Butler, Joyce

Abstract 1244 Allen H. Salisbury and Florence D. Salisbury, interviewed by Joyce Butler, April 19, 1977, Hull’s Cove, Mt. Desert Island, Maine. The Salisburys discuss the burning of Bar Harbor’s Jackson Lab during the fire of 1947; their duties at Jackson Lab; belief that Hull’s Cove was in danger, not Bar Harbor; crown fire and ground fire; Mrs. Salisbury leaving the island with their daughter; complete loss of records and mice from the lab; returning the day after the fire; cleaning up after the...

Abstract 1246 Althea (Mrs. Frank) Beard, interviewed by Joyce Butler, September 25, 1977, Kennebunkport, Maine. Beard talks about the fires of 1947 on Cape Porpoise; the sight and smell of smoke; scene from the top of Crow Hill; believing their summer home was destroyed; patrolling and trying to save their home; no water supply so they used buckets of ocean water; receiving sandwiches and coffee from the Salvation Army; fearing for their house again when a second fire was near; and houses being saved...

Abstract 1247 Arnold Stinson, interviewed by Joyce Butler, September 14, 1977, Cape Porpoise, Maine. Stinson, with comments from his wife, Kathleen (Anderson) Stinson, discusses the fires of 1947, when he was Cape Porpoise Fire Chief; how Timber Island caught on fire; a backfire that got out of control; path of the fire; what equipment they had; finding their furniture after the fire; Mrs. Stinson’s mother dying of a heart attack from all the work; and how the Kittredge family improved firefighting...

Abstract 1243 Arthur Roberts, interviewed by Joyce Butler, July 28, 1977, Saco, Maine. Roberts talks about the fires of 1947 in Lyman; his work putting out spot fires as a member of the volunteer fire department; evacuating his family; how the approaching fire looked; fire destroying a lumberyard; backfiring and a backfire that got out of control; improvements in firefighting that Roberts thinks would prevent a repeat of 1947; needing permission from the National Guard to travel freely in the fire...

Abstract 1237 Austin Wilkins interviewed by Joyce Butler, March 30, 1977, Augusta, Maine. Wilkins, Fire Control Officer with the Forest Service in 1947, discusses the wildfires of 1947; development of fire bans and woods closures in Maine; open fire dumps; attempts to educate people about the fire dangers in 1947; local phenomenon of heavy winds; cleanup in Acadia National Park; deep burning (underground) fires; 1947 as turning point for mechanization of firefighting; limiting access to fires; why...

Abstract 1253 Bernard Hawkes, interviewed by Joyce Butler, April 19, 1977, Salisbury Cove, Bar Harbor, Maine. Hawkes talks about the fire of 1947 in Bar Harbor; smoke from fire on other parts of Mt. Desert Island; destruction of a hotel; path of evacuation; returning to fight the fire; why there were no preparations to evacuate with possessions; rebuilding Bar Harbor; changes after the fire; notable people who used to visit Bar Harbor and their massive homes; and how value of the losses failed to...

Abstract 1241 Bessie Ricker, interviewed by Joyce Butler, February 24, 1978, Saco, Maine. Ricker talks about the fires of 1947 in the Saco-Waterboro area; her family’s preparations as fire neared; fire approaching from multiple directions; her fear when the fire was approaching and the car went off the road and passersby did not stop; trying to move away from the fire; listening to radio reports; her home saved by National Guard backfiring; rebuilding after the fire; and how the fire changed...

Abstract 1242 Betty and Stanley Littlefield, interviewed by Joyce Butler, August 2, 1977, Alfred, Maine. The Littlefields discuss the fire of 1947 in the Alfred area; Betty’s efforts running a moving first aid station and handing out food to firefighters; Alfred threatened from multiple directions; Stanley’s perspective as superintendent of the Water District; fleeing the fire in South Waterboro; what Betty treated at her first aid station; Stanley’s confidence in the Alfred firefighters; desire to...

Abstract 1223 Carolyn (Mrs. Frank) Craig, interviewed by Joyce Butler, January 24, 1977, Cape Porpoise, Maine. Craig talks about the fires of 1947 in Cape Porpoise; dry conditions that fall; approach of the fire; packing their belongings with aid from strangers; near-destruction of her home; firefighting efforts; keeping little fires from consuming homes; publicity the area received; improvements in Cape Porpoise’s communication and firefighting equipment after the fires; and planting pine trees on...

