海角大神

A John Gould Sampler

He was a farmer, a furnituremaker, a newspaper editor, a best-selling author, a town-meeting moderator, a licensed Maine guide. He wrote speeches for Sen. Margaret Chase Smith, who often stopped by his house, and mentored a teenaged Stephen King. Mr. Gould was sent to postwar Germany on a mission for the U.S. State Department and, according to Gould, told L.L. 鈥淟in鈥� Bean that he should start a mail-order catalog.听

But what he鈥檚 best known for among longtime readers of 海角大神 are the remarkable columns he wrote every week for six decades. They attracted a devoted following then, and will still amply reward new readers today.听

As we mark the 80th anniversary of Mr. Gould鈥檚 first essay in the Monitor, on Oct. 22, 1942, we hope to entice or remind readers with a taste of the Gould oeuvre. The columns linked here are available at no charge to Monitor subscribers. His books are harder to come by, but some have been recently republished. His wife鈥檚 timeless and authentic recipe for Maine baked beans is yours to make and savor anytime, however. We鈥檝e also unearthed a video of Mr. Gould鈥檚 appearance on a popular TV game show, 鈥淭o Tell the Truth,鈥� from 1964 (see link at the end). Enjoy!

鈥� Owen Thomas, editor, The Home Forum

Table of contents

1. An annotated list of columns, curated by Gail Russell Chaddock
2. Audio recordings from 1962 of John Gould reading four of his Monitor essays
3. An annotated list of John Gould鈥檚 30 books
4. Dottie Gould鈥檚 recipe for Maine baked beans
5. Mr. Gould鈥檚 appearance on 鈥淭o Tell the Truth,鈥� 1964

Annotated list of select columns

These first five essays were reprinted together in 2002 for the 60th anniversary of Mr. Gould鈥檚 first Monitor column.
Note: This piece includes a tantalizing link to an audio transcript that is no longer active.听

1. 鈥淏uck-saws and Christmas trees,鈥� Mr. Gould鈥檚 first column, which appeared in the Monitor dated Oct. 21, 1942. What鈥檚 wrong with painting your silo like a huge barber pole? Or making your buck-saw out of black walnut with carved rosettes? Not a thing.听
2. 鈥淭he missing fork,鈥� 1959. Dottie Gould misplaces her prized three-tined kitchen fork, and nothing has been right since. Monitor readers worldwide responded with scores of three-tined forks.
3. 鈥淭hat one-time simplicity,鈥� 1962. Good simple food, such as creamed dried beef on boiled potatoes, with a good pat of butter, is now priced out of sight. An excellent reason to become a millionaire.
4. 鈥淕oing to haul,鈥� 1972. On getting up at 2:45 a.m. with a lobsterman to haul 65 lobster traps out of 30 fathoms of water 鈥� once. Turns out a farmer鈥檚 life isn鈥檛 so bad.
5. 鈥淲hen fire engines clanged and whinnied,鈥� 1998. A 6-year-old鈥檚 view of steam engines, fire horses, and a three-day fire in Salem. Now we are all 6.听(Also available on the Monitor website.)听听

These other selected essays can also be found on the Monitor鈥檚 online archive.

1. 鈥�Take my advice,鈥� 1980. John Gould knows a thing or two about axes, kerosene lamps, and butter-churning. If only Hollywood would heed his offer to help them get it right!鈥�
2. 鈥�Sorting out the p鈥檚 and q鈥檚,鈥� 1986. How words from lead-type composing rooms found a life beyond the print shop. Ever been 鈥渙ut of sorts鈥�? Read on!
3. 鈥�Grandpa Gould鈥檚 very own version of Gettysburg,鈥� 1996. John Gould knew the stories, told and retold, of Civil War veterans who served with Maine鈥檚 greatest war hero. But did Gen. Joshua Chamberlain really save the battle of Gettysburg astride a white horse? Best last line in a Gould column. 听
4. 鈥�The cookie of choice for aunts and lumberjacks,鈥� 1997. All you need to know about finding the right m鈥檒arrses听for the greatest cookie ever invented.听听
5. 鈥�A train that filled our field with dreams,鈥� 1998. An amazing tale about a Pullman porter, a moving train, a kids鈥� baseball game, and an astonishing catch. John Gould reassured his editor that it was all true. 听
6. 鈥�Your vicarious retreat to the Maine woods,鈥� 1999. Spending a day in deep woods with Gould, a pileated woodpecker, and a fearless gorby. (Read this column aloud, just for the sound of the words.)听 听
7. 鈥�My classic advice to would-be writers,鈥� 2001. Reading Homer in the Greek is not bad advice for a would-be writer.听 Nor is learning to spell. But first you鈥檝e got to catch a reader. 听听
8. 鈥�The Halifax disaster, seen from a railway post office,鈥� 2001. An account of the nonstop mercy run from Boston to Halifax, Nova Scotia, the night of a massive munitions explosion on Dec. 6, 1917. 听
9. 鈥�Whatever happened to Aunt Nell鈥檚 blueberries?鈥� 2003. What happens when an aunt, who should know better, reneges on a promise to share her blueberries with a kid who would grow up to write columns for an international newspaper. 听
10. 鈥�How to bake bread 鈥� no mittens required,鈥� 2003. Food chez-Gould isn鈥檛 about recipes 鈥� it鈥檚 about home, neighboring, or, in this case, feeding hard-driving river hogs for the Great Northern Paper Company.听 听

