Nobody has more experience in local drinking water issues than Boothbay Harbor’s Harry Pinkham. He has a combined 59 years' experience in the subject, first as a Boothbay Harbor Water commissioner and more recently as a Boothbay Region Water District trustee. But his term expires this May, and it will be his last.

“I’m 91 years old. It’s time for someone else to serve,” Pinkham said.

He has served continuously as either a local water commissioner or trustee except for a three-year span that resulted from a decision not to run for re-election. Following the one-term hiatus, Pinkham returned to the water board and has served ever since. In 1976, he became an original Boothbay Region Water District trustee. He has enjoyed working with the other trustees and BRWD staff in managing the region’s drinking water supply. 

"We've done a lot to bring the system up to date. I also like doing things for the public,” he said. 

But being a long serving BRWD trustee isn’t how Pinkham is best known. He has been a stalwart member of the community serving for decades as a local fireman and constable, and on several civic organizations’ boards. In 2014, his many years of service were rewarded. Pinkham received the Rotary Club of Boothbay Harbor’s Lifetime Service Award for a seemingly endless list of public service. Pinkham served for nearly 50 years as Boothbay Harbor’s emergency management agency director, Boothbay Harbor tax assessor and water system commissioner, town meeting moderator and ballot clerk for 30 years, fireman and traffic controller, American Legion post commander and finance officer, library trustee, Oaklawn Cemetery trustee, Boothbay Region Historical Society trustee, and Masonic Seaside Lodge member and treasurer. 

Pinkham is also the only living member who revived the local Lions Club in the 1950s. His father had been a Lion, but when World War II started the club dissolved. When the younger Pinkham returned from his Korean War service, he and several others re-established the club in 1953. Harry Pinkham eventually became Lions Club president, treasurer and received the Melvin Jones Award. 

But one of his first acts of public service came in his high school days. He and a friend took pictures for the Maine State Police. He also participated in the state police’s fingerprinting of Lincoln County fifth graders. “My friend had a camera and a darkroom. So we went around and photographed car accidents for the state police,” he said.

Following graduation, Pinkham received the first of two draft notices from the U.S. military. He received his first notice in 1946, but with World War II all but over, it didn’t amount to much. In 1950, he received his second. He went to basic training at Camp Pickett in Virginia. Almost 20, Pinkham had reservations about what his military experience might be like. 

“I’m not sure I’m going to like it,” recalled Pinkham.

After basic training, he and another a New York recruit faced being deployed to either Korea or Germany. A coin flip determined Pinkham would go to Asia. He was stationed in Pusan, South Korea. He became an administrator officer after his commander inquired if anyone typed. “I raised my hand, and my two-finger method was satisfactory. So that’s what I did,” he said. 

Pinkham served from 1950 to 1952. One of his lasting impressions of Korea was the weather. “It was cold, and we stayed in tents which made staying warm even more difficult,” he said. Two years later, he returned stateside and saw a familiar face at Fort Devens in Massachusetts. “It was the guy from New York, and he said ‘I wondered what happened to you,'” Pinkham recalled.

The newly discharged veteran returned home. He worked a couple years for his father’s construction business before joining the local postal service. He worked as a parcel post driver for three years before becoming a deliveryman. Pinkham worked for the postal service for 33 years, and retired at age 55, in 1983. 

“I really liked the people. We got along fine. It was a time when you could sell them stamps on the route, but you can’t do that these days.” During his postal career, he became a part-time fireman and constable. He was delivering mail on Wharf Street when local firefighters were battling a blaze, and then Boothbay Harbor Fire Chief Harold Dodge recruited him. “He told us he wanted some fire police to direct traffic and took five of us right off the street,” he said.

Pinkham later became a local constable. He spent 57 years as a Boothbay Harbor volunteer fireman. He also served Boothbay for 25 years as a fireman. 

Pinkham is no longer serving on any boards. He now has plenty of time for his own pursuits. When asked how he will spend his time, he answered “You’re looking at it.” Pinkham enjoys watching television, especially baseball. “I enjoyed watching the Red Sox win the World Series, but some games went too long so I went to bed during the late night games,” he said. 

Overall Pinkham said his health is pretty good. He still has a driver’s license, but doesn’t drive. He had a health scare last year when he fell and couldn’t call for help. “I couldn’t get to a phone, and laid there for 28 hours before I finally got to a phone. I went to the hospital and they put 24 bottles of fluid into me because I was so dehydrated,” he said. 

Cooking is one of his hobbies. For years, he cooked meals for American Legion and Lions Club functions He also operated a clambake business from 1983 to 2010. One of his favorite dishes is corn hake. He prepares the fish with salt then boils potatoes with onions and mixes it with fried pork scraps and serves it with fried apples. “I used to prepare that for both lodges, but now I usually cook for myself on Saturday and Sunday nights,” he said. 

Pinkham has never thought about living anywhere else. He’s lived in the same house on Park Street for 86 of his 91 years.