Ernest Kennedy, interviewed by Ann Pierter and Bessie Dam

Series

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

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

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Ernest Kennedy, interviewed by Ann Pierter & Bessie Dam for AY 198, May 4, 1976, Argyle, Maine. Kennedy talks about on the log-sorting booms on the Penobscot River. Topics covered include checking, prize logs, the stray raft, boom stick, scaling and marking logs, wintering logs, shingling logs, jail booms, the “high mark,” Pea Cove Boom, rafting logs, Mexico Boom. Interview was part of a project that led to the issue of Northeast Folklore, XVII: "Argyle Boom."