SUN JOURNAL • July 23, 2022
One of Maine’s most fascinating and uplifting woods lore adventures has faded with time. In Maine, July 25 is Donn Fendler Day. Governor Paul LePage claimed it so in July of 2014, 75 years after a skinny, 12-year-old boy survived an incredible nine-day ordeal lost in the North Woods. It is a survival story of uncommon human endurance that has all the elements of a true miracle. After being separated from his family and walking off the trail on Mt. Katahdin in mid-July, Donn Fendler wandered aimlessly until he stumbled upon a stream and telephone line that led to an eventual rescue. He survived on sheer faith in God and Boy Scout determination. What youngster, even today, would not find this story riveting and worthy of lessons to be learned? Long after Donn Fendler Day on July 25, encourage your youngsters to read about this Maine outdoor legacy. ~ V. Paul Reynolds