Take a stroll through Kokadjo’s Northern Pride Lodge, operated for the public by Wayne and Barbara Plummer, and you’re quickly impressed by the photographic talent expressed on the walls. Moose and other Maine Woods wildlife are the subjects of many of the photos, taken by Barbara.
The walls of the lodge are also adorned with trophies attesting to the fishing and hunting skill of the Plummers. Deer, bear, and wild turkey mounts cover the walls. Wayne and Barbara are both Registered Maine Guides, she a Recreation Guide, he a Master Guide, specializing in hunting and fishing, catering to sportsmen visiting the Moosehead Lake area, and, often staying at their lodge and campground on the shore of First Roach Pond.
Married since 1985, the couple has operated the lodge for the past eight years. The place has become known for its prime location on the shore of the lake, the friendly hospitality provided to guests, and, particularly, the dining, where specialties include roast duck and grilled steak.
Barbara’s creative energies also find an outlet in drawing and painting and, more recently, stained glass work, an avocation she has pursued for about three years. She specializes in wildlife and nature scenes, and recently completed a piece commissioned for the Appalachian Mountain Club.
Depicting the Chairback Range as seen from the approach to AMC’s Gorman Camps at Chairback Mountain, the piece was created specifically for the camps, where it will be inset into the wall between the main lodge’s kitchen and dining room, brightening up the space with the colorful glass depiction of the surrounding mountains and forest. “I chose to make it sunrise, with the light filtering through the trees in the foreground,” Barbara noted.
“My background is art: charcoals, drawing, oils and photography,” she said. “The AMC piece is the second I’ve done on commission, and I’m working on a third right now.”
--Rob Burbank
