As the mercury hit 40 below zero, the Biting March wind whistled through the telegraph wires causing the ice-covered alder bushes by the roadside to crackle as they glittered in the moonlight. The time was about 11:00 P.M. in the spring of 1910 as Harry Ellsworth Umphrey and Carol McKay made their way from courting in Crouseville on the ice-laden road.

The boys were silent as the spirited chestnut mare stepped briskly but cautiously, causing the light pung to swerve uncontrollably back and forth. All that could be felt was the gentle tug of the horse against the thills until suddenly the mare bolted, causing the pung to swerve wildly and upset, dumping the two boys. Harry, who had been driving, determined not to let the horse get away, hung stubbornly onto the reins while being dragged down the road. The terrified horse, dragging both driver and pung, veered sharply to the left into a field and around a telegraph pole, forcing Harry to release his grip. The horse struggled through the snowbanks and back into the road, heading in the opposite direction than that which they had been traveling. Now, racing down the road at breakneck speed, the panicking animal bolted onto the Aroostook Valley Railroad tracks, which intercepted the road at a slight angle, and proceeded out on the trestles which ran high above the Aroostook River. The doomed animal, loosing its footing on the spaced ties, fell over the edge and plunged to its death on the ice below.

As could be expected, the boys were heartsick at the loss and finally were able to get in touch with Harry's father the next day after spending the night with friends. Great-grandfather George had but one thing to say: "Thank God, son, it wasn't you." This was merely one of the exciting and often saddening moments in the life of Harry Ellsworth Umphrey.

The first Umphrey to inhabit the then small milltown of Washburn, Maine, was Harry's grandfather William Humphrey, who moved to the town from neighboring New Brunswick, Canada. Being a logger, William went to work in the lumber mill located in the center of town, at that time very prosperous due to the excellent timber resources close at hand. William's wife, Mary, disliking the "H" on her acquired name, Humphrey, persuaded him to drop it, thus leaving the name Umphrey.

William and Mary Umphrey gave birth to one son, George Umphrey, who, because of the slow decline in the productivity of the local mill, sought to take up farming for his livelihood. Harry Ellsworth Umphrey, the only son of George and Myrtle Umphrey, was a very determined youngster and due to his lack of brothers or sisters and desiring companionship as every child does, he was permitted to attend grammar school at the age of three years. Though his parents, as well as others, were skeptical, Harry loved school and progressed so rapidly that he skipped three grades and succeeded in graduating at the age of 12, not only the youngest boy in class but, also, winning the assignment of salutatorian. Even though education was the major goal, Harry's school days were filled with many events aside from his book learning.

As far back as he could remember Harry had had a deep love for the land and what could be done with it when one cared enough to put forth the necessary time, materials and labor. This trait was very beneficial to his father, as farming was then, as it is today, a very trying but rewarding occupation, demanding all of the available labor and skill to make it worthwhile.

Harry watched and worked with his father in the fields, learning by observing and doing; thus, he was as proficient with a pair of horses at the age of 12 as any man in the area, and good use was made of his acquired skill. But it was not work if you enjoyed it. It also gave him the sense of responsibility and taught him the value of the hard-earned dollar, all of which amounts to a vast reservoir of knowledge which has proved so beneficial in the past years of his fruitful life as he rose to become a significant figure in the world of business and commerce.

True, there were the many days of schooling and manual labor, but to offset these were the days of rock-throwing, swinging birches, sliding, hunting and fishing, or just being off alone scuffing your feet in the dust of the past.

There were the rewarding and relaxing spring fishing trips which were always taken after the new crop had been planted and the soil prepared for the growing season ahead. The excursions usually led up the Aroostook River to Beaver Brook or perhaps out of Portage Lake on the Fish River chain to Big Fish Lake or Carr Pond. These trips were well earned and everyone let loose, enjoying a few "spirits" and a copious supply of deer meat.

The fall hunting excursions after the harvest led to the same general areas and served two purposes: a vacation and a supply of meat to last out the winter. The hunting tales depict the "old-timer's" hunts as being much more rewarding than those of today, not only because of the once-increased deer population, but due to the rich and wholesome old-time companionship during those years when life was not such a mad rush from here to there. The winnings spent in camp by the huge crackling fire and the sound of men's voices and hearty laughter during a game of poker or cribbage supplemented by substantial meals of baked beans and moose meat stew were significant of these days past as the snow outside swirled and drifted among the dark and silent evergreens.

The winters of the years as a rule were severe, and having a wood furnace as the sole means of heating the house, along with the old faithful wood stove, it was necessary for Harry and his father to make periodic trips to the wood lot to replenish the necessary wood supply.

They would leave home early in the morning and after hitching the horses, ride the bobsled to the lot where the only tools available would be a bucksaw and ax, making for a very tiring day. Gramp still recalls the satisfaction gained when noontime rolled around and he would pull off his heavy mittens to sit on a snow-covered log and sip hot tea while munching cold meat sandwiches and frozen mincemeat pie. Contrary to many mince pie eaters who prefer theirs warm, Gramp still enjoys his frozen, as he was used to having it in the old days.

This ended the boyhood days of Harry Umphrey's life and at the age of 13, wishing to further his education, he entered Colby College with the financial aid of his father. After pursuing a business curriculum for two years and finding the necessary funds for education becoming scarce, Harry dropped out of college and returned home to teach school. For two years he taught the first eight grades of a rural grammar school while at the same time running the first rural mail route in the area on horseback.

These years from 1913 to 1920 were most fruitful for Harry, as they included many rewarding events other than those mentioned. He purchased his own farm in 1913, which amounted to some 130 acres and was located on the Caribou road. It was also during this year, later in November, that Harry wedded the girl of his dreams, Hepsie Crouse.

