Burke Devlin was born and raised in Collinsport, Maine in the 1930s (13). His family was very poor and he grew up in a shack by the water, hating Collinsport (4, 11). His father scrounged for work repairing lobster pots or whatever work he could find (11). Burke had a dog who would hide under the bed when it stormed (30). As a schoolboy, Burke never had time for books, a fact which he would later rectify as an adult (38). Burke always loved money. He used to roam the streets of Collinsport looking for empty bottles. He built his first fortune this way; 40¢ in five hours (10).