Ghosts on the Coast of Maine by Carol Schulte

Author:Carol Schulte
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781461741480
Publisher: Down East Books

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

BATH BUILDER

So many ghosts were people with strong personalities and a great deal of energy. This energy breaks through the material world, even from the non-material plane of existence, even after many “years” of being on this plane. I say “years” because it is my opinion that “time” in this sphere is a totally different concept, most likely not the linear version that we Westerners are accustomed to.

These high-powered people made big impressions on their communities and on the communities to come. In the town of Bath, shipbuilding capital of the world, it would be difficult to encounter an outstanding person not connected with this industry. It would be like trying to find an Iowan not attached in some way to agriculture.

Even now, although the aromas of molasses, tar, resin, and pine are not intermingled with the basic smell of the sea, Bath products are among the best boats in the country. In place of the schooners and barks so handsomely docked in the past stand sleek gray destroyers, laden with the sophisticated radar necessary for present-day navigation in the Persian Gulf, for example. Many of the men working on these ships are descendants of those who built the first Bath vessels. They claim that the spirit of their forebears permeates the waterfront.

The best place to encounter this sort of thing, they say, is the Bath Maritime Museum, a preservation of the original buildings of the great shipyards. The men are busy with their work, but they take time to joke about the ghost stories that have been circulating for years.

Not one to be daunted by friendly ridicule, I traveled with my family over to the museum to see what I could find. The boat nearest the Caulking Shed was the one we picked to explore. The Sherman Zwicker was a small schooner constructed on the principles of nineteenth-century shipbuilding. Below deck every space was well-utilized, and it seemed cramped and dark—a great place for a ghost hideout. My husband made the remark that it would make you think twice about going to sea. I reminded him that this boat was quite a bit smaller than the original schooners, and besides, people back then were of a smaller stature. There are pictures on the walls of old houses that show plenty of space below deck: a niche for a berth, a partition containing a six- or seven-foot harmonium and another space for a private water closet. Of course, that would have been the captain’s quarters.

We visited the Mold Loft, the Mill and Joiner Shop where there was part of an old shipwreck, the building for small craft which included a dugout canoe, and the Apprentice Shop where new boats are in the making. Most of the buildings were dark and creepy, but there was no sign of a ghost.

The city heat and humidity began to wear on our nerves, and we were on our way out when I said, “Wait a minute, let me check out this building.” It was the Paint and Treenail (pronounced trunnel) Shop.

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