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4 – THE MIDDLE GROUND – Spring 2007CROSSING THE BARArthur J.Reno Sr.,81, of BullRock Road,died FridayJanuary 19,following alengthy illness, withhis lovingfamily at hisbedside.Arthur wasa bit of a leg- Arthur J. Reno Sr.end in WestBath, where he was very active intown government, serving in manydifferent posts. In 2000, hereceived the Ethel N. Kelley Memorial Award in appreciation of hisservice to the town for more than60 years.He was born in Bath in 1925, theson of Albert J. and Helen TurcotteReno and attended local schools. Heworked hard all his life, and startedhis own excavation constructionbusiness in West Bath which he ranfor more than 55 years until illnessrecently forced him to retire at age80. His wife told the Times Recordthat his hobby was his work andthat he loved doing it.He also enjoyed hunting andloved the family’s pets. He wasoften seen in one of his trucks onthe job with a dog or two right upthere with him. Arthur was RoadCommissioner for West Bath over aspan of 51 years – until 2002. Hehad his hand in most every projectthe Town did during that time –from road improvements to building projects, including spearheadingthe Salt Shed project, building theWest Bath School, and the TownOffice. Former Selectman RalphMerry recalls: “As selectmen we hadseveral filing cabinets stored full ofinformation for our needs at theTown Hall. However, if we askedArthur to check something for us asRoad Commissioner he wouldimmediately reach into his file(which was a crammed shirt pocket) and there it was. I have neverseen a man with so much information in one shirt pocket!”Lobster Chowder was Arthur’s specialty and he would annually make abatch to bring in to the Town Officestaff. Not only would he bring hisdelicious chowder, he would alsosupply the soup bowls, spoons, andchowder crackers to go with it. Hischowder will not soon be forgottenby anyone who tasted it!In 1990, he married Patricia S.Perkins. He was predeceased by ason, Arthur J. Reno Jr., and twobrothers, Joseph and Philip. Inaddition to his wife of 16 years,survivors include two sons, ArthurJ. (“A.J.) Reno and his companion,Maegan Rice, of Bath and John E.Reno Sr. and his wife Laurel, ofWest Bath; a daughter Dede andher husband, Alex Lyons of WestBath, a stepson, Larry Babine ofWest Bath; two sisters, VirginiaAmbrose of West Bath and Demorise Swain of Bath; many grandchildren and great-grandchildren andseveral nieces and nephews.The Town of West Bath sent acontribution in his memory to theCoastal Humane Society.Edward D. True II, 67, ofWashington Street, Bath, diedSaturday, January 20, peacefully athis home, surrounded by his family.Eddie, as he was known, was bornin New York City in 1939, a son ofEdward and Anna Eilertson True.He graduated from Morse High in1957, and the Mass. College ofPharmacy in 1961.In Oct. of ’61, he married LynneM. Ryan and they made their homein Bath. as well as a family campon Birch Point and at Sugarloaf. Heenjoyed skiing, snowmobiling, andespecially treasured his time atBirch Point and boating on theKennebec. (See memories of Eddie& his pals in a related story onPage 6.)Upon graduation, Eddiejoined hisfather andgrandfather inthe familydrugstore, A.Hallet & Co.,whose clockstill remains alandmark onFront StreetEdward D. True IIin Bath. Heserved not only as pharmacist butalso the maker of the justly famousHallet’s Ice Cream. In 1982, hejoined Wellwood and then CVS in1985, where he continued as pharmacist in the Bath Shopping Plazastore until his death. He was amember of the Phippsburg Congregational Church and proudly servedas Chairman of the Board of OldBath Custom House.He was predeceased by a granddaughter, Anna Friend. He is survived by his wife of 45 years; fivechildren, Kristine True Friend