The
Great Fire of 1947
From the telling of Kendall
I was born and raised in a place where nothing exciting ever happens, The Kennebc district of Machias Maine.
I was 13 at the time, and. it seemed that the whole world was on fire. Of course, the whole world consisted of Washington County, and a bit west of Ellsworth.. It was October 23, 1947. The old folks were in a panic because the fires were advancing east on a strong breeze. Being a typical numb 13 year old, I thought it was exciting, having no concept of what it would be like to be burned out and homeless. Our house was well over 100 years old and it would always be there.
The only transportation available to us was an old Buick that my older brother had left there while he was off somewhere. It was fall, and, the radiator had been drained. We didn't know that, so, we all piled into it and headed for town to the home of one of Mothers relatives. I'm surprised that the old car made it as far as it did with an empty radiator, but, about 2 miles from home, she overheated and quit.
There we were, stranded, with a forest fire coming right at us. I cant speak for anyone else, but, about that time, my excitement turned to concern, and just as it turned into a panic, a neighbor, also fleeing the flames, stopped and gave us a ride into Machias. Sometime in the night the wind changed, and although the fire took a neighbors house a quarter of a mile away, our old house was spared without a mark. In later years, after we all moved on, the old house burned down. One careless smoker and a cigarette did what the forest fire failed to do.
Another neighbor, an Uncle, claimed he diverted the fire by holding up a picture of his wife, but, I'm more inclined to think that it was the result of my Mothers praying that turned the fire. Surely she must have had the ear of the almighty to be able to raise a gang of kids such as hers without any of us being imprisoned or hanged.
Kendall Morse (for more about Kendall, click here)