Charles (“Charlie”) Kigel, 97, died Feb. 15, at his home in Waldoboro, following a remarkable life. Born to George and Anna (Grisle) Kigel in Roxbury, Mass. on May 20, 1914, Charlie truly exemplified a life well-lived.
After graduating from Mechanic Arts High School in Boston, Charlie took a job teaching drafting, while also opening an electronics repair shop in Needham, Massachusetts. In the early days of radio, he operated a “sound truck” for hire with roof-mounted speakers announcing news of then-Mayor Curley.
He and his wife Elsa, moved to Maine, in 1935, where they grew wild blueberries on their first farm on the Rabbit Farm Road in Warren. Exemplifying his ingenuity, Charlie logged the poles and strung the lines needed to bring power to the farm. That first year’s “bumper crop” of hand-picked blueberries netted just $17, so the couple gave up on blueberries, opting instead for poultry (egg) farming.
As the business prospered the couple moved to a larger farm on North Pond Road (“Double Yoke Farm”) where they maintained nearly 200 acres, 50,000 hens, and raised two daughters.
After retirement, the couple moved to Waldoboro, where Charlie continued his active life while providing dedicated care to Elsa for the remainder of her life. She died in 2001.
Like many farmers of his generation, Charlie was by necessity a resourceful and independent “Jack-of-all trades.” He became a self-taught veterinarian, plumber, electrician, machinist, and repairman. Always generous with his tools, skills and time, Charlie will be remembered by many for the lumber he cut, the buildings he moved and his remarkable mechanical ingenuity.
Perhaps most of all, Charlie will be remembered as “W1BDL” the ham-radio call sign he used for more than 80 years. In addition to thousands of contacts made throughout the world, Charlie led a daily network connection of local “hams,” which came to be known as “the chimes net”.
Always active in the community, Charlie was a long-time member of both the Lions Club and Rockland Rotary. He served on the board of directors during Knox Hospital’s conversion to Pen Bay Hospital, helped found a local grain co-op, served as a selectman and school board member for the town of Warren, and was instrumental in founding the area’s first consolidated school. For recreation he joined a photography club (building his own darkroom), presided over the Knox County Fish and Game Club, and was a founding member of the Pen Bay Amateur Radio Club.
An avid sportsman, Charlie would take time each year for hunting and fishing, often at the camp he and partners built at Northeast Carry on Moosehead Lake. In 1957, Charlie drove his family in a hand-built trailer from Maine to Alaska. His adventures took him to Newfoundland, Baffin Island, and his ancestral home of Latvia.
Charlie attributed his longevity to a daily regimen of oatmeal and large quantities of ice cream.
He was predeceased by his wife of 65 years Elsa (Osol) Kigel, his daughter, Gale Clegg, a sister, Jenny (Jan) Pernaw, and half-brother Arthur Berg. He is survived by his daughter Jean Kigel and her husband, Daniel Bolita of Waldoboro, his sister-in-law Gertrude Berg of Weston, MA and family, and his nephew Stephen Pernaw of Concord, NH and his family.
It was Charlie’s wish that he be cremated and that there be no memorial services. Contributions may be made in Charlie’s memory to the Waldoboro Public Library’s A. Elsa Kigel memorial fund, PO Box 768, Waldoboro, 04572.
You are invited to share your condolences, memories and photos with the family by visiting their Book of Memories at www.hallfuneralhomes.com.
Arrangements are entrusted to the Hall Funeral Home, 949 Main St,. Waldoboro.