The two had known each other for years as they were both farmers' children and attended the same school. As time progresses they discovered other things which they had in common, such as their birthdays both fell on the same days of the year. Another odd coincidence came about in their high school days. When Gramp was a senior and salutatorian of his class, Hepsie was a freshman and she, too, was destined to hold the same honor part at graduation even though throughout their school years she had been a year older than Gramp. Regardless of the many coincidences, the couple was deeply in love and after being married moved into the farmhouse at Gramp's new farm.

They were, of course, poor and found it necessary to struggle to make ends meet. Many improvements were made in the ancient farmhouse everywhere from replacing glass in the windows to fashioning curtains and building makeshift chairs from nail kegs that were padded and gaily colored. Prosperous years were in store for Hepsie and Harry as they united in an effort to make the small farm yield a profit from its modest potato crop. The following years went so well that Gramp was able to afford his first automobile in 1915. It was one of the inevitable Model T Fords and did everything from getting the groceries and hauling the folks to church on Sunday to cutting the winter's wood supply by an odd arrangement of belts and pulleys driven from the back wheel of the jacked car.

The farming continued to progress with a substantial increase in production and profit each year but soon there were more than two mouths to feed. On August 16, 1915 Hepsie gave birth to a six and three quarter pound son who was named Donald. The stork, apparently having liked the warm and beneficial atmosphere necessary to the raising of children, visited the farm house twice more: once in the fall of 1917, bringing Phyllis, and later in the spring of 1919, bringing Ardis Marie.

Now having a sizeable family to care for and with the 1916 purchase of a larger piece of farmland on the other side of Washburn, the Umphreys moved to a new home located in town on Wilder Street. The tiny old farmhouse was then abandoned and remains so today, standing gaunt and deteriorating by the roadside with its walls holding a vast amount of knowledge of a great man which will remain till eternity, locked by the key of time.

As the years after 1920 progressed, so did Harry Umphrey and his farming business. He used his resources wisely and undertook the job of sales manager of Maine Potato Growers Incorporated from 1923 to 1925. In 1925 he also undertook the position heading the Maine Division of American Fruit Growers Incorporated, which he occupied until 1940.

Ever since Gramp's younger days when he became aware of the need of another source of income for the residents of Washburn other than that of the old and dwindling lumber mill, it has been his ambition to provide the people with another means of financing their livelihoods. His opportunity finally came in the early 1940's with the opening of World War II. It was a plan of McCormick and Company of Baltimore, Maryland, in affiliation with the United States Government to design and put into production a dehydrated potato processing plant in the Northern Maine area. Through various proceedings Gramp managed to secure the management contract and building of the plant was begun immediately at the newly chosen site in Washburn. Within a year and a half the new plant was producing dehydrated potato products for our armed services and became the first dehydration plant in the nation to secure the War Food Administration's "A" award for outstanding progress, which was a feather in the cap of both the townspeople and the management.

By this time all three children had grown and married, leaving Hepsie and Harry somewhat independent once again and therefore enabling them to embark on a well deserved vacation of a few weeks' duration in Florida through the long, cold, New England winters. But Gramp was always anxious to return, as he had a business to run and the overall business outlook was still growing as new machinery and methods of farming were devised.

Gramp remained successful as he started a machinery dealership in Washburn which was named Aroostook Farm Supplies and also became co-owner of Grand Isle Starch Company, a producer of potato starch, and also of Eastern Growers, another farming concern. In 1956 he organized the largest farming operation in the area under the name of Dupram Farms, while at the same time being owner and president of Aroostook Potato Growers in Presque Isle, dealing in produce marketing. These years were very eventful for Harry Unphrey as he held the positions of president of Taterstate Frozen Foods and of the O. K. Story Company, another farming operation. His field of service had also reached far from the local scene as he acquired the following positions: director and member of executive committee of Bangor and Aroostook Railroad, and director of the Maine Public Service Company, supplying electrical power to the area and finally, a member of the senior advisory council of McCormick and Company.

But these positions were still supplemented by others, including being a trustee and member of the Executive Committee of Colby College, Director of Associated Industries of Maine, Maine Development Corporation and New England Council, a member of the Canadian-New England Relations committee, and director of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. In 1953 he was elected as a director of the Federal reserve Bank of Boston in a special election to fill a vacancy. Gramp's list of accomplishments is truly impressive but is all summed up by the quotation from New England Council Award which he was presented in 1963 which read:

"Integrity, competence, and neighborliness have been his hallmark. Affection, respect and success have been his deserved rewards."

Thus has been the life of Harry Ellsworth Umphrey, who possessed enough drive and determination to keep faith with Aroostook County and its people in an effort to enable it to be a leader in the nation's potato producing areas.

Gramp has grown certified seed continuously for 40 years. At present he grows from 1200 to 1500 acres of certified seed and employs some 300 to 350 workers in the potato processing plant which began during the war.

Gramp's philosophy of life employs a checking account as an analogy. He states that if you invest, say, $1000.00 in a checking account you may write checks only up to this amount and then you must invest more money. Life is much the same way; you may withdraw only as much as you invest. In other words, you derive from life only what you put into in -- nothing more.

The life of this man has had many ups and downs but he always has enough light to enable him to push through. One of the greatest pitfalls was the death of his wife during the summer of 1963, which was as much of a shock to the rest of the family as it was to him. But he still enjoys life, even though he has lost his companion who remained beside him for nearly 50 years. He has progressed a long way from the day of October 3, 1984, when he first saw the light of the world. But it was all through his own effort and this therefore sets an example of which I think it would be wise to follow.

This paper can do no more than make you aware of Harry Umphrey but it is necessary to know the man to understand all his qualities. He has truly been an asset to Maine and the nation.