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History of Weatherby's - "The Fisherman's Resort"
Written By Arthur W. Wheaton
edited from a presentation to the
Annual Meeting of the Grand Lake Stream Historical
Society
Summer 2004
This Maine Sporting Camp, located in the down east
village of Grand Lake Stream, a much sought after
destination itself, is a century old icon for sportsman
wanting a traditional experience with Maine guides in a
Grand Laker square stern canoe, a shore lunch and fine
fishing for landlocked salmon and smallmouth bass. Its
wonderful classic log cabins, fine dining and ambiance,
adjacent to great fly fishing water on the stream
itself, makes for a grand sporting experience.
Jeff McEvoy and Beth Rankin, current owners of
Weatherby's, "The Fisherman's Resort", are raising their
children Keaton and Carson in this downeast village that
is steeped in a proud tradition and affection for the
Sporting Life. The Camps, the guides, the square stern
canoe rooted here, are essential backdrops to a somewhat
unchanged classic experience that has been a treasured
destination for as much as three generations of
"sports".
To get a wonderful sense of history for the great Grand
Lake Stream watershed (West Branch of the St. Croix
River), one must reach back to when William Gould came
to the northern edge of Township 27, near the outlet of
Grand Lake Stream on Big Lake, and built a landing in
1854/55, which ultimately became a well used sportsman's
entry to Hinckley Township. The salmon fishing in the
stream was becoming well known among ardent fisherman
during the 1850's, 60's and into the 70's and Minnie
Atkinson, author of Hinckley Township, says that during
this time as many as 50 tents dotted the stream. With
Indian guides carrying the canoes, and later Gould using
a makeshift wagon to carry baggage, sportsman used the
old tote road or Indian carry from Big Lake to find good
fishing, in the stream and on Grand Lake. Minnie
Atkinson reports "In the earliest village days, tenting
along the stream by fisherman was the only way these
sports could keep from the weather; later certain
housekeepers had opened their homes for the
accommodation of periodical sportsman visitors." The
first boarding house to make provisions for sportsman
was credited to Mrs. Lavonia Ripley and this growing
need by sportsman was answered by others.
In 1869 the Princeton and Milford Turnpike Company began
work on a road to connect the Houlton road (now U. S.
Route 1) to Milford on the Penobscot River but due to
financial difficulties only "grubbed out" 3 or four
miles west of the village of Grand Lake Stream before
abandoning the project. Early in the summer of 1870 the
Shaw Brothers, Thackster, William and Fayette came to
the Grand Lake area "to see if conditions favored the
construction of a tannery." It looked possible and they
went ahead with their venture. By 1881 the tannery
business was deemed most prosperous, employing
approximately 150 men, my grandfather, Arthur Rutledge
Wheaton being one of them.
 As
was common in most tannery towns, the boss, the
superintendent, or owner selected one of the best plots
of land in town and built the finest and most elegant
house. This held true in Grand Lake Stream. Mr. Charles
Bates, a short time junior partner and superintendent of
the Shaw Tannery business (in fact it was called Shaw
and Bates Tannery initially) owned the "White House",
located on a high hill overlooking the stream, today
known as Weatherby's. Soon after 1874, Mr. Bates retired
and Mrs. Sym, wife of Mr. George Sym, a tannery foreman
from Montreal, took over the "house built for Mr. Bates"
and turned it into a boarding house for tannery workers;
but she made special provisions for sportsman that
visited her annually. Interestingly, Mrs. Sym obtained
the White House very soon after the tannery commenced
operations. In 1895, the White House was sold to Mr.
Stephan Yates, son of Samuel Yates, the first pioneer of
Township 21. At that time more and more sportsman
visiting the area were needing accommodations, however
Mr. Yates was obliged to give up the business after a
few years on account of the poor health of Mrs. Yates.
