B A C K   T H E N

Southwest Harbor

This view of the Long Pond Civilian Conservation Corps Camp, 158th Company, probably dates to 1934 or ’35. Ralph Stanley, a native of the town, wrote of this photo: The tents were temporary quarters and were probably made for the army during World War I as were the khaki dress uniforms that were issued to the men. My grandmother had a business where she altered clothing for the summer ladies. When the men were issued their khakis a lot of them didn’t fit, so they would bring them to my grandmother to have the legs shortened or the waist taken in. The tents were replaced by wooden barracks. The CCC did lots of work building fire roads, reservoirs, and trails in the Park and around the island. They also cleared most of the gooseberry bushes around the island, which were a carrier of white pine blister rust. The CCC boys came from all over the state. A lot of them came from French communities in Aroostook County. Some could hardly speak English. Many married local girls and lived here the rest of their lives. Some found work at the boat yard and became proficient boat builders.

Text by William H. Bunting from Maine On Glass. Published by Tilbury House Publishers, 12 Starr St., Thomaston, Maine. 800-582-1899.

Maine On Glass and prints of the photographs are available through the Penobscot Marine Museum: PenobscotMarineMuseum.org.