If you’re a Maine native, the name Donn Fendler is probably recognizable and more than likely, unless you have lived a life under a rock somewhere, you have read the book, “Lost on a Mountain in Maine”.
On July 17, 1939, Donn Fendler who lived in Rye, New York at the time, was hiking on Mt. Katahdin with family. He got lost and spent a week roaming the woods of what is now Baxter State Park. By following a stream and an old telephone line, he found his way out. The event got national attention.
After the event, Fendler teamed up with Joseph B. Egan to write the book of his experiences while being lost. He says the book mostly tells of what not to do when lost in the woods.
Back in 1939, then Governor Lewis Barrows seized on the opportunity to get some mileage out of the event, so he invited Fendler to the State House in Augusta and also promised to give him a lifetime fishing license. He never received the license.
Last year Fendler met up with Department of Conservation Commissioner Pat McGowan. During their meeting Fendler mentioned the promise in passing to McGowan who passed that information on to the present Gov. Baldacci.
Fendler was invited back to the State House to meet with Baldacci. He received a decorative paddle signed by the governor and his once-promised fishing license. He intends to use it.
Fendler, who now lives in Tennessee, returns to Maine every year. He says he will be on the East Branch of the Penobscot River next week. The East Branch is the location of the sporting camp where he emerged after being lost nearly 70 years ago.
Tom Remington
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