Hadencroft4

From the staff meeting in Haddencroft, Char and I drove up US Route One along the coast through Camden, Lincolnville Beach and then a left turn up the Beach Road. Soon we were on the two mile long dirt road entrance to Tanglewood. At that time, it was really a very rough narrow road with little if any signs of settlement. These were familiar surroundings to me but new to my 20 year-old bride. As we unpacked our belongings, we excitedly discussed our future, anxious to begin a new adventure. We backed my 68 Ponitac Tempest up the dirt trail to our small bunkhouse cabin that was at the top of the wooded knoll in the heart of nearly a thousand acres in Tanglewood Forest. Built originally for the Conservation Corps in the 1940s, it matched most of the other 20 or so bunkhouses scattered throughout. At the foot of the incline were bath houses with rudimentary shower stalls and bathrooms. All of the structures in the forest complex were interconnected with gravel pathways featuring exposed root systems at the foot of the towering fir and hardwood trees that formed the canopy above. The trail networks connect everything from the bunkhouses, utility sheds and the mess hall with its huge stone fireplace. Wooden signs with carved painted letters directed the reader to locations like: "ballfield", "water tower" or "chapel". The markers were drawn with luminous paint and glowed in the dark for evening navigation. At the far end of one trail there was a log shelter for overnight camping. It had a huge stone fire circle and hewn log benches. For decades and even now, campers of all stripes and origin have spun tales and sung their songs, falling asleep to the sound of the Ducktrap River as it winds through the cathedral that is Tanglewood.