Packing blankets out of Greenleaf in 1950, courtesy AMC archives
We’ve received this death notice. Unfortunately there isn’t anything more posted online. Dick clearly loved the OH as his email address began with oldhutman@
He worked at Pinkham in 1943, at Zealand in 1944 and 1945 and Greenleaf in 1950 and 1951. In addition to his croo work, he also worked on Construction Crew out of Pinkham in 1944, and was tasked with patrolling the closed western huts in 1945 while at Zealand.
Surely he was our oldest surviving member? If anyone has other photos to share, please let us know.
OBITUARY
Richard A Maxwell
May 26, 1926 – June 9, 2025
Richard A Maxwell, age 99, of Laguna Beach, California passed away on Monday, June 9, 2025.
We received this photo from Larry Coburn. It was taken in1952 according to Tom Deans. The ducks were named Joe and Bob after Joe Dodge and Bob Temple. The arrived at Greenleaf as babies from a hatch of 6 in front of the Deans cabin on Kenebunk Pond in Lyman, ME. The Deans and Maxwells were close friends and lived next to each other in Biddeford, ME. Dick took Tom, then 11, up to the hut in ’52 for 3 weeks. It was the start of Tom’s AMC career. The ducks thrived at Eagle Lake until they ran out of stuff to eat on the lake They then found their way up to the hut where they were well fed by the crew. The plan was to have a roast duck feed at the end of the summer. That never happened. They spent the fall to the next spring with the folks running Lafayette Campground. Larry indicated the ducks spent the next summer at the hut as well. For the record, Dick was 6’6” tall. After graduating from MIT he headed west to LA where he worked as a mathematician in the aerospace industry until he retired. Dick and his wife Carol spent part of their honeymoon at Greenleaf. As a youth Dick was very active in the Boy Scouts. His involvement with the scouts lasted through the rest of his life. He received the Silver Beaver Award from the BSA for his volunteer service.
This is a photo of Dick and his wife Carol on their honeymoon, while near the summit of Lafayette. Dave Porter is in the background.
This photo was taken at the start of a Greenleaf reunion traveling on horseback in the mid 80’s into the Fitzgerald Wilderness—Dick, Carol, Rog Smith, Dave Porter, and his wife, Joan. Others on the trip included Jed Davis (honorary Greenleafer for the trip) John Gross, Bob “Linus “ Story, and Gerry Whiting.
A fun story relayed to us from Roger Smith:
Dick’s 150# pack trip was a classic. He was very strong. One day I had a crack at it. I took two packboards and tied up two 80 # loads and alternated them up the Bridle Path. Just below the Hut, I tied the two together onto one board, leaving one board in the puckerbrush, and staggered into the hut. The whole lashup fell apart on the doorstep, but it weighed out at 156. I was exposed as a packer fraud, and we all laughed when I claimed a record. Nobody acknowledged it, and we moved on to the next spoof.When we were asked how Greenleaf received the nickname of “Flea”, it was OH Roger Smith (Flea 49-51, Lakes ’52) who was able to point us back to Dick. He says:
(I) Attribute “Flea” to Dick Maxwell in 1950 or 1951. Dick grew up in Biddeford and had some “down east” expressions. Hot oatmeal was “flabbergasties.” Something that was very high was “higher than a boiled owl.” I adopted that, and my kids laugh at the expression. He transmuted Greenleaf to Greenflea reversing some letters and then shortened it. He was getting his PhD in mathematics at Harvard in those years. His brain worked along mathematical lines.
In 1948 and 1949 he was doing his army service. He told us he was assigned to the armored division. The sergeant told him to drive the tank out of its shed. But it was in reverse and he busted out the back of the shed. The sergeant told him he was too dumb to drive a tank.
When we were asked how Greenleaf received the nickname of “Flea”, it was OH Roger Smith (Flea 49-51, Lakes ’52) who was able to point us back to Dick. He says:
