Staff Writer
ASHLAND – Fans in the greater Ashland area of the CBS show “Survivor” will recognize a familiar face when “Survivor: Gabon – Earth’s Last Eden” premieres tomorrow night at 8 p.m. Robert “Bob” Crowley, whose wife’s cousin, Sarah Brooks, teaches world history at Ashland High School, is one of the 18 contestants vying for this season’s $1 million prize.
“There are so many people up here who know him,” said Brooks. “With the exception of this year, Bob has gone on every Maine-Quebec Winter Carnival Caravan since we started it back up again in 2002, and he’s one of our big entertainers on the trip.
“On the caravan, he’s usually one of the storytellers on the radios. We all have two-way radio communications in all of the vehicles on the caravan. A couple of years ago, Maine humorist Gary Crocker and Bob were our entertainment all the way over,” she said. “He’s also done tree trimming work in the Ashland area; taking down big, old elms with his ropes and going up there with saws. His wife, Peggy (Page), is originally from Fort Kent. She graduated from Fort Kent High School in 1969. It was Peggy’s idea to get the caravan up–and-running again after an absence of many years.”
Brooks said a lot of the students at her school know Crowley.
“His daughter, Page, used to stay at my farm in the summer,” said Brooks, “so that’s another connection that a lot of kids in the area have with him.”
Ironically, Crowley, 57, himself is a teacher. He teaches physics at Gorham High School. He and his wife reside in South Portland.
According to his biography on the CBS Web site, Crowley considers himself “a hybrid of Indiana Jones and Robinson Crusoe. He loves the outdoors and is always ready for his next adventure.”
Crowley holds both associate and bachelor degrees in forestry from the University of Maine at Orono and a masters of education degree from the University of Southern Maine.
“However, after the school bell rings, Robert becomes an entrepreneur,” reads his bio. “His wide range of jobs span from being a first mate on a research boat for the Smithsonian Institution in Canada to an entomologist for the USDA, to a skunk relocater, as well as president, vice president and chief negotiator for his local teacher’s union.”
When not on an adventure, Crowley’s interests include journal writing, story telling, photography, bone collecting, archeology and camping.
“This tree climbing scientist, who describes himself as honest, adventurous, resourceful and witty, built his truly ‘green’ summer cabin back when green was only referred to as the color. His ‘green’ cabin was completely built with recycled material and requires a fraction of the energy of the average U.S. home,” the bio reads. “He’s built numerous structures from recycled material including wharfs, saunas, a chicken house and a hunting cabin.”
Brooks said Crowley’s students are excited to see their teacher on the hit series.
“There are comments that have been posted on the Internet such as, ‘… That Bob Crowley, he can make a radio out of a coconut,’ or ‘Chuck Norris extinguished his flame when he knew that Bob Crowley was going to Gabon.’ There have been such wonderful comments that have been made by his students,” said Brooks. “Bob is, proverbially, an Indiana Jones. He’s an archeologist, a forester, and the most wonderful storyteller. The outdoors is definitely second nature to him.
“We have a bulletin board set up in my classroom here at the high school,” she said, “and there’s a lot of interest locally. A lot of the kids are very, very anxious for the first episode to air. I think he’ll really go far in this show. I’ll be tuning in for sure.”
Crowley is only the fourth contestant from Maine in the show’s 17-year history. The series’ 17th season was filmed in the jungle of Gabon, a country on the western coast of Africa.
