“Mert” Lane

 

Merton Lane (1910-2004) was a fixture in the lore of Maine’s gallery of interesting characters, typifying the State’s culture. In 1905 he became the first fire tower lookout warden in the State located atop Squaw Mountain [now Big Moose Mountain] in Greenville.  It was a special breed of men who manned the lookout towers, serving as the eyes of the Maine Forest Service in protecting the 10 million acres of trees in the remote district. Years later Kent Ward, columnist for the Bangor Dailey News, found Lane through C. W. Lakeman who lived near Lane on the Golden Ridge Road in the town of Sherman.

Lane had signed on again with the Maine Forest Service, and was posted to Peekaboo Mountain and its 60-foot Tower in the town of Weston in south eastern Aroostook County. From there he spotted a fire in Haynesville and called in coordinates, directing fire crews to the site. Lakeman said Mert was one of his vast circle of bona fide “they don’t -come-any-better-than-this Real Down-Home Mainer.”

Someone left a salute to Mert on an outcrop stone near the bridge over the Wassataquoik River in T3 R WELS in ,fittingly, a section of Maine Public Reserved Land. (2014 photo): In Loving Memory of Muott Lane, 7/3/??

 

Sherman’s favorite octogenarian (Mert) was always among the first to volunteer to help with community projects, carried over into retirement. Town Manager Debbie O’Roak said “We couldn’t get along without him. “Believe me every town should be so lucky to have a Mert Lane.” Ward later entitled his column in 1998: “Every town needs a ‘Mert’ Lane.”

Mert Lane Photos by C. W. Lakeman in a visit to Mert in Sherman c.2004