ofMarlborough, Conn., Ellen Lee Trueof Portland, Karen True Winslowand her husband, John, of Falmouth, Edward Dale True of Woolwich, and Abigail True Delano andher husband, Jeffrey, of West Bath;a sister, Sally Haggett and her husband, William, of West Bath; fivegrandchildren and many nieces andnephews. Memorial contributionsmay be made to the PhippsburgCongregational Church, P.O. Box301, Phippsburg, 04562.Ida C. Stover, 91, a 74-year resident of West Bath and recently ofthe Plant Memorial Home in Bath,died Thursday, April 19 at Hillhouse Assisted Living in Bath.She was born in East Vasselboroin 1915, a daughter of Jerry andBertina (Johnson) Colby. Sheattended Morse High School. In1932, she married Courtney E.Stover in Bath, and they ran a dairyfarm for 32 years until an exit fromLeeman Highway was sited directlythrough their dairy barn, forcing an“eminent domain” sale to the Stateof Maine. The couple built a home

Spring 2007 – THE MIDDLE GROUND – 5across theroad, wherethey liveduntil 2001.While theyneverfarmedagain, theydevotedtheir energies to public service.He servedin variousposts inIda C. StoverWest Bath,including chairing the West BathSchool Building Committee andRoad Commissioner, as well asTreasurer of Sagadahoc County for18 years (a post Ida held afterhim), and as State Senator for 9years. [See The Middle Ground,Oct-Dec 2003.] Ida served on theWest Bath School Board for manyyears, and was Town Clerk from1958 to 1978.Ida was also a trustee of the BathMemorial Hospital, a member ofMidCoast Hospital Auxiliary, and ofthe West Bath Grange for 67 years.She was active in the Bath GardenClub and a member of the Cosmopolitan Club in Bath.She was predeceased by her husband in September of 2003. Survivors include her son, JerroldStover and his wife, Elaine, of WestBath; her daughter Joyce Freemanand her husband Wendall of Dayton, OH; her sister, CharolotteMitchell of Haverhill, Mass.; fivegrandchildren; five great-grandchildren and many nieces andnephews.Ida’s life was not easy, her son,Jerry, told the Portland Press Herald. But she found love in a marriage that lasted 71 years, and thedifficulties she encountered - firstas a child and again in middle age forged her “unusual determination.” She was orphaned at 13, andafter bouncing between varioushomes, she moved in with an auntin West Bath during her teen years.As a student at Morse, she begantaking piano lessons from a localfarmer’s wife. It was there that shemet Courtney, who was working onthe farm. They fell in love, marriedand eventually took over ownership, caring for over 40 cows. TheStovers were true partners. Courtney delivered his farm’s milk, butwhen he couldn’t, Ida would makethe rounds. The family didn’t havemuch money, so Ida sewed her children’s clothes. Even though neithershe nor her husband had gone tocollege, there was no question thattheir children would. “It was just agreat marriage,” Jerry says, “andthey were a team.”Other 2007 passings Laura F. Racine, 85, died April 25in Brunswick. Survivors include hersister, Lorraine L. Johnson of WestBath.Magnhild C. Winter, 98, of WestBath died April 5. She is survivedby her son, Steven Winter, of Foster’s Point Road.Shannon S. DeHahn, 62 of Brunswick died March 12 at a local hospital. Survivors include her daughter Tracey Ellen DeHahn of WestBath.Julia “Judy” Avis Hilton ConnorsHinkley, 84, died March 6 at Winship Green Nursing Center in Bath.Survivors include her sister, Jeannette Kenney and her husband,Warren, of West Bath.Gerald Westley Brown, 75, of SouthPortland, died February 25 atMaine Medical Center. Survivorsinclude his daughter, Laurie E.Whitmore and her husband, Gregory, of West Bath.Helen E. Emerson, 84, of Topshamand West Bath, died February 1 following a long illness. Survivorsinclude her daughter Leslie