Four Maine authors’ works show appreciation for Maine
By Eileen M. Adams
Staff Writer

BETHEL – With a roaring fire in the background, the room was ablaze with the written word Thursday night as four authors with local connections talked about their books as they signed copies of them.

The books’ themes ranged from a fictionalized story of an Indian maiden to the tragic sinking of a steamer ship more than 100 years ago.

Although the Bethel Historical Society has had author signings in the past, this was the first time four authors had gathered for it. All of them share a love of history.

“It’s our heritage, our past,” said Mason Philip Smith, co-author with Peter Bachelder of “Four Short Blasts.”

A native of Portland, Smith said the topic prompted considerable interest when he discovered that his great-uncle, great-aunt and their two sons were among the 198 passengers and crew who went down with the steamer in 1898. It was the largest sea tragedy at that time.

Smith, a publisher, writer and photographer who also wrote “Confederates Down East” and published a book of his Russian photos, has already started his next book, also with Maine and New England themes. This time, it will be a history of German landings in New England during World War II.

Mollyockett’s life

While Smith wrote of tragedy at sea, Greenwood resident Pat Stewart wrote about the life and times of Mollyockett, who was the last member of her Pequawket tribe. Spanning 76 years in the 18th and early 19th centuries, Stewart’s 170-page hardcover book is more than a history. It is a fictionalized reconstruction of the woman’s life.

Stewart, a full-time resident of Greenwood for four years, found her interest in Mollyockett piqued when she first began attending the area’s Mollyockett Days.

“This woman made her way in the world during a tough time,” said Stewart. She said the more she dug, the more interesting she found her character. This is Stewart’s second book. The first, published several years ago, covered an entirely different topic – decorative furniture painting.

With “Mollyockett” published, she is now considering a fictionalized account of the Shaker population.

A dozen books

It’s all about research for Smith also. “The discovery, the tracking down leads, learning about people who took part in events,” he said.

Randall Bennett, curator of collections for the Historical Society, has devoted years to research and writing. He has 12 books to his credit, including four written under the auspices of the society. His newest book is “The White Mountains: The Alps of Maine.”

The softcover book is the first in a Making of America series published by Arcadia Publishing of South Carolina.

The book is a chronological history of eastern New Hampshire and western Maine from the early settlement by the Abenakis until today. Sprinkled liberally with photographs, the book tells of the railroads, small-town development, hotels and other aspects of the area’s White Mountains.

In fact, the face of the Old Man of the Mountain collapsed during the writing of the book, Bennett said, so all the references to “is” had to be replaced with “was” throughout the book. In fact, he said the first printing refers to the Old Man in the present tense. All subsequent editions will speak of the New Hampshire symbol in the past.

Among Bennett’s other credits is the only book on the historic architecture of hundreds of homes, public buildings and other structures in Oxford County. With “The White Mountains” finished, which he said gives him a sense of satisfaction, his next writing project will be a description and guide to the society’s Robinson House exhibit.

Journals from Andover

A native of Andover, Robert Spidell, now of California, unveiled his first book, “The Pynelis Journals.” Neither a history in the purest sense nor a fictional writing, Spidell has transcribed 49 years of journals written by the Suter family, a prominent Boston family who built a 5,700-square-foot home in Andover in the late 19th century.

Spidell transcribed the journals that documented the activities that took place in the home over 49 years, then added historical commentaries.

His next project, already two-thirds researched, is a history of his native Andover from pre-Colonial days until 1950.

“The research and writing is so exciting and intellectually stimulating,” he said.

All four books are available at the Historical Society’s book and gift shop in the Robinson House and at various bookstores around the state.

eadams@sunjournal.com

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