Back in the fall we released a documentary about our history. It was incredibly popular and we began to realize that we weren’t the only ones who had an obsession with the history of Casco Bay. The historical societies and museums in the region play a huge role in preserving this history. And so, as they prepare to open for the season on May 26, we thought it would be fun to chat with Holly Hurd-Forsyth, Curator of the Fifth Maine Regiment Museum.

The building that now houses the Fifth Maine Regiment Museum was constructed by members of the regiment and has stood strong on Seashore Avenue on Peaks Island since 1888. But before we learn more about the building, here’s a quick refresher on the Fifth Maine.

The Civil War started in April of 1861, and just a short time later the brave men of the Fifth Maine Regiment mustered in Portland to serve three years fighting all across the eastern theater of the war—the men fought in the battles of Antietam, Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and many others.

After the war, the men wanted to keep in contact, so they began hosting regimental reunions, usually on one of the islands in Casco Bay. In 1887 the group decided they wanted a more permanent place to host their reunions and bought a piece of land on Peaks Island, completing construction in less than a year.

The annual reunions brought soldiers, family, and friends together—many staying in the newly constructed building, which had 15 rooms. They rented cots in the hallways, stayed in the bedrooms on the first floor, and even up in the tower, where the nicest, and most expensive (at $9 a week) room was located.

According to Holly, the final member of the regiment passed away in 1938, and the final reunion in 1940 included just family members. After that the building sat mostly unused, falling into disrepair. In 1954 the building was given to the community and turned into a museum to remember the Fifth Maine Regiment.

“They built the building in remembrance of their comrades who didn’t survive the war,” said Holly. “The stained-glass windows are dedicated to the different soldiers. They really wanted all of the soldiers to be remembered, and that remains our main goal now at the museum.”

We count ourselves lucky to have such a special place located along our route. Next time you take a Casco Bay Lines ferry out to Peaks Island, stop by the museum to learn more about the regiment, its members, and the history of Peaks Island!

We’re looking to share more stories about the history of Casco Bay here on our blog. If you have a particular island, location, or event in history that you would like to see featured here, feel free to reach out to us!

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Maine is rich in Native American history and many of our landmarks still carry the original names given to them by members of the First Nations. Because we love learning about the history of our area, we dove into the archives of local experts like the Island Institute, the Maine Historical Society, and Bates College to research the original names of our beloved islands and boats.

Aucocisco—Migrating tribes often named things using unique wayfinding words—for example, the estuaries of Casco Bay are filled with a lot of bird life, so the Abenaki word “Aucocisco” meaning “a place of herons” is a fitting moniker for Casco Bay (and one of our boats). The bay was also called “Bahia de Cascos” or “Bay of Helmets” by Portuguese Explorer Estêvão Gomez who mapped the area in the early 1500s.

Bailey Island—The island was originally named “Newaggin” by local Abenaki tribes. The word means “swift current place,” a nod to the strong pull of the currents off the coast of Harpswell.

Chebeague Island—It may be hard to believe, but underground freshwater springs can be found running all over Chebeague Island. That’s probably why the Native Americans called the island “Chebeague” meaning “isle of many springs.”

Machigonne—A birds-eye view of Portland will show the land of the city jutting out into the sea. The Algonquian tribes who called the region home named it “Machigonne” meaning “great neck.”

Maquoit—The word “Maquoit” means “bear place” or “bear bay.” Maquoit Bay sits near the mouth of the Androscoggin and Kennebec Rivers, where salmon traditionally ran in great numbers, drawing bears to the region.

Wabanaki—In 1606, five of the region’s Native American tribes—the Abenaki, Penobscot, Mi’kmaq, Passamaquoddy, and Maliseet—united as the Wabanaki Confederacy. Members of the Wabanaki Confederacy lived all over Maine and Eastern Canada, which is the first place to see the sun rise each day. The word “Wabanaki” translates to “the people of the first light.” When we added the Wabanaki to our fleet back in 2014, students at Long Island Elementary school submitted the winning name for the vessel.

