BRIDGTON – Tall, lanky, and tanned, 17-year-old Lewis Burdick posed with two enormous pickerel he caught in Long Lake using his favorite lure, the “daredevil”. Years later another “lure” was delivered by train in Fryeburg, Maine, the legendary 1953 Corvette.After two years of military service in the Army at Fort Bliss as a tank mechanic assigned to testing experimental tanks, Lew had saved up enough money to buy Chevrolet’s new sports car. The ground-breaking Corvette was a European inspired car that had a 3.8 overhead valve in-line Blue Flame six-cylinder, was 3.85 liter, had 3 Carter side draft carbs, 223 lbs of foot torque, and a novel fiberglass body. (This is dirty talk for auto mechanics.)Think of the Happy Days’ and the Fonz. The year was 1954 in Bridgton. Residents had Barkers, Toni’s Variety (where his future wife, Nancy Conant worked as a “soda jerk”), Swanson’s, Warren’s Market, 5 & 10, State Theater, Cumberland Hotel, Mayfair Theater, Bridgton News, Reny’s, Pleasant Mountain, Staley Chevrolet (where Lew would work.), Rexall Allen’s pharmacy, and assorted mills. Bridgton was bustling with baby boom family activity.It was along Main Street around Toni’s that Nancy decided to “hop” in Lew’s shiny black Corvette (aforementioned “lure”) with wire meshed headlights. The practice was nothing new in the 50s, young men would offer rides or young women would simply get in the car after a potential suitor slowly drove alongside them. Alas, Lew’s Corvette became a police magnet, and eventually a Cumberland County judge described him as having a “lead” foot. This slang expression applying to excessive speed was followed by a recommendation to find a buyer for the 53 Corvette. Thus the lure eventually became the “one that got away” with starting prices today at $153,000. His quest for unique cars though never stopped.Lew avoided fast motorized vehicles after this encounter (LOL) marrying Nancy, May 22, 1957 and in March 5, 1958, their son, George, was born. Lew’s path to Maine though was via Connecticut. He was born in New Britain, Conn., on June 23, 1932, to George E. Burdick and Alma Burdick. He was the middle son of three lovingly referred to as the Three Musketeers. Sid, a 6’6″ factory worker and volunteer Shriner clown, was his younger brother, James was his older, both of whom predeceased Lew. His father George, a factory foreman and Army World War I cavalry horse trainer, was a single father for much of their childhood. They grew up on the tough side of the tracks living in a housing project. Lew remembered his father would sit on each bed checking wrist pulses as each brother dozed off. It was during this time that he remembers ogling a futuristic car at grade school. One day the teacher who owned the 1936 Chrysler Imperial Airflow nicknamed the “Flash Gordon” car, let him sit in it. It was an experience he never forgot. At 16, Lew was given the opportunity to take up residence on Long Lake with the former project supervisor George LaFond a.k.a., Uncle George. It was on this serene lake that Lew’s passion for speed took hold. He built a speedboat with Uncle George named the Torpedo. He entered a lake race and while approaching top speeds in the Torpedo the bottom of the boat fell out, abruptly ending his racing career. Not to be discouraged from further risky endeavors Lew took encouragement from Cypress Gardens, forming the equivalent on Long Lake using members of the Drews family during the summers from 1949-1951.The impromptu team constructed a ski jump in the lake and used a wake board for some of their acrobatics. To the amazement of Long Lake boaters and beach goers, they could often be seen doing pyramids or simple shoulder carries hoisting female water skiers on men’s shoulders. It wasn’t long though before Lew received a call to service during the Korean War. He was eventually given a tantalizing offer during his two-year tenure in the Army. Would he be willing to test experimental tanks for extreme topographical and mechanical conditions? As dad would say, “Is a bullfrog waterproof?” It was yet another experience that would fulfill his need for speed and daring.His work on Willy’s Jeeps in addition to tanks would serve him well when he returned. He worked for Staley Chevrolet until he decided to open his own garage in 1963, first at a location by Stevens Brook and soon after on 13 Bennett Street. Nevertheless he remained loyal to the Staley family delivering Christmas trees to them in later years.Burdick’s Garage became a place of celebration, parties, an antique car storage facility and the site of many antique car meetings. Neighborhood friends would stop by including Buster, Admont, Gordon, sidekick, Ernie, the Berrys, and more recently the Horans. Neighborhood children including the Elkhay brothers, Bill, Tom and especially John, who to this day is still a very close friend of his son, George. The John and George tag team kept Lew busy during the late their summer elementary and middle school years. Lew asked John and George to help paint the side of his garage for the princely sum of $20 when they were 11, and it soon became a paintbrush slap contest. When Lew saw their rust-color painted faces he summarily fired them on the spot.Although children could be a distraction in his busy shop, he always found time to add extensions to stingrays, inflate tires (or accidentally pop them as he did with angelic-looking, little, Tom Elkhay, who loudly exclaimed his disapproval with a words that would make a sailor blush), and