As we’ve been working on some of the large industrial employers of Ferry Village, I recognized the name of Walter Story as the owner of Story Marine Railway on the South Portland waterfront. Let’s take a look at the life of this man who played a part in the management of several South Portland businesses.
A portrait of Walter Story when he was general manager at Maine Steel. South Portland Historical Society photo
Walter S. Story was born in Vermont in 1895. He was 21 years old when he married Angelia Bartlett of Phippsburg in 1917. They moved to South Portland that same year, where he took a job at Marine Hardware as a stockroom foreman. They bought a house on Henley Street in 1918.
Story was smart, talented, and showed entrepreneurship as he advanced quickly through the ranks at Marine Hardware. He was working as a purchasing agent for the company by 1920, but in 1923 he sold their home, and they moved to New York City around 1924. In 1928, they were back in South Portland. They bought some land where they built the home at 21 Ocean View Ave. (the Story family lived there for about 20 years). Walter Story also returned to working for the successor company, Maine Steel Products, as a sales manager, moving up to department manager by the mid-1930s.
By the time that World War II broke out, Story had worked his way up through Maine Steel and now was a company principal. He served as the vice president and general manager and held an ownership interest in the company. Maine Steel was in an incredible time of activity and growth as it took on government contracts for wartime ship supplies.
General Manager Walter Story, with Shop Superintendent Gordon MacDonald, at Maine Steel, circa 1945. South Portland Historical Society photo
There were apparently no “non-compete” agreements at that time, however, as Story also established a new company in June, 1942: Maine Specialty Company. That company was also in the marine hardware business, but operated primarily as a broker or agent.
The Maine Specialty office was located on Exchange Street. Through Maine Specialty, Story would seek out government and other contracts for Marine Hardware, then locate a supplier to fill the order. Throughout the rest of Story’s career and life, he always kept the Maine Specialty business going, either as his main business or as a side business. His son, Ballard, who had served in the Navy during WWII, was also active in the operation and served as vice president of Maine Specialty.
In September, 1946, Maine Steel sold its South Portland factory (the former plush mill/bicycle factory) to Maine Specialty Company. Maine Specialty then auctioned off the machinery and inventory inside, and leased the factory complex to Portland Copper & Tank Works, Inc.
With the factory complex now being operated by Portland Copper, Walter Story turned his sights to starting a new business. In May, 1950, he incorporated Story Marine Railway, Inc., and purchased the Donaldson Shipyard business on Front Street on the South Portland waterfront. The business had about 17 employees. The following month, Story purchased the business of South Portland Boat Yard, which had also been operating from the site but had specialized in pleasure craft repair and new boat building. That business had about 13 employees, so the combined yard now had roughly 30 employees.
The waterfront shipyard area, formerly Portland Shipbuilding, which became known as Story Marine Railway when it was purchased by Walter Story in 1950. Dyer Collection/South Portland Historical Society
Story Marine Railway was the same business that was originally founded as the Cape Elizabeth Wharf and Marine Railway in 1850. The company reorganized several times over the years, later becoming the Portland Merchants Marine Railway, Portland Shipbuilding Company and Portland Yacht Service, Inc., before Boyd Donaldson purchased the yard in 1939.
Walter Story and his son, Ballard, operated Story Marine Railway for nearly two decades. They moved the office of Maine Specialty Company into the same office on Front Street, so Maine Specialty was still in the marine hardware business and Story Marine Railway was in the ship and boat repair business. They sold Story Marine Railway in 1969 to South Portland Shipyard and Marine Railways Corp., a new corporation led by the president of Casco Bay Lines. The shipyard is still in existence today, now known as Aspasia Marina.
Walter Story had one other side business that he became involved with. In 1955, a manufacturer in Cortland, New York, the Brewer-Tichener Corporation, agreed to establish a new manufacturing division that would focus on drop-forged marine and industrial hardware. Although the division would be based in Cortland, Story agreed to oversee the operation. The sales manager for the new division was Charles Morrill, who had worked for 10 years at Maine Steel and then for another 10 years at Maine Specialty. Morrill was also Walter Story’s son-in-law. Charles moved to Cortland with his wife, Margaret (Walter’s daughter) and their son, so that he could run the new division.
Walter Story died in June, 1970.
Volunteers needed: South Portland Historical Society is preparing to reopen its museum at Bug Light Park in May. We are currently seeking volunteers to help with giving museum tours and running the gift shop. Volunteers typically cover a three-hour shift each week. If you might be interested in volunteering and would like to learn more about it, please reach out to us at 207-767-7299 or by email at sphistory04106@gmail.com.
Kathryn Onos DiPhilippo is executive director of the South Portland Historical Society. She can be reached at sphistory04106@gmail.com.
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