Kaliszand her husband, Steven, of WestBath.Helen E. Emerson, 84, of Topshamand West Bath, died February 1 following a long illness. Survivorsinclude her daughter Leslie Kaliszand her husband, Steven, of WestBath.Raymond L. Schram, 68, died January 30 at a Jacksonville, Fla. Hospital. He spent the majority of hisyears at the Brunswick Naval AirStation, retiring in 1979 as a master of arms chief. Survivors includehis daughter Maria Renaud and herhusband, Bud, of West Bath.Edward J. Jenks, 94, of Foster’sPoint Road died January 21 at Winship Green Nursing Center. He ispredeceased by his wife, MarcellaLozier Jenks. Survivors include hisdaughter, Tolanda E. Jenks of WestBath.Lester G. Munsey Jr., 90, died January 20 at his home in Phippsburg.Survivors include his brother Russell Munsey of West Bath.Ann Miller Bowman, 65, of Ellington, Conn. died January 11 at herhome. Survivors include her brother, Donald W. Miller and his wife,Brenda, of West Bath.Dolores Celine Fournier, 67, ofBrunswick, died January 7 at homeafter a two-year courageous battlewith cancer. Survivors include herbrother Ben Favreau and his wife,Kathy, of West Bath.Lilliace M. Galuza, 85, of Woolwichdied January 6 at Amenity Manorin Topsham. Survivors include herdaughter Juanita Jean Ponsiani andher husband, Raymond, of WestBath.Sally A. Nichols, 62, of Bath diedJanuary 7 at a Brunswick hospital.Survivors include her brother,David P. Ladd and his wife,Barbara, of West Bath.Robert “Bob” T. Coffin, 90, ofBrunswick died January 12 at MidCoast Senior Center. Survivorsinclude his son Wayne Havey ofWest Bath.Harry B. Wood, 75, of Portlanddied unexpectedly while skiing onJanuary 11. Survivors include hisdaughter Susan Knowles and herhusband, John, and four grandchildren, including Julia and PeterKnowles of West Bath.Continued on page 7

6 – THE MIDDLE GROUND – Spring 2007Charlie & Eddie’sEd, in July 1959, on hisfirst lobster boat, a Westpointer with an Evinrudeon the stern.ExcellentAdventureDr. Charles (Charlie) Burden was along-time Birch Point summer kid,as was Eddie True. Charlie wassomething of an entrepreneur evenas a youngster, toting trash from theneighbors in a wheelbarrow, amongother things. Eventually, while incollege at Yale, he became a lobsterfisherman and also built and ran alittle wharf out at the end of BirchPoint, to help fund his education.Recently, he shared a whole bunchof memories about those days,which he titled “The Rise & Fall ofBurden’s Marine Services.” In thisissue we will concentrate on Charlie’s “partnership” with Eddie in thelobster/dock business. We will publish more of Charlie’s stories in ournext issue.Istarted lobstering when I was 10.I built the wharf when in college.By 1953, Burden’s Marine businesswas booming Enter Eddie True,III, son of Ed Jr. and “Grampy” Truewho owned and operated Hallet’sDrug Store on Front Street in Bath.The Trues have had a cottage atBirch Point for many years, as well.At some point during this period,Eddie’s family bought a genuineHampton lobster boat, with an inboard gasoline engine (a 4-cylinderflathead out of a Jeep as I recall)which also powered a belt drivengypsy head for pulling traps; nomore pulling traps by hand!I don’t remember all the details,as this was back in the 50’s, butCourtesy of Sally HaggettEddie and I ended up partneringone July. We used his boat and mytraps. In the end, we had about 150traps. The flat bottom skiff with the25HP Johnson that I had been usingup to this point (with no haulingwinch by the way) was sold toanother young upstart fisherman,Wayne Shaw I believe. I had beenbuying trap parts from an outfit inYarmouth and assembling them inmy cellar during vacations. Mrs.John Murphy knitted the heads forus in Sebasco; she was one of thefinest persons I ever met (and adescendant of the Malaga