‘Me and Joe’ outdoor adventures now collected in book form

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For years, outdoors enthusiasts around the state have followed the monthly adventures of “Me and Joe” in the Northwoods Sporting Journal, chuckled as the tales unfolded, and wondered the same thing.

Who is the real author … the guy who calls himself T.J. Coongate?

Well, the jig is up. Coongate has stepped out of the closet. And his works … well, you can now get a copy of many of the stories you enjoyed in an attractive, handy softbound book.

“Coongate” is actually Bob Cram of Medway, an outdoor writer who has worked at Great Northern Paper for 35 years.

Cram, who stopped by the Bangor Daily News booth at the Eastern Maine Sportsman’s Show a couple weeks back, explained that the fact that he writes a lot of columns for the Maine Sportsman led to his writing “Me and Joe” under a carefully chosen pen name.

Fans of outdoor literature may recognize the name: Thomas Jefferson Coongate was “The one-eyed poacher of Mopang Forest” in Edmund Ware Smith’s popular tales of the 1950s.

Smith’s tales appeared in national magazines and were republished in books.

In “The Adventures of Me and Joe, Tall Tales from the Maine Woods,” Cram recycles some of his best stories from the Northwoods Sporting Journal.

Readers will quickly begin rooting for the narrator, as well as his sidekick, Joe, as they end up in trouble … or end up helping someone get out of trouble … in hilarious fashion.

As good as the stories themselves are the names Cram concocts for his characters, each of which foreshadows the man or woman’s particular peccadillo.

The names roll off the tongue, and elicit chuckles before the reader gets deep into the short tale to follow.

The warden, for instance, is Pinch Brody. One villain is Nestor Rattphynx. Chip Buttstock and Agnes Tumpline will also make appearances, as will Eben Ramdown.

And all the action takes place in Cram’s fictional town of Mooseleuk, hard by the Little Salt Pork River.

Each story is short enough for publication in a magazine or newspaper, which means readers can digest the book in small (but complete) morsels, or in one extended gobble. The choice is theirs.

“The Adventures of Me & Joe” spans 129 pages and is available from the Northwoods Sporting Journal. The address: PO Box 195, West Enfield, 04493.

You can get more information by calling 732-4970 or by checking out the Web site at www.sportingjournal.com.

Oh. Almost forgot: The book will cost you $14.95, plus $3.95 for shipping and handling.

As they say, it’ll make a great gift … or you can keep it yourself.

On the other side of the coin comes a piece of news you may find alarming … or may just see as another sign of the changing times.

Ebay, the online auction house, has an interesting listing on its items available to the highest bidder.

It’s a Maine lake. An entire Maine lake, and 1,565 acres of forested acres. The acreage is in addition to the lake itself, by the way.

The lake is in Whiting, and a comparison between area maps and the map provided on ebay shows the water in question appears to be Josh Pond, which sits between Gardner Lake and Rocky Lake just east of Machias.

The price tag: $1.5 million.

Mainers guard their access to the state’s water zealously, and turning over an entire lake and the land around it to a single bidder could surely affect access.

The ebay listing practically advertises that fact, pointing out that “This private, natural springfed lake can be yours!” The listing also suggests the property is “suitable for a private home of family compound,” or could be great “for a children’s camp or corporate retreat.”

Now, there may be plenty of noble uses for the land in question, but on the surface the prospective deal reminds me of another phrase Mainers bristle at: “Kingdom building.”

Maine’s inland waters belong to all of the state’s people, and can be used by them. Getting to those waters, if a single owner has bought all the surrounding land and wants to shut off access, complicates matters.

And setting up an opportunity for another “kingdom” appears to be just what the sellers are pitching to the bidding public.

Think I’m kidding? Read this passage from the Web site link provided, for those who want to find out more information about buying the lake:

“Your family can enjoy peaceful summer days, swimming, fishing, boating, water skiing or sailing on your own lake in complete privacy; without interference from others. A trip into town for supplies or to restaurants takes only minutes.

Then, when the weekend is over, you merely lock thegate and your property is secure. Your home is protected by the fact that it is deep within your own forested sanctuary.”

The ebay listing shows a map with the pond on it … with “Name your own lake” labeled where “Josh Pond” should theoretically be.

I’ve never fished the lake. Never hunted around it. Never even seen it.

Still, the idea of selling it all off to the highest bidder is distasteful … unless some conservation-minded caveats are attached to the purchase.

John Holyoke can be reached at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net or by calling 990-8214 or 1-800-310-8600.