Evacuation of civilians

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 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 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 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 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 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 1236 Dr. Marion Moulton and Arthur Moulton, interviewed by Joyce Butler, June 22 – 23, 1977, Newfield, Maine. The Moultons discuss the fires of 1947; feeding the firefighters; people who gave false evacuation warnings; extent of destruction on Newfield; progression of the fire; firefighting mistakes; importance of short lawns in keeping the fire at bay; heat so intense metal melted; lack of organization; backfiring not allowed, though sometimes practiced; use of a plane for observation; a...

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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.

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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.

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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...

Abstract 1252 Martin V. B. Wildes, interviewed by Joyce Butler, April 3, 1977, Kennebunk, Maine. Wildes discusses the fire of 1947 in Kennebunkport; progression of the fire, particularly around Cape Porpoise; speed of the destruction; description of fire as all flames and no smoke; loss of equipment due to rapid approach of fire; fighting spot fires in Wildes Town; bulldozing a trench which stopped the fire; equipment used to fight the fire; lack of communication; changes in firefighting after 1947;...

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1234 Joyce Butler, reading letter to the editor of The Bar Harbor Times from Mrs. S.V. Morris of Somesville, Maine, dated October 26, 1947. Morris wrote about the fires of 1947; description of her neighborhood during the fire; mutual aid in the community; evacuation of Bar Harbor; and description of a drive around the island.

Abstract 1250 Violette Wallace and Linwood Wallace, interviewed by Joyce Butler, May 4, 1977, Bar Mills, Maine. The Wallace siblings discuss the fires of 1947 in Bar Mills; the dry conditions that fall; Violette’s work at the Bar Mills telephone exchange; evacuation and how unprepared they were to evacuate; falling leaves on fire; fire-related calls Violette took; theft of furniture; Linwood’s first aid work, paid by his employer Saco Hospital; injuries related to the fire; how the fire changed the...