Islandfolks). We usually got bait at theSebasco freezer plant, mostly hakeand herring.Our joint venture went towardsEd’s pharmacy schooling (Massachusetts College of Pharmacy), and mymedical training at Harvard. However, lobstering was never great in Winnegance Bay and between expensesand taking girlfriends out to eat, mycontribution to my education wasmeager, even though it cost onlyabout three thousand a year fortuition, room and board back then.Eddie, his Boxer, Jiggs (who alwayssat in the bow), and I would pulltraps nearly every day. In later years,I would fish in the afternoon, as I hadstarted working at the Bath MemorialHospital mornings. Once in awhile we would take along agirl friend, so poor old Jiggs gotreplaced on those days.My brothers, Bruce andDavid, tended the wharf whilewe were fishing; selling lobsters, gas, oil, sodas and anyCharlie’s wharf. Reprinted from theGulf Oil 1954 Cruising Guide.thing else they could find.All the local kids aroundBirch Point used the wharfas their club house forHell-raising, playing cards,diving off the wharf, and maybeonce in a while actually helping out.Their boats were always tied allaround the float. One season wehad built up a large saw dust pile,so we stored ice there for sale. However demand wasn’t so good, somost of it melted before being sold.For a few summers we even managed to be featured in the Gulf OilCruising Guide as a place to buyfuel and oil.Some of the lobster fishermenbordered on outlaws in those days,and I read in the paper that eventoday there are some lobster warsout around Matinicus. One summer,one of the local lobster families(names deliberately deleted)accused Ed of cutting their traps,which Eddie would never havedone. In any case, the unnamedfamily showed up at Ed’s BirchPoint home, and threatened to burnit down. No shots were fired, atleast not during that incident!My brother Bruce, who departedus in 2006, made and painted up a“lobster for sale” sign for us; it isnow on display in the lobsteringexhibit at the Maine MaritimeMuseum in Bath. The sign:“Lobsters 4 for 1.00 one claws,3 for 1.00 small,2 for 1.00 largeSold by Charlie BurdenDown on the Point”was nailed to a tree on Elbow Hill, acouple of miles up the road fromthe wharf.Eddie and I got along super. Wenever quarreled, and frequentlyenjoyed a rum and Pepsi in theevenings. However, one Fall whileunloading the traps from the boatup to the wharf for the season, Ed

Spring 2007 – THE MIDDLE GROUND – 7he is a fellow from Appleton,Tay Vaughn, who is creating useful and unique street maps of all thetowns in each Maine county, with adid drop onelabor-intensive process involvingon my headGIS databases. So far he has pubfrom about10 feet above. I suppose I needed a lished complete maps for Lincoln,Knox, Waldo - and soon, Sagadahocfew stitches. I don’t really think hecounties. The books are oversized atwas aiming at me!11 x 17 inches, and are printed onMy third year in med schoolhigh quality paper. The covers arerequired more clinical experienceheavy glossy stock and the insidewhich gave me little time for lobstering, so I finally gave it up. I don’t pages are printed in 4 color highremember if Eddie continued to fish, resolution - a town street map toor not. But Ed True went on to finish each page. In addition to a completestreet reference guide, he fills anypharmacy school and run the oldextra space on the map for eachfamily drug store. Sadly he passedaway early this year. He was a great town with photos, anecdotal tidbitsand relevant illustration.partner and life-time friend. Right now, Vaughn is working onfinishing the map book for Sagadahoc County, and expects to wrapthings up in the next couple ofweeks. Copies should be availablefor sale in early summer.In the course of his research forWest Bath, Vaughn came