The new Maine ferry that will transport riders to Matinicus Isle and back was commissioned Thursday, and is the state’s first ferry to be named after a Native American.
The Charles Norman Shay is a new diesel ferry that will replace the Everett Libby, the current ferry that makes the more than two-hour trip from Rockland to Matinicus Isle and back. The boat can carry 140 passengers and seven cars.
The ferry’s namesake is a member of the Penobscot Nation and served as a medic for the U.S. military in the storming of Normandy on D-Day in World War II. He also served on the front lines in the Battle of the Bulge, and was a medic in the Korean War.
Shay was unable to travel from his home in France to the ceremony — he celebrated his 100th birthday in June — so several people spoke in his honor, including his nephew, Tim Shay. Officials also played a recorded video statement from Charles Norman Shay at the event. He watched the ceremony over Facetime.
“I feel very proud to have a boat bearing my name right where my ancestors had this summer encampment,” Shay said in his video statement. “That means a lot to me.”
Members of the Penobscot Nation used to travel to Matinicus Isle during the summers before retreating inland to hunting grounds in the winters, said Maria Girouard, a member of the Penobscot Nation Tribal Council who spoke at the event.
Girouard emphasized the importance of water and Matinicus Isle in the tribe’s history. She said members of the Penobscot Nation and other Indigenous tribes in Maine, collectively referred to as the Wabanaki tribes, used to travel the land that is now called Maine by water. She said through the tribal members’ intimate knowledge of Maine’s waterways and landscape, Penobscot warriors were able to help the Americans during the Revolutionary War.
“It feels fitting that Charles’ legacy of service, selflessness and dignified accomplishments be commemorated through the naming of the Matinicus ferry for him,” Girouard said. “Traverse the ancestral waters to a place where Penobscot people’s presence has existed since time immemorial.”
The Maine ferries connect the islands of North Haven, Vinalhaven, Isleboro, Matinicus, Swans Island and Frenchboro to the mainland. Matinicus is the most remote island, with a travel distance of 23 miles.
Eva Murray, a member of the Ferry Service Advisory Board for Matinicus Isle, said the ferry is essential to island life. Islanders depend on it to bring fuel, lumber and building materials. They also depend on the ferry to take away trash.
The new ferry is expected to go into service later this month, said William Geary, the director of the Maine State Ferry Service. The Maine Department of Transportation paid about $11.7 million for it.
The former ferry, the Everett Libby, is in the process of being sold, according to department spokesperson Paul Merrill.
