MYSTERY PHOTO

This photo was found amongst an unorganized mixed stash given to me by my mother, for a photo album she hoped I would take over and finish one day. (I'm still trying.) Many are unidentified, such as this.

Perhaps the person in the canoe is a loved one starting off on a familiar adventure. I can only guess. Having been kept for so many years, I am inclined to think he (or she) must be a family member. However, they could be from either side of my family, since the rest of the photos were clearly a blend.

To me, the boggy waters suggest the location could be Musquash. Being as old as the photo appears to be, though, I could easily be mistaking floating bark from the tannery days as marsh.

If this photo brings back memories for anyone I would love to know. I also invite others to share their mystery photos. Perhaps together we can solve a few mysteries.

In my mind's eye...

I often see Grand Lake Stream, Maine as it once was... or as I imagine it to have been. The images are sometimes quite clear... its generations-past paddling the lake, building the dam, finding their way through the woods and along the water's edge... long before the one road in.

The clarity comes primarily from stories told to me by my parents, aunts and uncles. My parents have passed; yet I can still hear their voices recounting the funny, often poignant stories. Some were not much more than simple moments, and most held within them subtle lessons.

In holding with the traditions of the storytelling generations, my family's stories were thankfully repeated often.   With each telling, they became more a part of me.  I cherish every word they shared and yearn for more.

In starting this blog I hope to find kindred spirits with a common connection to Grand Lake Stream and its surrounding area. They need not be native; one of my favorite books about Grand Lake Stream (once known as Hinkley Township) was written by a summer visitor or "summer folk," as I suppose I am. I dream we together may collect stories and images from the past that piece together our common past, both for ourselves and our children.