PATTEN, Maine — When Frank Rogers’ grandfather received a Lombard steam log hauler, the machine used by lumbermen at the start of the 20th century to carry their logs in inclement weather, he decided to celebrate with a dinner at the newly inaugurated Patten Lumbermen’s Museum.
“We cooked beans at Shin Pond and brought them in the next day and had a dinner for the 15 or 20 guys,” recalled Rogers, who now serves as the museum’s president. “The next year we had a bean dinner out front, and there were probably 50 to 100 people.”
PATTEN, August 16, 2021 — Two large kettle pots sit next to an open fire during the bean hole dinner at the Patten Lumbermen’s Museum. (Alexander MacDougall | Houlton Pioneer Times)
That was in 1966. Ever since then, the museum has been hosting an annual bean hole bean dinner, cooking the baked beans in the same fashion that lumbermen a century ago would have prepared them — in the ground. After a year’s absence due to the pandemic, the event returned to the museum this year on Aug. 14.
To prepare for the meal, a hole approximately three feet deep is dug and then a fire is built within it using hot coals. Once that has been reduced to embers and ash, a cast iron pot containing all ingredients for homemade baked beans is lowered into the hole, and then is covered with dirt, cooking for hours inside the ground.
But baked beans were not the only thing served at the dinner. Other traditional foods such as gingerbread, biscuits and Maine red hot dogs were also served as part of the dinner. Vendors selling products such as custom woodwork were also present at the dinner.
“We had the crew putting the beans in the ground yesterday,” said Rhonda Brophy, who serves as secretary of the museum and helped sell tickets for the event. “The coffee is boiled over an open fire, the biscuits are made in reflector ovens by the fire. It’s that old-fashioned meal.”
Although heavy rain put a damper on festivities later in the afternoon, a large number of people turned out earlier in the day. The dinner continued despite the rain and Brophy said she was happy the event could be held after having to be canceled last year.
“The only year we missed was last year in probably 55 years of doing this event,” she said. “We were going to do this even if we only had 10 people show up.”
PATTEN, August 16, 2021 — People line up for servings at the annual bean hole dinner at the Patten Lumbermen’s Museum. (Alexander MacDougall | Houlton Pioneer Times)
PATTEN, August 16, 2021 — Paul and Earlene Andrick enjoy a traditionally prepared bean hole dinner at the Patten Lumbermen’s Museum on Aug. 14 (Alexander MacDougall | Houlton Pioneer Times)
