My candle burns at both ends,
it will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends,
It gives a lovely light!
Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1951)
AT THE REUNION: The Kalloch Reunion Association plans its annual event [the
136th] on
Saturday, August 16, 2003. It will be held at the home of Peter and Eleanor Richardson
at 22 Mechanic Street, Rockland, Maine. As you know, they sold their home in Andover,
MA, moving to Rockland into an ancestral home and making major renovations and
additions this past year to provide space for their possessions and for office/study space
for each. The rustic barn, the grounds and house will provide ample space for our
reunion. We look forward to seeing everyone again this year. (See reservation page for
details.)
SITE OF KALLOCH REUNION 2003
22 Mechanic St., Rockland
Peter and Eleanor Richardson are hosting the Reunion this year, on land which once belonged to his
great-great-grandparents, co-founder of the Reunion, Rev. Joseph Kalloch and his wife, Achsah Ingraham
Kalloch.
Just before the Revolution, Joseph Ingraham appeared as the first settler on what became Ingraham’s Point,
on 200+ acres stretching from the sea to the Thomaston line. Landmarks today are the abandoned grain
elevator and Atlantic Wharf, built by Ingraham’s son Henry and now owned by Dragon Cement Co.
Henry’s daughter Achsah married Joseph Kalloch in 1837 and Henry deeded land on both sides of Mechanic
Street to her. Joseph and Achsah’ s son, Frank established himself across the street and made a living selling
tinware. To house his supplies, his team of horses and wagons he obtained the “Shop” from one of the
Ingraham shipyards. He cut it in two and with oxen dragged it from the sea across the street to its present
location as our “Red Barn.” His wife, Almeda Thomas Kalloch, planted the large ash tree at the street. It
was a “weed tree” that refused to die.
Old timers will remember Frank and Almeda’s daughter, Mabel Kalloch Rollins, long time chaplain of the
Reunion, who with her husband turned the “Shop” into a party barn, which it remains to this day. She and
her sister, Edith, Peter’s grandmother, grew up in the house he and Eleanor now occupy. Peter is the
seventh generation in line on this site. We will share much more of this story and bring out the artifacts,
including the tinware Reunion Coffee Pot Frank Seavey Kalloch made expressly for Kalloch reunions’
By Peter Richardson, Historian
Holly Torsey will provide the entertainment with her vast repertoire of Scottish music.
She is a singer and plays a number of string instruments. Both she and her husband have
Scottish connections, hers from Clan Donald via Johnstons and MacDonalds on Skye.
Her background includes trips to Scotland where she has collected music from the
Scottish Traveler traditions of Lizzie Higgins, Norman Kennedy and Sheila Stewart, as
well as to study the music of many other traditional musicians in the US and Scotland.
She is a member of the Camden based Quasimodal Chorus and has sung on recordings by
the Quasi, Gordon Bok and Anne Dodson. We look forward to hearing her performance.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE:
It’s been a long hard winter in a lot of ways for a lot of people, but spring has finally--just--arrived. It
begins to be possible to think of summer and reunion times. And these are good things, helping to anchor us when
the times we live in are troubling. In this spirit, your officers have planned a very old fashioned reunion, to be
held at the home of Eleanor and Peter Richardson in the Ingraham's Hill area of Rockland’s South End. Last year’s
reunion attendees will recall that Eleanor and Peter are now pursuing an active “retirement” from their old/new home
base, in a house that has been in Peter’s family since it was built. They have expanded and remodeled, and they
have kept the wonderful old barn, which will give us plenty of indoor space if we need it. The barn is clean and
dry; Peter would never have trusted their 7,000 books in the space while their new library was being built if it
weren’t!
On Saturday, August 16, we hope you will join us to reconnect with your extended family. There will be good food,
provided by the same able caterer who fed us so well last year. Peter will update us on his genealogical progress,
and Ken will report on our outstanding world wide web presence. Because Peter and Ken have worked so well
together, sharing data and technology, the amount of Kalloch family information that is now readily available to anyone
with access to a computer is amazing. It makes my old genealogy librarian job seem quite primitive.
We hope that Dean will be able to share more about the early, pre-North America, aspect of our family history.
Whether he has turned up anything new or not, we will celebrate that part of our collective background with the
wonderful singing of Holly Torsey. Holly, a folk singer with a fine soprano voice, has traveled and collected
songs in Scotland. She will be singing Scottish songs for us. For those of you who don’t really like to sing
yourselves, don’t worry; this is a performance, not a sing-along. I have heard Holly sing some of this music
before, and I can tell you that you are in for a real treat.
