From Sweden to Maine by ship. That’s what a troubled young Henry Jorgensen’s father sentenced him to in the late 1800’s. Though he was excited about the great opportunity in America, little did Jorgensen know the future would hold a career in the Maine Warden Service that would span several decades and a good part of the state. Henry tells this and other tales in “25 Years a Game Warden”, published in 1937.
Henry Jorgensen arrived in Caribou, Maine in 1889, en route to nearby New Sweden. This Swedish Colony was settled in 1870 when the state of Maine enticed settlers from Sweden with free land in exchange for setting up a farming community in the middle of the woods. Family connections and a common language led Jorgensen there, but he didn’t stay long.
After several years of odd jobs throughout the state, Jorgensen found himself working as a newly minted game warden with the State of Maine under Fish and Game commissioner L.T. Carleton. He was first stationed in the western Maine village of Wilsons Mills in 1902. It was a rough area at the time, and the local poachers had run previous game wardens out of town. Hotel proprietor Mr. Flint and his family made Jorgensen feel at home. It was here where he introduced skis to the Maine woods. They were a more efficient way to travel, but the poachers caught on quick that ski tracks in the snow meant the warden was near. It was near Wilsons Mills that Jorgensen caught a poacher using the most unique and diabolical traps he’d ever seen. These traps were on display at the museum in Augusta as of the 1930’s – I’m not sure if they’re still there.
Jorgensen left Wilsons Mills about the time he found a stick of dynamite buried in the campfire at one of his regular camping spots. His travels took him to northern Maine, where he had his fair share of poachers and interesting stories to tell. He recalls memories from Bill Orcutt’s sporting camps at Oak Point on Portage Lake, outfitters and camp owners at Squapan Lake, and an unbelievable story about an Allagash man who took fishing with dynamite just a little too far! Deer jackers around Eagle Lake made for an interesting story as well. These are only a few of the stories told in “25 Years a Game Warden”, all of which provide some interesting historical perspective on the old days.
In addition to Henry Jorgensen’s writing, the book also contains a very interesting section at the end, where the history of conservation laws in the State of Maine from 1830-1936 is summarized. This information was compiled by then Deputy Commissioner Archer L. Grover, and is really neat to look through.
“25 Years a Game Warden” is an amazing old book, but it’s also quite difficult to find. Many local Maine libraries have a copy, but if you want to buy the book, good luck finding it for less than $150 or so. It’s a great piece of history and a fun book to read.
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