John Gould reads four of his essays, 1962

Our thanks to the Monitor鈥檚 communications manager, Greg Fitzgerald, for locating these previously unknown recordings of Mr. Gould, courtesy of the Pacifica Radio Archives in North Hollywood, California. We have no context for them; we don鈥檛 know why Mr. Gould made them or to what end. But we鈥檙e glad to have them to share.

Annotated list of books

John Gould鈥檚 30 books include novels, essay collections, history (more or less), autobiography (pretty much), and 鈥� always 鈥� humor. Some have been recently reprinted, others are difficult to find.

1. 鈥淣ew England Town Meeting: Safeguard of Democracy鈥� (Stephen Days Press, 1940, with photographs by the author). This slim (61 pages) book explores the character of democracy in action at the local level.
2. 鈥淧re-natal Care for Fathers鈥� (Stephen Days Press 1941; William Morrow, 1946; Down East Books, 2017). 鈥淎 nonmedical, nontechnical, nonscientific explanation of the masculine side of the matter,鈥� says the title page, 鈥渨ith much that is useful and nothing that is wholly useless.鈥�
3. 鈥淔armer Takes a Wife鈥� (William Morrow, 1945). How Gould plucked his wife, Dorothy, out of Boston and planted her on a Maine farm. Reprinted essays from 海角大神, The New York Times Magazine, and the Baltimore Evening Sun. It was a bestseller.
4. 鈥淭he House That Jacob Built鈥� (William Morrow, 1947; Literary Licensing LLC, 2012). The story of the Gould family farmstead in Lisbon Falls, Maine, and how Mr. Gould restored it himself. Reprinted essays from 海角大神, The New York Times Magazine, and The Lisbon Enterprise.听
5. 鈥淎nd One to Grow On: Recollections of a Maine Boyhood鈥� (William Morrow, 1949; Down East Books, 2020). Gould recalls growing up in Freeport, Maine.
6. 鈥淣either Hay Nor Grass鈥� (William Morrow, 1951; Down East Books, 2020). Twenty-eight humorous tales.
7. 鈥淭he Fastest Hound Dog in the State of Maine,鈥� with F. Wenderoth Saunders. (William Morrow, 1953; Down East Books, 2021).听 Mainer buys a dog and tries to take it home on the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad.
8. 鈥淢onstrous Depravity: A Jeremiad and a Lamentation鈥� [About Things to Eat] (William Morrow, 1963; Down East Books, 2021). Celebrating the food of the past and bemoaning the food of the present, complete with recipes for custard pies to clambakes.
9. 鈥淭he Parables of Peter Partout鈥� (Little, Brown, 1964). Fictional letters from Peter Partout of Peppermint Corner, Maine, to the editor of the Lisbon Enterprise.
10. 鈥淵ou Should Start Sooner; in Which Widely Separated Topics Are Strangely Discussed by an Old Cuss鈥� (Little, Brown, 1965). Fifty collected essays from 海角大神. Foreword by Monitor editor (and fellow Mainer) Erwin D. Canham.
11. 鈥淟ast One In: Tales of a New England Boyhood, a Gently Pleasing Dip Into a Cool, Soothing Pool of the Not-So-Long-Ago, So to Speak鈥� (Little Brown, 1966; Down East, 1979). More of Gould鈥檚 Maine boyhood; dedicated to his grandson Willy.
12. 鈥淓urope on Saturday Night: The Farmer and His Wife Take a Trip鈥� (William Morrow, 1968; Down East, Books, 1979 and 2016). John and Dorothy travel through Europe in a VW Beetle.
13. 鈥淭he Jonesport Raffle, and Numerous Other Maine Veracities鈥� (Little, Brown, 1969; Down East Books, 2017). Tales of Maine, from 16th-century fishing camps to the lumberjack days. 鈥淢uch of it true, but some of it isn鈥檛,鈥� Gould notes.
14. 鈥淭welve Grindstones: or, A Few More Good Ones, Being Another Cultural Roundup of Maine Folklore, Sort of, Although Not Intended to Be Definitive, and Perhaps not so Cultural, Either鈥� (Little, Brown, 1970; Down East Books, 2019). 鈥淎necdotes, tales, jests, and other Maine apocrypha,鈥� from blueberry picking and prison reform to smart dogs.
15. 鈥淭he Shag Bag: More Stuff from Maine鈥澨�(Little, Brown, 1972; Down East, 1979). Some 鈥渕agnificently renewed and embellished鈥� columns from 海角大神 and the Baltimore Evening Sun.
16. 鈥淕lass Eyes by the Bottle: Some Conversations About Some Conversation Pieces鈥� (Little, Brown, 1975). Forty-four 鈥渃onversation pieces鈥� of wit, nostalgia, and Maine folklore.
17. 鈥淢aine Lingo: Boiled Owls, Billdads & Wazzats,鈥� with Lillian Ross (Down East, 1975 and 2015). A compendium of Maine regional language.
18. 鈥淭his Trifling Distinction: Reminiscences From Down East鈥� (Little, Brown, 1978). Stories about the Gould clan. Tall tales and heroes roam freely.
19. 鈥淣ext Time Around: Some Things Pleasantly Remembered鈥� (W.W. Norton, 1983). Reminiscences 鈥渂y a man who would make only a few changes here and there if he had his life to live over.鈥�
20. 鈥淣o Other Place鈥� (W.W. Norton, 1984). Gould鈥檚 first novel. It concerns Jabez Knight, his family, and 鈥渁bove all his daughter, Elzada鈥� in pre-Revolutionary War New England.
21. 鈥淪titch in Time鈥� (W.W. Norton, 1985). Humorous short stories about the inhabitants of a Maine village.
22. 鈥淭he Wines of Pentagoet鈥� (W.W. Norton, 1986). The saga of Elzada Knight continues, taking up where 鈥淣o Other Place鈥� left off.
23. 鈥淥ld Hundredth鈥� (W.W. Norton, 1987). Dedicated to Gould鈥檚 mother, Hilda D.J. Gould, on her 100th birthday. Fifty-one tales about life in Maine.
24. 鈥淭here Goes Maine!: A Somewhat History, Sort of, of the Pine Tree State鈥� (W.W. Norton, 1990). Maine鈥檚 history, Gould-style.
25. 鈥淔unny About That鈥� (W.W. Norton, 1992). Short humorous stories, collected mostly from his previous books. Many of them first appeared in 海角大神.
26. 鈥淚t Is Not Now: Tales of Maine鈥� (W.W. Norton, 1993; Down East Books, 2021). Fifty humorous tales.
27. 鈥淒ispatches From Maine, 1942-1992鈥� (W.W. Norton, 1994). Fifty years of selected columns from 海角大神.
28. 鈥淢aine鈥檚 Golden Road: a Memoir鈥� (W.W. Norton, 1995). Narrative of the retreats that Gould and his daughter鈥檚 father-in-law made over the years.
29. 鈥淥ur Croze Nest: A Morning River Farm Story鈥� (Blackberry Books, 1997). His third novel completes Elzada Knight鈥檚 story and 鈥渂rings us into today, when summer people have discovered Down East.鈥�
30. 鈥淭ales From Rhapsody Home: or, What They Don鈥檛 Tell You About Senior Living鈥� (Algonquin Books, 2000). A fictionalized, humorous-but-pointed look at living in a retirement home.

