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Boyhood Life on a Maine Farm

Lewis L. Keen was born in Waterford, Maine on May 15, 1883 at his family’s home on the corner of Temple Hill Road and Mill Hill Road. His family was typical of the local Maine farming family at the turn of the century. They had livestock, they hunted and fished, they grew and preserved much of their own food and they were frugal out of necessity. Lewis roamed the fields and woods surrounding his family’s home and fished in the waters of McWain Pond. He attended the local one room school house, often being the one to start the fire in the morning before the teacher and his classmates arrived. He loved wildlife and found beauty in the simple things, such as a sunset on a crisp fall day. He spent much of his childhood with his faithful friend, his dog Jack.

 

Eventually, Lewis’s family sold the farm and moved to Bridgton. Lewis attended Bridgton Academy and worked at the National Bank in Bridgton. On November 4, 1914, he married Ava Etta McKeen of Stoneham, ME. They had no children. Lewis loved to travel and take photographs. They had businesses in Yarmouth and Florida. They retired to a little home at the end of Dugway Road in Bridgton.

 

In the late 1950’s, Lewis decided to write down his memories about his childhood. He spent 2 years pecking out his story on a typewriter, using only one hand after a stroke claimed the use of his …..arm. He titled his story, “Boyhood Life on a Maine Farm.” In 1966, he handwrote more stories into a little booklet that he titled “Random Thoughts and Memories.” Before he died a couple years later, he gave his vast collection of photographs, keepsakes and his ‘book’ to his Great Niece, Betty Crook Horton. They spoke of how he wished he had had his stories published but it hadn’t happened in his lifetime. Fast forward 50 years and Lewis L. Keen’s “Boyhood Life on a Maine Farm” has now been published.

 

He wrote about farm life, the annual visits from the pack-peddler and hand-organ grinder, ice harvesting, huskin bees, apple picking time and fishing with his father. He wrote about going to The World’s Fair and experiencing for the first time a ‘wax record player’. He talks about Camp Thunder in Blackguard – a hunting camp where some of the local boys annually went on a weeklong hunting trip and where they encountered ‘The Meanest Man in Harrison’.

 

While his childhood and love for his family is prominent in his book, his book is about a lot more than just farm life. Lewis wrote a lot about the history of his beloved  Waterford, McWain Pond and the people and places he grew up knowing at the turn of the century. He wrote about Waterford Flat and City, mentions by name many people in the Waterford area as well as Norway, Bridgton and more. He writes in detail about traveling Sodom Road to do the exciting shopping trip in Norway – recalling the shops along Main Street and how a nickel trip on the Trolley to Market Square was an exciting adventure for a little boy.

 

Boyhood Life on a Maine Farm is an interesting read because of its historical facts (as he remembers them), farm life recollections, witty stories and occasion poetry. Because Lewis mentions so many people from this area, his family is offering copies of the book for sale if anyone is interested in purchasing one. The cost is $15 and the books are available at the Waterford Library. For every book purchased through the library, a donation will be made to the library. Arrangements to purchase a book in the Bridgton or Norway areas are also possible by contacting Betty Horton in Bridgton at 647-2143 or Kim Camous in Norway at 807-3946. Copies could also be mailed for an additional postage fee.

Photos from the LL Keen Collection

Cover of original manuscript
View of old Farm 1957
The old farm on a winter's day
Lewis taken in the Balsams
Family
Lewis
A young dapper Lewis
Sister baby Etta
A 1960 photo of the grave stone
William Keen
The Keen Family
William and Melissa Keen with Lewis
First Photo of Lewis Keen
Melissa Brown Keen
The old homestead
Melissa at her spinning wheel

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