BINGHAM – Floyd Guy Hamlin, 88, died at a local nursing home June 21, 2006, after a short illness. He was born Sept. 11, 1917, in Mayfield. He was the son of Guy Abbott and Clara (Davis) Hamlin. He married Ruth Herrick of Harmony, Feb. 24, 1940. He was educated at a one-room school in Brighton, where he developed an interest in history and geography. At age 17, he went to work in the woods for S.D. Warren Co. as assistant to the lumber camp cook. He also worked for the company as a striker, a truck driver and a bulldozer operator. In 1963, he started his own logging contracting business. He cut an average of 3,500 cords of wood per year, employing as many as six men. In addition to his work in the woods, he was a Maine guide. He knew the best places to hunt and fish in the ridges, woods, ponds, streams and rivers of the Upper Kennebec Valley. If a sportsman visiting the area became lost in the woods, he often was the first person authorities called for assistance. In the event of a forest fire, his skills as a bulldozer operator were sought. He once said, with justifiable pride, “I was a good man on a bulldozer.” One of his many outdoor pursuits was fishing for rainbow trout in the Kennebec River and in the 1950s and 1960s, he and his square stern canoe were a common sight on the river at Bingham. He loved swapping stories about the outdoors with friends and family. He was a master cribbage player and gleeful when he “skunked” opponents. His nickname was “Blackie.” He liked to say that you could always judge the worth of a man by the size of his woodpile. He worked on his own sizable woodpile until he was 83. He was for many years an active member of the Mayfield Pond Camp Association, serving as the “go to” guy when problems with water lines, roads or gas-powered appliances arose. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Ruth of Bingham; son, Craig Hamlin and wife, Shirley, of Bingham; daughter, Ardeana Hamlin of Hampden; grandson, Guy Hamlin and wife, Vicki and their children, Garrett, Lucas and Natalie of Belfast; granddaughter, Kay (Hamlin) Keiter and husband, Tim and their son, Sam of Portland; grandson, Jason Sheaff and wife, Jennifer and their son, Cody of Carmel; grandson, Andrew Sheaff of Orono; a sister, Effie (Hamlin) Best of Greenville; and a son-in-law, Peter Davis of Bingham. A daughter, Nancy (Hamlin) Davis, died in 1996. He is also survived by several brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews and friends who enjoyed listening to his stories and laughing at his witticisms. There will be no funeral service. Those who wish may make gifts in his memory to the Bingham Union Library, Main Street, Bingham, ME 04920 or the Somerset Animal Shelter, Middle Road, Skowhegan, ME 04976.
FLOYD GUY HAMLIN
