The Republican journal., 1909-07-15
CRESCENT BEACH.
An Interesting Story about Landlord Fred
Smith. =
re. P. Mavo in Turf, Farm and Home.]

smith.
[E. P. Mayo in Turf, Farm and Home.]
Five miles south of Rockland city, on
the extreme point of land in the town of
South Thomaston, is what is known as
Crescent Beach, adjoining the noted pro-
montory of Owls Head. 1t is remarka-
bic from what small beginning this now
popular summer resort sprang. Twenty
four years ago Mr.. Fred Smith, sue
cessful fish pedlar through Rockland and
Thomaston, went down on this shore and
built a small unpretentious house, and
advertised that he was going to give
shore dinners, or fish dinners as they
were known then. All his friends thought
him crazy, as they said he was doing so
we'll in the fish business he certainly
could not afford to give it up for what
little business he could get in that out of
the way place. The roads from Rockland
were poor, and just who was coming
there to dinner and how they were going
to find it was the problem that troubled
a good many we'll meaning people. Mr..
Smith seemed to be the only one that was
not disturbed His father and brother
said he ought to have a guardian appoint
ed. To add to their discontinue he went
to work and bought couple hundred
acres of land. Then they knew he was
mad, but one by one people began to
find out that Fred Smiths shore dinners
were little ahead of anything they had
ever partaken of, and his service was up
to date, with prices very reasonable. The
rest of the story is all told, for every
body knows that he has big hotel full
of guests, that capitalists have built an
electric road to him, that cottages have
gone up as by magic, and are still in pro-
cess of erection by the score. 1nciden-
tally it might be said that it is one of the
most interesting spots on the whole
Maine coast, and Mr.. Smith is nothing
short Of genius, if not wizard. For
instance, all the ice that is consumed in
the city of Rockland and the whole south
shore, has to be cut and hauled from a
pond five miles north of the city. Mr..
Smith said he used to keep a pair of
horses and a yoke of cattle hauling all
winter, and hundred tons was the best
he could get in all that time. In the
meantime he discovered a spring on his
land, the water from which was trickling
its way to the ocean, through bog COW
cred with stumps and bushes. He clear
ed the bog, seeded it to grass, threw a
dam across the foot of it, and when win
ter comes plugs up the holes in the dam
and has sheet of water formed of the
most perfect fluid on earth from which he
cuts 300 tons of ice easily, slides it into
an ice house setting right on the beach
where he supplies fishermen, tourists
even the city of Rockland. In the spring
the dam is opened, and he raises good
crop of grass and cranberries from the
same meadow. But that is not all. A
fisherman loaded with herring was lost
on the beach one day in winter and
everybody wondered what would happen
when the good old summer time came,
and the smell of decayed herring filled
the air. Everybody wondered except
Fred Smith. He put crew Of men on
to the wreck and every herring was tax
en- back on to his farm, plowed in, and
you ought to see the clover that is COM
ing from these herring bones about this
time of year. He cuts wood on wood
lot up in Camden, goes up in his big pow
er boat and scow on the incoming tide,
and comes back with 100 cords Of wood
on the return tide, and lands right at his
wharf, where he has his store, his ice
house, and his fish business, half mile
removed from his hotel, bowling alley
and dance hall Just now he is mourn
ing that an old veteran musician who
played the clarinet for his dances for 10
seasons, Fourth of July especially, has
passed away and will be seen no more.
We could fill this whole paper up with
stories of Fred Smith, Crescent Beach,
Owls Head, and that beautiful section
of our most picturesque playground, the
State Of Maine.