To learn more about this history of Casco Bay Lines, visit our history page.

The post What’s in a Name? Exploring the Heritage of Casco Bay. appeared first on Casco Bay Lines.

Larry has. He started working at Casco Bay Lines in June of 1973 as a deckhand. Four years later he had earned his Captains license, and he ran the boats full time until 1981. “I semi-retired then, went back to school and worked on deep sea tankers. It was funny though, whatever I was doing, I still found my way to Casco Bay Lines for whatever they needed me do to, tickets, maintenance, you name it.”

By 1990 Larry was back on board full time. He currently works as an Operations Agent in the pivotal role of shore side supervisor.  One such team member has to be on duty at all times, from 4:45 in the morning to after midnight, 365 days a year. Customer service is the name of the game. They oversee operations, put out fires, greet people and serve as the front line on the shore. It’s a job perfect for someone who knows the ins and outs as well as Larry.  “There’s a lot of experience between our team. There are a bunch of us have been here for a long time. We’re like a big family.”

In Larry’s case, it truly has been a family affair. His dad and all of his uncles worked at Casco Bay Lines growing up during WWII. In 1960, Larry’s dad returned to moonlight as a Captain and he would bring his son with him. Larry quickly grew to love it. As soon as he was old enough, he followed in his dad’s footsteps.

And the legacy continues. All three of Larry’s daughters worked at Casco Bay Lines while also working their way through high school and college.  “My middle one, Casey, met her future husband while working here,” Larry explains proudly. “This place taught them how to work hard, how to act around people, and how to treat to people.”

Larry has always loved getting to know our customers, generously sharing the rich history and his love for Casco Bay and the ferry line.  While he’s captained them all, he would most look forward to bringing people to Bailey Island every summer when the weather warmed up and the days got longer.  “I always enjoyed talking to these people from away who had never been out on the bay.” It’s a trip Larry’s dad also enjoyed back during the war.

And after all of these years, how would he describe it to someone? “It’s just a wonderful boat ride,” he says. “I’ve been all over the world on ships, and there are very few places as beautiful as Casco Bay. It’s unique. And I never get tired of going out on it. So I tell people that they have to experience it to understand.”

And he still sells cruises to visitors he chats with in the terminal. “People ask me all of the time what I recommend. I always tell them to take the Mailboat. Pick a beautiful day, any season, and go. We’re running on Christmas day, on Thanksgiving. And it’s beautiful then too.” Over the years, Larry looked forward to working on Thanksgiving, describing it as his own tradition of sorts, when he would get to see friends that would pass through just that once each year, on their way to visit their family on the island. “They expect to see me here. And I liked helping them get to be with their families.”

Somewhere along the way, Larry began collecting photos of the steamboats, reading everything he could get his hands on, making a point to talk to islanders and passengers older than him to soak up all of the history that he could. And, recently, he began making models of the old steamboats in his spare time.  One such model now lives at Maine Maritime Museum and another at the Long Island Historical Society.

And this week, after 44 years, Larry is retiring.

His plan? “I want to build more models. The last one I built took five winters. Now I’ll have more free time,” he says with a hearty and warm chuckle. And he’s excited to spend more time with his daughters and his wife (a former island girl he met while working at Casco Bay Lines). “I have so many good memories. If people here move on to other jobs, they always miss it and they come back – they stay part of the family.”

To us, Larry, you will always be part of this family. And we hope you can’t stay away completely. Fair winds and following seas!

From time to time on our blog we’ll be featuring stories of our fantastic crew to highlight their different roles, personalities, and connection to Casco Bay, our customers and our ferry line. If you have a particular staff member who you feel should be highlighted here, feel free to reach out to us!

The post Meet Our Crew: Larry Legere’s 44 Years on Casco Bay Lines appeared first on Casco Bay Lines.