It was March 19th, 1898, when the old tannery, a
cornerstone to the very beginning of the village, its
economy, and regular employment of its residents, was
sold to the International Leather Trust and its doors
were forever closed to business. In its declining years,
Grand Lake's population dwindled from approximately 500
to 221 by 1900 and for the most part economic stress for
shear survival of the village was apparent. A long
standing employer, since the 1870's was gone forever but
with its demise, emerged a new and now long standing
tradition for the area - landlocked salmon fishing and
later smallmouth bass, along with some of the finest
hunting in Maine. And with these sporting traditions
came the charm and character of the Maine Sporting Camp
and the Grand Lake Stream Guide who had been tannery
workers, farmers, woodsman, lumberman and the like. A
state administrated registration system for guides, for
a 1.00 fee, became effective March 19, 1897 and "Fly Rod
Crosby" receives the first Maine guide's license.
But with the very bad tannery news, signaling the ending
of an era, yet another event occurs that is significant
for the "White House" and the village of Grand Lake
Stream. The Washington County railroad opened in 1898,
with a railroad station in Princeton. Spring travelers
and sportsman for the early fishing could travel via the
old route over the lakes using a small steamer that made
daily trips on Big Lake when the water level was
sufficiently high, or could now use the "horse stage," a
most viable transportation over the Milford Road to the
wonderful fishing grounds at Grand Lake.
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| Fisherman
circa early 1900s. The first camp was called
Ball for Frank Ball's father. |
Then, on September 1st, 1901, approx 25 years after Mrs.
Sym first started boarding sportsman in the "White
House", Stephan Yates sold the existing "White House"
and buildings including the "Birches", a two story
building that sat in the current location of the "Jack
and Jill", and property to Mr. Frank Ball of Andover,
Massachusetts, who for approximately 5 years had been at
the Duck Lake Club on Grand Lake. Mr. and Mrs. Ball
enlarged the "White House" and, likely in the years
1902-1904, built a number of small, attractive cottages,
including the "Outlook", the "Den", the "Ball" (named
for his father) making it "one of the most popular
sporting camps in eastern Maine." Frank Ball was first
to operate the White House and camps as a traditional
Maine sporting camp.
It was noted in the 1906 brochure that after arriving in
Princeton by train, sportsman could continue by stage to
the Stream or by launch up Big Lake which is met by
buckboard at the landing, enroute to "The White House".
1907 Brochure says this sportsman's destination is The
White House and Ball's Camps, suggesting that the "White
House" had attained some measure of recognition by this
time and Frank Ball wished to keep the identification in
his brochure.
Later brochures told potential Sportsman, that to reach
Ball's Camps, leave North Union Station, Boston about
10:00 pm arriving at Forest, Maine, next morning, where
you will be met by Ball's Camps autos. Also travel by
way of Princeton, Maine reaching camp around 1:30 pm. A
new large garage was constructed on the property at the
corner of Milford Road and Church Street. It is little
remembered that Frank Ball, sometimes called "The Kaiser
on the Hill" by townsfolk, borrowed money from the town
to build this garage whereby he put guest cars and
stored cars and canoes of townspeople in it for the
winter. Years later, because it blocked the corner,
Woodie Wheaton and Bev Weatherby tore it down.
On April 30, 1920, Mr. Benn Treadwell of Tuckahoe, New
York bought the property adjacent to Ball's Camps owned
by Mr. Stephan Yates who originally owned the "White
House but gave it up and eventually "opened an
adaptation and enlargement of one of the older village
houses located on the higher part of the easterly ridge
that over looks the stream." He went on to build
supplementary small cottages. Treadwell named his:
"Grand Lake Camps", which later were sold to Guy
Bonness, brother to Rae (Bonness) Weatherby and are
known as Indian Rock Camps today.
Mr. Treadwell's connection to this story clears up when
we learn that he was official counter of the number of
salmon being caught from Grand Lake and Bev Weatherby
recalls that NO salmon were caught in Grand Lake one
year and that is what convinced Frank Ball to sell his
property to Rutheford L. Weatherby, as he may have
believed the lake was fished out. It is important to
note, in those days, salmon fishing was spring and fall
only and guides went back home to do the haying and
other work during the summer months as the small mouth
bass fishery did not exist as it does today. No wire or
lead core lines were being used to catch salmon during
the heat of the summer.
