By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-24 13:25:09 | Updated at 2024-11-25 18:34:32
1 day ago
Donn Fendler credited wild berries and a Boy Scout's 'never-give-up attitude' for his survival after he was separated from his family, aged 12, atop Maine's highest peak in 1939.
They helped him through nine tough days traversing Mt. Katahdin's dense wilderness — battling hunger, fatigue, hallucinations, bugs, and leeches. He even lost his shoes in a river.
Fendler's gripping survival story was front-page news in the build up to World War Two, and the boy's grit earned him an award from President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
His memoir, Lost on a Mountain in Maine, has regaled generations of schoolkids in the Pine Tree State. Trail maps, a graphic novel — and now a Hollywood movie — chronicle the journey.
Taking its name from Fendler's book, the film, which counts Sylvester Stallone among its producers, recreates the drama of a boy separated from his stern dad, twin brother, and others.
Thankfully, there's a happy ending.
Fendler went missing from his group in a fast-moving storm as they neared the summit of Katahdin in July of that year.
He realized within hours that he 'was in trouble' and he started to 'panic,' he told Bangor Daily News in 2009.
A scrawny Donn Fendler, 12, of Rye, New York, is shown with the sack which he used as a sleeping bag in the wilds of Maine, as he shed 15 pounds
Fendler went missing atop the imposing Mount Katahdin, in Baxter State Park, the highest mountain in Maine at 5,269 feet
So, he turned to his Boy Scout skills, a 'never-give-up attitude,' his faith in God and prayers.
'It taught me to keep a calm head and calm down,' he said.
He ate strawberries and checkerberries and sheltered as best he could though the chilly nights.
The boy followed a stream and a telephone line, which led him out to a hunting camp near Stacyville, some 35 miles from where he started.
The malnourished Fendler was rescued by Maine Guide Nelson McMoarn and his wife Lena.
He was bruised, cut, hungry, without pants or shoes, covered in insect bites and 15 pounds lighter — but alive.
The Bangor Daily News' bold headline on July 26, 1939, the day after the rescue, said: DONN FENDLER FOUND ALIVE.
Three photos of the scrawny youngster and four stories about him adorned the newspaper's front page.
The boy's peril had sparked a massive search and was the focus of newspaper headlines and nightly radio broadcasts.
Hundreds of volunteers streamed into the region to help; messages of support poured in to Fendler's parents.
In the 2009 interview, Fendler said 'prayers were sent to my mother by Western Union' from moms across the country.
Three photos of a scrawny Donn Fendler and four stories about him adorned the newspaper's front page
Donn Fendler chats with a young reader at a book signing in Bangor, Maine, in 2011. He regaled hundreds of schoolkids with his adventure story over the decades
President Franklin Roosevelt presented 14-year-old Donn Fendler, of Rye, New York, with a gold medal for valor in 1940 at the White House in Washington
'They did that in those days,' he said.
'I think it worked because I am still standing here.'
His survival skills were celebrated, and he went on to attend high school, study at the University of Maine, and serve in the US Army for 28 years.
He married Maryrose 'Ree' Connolly in 1953 and had four children.
He died aged 90 in October 2016, after personally recounting his ordeal to hundreds of Maine youngsters over the decades.
Schoolkids know the saga through the memoir he co-wrote with Joseph B. Egan, and published in September of the same year.
Kimberly Nielsen, a teacher at Crooked River Elementary School in Casco, says her third-graders are thrilled by the text.
'I love that the overarching theme is that Donn never gave up,' Nielsen told AP.
'He just never quits. He goes and goes.'
Her teenage son learned a valuable lesson from the book: Stay together in the wilderness.
The 16-year-old was recently hiking Katahdin with friends when a storm came in — and they made the tough but sensible decision to turn back.
'My son wanted to keep going, but he knew that they had to stay together,' Nielsen said.
'He learned that lesson from the book. I’m 100 percent certain.'
The 98-minute movie brings this wisdom and a vintage vibe to the big screen.
It stars Luke David Blumm as the brave lad, with Caitlin FitzGerald as his steadfast mom and Paul Sparks as his austere dad.
Donn Fendler, 12, his feet still bandaged from his days alone in the woods, waves as he is honored in his hometown of Rye, New York.
The movie Lost on a Mountain in Maine takes its name from Fendler's memoir
The film stars Paul Sparks as Fendler's austere dad and Caitlin FitzGerald as his steadfast mom
Stallone's Balboa Productions took on the project because the star liked the story of a plucky underdog.
Filming took place in upstate New York, with the crew battling bugs and wading through shoulder-height water for canoe scenes.
Some scenes were shot on Katahdin and a replica mountaintop built in a soundstage, complete with granite stones, blowing wind and rain and lightning.
It builds on the book, by drawing upon other interviews and archival footage to stress the importance of family and faith, says director Andrew Boodhoo Kightlinger.
The filmmaker hiked Katahdin to audition for the directing role.
Adventure stories are a dime a dozen, he says, but Fendler's resonates as it's 'about a father and a son struggling to connect.'
'All Donn wants is for his father to say that he loves him, but he can't do it because he's a very old-fashioned father,' says Kightlinger.
'Every day on set, I would remind people, we're making a movie about a son who just wants a hug from his father.'
The director says there are also echoes of pre-war America today.
'There are political divisions, society is a little on edge,' says Kightlinger.
'Here's a movie that reminds people about just the power of community, the power of caring about your neighbors.'
