Clevie and Mary Trask, Swan's Island, ca. 1940
Swan's Island Historical Society
253 Harbor Road is now known best as the popular Swan's Island Tea Room, but it once served as a home for multiple generations. It was owned by Alvah Barbour from 1910 to 1915, and Merton and Goldie Bickmore from 1915 to 1931.
The house was later purchased by Clevie and Mary (Robertson) Trask. Clevie (1884-1968) was known as a very nice man, and for being religious. Mary used the house to take in boarders during the war. Clevie remarried after Mary, a Sunday school teacher, passed away in 1950. He married his second wife Erdine Kent Watling in 1954, and the couple used their house to take in boarders. Erdine's sister Marion Kent Norton (1896-1985) moved into the home after the death of her husband in 1963. Marion broke her hip beyond repair and lived in the corner room on the first floor which is now part of the seating area in the Tea Room.
Kids on the steps of Clevie Trask's home, Swan's Island, ca. 1950
Swan's Island Historical Society
Steve Harriman bought the house next, and brought his wife Helen there. They stayed from 1970 to 2000, when Steve finished working for the ferry service. According to Steve, the house was one of the first to be hooked up to electricity because one of its boarders was on the island working on setting up the grid.
The property was then purchased by Kim and Dwight Colbeth, who lived there for seven years. They were the first family to have children in the house.
Long-time residents remember playing ball in the 'field' behind the house, which is not officially part of the property but had space for two teams. There are still two cisterns in the cellar that were the water supply, and Clevie's original workbench still stands out back.
