Renascence
“All I could see from where I stood
Was three long mountains and a wood:
I turned and looked another way,
And saw three islands in a bay.
So with my eyes I traced the line
Of the horizon, thin and fine,
Straight around till I was come
Back to where I’d started from;
and all I saw from where I stood
Was three long mountains and a wood.”
Edna St. Vincent Millay
FROM TILE CORRESPONDING SEC. & TREAS.: As usual, we had a wonderful historic reunion at the General Henry Knox Mansion (Montpelier) in Thomaston. Impressive bit of history given by Norman VanDine in full 1770’s regalia, great buffet lunch by Brown Bag, a tour of the mansion and interesting talks by our historians made for a great day!
Evelyn N. Kalloch
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: At the 131st Kalloch Family Reunion on August 15, 1998, the members present elected me to serve as your President. I consider it an honor and a pleasure. To acquaint you to who I am and how I am connected to the Kalloch Family is as follows:
Alexander I, daughter Margaret Kellock married Francis Young, his son William Young married Mary (Polly) Davis, one of three sons Mark A. married Eunice Payson Wentworth, his second wife, one of his daughters Harriet E. married Frank A. Crabtree, one of their sons, Raymond E. married Elsie M. Watson. I am one of the sons of this marriage.
I look forward to meeting you all at the next reunion August 21, 1999 (3rd Sat.).
Robert F. Crabtree
AT THE REUNION: [132nd Reunion] Registration is at 10:00 A.M. (Reservation Form attached) at the John Street Methodist Church in Camden, Maine (Directional map included on form) with this year’s theme being Edna St. Vincent Millay, our ancestor and Pulitzer Prize winner. There will be a $12.00 charge for the lunch, provided by church members, and we plan to give a donation to the church for the use of same. Meeting and election of officers will be at 11:00 A.M., lunch at 12:00, with program commencing at 1:00 P.M.+ -. Andrea Itkin will do a presentation of Edna St. Vincent Millay, after which our historians will bring us up to date.
NEWSWORTHY: Deborah Knutson, another daughter of George and Debbie Knutson of Cushing is graduating with honors this spring and will be attending U of Maine at Farmington.
James Raye, husband of Julie Kalloch Raye, is new mayor of the City of Rockland. Being a native of Rockland, he certainly is familiar with all aspects of this growing city.
Paul "Gil" Merriam stepped down as the Executive Director of the Rockland- Thomaston Area Chamber of Commerce last September after nearly five years of service. He is now leading an effort to re-develop the Fisher Engineering property on Rockland's waterfront. Plans for the project, which will begin soon after Fisher moves into it's new facilities in Rockland next spring, call for an up-scale hotel and conference center, lighthouse museum, harbor trail/boardwalks, marina and windjammer wharf, piers and floats, restaurants, retail and office space, and condominiums. Gil is also producing and hosting a cable TV program about local history entitled "Out of Our Past". The program currently runs on Knox TV, Channel 58, in most Knox County communities. (Note: we are pretty proud of Gil's accomplishments and trust that he will do very well with the above projects ENK)
FOLK-ART MAIL BOX GOES TO SMITHSONIAN... so read headlines in last summer's news media. Kenneth and Phyllis Kalloch Reed have this neat mailbox which Ken made years ago with lobster trap, starfish, lobster boat and buoy, various other fishing regalia... it really is unique. Anyway, they entered a contest, which they read about, with Smithsonian looking for such folk-art mailboxes... to make a long story short, it was accepted, crated, and shipped to Washington where it was on display about 6 months at the Smithsonian! Full color pages were also in Smithsonian magazine as well as their web site... awesome! (Photo of mailbox).
Dorothy Scott sent us a clipping of Paula J. Kalloch, who is daughter of Capt. Charles Kalloch. Paula was 11 years old at the time that she arrived from Europe to visit relatives in Camden, having traveled unaccompanied aboard a steamer. Capt. Kalloch was assistant European director of the American Export Line.
OBITUARIES: Norman C, Hammond, 73, of Mt. Airy, Maryland died Jan. 3, 1998. He was the husband of Jeanne S. Hammond, son of the late Canton H. and Marie Keller Hammond.
George E. King of Bangor, Maine died in Woodbridge on April 7, 1999. He was the husband of Shirley Hinkle King, son of the late John A. and Ruth Keller King. Our condolences to both families.
BIRTHS: Donald and Cindy Kalloch of Ellsworth, Maine are proud grandparents of twin girls, born to Matthew and Donnell Kalloch of Machias, who are also parents of a son, Lucas.