And of course, the most interesting part of all the day’s program is the chance to gather together, to see each other,
compare notes, and realize what a fascinating group of people we are. The practical details, like the cost, are in
the registration form elsewhere in this newsletter. Please be sure to sign up early. If you live far away,
remember that midcoast Maine is a wonderful place to be in mid August, and there’s a party just waiting for you in
Rockland!
Pres. Julia Hunter’s essay on West Rockport Baptist ChurchWest Rockport Baptist Church Celebrates Sesquicentennial--With Plenty of Kalloch Family Involvement
On June 27, 1849, eight men met at Moses Keller’s house, in what was then known as Ingraham’s Corner, to organize a church. The group included J. Ingraham, E. Barrows and J. Kellock. Moses’ wife was Asenath Tolman.
Over the next three years, the church continued to meet and grew to the point where they could support building a meeting house in 1852. They purchased land a few hundred yards from the local stage coach stop tavern, near the four corners, for $25. The church, a simple Greek Revival building that would hold 125 people if packed out through the vestry, cost $1,250 to build and was dedicated on January 19, 1853. From that day to this, there has been a continuous strong tie between members of the Kalloch family, most particularly the Kellers, and the church body that has used this building.
In the early days, both Rev. Amariah Kalloch and Rev. Joseph Kellock (as the church records spelled his name) preached there for brief periods of time before going on to other places. Moses and Asenath Keller remained very active in the church, and she started the Sunday School and ran the church’s library, which had over 600 books. Their grandson, Daniel Keller, was baptized in April of 1873, at the age of 13. Three years later, the church records note, he was named to the “solisiting committy,” and he went on to serve the church as head deacon for many years, finally being elected “Deacon during his lifetime” in 1929. His granddaughter Nancy Andrews Hunter remembers that Deacon Keller was zealous in raising the money that the church needed and was always trusted with money because he was extremely honest. He remained active in the church until his death in 1948.
While other Kalloch relatives have been involved in the church over the years, it is Daniel’s family that I know the most about because I am one of them. In the twentieth century, of Daniel’s children it was his daughter Mary Ann Keller Andrews who kept the closest to the church. Her sister-in-law, Gladys Maxcy Keller, wife of Henry, was the faithful pianist (as she also was for the Grange) for decades, into her eighties. Their niece, Glenice Keller Farmer Bickmore, daughter of Jesse and Manah Oxton Keller, was the organist for many years, until the early 1990s.
For all that life in Maine is not the quaint backwater of popular imagery, there is great continuity on some levels here. In 1969, during the half century when the church shared its pastor with the Rockport Baptist Church, the June baptism was of four teenagers, including an Ingraham, a Tolman, and myself--Deacon Daniel’s great granddaughter who is also a Barrows descendant.
When we celebrated the sesquicentennial of the church’s dedication, Kalloch connections present included church organist Ruth Sims Wade (widow of Robert Wade), several of her grandchildren, Nancy Andrews Hunter and her husband Vernon Barrows Hunter--the church’s unofficial historian, who has been a deacon for a quarter of a century himself--as well as myself. Margaret Keller Carleton visited for the festivities.For many Kalloch relations, in various ways, family traditions and church traditions go hand in hand wherever we are. In West Rockport, as the old Ingraham’s Corner is now known, the original church stands, joined to two major additions and with the congregation contemplating a third. Ruth Wade still plays the organ and is the Sunday School clerk; her granddaughter Esther Wade sings alto in the choir; another granddaughter, Rachel Wade, provides nursery services while the choir practices; this is the church in which all eight of Ruth’s children were raised and to which they and their children return from time to time. Vernon Hunter is still a deacon and sings in the choir. As for me, Nancy and Vernon’s daughter Julia Ann Hunter, I honor my
God--and my history--as the choir director, soloist, and church librarian.
NEWSWORTHY: Our Frances Bird Hjerpe, former school teacher and librarian, turned 100 years old on January 1,
2003. She was feted at the Reunion last August, as well as celebrating her birthday at a surprise party at the
Methodist Conference Home where she resides. A large group of friends, and her adult children attended. I
doubt that she has missed any reunions and we look forward to seeing her again this year.
Fred and June (Kalloch) Parmenter celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at a party on Sept. 13, 2002 at Putnam, Ct.
The party, including close family and friends, was given by their sons, Gregory and Scott and their wives. A few
days later, the Parmenters enjoyed a trip to Niagara Falls.
Paul and Doris Merriam of Rockland have moved to an apartment with assisted living at Bartlett Woods. We wish them
well.
Master Chief James Kalloch retired from the US Navy April 1, after more than 30 years of active service in the military.
