LAFAYETTE MASONIC LODGE IN READFIELD GETS A FACELIFT

In driving through Readfield Corner these days one cannot help but notice a change taking place. The green exterior of the “Masonic block” has disappeared and is being replaced by new gray siding. “I do not recall it being any other color but green” said Evelyn Adell Potter, 86, lifetime resident and Readfield Historian. A surprise discovery was made when it was removed - the original brown clapboards, added in 1921 when the building was constructed, are still in place. Ed Dodge of Readfield, Mason and treasurer for 50+ years, said “They don’t look too bad but maintenance of the wooden clapboards would create too much labor and expense.” He and the lodge secretary John Lord both shared that Readfield Masons are able to install the new siding, and they’ve also repaired the roof, because of a bequest from Readfield native Thomas Adell, who died in February of 2013. He was a member of the lodge for more than 50 years and the Post Master at Readfield Corner Post Office for nearly 30 years, which is located on the first floor of the building. “He loved the Masons and did a lot for them through the years” said Potter, his niece.

 

The Masons have existed in Readfield for 190 years but, as a “secret society”, their ceremonies and the services they provide have been conducted more discreetly than this building project. In 1909 a comprehensive history of their Lafayette Lodge No. 48 was compiled. The book gives details of various members including support extended to some Masons in need, their surviving widows and children and community events. For instance, when they found one fellow Mason’s widow was “feeble in health and destitute of funds...” not only did they help her at that moment but they supported her for the following twenty-six years.

 

The first record of the Mason’s presence in this town was in 1817 when Temple Lodge in Winthrop invited some Readfield men to join them. Over the next few years ten men joined the Winthrop group and in 1825 they petitioned for their own charter. Purportedly they chose “Lafayette Lodge” as the name because of the Marquis de Lafayette’s visit to Maine that same year. The charter was granted on January 13, 1826 and the first three meetings were held in homes at Readfield Corner. Almost immediately arrangements were made to construct a hall on the second floor of a store on the north side of Main Street. Concurrently the new lodge members made plans to lay a cornerstone for the Union Meeting House (UMH) and help with its construction. Many of the UMH founders were also Masons and over the years they held a number of events and ceremonies there.

 

Meetings were held regularly until the “Dark Days of Masonry” - a national movement against the Masons that arose following a scandal in New York. Meetings ceased in Readfield from 1832 until September of 1849 when a few members came back together after seventeen years of silence. The revived order leased the second floor of a building on the south side of Main Street; steady growth ensued to eventually reach an active membership of 156, according to Lord. Lafayette Lodge expanded their space to include the third floor and in 1917 they purchased the entire building.

 

On June 11, 1921 lightning struck a kerosene barrel in the store adjacent to the Masonic Lodge. With that, a fire started that destroyed most of the buildings at Readfield Corner. According to an account by the late Roy Giles, he and another Mason were able to save an armful of record books, papers and the secretary’s desk from the Masonic Lodge but all other contents were destroyed. The Masons rebuilt on the original foundation but plans for a larger structure required additional land so an adjoining lot was purchased. Three months after the fire a ceremonial setting of the cornerstone was held.  They took out a mortgage to rebuild which was not discharged until 1969 when, interestingly enough, Thomas Adell was Master of the lodge.

 

In 1974 the Masons bought property on the east side of the Masonic Hall, tore down the deteriorating house and turned the vacant lot into a parking area. The Lafayette Lodge has rented their first floor to several entities since 1921 including merchants, insurance agents, a radio and TV repairman, beauticians, gift shops, bakeries, the Readfield Telephone and Telegraph Company and, since 1963, the U.S. Post Office. Lodge membership has dwindled to sixty-five, according to Lord, but dedicated members continue to meet on a regular basis. The Temple Masonic Lodge and Abenaki Eastern Star from Winthrop meet at Lafayette Lodge now as well.

 

Thanks to Adell’s bequest roof repairs have been completed and the installation of new siding is well underway. “This is an expensive project” said Dodge. “Adell’s bequest gave an excellent kick-start but we do need to raise more funds to completely finance the job.”  Dodge explained that a longtime member has pledged $20,000 if Lafayette Lodge can raise an equal amount. Letters have gone out to members and contributions have come in from some of them. Several townspeople and family members of Masons have given as well. “We appreciate any help people are willing to give towards reaching the $20,000 match. The results of these efforts will last through our lifetimes and we hope for a long time into the future.” Contributions can be sent to Lafayette Building Corp. PO Box 243 Readfield, ME 04355. Those with interest in joining the Masons can contact any member they know, or can call John Lord at 685-4266.

 

As for future projects, Lord and Dodge shared that Lafayette Lodge #48 wants to meld the past with the present by establishing an area of recognition and memoriam inside the Masonic Lodge. “Family members sometimes contact us to offer memorabilia from Readfield Masons who have passed” said Dodge. We would like to create a place of honor and remembrance for them.”

