One of Norman C. Hunt’s favorite pastimes was being on his tractor as well as being on the Damariscotta Lake with family. (Photo courtesy Robert Hunt)
Norman C. Hunt was a passionate and vocal community member who helped found integral institutions in Lincoln County and wasn’t afraid to speak what was on his mind.
To Robert Hunt, his father was a phoenix of sorts, whom he saw rise time and time again from the ashes of a situation.
“I have never seen someone in so many situations where things didn’t go right, but he’d always rise up after getting knocked down,” he said.
Founder of N.C. Hunt Lumber, with locations on Route 1 in Damariscotta and Clary Road in Jefferson, as well as a founding member of Damariscotta Bank and Trust, Norman Hunt died one day after his 81st birthday on Aug. 25 after months of failing health.
He was born on Aug. 24, 1942 in Newcastle in his mother’s parents’ farmhouse on Bunker Hill Road.
Hunt attended Franklin Grammar and Lincoln Academy, graduating with the class of 1961. He was awarded the Achievement Cup and represented his classmates as the class president for three out of his four years at the school.
“Anything he was in, he was in 100%,” his son said.
After high school, Hunt earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Nasson College in Sanford. Returning from college, he helped establish Hunt Brothers Inc. in Damariscotta, where Main Street Grocery is currently, and built one of Maine’s largest lumber companies.
Chester Rice, founder of the excavating business Chester A. Rice Inc. and onetime chair of the Damariscotta Bank and Trust board, said he and Norman Hunt were competitors and the family was known for being hard workers.
“He was a good part of the neighborhood,” Rice said.
According to Robert Hunt, despite being so focused on business, his father never lost sight of what really mattered.
When the N.C. Hunt Lumber sawmill in Jefferson burned to the ground on March 29, 2019, Robert Hunt, who bought the business from his father in 2019, remembers calling around 1 a.m. to break the bad news.
“When I told him he said ‘Hell, we can fix that!’” Robert Hunt said. “And the first thing he said was ‘Are you alright?’”
He remembers his father’s kindness in those moments and the reassurance his father offered.
“He asked me to be safe and said that everything will be alright,” Robert Hunt said.
Norman C. Hunt’s reassuring and calm demeanor may have come from experience with mill fires and years of experience in the business.
In 1980, Hunt purchased a mill in Princeton, Dead River Co. and Finance Authority Maine in order to save 85 jobs associated with the mill. In 1984, the mill burned down and Hunt made his return to Lincoln County. This time, he started what became N.C. Hunt Lumber.
The last time Norman Hunt was out in public was late last June, when Robert Hunt took him to go see his grandsons, Drew and Eldon Hunt, play in the Cony basketball summer league in Augusta for Lincoln Academy.
“The last thing he did out in public was go to support and watch Lincoln Academy basketball and support his grandsons,” Robert Hunt said. “He loved all of his grandkids and was a huge supporter of the community.”
According to his son, Hunt donated a flatbed truck to the Lincoln Academy homecoming weekend, which became the spirit float. The float also served as seating for the student section during athletic events.
Heather D’Ippolito, director of community engagement and development at Lincoln Academy said that Norman Hunt was an avid supporter of the school as an alumnus.
“He was a longtime supporter of Lincoln Academy and the community,” D’Ippolito said.
Hunt was active with local politics, famous for his clam and lobster bakes for political party campaigns. Even though he supported his political parties, 30 years a Democrat and 30 years a Republican, according to Robert Hunt, his father was an independent thinker that wasn’t afraid to tell someone what he thought.
“He could be gruff and abrupt, and if he didn’t agree with you, he’d tell you, but he’d also tell you if he did agree with you,” he said. “That’s how he was, he spoke how he felt, and he loved talking to people and getting them thinking.”
Hunt married Judith Pulsifer in 1970 and had four children: Robert Hunt, Richard Hunt, Lisa Hunt, and Susanne Smith-Pinkham. He had 13 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Spending time on Damariscotta Lake with his family held a special place for him, according to Robert Hunt. Norman Hunt loved waterskiing, boating, and ice fishing, and it was hard to get him to slow down.
“He loved Damariscotta Lake or being on his tractor,” his son said. “But he was one of those guys where if he only had 12 plates spinning, he was worried that it wasn’t 17.”
A funeral will be held at First Baptist Church of Waldoboro at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23.
