I shared the most delightful program I have attended in a long time with over 80 other people at the Skowhegan Free Public Library on April 23.

The Skowhegan History House Museum and Research Center invited the public to its “Ice Out” discussion in the round featuring Kennebec River log drivers, men who had the experience of driving logs down the river from the 1930s to 1976. They showed the tools they used and shared their stories, which included exciting, sometimes sad and sometimes humorous tales of a time long gone by.

Many who attended also shared their experiences. It was a time of very difficult and dangerous hard work, but they all agreed it was an enjoyable time of their lives. All this was accentuated with precious and rare photos of the log drives from the History House archives.

What a community gift was that evening of song, stories and refreshments as log driver Dave Calder sang and played his guitar to songs he wrote about the Kennebec log drives. It was an experience never to be forgotten.

Dorothy CleaverSkowhegan


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