 

Dale Potter-Clark is a local author, founding member and consultant for Readfield Historical Society and organizes "Readfield History Walks". FMI readfieldmaine.blogspot.com 

(c) 2016 All Rights Reserved by Dale Potter-Clark

This article appeared in Lakes Region Reader Nov. 2016

CAMP SKOGLUND’S WILBUR NELSON CELEBRATES 60 YEARS RUNNING A SUMMER CAMP

Soon after the close of WWII Wilbur Nelson, a young Navy veteran from “the Garden State,” entered the New Jersey State Teachers' College. At about the same time he was hired to work for several summers as a counselor at Camp Winnebago in Fayette. He expected to become a teacher but little did he know that owning his own boys’ camp was also in his future.

 

In the years that followed Wilbur spent two weeks to a month of each summer in Maine which gave him ample time to explore and become familiar with the area. “During all the early years of me coming here” related Wilbur “the (original Mowana) camp in West Mount Vernon stood idle. I asked around about it and someone told me to go see Charlene Adams in Readfield; she owned it but I was told it wasn’t for sale” said Wilbur. He found out from Charlene it could be and the two of them struck a deal. He bought the camp in 1956.

 

“It was a small piece of land a little over an acre with 350 feet along the shore. All there was for buildings was a two story house with a walkway down the middle. There were rooms for the kids upstairs, the mess hall was downstairs. That same summer Wilbur bought some abutting land from Ruth and Stanley Hight to increase the size of his camp’s grounds to twenty-eight acres. The expansion provided space for an athletic field and more buildings.

 

During the spring of 1956 Wilbur took the existing structure down and burned it, then he cleared an area and built four 15x15 ft. sleeping cabins that could accommodate six to eight boys each. He put up an A Frame recreation hall which also served as the lodge. Then he named the camp Skoglund which is Norwegian for “Woodland” explained Wilbur. “Both of my parents were born in Norway.”

 

Skoglund opened in 1957 with twenty-five boys in attendance. Enrollment gradually increased to seventy-five and ultimately to one-hundred campers ages 9 to 15. They came from New Jersey, Sweden, Germany, Mexico, Japan and other parts of the U.S. All of the counselors had been campers themselves at one time or another which helped assure smooth operations.

 

Activities included athletics, water games, canoeing and swim meets. Campers also trekked to the Rangeley area and Moosehead Lake for canoe trips; and to the White Mountains and Tumbledown Mountain for hiking and climbing. More locally an annual canoe adventure down “Thirty Mile River” was enjoyed. Each morning the boys were provided with music books and they joined together in song. This author, who once lived a short distance from Skoglund, well remembers hearing their bugle reveille every morning through most of July and August. It was a welcome sound that cast the vision of a group of hearty, smiling boys who were eager to begin their day on the lake.

 

When asked if he had any humorous stories to share Wilbur told about his strategy when the boys got rowdy in their cabins late at night. “We had midnight rides. I loaded them up in the camp truck and drove them out to the Armstrong (Five Seasons) Road and dropped them off. They were ready to sleep by the time they walked back to Skoglund.” The “night walkers” did not know that adult eyes were watching from a distance to make sure they safely returned.

 

“Uncle Will”, as his campers called him, soon gained a reputation as a “second Dad” – for some he was the only Dad they ever knew. Many of the boys worked through problems and gained self-confidence at Skoglund according to Wilbur. One former camper explained that Uncle Will liked the lost cause kids. “He took them under his wing, turned them around and had a big impact.” Another revealed that if it had not been for Wilbur he probably would not be here today. “I was an angry kid. My father had just left… Coming to Skoglund was a make it or break it for me” he said with a quiver in his lip. He made it! One alumnus described his experience as “empowering”. And yet another related that his years there were the happiest in his life and that he still thinks about the camp all the time. In hearing a dozen or so former campers speak about Skoglund and Uncle Will their love and admiration is undeniable! One remarked “He commanded respect and you gave it without question. Wilbur Nelson is the best human being I have ever met”.

 

Nelson is the late comer compared to other camp founders. But unlike most of them who kept up the fast pace of running a kids’ camp for fifteen to twenty years at most, he did it for thirty-three years! Skoglund ceased operating as a boys’ camp in 1990 but Wilbur wasn’t done yet. He and his daughter Rondi converted Skoglund into a family summer resort. “I’m so happy that Rondi is interested” he said “and that it will still go on.” Since they converted to rental cottages many Skoglund alumni return to stay there with their families during the summer. “I can still hear the kids playing on the waterfront” said Wilbur. “I like that.” 

 

Wilbur is still going strong at age ninety-one - six decades after he founded Camp Skoglund for boys. Today he and Rondi run Camp Skoglund for their love of the place and the people who return year after year. These words on their web site convey their sentiments well – “We want to continue sharing our idyllic summer home…”

 

This story is an excerpt from a newly released book “The Founders and Evolution of Summer Resorts and Kids’ Camps on four lakes in Central Maine”, co-authored by Dale Potter-Clark and Charles L. Day, Jr. Copies of the book can be purchased online at http://readfieldmaine.blogspot.com 

(C) 2016 All Rights Reserved by Dale Potter-Clark

This article appeared in Lakes Region Reader August 26, 2016.

Wilbur died peacefully in his sleep Oct. 14, 2016 at his home in Summit, New Jersey soon after Rondi had returned him there from Camp Skoglund after sixty successful seasons. Rest in Peace, Wilbur.