This edition features two short articles from April 1, 1897, edition of the RANGELEY LAKES newspaper. The first fell under the title ‘Rangeley Recollections’ which was a regular feature in Rangeley’s first paper and shared regional history, much as ‘Snapshots in Time’ does today. The 1897 article provides an account of what may be the first-ever fly-fishing expedition to “the Rangeleys” in 1842. Mrs. George Soule relayed the story to the RANGELEY LAKES newspaper. Her husband, George Soule, was among the first locals to start guiding sports for additional income. We have previously shared in this column the accounts crediting Rev. Zenas Thompson of Farmington as being the first non-native angler to fish in the region. However, Thompson, who did precede the anglers mentioned below, employed bait fishing techniques to capture his big Rangeley brookies. The fly casters mentioned below were probably the first to have ever tossed a fly upon the storied waters of Rangeley.

The last article shares a report from the Oquossoc Hatchery by Timothy Tibbetts.

Contemporary commentary found in italics.

Rangeley Recollections

My old friend Mrs. George Soule forgets that the first party of fly fisherman to visit the Rangeleys in the forties was one from Providence in June 1842. It was composed of Crawford Allen, Sullivan Dorr, and Philip Allen. In 1843 the Allens came again reinforced by Geo. C. Nightingale of Providence, and Col. Bloodgood of New York. In 1844, upon the report of Col. Bloodgood, came a party consisting of George Griswold, Ben Swan, John Post and two others, all of New York City. Some of these gentlemen visited the Rangeleys later in the forties (1840’s), which was a golden epoch for the few guides of that decade. These “discoverers” of the Rangeleys had a plenty of money and they distributed it generously among their servitors. The extent and luxuriousness of their outfit, which in some cases included four-tined forks of real silver, wines, and costly oriental sauces, was a surprising revelation to us backwoodsmen of frugal habits. Their guides and cooks were Capt. Kimball, Lem Quimby and John Oakes. At that time deep water fishing in the Rangeley waters was not practiced, and the Providence sportsmen did all their fishing at Indian Rock and in the swift waters of the Kennebago stream. In fact, they needed to go no farther, getting all the sport they wanted in a small area, and on a number of nights they were very comfortable in a bark camp under the tall poplars. As to boats on the lake, Mrs. Soule must have failed, as she sailed to describe Rangeley’s great flat-bottomed carrier of lumber, which was there early in the thirties and into the forties. It went up and down the lake under a broad sail of canvas. – ‘Old Laker’

The writer, going by the pen name ‘Old Laker,’ may in fact be Deacon Eben Lake, at least as far as I have been able to discern from the old papers. Lake had a cabin on the north shore of Rangeley Lake in the vicinity of what would later become Mountainview Cove. He was a regular contributor between 1896 to the paper’s failure in 1898 sharing his memories of the earliest days of Rangeley. Perhaps he went by ‘Old Laker’ not because he desired anonymity, but because everyone in town knew him by his nickname.

At the Fish Hatchery

Quite a number of people visit the fish hatchery now, as the spawn are beginning to hatch. It is a big sight for those who never saw anything of the kind. The newly hatched fish look more like pollywogs than they do trout, and it would seem almost an Impossibility that these very small fish would ever reach the size of a six- or eight-pound trout. Mr. Tibbetts, who has charge of the hatchery, brought into the office of Rangeley Lakes some curiosities from among fish that are now hatching. They were twin trout, the two being attached to the same egg. They presented a peculiar appearance as they went swimming about. Mr. Tibbetts says they do not live long.

Timothy was the son of Luther Tibbetts and Lucinda Hoar Tibbetts. Lucinda was the first non-native child born in Rangeley. Timothy, like his dad, was a highly regarded guide and woodsman. I hope you have a terrific week ahead and encourage you to spend some time outdoors creating some rich Rangely history of your own!