Fifty years ago, when the town was applying for the National Register Historic District Designation that we are currently celebrating with 50th Anniversary flags and discs, retired CIA man turned Kennebunkport Historical Society photographer, Stephen Johnson, took a roll of 35-millimeter interior shots of The Olde Grist Mill Restaurant in Kennebunkport. I finally scanned some of those colored slides to share with you today. More of them will be included in my upcoming illustrated Trust Talk at Clemmie Clark’s Boat House, now owned by the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust.

Earlier that year, on February 27, 1976, thieves pried open the Olde Grist Mill Country Store door and made away with $550 worth of antiques. Owner Arthur Lombard found the stolen antiques discarded “behind a neighboring building near the waterfront.” The boathouse, maybe?

Nine years later, Elinor Bemis of the Star interviewed Arthur’s son, who had since become the owner of the historic 1749 mill structure. The ancient building had just undergone its final renovation before we lost it to an arsonist in 1994.

“It’s first major update since 1968,” said David F. Lombard. “All of the beams, the floors and the artifacts that were originally here are still in place,” continued Lombard, pointing out the slender little elevator which carried the grist up in an endless chair of tiny carriers. Nearby stood the old scale and chutes. Grain bags marked J.D. Perkins evoked memories of the johnny cake and Indian Pudding which made the restaurant a success in 1940 when it first opened.

Speaking of Indian Pudding the recipe for the longtime favorite dessert served at The Olde Gristmill Restaurant was preserved for posterity and later printed in the Star. I am no chef, but if anyone else wants to follow the recipe, I sure would love to taste it. It’s a tough gig to have to eat delicious Olde Grist Mill Indian pudding but someone has to do it for the sake of historical accuracy.