A Little New England History

Dear Diary,

I noticed when I posted the photo of the folks ice fishing that there was a split wood pack near the ice house.  I thought I would show you one that belonged to my late husband along with his snow shoes.  He would carry his tip ups in the pack when he went ice fishing.  These traditional baskets were modeled after Native American ones.  My husband was one quarter Mic Mac, a northern Maine tribe.  The snow shoes he bought from a New Hampshire man in 1995 who was considered the best traditional snow shoe maker in New England, Treffle Bolduc of Conway, NH.  I went with my husband when he bought them and I'm so glad I did as we spent over an hour talking with this amazing man.  (I've added a photo of him taken by Carol Highsmith.)  Treffle passed away in 2006.  Now, folks have high tech, light weight aluminum snow shoes but I love having these as a connection to New England history and my late husband.

If you want to see how these packs are made, here is a link to a pack maker here in Maine.