PHOTO: Jonah Raether with Pete and Marjorie Lovejoy, of Wayne. (Submitted photo)
By Jonah Raether
WAYNE -_- _Pete and Marjorie Lovejoy look out from their home onto the same forested property where Pete’s father had 15 cattle in the middle of the 20th century. They watch an assortment of birds coming to their feeder, and they enjoy the space and separation between themselves and their neighbors.
The Lovejoys both both grew up in Wayne and have spent most of their lives there, so they’ve seen it change over time. They both remember spending much of their childhood outside, helping out on their families’ farms, cutting wood, and exploring the region on snowshoes and cross-country skis. Pete also remembers picking fiddleheads, fly fishing, and occasionally hunting for deer and rabbit. Part of what made all these activities possible was the lack of development in the area – fields, ponds, and forest were accessible, and there was never a feeling of encroaching on someone else’s property.
Perhaps their fondest memory, though, was the time they spent enjoying a plot of showy lady’s slippers near their home. This plot of orchids was found by Pete’s grandmother, Mary E. Lovejoy (b. Dunn in 1882). From the day she found them in the early 1900s, the family realized that they were something special. The rare native orchids would bloom around the 4th of July each year, and the Lovejoys would enjoy them from a distance, recognizing that they shouldn’t be bothered in any way and keeping their exact location a secret. Enjoying the orchids was a yearly tradition, and Pete will still occasionally take family and friends to see them. Today, that same group of flowers is recognized as a High Value Plant Habitat and is protected by the Native Plant Trust.
During our conversation, Pete and Marjorie told me a story about a photo that Pete took of Marjorie many years ago, seated on the ground and surrounded by a large patch of showy lady’s slippers. In recent years, though, the area has transformed. The number of orchids has declined, the wetland where they once flourished is drier, and the time when they bloom is more unpredictable. The biggest threats to the showy lady’s slipper, according to the U.S. Forest Service, are over-collecting, loss of wetland habitat, and declining water quality.
Pete and Marjorie said they hope that work can be done in the coming years to conserve forests and wetlands in the area, with a particular focus on keeping parcels of land together and large scale development at bay. In a time when some people may want to move from bigger cities and come “back to the land,” it will be important to make sure that the areas that define this region are protected.
Editor’s Note: Marjorie Lovejoy passed away in the fall of 2019, after this interview took place.
In 2019, Kennebec Land Trust intern Jonah Raether interviewed five Kennebec County community members about their relationships and connections to the land and natural spaces; below is one of his essays. The Kennebec Land Trust works cooperatively with landowners and communities to conserve the forests, shorelands, fields, and wildlife that define central Maine. For more information, visit www.tklt.org.
