'Voice' of The County, famed Maine broadcaster Dewey DeWitt dies at 99
Courtesy / Office of Sen. Susan Collins
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins poses with longtime Maine broadcaster Dewey DeWitt in this undated photo.
A legendary pioneer of Maine’s broadcasting industry and the longtime “voice” of sports in Aroostook County, Dewey DeWitt, died Wednesday morning at age 99.
Born March 23, 1922, DeWitt passed away peacefully in Houlton, his family said.
DeWitt covered high-school sports for local radio, beginning in 1950, the year a station began broadcasting in Houlton. He greeted The County’s first television viewers in 1956, when WAGM-TV went on the air from Presque Isle.
DeWitt loved sports, especially basketball, and it’s estimated he called play-by-play for over 3,000 games.
He reported other news as well, including visits to Presque Isle in 1960 by then-candidates Presidents John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.
Later in his career, he was inducted into the Maine Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, the Maine Sports Hall of Fame and the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame.
A native of Foreston, in New Brunswick, Canada, DeWitt attended Aroostook Central Institute in Blaine and Ricker College in Houlton.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who grew up in Caribou, issued a statement Wednesday recalling her memories of DeWitt.
“Every sportscaster has that one indelible memory that stands alone. For Dewey and me, it is a memory we shared with people throughout the region,” she said.
“In 1969, when I was a student at Caribou High School, our boys’ basketball team won its first-ever state championship on a last-second shot by Mike Thurston from beyond midcourt. I was at that exciting game, but it was Dewey’s voice that brought that thrilling moment to listeners across Maine.
“Whenever I visited Houlton, I loved stopping in to see Dewey. I will deeply miss these chats with my friend.”
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