On this date in Maine history: July 17

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July 17, 1939: Twelve-year-old Donn Fendler (1926-2016), of Rye, New York, becomes separated from his family during a storm near the summit of Maine’s Mount Katahdin.

Putting his Boy Scout skills to use, he survives nine days without food or proper clothing, then finds his way back to civilization in the town of Stacyville, having shed 16 pounds.

Donn Fendler chats with a young reader at a book signing in Bangor in 2011. Associated Press/Michael C. York

The search for the missing boy generates nationwide attention. Fendler later writes a book about the experience, “Lost on a Mountain in Maine,” which becomes a classic children’s book.

Fendler serves in the military during World War II and the Vietnam War, retiring as an Army lieutenant colonel and settling in Clarksville, Tennessee.

Donn Fendler shows the sack which he used as a sleeping bag while he wandered for eight days in the wilds of Maine in July 1939. Associated Press


https://www.pressherald.com/2020/07/17/on-this-date-in-maine-history-july-17/