Once again Branch Pond is alive with the happenings of man and nature. The unnerving efficiency of the wildlife should be a constant reminder to all of us that we are "partners" on this Pond, sharing the environment with a host of others. We boat, swim, sail, and -fish in the same place with those that have depended on the Pond for centuries to breed, raise their young, and carry on the business of life.

As you return for another summer of fun and recreation, don't forget the responsibilities that we have in this mutual relationship with the wildlife and Branch Pond.

The recent increase in the number and kinds of sailboats on Branch Pond has triggered interest in arranging an annual regatta to take place this year on August 18. Sponsored by the Branch Pond Association, this affair should be of interest to anyone who enjoys sailing, irrespective of age, kind of craft, or amount of experience.

The contest will require covering a three-legged course of approximately five knots, starting and finishing offshore from Sand Beach. Each entrant will establish a time handicap based on a trial run conducted during the day, Saturday, August 17. An entry fee of $5 will be assessed in support of the cost of trophies for the first three places. The handicapping system will permit all craft, irrespective of -size, type, and crew to compete in one event.

Any sailors interested in participating will have an opportunity to sign up at the BPA annual meeting to be held July 27 at 9:30 a.m. in the City Hall Auditorium. You do not have to be an experienced racer to participate. The sailing committee, chaired by Mark Kaplan of Branchview Drive, is in need of additional members to work on this event. To volunteer, please call Mark Kaplan at 667-7741, Ellsworth Bourque at 667-2670, or Ralph Mastrorio at 667-6308.

The annual meeting o-f the Branch Pond Association will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 27, in the large auditorium of City Hall. The Branch Pond Association's attorney, Joel Dearborn, will be there to discuss problems that have developed in the transfer of our roads to the City. Other agenda items will include election of officers, registration -for the Branch Pond Regatta, and discussion of additional issues of interest to lake residents. Given changes in the road situation from last summer, this is an especially important meeting. Please try to attend.

The Maine Audubon Society has established Saturday, July 20, 1985 as Loon Count Day. This will mark the third year of a three-year effort to conduct a statewide survey to establish a baseline estimate of loons. Future trends in loon population will be based on that number, so once again at 7:00 a.m. on the third Saturday of July, over 800 observers will be out across the State looking for loons. Last year's results indicated that Hancock County contained the largest number of ground sitings in the state, with a total of 186 adults and 19 chicks. 0f that total, Branch Pond headed the list with nineteen adults and one chick.

Statewide, the chick count was rather low due to the very heavy rains in May swamping and washing out nesting sites. However, with water levels normal or slightly below normal this spring, the survival rate of nests should be much better. If you are interested in assisting with this year's Loon Count, you may contact Gloria DeAngelis (667-7507) or Ralph Mastrorio (667-8308). Also, the Audubon Society is sponsoring a Loon Festival on Sunday, July 21, 1985, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Kents Hill School just west of Augusta. A variety of activities are planned.

Surface Area - 2702 acres
Maximum Depth - 124.0 feet
Mean Depth - 32.5 feet
Volume - 87,805 acre-feet
Drainage Area - 30.1 Square Miles

Water monitoring programs on Branch Pond will continue to play an increasingly important role as changes are made in Pond usage and in the 30 square miles of drainage area surrounding Branch. Water clarity is being measured in both the upper and lower basins of the lake this summer. You too can play a vital role in this program, if you notice changes in appearance, turbidity, odor, etc. within the Pond or in streams which drain into Branch, contact Judy Potvin of the Division of Environmental Evaluation and Lake Studies at 289-2437. With continued care on our part, Branch should continue to get excellent reports with regard to its water quality.

Information from the Department of Inland Fisheries and wildlife confirms that Branch Pond was stocked in May of this year. Approximately 1350 salmon were placed in the Pond ranging in size from 8-9 inches. None were marked and all were without fin clips. Branch is also targeted for stocking next year.

Ice fishing in Branch last winter started off strong with several catches ranging from 22 to 24 inches. However, as the season progressed, fishing became worse apparently due to thinner than usual ice and very little snow cover. Under such conditions, the increased light tends to scatter fish at all depths rather than following their usual pattern of congregating near the surface.

Better luck next year!

When I was first asked to set down my memories of Branch Pond, I felt it would be somewhat presumptuous to do so while there are still Whitcombs, Sawyers, Sweeneys, Maddocks, and Walls, who have all known it so much longer than I have. In that context, I will write this sketch based solely on my own memory and on those stories, which were told to me by others.

When I first came to the Pond with some Harvard classmates in 1935 I bought one acre from the Phillips Estate. At that time we were the only people on the narrows and between Phillips Landing and the Copelands (lower lake). In 1935 the Walls -farm was in full swing with horses and a cow and Allan Walls was doing a lot of timbering, as he did for most of his life. Hilda's flowers were always a joy to behold around the old shingled farmhouse.

Hanson's Landing was then known as Wentworth's Landing and old "Uncle Billy", constantly chewing on his pipe, sold worms to the fishermen and rented boats from the little white clapboard house with green trim which still stands in the middle of the landing area. Later, Ed Hanson bought the landing and added the large boat-storage buildings and a well-equipped outboard engine repair shop, which did a thriving business thanks to Leonard Stover and his wife Winnie who lived at the landing. Visits to them from the Fire Warden in his pontoon-hydroplane were always a thrill for us pond dwellers.

Adjoining Hanson's was the chalet-type house of one Harjean, reputedly a New York City hairdresser. This was later turned into a tourist court but has lately been rescued and restored to its original attractive appearance by the Smiths of Orono.

Probably the oldest extant structure on the Pond is the shingled cottage at Phillip's Landing which belongs to Martha Giles. Rumor had it that it was first occupied by a priest who kept his wine in the cellar. All of this brings me to the famous story of "Doc Snow", a grisly legend of the Pond. It appears that Doctor Snow of Ellsworth had been down to the railroad station one morning with about a thousand dollars in his pocket to pick up some expensive medical equipment (which must have been sent C.O.D.). Apparently it hadn't come yet, so he decided to go fishing with his hired man. They set off for Phillip's Landing that afternoon, where they went out in a canoe. It blew up considerably on the Pond and the canoe upset. The rest of the story was told to me by Roy Sweeney, who had a farm at the end of the lane. He indicated that the hired man turned up at his place the next morning and told him that the canoe had upset in the dark and that they were, each one, holding on to the ends of the overturned canoe. The hired man said that he kept calling out to the doctor, "Are you there? Are you there?" and after a while, when he got no reply, he returned to shore and spent the night in one of the camps at the Landing. Sweeney naturally wondered why he hadn't reported Doctor Snow's drowning right away. Then rumor ran rife: some said he took the thousand dollars off the doctor and moved to Bangor, where he later married the doctor's wife. Others averred that a skeleton had been found in the woods on the opposite shore; while a third group surmised that the doctor was let off on the far shore, presumed dead, and headed for California, where he and his wife lived happily thereafter on the life insurance money she had collected for them. Whether this story is a big spoof or one of the true legends of Branch Pond, no one can say for sure, but I like to think it is true.

Editor's Note: Alan Burnham passed away last year, shortly after writing this account, we are happy to note, however, that his son Rod, daughter Cora, and wife Frances will be returning this July to Branch Lake. This will make the 50th consecutive year that the Burnham family has summered on the Pond. Welcome back folks and may you enjoy 50 more summers in Maine.

We would also like to thank Frances Burnham for creating the new BPA letterhead illustration on the first page of this newsletter.