Sebastian Leeman
English per. 4
Mr. Middleswart
December 16, 2007
Sebastian Leeman Leeman 1
English 10
Mr. Middleswart
December 16, 2007
Etna- Little Town Little Info
For those of you that have been to Etna, you know that it’s a very small town and doesn’t have very many businesses at all. Most of the ones Etna does have not many people know about, like Family’s Yarns and Lighthouse Leather. Etna has a small population, and Etna isn’t really known for anything other than a bunch of rednecks. However, there is more to Etna: there is an interstate that runs through the middle of town, and Etna had a few technological changes over the years. This paper will focus on the local businesses, how the technology has changed over the years, and also the famous person in Etna.
Etna wasn’t always called Etna. In 1820, it became Etna, the 156th town in Maine and before that in 1807 it was called Crosbytown because it was a township (4R2 NWP) owned by General John Crosby from Hampden. The first people to settle here were Dr. Benj. Friend, Phineas Friend, James Harding, Dennis and Reuben Deimett, and Bela, Asa and Calvin Sylvester. The reason that people came to Etna was because the soil was rich in nutrient and loamy and clayey which would keep the moisture in the ground (“History of Etna Maine”). Then later in 1826 Etna parted off some land and formed Plymouth then
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later in 1866 in again parted off into Carmel. Etna was the last town to be made before Maine became Maine (“Maine Local Government”).
You might not really think it was that long ago, but phones haven’t been out forever here in Etna. We didn’t get phones on the secondary roads until 1981 and they weren’t like they are now. Then after that, they had the switchboard where you cranked the phone and said “operator, operator” and the operator would come on the line. Then you would tell them who you wanted to talk to and they would plug you in, and that was how the phone worked. They were party lines (Reynolds). People would share the same phone line and you would have to listen to how many times the phone rang and that would depend on who the call was for, like it would ring 2 times or 4 times and anyone could pick it up. So if you had nosey neighbors then you had to be careful what you said (Reynolds). Then they got the one where you had to turn the dial because they hadn’t come out with the push buttons yet. So, some of the technology has changed in Etna within the last twenty of thirty years (Reynolds). The reason why it took so long for all the other roads in Etna to get telephones was because the other roads were all secondary and the towns people complained, and then they finally got telephones. But, every household had to pay 30 dollars to get the phone line run through town.
They’re hasn’t always been a interstate in Maine, and there never was before the 40’s. The part of the interstate that goes through Etna was made in the late 50’s and my Grampie helped work on it. He clear cut where the interstate is and they burnt the brush then they hauled off the wood that was good. After all the trees were picked up, he hauled in gravel for the base. There was a lot of gravel that needed to be hauled in, because the
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interstate was raised way above where it once was. They had them raised so they could put in bridges and it would help in case of an accident. If one car was headed over to the other side it wouldn’t have a very good chance of making it to the other side (Reynolds). The interstate had quite an impact on our lives because it made it a lot easier to travel across the state and the secondary roads weren’t so cluttered. It was really convenient, especially for the big trucks.
There isn’t very many big businesses in Etna. There is a couple though, there is Lighthouse Leather, which began in 1998 there is 2 employees, they do upholstery. Bucks Nursery began in 1988 and has 5 employees, they do landscaping, sell stuff for landscaping and sell plants. Conant’s apple orchard started in 1978 and there is 4 employees. They have self pick and they also sell pumpkins and sell apples pre-picked. Family Yarns was started in 1998 and 21 people work there. Family Yarns is one of few woolen mills left in Maine. Ken Gould Well Drilling began in 1973; he is self-employed he drills wells. Etna Store started in 2001 and has 7 employees, and Hill View Mini Barns started in 1999 and has 6 employees, they make mini barns and they make custom barns. The Etna fire department began in 1877, but it was just recently suspended because the fire chief was going over the speed limit and running red lights and put it on Youtube, and one of the people on the town board found it, but now the fire department is up and running again and we have a new fire chief.
The famous person for Etna isn’t famous for a good reason; he was a killer. His name is James Hicks. “The remains of a third victim of convicted killer James Hicks were located after two days of digging at roadside sites in Aroostook County, Maine. The
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remains of two other victims were discovered earlier in the week at Hicks' former home in Etna. In 1983, Hicks, 49, was convicted of killing his first wife, Jennie Hicks, who disappeared in 1977 and was never seen again until two days ago. Hicks served six years in prison for her murder. Maine authorities have also suspected him in the disappearance of two other women ‹- 34-year-old Jerilyn Towers of Newport in 1982, and 40-year-old Lynn Willette of Orrington in 1996 -- but never had enough evidence to charge him with murder” (Morgue Archive). He lived in Etna and killed his first wife after he was remarried. He ended up going to prison for 6 years. Then he was also accused of killing two more people Jerilyn Towers and Lynn Willette but didn’t go to jail because there was no proof. It’s said they he cut up the body of one of them and put her in 5 gallon buckets and buried her near the interstate. Right now James is in a prison in Texas.
Works cited
"MORGUE ARCHIVES - OCTOBER, 2000." 2 Jan. 2008
"Maine Local Government." Maine Local Government. 2004. 16 Dec. 2007
Reynolds, Herb. Personal interview. 16 Dec. 2007
Varney, Geo. J. "History of Etna Maine." History of Etna Maine. 1886. A Gazetteer of The. 16 Dec. 2007