ABOUT EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY.... By Elinor Collemer Johnson
“Edna was born in Rockland, Maine on Feb. 22, 1892 to Henry and Cora Millay. I believe her name has been interesting to many people, specifically the “St. Vincent” part. While Cora Millay was expecting her first born child, news came to her that her youngest brother had received serious injuries aboard ship during a bad storm at sea. She learned that her brother had been taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital and his good health was restored. Fully expecting that her coming child would be a boy, she decided that “he” would be called “St. Vincent”. She wished to honor the hospital for saving her brother’s life, and also because St. Vincent was the patron saint of the sick. When a tiny girl arrived instead, the first name, Edna, derived from an old Norse word, for poetry, was chosen with St. Vincent for the middle name.”
“Two sisters followed Edna, Norma and Kathleen. A strong difference of opinion developed between the parents about bringing up the girls. Cora loved to write poetry, read literature, and listen to music. But, with three young daughters taking most of her time, there was none left for her artistic yearnings. She longed for the girls to have what was no longer possible for her. People described Henry Millay as a handsome man and very nice. There were some stories that he gambled. Cora decided on a divorce, a decision very unusual for those days. Edna was seven at the time, and the divorce made a very difficult time for them all. Cora became a practical nurse to take care of her family. Being a divorced woman added to heavy responsibilities of raising three girls alone, but being a brave resourceful woman, her love, inspiration and hard work made them a closely knit family and they survived. Edna (or Vincent), as she preferred to be called, had to be in charge of the home while her mother worked away, often for days at a time. It was understood that Cora would not mind if the dishes were left in the sink, the floors unswept, the beds unmade if the girls listened to music, played the piano, read books, or wrote poetry.”
“One cold day, when they were living in a house without any foundation, the pipes froze and burst Vincent did not panic. Instead of calling her mother, she called her friends to come over soon because the kitchen floor would be frozen and she planned to hold a skating party. Of course, her friends happily attended. Cora came home and joined them”
“An adventurous childhood of freedom gave Vincent the opportunity to roam the Maine woods and explore the rocky shore. Mt. Battie was a favorite spot of hers. My Aunt, Agnes Prince (mother of Ruth Prince Baker, who comes to our reunions), would go with Vincent up to Mt. Bathe to pick blueberries. All of these adventures into the natural world instilled qualities that remained throughout her life, a fierce independency of spirit which made for spiritual renewal. These same qualities are the backbone of her poetry. Vincent graduated from Camden High School in 1909 where she achieved a good academic record and continued her poetry writing, that began when she was a young child. At her graduation she received a gold piece that was awarded for her “Joy
About Edna St. Vincent Millay (cont'd)
of Living” writing. In later years, she said that it meant more to her than all of her later successes.”
“Vincent had completed “Renascence” when she was about 20. At a gathering at White Hall Inn, she recited the poem. A lady guest was very favorably impressed and offered Vincent the opportunity of an education at Vassar. The door was opened for Vincent to go out into the world and start a great career in literature. All was not smooth sailing at Vassar. Vincent had not been one to live with schedules and structured living. This soon became evident when she entered Vassar. On several occasions her temperament got her into difficulties. Once she was nearly expelled, however, she graduated and persevered on to greater things. After college, she lived in Greenwich Village. “ My Candle Burns at Both Ends” was to become the anthem of the spirited 1920’s that celebrated the unconventional and avant-garde in literature and art. In 1923 Vincent became the first woman to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry.”
“In 1923 she married Eugene Boissevain. They bought “Steepletop” and traveled, spending much time on Ragged Island in Maine. He died in 1949 of lung disease. Vincent died on Oct. 19, 1950 of a heart attack, after working through the night. In her poem “Marturus” she claimed that she would put up a valiant fight against death, but when the time came, she left this world quickly and peacefully at age 58.”
Note: Thank you Elinor for a great story!!! Elinor is closely related to Edna, being a second or third cousin, once removed. Edna’s statue can be seen at the lower end of the park in Camden, behind the library. It is close to several pine trees so is not readily visible from Street. E.K.
ATTENTION MEMBERS: Please remember to send any address changes to us ASAP. The 911 codes have changed most of our addresses and the PoNEWst Offices will NOT deliver mail one year after changes...some won’t bother at all! Thanks.
ATTN. HISTORIANS.... A new web site put together by the Mormon Church is now available, albeit difficult to access: www.familysearch.org
NOTICE: Bob Crabtree will be accepting all reservations this year because I will be indisposed for several weeks..... address will be on reservations form.
