Yup. They're going to put me in a bean can.
October 12, 2016 11:19 AM Subscribe
July 1939. The world teetered on the brink of war as Hitler menaced Poland. The 11 millionth visitor passed through the turnstiles of the New York World’s Fair. Baseball fans still reeled after Lou Gehrig’s “luckiest man” speech at Yankee Stadium. But many Americans could think only of Donn Fendler, a 12-year-old boy lost on Mount Katahdin in Maine, the object of a frantic search and rescue operation that dragged on for nine days, monopolizing the radio airwaves and newspaper headlines.
He still says he never thought of dying when he lost in the Maine woods. But now, he recognizes that dying is part of life. It happens. Eventually. “When I die, my ashes are going over Mount Katahdin,” Fendler said. “My brother said he’d fly or get someone to fly … Yup, they’re going to put me in a bean can.”
He still says he never thought of dying when he lost in the Maine woods. But now, he recognizes that dying is part of life. It happens. Eventually. “When I die, my ashes are going over Mount Katahdin,” Fendler said. “My brother said he’d fly or get someone to fly … Yup, they’re going to put me in a bean can.”
Somebody really ought to do something about those black flies, they suck.
posted by Bee'sWing at 11:47 AM on October 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Bee'sWing at 11:47 AM on October 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
Oddly, several Maine friends posted his obit on FB, and I had no idea who he was before then. Interesting bit of Americana.
posted by k5.user at 11:49 AM on October 12, 2016
posted by k5.user at 11:49 AM on October 12, 2016
Thank you so much for posting this. I've had the good fortune to meet Donn twice, and he was a true gentleman in so many senses of the word. He visited many, many schools, wrote a wonderful book (which every child in Maine reads in elementary school), and was a strong proponent of ensuring that all children have outdoor spaces where they can play and have adventures (although maybe not like his). He had a wonderful rapport with every child I ever saw him with, and I think in a lot of ways he never stopped being that boy who "wouldn't stay put." We can all only hope to live a life such as he had.
posted by anastasiav at 11:57 AM on October 12, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by anastasiav at 11:57 AM on October 12, 2016 [9 favorites]
Old? I'll tell you old. The post noted the N.Y.1939 World's Fair. I was there with my family. Love the story.
posted by Postroad at 12:18 PM on October 12, 2016 [23 favorites]
posted by Postroad at 12:18 PM on October 12, 2016 [23 favorites]
I had never heard of this guy before a friend from Maine posted the obit yesterday, claiming every kid in Maine read a book about him.
I'm curious about the legalities of scattering his ashes on Katahdin. The rules in Baxter are so tight (no paved roads, etc) that I'd be surprised if scattering human ashes is allowed. Not that that should stop anyone from doing it, and if anyone should be scattered there it's this guy, but I bet they'll have to do it secretly.
Baxter is a pretty wild place in a region without many wild places. I can't imagine being lost there.
posted by bondcliff at 12:21 PM on October 12, 2016
I'm curious about the legalities of scattering his ashes on Katahdin. The rules in Baxter are so tight (no paved roads, etc) that I'd be surprised if scattering human ashes is allowed. Not that that should stop anyone from doing it, and if anyone should be scattered there it's this guy, but I bet they'll have to do it secretly.
Baxter is a pretty wild place in a region without many wild places. I can't imagine being lost there.
posted by bondcliff at 12:21 PM on October 12, 2016
That kid's got moxie.
posted by jenkinsEar at 12:37 PM on October 12, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by jenkinsEar at 12:37 PM on October 12, 2016 [5 favorites]
A little more than one year later, Donn was in the White House, where President Franklin D. Roosevelt awarded him the Army and Navy Legion of Valor medal, recognizing him as the outstanding youth hero of 1939.
I like kids who don't get lost. -- President Donald J. Trump.
posted by Naberius at 1:18 PM on October 12, 2016 [7 favorites]
I like kids who don't get lost. -- President Donald J. Trump.
posted by Naberius at 1:18 PM on October 12, 2016 [7 favorites]
Great inspiring story. He also served in the 101st airborne in Vietnam. I am still trying to figure out why he took his pants off to beat them on a rock. I get the sneakers off thing, but your pants?
And the black flies! Having owned a cabin in the Adirondacks, black fly season is so horrifying. Being out there with no pants and the black flies in all your orifices, OUCH!
posted by AugustWest at 1:49 PM on October 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
And the black flies! Having owned a cabin in the Adirondacks, black fly season is so horrifying. Being out there with no pants and the black flies in all your orifices, OUCH!
posted by AugustWest at 1:49 PM on October 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
> I am still trying to figure out why he took his pants off to beat them on a rock. I get the sneakers off thing, but your pants?