provide a two-seater outhouse pit stop. In later years he would hand his car keys over to high schooler, Eric Almlov, his best friend’s son, to complete a “project” vehicle. As the project progressed he offered to videotape some of it with his new VHS camcorder. Dale McDaniel recalls when he was a teenager he wanted to learn the mechanic trade after he began working on his own vehicle. “When I needed help with a problem on a car Lew would always help me and let me work with him to solve the problem. He would never treat me like a dumb kid. He was always wiling to help and I will never forget that”.It was during this time Lew started to accumulate his antique car collection that constantly shifted over the next 50 years. At one time he had as many as 12 cars including a 1925 Seagraves fire engine that he used to give rides to children, a Packard sedan, a 1936 supercharged Graham, the enormous 1932 Studebaker President, a Model A, the 1932 Buick coupe with a rumble seat among others. Of these cars he retained the 1932 Buick, removing the in-line eight and replacing it with a 350 cubic-inch Corvette engine that was customized, increasing the horsepower to an estimated 400. Later permanent additions included the Hudson Terraplane convertible, the Pontiac coupe convertible with a rumble seat, the red Studebaker Champion, the Comet Caliente convertible, and a determined Lew finally obtained his childhood dream car, the 1936 Chrysler Imperial Airflow. Although a commercial failure it was the first full-size American production car to use streamlining to reduce wind resistance. Distinctive features included a metal encasement for the spare tire on the trunk and “suicide doors”. Lew a constant ball of nervous energy, also found time to reinforce his Richard Branson/Evil Knievel/Elon Musk persona in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. • He participated in the demolition derby at the Oxford Plains Speedway earning second place only because his kind heart could not help but instruct the only remaining car still running how to operate the Rambler typewriter drive. • Drag raced his self-customized, souped-up Jaguar sedan at the Oxford Plains drag strip.• Participated in dirt bike/Motocross races once with his son, George, and several times with Glen Almlov. • Was a bouncer and Bridgton policeman at Serenity Hill in Naples.• Erected an old windmill in his backyard to generate electricity, as he told the Portland Press Herald, “The windmill is about the only thing you can get power from without some type of fuel.”• Was researching a way to improve gas mileage by heating gasoline using the heat generated by a combustion engine.• Water doused for many homes and businesses through the Lake Region area and was featured in the Portland Press Herald.• Learned how to Scuba dive to put in boat docks and search for old bottles in lakes.Lew left the daily grind of the auto repair and auto body in 1988 briefly coming back for a couple of years before retiring for the final time. He continued to restore old cars using his skills to also restore antiques with his wife, Nancy, at the antique shop. It was at this time he would start to make his winter trips with Nancy, the dogs, and a cat to first St. Petersburg, Florida, and finally to Spring Hill, Florida. His grandson, Armin, became part of these annual trips until they sold their Spring Hill property in 2017. It was during this time he built the “Eagles Nest” with some assistance from his 10-year-old grandson. It came complete with a steel roof, electricity, two cots, a window, and stairs. Lew and George both spent nights there with Armin.Throughout much of his adult life Lew was accompanied by his best friend, Glen Almlov and his wife, Wendy, on the pontoon boat, at Buster’s beach, dirt bike riding, and at the home repair shops. Their children Eric and Allison became an integral part of “Uncle Lew’s” life as well. He would drive them to proms, attended their weddings, their children’s birthday parties, and was always at the entire family’s side during times of grief. The outpouring from friends who knew Lew has been overwhelming. Comments often included, “great man”, “great guy”, “all-time great”, “larger than life for sure”, “kind”, “I always loved seeing Lew”, “awesome”, “fine, gentle man”, “amazing friend”, “each day was better for having a bit of Lewis in it”, “a good neighbor, he was kind to us”, “always friendly to everyone”, “a wealth of knowledge about old cars”, “great friend to the family”, “he seemed so invincible, larger than life to me”, “a wonderful friend and MOAL member”, and a “Bridgton icon”. Lew is survived by wife, Nancy of Naples, son, George Burdick and Vartoohi Burdick of Southborough, Mass., and West Friendship, Md., grand-stepdaughters, Jacqueline Gross of Munich, Germany and Christine Zatoonian of New York City, half-brother, Ron Bumstead, of Burlington, Conn., and great-grandaughter Elora Burdick. He was predeceased by his beloved grandson, Armin Lewis Burdick, who died in a tragic car accident on April 29th this year. Lew and Nancy’s Chrysler Airflow will complete the circle of life for Lew from curious child to his departure to heaven. Longtime friends, the McDaniels, are prepping the Airflow to appear at the Westbound side of the Kansas Road, Bridgton gravesite service on June 2, at 11 a.m.Arrangements are under the care of Chandler Funeral Home, 8 Elm St., Bridgton. Online condolences may be shared with his family at http://www.chandlerfunerals.com.

Copy the Story Link