Abstract 1229 Champ and Elizabeth Gould, interviewed by Joyce Butler, June 20, 1977, South Waterboro, Maine. The Goulds talk about the fires of 1947 in the Waterboro area; dry conditions that fall but lack of concern; initial response to the fire being curiosity; use of fuel trucks to carry water; options for dealing with livestock; saving their buildings; men who were unwilling to fight the fire; lack of organization; arsonists; burning of South Waterboro; resurgence of fire from underground; what...

Abstract 1249 Charlotte Stewart, interviewed by Joyce Butler, April 20, 1977, Bar Harbor, Maine. Stewart discusses the fire of 1947 in Bar Harbor; reads something she wrote about the fire changing Bar Harbor; fire burning underground and reemerging; seeing the smoke from Hull’s Harbor; her daughter leading a couple to a safe place; working as a telephone operator during the fire; receiving food from a local restaurant; people fleeing to the wharf to evacuate; what kinds of phone calls she took; death...

Abstract 1251 Clayton Weymouth, interviewed by Joyce Butler, June 22, 1977, West Newfield, Maine. Weymouth, who in 1947 was Warden of Forestry Department District #1, talks about the fires of 1947; being loaned a Jeep for no cost; the Newfield fire coming from New Hampshire; fire losses in Newfield; two fatal accidents due to the fire; effectiveness of bulldozing fire breaks; making a fire truck after the fire; devaluation of land in Newfield; rebuilding after the fire; state-level improvements after...

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1239 Coyle Meserve, interviewed by Joyce Butler, July 16, 1977, Dayton, Maine. Meserve discusses the fires of 1947 in Dayton; progression of the fire; tally of lost buildings; burning of his family’s barn and home; use of cider to save a house; aid given by the Red Cross; salvaging timber after the fire; how the town was different after rebuilding; why the forest in 1947 burned so easily; and improvements in firefighting by 1977.

Abstract 1240 Desmond O’Hara and Carl “Dick” Schmalz, interviewed by Joyce Butler, July 20, 1977, Goose Rocks, Kennebunkport, Maine. O’Hara and Schmaltz discuss the fire of 1947 in Kennebunkport, Maine; their work with Elliot O’Hara’s (Desmond’s father) art school and studio; awareness of the fire danger; learning about the fire while out of state; neighbors who escaped flames in the water; Eliot O’Hara’s painting of Timber Island while it was still smoking; artwork lost in the fire; Elliot O’Hara’s...

Abstract 1245 Dorothea (Mrs. Fred) Smith, interviewed by Joyce Butler, January 13, 1977, Goose Rocks Beach, Maine. Smith talks about the fire of 1947 in Goose Rocks Beach; how the fire sounded; taking refuge in a neighbor’s house; annoyance that effort was concentrated on saving a farm; thieves and looters; animals fleeing towards the water; fear that her daughter was lost when in fact she was safely asleep elsewhere; the neighbor reunited with his dog; Elliot O’Hara’s art studio losses; National...

Abstract 1254 Letters written by Dorothy H. Stanley and Christine Baker Rowell in 1947, read by Joyce Butler, January 1979, Bar Harbor, Maine. Stanley and Rowell wrote about the fire of 1947 in Bar Harbor; progression of the fire; wind shifts; college boys returning to fight fire; description of the fire’s appearance; evacuation; embers spreading fire; the days immediately following the fire; the start of the fire and early attempts to control it; continuation of social life during early stages of...

Abstract 1230 Dr. John W. Kelley, monologue for Joyce Butler, December 13, 1976, Ithaca, New York. Kelley talks about the fires of 1947; missing two weeks of high school to work as a volunteer firefighter; firefighting in the Waterford [likely Waterboro] area; description of a crown fire; driving through fire; spending the night in a muddy pond; trying to save cottages around Little Ossipee Lake; firefighting equipment; attitude to firefighting and what it taught him about accomplishing goals;...

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1220 Earl Bibber, interviewed by Joyce Butler, February 14, 1977, Kennebunk, Maine. Bibber talks about his experience during the fires of 1947 as a member of the Arundel Engine Company; community firefighting efforts; working on the line fighting the fire; the Kennebunkport village under threat; purchase of new equipment after the fire; feelings of firemen about their work; depletion of water supply; and towns helping neighboring towns.

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1232 Esther Smith, interviewed by Joyce Butler, November 2, 1977, Waterboro, Maine. Smith talks about the fires of 1947 in Waterboro; reading of a paper she wrote for a local historical society; outbreak of fire; escape to Saco; her young daughters’ reactions to the fire; reading of another paper she wrote; dry weather conditions that autumn; firefighters and feed stations; evacuation of Waterboro; buildings which were lost to the fire; and community and Red Cross relief efforts.

