Here on the Boothbay peninsula, folks say there are two kinds of residents, natives and those from away. For many, it is a distinction of note.

For example, Mary Dodge Brewer, the late great editor of the Boothbay Register, lived here most of her life. When asked if she was a native, she would laugh, and say no, for she had been born at Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta.

Not so for Paul B. Adams, the 98-year-old veteran who served as one of the grand marshals for the Memorial Day Parade.

The other day, I picked him up at St. Andrews Village, and we toured the region.

He explained that his family arrived in Boothbay in 1765. Do you know Adams Pond? he asked. Then he explained the family settled not far from the pond that provides water for much of the area.

Barbara Rumsey, the respected and dogged researcher of Boothbay region history, says the Adams family built boats at Ocean Point and later moved to the village of East Boothbay. In 1830, they began building ships and boats.

Paul said their yard, A & W Adams, was named after brothers Andrew and William Adams. Paul directed me to East Boothbay’s Green Landing Cemetery, pointing out the graves of Andrew, William and other relatives.

“They built lots of boats in East Boothbay until the 1920s when they sold out to Goudy & Stevens,” he said.

Paul grew up in a home on Ocean Point Road, not far from Bigelow Lab. He attended the old East Boothbay school until his junior year. At that time, coastal schooners still carried ice from Boothbay down the coast and brought back coal.

“There was a coal dock in the yard, but because of the tides, they could come in and unload when the tide was high. When it was low tide, the coal boat couldn't leave. So sometimes they would let the older boys out of class to help unload the coal,” he said.

For fun, Paul and the East Boothbay boys would walk to the harbor through the woods on the old Indian Trail and go to the old Strand Theater.

After the movie (Tarzan was a favorite), Paul and his pals would walk back on Route 96. But the last street light was located not far from the intersection of Eastern Avenue. So, they were in the dark for the rest of the way, he said with a laugh.

At that time, the East Boothbay school educated kids for the first 10 years. They would go to Boothbay Harbor High School for their junior and senior years.

But he did not.

"You see, my mother was mad at Harold Clifford, the school superintendent," he said. “My oldest brother Mike finished first in his senior class, but the superintendent would not let him be the valedictorian because he was a two-year transfer. The next year, my brother Willard was at the top of his class, but Clifford bypassed him too.”

So, when it was time for Paul to finish high school, his mother sent him to Coburn Classical Institute in Waterville. Like his brothers, he ranked at the top of his class.

At that time, the nation was at war, and Paul, age 17, tried to join the Navy, but his mother would not sign a waiver to let him enlist. So, he attended Colby for a year and joined up when he turned 18.

After attending a series of electronic tech schools, he was posted to a submarine. He said they didn’t sink any ships but did pick up some downed flyers.

During the war, Paul went to a USO dance on San Francisco's Treasure Island and met his wife, Becky. He said the USO girls were not supposed to give the sailors their phone numbers, but she did.

The couple lived on the West Coast where Paul attended college on the GI Bill, worked on railroads, and founded a successful insurance agency. Retiring to Southport Island in 1983, they rebuilt a shore cottage with a spectacular view across the Sheepscot to Five Islands and a barn for his car collection that featured a 1923 Stutz Roadster. He got a twinkle in his eye when he said he bought her for about $2,700 and sold her for more than $20,000.

Paul lost Becky in 2005 and became fast friends with an old friend, Lucy Marlowe. They first met in first grade in East Boothbay, where she was enrolled after the Ocean Point school closed. They were together until Lucy died in 2020.

You know, Paul said, Boothbay has changed a lot since World War II, but it is still the same, crowded in the summer, but in the winter, there are not a lot of people around.