi Minetor - Death in Acadia: And Other Misadventures in Maines National Park

Death in Acadia

Death in Acadia

And Other Misadventures in Maines National Park

Randi Minetor

Camden, Maine

This book is dedicated to the rescuers

who volunteer their time, skills, and strength,

who risk their lives to save others,

and who do their best to keep us safe,

even when we take chances that defy reason.

An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

4501 Forbes Blvd., Ste. 200

Lanham, MD 20706

www.rowman.com

Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK

Copyright 2019 by Randi Minetor

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Information available

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Is Available

Names: Minetor, Randi, author.

Title: Death in Acadia : and other misadventures in Maines national park / by Randi Minetor.

Description: Camden, Maine : Down East, [2019] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019000775 (print) | LCCN 2019003233 (ebook) | ISBN 9781608939107 (electronic) | ISBN 9781608939091 (print : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Acadia National Park (Me.)Anecdotes. | AccidentsMaineAcadia National ParkAnecdotes. | Violent deathsMaineAcadia National ParkAnecdotes.

Classification: LCC F27.M9 (ebook) | LCC F27.M9 M474 2019 (print) | DDC 974.1/45dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019000775

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Acknowledgments

A book that contains this level of research must by definition be a collaborative effort, as compiling reports from the National Park Service, local and national media, and eyewitnesses can be a daunting task. Thats why I am especially indebted to Christie Denzel Anastasia, Acadia National Park public affairs specialist, Chief Ranger Stuart West, and LeslieAnn Dykes, visitor and resource protection program specialist, on the parks staff for their participation in this endeavor, for reviewing this manuscript for accuracy, and for their efforts to get me park incident reports and to answer questions about the specifics of these events.

I truly would have been lost at sea as this project began without the ongoing research supplied to the world for free by Junior Libby, author of the Deaths in Acadia National Park blog at deathsinacadianationalparkbydate.blogspot.com. Local historians are critically important resources for authors, and Mr. Libbys passion for the park closed gaps that could have been a struggle for me to fill. He also took the time to answer specific questions about events, leading me to source material I might not have found without his help.

I spent a glorious afternoon in the attic of the Jessup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, leafing through decades of copies of the Bar Harbor Times and Mount Desert Islander , graciously arranged by librarian Laura Edwards and her coworkers. This endeavor led me to scads of articles about people who had perished in the parkmaterial that was not available in digital form and would have been inaccessible without this wonderful library and its knowledgeable reference librarians.

As always, the staff at Rowman & Littlefield is top-notch, and I so enjoy the opportunity to work with them all on a regular basis. Down East Books editorial director Michael Steere, assistant acquisitions editor Sarah Parke, production editor Lisa Whittington, freelance copy editor Paulette Baker, cover designer Sally Rinehart, and typesetter Wanda Ditch make the process of producing a book a true pleasure. Its wonderful to be able to work with people who care about my books as much as I do. No one makes my job easier than Regina Ryan, my literary agent of thirteen years, who allows me to focus on the writing while she takes care of the business of publishing my books.

Writing may be a solitary endeavorits one of the reasons I enjoy it so muchbut when I come up for air, the support and encouragement of my dear friends serves as a much-welcomed reward. Ken Horowitz and Rose-Anne Moore, Lisa Jaccoma, Martha and Peter Schermerhorn, Martin A. Winer, Ruth Watson and John King, Cindy Blair, Bil Walters and Christine Tattersall, my brother and sister-in-law Mike Bassow and Merry Guild, and cousins Paula and Rich Landis are always in my corner, whether theyre following our travels on Facebook or sitting in our living room over an assortment of after-dinner liqueurs. What a lucky person I am to be surrounded by this cushion of support.

And finally, to my dear husband, Nic Minetor, who schleps cross-country with me, takes sumptuous photographs, makes sure I eat on some kind of normal schedule, varies my days, and listens to the grisly stories of those who did not survive their visit to a national park... you are a blessing. Heres to the next hundred thousand miles.

Introduction

You find a different kind of quiet in Acadia National Park. Even on a warm summer day with the wispiest of breezes, the surf rolls up to the granite slabs along the shoreline and sorts through the gravel at their feet, delivering and retrieving tiny shelled animals, polished rocks, and colorful algae. Leaves and needles rustle against one another all the way to the tops of the parks mountains, stirred by gentle winds in spring and whipped by hurricane-force gales in late summer and fall. If youve come for silence, the constant movement of natural forces in this forty-seven-thousand-acre park will soon temper your expectations; you can escape the sounds of car traffic, human crowds, and electronic devices here, but the environments spirited chorus continues at any hour.

Soon, however, this natural harmony becomes the perfect underscoring for the views: salt-washed coastline with fingers of solid rock stretching into the ocean, inviting visitors to get just a little closer to each frothy breaker and lined with ancient mountains worn by storms and time to nubs of their prehistoric height. Hike or climb to the top of any of these mountains, and a new world extends outward in every directionmiles of blue water reaching to the southern and eastern horizons and equally endless vistas of deepest green hillsides undulating northward and to the west. Networks of lakes, the coastlines only fjard (a fjord without steep vertical walls), and salt marshes to the west complete the magnificent picture, all made accessible by the graceful carriage roads left behind by wealthy residents of the last century.

For all of its natural beauty and wonder, Acadia is very much the product of these enlightened protectors, famous residents with names that ring throughout twentieth-century history: Rockefeller, Carnegie, Astor, Vanderbilt, Morgan, and more. Were it not for these people and for George Dorr, the first and most enthusiastic supporter of this lands protection (and, later, the parks first superintendent), Acadia might well have fallen prey to the lumber industry or become another suburban development with expensive ocean views. Not only did these summer residents see the value in preserving these stunning woods, hillsides, and waters, but they also had the resources to make preservation happen. Today we reap the benefits of their investment, seeing this landscape virtually untouched except by the forces of wind and water.