Family, friends and many retired Spaulding School teachers gathered in the Spaulding library on September 12 to celebrate and hear about a book written by Carol Taylor, also a former teacher at the school. Carol’s book, titled Woodsmoke, The Story of Severence Lodge, is a history of the resort lodge on Lake Kezar in Lovell, Maine, based on 37 years of Carol’s father’s speeches, letters, and “Woodsmoke” catalogs, which were saved by her mother. Her father and mother ran the resort, and Woodsmoke was the yearly brochure sent out to prospective customers.
Carol spent her childhood in Maine, and the story is a special tribute to her parents. The idea to turn her father’s writings into a book was encouraged by Carol’s daughter. She has worked on the book since 1992, compiling the information saved by her mother. However, it wasn’t until Carol retired in 2007, when she really had time to seriously work on it.
Carol’s love of writing was fostered in large part by her experiences like the writing program at the University of New Hampshire, and her connections to other teachers at Spaulding who were also students of these writing programs. They wrote in each other’s homes, shared their ideas, became “a family of writers,” and passed their love of writing on to the students they taught.
Carol has been pleasantly surprised at the interest in the book. One story she told was about Stephen King, a writer who has a home on Lake Kezar. Carol decided to go to his house to give him a copy of the book, since she thought he might be interested in the history of the area. Carol was a little unsure about this idea as King is known as a bit of a curmudgeon, but she went to his house, knocked on the door, and King answered! She gave him a copy. He told her he was a very busy man, and she left. She is hoping he reads the book, and maybe she will hear from him.
A portion of the book sales will be donated to the Spaulding library in remembrance of Kathie York, a former Spaulding School teacher, and her own inspiration. The event was organized by Marcia Heneson and Sue Pierson, also former Spaulding teachers.
If you are interested in more information about Woodsmoke, you can contact Carol at HALANDSEV@aol.com