It was the late 1800s when Stephen Lord and his son Albert arrived from the Boston area and settled on farmland on Laughton Road, now known as Shady Lane.

They were busy farming and delivering goods to many parts of the area. When more water was needed for their crops and animals, they worked out a transfer of property with Henry Parks on Central Street. As a result, that location became known then, and remains, the Lord Farm.

Albert married Bessie Emery and the couple increased the Lord name in the area. Maurice, the eldest of the children, left the farm and went to Chicago to study the procedure of converting direct current electric charges to alternating current before returning to Hallowell to work for an electrical company. He later opened a car dealership across from what is now known, and will be for generations, as Boynton’s Market.

Brother Lester hauled wood for small mills in the Rangeley and Farmington areas. He was 36 years old in 1943 when he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served overseas as an ambulance driver.

Their sister Louise was valedictorian of her Hallowell High School class. After she married Herbert Whitten, they moved to Portland. The mother, Bessie Emery, died in 1924 and Arthur continued to raise his family by running the farm, sawmill and gardens.

Stephen’s son Roger acquired the farm in 1933, married Arlene Burgess, and began a family that many people know today.

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Roger and Arlene both loved dancing. Once the milking and other chores were completed on Saturday night, they were off to the Blue Goose in Belfast, Damariscotta Dance Hall, Whippoorwill or Purgatory dance halls in Litchfield to trip the light fantastic. It was not unusual for them to arrange an evening of barn dancing for neighbors in their animal shelter. They also chaperoned four class trips for local students to Washington, D.C. They were dedicated to bringing joy and sunshine into their community.

Roger and Arlene shared a genuine interest in natural rocks and gems. As a result, once the family was grown, they traveled to many parts of the U.S., Canada and Alaska, finding and harvesting treasures they brought back to Maine.

Arlene died in 1995 and Roger in 2007. They both left wonderful memories for their family and friends.

Today, five members of the family who grew up along Shady Lane in Hallowell are still with us. Roger Jr. “Buckie,” Freeman and Duane “Bud” still live in Hallowell. Ronnie lives in Arcadia, Fla., and Norma-Jean Brown is in nearby West Gardiner.

Each Lord sibling is proud of his or her heritage in the small and comfortable city named Hallowell.

 

 


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