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Gary Crocker heard his first stories from his Grandfather Russell. The two of them walked the Maine woods together while Grandfather Russell told Maine tales. But the man who had the most impact on Crocker's decision to be a Maine humorist was the legendary Marshall Dodge. "He was probably one of the finest storytellers I ever heard," says Gary, who has collected all of Dodge's tapes. He first heard the master storyteller in the mid '70s at the Ladd Recreation Center in Wayne. Crocker, who arrived early to get a front-row seat, was mesmerized by his storytelling. "I remember him sitting there with a stool and microphone for over an hour, telling us classic Maine stories in a S-L-O-W Maine dialect." After seeing that performance Crocker knew he wanted to become a Maine storyteller.