Well-known bush pilot Folsom dies

GREENVILLE – Richard “Dick” Folsom, a gentle man known worldwide for his skill at flying seaplanes over the rugged terrain in the Moosehead Lake region and who founded the largest seaplane base in the New England states, died last week. He was 83.

On Sunday, more than 400 people attended a celebration of Folsom’s life at the home of one of his children. Even grown men cried when recalling the man whose kindness extended throughout the region, a man who for many years was host to a New Year’s Eve party for the community in his hangar free of charge.

Long before roads were created on the outskirts of the region, Folsom, the founder of the legendary Folsom’s Air Service on the shores of Moosehead Lake, would tote tourists, fishermen, hunters and loggers to and from remote locations in the region. The bush pilot also delivered supplies and mail to outposts along the way, served as an air ambulance driver for individuals hurt in the north Maine woods, and assisted the Maine Forest Service in firefighting activities.

“He was an easygoing type of person, real nice to work for,” said Andrew Stinson of Enfield. Stinson joined Folsom as a pilot in 1948 and remained until 1956 when the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“It was great fun then, neither of us were married,” Stinson recalled Monday. He said Folsom’s business catered to almost everybody, but was especially frequented by the wealthy who needed a lift to and from remote hunting and fishing lodges in the region or to their own exclusive camps.

Skirting trees, dealing with fast-moving storms and thin lake ice were hazards that bush pilots had to deal with, according to Stinson. He recalled an incident when Folsom’s plane went through the ice on Lily Bay one winter. Folsom and his passenger, who had assured the pilot ahead of time that the ice was thick enough to support the plane, bailed out into the cold water and managed to get themselves to shore where they warmed themselves in the passenger’s camp.

Over the years, for those who asked, Folsom would regale them with historical information about the region and how Folsom’s Air Service made its niche in history. His love of flying was so rooted in his home that his children also embraced it. His son Max worked with him over the years and purchased the business in 1986 after heart problems sidelined the elder Folsom.

Two of his other children, Rodney Folsom and Linda McEachern, also became licensed pilots.

Although they did not became licensed pilots, at their father’s urging his five other children learned how to fly in the event of an emergency.

Folsom was extremely proud of his granddaughter Sara, who at 22 is the youngest seaplane and land plane pilot commercially and instrumentally rated in Maine. She followed in her father Max’s footsteps since he held the same distinction at 15 years of age. The elder Folsom was equally proud of his grandson Richard, who is working on his private pilot’s license.

And as he did for his children, Dick Folsom made sure that each of the Greenville elementary pupils had a chance to view their hometown from the air. Every year, he and his pilots would give a class of pupils a 10-minute ride around the region at no cost to them or the school, a tradition that his son continues today.

“He always wanted to instill that love [of flying] in other children,” said daughter Linda McEachern. He was a very generous and beloved person, she said Monday.