AMERICANA: Ferdinand the Bull Thrower

Never before had the 400-odd island villagers of North Haven seen such a fine schoolteacher and all-round nice fellow as lovable, affable Martin Godgart. A happy, hulking (6 ft., 250 lb.), multichinned chap with a Harvard accent, Godgart turned up last September on the tiny Penobscot Bay island off the coast of Maine, flashed a schoolteacher's certificate, got himself a job teaching high-school English, Latin and French. He quickly made friends with the normally reserved down-East folk; they liked his jolly ways, his eagerness to participate in North Haven affairs. He formed...