“Below” By Slaid Cleaves
October 8, 2008
A friend and reader sent this information to me and so I thought it would be worth passing on. The YouTube video relates the history behind a Maine village lost to “progress” due to the building of a dam. I decided to share it here because even if you’re not from Maine, most of what the video and the lyrics to the song say, many of us can easily relate.
Our “Heartlight” read as this:
~Faith in the Future~, by Tim Archer
Have you heard of Flagstaff, Maine? It’s a ghost town now, submerged under the waters of Flagstaff Lake. A dam was built along the Dead River back in 1950, enlarging Flagstaff Lake and burying the town of Flagstaff. In his book “Unfinished Business,” Halford Luccock tells this story:
Our strength is sapped by a lack of faith.
One night at dinner a man, who had spent many summers in Maine, fascinated his companions by telling of his experiences in a little town named Flagstaff. The town was to be flooded, as part of a
large lake for which a dam was being built. In the months before it was to be flooded, all improvements and repairs in the whole town were stopped. What was the use of painting a house if it were to be covered with water in six months? Why repair anything when the whole village was to be wiped out? So, week by week, the whole town became more and more bedraggled, more gone to seed, more woebegone.Then he added by way of explanation: “Where there is no faith inthe future, there is no power in the present.”
“Where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present.” In his famous song “Imagine,” John Lennon wrote, “Imagine there’s no heaven. It’s easy if you try. No hell below us. Above us only sky. Imagine all the people. Living for today ….” Lennon somehow had the idea that if people would stop thinking about the future, forget about eternity, they would enjoy the present more. He thought
they would live better lives. He was wrong. “Where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present.”
Christians can live the present more fully because we have faith in the future. We know the God that holds the future, and we can face tomorrow without fear. The reality of eternity, the reality of God, the faith we have in the future doesn’t diminish our ability to live well in the present. The hope we have fuels our lives now, letting us experience life more completely than if we lacked such hope. “Where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present.”
Posted by Tom Remington
Check Out Related Articles
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
We feature the latest news, events and politics effecting the sports of hunting, fishing, and all outdoor activities in North America.
Nice job! I thought I saw you there.
You couldn’t have seen me. I was in the coffin!
Tom, great article and video. I took the liberty to forward the URL of this Black Bear Blog to several friends.
I am somewhat familiar with another similar event (described below by Maine wildlife biologist Jim Connolly). The 5600 acre Gene Letourneau Wildlife Management Area occupies land taken by FDR to improve Maine agriculture. Lots of people relocated.
I planned to take the boat tour of Flagstaff Lake this past summer but didn’t. Maybe next year. The tour is given from a pontoon boat with a knowledgeable local historian as guide. A fitting companion to the video.
————————————————————
My week ended with a visit to Frye Mountain Wildlife Management Area located in Montville, Knox, and Morrill. Ginny Walker, local resident and historical society member, accompanied me on my visit to Frye Mountain. Ginny is also the contact person for cemeteries located in the Town of Montville. Her task was to share the location of the 6th cemetery that is located in or adjacent to Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s Wildlife Management Area. The day was perfect for being outside, the kind of fall day that is sunny and bright, but somewhat melancholy as leaves begin to fall and flowers wilt with the first frosts of autumn. We traveled along the dirt roads of the management area, as many before us have, on our way from Route 220, up the Walker Ridge Road, across the Carter Cemetery Road and then onto the Getchell Road.
Our destination was the Getchell family farm located just up the road. In reviewing town records it was apparent to Ginny there was another cemetery on the Mountain that IFW needed to be made aware of. It turned out to be the Getchell family cemetery that contains only one grave. In 1884, N.C. and Lizzie Getchell laid their week old daughter to rest on a little hillside across the road from their home. The small headstone marking the site lies on a beech ridge, just above a small stream that flows down from Frye Mountain.
The grave was visible from the windows of their farmhouse, which was located on another rise just across the road. Today the homestead has begun to revert back to the forest that covered the land before the Getchells, like the Carters, Ripleys, Stewarts, Higgins, Fryes, and others, cleared it as they made their farms. The stone foundations of the house and barn still mark the site, and now represent the Getchell family that has since moved on. The foundations, stonewalls, and graves are the visible reminders on Frye Mountain of all the families that left their land as part of a Federal Government buyout of their properties.
Under the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act starting in the 30s and continuing into the 40s, families were paid the market value for their farms and were moved to various locations. Pastures that were cleared are once again covered with spruce, white pine, and oaks, that are again ready for harvesting. Cellar holes are filling in as foundation walls collapse under assault from rain and frost. Trees now sprout in root cellars where a family’s precious harvest was once stored. Hunters, leaf peepers, snowmobilers and ATVers, now travel country lanes that once were traveled by horse and wagon.
Walking over the property as we have this past summer, touching up boundary lines, and preparing for a forest harvest, has certainly given me a different impression of the “Mountain” as many people refer to it. You can’t help but feel closer to the land when you travel across it by foot. Many people zoom by Cloud’s grave each week, oblivious to the fact a family struggled there to make a living farming, before eventually leaving the land. I can’t imagine the sense of loss the Getchells must have felt the last time they left their home, went down the hill, and left behind their home and lives on the Mountain.
As I left the Mountain that day, after chatting with Ginny for a short while, I could not help but think of that loss as I returned to Augusta and another meeting. I’m sure each day that Lizzie and N.C. looked across the street and caught sight of Cloud’s small headstone there was a connection to the land and their ancestors that folks lack today. In the rural areas of the state the connection between family members past and present, careers, homes, and the community seems much stronger than in other parts of Maine. When you visit the “Mountain” to hunt or walk, take the time to travel slowly on foot and enjoy this special place. Frye Mountain has been shaped by the hands of those that came before you, as it in turn shaped their lives, and eventually received their earthly remains. Please treat the area with respect and enjoy your visit as you pass through on your journey.
Jim Connolly, Regional Wildlife Biologist
Nice, Tom. I remember my folks taking to Flagstaff to see the lake after it was filling up. It was a strange sight.
The EX Betel Got a Bullet in his head! You CANNOT MOCK GOD!
BEETLE??
That video/song are great. Is there any way to get a copy of the video? BECAUSE my Mom and Uncle (who are no longer with us) were in that video’s photo of all the kids of Flagstaff!
I don’t have any information on whether or not there is a video or song available for purchase or otherwise. If I find out anything, I’ll post it here.