Interview of Henry and Elizabeth Guthrie

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Interview of Henry and Elizabeth Guthrie

Esther Rodick interviews Henry and Elizabeth Guthrie. Originally, the couple lived together in New York City where Henry worked as a lawyer at a very big firm. They came to MDI in 1933 after being invited to the house party of a friend, and soon began coming regularly. They usually chartered a boat from Farnham Butler, but eventually bought the boat "Snowflake" outright after enjoying it so much. Elizabeth recalled a conversation between Farnham Butler and Henry Hinckley about the future of boatbuilding. She also talks about taking the "Bar Harbor Express," a train from Washington D.C. up to a ferry which would complete the journey to Bar Harbor. The Guthries were always just summer people, but felt that they belonged in Southwest Harbor and were very complimentary of the people they met in town. They talk about how they would spend time in SWH every summer because of the great dancing and restaurants. She talks about sailing up and down the coast of Maine, her love of ecology, donating land to the local college for research and studies, and their extensive travelling. They took the first passenger ship to England after World War Two ended. She finishes by telling a story of a passenger fixing a Douglass DC-3 plane with a screwdriver; he was an expert mechanic after working on them during World War Two.

338 Main Street

Southwest Harbor

ME

USA

August 31, 1991