Radio Script #1118

Little Talks On Common Things
March 20, 1977

[podcast]http://web.colby.edu/scimport/files/2011/05/LT1118.mp3[/podcast]

For many years a number of Waterville families here had summer cottages at Ocean Point near Boqthbay Harbor. I was therefore interested to see recently a brochurepu1?lishedin 1924 – 52 years ago – about that summer colony. Published in Augusta by E. E. Newbert, the cover said:

“Ocean Point, a summer paradise on the Maine coast. A souvenir of summer days spent on these rockbound shores, a glimpse of the wonderland in which Ocean Point is set.”

The brochure contains many photos, including pictures of both smooth waters and poundfng suf, of beautiful, birches and shaded walks, of the little stone chapel and. of the steamer that stopped at the colony’s wharf. When this. pamphlet was put out, lots were still for s,ale, some of them right on the water, and Mr. Newbert, who owned much of the land, was promoting their sale. That was the chief reason for the brochure, and its central two-:-page spread was a plan of the lots, with cross-ways designated as streets.

Around the ~oint ~ent and still goes, the Shore Road, but some Of the marked’ streets ha ve not been laid out· to this day. One big area ori the map was set aside for the White Wine Brook Co. laboratory. In the case of this brochure we have to make an unusual admission. The text is more interesting than the pictures, and that .is not often true of this kind of pUblication.

First is an account of how the resort developed.

“Ocean Point was named by the late Dr. Leander Crooker of Augusta. Early acquiring property there, he devoted a lifetime to it. He started to build cottages and sell lots ‘in 1876~ and he kept at it until his death in 1917. In 1922, Elmer E. Newbert bought from the Crooker heirs all land at the Point not owned by cottagers – that is, all the undeveloped lots.”

This statement is .followed in the brochure by a historical sketch which tells us· that Ocean Point was sighted in 1605 by the explorer Weymouth from his ship the Archangel, which he anchored just off the Point near Fishernian’s Island. Weymouth’s cre’w left no footprints at Ocean Point, but they were there 15 yearsbefare the Pilgrims came to Plymouth.

Another section o~ the pamphlet is devoted to trails. It starts this way:

“You can si ton a porch and watch your arteries harden, or you can spend blissful hours of exerc:i,.se ‘on Ocean Point·, s trails. A summer day invites intimacy with nature and suggests confidence in its integrity. Tl:lese trails are lover’s lanes inviting young and old.”

The reader was given information about steamboat service •.

“The Augusta, Gardiner and Boothbay Steamboat Co. provides first class service to Ocean Point and the islands in Boo~hbay Harbor. The company has two newly conditioned steamers, the Islander and the Virginia. Daily service is maintained throughout the season between Augusta and Ocean Point, down the beautifulKe~nebec and Sheepscot Rivers •. The same company maintains service bet”ween Bath and all points near Boothbay Harbor, connecting at Bath with trains of the Maine Central RR and with steamers of the Kennebec Steamship Co. for Boston.”

By 1924 automobiles were sufficiently common to encourage, travel to Ocean Point. by car. So the brochure included a statement about roads.

“Situated, as it is, on the mainland, every part of Ocean Point is easily reached by automobile. Every year the highways show marked improvement. The main line of streets and federal roads from Boston to Rockland and on to Bangor passes through Wiscasset, from where the 12 miles to Boothbay Harbor is nearly all ~avel road. From Boothbay Harbor to Ocean Point is over improved gravel road for about six miles, and further improvements are in the making. The unimproved parts will soon be built to Ocean Point. The streets at the Point are kept with excellent gravel surface. The drive from Wiscasset to Ocean Point can be made easily in 45 minutes.”

It hardly seems possible that 50 years ago there was no black-top -road, not only from Wiscasset to Boothbay Harbor, but not even from Portland to Wiscasset. When I came to Waterville to take up residence in 1923. the only paved highway in Maine was the new concrete road from Portland to Gray, Mr. Newbert had planned for recreation facilities at Ocean Point. Listen to this:

“The Casino is the center of social life at the Point. :Qancing is enjoyed there throughout the season, theatricals are staged and fairs are presented. t1uch of this is under the leadership of the younger set, and all profi ts go to the treasury of the Ocean Point Association. The large basement is us ed for barber shop and pool room. A bowling alley wi 11 soon be insta lIed. Adjoining the casino are tennis courts, baseball field, and children’s playground.”

“At Boothbay Center nearby, are the golf links and club house of the Boothbay Golf Club. The club property of 200 acres is-surveyed for 18 holes, of which 9 have been completed. The course was opened in 1922. The management has a plan for summer memberships for tourists, and modest daily fees for occasional visitors.”

The brochure pa id tr.i buteto the Ocean Point caretaker.

“Everybody at Ocean Point knows Norman Vanhom. Born and bred at the Point, he is as much a part of the place as the land and the water. Norman has charge of the wharf and is agent for both steamship lines. He is custodian of everybody’s – freight, looks after luggage and passengers, furnishes ice and wood, and has’ charge of a 11 the Point’ s properties during the winter. Wi thou’t Norman there is no Ocean Point.”

 For cottage builders the brochure recommended log cabins,

“Romance attaches to the log cabin. The cradle of great Americans has been rocked on its royal hearth, and it has marked the entrance of civilization across the continent. Now it appears on the Maine coast a.s a unique and popular summer home. Just visualize a four room log cabin set among the trees on Ocean Point – rough rock fireplace, with porch, and with the added comforts of town water, plumbing, electric lights, and everything snug and comfortable. The logs grown right here on the grounds. You will need sawed lumber only for roof, floors, and partitions, and you will want asphalt shingles in red or green. Including the price of your lot, the whole cost will not exceed a thousand dollars.”

In 1924 Ocean Point had its own post office with two mails a day. The brochure said, “Gathering at the post office to wait for the mail is a social event at the Point. We get Boston and State of Maine newspapers the day they are issued,”

Deep sea fishing was recommended.

“There is good fishing at Ocean Point. Deep sea catches may grow bigger in the telling, but they are truly big. Parties rarely return without a boatload of cod, haddock and hake. Fishing off the rocks is also enjoyed. Cunner fishing in safe retreats or on exposed rocks, helps to while away many summer hours. Lobster fishing is a lively industry in this region, and cottagers can get this delicious crustacean for modest prices fresh from the sea.”

The brochure ended with a section headed “Easy Living”.

“A family can live as well and as cheaply at Ocean Point as they can at home. The general store is stocked with everything necessary, liThe store makes daily delivery to cottages, and its prices are reasonable. Sellers of fish, milk, vegetables and fruit call at your door, and an enterprising cottager can pick berries in the fields. There are no fino trespassing” signs. The major shopping center is Boothbay Harbor, only six miles away. It is a large and prosperous village with enterprising merchants. Everybody goes to the Harbor. Its narrow streets are filled with summer folks and its whal:Ves are lined with boats.”

Well – all that is what was advertised about Ocean Point half a century ago.

Early in this century Waterville made an attempt to adopt a commission form of city government. That was a system gaining popularity allover the nation in the first decade of the century. It was relatively short lived, being succeeded by the more popular city manager system. Most Waterville people old enough to remember events in the year 1911 have long ago forgotten the agitation then for commission government, but fortunately at the Waterville Historical Society there is present a pamphlet explaining the plan to be voted upon in Waterville on OC,tober 2 of that year.

Of course the plan was then defeated, for Waterville has never had that form of local government. The plan would do away with party affiliation of municipal ‘candidates. A section said,

“No ballot shall have printed on it any party br political designation.”

The municipal government was to consist of three persons, a mayor and two councilmen. That would do away with Waterville’s 7 aldermen and 14 councilmen. The proposed charter emphasized, “The number of councilmen shall always be two, and no other offices except the two councilmen and the mayor shall be el!3cted at any city election.”

The plan called for a preliminary election a week before the annual election, to nomiD,3te candidates ,to be voted upon. Any person desiring to be a candidate could have his name on the preliminary ballot by filing a required statement and endorsement by at least 25 legal voters. The two persons receiving the highest number of votes for each office then became the accepted candidates in the final electien.

The sectian abolishing the present form ‘Of government was worded as fOllows:

“The board of mayor and aldermen and the common council shall be abolished, and all their present powers and duties shall devolve on a board styled the JIlunicipal council, consisting of the mayor and the two councilmen.”

The. charter divided the administration ‘Of city affairs into three departments: Public Welfare, Education and Finance, and Streets and Public Improvement. T~e. mayor was designated as cemmissioner of police and fire department and had general supervision of the health agencies, public parks and playgrounds, public charities, and would serve as Chairman Of the Board of Education.

One councilman was to be commissioner of education and finance, the other would be commi·ssioner ‘Of streets and public improvement •. The council 01’ three· – the mayor and the two councilmen had control of all departments of the city, and could make and ·enforce necessary rules and regulations. A secti en provided: “All officers and employees of the city shall be elected or appointed without reference to their political affiliates.”

Well — the change was too drastic for Waterville voters to accept.

What the .city has done since 1911 is to change its unwieldly two-body aldermen and councilors to a single. council of seven members, and to employ a city administrator, while still retaining an elected mayor with definite powers. What Waterville has not done is to do away with politically partisan municipal elections. In that respect Waterville is only one of four among Maine’.s 22 cities to retain that now almost nationally abandoned practice.