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| Rutherford
and Rae Weatherby |
Now it is Rutherford L. Weatherby of Little Ridge, New
Brunswick and Herb Chisholm that purchase Ball's
sporting camp in 1922 from Frank H. Ball, for $5000.00
each, nearly 50 years after Mrs. Sym acquired the "White
House". They ultimately maintain 15 cabins and a central
dining room. Beverly Weatherby, Ruthie's son, is 2 yrs
old and Minnie Atkinson in Hinckley Township lists 53
guides by name, and further reports "with two or three
exceptions" every family in the village is represented
at least once. In the early years there were no
outboards, but later with the invention of the square
stern canoe, credited to Herbert "Beaver" Bacon of Grand
Lake Stream (circa 1923) a new canoe building era was
underway. The history of the square stern canoe (Grand
Laker), the makers, styles and evolution is a story by
itself.
In 1935, Alice (Christie) Weatherby and Ruth (Christie)
Wheaton spend their first summer in Grand Lake Stream,
later to become Mrs. Beverly Weatherby on July 28, 1943
and Mrs. Woodworth Wheaton on April 23, 1939. Bev
Weatherby was 15 years old, taking advantage of his
first driver's license without having to take a test, so
he drives his friends and guests all over. At that time
the camps were still operating under the name Ball's
Camps but after pressure from Bev, Ruthie changed the
name in the 30's to Weatherby's Camps.
During the 2nd World War, Bev picked up guests at Forest
Station ( also Bangor & Calais) at 5am so they could
breakfast at camp and be fishing that day. Trains
departed at 10pm, so guests could have a days fishing
and leave on the train that night.
Landmarks of Weatherby's during the Ruthie and Rae
(Bonness) Weatherby years, included a water tower
(1936), built 25 feet in the air of spruce by Allie
Nason, which supplemented the water supply. Originally,
water came from a very deep dug well that was covered by
a well house, used in the winter for some years along
with the water tower, and in the well house was located
a Delco 4 cylinder, gasoline, 32 direct current power
plant. It had a big set of batteries. The well house,
had a cement base, but the building was moved and became
the "Shady Nook" in approximately 1938. The generators
were moved to the "chicken coop" or the workshop area as
it was very noisy.
Approximately 1933-34 a small building that was a
bathroom between the "Upper Berth" and the "Owl" was
removed and relocated to become a one-bedroom cabin
called the "Hillside". Bathrooms were built inside the
"Owl and "Upper Birth". The age old liar's bench, along
the wall under the car port was in regular use, as well
as the round sitting bench, situated around an apple
tree in the yard, just off the alley way and guides
bathroom (see photo). Later, Guide Ollie White would run
into the round bench with his car and that was the end
of it. Here, local and Passmaquoddy Indian guides had
gathered each morning to await their guests finishing
breakfast and readying for a days fishing. During this
time few guides had cars or drove. Transportation by the
lodge was provided for them, their guests, their canoes
and supplies. Trailers were built by local craftsman
George Bagley to haul 3 canoes at a time on a box
trailer with cross ties covered with rubber cut from car
tires. Flat tires were a regular occurrence on the old
trailers as travel to the many lakes in the region over
dirt roads made it rough on car tires.
The "Rose" camp and the "Wren", both with beautiful
hardwood floors, with closets added later by Bev
Weatherby were moved between 1930 and 1935 from the
original Will Rose property (now Colonial Lodge) to
Weatherbys, and the "Mushroom" was built by Allie Nason
and Ruthie in eight days and so named for the quick
construction. During this time the "Cedar" was built and
Bev installed a ping-pong table in the "Shady Nook". In
the early '50's Ruthie became ill, but his wife Rae
continued to run the camps until the torch was passed to
son Bev.
Bev Weatherby and Alice (Christie) Weatherby purchased
the camps from his father in 1955, and continued the
operation for 20 years. Rutherford Weatherby passes away
in 1956 but the Weatherby family own and operate the
facility for 52 years.
The saga of the old landmark water tower continues, and
Bev and Woodie Wheaton rebuild it of Cypress in 1945 or
1946. Bev recalls that all they had were three posts
sticking 25 foot in the air during this reconstruction.
By its very nature, age and demands of a new generation
of sportsman for improved accommodations, upkeep and
improvement were ongoing. Bev remembers the Birches and
White House originally had gaslights and the gas tanks
were located in the well house but they were eventually
converted to electricity. The "Birches", originally
located where the "Jack and Jill" is today was moved
across the lawn by jacking it up and sliding it on skids
where, in its new location of today, housed employees.