He was honored at a retirement ceremony at Maine Maritime Academy for his commitment and service. Letters of
commendation and congratulations from Pres. George Bush, Sen. Olympia Snow and Gov. John Baldacci were read. He
also received a Navy Commendations Medal. Kalloch will return to his home town of Rockland and resume lobstering
next summer.
Luke Kalloch of Damariscotta, a 17 year old Lincoln Academy senior, is an accomplished musician, singing and playing his
Ovation guitar. He has a newly released CD A Four-Track, A Guitar, A Voice and is a member of the band
Wild Thyme. He hopes to attend Berkeley College of Music. Luke is son of Capt. Craig Kalloch. (Read
article).
Rev. Peter Tufts Richardson has sent his his new book to the publishers. It is entitled The Boston Religion,
the Unitarian story in its capital city.
Kenneth and Phyllis (Kalloch) Reed of Warren are once again in the news with their famous
lobster trap mail box.
This time it is in the 2003 John Deere Calendar depicting mail boxes, which is distributed nation wide.
Previously, the mail box was part of a special exhibit of folk art mailboxes at the Smithsonian Institution.
Further news of the Reeds is that their grandson Scott Reed has been named Store Director of the Portland, Maine store
of Wild Oats Markets, Inc. He has 14 years of experience in the supermarket retail industry.
Andrew Kalloch, son of Phillip Kalloch of Gorham, grandson of Evelyn Kalloch, is in training at Great Lakes Navy Boot
camp. He is currently enrolled in The Advanced Electronics Core course, which he will have completed by August of
this year.
Ken Kalloch, administrator of our web site, has announced the receipt of more than two dozen site awards. Of
special note is the Golden Web Award, which was presented to us by The Association of Web Masters and Designers.
Ken continues to upgrade and add to the site, which also includes data of the Killough branch. To search the
site go to: http://kalloch.accessgenealogy.com
Gaylee Killough Bork, who died in 2002 at the age of 29, is remembered for her interest in family genealogy. She
wrote: “The first edition of this family history was written by my mother on a manual typewriter in the kitchen.
My Morn absolutely fell in love with genealogy and spent many years researching her side of the family. I’m not
sure why Morn wrote it. She wasn’t looking for recognition, but to the future and in wanting to pass something on
to her children and grandchildren.” Gaylee died before her time but left a huge legacy. For further
information about the Killough branch, please go to the Kalloch web site and click on the Killough section. Their
newsletter, which was mailed this past spring, can also be accessed.
OBITUARIES: Flora (Kalloch) Peavey Place, 91, wife of Max Place died Feb. 11, 2002, at a Dover Foxcroft nursing
home. She is survived by two children, four grandchildren, two great grandchildren, as well as two nieces, one of
whom is Dorothy V. Scott, who is a member and contributor of Kalloch Reunion Assn.
Max E. Place, widower of Flora, died August 14, 2002, at a Dover Foxcroft nursing home. He is survived by a
niece, as well as Flora’s family. Mr. Place was a resident of Milo and a long time contributor to the Kalloch Reunion
Assn.
Burton F. Plummer died March 28, 2002 at Jensen Beach, Florida. He was the son of Edna (Kalloch) Plummer Berry,
cousin of Shirley Ann Keller Thomas.
Edwin B. Kalloch of Glendive, MT died January 30, 2003. He was the son of Ralph and
Doris Matchette Kalloch of Glendive.
Edward John Lawrence, son of Victor and Jeanine (Kalloch) Lawrence, died Nov. 1, 2002. Edward was 43 years old, a
lover of sky diving, parasailing, biking, hiking, snow skiing and roller coasters. He was a wonderful
photographer. He attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NY, pursued a brief dancing career, then became
a finish carpenter. Ed will be greatly missed by his family.
Eleanor Pearson Richardson, 90, died Nov. 3, 2002, at Penobscot Bay Medical Center after a brief illness. She was
born a daughter of Parker Tufts and Edith (Kalloch) Pearson. She had a BA degree from Tufts University, worked
briefly at a telephone company, was to married Elford Richardson in 1936. She was predeceased by two sons and is
survived by her son Peter Richardson, a daughter, Dorothy Ann Richardson, her sister Dorothy Pearson, several
grandchildren and great grandchildren. Mrs. Richardson will be sorely missed by the Kalloch Reunion Assn.
She attended most reunions and displayed a terrific sense of humor.
QUILT SQUARES: We will still accept squares with family info. They should be 12 1/2 inches square, allowing for
the 1/2 inch for stitching... .thanks. (Quilt photo & information page).
THANKS TO: The officers, committees for arrangements, and to Norm Kalloch, Jr. for address labels and continued
changes to address lists.