across acopy of “Flossie’s Ginger Cookies”,complete with a brief history ofFlossie, her cookies and her friends,on our Town website. That recipe,in turn, came from our very ownMiddle Ground (with credit to theWBHS, of course!). Vaughn thencontacted us to see if we had anymore interesting graphics. Indeedwe did and Kerry Nelson helpedhim out. It seems he will be showcasing our special line drawing ofthe Old West Bath Meeting House.So we have helped provide a realWest Bath flavor to the SagadahocCounty Street Maps! daughter Janet Cloutier, and herhusband, Maurice, of West Bath.Ellsworth A. Brockett, 47, ofBrunswick, died December 3. Survivors include his daughter TashaWelch and her fiancé, Pete Hudson,of West Bath.Alan S. Gardner, 56, of West Bath,died suddenly on November 9,2006 at Mid Coast Hospital. He wasborn March 2, 1950 in Lynn, MA toAlfred and Alice Mooradian Gardner. He attended Bates College, taking a year to study at the BerkleeCollege of Music. He was an accomplished musician, excelling at the Gclarinet and the oud. He played avariety of Armenian, Arabic, Greek,and original music with his band,the Alan Shavarsh BardezbanianMiddle Eastern Ensemble. Al wasalso a professional martial artsinstructor for more than 31 yearsand studied Karate and Kung Fu.He started his martial arts school,Wu Hsing Shan, on Front Street in1975, teaching hundreds of localadults and children. He is survivedby his wife of 35 years, Suzan Steer,of West Bath, as well as his father,brother and sisters-in-law, severalcousins, nieces, and nephews.Reta R. LeClair, 92, of Bath, diedNovember 10. Survivors include adaughter, Geraldine A. Braun ofWest Bath.Helen M. “Ollie” Sewall, 79 of Bathdied November 3, at her home. Sheis predeceased by her husbandEdward Sewall. Survivors includeher son Mark Sewall of West Bath.Dorothy E. Roderick, 81, of Woolwich, died October 26 at her home.Survivors include her daughter,Dorothy Vachon and her husband,Ron, of West Bath.Shirlie A. Robie, 57, of Topshamdied October 24. Survivors includeher brother, George McLean and hiswife, Bette Ann, of West Bath.Richard C. “Barnie” Barnes, Sr., 60,of Bath, died October 8. Survivorsinclude his daughter, Julie Simkinsand her husband, Jason, of WestBath.Cindy J. Arthur, 46, of Battleground, WA, died October 1. Survivors include her brother Ken Burnette and his wife, Laurie, of WestBath.Ed, at age20, haulinga lobstertrap.Courtesy ofSally HaggettCROSSING THE BARContinued from page 5David R. Reil Sr., 73, of Bowdoin,died February 18 at BrentwoodManor, Yarmouth. Survivors includehis daughter Cheryl Kreidler and herhusband, Fred, of West Bath.Linda Woodward, 56, died January3 in Scarborough. Survivors includeher brother Larry Garside, and hiswife, Ginger, of West Bath.Joseph E. Brillant, 42, died January28 at home. He is survived by hisparents, Elzear E. and Jo Ellen Brillant, and a sister, Jerrie Jo & herhusband, Shawn Williams, of WestBath.And 2006 deaths Elmer A. Avery, 87, died December12. He is survived by his wife, Barbara T. Avery of West Bath.Marie “Connie” Staples, 79, ofYarmouth, died December 7. Survivors include her daughter SybilStaples and her husband, PatrickGrover, of West Bath.Bernard R. Fraser, 81, of Bath diedDecember 5. Survivors include hisMap Man GetsHelp from WBHST

8 – THE MIDDLE GROUND – Spring 2007New “Used Bookstore” to open May 12he Friends of the Library are offon a new adventure – running aused bookstore open 6 days a week.It will

credit to the cooks. Bumpa's Beans Ralph Merry, Sr., The Out Post 4 lbs. beans (red kidney or pea) 1 lb. salt pork, in chunks 2 lg. onions, rough chopped 11/ 2 cups molasses 2/ 3 cup brown sugar 2 tsp. dry mustard 2 tsp. salt COOK'S KORNER 1/ 2 tsp. pepper 1/ 2 tsp. cinnamon 2 cloves garlic, chopped Worcestershire Sauce, to taste Gravy .