It was probably not one of my better decisions! 

In the early 80s, approximately, being a bit more adventuresome at the time, I decided to visit Monhegan Island for the Jan. 1 “Trap Day.” As you may well imagine, January anytime on an island off the coast of Maine is not the “Vacationland” we are now promoted to be! At that time in my photo career, this was a challenge I could not resist. And, truth be known, I had been offered an open invitation by Doug and Harry Odom to visit anytime.  

I got to know Doug and Harry in better weather on the island and during their visits to Donny Wotton’s lobster business which was located at what is now a Hodgdon Yacht facility. There had once been a ship building facility there and then Signal Point developed. Far enough back, as I was told, when copying an old photograph for June and Elbridge Giles, there was a baseball field close by. Then, I believe, the area was called McFarland Point. I’m not absolutely certain, but I believe that is what I was told. It’s across from what once was St. Andrews Hospital on Mill Cove in Boothbay Harbor. The Monhegan lobstering community often brought their catch in winter to Wotton's where they could also borrow a vehicle to pick up groceries and other significant stock for their return to the island. 

Doug and Harry were regulars at Wotton's. In the lobstering off-season they owned a business on Monhegan which offered supplies to locals and summer visitors. I would see them there from time to time during summer and fall. They had a house down on the shore and also a place where they could work on traps, play cribbage and consider options with others in the lobstering business. An occasional libation was frequently in order.  

The space that Doug and Harry offered me during my visit was in their unheated upstairs parking space. I will never forget how cold it was. The entire time I stayed on the island I slept fully clothed, which included an arctic overcoat and gloves. It was one of the few times in my life that an unfinished alcoholic beverage froze under my watch. An advantage was that I didn’t need to dress each morning for outdoor adventures.  

In the photo I have shared, the “boys” are loading their boats at the town dock. Doug and Harry have a pretty good stack of traps on the stern of Chris, helped from shore by their good friend Charlie McDonald. I don’t recall who is floating in beside Doug and Harry but I’d bet our good friends June and Jennifer “Brackett” Elderkin can clear that up. Both of these powerful individuals spent a lot of time on Monhegan and chats with them are partly the reason for this little adventure story. The boat just off the dock in the Harbor may have been one of the Murdock family, but that’s just a guess. I’m sure June and Jenn can tell me. 

Nobody set traps on this January first because one of the boats broke down. Everyone needed to be in good shape before the fleet could begin setting traps in and around the island.

In winter, lobster prices were pretty good and the waters around the island produced bountiful harvests. For me, it was all I could do to keep my cameras working and my fingers from frostbite. I was marginally successful at both. 

Trap Day now is during more reasonable weather and sadly, Doug and Harry are no longer with us, but I think I saw Chris on a mooring a while back. 

P.S. Please excuse the “softness” of the photo. I scanned one of our old postcards, couldn’t find the original slide!