Trapper’s life is topic of show

BREWER – Bill Krohn, author and professor of wildlife ecology at the University of Maine, will give a slide presentation about Manly Hardy during the meeting of the Brewer Historical Society at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Brewer Auditorium.

Krohn, a resident of Brewer like Hardy, is the author of “Manly Hardy (1832-1910): The Life and Writing of a Maine Fur-buyer, Hunter, and Naturalist.”

Published in 2005, the book was sponsored by the Maine Folklife Center at the university. Hardy was the father of author-historian Fanny Hardy Eckstorm.

Manly Hardy, a hunter and trapper, wrote many articles that were published in Forest and Stream magazine. The articles are included in the book.

Hardy’s adventures ranged from a day’s walk between Allagash Lake and the Chesuncook House in soft snow, some 30 miles, to hunting porpoises in Penobscot Bay.

A friend of Molly Molasses, a childhood pal of Joshua Chamberlain, an acquaintance of fly-rod maker Hiram Leonard and conservationist George Bird Grinnell, Hardy commented on species from mink to mountain lion. His own bird collection numbered more than 3,000 mounted specimens.

Krohn’s book had its beginnings in research on the Canada lynx, work that kept turning up the name of Manly Hardy.

The professor also has written an article for Northeastern Naturalist and a book chapter on Hardy’s bird collection.

The historical society usually meets at its museum on Wilson Street, but organizers said they moved this meeting to the auditorium to give plenty of room for the public to attend.

Baxter litter patrol planned

Baxter State Park officials invite the public to join staff and volunteers for the annual roadside litter patrol from Millinocket Lake to Togue Pond. This year’s event is scheduled for May 5 from 9 a.m. until noon.

Volunteers should contact park headquarters to sign up for the patrol. Those who participate will receive a free barbecue lunch.

Call Stewart Guay at 723-9616 or e-mail him at Stewart.Guay@maine.gov for more information.

Three canoe races scheduled

It’s another busy weekend for canoe racers with the East Machias River Challenge and Piscataquis River Race both set for today. The East Machias race begins at 9 a.m. and the Piscataquis race starts at 11 a.m. On Sunday, the Machias River Race is scheduled at 11 a.m. at the Airline Bridge in Machias.

To submit an item for publication in the Outdoor Notebook, send e-mail to jholyoke@bangordailynews.net, fax to 990-8092 or mail information to Outdoor Notebook, Bangor Daily News, PO Box 1329, Bangor, Maine, 04402-1329.