Dottie Gould鈥檚 baked beans听

(with tweaks from daughter Kathy)

1 pound bag of dry Jacob鈥檚 Cattle beans, if you can find them. But if not, any dried white bean will suffice.
1 medium yellow onion, peeled
陆 cup dark molasses (or more)
录 cup brown sugar
White sugar (a smidgen)
1 tsp. salt (optional)
1 tsp. baking soda
陆 tsp. dry mustard
戮 tsp. dry ginger
录 lb. salt pork, 陆 lb. if it has some lean

1. 听 The night before, rinse and pick over beans. Put beans in a large bowl and cover with cold water to a depth of about two inches. Let stand overnight.听

2. 听 In the morning, drain and rinse beans. Put in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring just to a boil.听

3.听 听Cut onion in half and put halves in the bottom of a two-quart lidded casserole or, better, a bean pot. Drain beans and put them into the casserole/bean pot.听听听听

4.听 听Add salt (if desired), dark molasses, brown and white sugar, dry mustard, baking soda, and ginger. Put salt pork on top. (It helps to deeply score the pork, making half-inch squares.)

5. 听 Fill pot with heated water to just cover beans. Bake all day in a slow oven (250 degrees Fahrenheit). Check the beans occasionally and, if needed, top up with boiling water. Uncover the pot one hour before serving, to crisp and brown the pork. Serves six.

鈥淭o Tell the Truth鈥�

Mr. Gould was featured in the third segment of the of the game show 鈥淭o Tell the Truth.鈥澨齆ote that social sensibilities have changed significantly since then, and that John utters perhaps a dozen words altogether. Evidently, he was not very convincing at playing himself. You鈥檒l see. Fast forward to about the 16:45 mark for John Gould鈥檚 appearance.