Perambulating the Boundary – All 34 Miles of It – of Otisfield, Maine
July 3rd, 2009 categories: Observations and Commentary, Sebago Lakes Region
Otisfield, Maine is one of those out-of-the-way places, bordering Norway, Oxford, Poland, Casco, Naples and Harrison. The town encompasses 40 square miles of land and 4.3 square miles of water – and its boundary is 34 miles in length.
G. Howard Dyer, a great storyteller who loves to share his adventures, has lived on and off in Otisfield, Maine over the years. In 1946, aware that state law required “perambulation of the town boundaries”, Howard conducted his first complete walk around the boundary of the town, all 34 miles of it. Fifty-six years later, in 2002, he knew that no one had walked the boundary in a long time. So, at 95 years of age, he decided to do it again.
“Weren’t sure I could do it,” Howard told me as his eyes twinkled. “Didn’t say it to anybody.”
It took him months to complete because he’d walk here today, there tomorrow. When he finally finished the job, he told town officials.
As Howard tells it, they were surprised because they couldn’t get anyone to do it due to “swamps and all, you know.”
Howard’s accomplishments were included on the 2002-2004 House Appendix of the Legislative Record when he received Otisfield’s Boston Cane, given to the town’s oldest citizen.
The record reads: “Town law required perambulation of the boundaries every 10 years, and as a gift to the town, Mr. Dyer has walked the 34-mile Town of Otisfield’s boundary line, once at the age of 39 and more recently at the age of 95.”
For a chance to experience life in Maine the way it should be, take a look at the lakefront properties in Otisfield on Thompson Lake, Pleasant Lake, Moose Pond and Saturday Pond.
All these lakes and ponds are among the cleanest in the state and offer fine fishing. Click the box below:
Tom - MrLakefront
