Captain Ote Lewis – Knox County VillageSoup

When I turned 10 or 11, I received just one of my really first summer time work opportunities at the Maine Lobster Pageant. It was placing up chairs in entrance of Fisherman’s Memorial Phase, for the Sea Goddess Coronation. It was my task for three summers managing. To me, it was a very vital position and I had a great deal of delight undertaking it.

It was really very hot in the solar, standing on blacktop. I was compensated with guides of tickets for the rides, pondering this was much better than cash.

Listed here is the ideal part of my luck:

I was assigned to do the job under Captain Ote Lewis from Owls Head. Ote was with the festival in Rockland Given that the 1st just one 1948. He could’ve been from Central Casting in Hollywood.

In point, in 1948, there was a advertising campaign that was top notch. There had been group and unique photographs of just about every princess taken professionally, together with Captain Ote in his yellow slicker and jaunty so ‘wester with the Sea Goddess.

Ote was my boss, but he was extremely sort, and advised me about lobsters and fishing. He was the one particular who informed me the story of the old lobsters named “groundkeepers,” way off shore in deep drinking water. “When they get major and outdated, they quit transferring inshore and back. They remain the place they are and defend their floor.”

Great.

Ote created confident I bought a “rocket lemonade” when I received sizzling.

I can not say I at any time observed him doing any large lifting, but he did some remarkable factors that most are not able to do. Charisma will come nowhere near to no matter what the very good Captain experienced going. Each individual time I would flip around, he would have a group of a dozen or so men and women from all in excess of America forming a circle all over him, as he would get started spinning his tales.

Pageant-goers from just about every point out came to a very fascinating position a position the place the tide goes out and comes back again in, and are living lobsters that are not pink. They fulfill a beaming Maine character more than eager to keep court docket.

I required some of what he had.

A person morning, I came down to the stage to start location up chairs. I seemed around, and Captain Ote was nowhere to be observed. I retained working and searching for him. Ultimately, a volunteer checked in on me, and I requested him, “Where’s Captain Ote?”

“Oh, he give up.”

I could not believe that it. The volunteer had no time for me, leaving me near tears.

I sincerely thought the pageant would not be ready to go on. I questioned everyone I could to locate out what happened to Ote. Why would he stop?

Eventually, an individual picked up on my sad confront and came over and knelt down and said, “don’t stress, Glenn, Ote quits each individual calendar year. He will get mad and goes absent. He will be back.”

Guaranteed plenty of down above the hill, a white 65 Plymouth Fury Sport Coup came down around the hill, Captain Ote Lewis at the helm.

Pageant saved!

Ote scooped me up in his motor vehicle, and we designed a operate to E.L. Spear to decide on up paint. We zoomed up the hill with terrific acceleration. He did a good deal of that. As a subject of fact, he was on and off the gasoline so a great deal, he would have produced Jonah seasick. From that working day ahead, I vowed to be easy on the gasoline when I acquired old enough to push.

I realized so a great deal from the pageant and Captain Ote. Anything is not constantly as it appears to be, and a lot of storms before long blew in excess of.

Two several years with out a competition has been hard. Two things I will convey to you for positive: Captain Ote Lewis is nonetheless with us, and the Lobster Competition will be again.

It constantly arrives back again.

Glenn Billington is a lifelong resident of Rockland and has labored for The Courier-Gazette and The Free of charge Push since 1989.

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