The two-story building had seen tannery borders, housed
employees and sportsman but would now be relegated to
employees only. The new "Jack and Jill" named by Rae
Weatherby for its location and matching left and right
accommodations had a door in the middle, leaving 2 large
living rooms, each with a fireplace that could be opened
in case a large party needed its complete use. Other
changes included removing the porch from the main house,
where they only had a small office and crank telephone,
a porch office added, a wider walking porch with birch
floor and a birds eye maple floor in the lobby and a
fireplace was added, as well as a bathroom.
The character of Weatherby's as a premier sportsman's
destination was enhanced by the many notables who
frequented the place. The accommodations, the history,
the game and fish mounts and attractive décor supported
its ultimate tagline of "The Fisherman's Resort." Some
of those notables visiting during the 50's and 60's,
were outdoor writers, high ranking generals, business
leaders, top physicians and other accomplished and well
healed folks.
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| Bev
Weatherby, Alice Weatherby, Diana Weatherby, and
Ted Williams
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The famous Jimmy Doolittle (1968) was a down to earth
man says Bev Weatherby. Ted Williams, "the splendid
splinter" was an accomplished fly caster as well as the
greatest hitter of all time with a lifetime average of
.344 and a high of .407 in 1953. General Matthew
Ridgeway (1954), Hal Foster, the artist, Dr. Paul Dudley
White, the president's physician, Joe Brooks, the sports
writer, (1969-70) all were regulars at camp. A Mr.
Carmichael, then secretary to the Smithsonian was a
visitor. The Adolph, Lionel & Alvin Weil party, and the
Griswold's and Ralph Swartz who owned New York central
railroad were other notables. George Hartman, of the
Robling Co who built the Brooklyn Bridge, Mr. and Mrs.
Bert Lahr, A. J. McClane, sports writer, Bill Rae, Exec
Editor of Outdoor Life, Charlie Elliott, Bud Leavitt and
other captains of industry came to enjoy the great
fishing. Referrals from the great Abercrombie & Fitch, N
Y outfitters, was a boon to Weatherbys and at peak times
Bev employed 20 some guides as Alice remembers packing
20 lunches.
Maintenance never ends in the sporting camp business and
tending a big garden, spacious lawns, obtaining plenty
of wood for the cabins were all daily chores. A "back
kitchen" is where employees ate, baskets were packed and
cooking dishes washed. In those days, Bev had to go get
all guides as there were no telephones and most did not
have all their own equipment and no means to transport
their canoe.
The changing of the guard was to occur again in Sept
1974 when Mr. and Mrs. Ken Sassi of Orlean, N.Y became
the new owners of Weatherbys. Ken was an engineer for
Dresser Industries and a born and bred Mainer from
Rumford. The Sassis would continue to upgrade and
improve the facility to meet the ever-growing need for
comfort and modern accommodations, a costly and endless
task.
Although the facility remained the same in physical
layout with no new structures, the Sassi's on going
improvements were important to the longevity of
Weatherbys. Vinyl siding was applied to the "White
House", the driveway was repaved, the dinning room and
lobby refurbished with a new chair rail and wainscoting,
all cottages re-roofed except the "Ball", floors
refurbished, stoves replaced, electrical and plumbing
updated, a new heating system and a new water system
with dry well pump installed. The old landmark water
tower finally saw its last day in the early 1980's,
after years of service. Robert Gagner, owner of the Pine
Tree Store and Ken took it down by sawing the legs and
hooking it up to a truck to pull it over. A _ ton truck
could have driven into it when it fell, to give you an
idea of its size. The strapping around the tub held when
it fell. The old apple tree, around which the
traditional wood bench had been built and local guide
Ollie White had won a battle of engagement, finally died
in 1977, and the spot was paved over in the early '80's
as part of the driveway. The glorious bench- sitting
here by Indian and local guides is now gone forever. If
it could only talk, the colorful stories, the wonderful
remembrances of days gone by could be relived and
captured for future generations.
