From Derby, Maine to Milo was practically a stone’s throw and by comparison Milo was huge with a population of 2500 when I grew up there in the 1950’s and 60’s. The photo here shows Main Street in 1922 which…

Life in Maine at the turn of the century was hard. I don’t mean the latest century, but from the 1800’s into the early 1900’s. The homes shown in the photographs below were built by Lars Fredrik “Fred” Degerstrom, my…

In the 1990’s I began a quest tracking down family ancestors, and I discovered some were practically in our back yard. The extended family of relatives I knew in the 1950’s were mostly within 5 miles. My parents were strapped…

The kindergarten to grade 5 old school at the foot of Derby Hill in Derby, Maine is gone. The style of the bulding was pre-1900 with a huge bell as barely shown in the photograph here. When I attended in…

This is the old swimming hole located Down Back on the Sebec River in Derby, Maine as viewed looking upstream. As youngsters my 4 brothers and I with many of our friends used to spend most summer days like Huck…

Old timers from Maine may have trouble recalling the fine details of moments experienced 40, 50, or 60 plus years ago. For some reason I recall preschool stories in detail that amazed a few of my 7 brothers and sisters.…