The Last Axemakers, And Old School Memories

Oakland, Maine once had several axe-making factories. Axes made in the Oakland factories were world famous. 

The film above shows Emery-Stevens axes being made in 1965. Emery-Stevens was the last axe maker in Oakland, and that film was made shortly before they shut down.

The film was made by a man who realized he was capturing a piece of history that was about to be lost. It is a gift from the past for those of us who appreciate this sort of thing.

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Speaking of axes, back in 1976-77, when I attended the Grassroots Project in Vermont, one of the things I was required to bring with me when I started the school year was an axe. All students brought their own axes.

Wool pants, felt-lined Sorel boots, and wool mittens with a leather outer mitten were also required equipment.

We also brought knives, of course, and some guys brought hunting rifles. I had a Folding Hunter Buck knife. They were popular back then. We carried them in a sheath on our hips. I remember we boys fancied ourselves to be Rugged Old Woodsmen, even though we were only 18 years old.

Half way through the school year, my cousin, Peter, gave me a Smith & Wesson folding knife, with leather sheath. I switched out the Buck knife and carried the S&W. That knife was the most beautiful folding knife I've ever known. I say "was" because I sold it a couple weeks ago. Here's a picture...

Why sell a knife I once loved? Because I hadn't used it in years, it had value as a collectible, my income is significantly less in the winter months, and I carry a Leatherman Wave these days. The Leatherman is a far more useful tool.

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If we all had phones with cameras and the internet back in 1977, there would be no shortage of pictures and videos to show from that era. But we didn't, and I'm glad we didn't. We didn't even have television to watch. Imagine that!

But a few kids had cameras and the school had a darkroom for the "camera kids." So, I have one single photo of myself (taken by I-don't-know-who) from that wonderful school year in Northern Vermont...

I'm crossing over a wet swampy area on top of a rope that is tied to a tree on each side. The rope was part of a "Bounder" course that we went through in teams. 

The kid before me tried crossing by hanging from his hands. He got halfway and was too tired to go any further. He had no option but to let go and land in the water. We all laughed, and wondered how we could possibly get over any better than he did.

Our teacher then suggested that it would be better to cross on top of the rope. That didn't make any sense, but he explained how it could be done, and I volunteered to try it.

It was downright easy to do, and a lot of fun. Several kids followed my example. A few of the girls couldn't do it. But some of them did. This next picture shows my classmate, Sueanne, getting across the swamp...

That picture of Sueanne shows the technique for crossing a rope, on top. I'm 60 years old now, but I feel confident that I could still do that.  

Now here's something really amazing.... I didn't know Sueanne very well back in '77,  but I remembered that she was from Block Island. A couple years ago I asked Everett Littlefield, a reader of this blog who is from there, if he knew Sueanne. Turns out he does, and she still lives on the island.

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