Mount Desert Rock — PHOTOS COURTESY ALLIED WHALE/MINDY VIECHNICKI

BAR HARBOR — An Ellsworth man who spent much of his early childhood on a small barren island 26 miles from shore was honored recently during a daylong trip to the place he once called home.

Wilbur York

The island and facilities on it are owned by Allied Whale, a marine mammal protection and research group associated with College of the Atlantic (COA). The light, which has been fully automated since 1977, is maintained by the United States Coast Guard.

Mr. York, who has made several trips out to the island since connecting with Allied Whale in 2000, said he felt “really proud” to have the reading room dedicated to his family. The trip, which included six people from Allied Whale and two COA students, made for a great day and brought back many memories, he said.

“The rock is a place that I love to go, but there’s nothing better than going with Wilbur to get a tour of his memories,” said Allied Whale’s Mindy Viechnicki. “He has stories, literally, about every rock and crevice.”

“People ask me how come I like that so well out there, and I tell them, I never knew any better.” — Wilbur York

“He’s just the sweetest, nicest man … the most genuine person,” Mr. Stephenson said.

Mr. York’s father George was lighthouse keeper on Mount Desert Rock from 1928 to 1936. Mr. York was just 2 years old when his family moved to the remote island. His sister Shirley, who now lives in Arizona, was the only other child around.

“We only come ashore once a year for two weeks in the summer time, and the rest of the time we stayed right there,” he said.

The family burned soft coal for heat and cooking year round, and drank and bathed with rainwater, he said. Their stepmother Helen, who was a teacher, gave the children their lessons.

Mr. York settled in Portland after a stint in the navy during World War II, and spent more than 20 years working in a fish factory, he said. For a time he worked in a blueberry factory in Ellsworth during the summers and drove a school bus during the winter, before settling in as a janitor at the First Congregational Church in Ellsworth for the last 15 years.

His reconnection with Mount Desert Rock that started in 2000 has been a great thing for everyone involved, Mr. Stephenson said.

“It’s sort of been, for the island itself, like a lost friend being returned,” he said.

For Mr. York, the trips to the island have held a lot of meaning, he said. He has always carried with him a love of the island and has held dear the many memories and images from that time. Some might not be able to understand the attraction, he said, but for him, there is no better place in the world.

“People ask me how come I like that so well out there, and I tell them, I never knew any better. I never knew any different,” he said. And even now he’s always ready to spend time there again.

“I told them, if they ever had a job out there in the wintertime,” he said, “let me know and I would go out.”