Oct. 5, 1785: In response to a notice published in the Falmouth Gazette, about 30 men from Cumberland, Lincoln and York counties gather at the meeting house of ministers Thomas Smith and Samuel Deane in Falmouth to discuss, for the first time in a formal setting, a proposal that Maine separate from Massachusetts to become a new U.S. state. Opponents of the convention criticize it as being unconstitutional and insurrectionary.
The only result of the meeting is the appointment of a committee that would draft a letter to be circulated among all Maine residents, inviting them to a Jan. 4, 1786, meeting to be held on the same subject.
Despite several more such meetings over the next few years, the proposed separation would not occur until nearly 35 years later.
Oct. 5, 1981: Singer-songwriter and comedian Jud Strunk, 45, suffers a heart attack while flying a plane over Carrabassett Valley. The plane crashes, killing him and a passenger. Strunk was best known for his 1973 hit single “Daisy a Day.”
Although a native of Jamestown, New York, Strunk, who played the tenor banjo and the piano, often sang about his adopted state of Maine. He moved to Farmington in 1960 and later to a farm in Eustis.
He also was an actor, performing on Broadway and in television shows, including regular appearances on “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-in.”
Joseph Owen is an author, retired newspaper editor and board member of the Kennebec Historical Society. Owen’s book, “This Day in Maine,” can be ordered at islandportpress.com. To get a signed copy use promo code signedbyjoe at checkout. Joe can be contacted at: jowen@mainetoday.com.
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