To the editor:
I know many of your readers know my father, Louis Pelletier of Allagash, or have been in touch, or have even read the book — “A is for Allagash: A Lumberjack’s Life” — I did with him.
It’s funny how small towns keep track of things like aging. But they do, and this little town at the end of the road in northern Maine is no exception. Daddy’s childhood friend, Leslie Gardner (92) died last week in his sleep, at the Veteran’s Home in Caribou. When folks went to visit Leslie, he often asked if they could “get a canoe so we can go up to the Allagash Falls.” This was something he and Dad did often as boys.
Now Daddy, soon to be 91, is the oldest man in Allagash. The only person older is his sister, Evelyn, at 93. (Their father lived to be 100, and grandfather 97.) This is the last generation of true “river” pioneers. Dad has been very thoughtful and quiet today. I wonder what it feels like to be the one man left from all those healthy and strong young men he grew up with, and worked the log drives with.
This coming Easter, I have a group ready to go with my father and me when he gets his “Easter Water,” a French Catholic custom that he has done every year of his life that he can remember. (I always went with him as a child.) He says, “you have to dip it three times before the sun comes up on Easter morning.” He claims it’s “special water,” and “doesn’t spoil.”
Cathie Pelletier
Nashville, Tenn.