Notable personalities continued to seek out Weatherbys
as a destination for great accommodations and classic
guided fishing with the tradional shore lunch. Ted
Williams, the outdoor writer, Jerry Robinson and John
Merwin of Field and Stream and David Kotok of Cumberland
Advisors as well as other Wall Streeters, Leon Gorman of
LL Bean and Robert Poole, executive editor of National
Geographic paid a visit here to Down East Maine.
It was the Sassi's who became a driving force behind the
Conservation effort to save the lands forever that
bordered the stream from Grand Lake past Little Falls
and Big Falls to Big Lake. Ken Sassi remarks that his
legacy and one of his proudest efforts was to close this
deal with a final donation of $10,000 from Georgia
Pacific. His work with local folks and the Maine Coast
Heritage Trust culminated with a pronouncement by
Governor Angus King in Grand Lake Stream acknowledging
the land was protected forever. Additionally it was Ken
Sassi who was a force to refurbish the old James Bright
schoolhouse and he personally pulled out the old heating
plant. He was most interested in utilizing the old
gymnasium for use by kids that could not stay at the
Woodland School for extra activities. Ken also notes
that he played a role in starting the Grand Lake
Historical Society.
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| Grand Lake
Stream guides around old apple tree: Woodie
Wheaton, Stub Yates, Orin Fitch, Ollie White,
Will Moore, Tim Bacon, Earl Brown |
As with the Balls, the Weatherby's and the Sassi's
ownership, generational changes occurred with guides.
Many of the old timers passed on and new classes of
Grand Lake Stream guides emerged. At its peak Ken Sassi
reports that Weatherbys, secured 25 guides and many
worked for the business exclusively. Ken expressed
loyalty for the many that depended on the Weatherby
sportsman for their livelihood as he felt it important
to seek their employment first when guides were needed.
And now Jeff McEvoy and Beth Rankin are writing the next
chapter in the history of Weatherbys. Jeff, a guide of
22 years, apprenticed with Woodie Wheaton during the
'80's while guiding on East Grand Lake in the upper St.
Croix watershed, learning the guiding profession in the
Grand Lake tradition and so loved the area, he and Beth
decided to carry this grand sporting camp tradition in
Grand Lake Stream.
As Jeff and Beth make their way to invest, repair,
upgrade, and advertise, to encourage revenues "from
away", our world continues to change, with increased
pressure on the resources, careful attention is required
for the land, the fishery, and the community. The future
is likely to require greater collective attention of
guides, town folk and sporting camp owners to find
solutions for environmental, economic, resource
management, services and a host of other challenging
issues.
At the very root of the future of this area will be the
importance of return visitors with positive experiences
to fuel the many needs of the community. Sportsmen
"coming back" as well as new ones exposed to this rich
experience are the common denominator that will provide
a strong future for all who derive a livelihood from
this recreational pursuit.
And as we face new challenges of the 21st century such
as protecting the land, maintaining and improving our
fisheries as more and more fisherman come to the region,
vigilant conservation of the land and protective
regulations such as catch and release must be considered
to maintain the high standards set by the guides and
sports of yesterday. The interrelationship of the
environment our lakes and forests, our lunch sites,
our fisheries and wildlife and more, suggests it will be
imperative we all work together for the future. A
fragile balance is being tested today by the
ever-increasing use of these resources. The good work of
folks in this community and the Downeast Lakes Land
Trust, with a vision to protect and preserve a
tradition, are invaluable to a sporting way of life. The
energy to find solutions to the forever growing
financial and service oriented needs will be ongoing.
Solutions will only be found by working together,
recognizing, the limited resource as a valued commodity
as the economic well being of owners, guides and towns
folks are all interconnected and dependent on it.
Weatherby's continues to be one of the best examples of
the grand Maine Sporting Camp and is known far and wide
for its classic experience. It is a part of Maine's rich
history - the history and landscape of the region. And
as long as folks want and can, hunt and fish,
Weatherby's will be considered as a premier destination.
The White House, Balls Camps, and Weatherby's all- in
-one have been an integral part of the village of Grand
Lake Stream that has existed for over 100 years and its
contribution to the local economy and its reputation
stand tall. I know these things! My grandfather was a
tannery worker and one of the first Maine guides here,
my father, a Maine guide here and later a sporting camp
owner, and I, were born in Grand Lake Stream, and my
first education was in the James Bright School. My
family roots are in Grand Lake Stream.
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