Abstract 1222 Esther W. Boynton, interviewed by Joyce Butler, March 18, 1977, Brownfield, Maine. Boynton talks about the fires of 1947 in Brownfield; the beginning of the fire and its growth; making donuts for the firefighters; her home surrounded by fire; exploding houses; generosity towards burned-out families; few human fatalities due to fires; vandalism; buildings which survived; returning to Brownfield; aid from the Red Cross; tin houses; beginning to rebuild; salvaging timber; aid from various...

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1228 Frank Handlen, interviewed by Joyce Butler, September 9, 1977, Kennebunkport, Maine. Handlen discusses his experience of the 1947 wildfires in the Biddeford – Kennebunkport area; sight of the smoke; fire coming through and description of it; a man who saved his house; lack of organized firefighting; fire lingering in a bog and loss of trees; how Goose Rocks burned; and a house that was spared.

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1221 G. Robert Butler, interviewed by Joyce Butler, July 8, 1977, Kennebunk, Maine. Butler discusses the fires of 1947 in Biddeford, Maine; community effort to help those displaced by the fires; high school boys fighting the fires; locations he fought fire; firefighting in neighboring towns; preparations to leave; lack of awareness about fires in other parts of Maine; the woods after the fires had gone out; and learning to fight fire by experience.

Abstract 1219 J. Malcolm Barter, interviewed by Joyce Butler, February 7, 1977, Camden, Maine. Barter discusses the fires of October 1947, which he covered as a reporter; the scene at Cape Porpoise, Kennebunk; areas threatened by the fire; getting photographic plates to Boston; refugees from South Waterboro and the destruction there; the state pier in Portland on fire; process of reporting on the fires for the Boston Globe; economic cost of the fires to underinsured homeowners; Red Cross aid efforts;...

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1422 Jane Cormier Obermeyer, interviewed by Joyce Butler, October 11, 1980, Kennebunk, Maine. Obermeyer talks about the fire of 1947 in Bar Harbor, Maine; where her family’s home was; the smell of the fire; waiting to be evacuated; leaving the island by Army truck; the accident during evacuation which killed her sister; attitude of those waiting to be evacuated; and her father saving the Catholic church.

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1233 Josephine Higgins, interviewed by Joyce Butler, April 21, 1977, Bar Harbor, Maine. Higgins discusses the 1947 fires in Bar Harbor; delaying evacuation; evacuation routes; fear that gas tanks would explode; and the kindness of people and the Red Cross.

Abstract Kenneth Day, interviewed by Joyce Butler, November 12, 1977, East Parsonsfield, Maine. Day talks about the fires of 1947 in western York County; the day the fire started; path of the fire; how he was given authority to direct firefighting; use of backfires; a fire started by a cigarette butt; loss of wildlife; his previous firefighting experience in the northwest; importance of experience as opposed to theoretical knowledge about firefighting; white birch and poplar as first to grow after a...

Abstract 1227 Lawrence T. Dolby, interviewed by Joyce Butler, July 14, 1977, Saco, Maine. Dolby discusses the fires of 1947; his duties as State Fire Inspector; the dry conditions that fall; lack of public understanding of the situation and danger; failure to fully extinguish fires when they died down at night; his duties in 1947, particularly dealing with cases of arson; force of the fire and hot air; destructive impact of the fires; fires pulling the community together; firefighters from Boston...

Abstract 1225 Lloyd Davis, interviewed by Joyce Butler, December 10, 1977, Alfred, Maine. David discusses the fires of 1947 in western York County; path of the fire; lack of organization among those fighting the fires; the fire in Alfred; aid going to Bar Harbor due to media attention there; controversy over setting backfires; towns that were concerned about paying the firefighting bill; importance of the wind in stopping the fire; theft during the fire; the role of those who stayed behind to save...

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1238 Louise and Raymond Russell, interviewed by Joyce Butler, August 8, 1977, Kennebunk, Maine. The Russells talk about the fires of 1947 in Kennebunk; distance traveled by the fire; moving their possessions out; progression of the second fire; saving Louise’s home; sense that firefighters couldn’t get ahead of the fire; and the building of farm ponds after 1947.

Abstract 1231 Mabel Emery and Ruth Gobeil, interviewed by Joyce Butler, August 31, 1977, Kennebunk, Maine. Emery and daughter Gobeil discuss the fires of 1947 in the Biddeford-Kennebunk area; approach of the fire near their home; trying to save possessions; explosion of their house; fire at Goose Rocks and surviving it by staying in the ocean; inability to understand why their house burned when neighbors’ homes did not; Ruth’s work at a telephone switchboard during the fire; and rebuilding. Text: 14...