Matinicus post office “totaled” by fire

Matinicus Post Office, May 2008 Jasmine Ames

UPDATE May 2, 2008 - A fire that destroyed the Matinicus island post office on Monday re-ignited early Tuesday, and local firefighters spent more than three hours extinguishing the second blaze. Rain failed to stop several "hot spots" from re-starting a fire at the waterfront site of the 19th century building, originally a chandlery and later a general store for this small community, 25 miles offshore from Rockland. Jasmine Ames, wife of former Matinicus fire chief Weston Ames, said winds were blowing 39 knots when she got a call at 2 a.m. reporting that the fire had broken out again in the remains of the post office. Islanders worked in the dark to knock down the flames. By 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, the fire was out. The mail is continuing to be delivered to the island, and picked up, by a plane from Owls Head, Ames said.

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The Matinicus post office and store building burned to the ground on Monday, April 28, as island firefighters struggled to keep flames from spreading to nearby buildings and oil tanks on the waterfront.

Matinicus Fire Chief Robert Young, a lobsterman, is the son of former store proprietor Clayton Young.

"The whole thing was totaled. There's nothing left," said Bill Hoadley, proprietor of Tuckanuck Lodge. He said the fire was discovered around 1 p.m., and it rapidly destroyed the two-story structure, which included an upstairs apartment. Firefighters from Vinalhaven assisted, as did a guest at Hadley's lodge who was interviewing for the one-room schoolteacher's job.

Veteran Postmaster Wanda Philbrook wasn't immediately available to comment on the fire and future of her post office. An outgoing source of the latest island news, she has run the Matinicus post office for some 17 years. Her husband, lobsterman Clayton Philbrook, has been hospitalized at Maine Medical Center in Portland for heart surgery.

Apparently no one was hurt in the blaze, which may have begun with a nearby trash fire. Old wood-frame buildings are crowded together on the island's small harbor.

Islanders weren't immediately able to say what would happen to daily mail delivery by air from Owls Head. The mail plane had already delivered Monday morning's mail.

Residents of this outermost Maine isle said the post office - heart of the community - had this year been completely renovated by new owner Craig MacLeod, who bought the historical property and adjoining Centennial Building just over a year ago.

New shelves were being installed for a seasonal store in the building. The original store, operated for decades by the late Clayton Young, closed many years ago. After Young, it had been operated by Dick Moody as the Offshore Store, but deliveries, pricing and a trend toward mainland supermarket shopping doomed the old store, originally a chandlery and general store.

Island resident Donna Rogers remembers when Young's Store was a thriving business. "You could buy rope, buoys, a furnace." She said the Young family worked with H.H. Crie Hardware in Rockland, and so could provide island customers with anything the mainland store had on short notice. The store used to carry a full line of groceries. Food is now flown to the island on the mail plane through a deal with Shaw's supermarket in Rockland.