Stephen "Rex" Buzzell, interviewed by Jack Beard and Elizabeth Warner
Scope and Contents
The Argyle Boom Collection consists of approximately seventy-five hours of tape recorded interviews (now digitized). The interviews deal with Argyle Boom, which was one of several locations at which logs that had been cut upriver and floated or “driven” down the Penobscot River were sorted before being sent on to the lumber mills in Old Town, Orono, Veazie, Bangor, and Brewer, Maine, from approximately 1900 to 1930. The material includes interviews with people who had worked on the boom and essays on various aspects of boom construction and operation and the daily lives of the workers.
Dates
- Creation: 1973-1975
Creator
- From the Collection: Ives, Edward D. (Interviewer, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
For digitized items free from access restrictions, we are working to upload this material (pdfs, mp3s, jpgs) for public access, but it is an ongoing project. If you don’t find what you are looking for here, contact Special Collections (um.library.spc@maine.edu).
Extent
From the Collection: 31 items
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Abstract
Stephen "Rex" Buzzell, interviewed by Jack Beard and Elizabeth “Betsy” Warner for AY 198, May 5, 1976, at Buzzell’s home in Old Town, Maine. Buzzell talks about on the log-sorting booms on the Penobscot River: people he worked with at the boom; recounts humorous stories; free time; food; how different company’s logd were rafted at the boom; wintering; scaling; stray raft; running; wangan; living conditions; his father business and crews; cook John Duplessis. Also present: Buzzell’s wife. Recording is in English. Interview was part of a project that led to the issue of Northeast Folklore, XVII: “Argyle Boom.”
Repository Details
Part of the Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History Repository
5729 Raymond H. Fogler Library
University of Maine
Orono ME 04469-5729 United States
207.581.1686
