BAR HARBOR – Stetson C. Carter, 72, died unexpectedly Feb. 14, 2004, at the Ellsworth Hospital. Stetson was born Nov. 26, 1931, in Bar Harbor, and grew up in Seal Harbor. He told stories of harvesting ice on Jordan Pond, building a fish weir for George Hadlock in Seal Harbor, and working for Rockefeller on the carriage roads. He graduated from Gilman High School in Seal Harbor, the University of Maine at Orono, and Southern Maine Vocational Technical Institute. He spent four years in the Air Force, the longest time away from his beloved Mount Desert Island. He retired from the Jackson Laboratory after 32 years of service. Stetson was known for his various hobbies and crafts, all involving working with his hands. He learned antique clock repair from his father and for many years, the sign “Old Clock Repair” hung at the end of the driveway of his Hulls Cove home. He took care of the clocks belonging to many of the island’s “summer people.” Repair called upon Stetson’s ingenious skills and patience, hand carving wooden gears for some clocks and machining parts out of brass and steel for others. He was a member of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors since 1956. He was also interested in antique engines and owned several one lung, hit and miss engines. One he restored had lain in a field for decades and it took him more than a year of patient persuasion to remove the piston from the block. Later, he moved to antique tractors and owned a 1949 Ford 8N and a 1953 Ford Jubilee, of which he was particularly proud. He was a member of the Maine Antique Power Association for a number of years. Stetson loved all things old and was drawn to history and genealogy. His knowledge of the Island’s history was encyclopedic as anyone who spent any time with him will attest. He knew where all the old roads used to be, the history of each house and their occupants, and the original names of the mountains and ponds on the Island. Stetson did much research on genealogy, visiting countless cemeteries, libraries and historical societies. His bookshelves are filled with volumes of his copious notes and diagrams, and he co-wrote a book in 1992 called “The Carter Families of Hancock County, Maine. He was a member of the Mount Desert Masonic Lodge No. 140 AF & AM. He is survived by his beloved wife, Jane Harris Carter; and her four children, son, Lee Harris and his wife, Kathy, of Loxahatchee, Fla.; daughter, Brenda Gray and her husband, Roger, of Waltham, and their children, Sonja and Maynard; son, Robert Harris of Ellsworth, and his children, Jamison, Tiffany and Katrina; and son, Brian and his wife, Pamela, of Trenton and their children, Zachary and Nicholas; his son, Eric and his wife, Annette and their four children, Lindsey, Joseph, Joshua and Shepherd, all of Panton, Vt. He was predeceased by his first wife, Carole Field Carter, in 1993. A Masonic service will be held 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2004, at the Jordan-Fernald, Bar Harbor Chapel, 48 Eden St., Bar Harbor. Expressions of sympathy may be made in Stetson’s memory to the Hulls Cove Neighborhood House, Treasurer Virginia Farnsworth, 8 Wildwood Way, Bar Harbor, ME 04609.
STETSON C. CARTER
