August 1 – 7, 2025Vol. 27, No. 8

Sadulsky’s Camps: 77 Years on East Pond

Sadulsky’s Camp sign at the top of the camp road.

by Jodie Mosher

Picture this…You are 8 years old. Breakfast is done. Your parents yell, “Go outside and play!” They want peace and quiet in the camp while they enjoy their coffee on the porch. Under their watchful eye, you push the camp door open and run as fast as you can down to the shorefront to climb and hang from the jungle gym, then you splash into the water to cool off before heading over to the swing set. You’re so excited to see friends you met last summer…

This is an example of a typical start to a day at Sadulsky’s Camps on East Pond in Smithfield, Maine. Sadulsky’s is not only for families renting one of their camps but what was also happily experienced by the children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren of Walter and Viola Sadulsky. What better way to preserve family history on a Maine lake than by passing on those memory making moments to the next generation?

Sadulsky’s Camps is an example of a thriving camp rental business dating back to 1948. The prior land owners had charged patrons, including Walter’s father, Andrew, to fish and store boats. Once purchased, Walter and Viola took it to the next level. Starting with just a path, the 50 acres purchased came with the boathouse and soon after, they purchased several wooden rowboats to rent out. This is the 77^th year the business has been in operation, since Walter and Viola said yes to a fisherman wishing to pay to sleepover in the boathouse so he could wake up and fish another day.

An enterprise was born!

Walter and Viola were onto something with this simple business model and they proceeded to create a plan from their vision. Then they got to work. With the plan in place, a road was painstakingly constructed using the walking path as a guide from East Pond Road. To form beaches along the shoreline, rocks were repositioned to become rock walls, docks were made to tie canoes and boats to and eventually one camp was completed, and another, then another as demand rose.

Each year more adjustments and improvements were made. The original boathouse became Camp 1, and a variation of it still stands on the same spot, called The Beach Bungalow. Additions like indoor plumbing and bedrooms were later added. The Sadulsky’s had a great work ethic, putting in more hours after their 40 hour work week to help develop their dream of a summer camp rental business. And they did all this with their three children in tow!

Between 1965 and 1971, Colby College, a 15 minute drive, offered a summer school for eye doctors and Sadulsky’s was bombarded with rental requests. A few duplex cabins went up in a hurry to accommodate the overflow of visitors who would stay all summer. Looking at the registration book, word of mouth created a demand for the camps from doctors and lawyers from across the country.

Walter helped build the duplexes, did any and everything he could on his own and was quite a character. He thought anything could be done more efficiently with the use of dynamite! There was a stubborn stump from an old, 4-5′ in diameter white pine tree to be removed to make way for the expansion of the barn/storage shed. Walter was frustrated because it was not coming out either by hand digging or by pulling with his trusty old dump truck. So he ventured to the hardware store to purchase sticks and blasting caps!

At his age at the time, around 84, he was forbidden by the store owner from buying blasting caps, which would have allowed him to make a shortened stick of dynamite. That did not stop him! He told the kids and other onlookers to get behind the dump truck then he tossed the entire stick of dynamite into the stump hole. As you can imagine, it was loud and destructive. As everyone watched, the stump flew 50′ into the air and crashed down on the rooftop, creating a giant hole. Success at a price, as he asked, “Do you think Vi will notice the hole?”

After 50 years of working and living a life they loved on East Pond, retirement arrived for Walter and Viola. Daughter Sandra and husband David Marston became the next owners. One of three children growing up watching her parents work while she and her siblings played on the grounds and in the water, she could not imagine a life without Sadulsky’s Camps. She told her parents, “You are not selling to anyone but me!”

Sandra and David continued to maintain and make improvements yearly to keep it a beautiful vacation spot for return visitors and new ones alike. Their four children, Karen, Mike, Ken, and Craig were also there every summer. The children were expected to pitch in where needed and so the childhood adventures began! Sandra and David managed for 23 years and her face lit up talking about those years of family coming to camp and spending time in a space they all loved.

Their daughter Karen’s husband Bill DeCelle slid into the management position after their retirement, with the much appreciated help of the late, Laurie Holt, who lived up the road. They also had help from other family members to keep Sadulsky’s Camps maintained and full of eager summer renters. An amusing story passed on through the years was remembered by Bill and involved a newscaster visiting from New York with his new girlfriend.

“The story goes that it was their first time at a Maine camp on a lake and he wanted to impress her with a Maine experience. With no prior knowledge of driving one, he rented a small power boat. Even with instructions he could not stop it from running in circles! He was circling close enough to the dock that a rope was thrown to him and he was pulled in. So, he proceeded to rent a canoe instead. Again, with no prior experience in canoeing, they were given instructions. They were facing each other paddling, going nowhere fast! When they were told you have to face the same way or one has to paddle in the opposite direction, he replied, ‘She’s just so pretty I want to be able to see her beautiful face.’”

Fast forward to today and you will find Walter and Viola’s great grandson, Nick Marston, the youngest of their great grandchildren and the only great grandson, managing the sixteen camp rentals with assistance from his father Ken Marston and his Uncle Bill. Nick was a hired hand for two summers and worked with his grandfather, David, learning all aspects of the business from him, so it seemed a natural fit when it came time for the next generation to take over. Ken worked from camp before fully retiring and was able to be flexible to assist Nick with any and everything.

Nick, Ken and Uncle Bill make a great team. Nick’s responsibilities include everything from the dubious task of keeping track of scheduling in the off season, welcoming campers, being on call 24/7 all summer, opening and closing camps each spring and fall, splitting campfire wood, grading the road, fixing whatever needs to be done at all hours of the day or night, and more, right down to the perk of happily enjoying a lobster dinner with campers as a thank-you for all he does.

Nick and Ken shared the mystery of the number “system” of the camps that Walter and Viola adopted. The eight rustic camps spread out along the waterfront are numbered left to right; 3, 2, 5, 4, 1, 8, 6, 7. The “system” was simple…they were numbered as they were built. The others, numbered in the same fashion, are nestled in the wooded areas, each with privacy space and views of the water. Each has a screened in porch with seating, fully furnished and stocked interiors, wood stoves to break the chill of a cool Maine evening or morning and firewood provided. All camps are 2-3 bedrooms and all you provide are your own bed linens, towels, and food.

Everyone also enjoys four communal campfire pits with free standing pits. Many days fires are lit just before the spectacular sunsets. There are common sandy swimming areas, playground equipment, and water toys and life jackets provided, if you need them. Pontoon boats and fishing boats are available to rent for a nominal fee, and kayaks, paddle boats and SUPs are free to use on a first come, first serve basis.

As you can see, there is a deep history at Sadulsky’s Camps. The village atmosphere, sharing common spaces on the lakefront and enjoying the friendships made over the years. Unlike a typical online rental experience, this community feeling is palpable. One family I spoke with has been renting for 43 years, while another extended family rents 1012 camps each summer during the same week.

Both Walter and Viola would love seeing the generations carry on their vision. Walter was eager to make Sadulsky’s Camps memorable for campers and he thought it was “the most beautiful place on Earth facing the western sky.” He was most likely referring to the striking sunsets seen from the cove shoreline each evening over East Pond.