1. We got our start way back in 1871 sailing steam boats around Casco Bay as the Peaks Island Steamboat Company. In those days we served Peaks Island, Long Island, Great Diamond Island, and Little Diamond Island. The original mission of the Peaks Island Steamboat Company was to keep up communication between the mainland and year-round island communities—a goal we continue to have today!
2. We haven’t always been located on the Maine State Pier. Up until 1988, we spent over 100 years operating from a terminal two wharves down on Custom House Wharf. In 2014, we revamped our terminal on the Maine State Pier, turning it into the beautiful building it is today.
3. Before we had all sorts of newfangled technology like depth finders, radar, and radios, captains used a compass, buoys, and “ran time” between points—measuring a trip by minutes and seconds. This process was especially difficult in Casco Bay because the tides “run hard” here, so trip times were constantly changing depending on the tide. In 1929 the 1,000 passenger mega-ferry Pilgrim, ran aground at Deer Point on Great Chebeague Island when the captain lost his time. We definitely think radar and depth finders are preferable to having to run time!
4. In the late 1920s, we began modernizing our fleet from steam to diesel. The Gurnet was the first boat to make the switch in 1929 followed by the Armita in 1928. Those steam boats were much quieter than a diesel engine, but significantly less efficient because they ran on coal.
5. Known as the “great white fleet,” all of the vessels in our fleet were painted white until, in 1959, Casco Bay Lines manager Peter McLaughlin decided to paint them. Each boat was painted red and yellow with a black hull, and back then passengers really hated the change, calling the move brash! We don’t know, we think we look pretty good in yellow, red and black!
6. We run 365 days per year! This has been one of our hallmarks since the beginning, and we don’t mind braving snow squalls or rain storms (or even the hottest August day) to serve the island communities and those visiting Casco Bay.

These are just a few interesting nuggets we uncovered during the recent process of creating “Cruising Casco Bay: A History of Casco Bay Lines from 1871-1982,” a historical documentary produced by Galen Koch. Everyone will be able to view the documentary on our website beginning on October 3^rd.  We think our history is pretty cool, and we can’t wait for you to see the film!

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While most of you probably know (if you paid attention in class) that the major battles of WWII were fought on foreign soil, you might not have all of the details about how Portland, the islands of Casco Bay, and even our ferries, played an important role in the war.

Just like the rest of the country, Portland struggled through the Great Depression, but in the early 1940s, preparations for war brought Portland out of those dark days. In the lead up to WWII, western Casco Bay became the fifth most active naval port in the United States.

And, in 1942, the Navy began making use of the ferries, taking possession of the original Aucocisco to transport soldiers between the islands. The fleet of ferries, at that time, was known as the “Great White Fleet” because they were all painted white. But, during the war, the white was covered up with a coat of gray paint.

On Long Island, the Navy took over a section of land and used it for a fueling depot, while over 50 military structures were being built on Peaks Island. A rusted steel box designed to look like a ship’s engine room still sits onshore on Little Chebeague Island—the remnants of the Navy Firefighting School.

Under the water, submarine nets—large nets used to protect a harbor from submarine infiltration—surrounded much of western Casco Bay, making travel to some of the island communities much more difficult. Islanders and captains took to calling the trip to Bailey Island the “all day cruise,” because it took much of the day to get there—traveling out around Great Chebeague Island because the gap between Chebeague Island and Long Island was closed off by submarine nets.

After all of the preparations, war-time operations were abandoned in Casco Bay. Historical accounts suggest that the invention of nuclear technology made defense systems like the ones set up in Portland Harbor obsolete.

If you’re interested in the history of Casco Bay, our Mailboat Run is a great way to learn more! We make two daily trips down the bay year-round, so even though temperatures are dropping, you can still cruise Casco Bay and get your history fix. For even more historical nuggets, there are several historical societies on the islands—the Fifth Maine Regiment Museum on Peaks Island, the Long Island Historical Society, the Cliff Island Historical Society, and the Chebeague Island Historical Society.

Casco Bay has a rich history, one that we are very proud to be a part of! Make sure to stay tuned for an announcement about an October 3 event at our terminal that will satisfy any history buff’s appetite.

The post Calling All History Nerds! Have You Heard The Story About the Great White Fleet in WWII? appeared first on Casco Bay Lines.