Growing up in Dover-Foxcroft: Part III

By Rhonda Hanson Weaver
FA Class of 1967
    In winter, we’d put on layers of wool, pull on uninsulated rubber boots (red for girls, black for boys) and head outdoors to make snow forts, tunnels and hordes of snowballs (the better to ward off unseen enemies) and toboggan or slide down snowy hills, always managing to get crust cuts. Even worse,

sometimes the snow was so deep that you literally sink down to your hips. Then, when some poor kid tried to get out of the snow, the freezing, numb foot would slip out, and the boot would remain deep in the snow. Leaving it behind was not an option, so we’d all start digging until the boot was found. I bet many of you remember how painful our icy feet felt when we finally got home and took off our heavy wool clothes – sometimes our moms would fill a bowl with warm water for us to thaw our frigid feet. Then, the next day, we’d be back in the cold having a grand old time.
    If you were lucky, you had hand-me-down ice skates. On good winters when the ice was bare, many of us skated from the cove all the way up to the Academy and back. I seem to remember that we were not allowed to skate until several men (Kiwanis members?) checked the depth of the ice, and sometimes they would start a fire on the ice with which to warm ourselves. We felt like Hans Brinker.
     Most girls were usually expected to do household duties such as making beds, washing dishes, food preparation, hanging out wet laundry even in the winter, ironing and babysitting tasks. Girls had to wear dresses to school even in winter (stuffed into ski pants), got dolls for gifts, and had to navigate stricter social rules.
    Boys were expected to work as soon as they were old enough; many had paper routes or stocked shelves in stores, and were generally expected to like sports, fishing and fixing things. Looking back, it’s amazing that we, as kids, just accepted the norm. I was lucky, however, as my dad let me use his tools and wood scraps to make little houses or boats to float in our brook, or to use the scrap lumber to make tree houses.
    But those days weren’t always easy. Every family had its ups and downs; there was little help for those who were addicted to alcohol or gambling, or dealing with depression. Most houses were only marginally heated and winterized. Even using storm windows, which most people put on in the winter, didn’t help much. Thick frost was on the inside of windows in bedrooms each morning, and the floors were terribly cold. Most families didn’t have driers, so even in the worst of winter we would hang out wet clothes, which would immediately freeze solid. Glass milk bottles were usually dropped off on your doorstep even in winter. If the milk was frozen, we’d put it in a pan with hot water to thaw. Once the milk was gone, we would put out the empty bottles for the milkman to take and recycle.
    Remember party lines? We had to wait to call someone until the other party finally hung up, and sometimes we were suspicious that others listened in on our calls. Many moms collected green stamps. Since most everyone was rather poor, no one thought they were especially bad off. People “made do” and expected, through hard work and education, that things would get better. And, all in all, they did.
    The town rallied around the Foxcroft Academy sports of basketball, football and baseball. Hard to believe now, but the first time the girl’s basketball team rode a bus to an out of town game was the last girls’ game of 1967 at Orono. Up until that time, we girls had to find our own transportation to our out-of-town games; we relied on mothers to drive and our coach, Sue Stitham. We were granted the bus only because our girl’s basketball team was undefeated in our league and it was our last game of the year; we won all of our games (16-0) but didn’t have the opportunity to advance as there was no tournament opportunity at that time for girl’s basketball, nor any meaningful recognition of our achievement. That was rectified in 2007, when we were honored for our undefeated basketball girl’s team.
    Every time I return to Dover, I drive down many of the streets, remembering who used to live there. I visit the library, the source of my passionate reading as a kid, and am happy to see it still used, despite the internet and Kindles. I stop in at True Value, as my dad worked for years at PE Ward, and just walking into the building brings a rush of nostalgic memories of him and his co-workers. I drive by the Academy, and am happy to see in the winter that Rudolf is still making people smile, and look forward to Butterfield’s Ice cream opening in the spring. It’s sad that the bowling alley and the roller rink has deteriorated – it was a great place for us kids to meet up with friends, especially in the winter. I’m glad the yearly carnival and Kiwanis auction at the fairgrounds still exist, along with the homecoming parade with the fireworks at Sebec Lake.
     It’s wonderful that F.A. students are now from a variety of places and backgrounds. They will have the opportunity to broaden their lives in a way that we wouldn’t even have dreamed of back in the 1960’s.
    And, even though it’s been many years since I lived in Dover-Foxcroft, it will always be one of my favorite places. It’s reassuring to stand on the Sebec or Peak-Kinney beaches and look up the lake to see Borestone. It tells me that I am home.
    Rhonda Hanson Weaver lives in Harpswell. Her family camp is at Sebec, right by the narrows.