CARIBOU, Maine — The Northern Maine Veterans’ Cemetery in Caribou would not be where it is today without the generosity of John Noble.
An entrepreneur and a Korean War veteran, Noble received special honors during the Veterans Recognition Dinner held at the Caribou VFW on July 26. Though Noble had little to say during the honorific presentations, there were many willing to vocalize his impact on the area, including Pete Miesburger.
Miesburger explained that he first met John back in the late 1990s, when a committee was formed to create a veterans’ cemetery. Miesburger was the chairman of the committee, and the group was looking for a place to establish the grounds. Arrangements had fallen through to receive property from the former Loring Air Force Base, and then Miesburger received a phone call from someone named Mr. John Noble — who he was familiar with through the Nobles’ trucking business.
“I went over to his house, and we sat down at his kitchen table, and he donated the land of what is today the Northern Maine Veterans’ Cemetery,” Miseburger said of the 33.4-acre land donation, mentioning that he’s also proud of the work done to the cemetery by Harry Hafford and the Northern Maine Veterans’ Cemetery Committee.
Fellow committee member Phil Bosse said he’s known Noble for about 51 years, and one of the most valuable lessons Bosse’s father taught him involved John Noble.
Bosse was about 11 years old and the family needed earthwork help to create the miniature golf course at Funland, and Noble was their go-to contractor for earthwork as well as other projects — like welding the aluminum bats.
“We had some earthwork being done and it was a little complicated, but John came out, told Dad what he was going to do, shook Dad’s hand and Dad said ‘thank you,’” Bosse recalled. “John drove away, and Dad said to me ‘That man, when he shakes your hand, you know it’s going to get done.’”
“He always, always took care of me very well and when he told me he was going to do something, he did it,” Bosse said, speaking of Noble. “If I’m trustworthy today, it’s because of this man here,” he added.
Event organizer Roger Felix is the VFW’s senior vice commander, but he’s also the business and community liaison at the Loring Job Corps Center where he formerly led the military prep program and the center’s honor guard. Felix spoke of how the area’s veterans, and the area’s support of veterans, have been inspirational for his students striving for military careers.
Members of the Loring Honor Guard attended the dinner and even performed a flag-folding ceremony to present Noble with the flag. Noble also received a plaque that said “Aroostook County veterans salute John T. Noble for decades of dedication and devotion to the veterans of northern Maine.”
Felix explained to those in attendance that “the greatest honor you can give anybody is a salute — it means I stand by you, I stand for you and I’m with you.”
“And, because you’re a quiet guy, I put ‘where some only dream, others succeed,’” Felix explained, gesturing to the inscription toward the bottom of the plaque.
In addition to the awards, gifts and kind words, Noble was presented with a Legislative Sentiment by State Representatives Carol McElwee (R-Caribou) and Ken Theriault (D-Madawaska), co-sponsered by Rep Robert J. Saucier (D-Presque Isle).