Yes! I loved the story and am impressed with the guy (and thanks for sharing your memories of him, anastasiav), but what the hell was he trying to do with the pants? America wants to know!
posted by languagehat at 2:16 PM on October 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yes! I loved the story and am impressed with the guy (and thanks for sharing your memories of him, anastasiav), but what the hell was he trying to do with the pants? America wants to know!
posted by languagehat at 2:16 PM on October 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
He might have rinsed the pants and was trying to beat the water out of them?
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 3:43 PM on October 12, 2016
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 3:43 PM on October 12, 2016
Just a guess, but it was high summer, so not so cold, and he was following a stream. So maybe he took them off in an effort to keep them dry as he was crossing water? Wet jeans are unpleasant to walk in.
posted by Bee'sWing at 5:22 PM on October 12, 2016
posted by Bee'sWing at 5:22 PM on October 12, 2016
(Am I ruining this by mentioning his death this week? The Bangor Daily News obit is the second link, above, for those who never RTFLinks.)
Anyway, the "second act" of his life reminds me of Louis Zamperini whose story was told in the book & movie Unbroken.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:38 PM on October 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
Anyway, the "second act" of his life reminds me of Louis Zamperini whose story was told in the book & movie Unbroken.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:38 PM on October 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
> So maybe he took them off in an effort to keep them dry as he was crossing water?
Sure, but it says "trying to throw his soaked jeans onto a rock in the stream, he misjudged and watched as the water carried them away." Doesn't seem like a good way to keep them dry.
posted by languagehat at 5:53 PM on October 12, 2016
Sure, but it says "trying to throw his soaked jeans onto a rock in the stream, he misjudged and watched as the water carried them away." Doesn't seem like a good way to keep them dry.
posted by languagehat at 5:53 PM on October 12, 2016
actually, the first link is his obituary, the second link is an interview with him in the Bangor Daily News when he was 88.
posted by ChuraChura at 6:53 PM on October 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by ChuraChura at 6:53 PM on October 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
Old? I'll tell you old. The post noted the N.Y.1939 World's Fair. I was there with my family. Love the story.
posted by Postroad at 12:18 PM on October 12 [13 favorites +] [!]
Oh, wow. Did you see my dad? He was carrying a toy train that he got at the fair and would have been with his folks, Lucile and Perry, and his older brother, Little Perry.
posted by she's not there at 7:09 PM on October 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Postroad at 12:18 PM on October 12 [13 favorites +] [!]
Oh, wow. Did you see my dad? He was carrying a toy train that he got at the fair and would have been with his folks, Lucile and Perry, and his older brother, Little Perry.
posted by she's not there at 7:09 PM on October 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
Trained as a Green Beret, he served in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division.
*thousand-yard stare*
"You think 'Nam was hell, son? Let me tell you about... Maine."
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:13 PM on October 12, 2016 [5 favorites]
*thousand-yard stare*
"You think 'Nam was hell, son? Let me tell you about... Maine."
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:13 PM on October 12, 2016 [5 favorites]
Great story; it is fortunate that none of the searchers got in toruble while out looking for him.
On Friday, Maine Gov. Paul R. LePage will mark the 75th anniversary of the end of Fendler’s unintentional nine-day wilderness trek with a proclamation declaring July 25, 2014, “Donn Fendler Day.”
Probably the high point of his time as governor.
posted by TedW at 5:42 AM on October 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
On Friday, Maine Gov. Paul R. LePage will mark the 75th anniversary of the end of Fendler’s unintentional nine-day wilderness trek with a proclamation declaring July 25, 2014, “Donn Fendler Day.”
Probably the high point of his time as governor.
posted by TedW at 5:42 AM on October 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
I love the NYT obit section for just this very thing. One might not initially think that obituaries would be life affirming but I find the so many of the people they highlight very very inspiring.
In this particulary one, I love how his harrowing adventure as a kid foreshadowed the amazing life he would ultimately have. Talk about being prepared for whatever life throws at you - this guy was ready and able.
posted by double bubble at 6:04 AM on October 13, 2016 [2 favorites]
In this particulary one, I love how his harrowing adventure as a kid foreshadowed the amazing life he would ultimately have. Talk about being prepared for whatever life throws at you - this guy was ready and able.
posted by double bubble at 6:04 AM on October 13, 2016 [2 favorites]
One thing we learned in Boy Scouts was to use our jeans as a flotation device: get them wet, tie the legs together, fan air into them, and put them around your neck. I had to do this in a pool for one of the merit badges. So maybe he was using them to float? And then just couldn't reach some rock or another and thought he could use them as a rope of sorts?
posted by starscream at 1:01 PM on October 14, 2016
posted by starscream at 1:01 PM on October 14, 2016
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