Nat Porter, from Winchester, Massachusetts, had a place at the end of Kimballtown Road on Barters Island back when we bought our first home there in 1978. Horace Lee of First Federal Savings and Ethelyn Giles helped us with that transaction. Our house belonged to the Roberts family for many years. At the time, Almond Roberts and his family lived at the end of Kimballtown, right next to the Porter property. Their house was taken down.

Nat owned a very substantial piece of waterfront property that stretched along the lower south and western shore of Barters Island. His house was set at the southern tip of the island (“what other Island are theyah?” — a local exclamation shared by those who knew) with a spectacular view out the mouth of the Sheepscot River.

Nat was an interesting character. We'd occasionally visit Nat and his wife when he was around summers. He had a ham radio set up in a small room to the right of the entry door. I don't recall his “handle” but I know he was a very proficient communicator with others around the world.

Speaking of around the world. One of Nat's most favorite adventures was fishing way up in northern Canada. He had a wonderful collection of Kodachrome slides from his many trips. I was amazed by the quality and variety of images he had made. One photo he was particularly fond of was of him holding an impressive string of fish with a native young lady at his side.

He asked me to copy the slide and make a print for him, which I readily did. He had hundreds of slides, and probably lots more at his house in Winchester. To me it seemed they would make a great historical record of some very under visited places, but Nat never asked my opinion.

The photo I have shared this week is from a spot at what is now the Porter Preserve, a parcel located near where Nat lived. This was just after the property had been acquired by the Land Trust. It’s a very special place if you ever have a chance to visit. Nat would be pleased for your visit.