John Gould Day was celebrated at Bartlett Woods on Talbot Avenue in Rockland, Maine at noon on Saturday, August 17.

Bartlett Woods is located on Talbot Avenue which runs between the Old County Road and Broadway. When on the Old County Road, look for the blue highway signs "Bartlett Woods" which indicate where one should turn onto Talbot Avenue.

Many friends and the idly curious attended to meet and honor

John Gould.

A couple of politicians showed up just to get their pictures in the local paper. And they did.

If you have John Gould letters or books you can donate them to Special Collections at Bowdoin, where all will be able to enjoy them.

Photographs taken on John Gould Day at Bartlett Woods should be sent to The humble Farmer as soon as you can get them developed. Within a month humble will hopefully have enough pictures of John Gould Day to fill a scrapbook which will then be presented to the Goulds. Your contribution of stories and other odds and ends celebrating John Gould Day will also be put into the scrapbook for the Goulds to enjoy. Mail whatever you want to contribute to humble at 785 River Road, St. George, ME 04860. 207-226-7442

The following is a rough draft of the

John Gould Proclamation

By David Sanderson with suggestions by Robert Skoglund

PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, John Gould has been a chronicler of Maine culture, Maine history and the Maine vernacular, writing about Maine people and events for more than 80 years, with more than 30 published books and thousands of newspaper columns; and

WHEREAS, John Gould's erudite and witty social commentary is impossible to read without laughing out loud; and

WHEREAS, John Gould is widely recognized as the Dean of Maine's premier writers, an autobiographer, storyteller and novelist with remarkable wit, insight and perception, whose prose style and technique rank with those of America's best authors; and

WHEREAS, John Gould has captured the unique Maine character and language on paper as few others have been able to do; and

WHEREAS, John Gould has been a distinguished newspaperman in Maine through his editorship of The Lisbon Enterprise; and a distinguished newspaperman nationally through 60 years of contributions to the Christian Science Monitor; and

WHEREAS, John Gould has been a lifelong scholar of Maine history and an advocate for learning; and

WHEREAS, John Gould set an example for many years as an agriculturist and responsible steward of Maine's land, representative of the best qualities of Maine's people;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ANGUS S. KING, JR., Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby proclaim August 17, 2002 as

JOHN GOULD DAY

throughout the State of Maine, and urge all citizens to take due care and govern themselves accordingly.