Just outside of our condo door is a
short hike up Speckled Mountain. The
hike takes you to a three story log chalet built in the 1930s by a man named
Roy C Wilhelm. According to the Lovell
historical society, Roy was a businessman who was the head of his family’s
coffee company in New York City. He left
the city and built this chalet and outbuildings to raise Ayrshire cattle, Swiss
goats and German shepherds. Sounds like
many who moved to Maine to escape the rat race of a busy city and enjoy a
living closer to the land, right? Well
for the local townspeople, Roy was highly suspicious.
According to the Sun Journal Mr.
Wilhem was suspected of being a German spy who gave away secrets to the
submarines in Portland Harbor during WW II by flashing lights from his chalet
with sweeping views that do not actually reach as far as the sea... Why
would the people think this? It seems
that there were many factors that raised this fear amongst the
townspeople. First his name was
German. Second, he was a member of the
Bahai World Faith religion and acted as their treasurer. He would often go to the local store to send
telegrams and wire money overseas.
Third, he would signal children on Kezar Lake islands visible from the
chalet, nothing more than child’s play except those flickering lights got him investigated by the FBI.
To the people who knew him, he reportedly
was a generous and welcoming man who often had guests staying at his farm. Reports say he hosted thousands in the time
that he lived in Maine. According to the Sun Journal he was well
dressed and proper and the sort who would water his flower beds dressed in a
suit and tie. Roy C Wilhem died and was
buried on his property on December 20, 1951.
His large granite headstone can be found in the woods below his chalet.
The Lovell
historical society has many photos and info on Roy C Wilhem. You can see them at
www.Lovellhistoricalsociety.org
