Next week is my last scheduled trip north to camp. A planned visit with my high school friends, less one, is something I have looked forward to each year since 2020, when we all first ventured as a group to camp for a sleepaway. This year it is guys only. No plans for Wheaton fishing guides. Only local fishing with Greg, exploring around the lake in my 1950s motorboat, steak, and lobster on the grill and plenty of catching up. I am planning a walk to Sucker Lake and a picnic on the island. Bob likes to fish from the dock. Arnie enjoys the evening campfire. Harv always serves us the best of wines. And I just enjoy hosting my buddies. This year our friend Jer decided to rest his back, avoiding the long drive from Wellesley, Mass. We will miss him.
There is much to look forward to, however when I think about the usually pleasant drive north to camp from Bangor airport, I feel some trepidation. According to the Houlton Pioneer Times, our local weekly newspaper and a reliable source, a neo-Nazi training ground is being built in Springfield, a small community a mere 30 minutes south of Danforth, my camp home. This news is alarming. Springfield, population 400, is known for its local Labor Day Fairgrounds. It is a typical rural Maine town along Route 169 with a gas station, a roadside pizza stand and, aside from the fairgrounds, not much more. Now it appears to be the setting for extremists to indoctrinate their followers in weapon use and hateful ideology. It is a disturbing development, yet the state of Maine has no laws prohibiting paramilitary training activities—an invitation to these groups to form their camps there. According to the Houlton article, local legislators are moving to enact appropriate state laws to prohibit such activities. As I drive through Springfield next week, I will be conscious of the extremism taking root in my neck of the woods. Will Nazi flags become part of the scenery? Will the last 30 picturesque miles to camp be blighted by symbols of anti-Semitism? Who would’ve thought! Once again it was a small weekly paper, published in the heart of the wilderness, that brought important news to my attention. Local reporting is best at sorting out the good and bad in our beautiful Maine.
