Hakola, John W.

John Hakola was born in 1928 in Sand Coulee, Montana. He received his B.A. and M.A. in history from the University of Montana and his Ph. D. in history from Indiana University. He joined the faculty of the University of Maine in 1959, teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses in American and European economic history, the history of the West and the history of Maine. He was a participant in the University's honors program and an advisor to the student senate, as well as serving on various committees within the History Department. Ill health led to his retirement in 1981. Hakola was the author of Legacy of a Lifetime: the Story of Baxter State Park, published in 1981. An avid hiker and rock climber, he edited various editions of the Appalachian Mountain Club's Maine Mountain Guide. He was also on the editorial board of the Maine Historical Society Quarterly. He died in 1995.